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| Army chief Singh deserves kudos, not brickbats | | |
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, July 17: When political leaders fail to recognize their own weakness and follies, they try their level best to divert the attention of the people away from the real issues. When political leaders fail to come up to the people's expectations or when the situation goes out of their hands, they rake up certain issues in order to deflect the people's attention and hide their own failures and blunders. Unfortunately, National Conference president and Union Minister of Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah has also thought it convenient to denounce and criticize Chief of the Army Staff, General V. K. Singh, in order to divert the attention of the people away from the issues that led to the virtual collapse of the government in Jammu and Kashmir and enabled the Kashmiri extremists and separatists to play the shots and create more and more difficulties for the state government as well as the Government of India.
It would be foolish to condone the follies of those in power in the state and it would be too much to say that those responsible for the maintenance of law and order and the unity and integrity of the state didn't mishandle the situation in Kashmir. To say so would be to suppress and hid the facts and further complicate the already rather complicated situation in Kashmir, which has been on the boil since the past about three weeks. There is no doubt that the authorities failed to recognize the gravity of the situation in Kashmir and conducted in a manner that, instead of dousing fire, created an environment conducive for the promotion of politics of extremism and separatism and for bringing everything in Kashmir to a grinding halt. It is hardly necessary to catalogue here the instances indicating the utter failure of the state's political class consisting of those ruling the state and those in the opposition. For, nothing is hidden from the discerning people.
Hence, the need of the time was to introspect and re-introspect and find where they went wrong and take remedial measures to put things back on the rail so that the common people in Kashmir could heave a sigh of relief and carry on their economic and other day-to-day normal activities in a peaceful and secure environment. No. Our political leaders would not do that. They would not take the responsibility. They would simply pass the buck. Some of them would even fish in the troubled waters, as the People's Democratic Party (PDP) did and has been consistently doing with a view to recapturing political power.
However, it was not expected of Farooq Abdullah that he would, instead of undoing the wrongs committed by the political leadership in Kashmir that aggravated the situation there to the extent that the Army had to be called out and curfew had to be imposed and re-imposed to brought the situation under control, take on the Army chief and give a new twist to the situation. Army chief General V. K. Singh is one man who has put things in perspective and said what he was supposed to say taking into consideration the threat to national security being posed by Pakistan and its agents in Kashmir.
General V. K. Singh had not said anything against any political leader. He had only emphasized the fact that the Army had done what it was required to do to restore normalcy in Kashmir and that, ultimately, it was for the political leadership to undertake steps aimed at restoring the people's confidence in the state's political apparatus. What was wrong in that? After all, it was, and is the Army, which has been on the forefront; which has been making supreme sacrifices to only defend and protect the borders against Pakistani intrusions, but also to secure the lives and property of politicians who, without the Army help and protection, cannot move even an inch or venture out of their well-protected and well-guarded palatial houses. It would be a crime against man and god if someone criticizes the disciplined, dedicated and humane Army, which so far has sacrificed over 20,000 brave soldiers in the state.
Farooq Abdullah says that the Army chief has criticized Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. It is not a fact. He has not made any statement naming Omar Abdullah. He made a general statement that the Army had done the job and now it was for the political leadership to move ahead. Nothing wrong. It is obvious that Farooq Abdullah is not aware of the influence of the Pakistani Army on the Pakistani polity. He should remember that no politician can move an inch without the prior permission of the Army. It is the Army, and not the Pakistani political leadership, which is in command. The Indian Army is, on the other hand, a disciplined force. It never interferes in the political matters of the country. It does suggest that it needs legal protection or such anti-terror laws as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act because it is operating in an extremely hostile environment and it is within its rights. You cannot fight an enemy with your hands tightly tied.
Farooq Abdullah, who is part of the establishment, would do well not to make any adverse comment on the Army and its chief, General V. K. Singh. For, adverse comments on the Army only cause demoralization and strengthen the extremists who are all out to ensure the ouster of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. He would also do well to remember that it was the Army the Chief Minister ultimately depended upon to save his chair.
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