The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Friday, September 28, 2001, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

M A I L B A G

Terrorism: India will have to find its own answer

This has reference to Mr Hari Jaisingh’s article ‘Perspectives on global terrorism: India will have to find its own answer’ (Sept 21). I fully agree with him that our problem of cross-border terrorism could have been tackled even earlier if our national leadership had been bold, dashing and farsighted enough to foresee the events. But we have failed miserably due to lack of vision and a coherent policy.

We have been facing the problem of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism for the past two decades but our response had been very meek and weak. We always played defensive while Pakistan, the rogue, deserved rough, tough and offensive postures on our part. This made Pakistan more arrogant and demanding. Still we continued to follow the policy of appeasement. Our policy decisions reflected weakness. Our wrong perceptions, distorted vision, miscalculations in our dealing with Pakistan led to our failure. When we tried to bring our grievances to the USA and others, they turned a deaf ear.

However, now when the same terrorist outfits have shaken the USA, it has realised the gravity of this problem. Till now this problem was limited to India; terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir was being called a freedom movement led by freedom fighters. Our stand has now been vindicated. Now the USA is ready to crush the Taliban-engineered terrorism and is seeking our assistance and that of Pakistan.

But who will crush terrorism? The USA saysrooting out global terrorism includes Kashmir also, yet we can’t depend on them because they are unreliable friends. In many parts of the world, the USA has fed and fuelled rogues and terrorist outfits to establish its hegemony over world affairs. Its track record is dismal. Now it has been bitten by the same snake whom it had been feeding till now. For India, , the attacks in New York and Washington are not an occasion for jubilation but introspection. But for our problem in the Kashmir valley, we shall have to show guts and adopt an offensive policy to flush out terrorists from our soil. Pakistan should be taught a lesson because our gentlemanliness has been taken as weakness.

Our present leadership must not belie our expectations. India must demonstrate stamina, grit and political will to take the known villains head on. No wavering in this hour of crisis. It is a matter of now or never. The whole nation will stand behind the leadership which stands for result-oriented action. We need to behave as a brave nation. We need to act and not merely react afterwards.

K. L. BATRA, Yamunanagar

BELLIGERENT NEIGHBOUR: Mr Hari Jaisingh rightly asserts that India will have to fight its own battle against terrorism. No doubt, Pakistan has promised to lend its logistic support to the US’ war against global terrorism. But the nature and extent of this support remains to be seen, as the belligerent neighbour is yet to relent in its proxy war against India in Kashmir. Besides, while it is interpreting terrorism in Kashmir as ‘jehad’ against India, it describes the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington as acts of heinous crime against humanity.

Again, our past experience with the US on the issues related to terrorism does not allow us to readily acknowledge Mr Bush as our Messiah. The mantle of a crusader that he has lately donned is intended to enlist the support of the world community, including of course, the Indians for its agenda on Afghanistan.

We need to gear up our own crusade against terrorism. As Mr Jaisingh would have it, we have every reason to launch our major offensive against terrorists and their training camps across the border, shedding at the same time our obsession for narrow political gains as also our usual tendency to buckle under pressure.

VIRENDRA GOSAIN, Batala

LESSON FOR INDIA: I offer my sincere condolences to the American public for what the terrorists have done to them. The reaction with which President Bush has acted is but natural and on most expected lines. In fact had he not acted the way he has, history would have called him a coward and impotent president. There lies a lesson for Indians in particular. For the last ten years or so, terrorists had been inflicting one major injury after another on us and what have we done about it. We just cry in various forums and then keep quiet.

Just as President Bush has the right to strike at the terrorist bases, India also has the right to strike at terrorist bases wherever they are — whether in Pakistan, Afghanistan or anywhere else. But alas, we have never reacted the way they have. Though enough opportunity existed in 1947, 1965 and again in 1972, these were wasted out completely and now we are stuck with a “naasur”.

It seems from various statements issued by our Defence Minister that he is expecting the USA to fight our war to root out terrorism, but it is not going to happen. We have to fight our own war.

Lieut-Col S.S. KATHURIA (retd), Ludhiana

NOT AN EASY TASK: Terrorism has spread its tentacles all over the world. India has been facing the pangs of terrorism for over 20 years. Though a rogue state, America has all along considered Pakistan its trusted ally and friend. India’s cries for help to the world — more so to the United States — to curb Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir valley have gone unheeded.

Strangely, now when the major cities of America were struck by the hijacked planes used by the flying squads of terrorists on a Black Tuesday, the entire world was stirred in panic and agony, and rallied around the US. Elimination of terrorism will not be an easy task. The problem can be tackled only by concerted global efforts.

It is reported that Pakistan and Afghanistan have wound up the training camps run for training terrorists, fearing the American retaliation against mastermind terrorist, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan. Pakistan will revive the terrorist camps on its soil to fight the proxy-war in Kashmir once the situation returns to normal after the war-like action of the United States against the perpetrators of terror and killing — the Taliban, Osama bin Laden and the members of his organisation, Al Qaida.

We cannot pin our hopes on any nation to fight for us and combat terrorism. Mr Hari Jaisingh has rightly asserted: “We will have to fight our own battle against terrorism. Notwithstanding rhetoric, failures in this regard have been both disturbing and unpardonable.” America on its part ought to fight terrorism till its last trace is removed from the earth.

IQBAL SINGH, Bijhari, HP

Filthy vegetable market
The visit of Lieut-General J.F.R. Jacob, UT Administrator, along with a team of MC officials to the vegetable and grain market exposed the filthy and unhygienic condition inside and outside the market.
The small post office building in the centre of the Subzi Mandi is dotted with dark, dingy latrines and urinals for men and women. The post office tea shop in between these buildings is also filthy and dirty.
There is no garbage bin to dump waste. There is no control on the movement of vegetable and fruit carriers in the mandi area around the main shed.
The UT Administrator might have noticed that there is no tin shed in the grain market and stores worth lakhs of rupees are lying outside on the platform. The vegetable market is located in an unauthorised tin shed. At one time, the UT Administrator demolished these illegal tin sheds but again they have come up.
The Municipal Corporation has become irresponsible. The UT Administrator should take direct responsibility to put the market in order by ensuring cleanliness in and around the complex.
Lieut-Col P. S. SARANG (retd), Chandigarh

Mid-term transfers

Mass transfer of school teachers including lecturers have been made by the Chandigarh administration in July/August unmindful of the inconvenience of the students. As a result, there has been widespread resentment amongst the teaching community, parents and students, thus putting the entire education system in a jeopardy.

The teachers who have just started their syllabus have put the students’ career in a quandary as the incumbents who will join in their places will have to start afresh from the beginning. It is likely that they may not complete the syllabus within the session.

It would be worthwhile if these transfers were cancelled immediately to save the career of the students. The administration should preferably transfer teachers in March/April at the end of the academic session. It should form a permanent policy for general transfers, if necessary, in March every year.

RAKESH KUMAR BHARDWAJ, Chandigarh

Nigeria & India

We, in India, are happy to note that the members of the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are in Delhi for training on Parliament in the Indian media. Nigeria might be richer in natural resources like oil but it is a moot point whether any Third World country can afford to lose crores of rupees through the non-functioning of its Parliament due to sit-ins and ‘shout-outs’!

Also, there are instances when precious time is wasted and important bills not being voted for approval and stalled from session to session.

Parliamentary democracy is less than two years old in Nigeria. Maybe, there is something in all this for Indian parliamentarians to note. Democracy is not so common that parliamentary session can be disrupted for one reason or the other.

ATTAR CHAND, Delhi