03-28-2006, 10:17 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>In defence of the Rashtriya Suraksha Yatra</b>
By Balbir K. Punj
A âsecularâ disinformation campaign has preceded the twin Yatra. It says that the twin-Yatra want to capitalise upon the âHindu angerâ after the Varanasi bomb blast. Thus the Yatra will vitiate the communal atmosphere in the country and foment communal troubles along its route. The same âsecularistsâ are, however, unctuous when it comes to Abdul Nasser Madani.
The recent visit of President Bush, where Congress faced flaks from its Communist allies, but support from the BJP, had its groundwork laid down by NDAâs policy. NDA governmentâs approach to Pakistan was cautious.
L.K. Advani and BJP President Rajnath Singh will undertake twin-Yatra (campaigns) from Dwarka (Gujarat) and Puri (Orissa) respectively on April 6 that will cover 10,800 kilometers between them across 17 states of India before culminating at Delhi on May 10. The Yatras have been collectively named as Rashtriya Suraksha Yatra (National Security Campaign) that will mobilise mass support against worsening situation of internal security in the country given a long rope by the UPA government.
Some silent issues that will be addressed during the Yatra are i) unchecked infiltration altering demographic profile in parts of India ii) amending the Foreignersâ Act, 1946 selectively for Assam iii) UPAâs manipulation on worsening imbalance of religious demography cited in Census 2001 iv) Communal reservation in jobs and education v) Kerala Assembly Resolution on release of Madani vi) growing naxalite violence viii) Muslim headcount order in armed forces ix) Scrapping of POTA x) Scam in Scorpene Submarine Deal xi) UPA government protecting Quattrochi.
But a âsecularâ disinformation campaign has preceded the twin Yatra. It says that the twin-Yatra want to capitalise upon the âHindu angerâ after the Varanasi bomb blast. Thus the Yatra will vitiate the communal atmosphere in the country and foment communal troubles along its route. The same âsecularistsâ are, however, unctuous when it comes to Abdul Nasser Madani. His disrepute for indulging in communally impassioned rhetoric precedes his involvement in Coimbatore serial blasts of 1998. Yet the self-proclaimed âHuman Rights Groupsâ and âMinority Rights Groupsâ have on several occasions demanded his release, Kerala MPs have signed collective appeal to the President, before to cap the farce the Kerala Assembly passed an unanimous resolution on Holi Day to seek his release on âhumanitarian groundsâ. L.K. Advani, as he recently clarified in a public function, has been contemplating about a in Yatra for quite some times. The slovenly, rather disingenuous approach of the UPA-government to important factors of national security (as listed above) was compelling enough. The Varanasi bomb-blast, if it prompted anything, was not the Yatra itself but its announcement.
It will be far removed from the truth to say there was no terrorism during NDA regime. Kandahar swap, Godhra, Gujarat, Akshardham, Raghunath temple attacks did happen during NDAâs time. Kashmir continued to boil. But there was a determined resolve in the NDA government to combat terrorism. The NDA government had four strands of combating terror- a) mobilise international opinion against terrorism b) forcing Pakistan to recognise that terrorism in J&K emanates from its territory c) legislating necessary laws like POTA d) neutralizing ISI bases/sleeper cells in the country.
Before 9/11 it was very difficult to convince the USA on terrorism and extract its sympathy, and support. The NDA government did its spadework well. The recent visit of President Bush, where Congress faced flaks from its Communist allies, but support from the BJP, had it groundwork laid down by NDAâs policy. NDA governmentâs approach to Pakistan was cautious and restrained until SAARC summit of 2004 where India was able to have its terms. During NDAâs tenure on an average 45/50 ISI sleeper cells in India were identified and destroyed every year.
The figure, as Shri Advani found out recently, has dropped to 15 after coming of UPA government. The serial blasts in Delhi and Varanasi and attacks on IIS-Bangalore are not surprising. POTA was instituted in India after United Nations Security Council felt existing laws in most countries were inadequate to cope with new threat of global terrorism. POTA was effecting in not only prosecuting cases against terror suspects but stopping the funding of terrorism. But it was repealed by the UPA government on ground that it was âanti-minorityâ.
The ULFA was on the run during NDA governmentâs time. In 2004 the Indian Army helped Royal Bhutanese Army to launch down crack down on ULFA bases in Bhutan. Shri Vajpayee, during his election campaign in Guwahati in April 2004, delivered a stern message to separatist groups. But the UPA government has begun friendly parleys with ULFA and going on targeting innocent people, blowing up gas pipelines, and killing police personnel. The first round held on October 26, was chaired by the Prime Minister himself. What could be a more groveling attitude?
Naxalite problem received a fresh lease of life as Congress government of Andhra Pradesh rescinded the ban of PWG and called its representatives for talks with Home Minister K. Jana Reddy. All the while PWG kept talking of âoverthrowing the Indian government with armed struggleâ. The unsuccessful talks were abandoned but PWG and MCC merged to form CPI (Maoist). Maoist problem is on rise since the advent of UPA government. But the government is not ready to acknowledge it as a security problem but merely as a socio-economic problem.
It appears that the responsibility of defending secularism has passed on to judiciary. The âSecularâ legislators are hell bent upon turning India into a Nizam-e-Mustafa with utter contempt for judiciary. It took the Supreme Court to strike down IMDT Act and five per cent reservation ordinance enacted by Andhra Pradesh government. A two-judge bench of Allahabad High Court had to annul the 50 per cent reservation for Muslims in postgraduate professional courses in AMU. But the UPA government is walking in footsteps of Rajiv Gandhi who overturned the Supreme Court verdict in Shah Bano case by cringing before the Ulema. The UPA government has amended the Foreigners Act, 1946 for Assam only which means IMDT through backdoor. It has trying to design some constitutional mechanism to neutralise five per cent reservation for Muslims, and overturn the AMU verdict. This contempt for judiciary will be highlighted during the Yatra.
<b>The worsening imbalance in religious demography of India is fraught with peril for the mosaic of this country. It can act as major security risk in parts of India. The demographic boundaries of India are shrinking with its attendant consequences. Home Minister Shivraj Patil committed a âshooting the messengerâ act by removing Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Jayant Kumar Bhantia after failing to persuade that honest and bold IAS officer to âsanitiseâ the Muslim growth rate reflected in the census. Were the government honestly Secular it would have accepted the figures and tried to persuade people that there was no danger in it. But the government tried a manipulative measure by âadjustingâ figures since 1961. But can a manipulation on paper, change the situation on ground. </b>
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By Balbir K. Punj
A âsecularâ disinformation campaign has preceded the twin Yatra. It says that the twin-Yatra want to capitalise upon the âHindu angerâ after the Varanasi bomb blast. Thus the Yatra will vitiate the communal atmosphere in the country and foment communal troubles along its route. The same âsecularistsâ are, however, unctuous when it comes to Abdul Nasser Madani.
The recent visit of President Bush, where Congress faced flaks from its Communist allies, but support from the BJP, had its groundwork laid down by NDAâs policy. NDA governmentâs approach to Pakistan was cautious.
L.K. Advani and BJP President Rajnath Singh will undertake twin-Yatra (campaigns) from Dwarka (Gujarat) and Puri (Orissa) respectively on April 6 that will cover 10,800 kilometers between them across 17 states of India before culminating at Delhi on May 10. The Yatras have been collectively named as Rashtriya Suraksha Yatra (National Security Campaign) that will mobilise mass support against worsening situation of internal security in the country given a long rope by the UPA government.
Some silent issues that will be addressed during the Yatra are i) unchecked infiltration altering demographic profile in parts of India ii) amending the Foreignersâ Act, 1946 selectively for Assam iii) UPAâs manipulation on worsening imbalance of religious demography cited in Census 2001 iv) Communal reservation in jobs and education v) Kerala Assembly Resolution on release of Madani vi) growing naxalite violence viii) Muslim headcount order in armed forces ix) Scrapping of POTA x) Scam in Scorpene Submarine Deal xi) UPA government protecting Quattrochi.
But a âsecularâ disinformation campaign has preceded the twin Yatra. It says that the twin-Yatra want to capitalise upon the âHindu angerâ after the Varanasi bomb blast. Thus the Yatra will vitiate the communal atmosphere in the country and foment communal troubles along its route. The same âsecularistsâ are, however, unctuous when it comes to Abdul Nasser Madani. His disrepute for indulging in communally impassioned rhetoric precedes his involvement in Coimbatore serial blasts of 1998. Yet the self-proclaimed âHuman Rights Groupsâ and âMinority Rights Groupsâ have on several occasions demanded his release, Kerala MPs have signed collective appeal to the President, before to cap the farce the Kerala Assembly passed an unanimous resolution on Holi Day to seek his release on âhumanitarian groundsâ. L.K. Advani, as he recently clarified in a public function, has been contemplating about a in Yatra for quite some times. The slovenly, rather disingenuous approach of the UPA-government to important factors of national security (as listed above) was compelling enough. The Varanasi bomb-blast, if it prompted anything, was not the Yatra itself but its announcement.
It will be far removed from the truth to say there was no terrorism during NDA regime. Kandahar swap, Godhra, Gujarat, Akshardham, Raghunath temple attacks did happen during NDAâs time. Kashmir continued to boil. But there was a determined resolve in the NDA government to combat terrorism. The NDA government had four strands of combating terror- a) mobilise international opinion against terrorism b) forcing Pakistan to recognise that terrorism in J&K emanates from its territory c) legislating necessary laws like POTA d) neutralizing ISI bases/sleeper cells in the country.
Before 9/11 it was very difficult to convince the USA on terrorism and extract its sympathy, and support. The NDA government did its spadework well. The recent visit of President Bush, where Congress faced flaks from its Communist allies, but support from the BJP, had it groundwork laid down by NDAâs policy. NDA governmentâs approach to Pakistan was cautious and restrained until SAARC summit of 2004 where India was able to have its terms. During NDAâs tenure on an average 45/50 ISI sleeper cells in India were identified and destroyed every year.
The figure, as Shri Advani found out recently, has dropped to 15 after coming of UPA government. The serial blasts in Delhi and Varanasi and attacks on IIS-Bangalore are not surprising. POTA was instituted in India after United Nations Security Council felt existing laws in most countries were inadequate to cope with new threat of global terrorism. POTA was effecting in not only prosecuting cases against terror suspects but stopping the funding of terrorism. But it was repealed by the UPA government on ground that it was âanti-minorityâ.
The ULFA was on the run during NDA governmentâs time. In 2004 the Indian Army helped Royal Bhutanese Army to launch down crack down on ULFA bases in Bhutan. Shri Vajpayee, during his election campaign in Guwahati in April 2004, delivered a stern message to separatist groups. But the UPA government has begun friendly parleys with ULFA and going on targeting innocent people, blowing up gas pipelines, and killing police personnel. The first round held on October 26, was chaired by the Prime Minister himself. What could be a more groveling attitude?
Naxalite problem received a fresh lease of life as Congress government of Andhra Pradesh rescinded the ban of PWG and called its representatives for talks with Home Minister K. Jana Reddy. All the while PWG kept talking of âoverthrowing the Indian government with armed struggleâ. The unsuccessful talks were abandoned but PWG and MCC merged to form CPI (Maoist). Maoist problem is on rise since the advent of UPA government. But the government is not ready to acknowledge it as a security problem but merely as a socio-economic problem.
It appears that the responsibility of defending secularism has passed on to judiciary. The âSecularâ legislators are hell bent upon turning India into a Nizam-e-Mustafa with utter contempt for judiciary. It took the Supreme Court to strike down IMDT Act and five per cent reservation ordinance enacted by Andhra Pradesh government. A two-judge bench of Allahabad High Court had to annul the 50 per cent reservation for Muslims in postgraduate professional courses in AMU. But the UPA government is walking in footsteps of Rajiv Gandhi who overturned the Supreme Court verdict in Shah Bano case by cringing before the Ulema. The UPA government has amended the Foreigners Act, 1946 for Assam only which means IMDT through backdoor. It has trying to design some constitutional mechanism to neutralise five per cent reservation for Muslims, and overturn the AMU verdict. This contempt for judiciary will be highlighted during the Yatra.
<b>The worsening imbalance in religious demography of India is fraught with peril for the mosaic of this country. It can act as major security risk in parts of India. The demographic boundaries of India are shrinking with its attendant consequences. Home Minister Shivraj Patil committed a âshooting the messengerâ act by removing Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Jayant Kumar Bhantia after failing to persuade that honest and bold IAS officer to âsanitiseâ the Muslim growth rate reflected in the census. Were the government honestly Secular it would have accepted the figures and tried to persuade people that there was no danger in it. But the government tried a manipulative measure by âadjustingâ figures since 1961. But can a manipulation on paper, change the situation on ground. </b>
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