People keep harping about Modis massacres of 2002, Why not about the 1984 Sikh riots or "Sikh genocide" Sikhs were literally dragged out of their houses and slaughtered. The 1984 anti-Sikhs riots or the 1984 Sikh Massacre were a series of pogroms directed against Sikhs in India, by anti-Sikh mobs, in response to the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. There were more than 8,000 deaths, including 3,000 in Delhi. The Central Bureau of Investigation, the main Indian investigating agency, is of the opinion that the acts of violence were organized with the support from the then Delhi police officials and the central government headed by Indira Gandhi's son, Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as Prime Minister after his mother's death and, when asked about the riots, said "when a big tree falls, the earth shakes". Anti-Sikh riots erupted on 1 November 1984, and continued in some areas for days, killing more than 3,000 Sikhs. Sultanpuri, Mangolpuri, Trilokpuri, and other Trans-Yamuna areas of Delhi were the worst affected. Mobs carried iron rods, knives, clubs, and combustible material, including kerosene and Petrol. The mobs swarmed into Sikh neighbourhoods, arbitrarily killing any Sikh men or women they could find. Their shops and houses were ransacked and burned. In other incidents, armed mobs stopped buses and trains, in and around Delhi, pulling out Sikh passengers to be lynched or doused with kerosene and burnt alive. Others were dragged out from their homes and hacked to death with bladed weapons.
Such wide-scale violence cannot take place without police help. Delhi Police, whose paramount duty was to upkeep law and order situation and protect innocent lives, gave full help to rioters who were in fact working under able guidance of sycophant leaders like Jagdish Tytler and H K L Bhagat. It is a known fact that many jails, sub-jails and lock-ups were opened for three days and prisoners, for the most part hardened criminals, were provided fullest provisions, means and instruction to "teach the Sikhs a lesson". But it will be wrong to say that Delhi Police did nothing, for it took full and keen action against Sikhs who tried to defend themselves. The Sikhs who opened fire to save their lives and property had to spend months dragging heels in courts after-wards.
The CBI said Sajjan Kumar went about inciting mobs and that the killings in the Delhi cantonment area in 1984 were not spontaneous. Sajjan Kumar allegedly told mobs: Not a single Sikh should survive, according to TV reports quoting the CBI.
It is not that Gujarath riots are pardonable, not at all but the holier than thou attitude of the Congress is most reprehensible. (the congress Leaders mentioned above are still walking free). Instead of moving on the Congress is raking up issues which are long dead and gone or are still in the Courts of the justice system of India, which is aptly described as Tarikh, aglee tarikh. Next date for hearing and the next date......... Sukh Ram who amassed wealth of crores of rupees in the 1996 telecom scam was then in his sixties. He enjoyed his ill gotten wealth due to our "agalee tarikh" judicial system till he turned 86. Finally he was convicted and sent to jail and he had the temerity to plead that his punishment should be set aside as he was too old. Long live this INDIA !!
You go back in time and see Nehrus times! The most egoistic, weak and trying to Look Good (concern for his image in international arena) Prime Minister as against the national interest, I don't think India ever had such a weak Prime Minister from then till now. I do not wish to discuss his extra marital affairs, but as the stories go, he was quite prolific in those too, starting with Edwina Mountbatten. I do not know if these are stories or true.
Looking at this example.
Nehru's indecision on Kashmir: Even as Pakistani raiders were within 7 km of the Srinagar airport on 26 October 1947, and Sardar Patel prevailing upon Nehru. Manekshaw, then a Lt Colonel in the Directorate of Military Operations, presented an assessment to the Defence Committee of the Cabinet that Kashmir would be lost for good if troops were not flown immediately.
"Nehru hesitated (even after the Maharaja of Kashmir acceded to India). He was concerned about the world opinion(aka Looking Good) and talked about consulting the UN, until an impatient Sardar Patel wrested the initiative from him. "Jawahar, do you want Kashmir or do you want to give it away?" "Of course, I want Kashmir," was Nehru's indignant response. The Sardar turned to Sam and said, "You have your marching orders".
"At 11 am from Delhi's Safdarjung airport with six IAF and fifty Dakotas requisitioned a few days earlier from private airlines. A total of 800 sorties were flown for a fortnight. By 16 November the raiders had been repulsed from the valley and Srinagar and the airport were secured although engagement with infiltrators in the rest of Kashmir and along the border continued for another 14 months,"
The family saga continues even today...
Frankly I think it is between the devil and the deep sea. If you have read Sunt's Zu the Art of War along with Chanakya neeti then possibly many things will become clear. Hopefully we will learn from our mistakes and move on. We have to grant Modi that much. The Hath had its chance but blew it. If none are rational choices then who is? Ultimately idealism wont take you very far. This country has to run. and run well and right now if we don't we will perish. If you have observed and heard the grand Dame of Congress and her sons discourses aka rhetoric, the contents are silly, childish and shameful in the Extreme. In the course of events along with the Hath (Congress Symbol), I as an Army man will not forget that our Supreme commander of the Defence Forces of India was a Bank Scam tainted person who was appointed as President by this very lady aka government, her scam case was under investigation then and is still under investigation. The Defence Forces The Pride of India, had to salute her and bow before her and do yes Mam no mam, really my head again hung in shame. Why because not guilty until proved! How could the Grand Dame appoint such a person as President? One minister of this government says that it was only the Muslim soldiers who saved Kargil the bastard trying to divide the Army now.
I can continue page after page of scams and misdeeds of the incumbent government for half a century, the damage this dynastic family has caused to this country.Things have come to such a pass that we require a very very strong leader. As long as the country is put back on rails again, any amount of collateral damage is acceptable, we cannot be squeamish about it. Idealism will lead nowhere, There are no clean hands left in public or political life. I remember a long time ago once I was maintaining Permanent Line routes and carrying out a microwave tower survey for avalanches in Ladakh, from Khardungla Pass top towards Thoise (Shoyk Valley) at an average altitude of 20,000 feet along with 10 Signals Jawans on foot. The Khardungla pass closed due to heavy snow fall and we ran short of rations. Taking shelter in a zhula (local people) hut I remembered we had spare leather soles for our boots in our pack 08's. We took out these soles and boiled them in melted snow water and drank the soup for 5 days till the weather cleared and choppers dropped us some rations. So we had a choice of the devil and the deep sea, life or death. The chemicals used for tanning the buffalo hides to make soles was positively harmful, yet the leather contained nutrients which would help us to survive. Sometimes hard choices for survival without being squeamish.
The way you and other idealistic rationalists think (should we allow somebody who isn't coming with clean hands to become a PM now ?) will get us nowhere, there is no utopia at the end of this particular rainbow. It is a time for hard choices and pain. Its a question of survival of India, its culture, its society and its very existence. As I said earlier The Hath had its chance and blew it.
Too much damage has already been done, hence the choices are going to be hard and may involve hard decisions akin to the crusades which were conducted under the sanctions of the pope. The First Crusade (1096–1099) started as a widespread pilgrimage (France and Germany) and ended as a military expedition by Roman Catholic Europe to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquests of the Levant (632–661), ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem in 1099. It was launched on 27 November 1095 by Pope Urban II with the primary goal of responding to an appeal from Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, who requested that western volunteers come to his aid and help to repel the invading Seljuq Turks from Anatolia. The new crusade in India will not be sanctioned by the Pope against his political and other enemies and the spread of Christianity, but will be sanctioned by the People of India against the national malaise of corruption, mis governance, dynastic kingdoms controlling India's destiny, a destiny which should rightfully be controlled by its peoples and not by self serving fiefdoms. Heads of the corrupt will roll as they did in the 11th to the 17th century during the crusades.
It will be the "juxtaposition of extreme violence and anguished faith" which will finally make this country regain its rightful position of pride and success in this world. So also will alleviate the sufferings of people of all Class, Creed and Religions.
