PM’s warning to Pak couched in poetry

He also struck out at the swadeshi lobby and other opponents of liberalisation by making a strong pitch for economic reforms, describing them as “the need of the hour”. Countering criticism that his Government was succumbing to pressure from US multinationals, he maintained that the perspective of the reforms policy was based “on our own concept”. There was “no scope for either apprehension or fear”, he said.

Pakistan and reforms formed the two main themes of the PM’s speech. He linked them to security and development which he described as India’s imperatives in the present times.

Quoting an Urdu couplet by Sahir Ludhianvi to drive home the message that India was unbreakable, Vajpayee said Kashmir is and will remain an inseparable part of the country.

"Woh Waqt gaya, woh daur gaya; Jab do kaumon ka nara tha; Weh log gaye is dharti se – jinka maksad batwara tha! "Ab ek hain sab Hindustani; Ab ek hain Hindustan! Yeh janle sara jahan!("Gone is that time, gone is that age; when `two nations’ was the slogan; gone are those people whose purpose was partition! One, now, are all Indians; One, now, is India! And let everyone know this!).

“The 21st century does not permit the redrawing of borders either in the name of religion or on the strength of the sword. This is the age for resolving differences, not for prolonging disputes,” he said.

He blamed Pakistan for “torpedoing” the Government’s peace efforts in Kashmir and reiterated his offer to militant groups for talks “within the framework of insaniyat”.

The Prime Minister’s sobre tone is significant in the light of the provocative speeches made in Pakistan yesterday during its Independence Day celebrations. General Musharraf pledged to continue his Government’s support to militancy in Kashmir and Pakistani President Rafiq Tarar warned the international community of a nuclear conflict in the region unless it intervened to resolve the dispute over Kashmir.

The Government’s measured response is seen here as a deliberate strategy to play down the grim picture being painted by Islamabad of an impending nuclear war. Although the BJP and the RSS are getting increasingly restive and demanding the implementation of a policy of “hot pursuit” across the border, the Government itself is being careful not to fall into the trap of the hawks on both sides of the border.

The perception in official circles is that Pakistan will only get more isolated internationally if it continues to raise temperatures over Kashmir. The Government feels that a policy of restraint will ultimately wear down Islamabad and force it to allow militant groups in Kashmir to return to the negotiating table.

While the first part of the PM’s speech concentrated on Pakistan, the second and longer portion was devoted to reforms. Despite the fact that he is facing increasing flak from the RSS and its affiliates for his economic policies, Vajpayee made no bones today about his commitment to the reforms process.

“To reform is to turn the inevitability of change in the direction of progress. To reform is to improve the life of every citizen,” he declared.

Listing the advantages that would accrue to the people through reforms in sectors like power, telecommunications, etc. Vajpayee vowed to double the country’s per capita income in the next ten years.

He appealed to a cross section of people, from farmers to workers to industrialists to the intelligensia, to build a consensus in favour of economic reforms.