Grievous dereliction of duty

By K. Natwar Singh

It goes against my grain to say so, but the melancholy fact is that, while menacing and momentous events endangering our security are unfolding in our neighbourhood, the Prime Minister is laid back, more or less invisible and satisfied with having a part-time External Affairs Minister and part-time Defence Minister. These are important establishments, and they are being ill-served by a Head of Government who considers inactivity a virtue.

Mr. Jaswant Singh's hilarious verbosity and humourless pomposity do no harm. His poor judgment is a national hazard. But, what about Mr. Vajpayee? Does he not comprehend the damage his administrative indifference is doing to the country? Why this reluctance to appoint a Defence Minister? Surely, the Prime Minister needs to get his priorities right.

Let me list Mr. Jaswant Singh's judgmental lapses. He escorted three hardcore terrorists to Kandahar. He glibly announced after the Lahore bus ride in February 1999 that it was a defining moment in Indo-Pakistan relations. Three months later, we had Kargil. He wanted India to sign the CTBT because financial advantages would accrue to us. This was the first time that finance was to be given preference over national security. One telephone call from the bright Ms. Condeleeza Rice and Mr. Jaswant Singh said India supported NMD. Two days later, he had to eat crow in the presence of the Russian Foreign Minister. He made a further turn-around on the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty when he went to Moscow. Early this week, he announced unconditional support for the U.S. following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, even though the Americans had not asked for any help. he changed his tune when some of the NDA Ministers pulled him up for his subservience to Washington. Also the statement of the Congress Working Committee. In that statement, it was made clear that India was a non-aligned country. A coalition Government has no authority to make fundamental changes in India's foreign and defence policies.

The CWC's statement shared the grief of the people and Government of the U.S. It recalled that the Congress had paid a heavy price for its refusal to surrender to unwholesome ideologies and terror tactics. Some 75,000 Indians have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists coming from Pakistan. Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were assassinated by terrorists. We, therefore, know the pain and fully share the grief of the U.S. The Congress would support a global alliance against terrorism. We are not non- aligned when it comes to terrorism. The Congress does not subscribe to the pernicious, half-baked theories of civilisational conflict between Islam and the West. All right- minded Indians hold that the essence of all religions is to promote peace, harmony and goodwill. This is the essence of our pluralistic ethos.

The Vajpayee Government, instead of mouthing cliches, should offer a coherent policy to deal with this crisis. It should work over-time to evolve a national consensus and an international coalition to help the U.S. fight this scourge. Such a strategy should be credible, just, effective, sustainable and defensible in the eyes of law and world opinion.

The Prime Minister should be in touch with Opposition leaders daily. He should be in constant contact with the SAARC leaders. The present crisis affects the entire South Asia region. What happens if Gen. Musharraf is removed? Then, who in Pakistan will have his finger on the nuclear button? This is a matter of supreme concern for us.

It is in India's vital national interest that Pakistan does not become a prey to anarchy and chaos. In spite of Gen. Musharraf's lamentable and disappointing speech on September 19, we should take a long-term view of Indo-Pakistan relations. The Pakistan President is in a very difficult situation. The Taliban is its creation. He now has to turn on them. His country is divided. Had he been a greater man, he would have risen to the occasion and spoken to all the SAARC heads and sought their advice. Instead he fell to the temptation of blaming India for the torment and agony of his country. Pakistan needs a statesman. It has not had one since September 1948, when Mohammed Ali Jinnah died, aged 72.

India's contract is with peace and harmony. Osama bin Laden's with prosletising and hate. He has done enormous damage and has a lot to answer for. But terrorism is not confined to the Al Qaeda - it is a worldwide phenomenon now. The Taliban is known to be flush with drug money. Drugs are now finding their way into several parts of northern India, specially, Kashmir, Punjab and northern Rajasthan. The other danger for India is equally grave. Communalism is a spectre we are only too well acquainted with. The Uttar Pradesh elections are not too far. The Sangh Parivar has a number of political kabbadi teams consisting of dangerous and dedicated frauds, who would be only too ready to stoke the communal fires. The consequences for us would be disastrous. That is reason enough for us to want civic order in Pakistan.

The U.S. is to lift sanctions imposed against India and Pakistan in 1998. The terrorists are directly responsible for this change in American policy, which to begin with was not based on any high-minded ideology or principle. Dictator Musharraf has overnight changed his image in American eyes. And this talk of war, crusade, this inflated rhetoric of ``either you are with us or else'', will, in the long run do our American friends little good. Jingoism of the Kipling kind does not do credit to a great democracy.

Our American friends have our full support, but as friends and well wishers it is incumbent on us to tell them the marks of great leadership are not just courage, energy and rigidity of purpose. These must be combined with a credible pursuit of justice, tempered with humanity.

(The writer is a former Minister of State for External Affairs.)

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