By M D Nalapat
It was a moral travesty on Trudeau’s part to implicitly back a return of Bhindranwale-style tactics in Punjab.
The
post-colonial colonial practice of the Indian bureaucracy is to fawn on
the white foreigner while being derisive towards the brown (and in the
case of South Indians, if we are to believe Tarun Vijay, black) native.
Hence it is almost a given fact that apart from private and muted
expressions of disquiet, there will not be any action by the MEA
concerning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada. This despite the man
endorsing (through his enthusiastic participation in a Toronto event)
the separation of Punjab from the rest of India, which is the sole and
the oft-stated objective of the Khalistan movement. The speeches of the
other participants in the “Free Khalistan” gathering that had him as the
star participant made clear that their intention was to “struggle for
the achievement of Khalistan”. And as for the methods favoured during
such a struggle, these were clear from the admiration showered on
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, whose countenance gazed on the participants
through a profusion of posters featuring the individual who was a
creature of certain Congress Party functionaries in the Punjab before
shifting his loyalties to GHQ Rawalpindi. The favoured method of
Bhindranwale was torture followed by murder. Looking at the cash that
was sent from Canada—and indeed from the UK and the US as well—to the
“Khalistan” network in India during the 1980s, it was obvious that there
were more than a few Canadian nationals who were contributing towards
another division of India. The NDA-II government headed by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has on several occasions demonstrated its fealty
to the concepts and responses of Mahatma Gandhi, for example by aligning
itself with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir. To those not attuned to a
saintly way of life, it was certain that such a grotesque alliance would
lead precisely to the meltdown that we are witnessing in Kashmir these
days. However, just as happened with the Mahatma on countless occasions,
hope was allowed to prevail over experience and an alliance tailor made
for instability was crafted. Another Gandhian act of NDA-II was to
forgive those in Canada, the US and the UK who during the 1980s and
1990s funded and otherwise assisted the operations of the Dal Khalsa in
India. Such elements, who were committed to the breakup of India, were
once again given visas to enter the country.
Not surprisingly, many such visitors have
used the newly-opened door to try and bring the Khalistan movement back
to life in the Punjab. Just in case Justin Trudeau is not aware of the
murder and mayhem perpetrated by the Dal Khalsa in Punjab for over a
decade (although the tempo slackened after the death of Zia-ul-Haq in
1988), hopefully the High Commission will educate him about this
blood-filled chapter in our country’s history. Indeed, some from the
vibrant Indo-Canadian community need to come out with advertisements
detailing the deeds of Bhindranwale and the murders of innocents by the
“Khalistani” groups.
The Prime Minister of what passes for a friendly country
and is a member of the Commonwealth has tacitly endorsed a movement
whose preferred instrument was terror. If this is not something which
should be formally protested in the strongest of terms, it is difficult
to determine what is. Certainly the Commonwealth Secretariat needs to be
queried as to whether it is proper for the Head of State of a member
country to participate in an event whose objective is the dismemberment
of another through the use of terror and violence.
Fortunately, the chance of a recurrence of the Khalistan
movement in the Punjab is zero, as memories of the mayhem of the past
are still strong. The Sikh community is among the noblest in India, and
has repeatedly shown their patriotism, especially in the field of
battle. Indeed, Punjabis overall quickly got back on their feet after
being, in a sense, flung on their backs during the murderous chaos of
partition, and for this, they deserve both admiration and emulation.
However, just as it was a moral travesty on Trudeau’s part
to implicitly back a return of Bhindranwale-style tactics in the
Punjab, it must not be forgotten that what took place in 1984 just after
the assassination of Indira Gandhi was unforgiveable. As is the fact
that no one of any significance has thus far been seriously brought to
account after the mass murders that took place in Delhi during those
initial days in November 1984. It is expected of the UPA that they would
deny that anything of significance took place during those few days. It
should not be the case with the NDA, which needs to resist the
temptation to either cover up (through not making documents public) or
justify errors made in the past, including during NDA I.
Problem areas should be acknowledged rather than ignored,
as should actions such as being present at events celebrating the life
and ways of a terrorist.
To not respond diplomatically in adequate measure to Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau’s tacit backing of a fresh partition of India
would only entrench the narrative that Lutyens Delhi is all bark and no
bite, not even of the soft variety. Indeed, it is such a conviction
about India, that there is no substantive blowback from trampling on
this country’s core interests, that has ensured recent diplomatic
disasters as Pakistan, the US, UK, Australia, Norway, Ireland, Czech
Republic, Germany, Kyrgystan, Kazakhstan, Lichtenstein, Haiti, Kenya,
Vatican, South Korea and others joining hands to fling accusation after
accusation at this country in the Geneva meeting of the UN Human Rights
Council.
Hopefully, in the case of each of these powers, there will
be more than the usual “silent protests” at such mischaracterisations
of India. Under Nehru in the 1950s, India talked and talked and talked
and yet found itself isolated at its moment of crisis in 1962. The
people expect more than just words from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
They expect action.
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