Anniversary of Kashmiri Pandits' exodus from their homeland in the Valley

January 19 is the sad day when the Hindu minority community in the Kashmir Valley-known as Kashmiri Pandits to which our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, her daughter Indira Gandhi, his grandson Rajiv Gandhi and the ruling Congress party's de facto Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 elections, Rahul Gandhi, belong, was virtually driven out of their ancient homeland, many years ago. Although it was the first and the only case of its kind when Hindus, the majority community in India, but a minority group in the Muslim majority State-J&K in the Indian Union, had to flee their homes due to a campaign of persecution and a dark shadow of death and destruction hanging over them, thanks to the intolerance and hatred of a majority of their Kashmiri Muslim brethren and co-citizens, sharing the same language and heritage. Hardly any one, including the media. is really bothered about the suffering and deprivation experienced by these displaced Kashmiri Pandits, many of whom are still languishing camps in Jammu.

It was a young Kashmiri Pandit, Rashneek Kher who reminded an Indian Express columnist Ms Tavleen Singh when she was visiting the valley recently, about the tragic anniversary of the Kashmiri Pandits' exodus from their beloved homeland, urging her to write about it. He told Ms Singh that his own home had been burnt down and he had lost relatives in the violence. Kher also told her that the hostility of ordinary Kashmiri Muslims made it impossible for those Kashmiri Pandits living in terrible condition in Jammu camps to return to their homes in the valley, as most of them might have been destroyed and illegally occupied.

Writing about this horrible story of Kashmiri Pandits' travails in their own country, Tavleen Singh regretted how false secularism practiced by some political parties like the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, lulled Indian media into indifference vis-a-vis the cruelty to the Kashmiri Hindus; they tend to perpetuate the blinkered, one-sided view that the Muslim community is the only victim of communal violence. Judging from the Congress party's vote-bank politics, one has no doubt that this party is the foremost culprit in promoting the sense of victimhood in the Muslims, instead of bridging the divide between the two largest communities-the Hindus and the Muslims in the country, since independence.

Hinduism is the most tolerant and broadminded faith with ancient traditional values of respect for all faiths. Hence, the Constitution-makers did not think it necessary to specifically mention secularism in its Directive Principles. It was only during the Emergency, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, with dictatorial powers, added "secularism" to the Constitution through an amendment. But, unfortunately, this psuedo-secularism has become the bane of communal harmony.       

Aam Aadmi Party phenomenon

Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal, a former Indian Revenue Service officer, is making waves on the Delhi political scene following its unexpectedly impressive performance in the recent State Assembly elections held on December 4, 2013. It emerged as the second largest political party with 28 seats behind the BJP with 32 seats in the Assembly's total strength of 70 members. The ruling Congress party headed by the outgoing Chief Minister Mrs Sheila Dikshit was reduced to mere 8 seats. She herself was defeated by Kejriwal in her New Delhi seat.

The main cause of the Dikshit govt's humiliating defeat seemed to be her complacent arrogance. In her 15 year rule, she had improved the Capital city's infrastructure, but the problems of skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, including onions, tomatoes, potatoes, etc., worsened. She was unable to do anything to control them. Problems of sewage, inner city roads, sanitation, remained unsolved. Also, the general image of the central govt, headed by the Congress party as the most corrupt, non-performing, dynastic outfit, had also a serious impact on the Sheila Dikshit govt. There was a widespread mood of anger against the Congress in the voters. This benefitted the main opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) and the new one-year old party the Aam Admi Party(AAP).

Since no party got the absolute majority of minimum 36 seats, there was a stalemate in the beginning as the largest party, the BJP declined the Lt-Governor's invitaion to form the govt on the plea that it did not have the numbers to form a stable govt. AAP had publicly declared that it will neither support any party nor seek support from any party-namely, the BJP or the Congress. However, the humiliated Congress party in order to keep its main opponent, the BJP,  out of power, voluntarily declared an un-conditional support to the AAP to form the govt. Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP leader, abandoning all its earlier high-sounding promises that it would neither seek any party's support nor support any party to form the govt., conveniently compromised to come to power. It used the pretext that its self-arranged referendum through SMS, mobile phones, and locality meetings, etc., gave them people's majority approval in favour of forming the govt. The electoral mandate and its earlier high moral claims were thrown to the winds to occupy power.

Similarly, other promises like free water and cheap electricity for every one were quickly announced as a populist sop, but economic experts denounced both these measures as flawed and financially disastrous. No much prior study and their implications seemed to have been gone into. As regards their much-acclaimed aversion to the VIP culture, Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers were found to be hypocritical and duplicitous. The Ministers preferred expensive big limousines like Toyota Innovas for their travels; Kejriwal approved a big official accommodation spread over 9000 sq.ft with ten rooms and a big lawn. He justified it and got his parents' approval to move in. No wonder, his supporters and friends were annoyed at Kejriwal's disconnect between his own words and deeds, and protested to him. He quickly decided to control the damage, reversed his decision, asking for a smaller house. All his decisions seem to have one thing in common: Kejriwal's incapability to adhere to his high moral positions; and a tendency to compromise under the pretext of popular wishes gathered through a self-serving and dubious methods. 

Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade's humiliation in New York

The Devyani Khobragade episode has revealed some disturbing facts:One, the socalled "strategic partnership" between the US and India has been found to be hollow, with a lot of gas but no substance. When it comes the crunch, the US govt as well as its Indian-American citizens act as arrogant, crude adversaries. If Indo-US strategic partnership was based on any genuine friendship, mutual respect, equality and sensitivity, how could a minor incident of an alleged "visa fraud" on the part of an Indian deputy consul-general in New York happen in the way it did? It is unthinkable that a diplomat of a friendly country would be subjected to a worst kind of public humiliation:arresting, handcuffing and strip-searching as a common criminal when she went to drop her two girls to school in the morning. Does this not show the US authorities' utter disregard for even basic courtesies and decencies provided under the Vienna Conventions?

Let us face the bitter truth:our government's soft and weak-kneed  policies to the US-as also other nations-have brought such humiliations on our citizens. The US administration dare not do this China or to Russia. It is reported that when the Russian ambassador's car was towed away in Washington DC, the next day, six American embassy cars in Moscow were picked up. Even Brazil cancelled its President's official trip to the US when Snowden's account of the US spying on it was revealed; it also revoked 4billion dollar military deal with the US. This is how self-respecting assert themselves.