Delhi’s concern likely to irritate Washington, Tehran & Baghdad

While the ultimate punishment to Saddam Hussein has been certainly criticised for many reasons, and not just in the Muslim world, the two governments in Iran and Iraq are celebrating it.

Irrespective of its intent, the Indian reaction, issued in the name of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is bound to irritate Washington, Baghdad and Tehran in one stroke. That surely takes some doing.

Mukherjee’s statement acknowledged that Saddam Hussein can appeal against the verdict. It expressed the concern that “such life and death decisions require credible due process of law, which does not appear to be victor’s justice and is acceptable to the people of Iraq as well as the international community.”

Mukherjee also expressed the hope that the “verdict will not add to the suffering of the people of Iraq”. India’s hopes are unlikely to make much of a difference to the Iraqi realities.

It would have been logical to expect that the Congress leadership that burnt its hands on Iraq before would have thought through the implications before sounding sympathetic to Saddam Hussein.

The Congress party, which barely a year ago had to sacrifice its loyal External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh for his dalliance with Saddam Hussein, appears to have learnt little. For the Congress, the Middle East remains a curse it cannot seem to shake off.

The pious, but inconsequential, sentiment for peace in Iraq pouring out the UPA Government once again reflects a historic pattern in Indian foreign policy.

The official Indian reactions to the developments in the Middle East have always tended to be guided by domestic political considerations, rather than the facts on the ground.

The crime for which Saddam Hussein has been put on the death row, was his involvement in the massacre of 148 Shias in Iraq more than two decades ago. The Shia majority of Iraq, which dominates the present government in Iraq but was denied its religious and political freedom under Saddam Hussein, naturally feels justice has finally been done.

The Sunni minority in Iraq, which feels disempowered after the ouster of Saddam Hussein and provides support to the current violent insurgency in Iraq, has unsurpisingly dismissed the verdict as motivated.

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