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'Vajpayee et al, are behaving like the Indian version of 'The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight'
E-mail from readers the world over
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Sun, 06 Jun 1999 12:10:17 -0700 I think the government's decision on not to engage in talks with Sartaz Aziz is absolutely correct and essential. I support their decision based on the following observations. First and foremost I feel Kargil is totally India's internal matter. Even Pakistani officials claim they are not involved in the Kargil affair and that it is in Indian territory. This justifies it as India's internal problem. I cannot understand why Sartaj Aziz wants to come to India to defuse tensions. What does Pakistan think is the cause for tensions? Does it indirectly mean that Pakistan is admitting its involvement in the current crisis? In that case let Pakistan admit it openly. I believe India should never talk with Pakistan until they admit their unwarranted total military involvement. If they admit to this, of course, we must agree to talks for reducing tension between the two countries. In that case it is worth trying for a dialogue. Otherwise, Pakistan has no right to talk about India's internal affairs. Talking with Pakistan at this juncture means a victory for Pakistani intelligence. That way we are letting them internationalise the Kashmir issue. It also means that India admits that Kashmir does not belong to India. It shows the weakness of Indians which will encourage Pakistan to make another attempt. If Pakistan admits its involvement openly then India must make sure that it pulls back its military forces, along with the Pakistan trained Kashmiri and Afghan terrorists. Not only this, Pakistan must ensure that they will not make another attempt. Also based on the previous Hindi-Chini bhai bhai experience and the current bus diplomacy, India should be very careful in handling all their neighbours, especially Pakistan and China.
Renukswamy G Bidnurmath
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Mon, 07 Jun 1999 09:33:53 +0530 I am just another Indian, writing to tell our armed forces that we are with them, and wish them all the best.
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Mon, 7 Jun 1999 10:27:53 -0700 For 51 long years Pakistan has been a thorn in India's side and the Kargil bloodshed proves that Pakistan has no intention of changing this wretched state of affairs. All the Indian politicians who went to Lahore, recited Urdu couplets and vouched for the good intentions of Pakistan -- have a lot to answer for. The mounting losses suffered by the Indian armed forces makes me seethe with fury at Pakistan's treachery. Joachim Fernandes
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Sun, 06 Jun 1999 15:48:23 +0400 As per newspaper reports, another 1,300 infiltrators are getting ready in camps run by Pakistan. Hence even if infiltrators withdrew now, it will only be to return another day to catch us unawares. That is obviously the advantage of low intensity warfare. Hence an all-out war with Pakistan will be the only long term solution for India. If our leaders had any sense then we should have done it during 1977 to 1980 when Jimmy Carter was the US president.
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Fri, 04 Jun 1999 10:53:51 -0700 I fully agree with Chindu Sreedharan on the need for having good PR (along with the war). I would like to point out with deep regret about the propaganda the Pakis are carry out against India with respect to the situation in Kargil. What is the ministry of external affairs/defence doing to counter this propaganda? I think we should publicise the reports/photos about the gruesome death of our army pilots to the world media. We should show the pictures about the death of mercenaries, how they are armed etc to the international media. Everyone is concerned that we are not doing anything to counter the Paki propaganda. We should also show the media the identification recovered from the Paki soldiers who were killed and then returned to Pakistan. I only saw a small news item about returning Paki soldiers to Pakistan, whereas the news of the release of Flight Lieutenant Nachiketa was given more importance all over. This is a big media score for Pakistan. And to add the fact that the defence minister proclaimed of a "free passage! I have been deeply frustrated by this. Bhavesh Gosar
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4 Jun 1999 11:56:58 -0700 Your article though on target actually only highlights a much deeper malaise in the Indian system of governance. Information is the single most precious commodity that gives the ruler power over the ruled; and in the Indian context it is zealously guarded. Your article only highlights the need to have solid legislation that guarantees the common citizen (for who's supposed good the government exists anyway !) right to information. Gaurav Pal
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Fri, 04 Jun 1999 16:31:04 -0500 It is easy to criticise in hindsight. Also nobody outside India worries about the PR war. What is important is that the foreign governments know the truth and I think the government has done a good job about it. Through them the media abroad picks up the cue. Give the government a break!
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Sat, 05 Jun 1999 01:07:10 -0400 I want to congratulate the general on his statements. Particularly the fact that no Sikh militant group apologised for the loss of lives they have caused. The rights of the militants are no higher than that of the ordinary citizen. As long as we preserve most generally accepted human rights, anyone who violates the right of the ordinary citizen to live a peaceful life, is a fair target. But my biggest applause is reserved for the general's statement on the '71 war. I was growing up in Kerala then, I was in college. With enthusiasm for solving all the worlds ills running high, I participated in demonstrations for the end of the war. I felt thrilled when Indira Gandhi announced the unilateral cease-fire; at the time I felt it was the 'right' thing to do. In recent years, I have thought this over many, many times. And boy, I was horribly wrong in my youth. The rush to avoid bloodshed in '71 cost us far more in terms of lives and also the effort needed to defend the frontiers. So I was extremely happy to hear the general say we should have pushed on in '71. And on behalf of all misguided youth who clamoured for the war to end soon in '71, my apologies.
Rajeevan Kattil
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Wed, 2 Jun 1999 11:41:45 -0700 (PDT) Hi Saisuresh: You are right in saying that the BJP will be perceived as being long on rhetoric and woefully short on action. This is *one* issue that they keep yapping about day in and day out, that of Pakistan, and guess what they did about it? -- they messed it up! Right now Vajpayee, Advani, Fernandes et al, are behaving like the Indian version of "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight". The longer the conflict lasts, the worse off India will be. And I think Fernandes, for all his stupidity, has already realised that. But the others haven't! All it requires for the militants to come out looking as winners is to extract a heavy price from the Indian armed forces and force a stalemate. And being well-entrenched and well-acclimatised to the high altitudes, they are in just the right position to do it. As for the Indian armed forces, nothing short of a crushing defeat of the militants will be tantamount to a humiliating defeat. Thanks to the bigots in power right now, that is where India seems to be heading. Do you think that these developments could see Vajpayee being shunted out and replaced by the more hawkish Advani? Maybe soon after the elections? Not that it would make any difference to the mess, but then that is something that Indians would only realise maybe ten years down the lane! Sudhi
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Thu, 3 Jun 1999 12:19:06 -0500 Congratulations, Mr Sivaswamy. I have nothing more to add to what you have said, which is a first one for me to admit. If it wasn't Kashmir, it still is a given that the Pakis would still attack India. But let me take this discussion one huge level higher. Have you thought why the Pakis are in such an advanced state? I tell you I do know the answer. In USA, I have seen a great deal of camaraderie between the unsuspecting Indians and the clever Pakis in the form of what is called "South Asian" forums. Thus, you have Indian lawyers, Indian businessmen, Indian doctors, Indian advanced students at Ivy League universities (Like Harvard and MIT) teaming up with their Paki counterparts. What this does is help the Pakis become advanced and assertive, and, unlike the Indians, are quick to help their nation in far more concerted way. Also, in US politics, they are able to help the Paki cause, but the Indians find themselves paralysed by "South Asianist" peace and brotherhood. Don't be fooled by the half-hearted Indian lobbying you might hear about every once in a while. I have told Indian embassy people and consulates to shun organisations with South Asian labels, and work to bolster pure Indian organisations, but they continue to patronise them and thus they actually end up working against the Indian interests. I still recall how heart-wrenching it was for me to hear our then ambassador Siddhartha Shankar Ray the whole evening two years back in Houston telling his audience how wonderful it was for him to grow up in Dhaka when we were all busy taking signatures to send memorandums to senators on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. He did not have a word to say anything that really mattered because he was a guest of the "South Asian Chamber of Commerce." And the next day he comes to a local Gandhi Center, and for no reason says the RSS killed the Mahatma.
We all need to recognise that shunning Pakis is:
Indians should have the Indian Chamber of Commerce, not the South Asian Chamber of Commerce as is now the case in Houston. Can you imagine this? Houston's SACC publicly honoured at one of their gala a Pakistani for helping Kosovar Muslims way before the US started its air strikes? How does it serve Indian interests? The problem is our local ethnic Indian newspapers are at the forefront of promoting South Asianism mainly because they are struggling and want to make the additional buck by selling their two bit papers to Pakis as well, and getting ads from Paki businesses. In my 25 years in the USA, I have noticed that India's worst enemies are these secularist Indians who think they know everything, and are always over-eager to prove their secularism by courting Pakis. Think about it. Pradip Parekh
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Sat, 05 Jun 1999 19:59:45 -0400 Nice write-up Mr Shenoy. To the utmost surprise for Pakistan, every face saving move they are now making is making them fall flat on their faces. If Pakistanis are releasing 109 or so fishermen, its not out of their goodwill gesture, it's because they are trying to use every card in their hands to squirm out of this Kargil misadventure. But stakes are much higher. And I absolutely love it, that Indian government finds it very inconvenient to hold talks with Aziz on June 7th. I think the terms acceptable to India should be, that first you get out of our territory, totally, and absolutely, then we will think about talking. And we should send them a clear message, that "from now on, one more shell across the LOC, one more mercenary across the LoC, and we will rearrange the LoC (As Aziz is not satisfied with the way LoC is defined) all the way at the Coast of Karachi." Neil Razdan
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Sat, 5 Jun 1999 22:19:43 -0400 Still we have patriotism in our people. Saluting the family for their bravery and courage J V Madhavan
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Sun, 6 Jun 1999 17:45:27 +0300 We really pity the young brave soldiers who sacrifice their lives for the benefit of the so called politicians to save the nation. Why not we consider these brave soldiers as the children of the nation and give them all sort of help instead of supporting Sonia at the expense of the poor tax payers, who never get anything in return from the government. Nambath Ramachandran
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Sun, 6 Jun 1999 18:29:48 +0100 It is high time the government and the army realise that its jawans are not cannon fodder. Day after day we read of further casualties of our infantry men. I am a pacifist and I prefer peace -- but in the face of aggression we have to stand firm and defence should be conducted in a manner which sends clear signals to the infiltrators -- no deals, no safe passage, and complete extermination with minimum losses to our own forces. Brutal as it may sound -- this is the only way we can build a credible deterrent -- so that in the future, adventurous militants may think twice before they attack. Why doesn't the government instruct the army to cut off the militants supply route and starve them out? I just cannot see why we need to kill so many of our own when other alternatives are available. We cannot let the militants have any morale victory. K Banerjee
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