The joint statement at Sharm-el-Sheikh continues to cause uproar. With opposition parties reduced to the status of passive bystanders, do not have anything worthwhile to do. Being unemployed, they were all eager to grab an opportunity to justify their existence. The joint statement was a true opportunity for them to grab.
What followed was a highly entertaining drama in Parliament, interesting enough to make the TRP rating of Lok Sabha TV and Doordarshan go way beyond that of saas bahu channels. People having no knowledge of history and geography jumped into the fray to give lectures on those subjects. Sharad Yadav made a very fierce speech arguing that Balochistan was the place where the Frontier Gandhi Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan hailed from. He was convinced that Balochistan was a term to be used interchangeably with Pakhtunistan. He did not fail to derive a personal mileage by saying that it was he who had first felicitated Frontier Gandhi when he came to India. Politicians don't give up easily. When other MP's made a desperate attempt to correct him, he would not bulge. Perhaps he did not realise that Balochistan is a different province, and Frontier Gandhi lived in Frontier, not in Pakhtunistan. Even if he realised, he tried to defend his knowledge of geography by asserting that, it is one and the same things, Balochistan is not far from NWFP. Well, he may be right on that! Gujarat is not far from Maharashtra; Pakistan is not far from India, and India is not far from Bangladesh!
Fierce and eloquent speeches by the Yadavs and others were responded to by the Prime Minister who preferred to go with a pre-prepared ( and madam-approved) speech. He could not afford to take a chance at this juncture. He defended the joint statement. For the first time, Pakistan is co-operating with India in investigation, Pakistan is trying to mend its ways, and no mistake has been made in keeping the Mumbai terror attack issue aside , and signing the agreement.
The PM is one of the most sincere PM's India has had. He is honest, sincere, and dedicated. He has no personal agenda. He means business. While he happens to be the most educated head of any State in the world, who is much respected the world over for his competence, what he lacks is rhetoric. In the Parliament, it is the gift of gab that matters, your ability to win your opponents by throwing out verbal ammunition over them. The PM fairs miserably in this WWF match. His competence and acumen notwithstanding.
The PM should have told the House that, every statesman has his way of handling the situation, this is his way, and it is premature to judge it my mere documentation. Ably drafted and carefully worded documents have failed to prevent wars. Poorly worded documents likewise, do not mean that India has succumbed to Pakistan's plans. We need to build goodwill between the nations; building goodwill requires intent, and a clean heart. A microscopic analysis of i's and t's on the document will not take us far. We have been fighting for years, and this has been grossly counterproductive for both nations. It is time we shed our differences and begin to be good neighbours.
Dr. Tejinder Singh Rawal
tsrawal@gmail.com
