India's options

Sir, - Ms. Malini Parthasarathy's article ``India's stakes in Sri Lanka's unity'' (TheHindu, May 6) is bold and brilliant in content. It seems the defining moment in Indo-Sri Lankan relationship vis-a-vis the LTTE has arrived. It is time to put apart bickering politics of Tamil chauvinism and look straight into the issues by keeping in focus the stakes that India has in having peace in the neighbourhood and in its own interests in the Indian Ocean zone.

The SOS call from Sri Lanka is perfectly legitimate and it must be noted that the call has been first directed at us - a kind of acknowledgement of our stature in the region. But by shutting the door completely at this hour of crisis in Sri Lanka, we must not regret later that other players such as Pakistan and Israel have set foot in this region with their own interests/agenda. This is not to mean that we must concede Sri Lanka's demand for military help. Instead we can help them in other ways, say, by providing information of movement / entrenchment of troops or the LTTE by using our satellite surveillance system and by giving all possible advice in military expertise and deployment. Added to this is the assistance in diplomatic terms aimed at defusing the crisis and ushering in peace.

We cannot afford to shy away from the crisis by terming it as the internal crisis as there is bound to be and always has been spill-overs in our soil. After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, every dispensation at the Centre seems scared or directionless to take a stance on the Sri Lankan issue and has chosen to leave it to the Tamil Nadu politicians. The present regime must not repeat it but be bold enough to call a spade a spade. The increasing decibel level in pro-LTTE voices must be curbed.

The other task before our government is to stop the bloodshed and encourage the table-solution. If the LTTE supporters in Tamil Nadu can persuade the LTTE to come to the table, they will be long remembered for having contributed to peace in the region.

Jayasree Sarnathan,

Hosur (TN)

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