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'India cannot allow ethnic self-determination anywhere'
E-mail from readers the world over
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Sat, 26 Jun 1999 11:00:47 -0700 While a lot of people went about bashing George Fernandes for stating that China is enemy no 1 last year, he was probably right. The problem is that China has an advantage; it need not directly interfere with India. All that it does is to keep rogue Pakistan equipped whose only pastime is to create trouble within India. Over the years, China consistently armed and supplied latest weapons to Pakistan. And, Pak uses them against India, or keeps them ready for a chance to use them. Despite all friendship statements that India and China recite, we still need to be very cautious with China. It is just not dependable enough. Moreover, unlike Pakistan which basically has a nuisance value, China is a much bigger threat. They can ruin India without ever raising a gun. It is important to note that we buy our weapons from countries which have no stated enmity with Pakistan, whereas Pakistan buys its weapons from the countries which -- for one reason or the other -- are not very kindly disposed towards India. Hope we do not run into another 1962 situation in the future. Uday
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Sat, 26 Jun 1999 13:12:52 -0500 It is interesting and painful to listen to the emotional pourings from both Indian and Pakistani citizens on the Kashmiri crisis. But what about the Kashmiri people and their aspirations? Why no one cares to mention about what Kashmiris want? I would like to know whether Kashmiris are longing to unite like the divided German people had been? Kumar S
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Sat, 26 Jun 1999 12:03:35 -0700 I am shocked and surprised that the most intelligent of people like Chidambaram are using this event to gain political capital. We are all ashamed that Chidamabaram of all people has made this statement. Has Chidambaram made a single statement yet praising the army for its efforts in Kargil? Does he realise the affect statements like these will have on the morale of the Indian Army and Air Force? As an Indian I am hanging my head in shame at the attitude that all political parties are taking at this hour of crisis. A couple of days ago after the BJP had withdrawn support to the Bansi Lal government, Pranab Mukherjee was being questioned on whether the Congress would bail out the government. To which Pranab Mukherjee had laughed a meaningful, almost cruel smile. What makes you laugh when a government falls Mr Mukherjee? Is it funny that a government has fallen and there is political instability? All politicians in India today are an utter disgrace to India, indeed to mankind.
S Shankar
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Sat, 26 Jun 1999 18:20:43 -0400 India should not accept the safe passage request from America. So many of our soldiers have died in this battle and their death should not be in vain. There is no question of bailing out Nawaz Sharief and Pakistan. They set out on this foolish misadventure and they need to pay a price for it. The Pakistani troops (mercenaries as they have been lying to the world) should surrender and Pakistan must agree to abide by the LOC. Ramya
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Sat, 26 Jun 1999 22:13:27 EDT Mian's heart is in the right place -- this madness has got to end. Too many people in South Asia tragically make do without the basics everyday for us to be throwing away our resources on thousand-dollar shells every minute of every day. However, he betrays a sense of unreality when he advocates 'self-determination' for the Kashmiris. Can Pakistan allow self-determination for sections of its population? It would disintegrate overnight. Even a stable and rich country like the USA cannot allow such a farce in, say, Texas or California -- these states would certainly become some of the richest independent, Latin-speaking countries in the world if this were allowed. Likewise, India cannot allow ethnic self-determination anywhere within its borders and in fact, should discourage this in Pakistan itself or anywhere else in the region. There are too many conflicting interests involved that do not mesh with the higher, long-term regional interest. We cannot allow the Balkanisation of South Asia at any cost. The truth of this will become painfully apparent as the Kosovo situation unfolds in the coming years. The UN resolutions of 1948-49 on Kashmir were passed by a tired world and an infant UN in the days when 'trouble' at school meant being caught smoking in the restroom, not rape and murder, which is the current definition. Further, the very basis for 'Kashmiri independence' based on its Muslim population is totally bogus. India, sans even Kashmir, has a much larger Muslim population than Pakistan. And this is a population made up of Imams who have been outraged enough by Pakistan's barbarity that they have demanded to be sent to Kargil to kill the invaders who they say have desecrated the tenets of Islam. And the Captain Haneefuddins who have ferociously and heroically inflicted mortal damage on the enemy before offering the supreme sacrifice for which they will be remembered for generations with love and gratitude. Our top civil, political, scientific and military ranks are filled with outstanding Muslims. Bottom line: the sheer magnitude of the deception, treachery and reckless brinkmanship perpetrated by Pakistan in Kashmir, not just against India but against the entire world, demands a brutal and punishing response. We cannot afford to go through this again. The pain must be lasting and telling. The blood of our jawans demands this.
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Sun, 27 Jun 1999 22:27:58 +0530 Zia says it all when he mentions that, "There is no denying that the crisis in Kargil is a consequence of Pakistan's policy of brinkmanship in Kashmir. Pakistan leaders have done this before..." So what else can we expect -- that Pakis are willing to use their nukes first? India's consistent line has been of no first use. Zia warns Vajpayee not to point a finger at Pakistan -- as if Vajpayee has gone about physically pointing his forefinger at Pakistan, without realising that three of his fingers point back at him. What rot. We should not defend our borders as they comprise mountains ... etc. which no one has any use of. Today mountain tops, tomorrow the valley eh! Zia go and persuade your belligerent leaders how to initiate discussions, after getting out of Kargil.
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Sun, 27 Jun 1999 09:51:39 +0700 Having realised India is too huge a power to take on militarily, Pakistan has been toying with the idea of weakening India internally. To do so, it has been supporting terrorist activities in India through its agency the ISI. This is a common knowledge to all Indians. Having known this, why is India still nabbing ISI agents, interrogating, some escaping and some making way for more of the agents to come in and put the nation and citizens to stress and insecurity? Common sense only says India has to create a powerful agency to counter the menace of the ISI and should go on hot pursuit to eliminate the very last of the ISI agents from the Indian soil so that the internal terrorists groups do not get nurtured and let the home ministry deal with them. Unless and until this is done, there seems no other solution as our policing system and judiciary system are weak and slow and this benefit should not be passed on to subvertors and terrorists. Suresh Ramasami
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Sat, 26 Jun 1999 22:53:08 EDT This is what I too was expecting to bring an end to this current intrusion. Both sides have to show their people that they won from these negotiations. The problem will be solved for the time being. From now onwards both India and Pakistan will increases their defence budget The same problem will once again comes up. One day we will destroy each other. Then these companies will look for some other country for their market. G Kandasamy
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Sat, 26 Jun 1999 22:57:19 -0400 Good to see India and US moving together. I sincerely hope for a long term relationship in the coming years. On the other hand how India is going to handle further trouble from Pakistani infiltrators remains a big question. Balamurali G
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Sun, 27 Jun 1999 09:40:37 +0400 I wish our political leaders do not stoop so low that they start questioning the patriotism of any citizen. Questioning one's patriotism is a very serious thing, and should never be taken in lighter vein. One can question competence and handling of the affairs by Fernandes, but questioning the loyalty and particularly by a person of Chidambaram standing and of Fernandes' stature should be done with utter care. Political differences and compulsions should not be blind to such an extent.
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Sun, 27 Jun 1999 09:35:08 -0400 My point of view is that the government has absolutely no right to discuss any proposal for the safe exit to intruders. It is upto the soldiers who risk their lives on the front. Any peace talk with Pakistan should have these four points in it to make it acceptable to India and in boosting the moral of the defence forces.
1. Pakistan should publicly apologise in writing to India in the UN and all
international forums for its unlawful and inhumane activities.
Jayant Rakhonde
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Sun, 27 Jun 1999 15:20:37 -0400 The IMF disbursed the last instalment of $ 51 million on May 24, which evoked criticism. "Uninterrupted economic assistance during a crisis of this magnitude subsidises military adventurism," remarked well-known South Asia expert Selig Harrison in a recent article. I would like to sarcastically comment that the IMF instead of being International Monetary Fund, will soon be dubbed as "International Militancy Funding".
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Sun, 27 Jun 1999 15:38:26 -0400 It may be a poor suggestion from the wrong person, but let me still try. It seems, the problem with the air strikes is mainly that by the time the follow up ground action takes place, the enemy is back on its heels. Well, why not use something that can keep the influence of the air strikes on for hours after the air strikes have taken place? Something that can cause like a raging fire in the entire air-struck region for many hours. A version of the napalm bomb or just dropping some good old kerosene followed by napalm or something. It can't be that difficult to figure a way out. Navin Khadiya
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Sun, 27 Jun 1999 19:54:47 -0400 I have been following the Kargil conflict and I do not know if anybody has thought of the US being the trouble-maker here. Why I say this is that the US has for long wanted a leg-room/base in South Asia so as to be close to both Russia and China. With the decline of Afghanistan and no room there, the US may have told Pakistan to first infiltrate, up the rhetoric in a slow manner, then finally decide that as a responsible power, they need to control the situation. We could well see the placement of UN/NATO troops coming into Kashmir. This will easily be followed by other economic benefits for the US/allies and also a firm grip in the only region on the planet where they do not have a military base. Why Pakistan is playing along is because it will give them their first victory in placing Kashmir under third party mediation. Also there is also a effective way of monitoring India for which they need to spend less resources. In fact, the more I think of this line, the more I get convinced, especially with recent events. Ranjit
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Sun, 27 Jun 1999 21:35:18 -0700 I read your column and agree that the war between the two countries will be horrible, but you know in our subcontinent people do not think like you and me. I was a lawyer in Pakistan and now an immigrant in USA. When I was in Pakistan I saw many families with no male members, the women cultivated agriculture lands etc. No one listened to my advice for any agreement to solve the problem. The only thing they told me was that they would seek revenge once out of jail. Though I did not visit India, I think we are the same kind of people. We cannot solve the Kashmir problem by sitting across a table because our people do not accept defeat. But you are right. At this time both the countries have very intelligent prime ministers. Unfortunately they have their own problems and cannot take a brave like step. In my opinion, India is a big country and it should take the first step to solve this problem. India and Pakistan should both leave Kashmir and let the Kashmiris decide their future. India can impose a condition that the referendum should be done after one year or five years, until then the armies of both countries should stay in Kashmir. During that period a united assembly can be elected to work jointly for Indian and Pakistani Kashmir, and a joint commission of India and Pakistan can observe the election of that joint assembly. Please do something to save the people of India and Pakistan from disaster. Ali Sajid
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