Well-acquainted with the reality that Israel’s air force chief Major-General Dan Halutz was in New Delhi to seal an agreement for a billion-dollar sale of Phalcon airborne radar systems to India-“the architect of all such deals, LK Advani wooed the Muslims at the week-end to vote for his ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP]-“by highlighting his government’s ‘love for peace overtures with Pakistan.’
Overtly-“as a part of the ‘Election Ploy’-“Advani, for the first time in past five-and-a-half decades said: ‘A BJP-led India would always strive for peace with its nuclear-armed neighbor Pakistan.’
‘We want both the countries to live in peace and harmony and even people in Pakistan are in favor of that,’ a voguish Advani vowed with an archetypical style that ‘Things are moving along well only after a BJP-led government came to power.’
Now when India’s estimated 144 million Muslims have traditionally shied away from the right-wing BJP due to its hard-line Hindu image, we would like to ask a simple question from the detectable political heir of Premier AB Vajpayee-“that if at all his ‘newest perceptions’ have a pragmatic podium-“what was the raison d’être of the Israeli General’s clandestine voyage to New Delhi-“where, as an Indian English daily-“says: ‘Halutz, who met his Indian counterpart S. Krishnaswamy on Thursday, was also to visit some strategic air bases and defense establishments during his 4-day visit.’
The Indian paper quoted anonymous sources as saying ‘the main aim of Halutz’s visit was to apply finishing touches to the billion-dollar deal for the sale of three airborne Phalcon early warning radar and communication systems to India.’
With its’ awful ‘allure of ruthless collection of WMDs’ India signed the deal with Israel and Russia in October, a month after a visit to New Delhi by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
The deal was inked after a go-ahead from the United States, which had earlier blocked the sale of Phalcons to both India and China.
Israel co-ordinates its military sales with Washington because the two nations’ defense industries are almost inter-linked-“with each others’ reciprocal interests and both of them very often share technological advances.
Under the terms of the agreement, Israel would buy Ilyushin-76 cargo aircraft from Uzbekistan which would then be sent to Russia to be fitted with new high-powered engines.
After structural modifications, the aircraft would be sent to Israel to be mounted with cutting edge avionics and the complete aircraft would be delivered to India.
As is well-known to the word, Israel in recent years has become India’s second largest defense supplier after Russia, with armament sales touching 60 billion rupees (1.25 billion dollars)-“in 2001.
Despite LK’s ‘zestful outlook’, no one can negate the realities indexed in the history that with its traditional antagonistic mind-set, the BJP-led Vajpayee Cabinet has already given a ‘go-ahead’ signal to buy 66 Hawks from Britain, a deal costing multi-million dollars which India opts to spend on fanatic collection of arsenal instead of incurring the same money for the welfare of its famished people-“living far below the poverty line.
Amid secret deals with Tel Aviv, the transaction for furnishing Hawks aircraft to India not only manifests London’s "love n’ leaning" towards its old-time cute aficionado-“India but also manifests the fanatic visions of BJP regime.
Provision of such a noxious gadget to a country which is belligerent towards each of its adjacent nations is a lucid pointer, depicting the actual mind-set of ‘the mother of democracy plus the champion of peace’ vis-Ã -vis the South Asian region.
Wouldn’t have it been more apposite if the United Kingdom had given a flat "No" to its clip n’ in a way to its’ limb-“India to wait till such a time that it had reconciled with Pakistan through a bona fide composite dialogue to solve all the longed disputes-“with Kashmir Issue atop, as this is the singular way for the revamping of a lasting peace in this part of the planet
The newest Indo-Israel-cum-UK [Troika] deals are-“in a way-“an eye-opener for all those nations-“around the orb-“which adore a melodious milieu all-over and snub skirmishes of all types.
Nonetheless, it’s not a fresh episode for any one-“blessed n’ bestowed with pragmatism-“to lift eye-brows? It was obvious even-“in an epoch-“during the visits to the region by the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw when jar was boiling to the optimal. His avowals-“both in New Delhi n’ Islamabad-“exhibited Britain’s disdain towards Pakistan. His remarks were reflective of utter impudence and the crux of his answers-“during chat with newsmen-“smacked of the old British colonial state of mind.
Paradoxically, Jack Straw-“as n’ when came to South Asia, not only choose to parry all the queries relating to the implementation of the UN resolutions on Kashmir but simultaneously came-out with frolicsome terminology of phrasing Kashmir as a ‘bilateral Issue’. He-“prima facie-“at the behest of his ‘sweet n’ smart devotee’ [New Delhi] espoused the hoax of ‘elections’ in Indian Held Kashmir rather than a free, fair and impartial environ whereby the people of the Himalayan State-“could select their destiny on their own-“a right, bestowed by the Nature on every-one-“in any style the deem apt.
At the same time the Jack did not-“ever-“say a single word on hefty magnitude of the Indian brutalities in the forcibly held part of the charismatic State and caged himself just to a few trouble-free words of ‘promise’ to raise the issue of ‘human rights violations’ with the New Delhi rulers-“which he never did. It is satirical that Jack entirely forgot the historical perspective of the Kashmir dispute and the rudimentary role played by the last British Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten in truncating Pakistan.
Jack Straw-“who, in fact, became an MP chiefly through the marvelous volume of vote’s caste by overseas Pakistanis plus the dwellers hailing from the gorgeous and dazzling State of Jammu and Kashmir with an out-and-out pledge that he [Jack] would support Kashmiris just cause ‘if he gets a slot in the House of Commons’-“is ought to acknowledge that Kashmir is not a bilateral issue as it is an unfinished agenda of the partition of the sub-continent. There would have been no Kashmir Issue-“if Britain would have acted judiciously and candidly in implementing the Partition Plan.
Let there be no mix-up about this ground realities. Straw’s brazen assertion-“which turned into a podium of multiple naughty Anglo-Indian deals, like the sale of Hawks-“side-by-side-“the till-recent hue n’ cry on so-called ‘cross-border infiltration’-“a ferocious point of India’s anti-Pakistan propaganda crusade, which has now died down as a natural phenomenon, as it is the truth which remains intact-“for all times to come.
The story about the sale of Hawks to India validates perceptions that Jack Straw had-“virtually-“been coming to this region-“as some analysts view-“to ignite a conflagration instead of an endeavor to avert a perilous course.
It is thus hoped that the magnificent, fascinating, glamorous n’ majestic British empire shall-“expectantly-“review its latest choice for the sale of Hawks to New Delhi by deferring it, at least till the time India ceases the hysterical ‘drive’ of committing crimes against humanity in held-Kashmir-“and finally till the eon when it [India] gets onto the table of meaningful talks with Pakistan-“a crystal-clear icon n’ emblem of Pakistan’s adore for amiable settlement of all the issues-“exclusively the root cause of longed irritants in ties, the Kashmir issue-“with an evocative n’ logical face-to-face interaction-“in place of a skirmish, scuffle or a brawl.
Setting aside India’s obvious adore for massive compilation of arms n’ ammunition-“and that too of perilous in nature, we would-“for the moment-“welcome, with reservations, LK Advani’s new posture and would at the same feel optimistic-“that the British Foreign Secretary, who is coming to Pakistan-“in a few days’ time-“shall not only air a ‘Breaking News’-“on the soils of this realm by censuring India for gross violation of human rights in India held-Kashmir but would also put-in his optimal weight on New Delhi to stop this puckish course-“at-once.
No cluster, might, maneuver, connive and even a venomous troika-“can in any way-“beleaguer the gallant people of Jammu and Kashmir State in any way. Thus the only n’ finest method-“left is to accept the post Nine/Eleven ground realities-“which can flourish vistas of affluence in South Asia-“and that too-“by accepting the will of Kashmiris as a valid verdict-“in whatever fashion they evaluate-“n’ which befits them for the dawn of a plump n’ robust peace n’ amity to last in South Asia-“till eternity n’ perpetuity.
