archive: 'The army is fighting with one hand tied behind' (Interview
'The army is fighting with one hand tied behind' (Interview
Posted by Ashok Chowgule (ashokvc@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in)
The Economic Times
July 6, 1999
Title: 'The army is fighting with one hand tied behind' (Interview
with K Natwar Singh)
Author:
Publication: The Economic Times
Date: July 6, 1999
K Natwar Singh was a member of the Indian Foreign Service before he
decided to join the Congress in the eighties. His proximity to the
Gandhi family had made his transition to politics smooth and he held
various important portfolios in the Congress regime. Currently, he
heads the Foreign Affairs Department of the Congress party. He spoke
to M K Venu and Indrani Bagchi and argued strongly that the nation
must debate the events leading up to Kargil in the true democratic
traditions of this society. He says such issues had been debated
while the country was engaged in fighting a war on two previous
occasions - in 1962 and in 1965 - and therefore there is no reason why
it cannot be done even now. He argues that the BJP must explain its
foreign policy and tell the nation upfront how events, starting from
India going nuclear in May 1998, have led to the Kargil crisis.
Excerpts from the interview
Q: Why is the Congress pressing so hard for a debate on Kargil in the
Rajya Sabha? Do you think the BJP is shying away from a discussion in
the House?
A: Yes, the BJP knows that it will get exposed when it is asked to
place the facts on record and explain events leading up to Kargil.
You can't stop a healthy debate in the name of patriotism. Even the
media, which always encouraged debate, seems to be diffident about
allowing space for soul searching. The Senate in Pakistan is debating
the issue everyday, so why can't a strong democracy like India debate
the issue?
People have short memories and the Congress has reminded them how in
the middle of the war with China in 1962, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and
others in the opposition criticised the government's handling of the
situation and Jawaharlal Nehru had the stature and big heart to allow
a debate in Parliament and even take responsibility for some of the
mistakes. Why isn't the same Vajpayee agreeing to a debate now? Even
the President has said there should be a debate. And this government,
which has lost the mandate of the House, is resisting a debate. They
are not even MPs, but are behaving like a full-fledged government.
The Congress has released the 1962 debate on the India-China war.
People should read it.
Q: Why do you say the BJP will get exposed if there is a debate? What
are the issues on which it will be exposed according to you?
A: Because they will have to explain why the Lahore declaration
collapsed like a house of cards. Why, when the prime minister was
embracing Nawaz Sharif after the bus ride, the Pakistani soldiers were
already in the process of crossing the LoC in Kargil. Of course,
after the bus ride Vajpayee was taken for another ride by the
Pakistanis.
Isn't this embarrassing enough? Jaswant Singh said a new era of peace
had dawned in Indo-Pak relations. Will he explain in the Rajya Sabha
where is the new dawn? Other uncomfortable questions will also be
asked. Like, after calling China enemy No 1, why is the government
now praising China's stand on Kargil? How has the enemy No 1 become
so benign overnight?
Jaswant Singh will have to explain his statements after the recent
China visit vis-a-vis the letter sent to Clinton last year citing
China as a major threat. The defence minister, George Fernandes, will
have to do a lot of explaining too. The larger question is whether
this government has a responsible and cohesive foreign policy. Or,
are they shooting from the hip all the time?
Rajiv Gandhi visited China in 1988, after which there were 11 years of
stable relations with that country. Trade with China went up over
four times until George Fernandes came along and called them enemy No
1. Now, Jaswant says China is not a threat. The government must
explain in the Rajya Sabha what this is all about.
Q: But, can't all of these issues be discussed just as well in an
all-party meet as they can be in the Rajya Sabha?
A: The problem with an all party meet is that the government is able
to get away by telling the opposition half truths. Whereas, in the
Rajya Sabha they will have to place every thing on record. For
instance, the nation doesn't know any-thing about the talks the
government is having with the United States or Pakistan. There are
secret missions being carried out by this lame duck government,
informal emissaries are travelling to and fro and nobody knows what is
going on. We are seeing news in Indian and Pakistani papers talking
about Mishra's secret meeting with Pakistani officials. We just want
to know what is happening.
Q: Do you think there is a real danger that Indo-Pak relations and
even Indo-China relations could get nuclearised in the new situation?
Some strategic experts have raised these fears.
A: Well, the world will not he silent to the nuclear dimension of the
current crisis. In a sense, therefore, the issue is getting
internationalised. Washington is putting pressure on India every day,
warning that it should not cross the LoC even as a military strategy
to push back the intruders. The government is only looking at one
side of the coin when it boasts that Washington and the G-8 have
endorsed its position. The other side is that they have tied us down
completely and even if we cross the LoC for military-tactical reasons
the same G-8 will condemn you even more strongly. So, the army is
fighting with one hand tied behind its back. And we call this a great
diplomatic success.
Q: What impact do you think the Kargil developments will have on the
coming elections? Will it have a major effect on the results and if
so who is likely to gain from this impact?
A: The feedback I am getting from Rajasthan, which is my state, is not
very good. The urban middle class may be impressed, but in the rural
segment people are asking as to why the government is unable to push
back the intruders quickly and why are soldiers dying like this. Some
dead bodies have been returned to Rajasthan and crowds of fifteen to
twenty thousand are attending the funeral. People are asking
questions and the government will have to explain.
Q: There is a feeling that the Congress is not going the whole hog in
criticising the government's handling of the events leading up to
Kargil, that it is holding back and waiting for the opportune moment.
There is an impression that Sonia Gandhi herself Is not saying
anything strongly enough. Is it because you are not able to fully
comprehend the mood of the people?
No, we have been upfront about our views from day one. It is another
matter that the media by and large is ignoring our views. We are not
getting any space on Doordarshan, which is being run by Mr Pramod
Mahajan. Even the print media is getting a bit carried away by the
hysteria that is getting generated. Nobody wants to critically
examine the government. This is not very good for democracy. As I
said earlier, such issues were discussed thread-bare during the war in
1962. Even in 1965, Ram Manohar Lohia was severely critical of the
government and this had led to a debate in the House. Today, we have
a new generation which does not remember what happened in 1962 and
1965. That is why we are trying to remind the people about 1962 and
1965. Nehru was a big man and had the grace to accept his mistakes.
Will Vajpayee show similar grace?
Q: Where do you see Indo-Pak relations going from here? Are things
likely to only get worse, or is there some hope for a more peaceful
coexistence?
A: I had said even earlier that there was nothing new in the Lahore
declaration, and that it flowed from the framework of the Shimla
Agreement. So to have claimed that a new era had dawned in Indo-Pak
relations was completely misplaced. The Lahore declaration has,
therefore, been a fiasco. With the nuclear tests in the backdrop, it
was rather naive on the part of the government to think that the
Lahore declaration would solve all the problems. As I said earlier,
the Shimla agreement survived 27 years and the Lahore declaration only
3 months.
Q: How long do you think the cur-rent conflict will last? There are
apprehensions that it may a more long-drawn out affair than was
earlier anticipated.
A: That is anybody's guess. As I said, the army is fighting with one
hand tied behind. If it had the option of crossing the LoC to
encircle the intruders from behind, there would have been some
advantage. But now the government is apparently under tremendous
pressure from Washington not to do that. I think we are in a bit of a
mess here. Indira Gandhi won Bangladesh in a little over 15 days and
this government may take many more weeks to flush out Pakistani
intruders from Kargil in what is being described as a limited
operation. It is not even a war.
Q: You have said the opposition wants a debate. Will it not make
sense if the opposition goes directly to the people?
A: We are holding public meetings to tell the people what is
happening.
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