In the backdrop of the recent militant attacks in the valley, Organiser has a cover story (‘Hit Where it Hurts’) claiming that the surgical strike carried out against terror modules in September last year has not had the desired effect of inhibiting Pakistan. “If anything, the country has become more recalcitrant than before,” according to that story, which further suggests that India’s Pakistan policy needs an urgent course correction to rein in Pakistan. “Mere words can no longer suffice in dealing with the rogue country! India has to give out a strong and clear message that continued interference in her internal affairs is simply not acceptable. The very least that needs to be done immediately is severing of diplomatic ties, cutting in the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status and a rethink on agreements like the Indus Water Treaty,” according to the report.

The report also says that further procrastination will have a very demoralising effect on the armed forces and other security forces, which are bearing the brunt of Pakistan’s protracted hostility. “It will also manifest doubts in the mind of the common man about the capability of the nation to deal with her enemies. Such a situation would be disastrous for the nation. It is, therefore, time to catch the bull by the horns!” the report says. It adds that Pakistan needs to be hit in a manner that it reins in the rogue elements. “There can be calibration of Indian response but at the end of it all, if the matter stops at all out war, so be it. India needs to immediately start putting in place the national effort required for such an eventuality,” according to the report.

Dealing with Kashmir

In an article on Jammu and Kashmir, Organiser notes, “Stating the obvious, since Partition in 1947, there has been woeful strategic bankruptcy in resolving the J&K issue. Political gerrymandering, sensationalised by visual media, contra national security interests, have been on grand display with utter disregard to nation’s morale and pride. The responsibility and accountability for the ‘self-goals’ is squarely credited to Pt. Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi. Nehru for stopping the armed forces offensive after they had regained the initiative and momentum against Pakistan raiders to drive them out of what is today known as Pakistan Occupied Territory. Also, for taking the issue to the United Nations. Next, Lal Bahadur Shastri, in 1965, too must share some part of the blame for handing back the captured territory that included the key pass — Hajji Pir Pass — and straightening the Uri Bulge without forcing a comprehensive negotiated settlement of J&K issue. Finally, Indira Gandhi for releasing over 90,000 Pakistan prisoners of war without forcing Zulfiqar Bhutto to agree to the ‘final’ settlement of Kashmir issue.” The article further claims, “Seizing and exploiting opportunities is a hallmark of statesmanship and strong leadership. By such criteria, the three Congress party stalwarts and the Congress party have been a total disaster for the nation.” The article suggests that the Union home ministry must also allow the local police, central para military forces (CPMFs) and army units operating in the towns and Srinagar to strike back not only with rubber bullets but also with real bullets against stone-pelters. “Indian Security Forces — armed forces and CPMFs — have far greater ‘punishment withstanding’ capability than the Pakistan war machine. Let none of the political cadres and the peaceniks have any reservations on such a score. The current crisis situation provides an opportunity to Modi and the BJP to seize the initiative and force the momentum,” according to the article.

The Hindu in Tharoor

Organiser has an article on Shashi Tharoor’s Why I Am A Hindu. The article (‘Hindutva: Exasperating Farrago’) notes, “It is explicitly clear at the very outset in Shashi Tharoor’s ‘Why I Am A Hindu’ that the book is his political attempt to articulate an alternative narrative of Hindutva with Hinduism on the mind. The compulsion seems to have come from Tharoor’s home state, Kerala, as much as from the Congress’s urgency to tread soft Hinduism, demonstrated clearly when Rahul Gandhi made calculated visits to temples during the Gujarat election campaign. And the fact that Tharoor is associated with the Congress Party with the set ideological formulation, the proposition hardly leaves any space for the scholarship.”

The article adds that Tharoor’s home state, Kerala, has been culturally caught in a fierce conflict. “The gory political violence nurtured by communists on the one hand and the growth of radical Islam on the other, is far too alarming… RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat unfurling the national flag on the Republic Day in the state for two consecutive years must have been disturbing to the author,” the article states. It also claims that nobody questioned the Hindu credentials of Tharoor warranting the book. “But the changed narrative of the Congress necessitated it for him. And the call is clear. The Congress is no less equipped to articulate the Hindu idiom. That the book is an assertion of the author, who happens to be an MP from Thiruvananthapuram, and caught in the characteristic Congress dilemma on soft Hinduism, is more than clear in the entire narrative. As if to assert that I am Hindu no less,” notes the article.

(Compiled by Lalmani Verma)