Fight against the BJP
A. R. Kanangi
The Afternoon
June 5, 1999
Title: Fight against the BJP
Author: A. R. Kanangi
Publication: The Afternoon
Date: June 5, 1999
There was a bhai-bhai ephoria and India and China swore by panchshila
and declared there would be permanent peace and goodwill between the
two countries. There were friendly exchanges and China went out of
its way to convince Congress leaders -- particularly Jawaharlal Nehru
and Krishna Menon - that it would work for peace.
And even as China was showing warmth towards India and trumpeting
about bhai-bhai rapport, it was quietly making war-like preparations
on the Himalayan border. The Congress leaders were blissfully unaware
of what was going on along the northern border.
And then China struck.
It was an unexpected shock. We could not launch any counter
offensive. China grabbed large areas of Indian territory. We could
do nothing but watch helplessly.
Intelligence failure
It was a clear case of intelligence failure.
Nehru was reportedly crestfallen. There was no mention of
intelligence failure. The Congress government was not charged with
being immature, naive, inexperienced. Nobody said Jawaharlal Nehru
was not fit to govern. There was some criticism against Nehru's close
friend Krishna Menon and that was only because he was seen as
pro-Russia and hostile towards the United States.
It was a Himalayan blunder - the worst case ever of intelligence
failure. The episode revealed the Indian tendency to be naive, to
indulge in wishful thinking.
We lost miles and miles of our territory. It is still in Chinese
hands. If we had recognised what China really is, if we had tak4jn
serious note of Mao's statement about power flowing from the barrel of
a gun, and if we were not naive, China would not have been able to
grab chunks of our territory.
In comparison to the intelligence failure that resulted in loss of
territory, the Kargil episode pales into insignificance. In the first
place, the damage was less. In fact, we will get back our territory.
The Himalayan blunder however has cost us a big loss of territory.
The Congress party leaders are gleefully saying that the Lahore bus
diplomacy has failed. They have displayed a bus carrying the message:
Delhi-Lahore-Kargil. Can there be anything more mean than this? Our
soldiers are engaged in a fierce battle in Kargil. There have been
casualties. The Congress could have at least waited till the Kargil
operation was over. In a critical time like this, the nation should
stand as one man and fight the enemy. Instead of helping to achieve
this objective, the Congress is hitting out at the slightest
provocation, ridiculing the government that is dealing with a war-like
situation and demoralising the army. There is no substance at all in
their criticism but they could have at least waited till it is all
over. It is certain that the operation will be over by the time the
Lok Sabha elections are held and hence they have all the time in the
world to train their guns on the establishment.
There are other glaring instances of intelligence failure.
Our misadventure in Sri Lanka was another case of intelligence
failure.
Evidently we did not have a correct, assessment of the ethnic conflict
in Sri Lanka. We were called upon to fight a war which was not ours
and hence we should have taken all possible care before sending our
army there.
What did the Sri Lanka government want us to do? Exactly what was
their expectations? And what was the combat capability of the LTTE?
Could we defeat them?
We had obviously no proper assessment of the situation. Rajiv Gandhi
who was the prime minister then was wrongly advised by the same
diplomats who are leading the chorus of hostile and mean criticism
against the BJP government.
The final outcome shows us that if we had proper intelligence reports,
we would not have undertaken a war against the Tamils.
We could not beat the Tamils, but we were successful in killing and
wounding many of them. And many of our soldiers were killed and
thousands wounded.
And the most hilarious part was that the Sri Lanka government asked us
to get out. Our army was unwanted. We were clearly unwanted by the
government as well as by the LTTE. We lacked vital information about
the situation prevailing in Sri Lanka. We cut a sorry fl re, we lost
thousands of our men and we lost crores of rupees fighting a war which
was not ours.
The Congress should have got a severe drubbing and daily attacks by
the opposition and the media. There was not however much criticism.
The media today seems to be a lot pro-Congress. Each time a BJP
leader speaks on some aspect or the other of the Kargil operation, the
media distorts the statements, and highlights out-of-con-text points.
It is pertinent to point out that the original sin with regard to the
happenings in Kashmir was committed when after the state acceded to
India, raiders from Pakistan tried to seize our territory. We were
able to beat them back, but we committed a big mistake by agreeing to
a ceasefire as per a U.N. order. We should have pushed the raiders
back and occupied the whole of Kashmir and only after that we should
have stopped the war. Today, thanks to the mistake, part of Kashmir
is occupied by Pakistan.
And diplomats like Natwar Singh and other Congress leaders have the
temerity to talk about lack of experience, maturity etc.
The opposition leaders have evidently a poll strategy. In gaining
poll mileage, they have shown they will stop at nothing. They care a
jot for national interests. They forget the jawan out there requires
a bit of morale boosting. They have launched mean attacks against the
BJP government. They have thrown restraints to the winds. They have
indicated that they are not satisfied with the way the BJP is
conducting the campaign in Kargil.
They have particularly pounced on defence minister George Fernandes.
They are finding fault with whatever he says. They see hidden meaning
in his statements. They misinterpret, distort and try to make out
defence is not in safe hands.
The operation in Kargil is being carried out by the military. Mr.
George Fernandes does not have much say about the military tactics
employed there. A defence minister can only issue an order and
provide all the facilities and equipment etc. The actual fighting is
done by the army commanders. The war in Kargil would have been no
different if the Congress party was in power in Delhi.
Mr. George Fernandes said the Pakistani army was mainly responsible
for the Kargil happening. Immediate reaction; Mr. George Fernandes is
helping the Pakistani President. In Pakistan, the army has always
dominated the scene.
Kargil situation
If the intruders in Kargil want to stop fighting and withdraw, what is
wrong if safe passage is given to them? Do we want to prolong the
conflict, make matters worse and maybe go to war with Pakistan?
Already quite a few soldiers have died on our side and if we can end
it all, would that not be better? Our aim is to clear the area and if
we can accomplish that without shedding more blood, would it not be a
good thing?
And what is more hilarious is the charge that the defence minister has
failed to express sorrow for the slain soldiers. Mr. George Fernandes
has always been a friend of the underdog. In fact he has been a
underdog himself. The army, the ordinary soldier, knows how
sympathetic he is, how aware he is of their problems and needs. Ask
the army folks what they think about him.
And the opposition wants the Rajya Sabha to be convened to discuss the
Kargil situation. What they actually want to do is attack the BIP and
try to tarnish its image. The government held a meeting of
representatives of 38 political parties in the country at which frank
discussions took place. Where is the need for a meeting of the Rajya
Sabha?
It is not difficult to see what the opposition is trying to do. They
have a one-track mind. They are playing a poll game and while they
are throwing mud at the government and making baseless changes,
distorting statements, deriving poll mileage, they are hurting
national interests and impeding our army operations in Kargil.
What they should decide on is a ceasefire - at least until the bloody
campaign is over in Kargil.
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