‘Bush Babies’ and the nuke deal

Organiser’s foreign affairs expert M.D. Nalapat’s relentless tirade against the Indo-US nuclear deal continues with a detailed article in the current issue that describes Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee as the “Bush babies in the union cabinet.”

Organiser’s foreign affairs expert M.D. Nalapat’s relentless tirade against the Indo-US nuclear deal continues with a detailed article in the current issue that describes Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee as the “Bush babies in the union cabinet.” Accusing the Left parties of “verbally opposing the US policy while at the same time keeping in power those committed to Washington”, he says the debate in Parliament on the nuclear deal “was rendered a non-event” because it excluded a vote. According to Nalapat, the deal will spell the death knell of Indian R&D — apart from the dozen facilities formally offered for international inspection, “the numerous pursuit clauses that will be present both explicitly and implied in the numerous restrictive covenants that the Bush Babies will get India to sign will make possible the entry of ‘international inspectors’ (read spies) in practically all the country’s premier R&D facilities.” Mocking Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origins, Nalapat writes: “Under the Maino parivar, India is swiftly going the way of Iraq in 1991, and that too without a shot being fired. What an asset the UPA’s ruling parivar is to those to whom its allegiance is pledged!”

Tell Pak to forget Kashmir

Organiser’s editorial slams the PM for taking up President Musharraf’s new proposals on Kashmir. “Why is the prime minister so fickle-minded on Pakistan? Is it again the question of vote-bank and appeasement as they dictate all UPA actions?” it asks. Kashmir, the editorial says, “is like an adolescent obsession with Pakistan. What Musharraf could not attain by proxy war, he is trying to get by laying a trap for India in the facade of a solution. Why take him seriously?” There should be no negotiations that involve conceding Indian sovereignty over Kashmir. Instead, “Pakistan should be told to forget Kashmir. If needed, we should seal the border, sever diplomatic ties to fight secessionists on Indian soil and their foreign masters.”

Muslim backwardness a ‘myth’

Saradindu Mukherji says the Sachar report conclusions are all wrong because it does not take into account the situation in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Kashmir Valley. While no non-Muslim can reach the top in Pakistan and Bangladesh, minorities dominate high positions in India. India’s three top positions of president, PM and army chief are held by a Muslim, Sikh and Sikh respectively. The de facto head of the government is an Italian born Christian, her “most trusted political advisor” is a Muslim, and the chief of the Planning Commission is a Sikh. While five of the current 16 players in the Indian cricket team are Muslims, so far only two Hindus have played for Pakistan in 59 years, and two Hindus have played for Bangladesh. But the writer contradicts himself at one point by admitting that “their socio-economic under-development is explained by social, psychological, political, historical and demographic factors. They also suffer because of their obsessions and misplaced priorities.”

Pakistan in crisis

Bharat Verma’s article on the crisis facing Pakistan blames it on the country’s anti-minorities policy. Verma writes that “in any society, it is the minorities that play the crucial role of moderation. Their existence is a safeguard against extreme tendencies. Pakistan lost the benefit of this natural societal instrument of balance early in its history.” As a result, Pakistan’s Punjabi Sunni population “which not only constituted the majority but also controlled the instruments of power in the state, turned to killing Shias, expelling Ahmadiyas from Islam, denying basic rights to the Balochis, depriving Sind of water resources, and suppressing population in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir including Northern areas.” Ergo, looking after minorities is crucial for a nation’s well being.

—Compiled by Manini Chatterjee