Here we go again.
After months of shouting from the rooftops that talks with Pakistan were not possible unless there was credible action taken against the perpetrators of the 26/11 massacre, our government has suddenly decided in its wisdom that we should 'delink talks from terrorism.'
Here's what the press release issued after Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani met in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt on July 16 says: 'Both Prime Ministers recognized 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.'
Dr Singh made a rather tepid attempt to tell journalists later that this actually meant that "We were quite clear that if acts of terrorism continue to be perpetrated, there is no question of a dialogue, least of all, a comprehensive dialogue. If there is no attempt to contain terrorism, no dialogue can make progress. A dialogue process even if it starts, cannot move forward."
But here is what Pakistan's Dawn has to say:
"Since the 26/11 Mumbai attacks India had been insisting that the Composite Dialogue, which was started in 2004 and completed four rounds, could not be resumed without Pakistan taking credible action against terrorism and prosecuting the perpetrators of the attacks. Pakistan has been consistently saying that all problems can be solved through dialogue.
'It was not immediately clear what motivated India to change its position on the issue of resumption of peace talks.
'One apparent reason is the forthcoming visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to New Delhi and the Indian desire to avoid being seen as unreasonable and inflexible. Talking to media personnel after the meeting, Dr Singh said: 'We have an obligation to talk to Pakistan."
Now that bothers me no end. What 'obligation' is that?
For the record, I have nothing against talks. But we as a nation have consistently been portraying our inability to walk our talk. The way we backed off after mobilizing our forces on the border post the attack on our parliament made us a laughing stock not just in Pakistan, but around the world.
Similarly, each time there is a terrorist strike on our land, New Delhi, like a peeved child, declares" I'll not talk to you!"
Days, or weeks later, it extends a hand of friendship again, ignoring the sniggers in Islamabad and in the terrorist camps in Pakistan.
Similarly, we put the peace talks on hold after the Mumbai train attacks in July 2006. But barely months later, we decided to set up a joint anti-terror panel, and the peace talks were back on track.
In fact, part of the understanding reached between India and Pakistan during the Vajpayee-Musharraf meeting in Islamabad in January 2004 was - and we shall not discuss the merits or demerits of that here --- that terrorism would be allowed to derail the India Pakistan dialogue process.
The apparent logic behind that was that if the terrorist swine knew they could not derail the peace process with their cowardly acts, they would eventually give up and become peaceful citizens.
But obviously New Delhi did not factor in Pakistan's 'thousand cuts' policy towards us, or believed it was too large or too strong to be brought down by a mere 1,000 cuts.
What about the Dawn's assertion that part of the reason for extending the olive branch again was US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's upcoming visit to Delhi?
Hillary Clinton has recently gone on record admitting that the United States was partly to blame for the mess in Pakistan, and hence by implication, had a moral obligation to pull it out of the dung-heap. Great. That might be Washington's obligation. Should it necessarily be India's?
As I said earlier, I am not against talks. But let us understand that talks or no talks, terrorists based in Pakistan will continue to strike against India.
In fact, this renewed bonhomie in Egypt comes a day after UN officials and Indian Intelligence agencies warned that the Lashkar-e-Toiba was planning more Mumbai style attacks in India.
And the head of that outfit, a cur named Hafeez Sayeed, was recently released by a Pakistani court after a few days of token arrest.
So what shall we talk about? The weather?
By the same author: Let's give away Kashmir | Why am I proud of India? | A troubled Pakistan bodes ill for India | Youngistan needs You | Why politics gets my goat | Left, Right, and gas cylinders
