OPEN FORUM

New Delhi, 10 August 2006

Copycat Politics!

PAKISTAN HIDES ITS BELLICOSITY

By Bobby Srinivas

It was amusing to read the recent melodramatic statement of the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman that they have given to our government a list of terrorist training camps in India and expected New Delhi to dismantle them!  This statement of injured innocence was in reaction or retaliation for India’s demand, following the Mumbai blasts, for Pakistan to dismantle all their well recognized terrorist training camps in their territory. 

Likewise, after the terrorist attack on Indian Parliament, when the NDA Government demanded extradition of twenty hard core terrorists, including those responsible for the 1993 serial Mumbai bombings, Pakistan came up with their twenty imaginary culprits ‘hiding’ in India!  Strange and contradictory as it may seem this tit-for-tat copycat action had its beginnings even from pre-partition days. 

Let us remember that Pakistan and its state policy is what the political agenda was of the All India Muslim League in pre-partition days – obstructive, stubborn, intransigent and negative.  What the Muslim League, particularly its leader Jinnah, did to the nationalist leaders and their movement for independence, Pakistan is now following the same policy with regard to India. 

However, it must be stated that Jinnah did not envisage the present theocratic, fundamentalist military dictatorship for his dream nation.  He had a vision of a modern democratic, secular nation where Muslims would be in majority.  In pre-partition India, the League had the support of the British administration as it suited Britain to delay India’s independence.  Today, the U.S. State Department has replaced Britain’s role.   America has a pliable client that can be manipulated to further its own interest.  Soon after its formation Pakistan readily joined all the American military pacts like CENTO and SEATO.

The post 9/11 action of the US and Pakistan’s ready acquiescence, of course for a price, proved Pakistan’s usefulness to America.  So they always look other way when difficult situations with India arise.  President General Musharraf had feared and hinted soon after Afghanistan was almost annihilated by American military action that Pakistan could be in that agenda. Recently he has reiterated that strong military power is necessary for Pakistan and that a strong Army guarantees a strong country.  The rest can be understood.

While negotiations for transfer of power were on and when the interim Government was formed in 1946, Jinnah wanted to have exclusive choice of Muslim members of the Government.  But while the Muslim League represented only a section of Muslims and mainly in those Provinces where they were in minority, the Indian National Congress of those days represented all sections of people with considerable following in Muslim majority Provinces, particularly NWF Province.

When Jawaharlal Nehru was appointed Vice President of the Viceroy’s Executive Council in 1946, he had Maulana Azad and other Muslims in his Cabinet.  This piqued Jinnah and he boycotted the Government and called for Direct Action Day on  August 16 that year.  The great Calcutta killings followed.  There was no remorse.  Jinnah was even reluctant to sign a peace appeal prepared by the Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten.  Mahatma Gandhi immediately went to Calcutta and then on to Naokhali where the killings had spread.  H.S. Suhrawardy the Muslim League Premier of Bengal who had declared a holiday on August 16 to enable his hoodlums to participate in the direct action (read killings) accompanied Gandhi. 

Suhrawardy was so impressed with the peace efforts of Gandhi that he had a change of heart.  He said so publicly.  However, the 1946 Calcutta killings were the first successful venture of the future Pakistan Government.  Successful because the national leaders at that time concluded that it was well nigh impossible to work with the League leaders in a united India.  They immediately agreed for Partition.  In fact John Mathai, a member of Nehru’s Council wanted a tough stand against Pakistan’s machinations.  He resigned as member for this reason.  R.K.Shanmukham Chetty, the Finance Member of the Council said that Partition was the best thing that happened to India as we could progress unhindered by the Muslim League obstructions.

The Muslim League later joined the Government by back door.  As a tit-for-tat action, the League included Jogendra Nath Mondol in its list to represent Scheduled Castes, since the Congress had Muslims in the Cabinet!  After independence and partition, Mondol went to East Pakistan.  After a few weeks of humiliation, a disillusioned Mondol returned to India, a sadder but wiser man!  Nothing was heard of him thereafter.  Though he had opted to be a Pakistani, he returned to India to spend his last days.  In fact, there were also Muslim government functionaries opting to go to Pakistan.  After their tenure they returned to India and claim Indian citizenship rights.

Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, known as Frontier Gandhi, was a pillar of the freedom movement.  He suffered imprisonment and humiliation in Pakistan.  When the Khan was honored in India, as a great freedom fighter with Bharat Ratna, Pakistan had to do a copycat.  They honored Morarjee Desai, with Nishan-e-Pakistan, for his silence when Pakistan Dictator Zia hanged Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Pakistan tries to hide its bellicosity with a look of injured innocence!  Soon after partition, they joined every western military pact.  That gave them a vicarious support of western powers.  They started ethnic cleansing and brought a charge of genocide against India, when actually minorities in Pakistan had started dwindling and Muslim population in India was set to grow

Pakistan Government-owned TV, its news bulletins and commentaries continuously telecast much misinformation about India.  This appears to be their main Government policy.  Two or more generations of Pakistanis have been targets of this brain washing to consider India as their enemy.  Graduates of Pakistan’s military academy have to take a pledge to redeem their honour from India!  Government published books for school children describe India as enemy country; Hindus as kafirs (infidels), Sikhs as zalim!  They have created a monster of hate.  Can this monster be written off so easily unless their establishment is sincere?           

General Musharraf denies that any militant travels from Pakistan into Indian Territory.  Western powers notably the US and Britain, believe or pretend to believe the General.  Pakistan from August 14, 1947 has fine-tuned its double talk as far as India is concerned.  Act, deny and grudgingly accept the fait accompli!

As early as end of 1947, Pakistan sent tribesmen and army regulars into Kashmir.  After Kashmir’s accession to India, the Indian Army was chasing away the intruders and captured prisoners, many of them Pakistani army regulars, perhaps hiding their uniforms and wearing tribal attire.  When India foolishly complained to the Security Council (before clearing J&K of the intruders), the US and Britain gleefully took over and through UN ordered a ceasefire.  Pakistan denied they had any hand.  Later they accepted they had intruded.  And kept the area where they had intruded.  The ceasefire line gave them PoK.

Thereafter it is the same story – first denial, later acceptance with the “Big Boys” patting their loyal poodle.  In 1971, by sheer brutality Pakistan made 10 million people flee from East Pakistan.  They were refugees in India.  The world community (read the US) would not heed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s appeals.  The rest is history.  More recently we remember Kargil.  First Pakistan denies having done any wrong.  When the US tell them to behave, and we carry a successful campaign, the lost territory was regained. 

Where there is a will there is a way!  After 9/11 President Musharraf abruptly and with alacrity changed track on the Taliban.  Likewise, he ordered a crackdown on foreign students in Pakistani madarassas after the 7/7 London blasts.  If on a similar train he stops all terrorist and hostile activities against India, by whosoever concerned, President Musharraf will earn a golden page in history for Indo-Pakistan friendship.---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)