India avenges terror attacks with surgical strike. Now, what next?

Finally, the long-awaited avenging of the Uri attack has taken place. Remember the the buzz on the social media a few days ago? See my previous post.

The day's excitement, which began with the news that the Prime Minister had cancelled a meeting to discuss the status of the Most Favoured Nation status of Pakistan, has lasted right up to the end of the day.

Instead of the meeting on the MFN status, the PM chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security Affairs. At that time it was also announced that there were will be a rare joint press conference by the MoD and MEA. There was immediate speculation on what is going to be announced.

The announcement of the “surgical operation” came at that press briefing by the DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh. (Surgical strike is a military operation aimed at hitting their targets precisely with little or no collateral damage to surrounding areas.) He said that the Indian troops crossed the Line of Control and destroyed several launch pads. Many terrorists died, and there were no casualties on the Indian side. When journalists wanted to ask questions, it was announced that the officials won't take any questions, and the press meet ended.

Officials seem to have briefed journalists off the record; and through the afternoon a number of details of the operation filtered out. At least 38 terrorists were killed. Seven launch pads were destroyed. The troops went up to 6 km inside the Pak-occupied Kashmir. And the operation began around 12.30 am and lated till around 4.30 am. In the night, more details of the operation are emerging.

Pak reaction

Interestingly, Pakistan in its reaction, said the Indian claim was a lie. “There was no surgical strike. It was just a cross-border shelling in which two Pakistani soldiers died,” is the gist of that reaction.

In a way that shows their “guilt”. Because if they didn't have anything to hide, they would have reacted saying, “India, without any provocation crossed the LoC, smashed infrastructure resulting in many deaths.” Nothing of that sort.

In these days of rapid information dissemination, it's difficult to hide anything. And wonder if the people of Pakistan will believe their government's reaction that nothing actually happened.

More surgical strikes?

I don't think there will be any immediate major retaliation by the Pakistan defence forces. Because, Pakistan isn't even saying that India conducted surgical strikes. So, for what should they retaliate?

But Pakistan, terming last night incident as only s cross-border shelling, says they will not brook any further aggression. That is significant. Because, that is like a warning to India. “Once it's okay, We will look the other way. But if you are going to make this a habit, don't think we will keep quiet,” That seems to be what they are meaning.

It will be naive on India's part to assume that Pakistan will not hit back. That is why Indian defence forces are at maximum alert; ready to take on even any surprise retaliation.

The government sources are saying that this will not be a one-off surgical strike. There will be a sustained bid to end the cross-border infiltration and the terror that is flowing into Jammu and Kashmir.

That means there is a change from in our policy from being a passive witness to an active combatant. It is only natural that there is such a change, as the moralistic high ground based on peace hasn't exactly brought about any tranquility at all. It is only being seen as a weakness, and capitalised on.

But in the long run, military strikes can't actually solve any political or social issue. It can neutralize a combative situation, and create a climate for a civilian agreement. That's what Prime Minister Narendra Modi should finally aim at – end this decades-old problem once and for all, using all means, military and civilian.

Did India avenge Uri attack?

Three was a lot of buzz on social media and messaging groups like WhatsApp regarding a military offensive Indian defence forces are supposed to have made across the Line of Control as a response to the attack on the Indian Army base in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir on 18th.

While initially the talk was only in the social media, later The Quint, a popular online magazine, ran the story after checking with sources. Since many doubted the veracity of the story, The Quint rechecked with their sources, and now they stand by the story.

The story, if true, is quite a newsy one. It says that 20 suspected terrorists in camps in PoK were killed after "two units of the elite 2 Paras comprising 18-20 soldiers flew across the LoC in the Uri sector in military helicopters and carried out an operation." The total casualties, including those injured, is reported to be 200. This operation is said to have taken place in the intervening night of on Sep 20-21.

The whole thing apparently started with a tweet by one Sumann Sharrma [@SumannSharrma], and also a series of them from Anshul Saxena [@AskAnshul]. Both are stressing that it's not a rumour that it is confirmed development. There was also a tweet that PM Modi was closely monitoring the operation.

Other news media like India Today and Indian Express followed up on the tweets. They ran stories saying the Army or the Government aren't confirming the account.

But then why no word on it from Pak side?

Of course, no one in the Indian military or political establishment will come on record authenticating a covert operation. But surely Pakistan is not going to keep quiet. The relatives and friends of people who died or injured aren't going to keep quiet. Nawaz Sharif would have made it a big issue in his UNGA speech yesterday. And India too wouldn't have risked such a thing when UN is in session.

It difficult to say whether such incidents are true or just conspiracy theories. There have been some incidents along side that seem to be giving credence to this story. One is that Pakistan International Airlines suspended its flights to Gilgit and Northern Areas. That was to apparently to keep the airspace free for a retaliation just in case Indian forces launch an attack. Two, Nawaz Sharif spoke to the Pakistan Army chief before his address to the UN. And three, India's defence minister Manohar Parrikar said sometimes there is nothing wrong with "knee-jerk reactions".

My doubts are:

- When there is such a public clamour for Indian retaliation, why should India be quiet about this operation, and still take the flak from people for not doing anything?

- If such covert operations can done like this, why couldn't it be done long back; or even as and when it is deemed necessary secretly smash all the terror camps along the LoC? We won't be having this big problem in Jammu and Kashmir in the first place.

Let us wait till something concrete emerges on this.

Book Review: Beyond Love Lines: Do You Know Jeevan Who Loved Nancy? by Krish

The disclaimer is that author, Krishna Raj, is my schoolmate. Last month, we had an alumni meet, and during the event, he got a few copies; and all of them were sold out among the alumni.

The book revolves around the life of Jeevan, who had a crush on his neighbour and childhood friend Nancy. But he reads too much into every action her or absence of it, and mistakes them as love. There are many other characters too who come into the story.

Half way into the book, I realised how apt the title of the book is. The story is not actually about the love/ infatuation of Jeevan and Nancy. It is all about the militant uprisings in Kashmir and how Jeevan as an officer in the Indian Army deals with it. The entire relationship issues of Jeevan and others are narrated as flashback.

The author has done well weave the plot and many subplots, the present and the past, without confusing the reader too much. Probably, at a few places, the flashback portion could have been separated with asterisks, as has been done in a few other places.

The story also juxtaposes the ironic difficulty of Jeevan to deal with emotional turmoils with the life-threatening situations in the valley to which he squares so boldly and effortlessly. The novel is truly all about love lines and what lies beyond them.

I found the initial portions a bit slow and lumbering. The narrative is a very easy one, without heavy literary expressions or syntax. A good start for Krishna with his first book.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Review - Kashmir: The Unwritten History by Christopher Snedden

I have for long been wanting to read this book, since Kashmir issue has intrigued me.

While many divisive problems around the world have either been resolved or are slowly inching towards a solution, this has defied one. Every time someone makes an attempt, ironically, it only seems to get worse.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is not sure of what the Kashmir problem is all about, especially its genesis.

The author, an Australian politico-socio researcher, provides an alternative history of the region.

For example, what is popularly known in India and Pakistan is that it's the raid of Kashmir by Pashtoon tribesmen from Pakistan, immediately after Independence, that forced the Maharaja to join India. But Snedden, with extensive documentation, says there was already widespread discontent in Poonch and Mirpur against the Maharaja.

He also talks about the communal polarisation in areas like Jammu and Poonch.

Besides the anti-British struggle for India's Independence, there was a parallel anti-Maharaja agitation for Kashmir's independence spurred by the sense of Kashmiriyat (Kashmiri pride).

Add to these, the creation of Azad Kashmir.

Given these and many other complex ground realities across the province (a lot of them, not widely known, which the author elucidates very clearly and elaborately), the decision for the Hindu ruler of the Muslim-majority province (to join India or Pakistan) wasn't an easy one. He dithered and dithered; until he had to take a decision, to join India, in October 1947.

This book probably has the most number of appendixes: the entire second half of the book.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

View all my reviews

No degree is better than having one

The controversy over the educational qualification of Union HRD minister Smriti Irani is quite needless. Apparently she hasn't studied beyond Std XII. My take is -- it's good.

It all started with tweets from Madhu Kishwar and Congress spokesman Ajay Makhen, questioning her competence to head the education ministry. And, it backfired, with a barrage of countertweets. Columnist Swapan Dasgupta said: “Someone remind me. Did Rabindranath Tagore go to university? He certainly established one & had enlightened views on education.’’ Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah tweeted: "To say that someone needs to be educated to be HRD Min is like saying one needs to be a pilot for Civil Aviation or a miner for Coal Min".

I wonder when did educational qualification become an imperative to join politics or to become a minister. Not just in politics, elsewhere too everyone is looking beyond degrees. We have infinite examples of under-qualified people doing well, and well-qualified people under-performing.

Let her do her job

As a minister, Smriti and others are more of managers and leaders. What she needs is a good set of advisers. And she should have the will to push the policies that are good for the teachers and the taught, and generally for the educational setup of our country. And for all that, a PhD or an MSc or an MBA is hardly required. In fact, a highly qualified person may prove to be a disadvantage, since he or she won't be able to look beyond his or her field of specialization. Such people very often have a constricted view, while a minister of education of the country should have a very broad view.

Let Smriti be allowed to do her job. If she has come this far, she must be smart enough to figure her way ahead too. If we need to criticize, let us do that for her omissions and commissions as a minister.

(Picture credit: The Hindu)

Terror on peace track: new realities

India’s, or rather South Asia’s, terror tales have turned a new chapter, with the explosions on Samjhauta Express near Panipat late Monday night. For the first time, Pakistanis have died in large number in a terrorist attack on Indian soil.

The current investigations will at some point lead to Pakistan. How Pakistan reacts to this will be of interest. Will there be some difference from the way it reacted to Indian investigators’ findings after the Mumbai blasts?

Post-Samjhauta blasts we have also heard new voices coming out of the Pakistan establishment. One reason is of late Pakistan has also been a victim of terror. India has always been the victim for a good 50-odd years. Probably here we are negotiating an important turn. The way Pakistan approaches terrorism as a victim will be crucial in healing the sore that Kashmir has been.

As the Pakistan establishment reconciles to the new reality – as a victim – India too will have to make changes in its perception of the neighbour. We have been seeing Pakistan merely as a perpetrator of violence in India; as a villain. Are we now seeing Pakistan on our side, as a victim? The current split image is bound to create some confusion.

Pakistan has in the recent past proposed joint fight with India against terrorism. We at that time wondered how that could ever happen. That statement in fact had come out of Pakistan’s realisation of it too being a victim of terror. As Khurshid Mohd Kasuri sits down for talks with Indian leaders in New Delhi today, this issue of joint fight will definitely be mentioned, though it may not be publicly acknowledged.

It is time we broke out of stereotype. Pakistan too is fighting a terror war of its own. And at some point there’s a commonality with the one that India is fighting. Indian diplomats and politicians should capitalise on this new turn of events, push the peace talks on to a wholly new track; that’ll finally help Pakistan turn off the terror tap once and for all.

Where is my Government?

Whenever there is a terrorist attack, the immediate response of the administration is to tighten security all across the nation, especially at key localities and installations.

The drill was gone through after Tuesday's bomb blasts in Mumbai too. So much so, that day before yesterday flights from Delhi were inordinately delayed consequent to unprecedented security checks.

Yesterday, there was a news item on wire services that Delhi airport had returned to normal. It wasn’t clear whether those elaborate preemptive security drills had all been give up. Looked like.

This is classically referred to as ‘knee-jerk reaction’. How absurd it is, if security is tightened only after major attacks, and, presumably, lax at all other times.

What US did; what we did

The explosions in Mumbai were among the worst terrorist attacks in India. True, India has grown up with terrorism. Only difference is, earlier we wept alone; today we have Bush, Blair and the rest of the world to weep along with us.

After 9/11, the US totally overhauled its security apparatus, at the risk of even going overboard. It's better to err on the right side, they thought. Loopholes were plugged. Security drills, in fact, became so invasive that people grumbled at first, but gradually came to terms with their inevitability. The US hasn't slackened one bit since then.

After our 7/11, it's déjà vu. Copy-book, stereotype reactions. Pakistan, SIMI, Lashkar, Kashmir, Nepal, Bangladesh, blame game, the arrests, unearthing of plots and circumstantial evidences... it's the same old stories all over again.

Not quite surprising. Our planning and strategizing aren't so much different from the way we have been trying to remove poverty ever since we got Independence; or the way we have been trying to uplift the downtrodden and discriminated. So clichéd.

When a man-made calamity of this magnitude takes place, besides the relief and succor for the victims, what is of paramount importance is for the Government of India to stamp its authority. There were emergency cabinet meetings and an address to the nation by the PM day before yesterday. With all due respects to the intellectual eminence of Dr Manmohan Singh, I must say that if one watched his body language, it was anything but one that conveyed the Stamp of the State's Authority.

Politics of terror

One reason for this seeming lassitude, perhaps, is a certain amount of weariness brought about by our prolonged exposure to terror of various magnitudes. Lack of civility, discourtesy, rudeness, corruption, constant disruptions to law and order in our society: we are cohabitants of terror.

Among the post-blast stories are how our politicians occupying positions of power have been acquiescing radicalism, militancy and fundamentalism. As shocking as Tuesday's explosions is our governmental inertia. Firstly, political flirtations with fundamentalism have to stop forthwith. A thin stream of oxygen it may be at best, but political nod for violent militancy is what sustains disruptive ideologies.

This is where our pride of being a great democracy falls flat. If you ask anyone why day before yesterday, our former defence minister and present chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Mulayam Singh Yadav exculpated SIMI, that is currently under security official’s scanner, pat comes the reply: for votes. Even if Yadav has his soft corner for the arraigned outfit, doesn't discretion warrant that at least he keep his mouth shut. Quite expectedly, yesterday, he says he never referred to SIMI in that manner.

Our style of bravado

It’s three days since the tragedy. Yet there is no relook at our national security apparatus; no meeting of chief ministers or state police chiefs to review policing methods; no new strategic initiatives to make the common persons’ lives safe; no move to outlaw parties or politicians proclaiming sympathy to terror outfits. (Incidentally, a week or so back, a new hi-tech equipment was installed at Karnataka chief minister's official residence to scan incoming vehicles for explosives.)

It is fine to talk of Pakistan's involvement. We show our bravado by telling Pakistan that we won't talk until they smash the terror network operating there. I don’t think the foreign secretaries’ meeting will take place. That's fine. But that is only a part of the solution. What are we ourselves doing to make our lives safer? Pretty little.

Our intelligence gathering network has to be strengthened and the authority should ruthlessly come down on suspects. SIMI has been implicated but not one person has been charged, much less convicted. Most of our convictions are on confessions rather than incontrovertible evidence. Where are our detectives and undercover agents?
Unless the State exercises its authority in no uncertain manner, chances of luck favouring us always are all too bleak. Pessimistic, perhaps; but realistic, I believe.

How Pak prevails over US

Nearly 73,000 people died in the October 8 earthquake that hit Pak-Kashmir. But terrorism that springs from there is not just alive but retains all its ferocious potency. The Oct 29 triple blasts in Delhi and the Srinagar blast yesterday are ample proof of that. The quiet hope Indians had that the quake would have been a divine retribution has been belied, tragically.

 

Once when India blamed Pakistan, it used to be seen as some sort of a perverted paranoia of blame game. Post 9/11, the world is convinced about Pakistan being a crucible of terror groups, working not just against India but against the world.

 

When you think deeply, you can't but trace it all to Musharraf, very sweet sounding though he is. The only time you feel that the media-savvy general is really interested in dismantling the terror network is when says so. And, he has been saying so for years. Thanks to his excellent communication skills, part of the world still believes that he is genuinely trying to turn off the terror tap -- scores of attacks and hundreds of deaths notwithstanding.

 

The goody-goody image combines very well with a bargaining chip that the general wields quite effectively. It's the self-portrayal of him being the best guarantee against the nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists. "Don't play with me too much. If you harm me, if I am gone, then the nuclear weapons will be in the hands of the terrorists," that's his implicit message to anyone who tries to tell him what to do and what not.

 

This has worked superbly against the US administration. That's Musharraf's victory, and a defeat for Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld etc, which they have failed to notice. And, when the most powerful nation has been won over, what hope do the rest have?

Kashmir quake, a week after

It's a week since the earthquake shattered Kashmir -- the Pak-controlled part taking brunt of it. As this article in Slate "One earthquake, two countries" says: "... natural disasters are also always political. In the case of the South Asian earthquake, it took only a day or two for the disaster to lay bare the political fault lines of the troubled region. Now, as the death toll balloons toward 30,000, and rescuers struggle to get tents and blankets and high-energy biscuits to victims in remote areas, politicians in Delhi, Islamabad, and Washington pick at their own sores."

The temblor also showed so tragically what a waste it is to spend millions a day to maintain this border -- that too a farcical one, for what is seen in the map is not what is on the ground! Indian soldiers cross over the Line of Control (that is the border on the ground, not on the map!) unarmed and help the Pakistani soldiers.

Good. But, such efforts too should also have a ludicrous element attached to it -- someone says Indian troops also helped rebuild Pak bunkers! I wonder who could have made that claim -- it can't be a Pakistani (how can he admit that he let the enemy come in to build his bunker), nor it can be an Indian (how can he admit that he went across to the enemy to build his bunker).

Tragedies can be a catalyst to thawing of frosty relations. But nothing of that is evident here.

Kashmirs united

There is a theory which says Nature wreaks havoc with an intent. Debatable. But if that is so, then yesterday's earthquake seemed to say a lot. It hit the divided Kashmir, and perhaps one way of uniting people. What a way to tell the bickering politicians: if you can't get the people together, I know how to! And how tragically. The toll is more than 18,000. 

Taiwanese leader in China

Times are changing. They are, always, aren't they?

Not just the improbable, but even the impossible happen.

In the far east of the globe, a strange thing is happening. Something that was simply impossible a few years ago. A guy called Lien Chan of Taiwan flew across the Taiwan Strait today to Nanjing, an eastern city of the neighbouring country, China.

Why is it noteworthy? We need to know a bit of history. And, it is simply interesting.

Taiwan and China are bitter enemies; somewhat in the mould of India and Pakistan. The political existence of entire Taiwan island itself is confusing and controversial, like that of Kashmir.

Taiwan first. We begin in 1895 with the defeat of China by Japan. The price: China had to cede Taiwan to Japan. There was resistence in Taiwan to this. But this was quelled by Japanese military which occupied the island. Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan went on till 1945 when Japan was defeated in World War II. After the defeat, Japan agreed to hand over Taiwan to Republic of China.

Now to China, or the Republic of China. It was controlled by the Nationalist Party, which ruled ROC from 1912. In the Chinese Civil War, the Nationalist Party was defeated by the Communists in 1949, and they were driven to Taiwan. The Communists then called China as People's Republic of China. The Nationlists then shifted the capital of ROC from Nanjing to Taipei.

Although Taiwan is practically independent there is utter confusion about its political status. The Nationalists ruled Taiwan with an iron hand from 1949 till 2000, when in elections (following political reform) it was defeated.

The present ruler, Chen Shui-bian, says that Taiwan is already independent. China is angry since it says Taiwan is part of China. Some months back China said it reserved to attack Taiwan if it formally declared independence.

The Nationalists have a different view. They say since they once ruled what is now China, in the long run Taiwan must reunite with China, but not under Communists.

Lien Chan who has gone to China today is the leader of Nationalist Party.

Like our Kashmir issue, the political stand doesn't reflect reality. And, just like our map of Kashmir does not reflect the reality, their maps also doesn't reality. And just like the majority of our people, there too majority of people -- Taiwanese or Chinese -- prefer status quo, and getting on with their lives rather than redrawing boundaries, and shifting citizens' allegiances.

And again, like we are suspecting the intentions of Musharraf, sceptics say China is cosying up to Nationalists to create confusion in Taiwan and gain greater control!

The changed Musharraf

I hated Musharraf. He was the bad neighbour: a cheat of the worst order who sneaked into our territory on the sly, and murdered our people when we challenged him. We shouldn't be having anything to do with him.

But not after 9/11. Musharraf has been incredibly transformed. Whom should I thank I don't know: George Bush, or Osama bin Laden (!), or those guys who tried to attack Indian Parliament on Dec 13, 2001 (three months after 9/11). But, what matters to me is our neighbour has been reformed, at least there is every indication of that.

Bush got Musharraf to dismount Laden tiger, and it looks like he is dismounting the Kashmir tiger too.

Ever since 9/11, with a "we- told- you- so" refrain Indian political leadership has been educating the US administration on the need to reform the Pak general. Finally, the US learnt it, paying a heavy price. Reform-Musharraf has been a slow process over the last 3 to 4 years. The results are showing, slowly but surely. It's not yet time to celebrate, though.

The change was all too apparent during Musharraf's Apr 16-18 Delhi visit.

* He used to say solve Kashmir problem first then we will talk anything else. In fact his Kashmir-centric approach was one reason for Indo-Pak talks getting stalled time and again. Now, he agrees with the Indian view point that let Kashmir issue not hold people's lives to ransom. Let life go on.

* He used to talk of a plebiscite to ascertain whether Kashmiris want to be with India or Pakistan. Now he doesn't.

* He used to ask for American mediation. Now he doesn't.

* India wanted the border (the Line of Control - LoC) to be softened. He never agreed. Now he too talks of 'soft border', across which people- to- people interaction can take place.

* He was against bus and train services across divided Kashmir. Musharraf as Pakistan Army Chief engineered the Kargil invasion (in May 1999) a few months after Vajpayee travelled to Lahore from Delhi in a bus (in Feb 1999) for a much-hyped peace summit with then Pak PM Nawaz Sharif. The Kargil invasion was aimed at spiking the fledgling peace initiative. And, Musharraf succeeded. He followed Kargil with attack on J&K Assembly building and then attack on Indian Parliament. But in the meantime, 9/11 too happened. Today, the same Musharraf is a messenger of peace.

* He tacitly backed a military solution. Terrorism was nothing but low-intensity warfare backed by Pakistan army. He used to say terrorism will not stop until the legitimacy of the existence of Jammu & Kashmir was resolved. Now, he says Kashmir can't have a military solution. He even has abandoned what he used to call "active diplomacy" to resolve the issue!

* Today in Manila, he said Pakistan will never allow terrorists to attack India. Implicit in this is the admission that Pakistan did engineer terrorist attacks in India.

* Since Musharraf never recognised Jammu and Kashmir, he used to support Hurriyat Conference as the representaives of Kashmiris. And, he used to ask for trilateral (India, Pakistan and Kashmiris) talks. India never agreed. Now, in an interview with Pak journalists he says big problems like border issue should be left to national leaders, and local leaders, like Hurriyat, should join their respective national side.

Dramatic turnabout by the general. So far so good. Now, let us hope he will deliver too.

The world has seen many, many changes. For example, did anyone ever think that a giant like USSR (which gave the US the shivers) will disintegrate? There are so many more. So, let us not rule out a solution to Kashmir problem. If not today, may be tomorrow.

When the collapse of USSR was being plotted in US-Soviet summits in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, President Ronald Reagan referring to his Soviet counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev, had said: Let's trust him, but let's also verify.

Same holds good here too.

The Kashmir debate

What a time to have a debate on Kashmir! Musharraf is in Delhi. And today, Sunday Times of India has published the findings of a survey which says most people feel that we should get on with ground reality by accepting the Line of Control as the actual border.

One of my friends pointing to the Times: Which side are you on?

I: On the side of those who want LoC (Line of Control) as the border.

Friend: What a stupid idea it is!

I: It's not stupid. It's the only practical solution.

Friend: You mean just give to Pakistan what is actually our land?

I: We aren't giving up any land, we are only giving up a claim; of course with Pakistan also giving up its claim on Indian terrority .

Friend: How do you say that? The LoC is many kilometres within the Indian border... PoK is the area captured by Pakistan. Shouldn't we get that back?

I: Similarly, remember, Pakistan also feels that the Muslim-majority areas in Jammu and Kashmir should be with Pakistan, and that India is wrongly holding to it with the help of its troops...

Friend: Okay...

I: ... See... There is no border actually. What you are saying as border, that is what we see in our (Indian) maps as border with Pakistan is actually well inside Pakistan. It's only an imaginary border, a line showing our claim, that doesn't reflect the rearlity. The reality is the LoC. Their land (what for us is Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) is shown as part of India, while in reality for all these decades, it is a Pakistan-administered territory.

Friend: You mean to say...

I: ... I mean to say there is actually no border issue. It's just a theoretical claim that India and Pakistan are making. Just stop talking about this claim, the problem is solved... It's just that simple...

Friend: (laughs)

I: See, Muzaffarabad is in Pakistan, but our map shows it as in India. Srinagar is in India, but Pakistan says it should actually be with Pakistan (that is why Musharraf supported terrorists to free Kashmir from Indian troops.) That is it... The dispute is in the claims that the two countries are making. And all the problems like terrorism is stemming out of the claims.

Friend: We should have made sure PoK became part of India..

I: Yea, that is what Pakistan was also saying, make sure Indian Kashmir becomes a part of Pakistan! Now, how do you do that? Get the lakhs of people living there disenfranchised as Pak citizens and make them Indian citizens? And, similarly get Indian Kashmiris converted as Pakistan citizens? Do you really think it is so easy to do all that?

See, when the war ended with a ceasefire, the respective positions of Indian and Pakistani troops at that time were agreed upon as the Line of Control. Neither India nor Pakistan agreed to that line as the border since the claim to each other's land still existed. Still India and Pakistan are not agreeing to it. That is the problem.

On the ground, however, the LoC is functioning as the border, with Indian and Pak troops on either side. Only in the map, and in the minds, a different border exists.

What we should do is: One, our leaders should just stop talking about Kashmir problem. Talk only if there is something about making people's lives better. Actually that is what India has been trying to do. Indian claim on PoK is much less than Pak claim on Indian Kashmir. That is why Indian Kashmir is affected by terrorism, and not PoK. It's Musharraf who is riding the tiger, because he and not India is obsessed with Kashmir. He is finding it difficult to dismount. With great difficulty he dismounted the Laden tiger, and Musharraf is still alive. He needs to make sure he will be alive if he dismounts the Kashmir tiger too...

Two, after a few years, once the feeling of a "border problem" disappears (as India really hopes it will with lots of people-to-people contacts), quietly change the maps of the two countries to reflect the actual reality, of the areas as they have been for the past many decades.

Dear friend, it's all in the mind. See, Indo-Pak cricket matches were equivalent to a war till just a few years back. Now, these matches are just like any other cricket match. That is all.

One more thing. The so-called border or LoC is just for administrative purposes. Effectively, the border is like that between states within our country, since the people on either sides are all the same. Brother is India, sister is in Pak; or uncle is in Pak and nephew is in India... that sort of situation...

Friend: (Laughs)

I: Let the people mix freely. Let more Indian movies be shown in Pak and Pak movies in India, let each country get more access to things in the other country, more of imports and exports.... the border will matter lesser and lesser. Our lives become more meaningful.

And, soon we will realise that there is actually no need to spend some Rs 500 crores or so every day to maintain Indian troops on Siachin, and Pakistan will realise that is there is no need to run terrorist training camps!

(Our debate ended since it was time up for my friend to leave)

Musharraf, any hopes?

After saying that the cross-border bus service doesn't mean much and it is no substitute for an actual solution to the Kashmir problem, Musharraf has said that more such buses could lead to a soft border. And, like an echo, here in India, foreign minister Natwar Singh has said that we heading towards a situation where borders have begun to matter less and less.

Musharraf arrives in India tomorrow. As is his wont, he will be upto some theatrical performance, a la the meeting with editors during his last visit in 2001. This time too he is meeting editors, before he leaves.

All said and done, we have to appreciate his ability to force issues, strategically plan moves and excute them with panache.

Let's do a China with Pak

During the visit of Chinese PM Wen Jiabao, India and China agreed to forget all border disputes by agreeing to staus quo. Basically, saying, "You keep what you have, I keep what I have." As an indication, the PM presented to our PM, a new Chinese map, which for the first time showed Sikkim as part of India.

Now, why can't we adopt the same formula with Pakistan? The status quo solution or the one of turning LoC into border, is the most sensible solution.

The logic is simple. One, that is the reality. Two, when India won't give up what it has, and Pakistan won't give up what it has: the most sensible thing to do is to give up the demand itself!

Let India keep what it has of Kashmir, and Pakistan keep what it has of Kashmir, and let's (at least now) get on with LIFE. Now that there is a train and a bus too.

Ariel Sharon and The Kashmir Bus

I know there is no connection between the two. But the passing of Sharon’s Bill on troop pullout from Gaza (hardly any mention in Indian media) and the heartening progress in Indo-Pak talks (covered quite prominently) have happened too close to avoid finding some commonality between the two.

Sharon is a hardliner. He was the one accused to of stoking the flames of intifada after his controversial visit to Temple Mount some years back. He is the one who would have cared two hoots for the welfare of the Palestinians. He deeply wished that Yasser Arafat would die. He would have openly assassinated Arafat had not US and Europe dissuaded him from doing so. Not surprisingly, when Arafat died, rumours were afloat that Israel had poisoned him.

It is a different Sharon today. May be because his hated enemy Arafat is no longer around. He is so much changed that the same Sharon is facing death threats from Jewish hardliners for his troop withdrawal plan. He is so besieged by security that he is hardly visible in public. People are drawing a parallel with the time a decade back when Yitzak Rabin was shot dead for his peace overtures.

Ceasefire, and now the pullout: some hope. But will the hardliners go away?

That is the same question we need to ask in Kashmir too. A bus service between the two Kashmirs exclusively for people of the region will start rolling next month. India and Pak are said to have made a lot of compromises in agreeing to the deal; so much so that the two nations clarified that the new development is without prejudice to stated positions on Kashmir.

I only hope and pray that hardliners will see reason, and not derail whatever little progress is being achieved for a peaceful world: be it in West Asia or Indian Subcontinent.

Life after Arafat

 

It's a few days since Yasser Arafat died. Will now Middle East be different? I doubt. Because for Israel, Arafat was more of an excuse than a real hurdle. It cuts the other way too. For Palestinians, Sharon was more of an excuse. To Sharon's credit we must say this radical, dared to announce pullout from West Bank and Gaza. But Palestinians want the wall removed. When neither refuse to budge, how can there be a foward movement. There is this golden rule in diplomacy: be ready to take one step back, so you can take two steps forward.

 

Unless the extremists retreat and let the moderates take control, nothing will change. Extremism is like a tiger. Once you mount, you can't get off; and even if you manage dismount alive, no one will believe you. This is as much true of Middle East as Kashmir, Ireland or the Basque region.