Academic Vivek Gumaste, who is based in the United States, is the author of My India: Musings of a Patriot. You can e-mail the author at gumastev@yahoo.com
The current round of stone pelting in Kashmir is violent posturing that is provocative in design aided and abetted by anti-national elements. Let us not imbue these protests with even an iota of sanctity: they are undeserving of that, writes Vivek Gumaste.
It is time we moved beyond abstract wooly notions and formulate a sound plan of action that produces concrete results. For all the brouhaha that followed the Mumbai massacre we have let things slip into a state of ennui, writes Vivek Gumaste.
While security personnel and equipment are important, it is the mindset that is the pivotal tipping factor in the battle against the Maoists, writes Vivek Gumaste.
When we can raise your voice for 2,000 Muslims (the official figures are much less) killed in Gujarat and we should, we must cry from the rooftops for 2.4 million Hindus killed in 1971 or the 250,000 Kashmiri Pandits forced out of their homes in Kashmir. Why do we not?
Continued negotiation is a futile and counter-productive proposition with no deterrent value serving merely as a ruse for Pakistan to mollify the world community even as it persists with its anti-India activities, writes Vivek Gumaste.
With one thoughtless misstep after another apropos Kashmir, the United Progressive Alliance government is fast hurtling down a treacherous slippery slope taking the country along with it into a dark and dangerous abyss from which extrication would be a near impossible proposition. Home Minister P Chidambaram's recent remark sanctioning the return of militants from across the border is the latest in this continuing series of flawed policy decisions.
We, in India are quick to vilify those who propose a hard line approach to Pakistan that includes severing cricket ties by branding them as radical and uncivilised. We cannot mix cricket with politics is the oft quoted mantra. But what is so sacred about this dichotomy? Is it a directive derived from logic or common sense or an abstract feel good notion with no utility value? And has continued cricketing ties mitigated Pakistan's terror shenanigans?
Evil is a coward that preys on the timidity of the weak but retreats in the face of the slightest resistance. All that was necessary was a single person to throw a monkey wrench into this evil works and this satanic march of injustice would have grounded to a halt. But alas there was none.
Advani now needs to play the role of an elder statesman and steer the fortunes of his troubled party, writes Vivek Gumaste.
If China keeps harping on Arunachal Pradesh and J&K, India must also rake up the issue of Tibet, writes Vivek Gumaste.
One wonders whether the Communists in India are still at their old game: ostensibly nurturing democracy (in Nepal) but in reality waiting for the right moment and the right circumstances to launch an armed bloody revolution in India via Nepal with the backing of China.
we need to remember one thing. Kandahar is not about Advani. Neither can it viewed through the partisan politics of the BJP and the Congress. It was and must remain one with India's battle with terror.
In summary the BJP cannot be faulted for acting in its own interest. Jaswant Singh's expulsion was an act, Machiavellian in its concept that combined political expediency with shrewd political insight; a move designed to shore up the sagging image and morale of a fractured entity that had lost its verve and was drifting aimlessly.
India's naivete and Pakistan's deceit have inadvertently conspired to produce a stalemate that maintains a dangerous status quo between Pakistan aided terror and India's inertia. To break this logjam, we need to be pragmatic. A military option kept hanging like a Damocles sword in tandem with an ongoing dialogue is vital to ensure results.
What people of Kashmir need is not freedom from India but an enlightenment that clears their cloudy perception and releases them from the clutches of terrorism, religious fundamentalism and unscrupulous politicians making them law abiding citizens of a democratic, secular and economically resurgent nation: a win-win situation.
Was this a clear-cut verdict with an unambiguous mandate? A cursory perusal would be in the affirmative but a meticulous dissection reveals otherwise.
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