Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Safe passage
The Vajpayee government has figured out that the best way to ensure that Fernandes keeps mum about the Kargil conflict is to keep him from temptation. After ministerial meetings at the Prime Minister8217;s Office in South Block, Fernandes no longer walks out from the main PMO entrance where a phalanx of cameramen and journalists wait for a soundbite. A special route within South Block has been charted out for him. The Defence Minister is escorted through a maze of corridors from the PMO to the Ministry of External Affairs to his office in the Defence Ministry, which is at the far end of the same secretariat block.
Nationality test
Of late all sorts of litmus tests are being mooted as proof of a person8217;s true nationality. Narendra Modi of the BJP offered the extraordinary definition of a true Bharatiyanari as one who observes karva chauth. Apart from the fact that karva chauth is observed only in some parts of north India, his remark implies that only those who follow Hindurituals are true Indians.
The same warped thinking perhaps prompted Rajiv Gandhi to underplay the Parsi blood on his father8217;s side. It explains why the Gandhi family still wears the sacred Brahminical thread on ceremonial occasions and frequents temples. Sonia, while resuming the post of Congress president, had a conspicuous vermilion puja thread tied around her wrist.
While the view that Hindus are somehow more Indian than others is hopefully a minority one, it is generally believed that anyone who fires off crackers to celebrate a Pakistani victory after an India-Pakistan cricket match is a traitor. If this is the case, one wonders what the phlegmatic Brits thought of the behaviour of the hordes of NRIs 8212; you can easily spot the difference between a genuine desi and his foreign-born counterpart by the heavy make-up and the bright colours and tight fit of the clothes 8212; during the cricket match between India and England at Birmingham. The NRIs were not only cheering India rather than their adoptedcountry, some had even draped themselves in the tricolour.
Statistical error
Just how many of the adversary8217;s men have actually been killed in combat in Kargil is unclear. A Defence Ministry spokesman claimed on May 26 that 160 intruders and two Pakistani regulars had died in action. On May 28 the figure released was 300 to 400 intruders killed. On June 1, the government claimed that 329 intruders were believed to have been eliminated, but on June 8 the official figure of Pakistani armymen killed was down to 221.
If the armed forces briefings are to be taken seriously the spokesmen should learn to be consistent while addressing alert Indian and foreign journalists.Another curious statement by the Army is that the reason for a lack of photographic evidence of enemy corpses is that the Pakistanis are transporting the bodies across the LoC. Considering that it takes at least four men to carry a body down a steep mountain, do the Pakistanis really have the manpower to undertake this exerciseat that height while being shelled by the Indians.
Rediscovering Rao
After ostracising P.V. Narasimha Rao for years, Congressmen are suddenly eager to consult him on party matters. Rao8217;s new-found popularity with Sonia loyalists owes to fears that he just might make a statement backing Sharad Pawar, who called on Rao shortly before launching his rebellion. Actually, Rao is believed to have advised Pawar to hold his horses till after the poll. But the fact that Rao did not attend Sonia8217;s re-coronation at the Talkatora Gardens, claiming ill-health, is a matter of concern.
The Congress periodical Sandesh dug up an old speech of Rao8217;s on grassroots democracy and published it prominently. More significantly, longtime Rao-baiter Arjun Singh has suddenly discovered the merits of Rao8217;s contributions as HRD minister in Rajiv Gandhi8217;s cabinet and written an article in praise of it.
Congressmen are not the only ones soliciting Rao8217;s advice. Three Delhi-based ambassadors called on him to discuss theKargil situation. Actually, Rao8217;s pet project at the moment has nothing to do with politics. He wants to hold a review session with NGOs and bureaucrats to revive the rural development programme conceived by him as Prime Minister, for which Rs 30,000 crore was allocated in the Five Year Plan, but of which almost nothing has been spent.
Territorial invasion
Even with a war-like situation, Defence Minister George Fernandes finds time to meddle in the affairs of his alliance partners. Naveen Patnaik is upset because Fernandes has been wooing his disaffected colleagues in the BJD, suggesting that they can dump Patnaik and use the Samata party platform to fight the elections.
After Fernandes was told to keep out of Orissa he focused on Haryana and upset Bansi Lal and his son Surinder by trying to persuade HVP MLAs to defect to Om Prakash Chautala8217;s Lok Dal. Fernandes admits that he wants to extend his party8217;s hegemony beyond Bihar. Small wonder that many of the government8217;s allies prefer thatFernandes stay on as Defence Minister. Out of office, they fear, he would create more mischief for them.
