Shame at Sharm Al Sheikh
by Amit Malviya
It is often said that diplomacy is an art. It is evidently clear by now that both Dr Singh and Mr Krishna are inept at handling high level diplomacy. This has been reinforced by the way we as a Nation have responded to less than fair treatment being meted out to Indian students in Australia, concessions given away to US in the End User Monitoring Agreement compromising India’s security and sovereignty, accepting caps on emissions at the Climate Change summit, avoidable faux pass when Hillary Clinton (remember Krishna got a lesson from Hillary on how to exchange dossiers) visited India and most recently the sell out to Pakistan at Sharm al Sheikh.
It is no coincidence that the opposition, media, intelligentsia, opinion makers and even a section of the Government is seeing India’s strategic position being compromised in the understandings / agreements recently entered into by the Government.
It is without doubt that the joint statement issued by India and Pakistan at Sharm al Sheikh has severely compromised India’s position. It has a) accused India of fomenting trouble in Baluchistan and b) delinked the composite dialogue from action on terror. Inclusion of these references in the joint statement violates India’s stand against Pakistan. Never in the past has India ever given such concessions to Pakistan. Following the joint statement, a report has appeared in Dawn saying that Pakistan has handed a dossier to India highlighting its role in Baluchistan and attack on Srilankan players in Lahore. Not that one should loose sleep over the Dawn report, we also can’t deny the fact that we have handed over the advantage to Pakistan.
PM, the nice man he is, has defended this joint statement by saying that India has nothing to hide. This is a nice statement if it came from a political novice and not from the head of a State. The MoS in the External Affair Ministry, Shashi Tharoor, has a completely different take on the joint statement. He said that such joint statements are not legally valid and therefore should not be a matter of concern. Was he trying to imply that the document that the PM has signed is not even worth the piece of paper it is printed on or does he not know that in 1965 we handed over the Haji Pir Pass (critical to dominate the LoC) despite the military objections as part of one such joint agreement or including the words “outstanding issues” in the 1972 Shimla Agreement allowed Pakistan to revive the Kashmir issue all over again.
I am sure he is a smart man to realize the blunder but he obviously sees himself more as a politician than a former diplomat. While a statement like this could have cost him his job in UN, he is only ensuring that he is furthering his political career by defending the PM.
The Foreign Secretary has gone on record saying that it is a case of bad drafting (I hope that is indeed the case). Former diplomats have pointed out that the joint statement should include only what both the countries agree on. If there is a point of disagreement, then it should not find its way to the joint statement. But still the Government and Congress Party continue to defend the joint statement, at least in the public domain. Their compulsion is understandable.
As the PM rises in the House today to clarify the statement, it is likely that he will not have anything credible to say beyond what we already know. Nevertheless the country has the right to know why is the Congress led Government gambling with India’s pride ? Is it that Mr Singh realizes that he has very little time in office and wants to make a mark for himself in history ? While Dr Manmohan Singh will be remembered as the Regent who stood guard till the crown prince was ready to take over, he is clearly getting ambitious. This was evident in the way he defended the Nuclear deal and now his attempts to script a new chapter in Indo-Pak diplomacy. While I wish him luck, I only hope he will not compromise India’s interest. This I hope is not much to ask.
I also wonder sometime, purely based on how we as a Nation come across on global stage, that we have lost sense of pride, the realization that we are a power house and have a dominant role to play in the region. We dismiss trouble, which could potentially destabilize us, in neighbouring states as “their internal matter”. Assault on Indian students is a mere Law and Order problem of Australia. Can you imagine US reacting to injustice against their countrymen in another country in the same vein ? How do we explain our tolerance to repeated terrorist attacks on India ? Are we too resilient or perhaps don’t like confrontation to the extent that we are ok even if we appear weak and timid ?
It is time that we got up and faced the world as a self assured Nation capable of dominating world politics. Aspiring to be a super power is also about behaving like one !
Comments
29 Responses to “Shame at Sharm Al Sheikh”
I heard many Sardarji blunders.But I never heard a Himalayan blunder like our Manmohan singh said.He is not our PM but FM(Fool Minister).
I doubt MMS is a Anti-Indian. None other made such Comments.
It is Shame that Cong Backing MMS. Is Cong an Anti-Indian Party????!!!
The biggest frustration I have with Dr. MMS is that he is inacessible, he doesn’t keep the people of India in the loop of whatever is going on and he is selfish in a very weird way. PM must not decide the fate of our nation based on his “personal emotions”.
Today, our parliament will listen to another inept explanation by a pseudo PM.
But, BJP should not make a mess out of this opportunity as it has done with the drought situation and the budget. There should be a very strong yet caliberated rebuttal to this joke the PM has played on the country.
Since this country is the nation-in-law of the actual power center of the Govt. little wonder that she has spoken out on this.
All the best BJP, perform well in this debate!
aisa lagta hai ki pm jee ko kisi se pyar tha tabhi wo her kisi bat me raji ho jate hai.
unhe ye yad rakhna chahiye ki wo individually nhi mil rhe h balki wo ek country ke pm. s
chale the wo apni kamjori ko nikharne
khud hi khayal ho gaye ajab wakiya hai ye.
IF YOU KNOW CONTACT NUMBERS OF ANY BJP MP in LOKSABHA PLS SEND THIS MESSAGE BY FAX OR E-MAIL FOR HIS PREPARATION.
There is a very important debate in Lok Sabha toaday 29/07/09 on recent Indo Pak Joint Statement signed in Egypt by the two PMs.
The Congress led UPA would try to divert and deflect BJP’s concerns by bringing in the issues of Kargil, Kandahar and Parliament attack in the NDA rule to silence the criticism.
The opposition and the NDA should insist to hold the debate within the parameters of the present context and not relate it to what NDA did when in power as it has no relevance to the point of discussion. The opposition should demand firmly explanation of the recently issue statement and not concede any attempt by the UPA to dilute the issue by raising issues which happened in NDA era just to score political points. Since NDA is out of power since 2004 it makes no sense to link any matter related to this statement to events during NDA regime to justify or defend the present government’s stand and policy shift.
The context and different analysis:
In January 2004, on the basis of nothing more than an assurance from General Pervez Musharraf that Pakistan’s territory would not be used to launch terrorist strikes on India, the erstwhile BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government took the major step of restarting the composite dialogue.
That joint statement may not have said so explicitly but it was predicated on the kind of “delinking” of terror and talks that the BJP now describes as a “capitulation.” The reality is that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, despite his personal commitment to the need to engage with Pakistan, has actually been far more cautious in Sharm-el-Sheikh than Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in Islamabad.
After all, the Zardari-Gilani duo has delivered more than the empty assurances Mr. Vajpayee brought back with him to Delhi.
What Dr. Singh is willing to offer is not immediate resumption of the composite dialogue but only the possibility of this at a later date.
some of the phrasing in the July 16 joint statement is a reflection of Dr. Singh’s understanding of the constraints which the civilian leadership in Pakistan faces as it battles with a military-intelligence establishment that fears the loss of its domestic influence and power if the jihadi networks are rooted out.
Mr. Gilani, for example, brought some of the arguments of his hawks to the meeting, such as their allegation of Indian involvement in the secessionist movement in Balochistan. The joint statement records the fact that he raised the issue and this, presumably, will give ballast to the civilian leadership. It does not say India concurred, let alone admitted to any involvement. The statement does not even say India was willing to discuss the matter bilaterally. That offer was actually made by Dr. Singh in his press conference later in the day because, he said, New Delhi had nothing to hide. Mr. Gilani, for example, brought some of the arguments of his hawks to the meeting, such as their allegation of Indian involvement in the secessionist movement in Balochistan. The joint statement records the fact that he raised the issue and this, presumably, will give ballast to the civilian leadership. It does not say India concurred, let alone admitted to any involvement. The statement does not even say India was willing to discuss the matter bilaterally. That offer was actually made by Dr. Singh in his press conference later in the day because, he said, New Delhi had nothing to hide.
The joint statement formulation that has excited the greatest amount of nervous excitement in India is this: “Action on terrorism should not be linked to the Composite Dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.”
What this means is that action on terrorism must follow its own logic: No civilised society can allow its soil to be used for the planning and perpetration of terrorist acts on a neighbour. And that the composite dialogue process must also proceed on the basis of both sides engaging with each other for mutual benefit. Tomorrow, if a resumed dialogue process deadlocks on Siachen or some other topic, Pakistan should not use that as an excuse to resile from its obligation to fight terror. But implicit in this delinking is the controversial notion that India must not suspend the composite dialogue because it feels Pakistan has not taken enough action against terrorism. India has always made this link in the past. And Dr. Singh’s statement that meaningful dialogue is possible only if the Mumbai perpetrators are brought to book makes it clear India does not intend to delink the two in the future either.
The weakness of this formulation is not that there should be no linkage but that unidirectional linkage is not possible. The political reality is that there can be no meaningful dialogue between India and Pakistan if the latter does not act firmly and credibly against terrorism. Islamabad cannot expect Delhi to begin the composite dialogue when the latter does not believe it has delivered on its commitments. Equally, the Indian side must realise that sustained Pakistani action against terrorism cannot occur in a diplomatic vacuum. Constructive engagement allows rational elements within the Pakistani system to demonstrate that dismantling the infrastructure of terrorism can produce tangible gains and not just pain.
despite the cries of “sell-out,” it is the status quo ante of a suspended composite dialogue that still prevails after Sharm-el-Shaikh, with the prospect of resumption kicked down the road. “Whether, when and in what form we broaden the dialogue with Pakistan will depend on future developments,” Dr. Singh told Parliament on Friday. It is now up to both sides to make those future developments happen.
Nevertheless, what has been portrayed as a diplomatic gain by Pakistan was quickly contradicted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh just hours after the joint statement was issued. Addressing a news conference Mr Singh ruled out the resumption of the composite dialogue “until and unless the terrorist heads who shook Mumbai…are brought to book.” He reiterated his stance in his subsequent address to the Lok Sabha. The interpretation he put forward appeared to signal a reversal of the Sharm el-Sheikh position. “The resumption of talks cannot be a precondition for action against terrorists,” he explained.
“India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues”.
Indian officials said this meant Pakistan should not wait for the resumption of the composite dialogue to take action against terrorism. And Pakistani diplomats said this meant the future of the dialogue process should not be held hostage to the perception in New Delhi that Pakistan had not done enough to stop the activities of terrorists operating from its territory. Which is why they felt the joint statement represented a breakthrough of sorts. Indian officials said this meant Pakistan should not wait for the resumption of the composite dialogue to take action against terrorism. And Pakistani diplomats said this meant the future of the dialogue process should not be held hostage to the perception in New Delhi that Pakistan had not done enough to stop the activities of terrorists operating from its territory. Which is why they felt the joint statement represented a breakthrough of sorts.
Whichever way one interprets the phrase, however, it is clear that India had been the one to link the composite dialogue with action on terrorism by suspending talks after the terrorist incidents in Mumbai last December and earlier in 2006. And notwithstanding the joint statement, it is evident the link remains a factor in India’s eventual willingness to resume the dialogue as and when this occurs.
The vagueness in the wording was perhaps deliberate: it allowed both India and Pakistan to interpret it in the manner best suited to each.
“The statement is sufficiently vague and confusing to have either side interpret it their way, and both PMs have done precisely that,” says K.C. Singh, a former Indian diplomat.
There are some who argue that there’s been no shift in India’s position. “It’s a generous approach,” “Terror is different from the composite dialogue and has to be dealt with separately. That’s the clear message Manmohan Singh has sent.”
Referring to the joint statement, senior MEA officials said Manmohan had agreed to delinking terror from dialogue only after a personal commitment from Gilani that Islamabad would do whatever was necessary to punish the perpetrators of Mumbai 26/11.
it would be in order to quote the salient points of the joint statement:
“Both leaders agreed that terrorism is the main threat to both countries.”
“Prime Minister Singh reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice. Prime Minister Gilani assured that Pakistan will do everything in its power in this regard.”
“Both leaders agreed that the two countries will share real time, credible and actionable information on any future terrorist threats.”
“Prime Minister Gilani mentioned that Pakistan has some information on threats in Balochistan and other areas.”
“Both Prime Ministers recognised that dialogue is the only way forward. Action on terrorism should not be linked to the Composite Dialogue process and these should not be bracketed. Prime Minister Singh said that India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues.”
it would be in order to quote the salient points of the joint statement:
“Both leaders agreed that terrorism is the main threat to both countries.”
“Prime Minister Singh reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice. Prime Minister Gilani assured that Pakistan will do everything in its power in this regard.”
“Both leaders agreed that the two countries will share real time, credible and actionable information on any future terrorist threats.”
“Prime Minister Gilani mentioned that Pakistan has some information on threats in Balochistan and other areas.”
“Both Prime Ministers recognised that dialogue is the only way forward. Action on terrorism should not be linked to the Composite Dialogue process and these should not be bracketed. Prime Minister Singh said that India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues.”
“I conveyed to him the strong sentiments of the people of India over the issue of terrorism, especially the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. We are reviewing the dossier of investigations into these attacks which Pakistan has provided to us. I also conveyed to Prime Minister Gilani that sustained, effective and credible action needs to be taken not only to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack to justice, but also to shut down the operations of terrorist groups so as to prevent any future attacks,” the Prime Minister told Parliament on Friday. Since he is a man of impeccable integrity, and because the Right to Information Act won’t allow us access to the ‘Record of Discussion’, we must believe that this is indeed what he told Mr Gilani.
The Pakistan-sponsored jihadi terrorism India has to cope with, and pay for with the blood of innocent Indians, according to Mr Singh, is no different from the bloodletting in Pakistan caused by those jihadis who have turned rabid and begun to bite the hand that once lovingly fed them.Nothing distinguishes the victim, our saintly Prime Minister believes, from the perpetrator of macabre misdeeds.
Our firm and not easily persuaded Prime Minister demanded Pakistan must bring those responsible for 26/11 to justice. Mr Gilani assured him everything is being done in this regard. We must believe Mr Gilani, because our wise Prime Minister trusts him.
The US, more specifically the CIA, wants us to share real time, credible and actionable intelligence with Pakistan.
Why rub the Americans the wrong way, especially since they have us by our short and curly over our now compromised nuclear programme? And why upset the 300-million-strong middle class which aspires to see India become an American stooge? After all, they determined the outcome of this summer’s general election and ensured that we would continue to have a decent, honest and, not to forget, economist Prime Minister who oozes integrity. So, we shall pass on real time, credible and actionable intelligence to the Pakistanis and they shall rework their terror strategy accordingly so that our security agencies cannot pre-empt future jihadi attacks. No, there’s no need to get upset about it. To cavil would be unpatriotic as all patriots are expected to back the Prime Minister who genuinely believes capitulation will “serve to further advance India’s interests”. Why rub the Americans the wrong way, especially since they have us by our short and curly over our now compromised nuclear programme? And why upset the 300-million-strong middle class which aspires to see India become an American stooge? After all, they determined the outcome of this summer’s general election and ensured that we would continue to have a decent, honest and, not to forget, economist Prime Minister who oozes integrity. So, we shall pass on real time, credible and actionable intelligence to the Pakistanis and they shall rework their terror strategy accordingly so that our security agencies cannot pre-empt future jihadi attacks. No, there’s no need to get upset about it. To cavil would be unpatriotic as all patriots are expected to back the Prime Minister who genuinely believes capitulation will “serve to further advance India’s interests”.
Pakistan, we are now told, has “some information on threats in Balochistan and other areas”. The sly reference to Balochi separatism in the joint statement need not shock us, even though this amounts to legitimising Pakistan’s absurd claim that Indian agencies, more specifically R&AW, have been fomenting trouble in Balochistan. The Prime Minister says there’s nothing to fear, ours is an “open book”. So, why feel apprehensive that this shall pave the way to Islamabad accusing New Delhi, and convincingly so, that India has been doing unto Pakistan what Pakistan has been doing unto India?The Prime Minister’s silence on the inclusion of Balochistan in the joint statement when he spoke in Parliament need not intrigue us — he wasn’t being cunning or deceitful; that’s not what decent and honest men do; he was merely glossing over a minor detail whose consequences can be disastrous.
The Prime Minister sincerely believes “action on terrorism should not be linked to the Composite Dialogue process and these should not be bracketed”. He is also “ready to discuss”, as the US wants him to, “all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues”. However, this does not really mean what it means, or so we are told by the Prime Minister. What it really means, and I quote from his statement in Parliament, is that “action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process”.
Further comment would be tantamount to questioning the integrity of a decent and honest man, and lending credence to what the Prime Minister’s critics say, that he is a feckless man given to spinning webs of deceit.
Can some one on the right side write the contentious part of the joint statement?
i think bjp should introduce a motion in the house stating:
“the house doesn’t approve of the prime minister’s joint declaration ”
if the house passes the motion (though an unlikely situation)it amounts to no-confidence.
if it doesn’t pass(likely) the intentions of the governing coalition will be more clear to people.
Friends of BJP: Shame at Sharm Al Sheikh…
It is without doubt that the joint statement issued by India and Pakistan at Sharm al Sheikh has severely compromised India’s position. It has a) accused India of fomenting trouble in Baluchistan and b) delinked the composite dialogue from action on …
Sashi Tharoor has lost credibility to remain as Mos by his “indo -pak joint statement has no legal validity” comment.
will he be now trusted when he discusses issues and signs agreements with counterparts of other countries.
Dear Amit,
The joint-statment issue undoubtedly goin to have repercussions over the next few decades. It is going to haunt India and Indians at various junctures.
We also need to take note of a definite fall out of this naive acceptance, which is, that our relations with various other countries with whom we have put lot of efforts, money and favors, like France, are bound to get strained.
What’s done is done…and it is most unfortunate.
But we will have more time to punish the culprits. The time to salvage is a lot lesser.
The “strategic confusion” as K.C. Singh has put it today has in all effects accepted India’s hobnobbing with sepratist forces on Paksitani soil. Any further diplomatic statements on this subject will not change this fact. Degree of our involvement is not a very important question from a diplomacy’s perspective.
India’s philosophical stand, self-righteous attitude as well as all its virtues are now under question. Its continued statements of being responsible power, as coined by Mr. Vajpayee’s govt. will not carry the same weight in near future. Many issues that have been waiting for a strong external affairs performance, including the Nuclear Energy related matters are going to see some challenges.
It may not change our position with countries like US, China, Russia, UK etc. as if there was any involvement of Indians in helping the Balochistan movement, their intelligence services have always known that and by that logic any ruling govt. in these states. And their equation with India has always been built on that knowledge. However, the public proclamation of this involvement gives these states an undue advantage over Indians during many startegic discussions.
Also, all separatist movements in India gain a sort of legality if this kind of involvement gets proved. What right does India have to object to right to self-determination for various peoples who have decided not to remain within the federal structure of the Union of India.
So, how do we clean the mess?
I don’t think many have answers. However, a full scale public spat is not the answer. This matter is bigger than Congress and BJP. Its about India.
Its about the very country that both Congress and the BJP have been formed to serve.
But I have a lot of faith in BJP’s leaders like L.K.Advani, Jaswant Singh, Arun Jaitely and Yashwant Sinha. They have an excellent track record of keeping a clear view of difficult situations.
BJP must create only enough pressure in the parliament to compel the PM and the ruling party to hold closed door discussion with these leaders from BJP. Form a sort of steering committee that remains only in the backdrop, never undermines the supremacy of the constitutionally recognised govt and ministry but at the same time helps India move out of these troubled waters with as little damage as may be possible.
Not working together may definitely give BJP some edge. But the new situation will create more diffcult situations for BJP to manage, if and when it manages to form its own govt.
BJP is again making the same blunders that it did post 2004 defeat.. jumping on to every petty issue and barking it over… it really needs to go back to the roots, mingle with the common man, understand their problems and work for a solution… opposing everything that the government does or says only for the sake of opposing is never going to help.. you can see from the attitudes of yashvant, advani etc that they are only interested in creating a ruckus in parliament so that they get an excuse to stage a walkout… really deplorable and irresponsible…
sharm al sheikh stmt may or may not be a blunder by India, but its only a statement.. even nda govt under vajpayee forgot kargill war and invited musharaf to agra, then again after parliament attack and the farce called operation parakram, he forwarded his hand for friendship.. bjp has very conveniently forgotten this.. they should oppose the govt only when the govt really initiates any talks or badhaos dosti ka haath like vajpayee… alas they know only to oppose oppose and oppose.. and attitude gained after years of sitting in the opposition may be…
Dear SJ,
It is surprising that acceptance of an allegation that India is involved in supporting terrorist activities on a foreign land seem to be just a “statement”.
Parleys held by Vajpayee govt. had a finnesse few in the History of Modern India have shown. The ground gained internationally remain unparalleled even today. Especially considering the low ground from where the efforts began.
To trivialize something so serious is a definite sign of encouraging such misdirected strategies. I would be ashamed if BJP as the main opposition party doesn’t raise the matter and pressurize the govt to refrain from any furter mistakes on this account.
But yes, no doubt, that the govt of the day should be given enough room to manoeuvre the strategic policies to the best of their and the civil servants’ ability. But if it ends up being a disaster of the sort that Sharm-Al-Shaikh statement is, then whistle needs to be blown and blown loud.
I may also remind you that after being a member to the decision taken with regards to our response for the Kandahar Hijack, the Congress questioned, rather irresponsibly, the decision of the govt. That govt. was accomodating enough to bring in opposition on issues of national importance and sensitivity. And still a never ending blame game was initiated creating confusion on India’s policy for response to such threats.
I think my view on treatment to this malady is clearly placed in the above post.
Dear Amit,
We are a resilient Nation. However, large section of our poppulation is indifferent towards National issues and as a result a weak leader like MMS who is more interested in seeking the approval of the west gets away easily even after commiting blunders.It seems this PM is more worried about the certificate of good conduct from the US and Pakistan. Unfortunately despite nuclear deal,we are neither equal partners to US nor we are ally to them.Pakistan still remains their ally in south Asia.As a consolation prize,dont be surprised if MMS gets Nobel peace prize for his peace efforts in south Asia.
However, the only silver line during the last 13 days is the behaviour of large section of the Print media which finally seems to have woken up.
With due regards to SJ, I hope India is treated as a nation and not a nation in law (as it is for a leading UPA lady). For starters, Because NDA committed blunders, it doesnot mean UPA has to follow suite.
You mean Yashwant Sinha behaved badly…seriously? Mate, have you listened to the rubbish blurted out by P.C. Chacko who doesnt even know that Parliament Attack happened after Agra summit and not before it. Or did you listen to what SM Krishna told today “Since we have nothing to hide on Balochistan, I let that issue be mentioned in Joint stmt”. Have you listened to Yashwant Sinha’s speech, he was quoting paragraphs and pages from documents while putting forward arguments, not murmuring from behind a lady.
And minister after minister of the Govt. was getting up and telling the house that PM has already clarified, but no body knows what was clarified. You can accuse the BJP on anything but economic, infrastructure and foreign policy.
I hope some of the people commenting on this forum know some stuff, otherwise it would be like listening to the verbal diahhorea by Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
the entire episode symbolises the spirit of india as of today!
we can only bark, we lost the bite centuries ago.
the great indian middle class which is capable of bringing about a change is busy worshipping moolah and is insensitive to the need of the times.
MMS or for that matter any other politician will continue to bring ignominy to the nation and the people will just shrug everything off for they are busy with economics.
What is this non-sense ?. If NDA commits a mistake why is UPA taking it an excuse to commit bigger mistakes. UPA is getting away with too much non-sense by giving lame excuses and pointing references to NDA all the time.
SJ, you are better suited for friends of Congress website. It is the duty of apposition to raise issues. Congress did the same thing when NDA was in power.
Nehru created Kashmir a perpetual problem for India and now MMS has created Balochistan which will haunt our children and grand children for the next 62 years.
Congress bowed to Mountbaten to yeild to his two nation theory and now they have walked the half way which was left by its predecessors.
God help India. We the citizens of India would have to live our lives ‘Bhagawan Bharosey’ while we continue to vote Congress back to power time and again having witnessed their blunders since independence for time immortal.
Anshuman, very few people realize the dangers of Congress party ruling India. Some people think that India is getting all the infrastructure because of Congress and India is developing because of Sonia. This is simply non-sensical interpretation of India’s development. Indians are in competition with China and that is one of the reasons for India’s development in recent years. However, some fanatic followers of congress continue to hail Sonia , Rahul for the development. Congress not only created Balochistan problem, it is creating the Arunachal pradesh problem for sure by dodging Chinese claims over it.
India is going to pay heavily for electing manmohan and congress to govern the country. After the kashmir debacle by congress itself , manmohan has committed a biggest blunder which is going to haunt us for a long time.
Advanji’s statement manmohan is the weakest pm of india runs so true.
I would like to focus on the performance of the much hyped Sashi Tharoor since assuming the MOS office.He brushed aside the attack on Indian nationals in Oz as an internal problem of that country. He belittled the use of Goddess Lakshmi by Burger King as a non issue.Now reffers to the Joint statement as inconsequential.Clear signs that he is a product of a toothless institution and a white elephant called UNO.So much for our craze for foreign traits.Jai Ho indian voters.
@ ganesh,
Shashi tharoor is a joke, just like our sissy PM!! I mean GDP numbers aren’t the only things one should be looking at–now even that is low!!
GDP and fiscal deficit numbers put forward by India are like Satyam balance sheet’s figures. We borrow heavily and pass the money to “poor” people thru ponzi schemes and pay commision raises who spend it and raise the GDP, but with a much more steep increase in fiscal deficit. GDP growth should be looked through the lens of defict. NK Singh has written a beautiful piece on this I think after the budget.
Here is my commentary on the India - Pak Joint statement:
http://jitegabharat.com/blog.php?b=52
This whole statement reminds me of a joke I heard as a kid. Apparently there is a Humor Club meeting that a memeber once invites his friend to join. When they go for the club meet, some one stands up and says “16″ and people start laughing. Later, someone else stands up & says “37″. There is silence for a coupel of seconds and the whole room breaks in to a laughter again. And so it goes for the rest of the meeting. Afterwards, on the way out, the guy who attended the club meet for the first time, asks his friends, who was a member of the club, as to what just happened. His friend explained that since they have been members of this club for years, they have pretty much heard all the jokes that there are. So, they have assigned each joke a number. When a member shares a number, they know which joke he wants to share and they laugh!
Unfortunately, the joint statements of India and Pakistan have indeed become jokes by themselevs and it is just about time to assign a number to each childish point that is reiterated adnauseum in such statements.
Read this - “Prime Minister Singh reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack to justice. Prime Minister Gilani assured that Pakistan will do everything in its power in this regard.” Let’s assign this as # 12. Oh ya… and a snake I saw in the jungle yesterday promised to crawl in a straight line from now on.
Or how about this clieche - # 27 “Both leaders agreed that the real challenge is development and the elimination of poverty.” Oh ya and the alchoholics at the Alchoholics Anonymous meet agreed that food subsidies by western countries were responsible for the failure of the Doha round of the World Trade Agreement.
Here is a real funny one # 41 “Prime Minister Singh said that India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues. ” Oh really? You mean we were going to discuss non-outstanding issues as well as outstanding issues? I did not know that! How ignorant of me. These idiots are insulting the common sense (”aam bheja” - hey I just coined a new word ) of the common man (aam admi).
Did you get a sense while reading the above joint statement like some one just out of an MBA school is running the company? What with the statement “Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.” Really? If so, what exactly is stopping the 2 countries from talking since last November? I thought terrorism WAS one of the 5-6 key topics of composite dialogue. Boy, I feel so not well-read!
Want proof of childish behavior of novices? How about the 2nd half of this statement - “Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.” Sounds like 2 children talking in their code language so that mommy would not undertstand the mishief in school that they are refering to, doesn’t it? Besides, what does “Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process” NOT cover that “and these should not be bracketed” DOES cover? Idiots !!
Who the heck do they think they are serving? Some other “wine-sipping intellectual sitting in an air-conditoned room” with a great command of the nuances of diplomatese or the common man working his xxx off to make a living who just needs some honest answers he can understand?
Did some thing happen, say on November 26th, 2008? Let me give the beuraucrats and Congress politicians some clues - it has to do with some 5-star hotels in Mumbai, some Pakistani “tourists” coming to Mumbai shores on a boat and the rest of India glued to it’s TV sets for 60 hours after that. It has to do with some Chief Minister of Maharashtra taking his bollywood buddy on a terror tour of a 5-start hotel. It has to do with a former home miniskirt, I mean Home Minister, making childish statements. Was I talking about the Home Minister of Maharashtra or of India? The answer is YES
We have not negotiated with Pakistan since then. I wonder why? May be because a 4-year old stole the pencil of a 5-year old who then decided to take “katty” with (decision not to talk to) the 4-year old?
Need even more clues - you retards in the Foreign Ministry of India? Then bang your head real hard on the wall 10 times and you will remember. If you still do not remember, ask the mothers of the NSG commandos who laid their lives on 26/11 to “check out” some Pakistani guests from some 5-star hotels in Mumbai.
Oh ya, and one last note for the Foreign Ministry of India. Do publish the list of all “cliches” and their assigned numerical codes so that all future statements can just include a single line of numbers. We can save a few thousand trees by reducing the amount of paper that such crap is printed on. That may just be the biggest benefit coming out of these joint statement! How tragic
This whole statement reminds me of a joke I heard as a kid. Apparently there is a Humor Club meeting that a memeber once invites his friend to attend. When they go for the club meet, some one stands up and says “16″ and people start laughing. Later, someone else stands up & says “37″. There is silence for a coupel of seconds and the whole room breaks in to a laughter again. And so it goes for the rest of the meeting. Afterwards, on the way out, the guy who attended the club meet for the first time, asks his friends, who was a member of the club, as to what just happened. His friend explained that since they have been members of this club for years, they have pretty much heard all the jokes that there are. So, they have assigned each joke a number. When a member shares a number, they know which joke he wants to share and they laugh!
Unfortunately, the joint statements of India and Pakistan have indeed become jokes by themselevs and it is just about time to assign a number to each childish point that is reiterated adnauseum in such statements.
Read this - “Prime Minister Singh reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack to justice. Prime Minister Gilani assured that Pakistan will do everything in its power in this regard.” Let’s assign this as # 12. Oh ya… and a snake I saw in the jungle yesterday promised to crawl in a straight line from now on.
Or how about this clieche - # 27 “Both leaders agreed that the real challenge is development and the elimination of poverty.” Oh ya and the alchoholics at the Alchoholics Anonymous meet agreed that food subsidies by western countries were responsible for the failure of the Doha round of the World Trade Agreement.
Want a really funny one? Here is # 41 - “Prime Minister Singh said that India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues. ” Oh really? You mean we were going to discuss non-outstanding issues as well as outstanding issues? I did not know that! How ignorant of me. These idiots are insulting the common sense (”aam bheja” - hey I just coined a new word ) of the common man (aam admi).
Did you get a sense while reading the above joint statement like some one just out of an MBA school is running the company? What with the statement “Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.” Really? If so, what exactly is stopping the 2 countries from talking since last November? I thought terrorism WAS one of the 5-6 key topics of composite dialogue. Boy, I feel so not well-read!
Want proof of childish behavior of novices? How about the 2nd half of this statement - “Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.” Oh really? What exactly does “bracketed” mean? Sounds like 2 children talking in their code language so that mommy would not undertstand the mishief in school that they are refering to, doesn’t it? Besides, what does “Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process” NOT cover that “and these should not be bracketed” DOES cover? Idiots !!
Who the heck do they think they are serving? Some other wine-sipping intellectual sitting in an air-conditoned room with a great command of the nuances of diplomatese but with an utter lack of a comprehensive strategic perspecitve on how best to protect & advance India’s interests OR the common man working his xxx off to make a living who just needs some honest answers he can understand?
Did some thing happen, say on November 26th, 2008? Let me give the beuraucrats and Congress politicians some clues - it has to do with some 5-star hotels in Mumbai, some Pakistani “tourists” coming to Mumbai shores on a boat and the rest of India glued to it’s TV sets for 60 hours after that. It has to do with some Chief Minister of Maharashtra taking his bollywood buddy on a terror tour of a 5-star hotel. It has to do with a former home miniskirt, I mean Home Minister, making childish statements. Was I talking about the Home Minister of Maharashtra or of India? The answer is YES
We have not negotiated with Pakistan since then. I wonder why? May be because a 4-year old stole the pencil of a 5-year old who then decided to take “katty” with (decision not to talk to) the 4-year old?
Need even more clues - you retards in the Foreign Ministry of India & in the Prime Minister’s Office? Then bang your head real hard on the wall 10 times and you will remember. If you still do not remember, ask the mothers of the NSG commandos who laid their lives on 26/11 to “check out” some Pakistani guests from some 5-star hotels in Mumbai.
Oh ya, and one last note for the Foreign Ministry of India. Do publish the list of all “cliches” and their assigned numerical codes so that all future statements can just include a single line of numbers. We can save a few thousand trees by reducing the amount of paper that such crap is printed on. That may just be the biggest benefit coming out of these joint statement! How tragic
Dhananjay: Valid perspective, but I wonder what the impact of these would be.
Merely yelling, screaming, ridiculing at something that is happening which a minority does not like to think it to be right is not going to make a difference. I am not saying, let us be complacent and swallow these; at the same time just screaming might at best make you feel good for sometime till the next opportunity to do the same arises, in which case you are not adding anything useful or progressive.
friends of bjp से अपील
यदि इस साईट को स्वस्थ बनाना है तो friends of bjp के लोगों को चाहिए की इसको बी बी सी हिंदी . कॉम की तर्ज़ पर बनाये .जैसा की उसमे दुनिया भर के सभी लोग अपनी निष्पक्ष राय किसी भी लेख पर रखते हैं जो बी बी सी द्वारा पोस्ट किया जाता है .यह साईट अस्वस्थ ही नहीं बल्कि षडयंत्र का शिकार भी है .कोई कुछ भी पोस्ट कर रहा है जो विषय या लेख से सम्बन्धित नहीं है .यह अस्वस्थ तरीका है .