The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Wednesday, September 13, 2000,
Chandigarh, India

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US Diary
Jehad for Pakistan; agony for India
From Hari Jaisingh

NEW YORK, Sept 12 — The Indians in New York and other parts of the world have been reacting sharply to Pakistan’s jehad call in Kashmir and rightly so.

“It is unpardonable. An open invitation to violence and killings in the name of Islam goes against all civilised norms and the world should take due notice of the vicious thoughts propagated officially by the ruling clique in Islamabad”, a seasoned diplomat told me. He was responding to the full page anti-jehad advertisement which appeared in the September 10 issue of the New York Times.

The campaign material, issued on behalf of the people of India (16, Maker Tower, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai 400 005), carries a picture of a 4-year-old horror struck Purnima who cries in agony on seeing the body of her father killed by terrorists at Mirbazar in Anantnag, south of Srinagar, on August 20.

The campaign quoted what Gen Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s military ruler, told the New York Times on June 25, 2000: “These people (the Mujahideens) are not terrorists, they are fighting a jehad.”

The full-page campaign ad provided some shocking figures: “the eight terrorist attacks on innocent civilians across the state of Jammu and Kashmir on 1/2 August 2000, resulting in more than 96 deaths, came on top of 45,697 incidents of Mujahideen violence in Jammu and Kashmir since January 1990, resulting in 8,422 Civilian Indians killed and 11,392 wounded.”

Indeed, “Jehad for Pakistan” has been nothing but a terrible “agony for India!”

The campaign then raises the pertinent question: “How much will be too much for India? You tell us!”

Will they? Why can’t the champions of human rights in the USA speak out more emphatically and decisively? Why doesn’t the conscience of the civilised West prick when innocent Indian civilians get killed by the so called Mujahideen in Kashmir? These heartless killers are mostly foreign mercenaries and fanatics hired by Gen Musharraf and the Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) to spread a reign of terror in Kashmir in the name of Islam and thereby destabilise India.

The democratic world must find a quick answer to these acts of horror.

Those who wish to see this ad campaign can do so on their computers by clicking — www.agonyforindia.com

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There is an interesting message for India’s entertainment industry in the US presidential poll campaign. Vice-President Al Gore and his running mate, Senator Joseph I. Liberman, have came out strongly against the marketing of violent films, recordings and video games which have and adverse effect on children’s behaviour pattern.

In an interview, Mr Gore has said that he would give industry officials six months to “ clean up their acts” and if they fail to respond, they will support “tougher measures to make them accountable”.

The Democratic candidates’ no-nonsense response came in the wake of a trade commission report which criticised the entertainment industry for marketing violent, adult-related entertainment to young people.

I hope Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will take due note of the US commission report and the response of Mr Gore to the media violence and initiate steps to discipline India’s entertainment industry which exploits sex and violence for commercial purposes.

As the US report points out, “despite voluntary rating and labelling systems adopted over the years, the makers of films, recordings and video games routinely adopt marketing strategies to entice young consumers into buying products that the manufacturers themselves consider inappropriate”.

The warning back home is clear. Bollywood mughals, you are warned, courtesy the USA!

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There is a premium on professionalism, work discipline and efficiency in the USA. Take the police in the city of New York. They are physically fit and look really tough. Still, they are very courteous.

“What of our policemen, even our SPG people look baba log (Kids) in front of them”, a journalist friend remarked. This may be uncharitable remark but there is no doubt that the New York policemen look an impressive lot.

It is indeed very creditable the way they managed the traffic and the movement of over 150 world leaders during the Millennium Summit of the United Nations, and that too without causing much inconvenience to the people in the streets.

Policing does not mean bullying people for the VVIPs, as is practised in India. Our police establishment would do well to learn from the three-point message of the New York Police Department: Professionalism, Courtesy and Respect.

Well, be courteous to the people, learn to respect the law and conduct yourself professionally. This will make all the difference in the governance of the country. Indeed, economic and administrative reforms apart, we urgently need police reforms! Well, let them learn from the New York police.

No change in stand on Ayodhya: Vajpayee

NEW YORK, Sept 12 (PTI) — Faced with a barrage of criticism on his description of himself as a “swayamsevak”, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today clarified that he had made the remark in the context of his being a volunteer in the service of India and its people and ruled out any change in the government’s position on the Ayodhya issue.

In a statement clarifying his remarks at Saturday’s function where he shared the platform with VHP leaders, Mr Vajpayee said “the wrong reporting and speculative interpretation of my remarks at the event have, provoked a needless controversy in India.”

Mr Vajpayee said misunderstanding had been created over his use of the term “swayamsevak”.

“I had said at the function that I had come to Staten Island as India’s “pratham sevak” (first servant). I have always considered myself a ‘swayamsevak’ (volunteer) of India and her people, and I shall remain so even after I cease to be the Prime Minister of India,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s remarks had yesterday come under sharp attack from the Congress, Left parties and Indian Union of Muslim League which said they had exposed the “hidden and real” agenda of the BJP.

Mr Vajpayee said there had been “unwarranted interpretation” of his speech linking to the Ayodhya issue which “found no mention in my speech.”

“I had said what we have achieved even without having a majority in Parliament is known to everybody. If we get a two-thirds majority, we shall build “sabke sapno ka Bharat (India of everyone’s dream).”

“The Ayodhya issue is not on the common agenda of the government of the National Democratic Alliance. There is no question of any change in this position,” he said.

PM to undergo knee surgery in India

NEW YORK, Sept 12 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, will undergo surgery for replacement of his left knee on his return home from the current US visit, it was announced here today after a medical examination.

Mr Vajpayee was examined by Dr Chittaranjan S. Ranawat, a renowned orthopaedic surgeon who practices here, last night and he advised the Prime Minister to undergo a knee replacement surgery for the left knee which has troubled him for months.

Dr Ranawat, Director, Orthopaedic Surgery, Centre for Total Joint Replacement, New York, will perform the surgery in India on a date to be decided by Mr Vajpayee.