Everybody saw Salman Khurshid’s desperate
picture shaking hands with Wang Yi, the Chinese counterpart of the Indian
external Affairs Minister. That look of ‘satisfaction’ that he boasted off a
little too much in his briefing with the media, later is alarming for the rest
of the country. We have in our midst extremely articulate gentlemen who are
capable of toying endlessly with words and making them sound bombastic and
disarmingly impressive, holding key positions in the government. But
a foreign government is hardly affected by the choice of words or however they
are presented to their translators. Only the domestic population seeks to bow
their heads down half in conformity, and a quarter each in shame and
disappointment. I, unfortunately am trapped in the latter two quarters.
What is the job profile of an External
Affairs Minister? I am sure it is more than that of a hospitality manager and
host, or a tourist eager to please. The Indian idiom chhota mu badi bat stands enforced while I observe that a foreign
minister represents his government in the international community, and that
representation involves taking care of all the edges and nooks that need
attention. The Brazilian constitutional lingo translates this ministerial
position as Minister of External Relations; pardon my pedagogical vindication,
but this is a man who, therefore is conscientious about what ‘affairs’ of a
country must go on the table for discussion in an international forum. But
alas, the Indian political system stinks pungently of religious appeasement
drills aftermath, and the legacy is hard to not adhere to anymore, be that at
home or elsewhere.
The incursion in Ladakh by the People’s
Liberation Army was an act of blasphemy in terms of international relations and
maintenance of status quo after the bloody war of 1962. Similar circumstances
after the ultimate precipitation in ’62 have taken threatening forms but
fortunately have never formalized ever since, nevertheless there is no assurance
that they will not anymore. It is ironical that most often such incidents of
frontal encounters have taken place around the time when Chinese delegates or
ministers were on Indian visits. The latest confrontation at hand where the
yellow forces set up tents in Indian Territory could have been discussed and seriously frowned upon over before Yi, but the occasion was allowed to pass as
coldly as does any logical imagination.
Khurshid, that impudent mongoose (forget
the folkloric qualities, severe offence intended), brazenly committed that he
did not seek any explanation over the infiltration, while his meeting with the
Chinese Foreign Minister. Both sides having already reached a peaceful resolve
for the situation, where Indian bunkers, on Indian soil, had to be destroyed in
order to calm the Chinese down, Salman thought it improper to raise a question
or at least show some aversion to such unacceptable arm twisting. He also said
that it was inappropriate at this stage to apportion blame at anybody and this
would disturb the status of tremendous relief and satisfaction that the problem
could be resolved in such little time.
Of course, when you bend down before a
monster and promise to co-operate all through, and refuse to see this as a
problem, there will be tremendous satisfaction at the end of such metaphorical Asian
sodomy. India is in very unsafe hands, where ministers are not only timid but
also keen on always placating the enemy.
