Author: Wilson John
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: February 7, 2001
There are two men in the Vajpayee
government who stand apart for their stature, their initiative and integrity.
Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani and Defence Minister George Fernandes.
Be it an earthquake or a State under
terrorist siege, these two men promptly slip into their mantle as fire
fighters and rush off even before others could summon their drivers. When
Gujarat crumbled on a January morning, the first thing on their minds was
not to call a meeting of the Crisis Management Group but to reach the devastated
spot. Advani flew to Ahmedabad. George to Bhuj. These men reached the quake-hit
areas long before the local ministers chose to make a visit.In Kashmir
too, both of them, unwittingly perhaps, gave themselves individual areas
of functioning. Advani chose to make known, in a forceful manner, India's
stand on Kashmir. Though a man of few words, he left no one in doubt about
what India thought of Musharraf and his games. George, on the other hand,
went around the Line of Control, looking up the troops, giving them pep
talk, keeping their morale high and letting them know that the government
is not oblivious to their needs.
And yet, these two men are so different
in their nature, their viewpoints, their attitudes. Advani is more of a
traditional politician, quite particular about his appearance and impression,
chooses words carefully, a lot of thought goes behind every sentence uttered;a
man who thinks. George gives the impression of a maverick politician, an
unironed kurta worn without a care for any sartorial elegance;highly articulate,
a sharp mind and a sharper tongue. He brooks no non-sense, knows exactly
what to do and does what he thinks is right. What makes them true statesmen
is their integrity, will power and immense energy to act when the nation
calls upon them to.
There are quite a few reasons why
I have chosen to extol the virtues of these two men. One, they are exceptional
in many ways. Second, in them I see a hope of governance, the kind of governance
India requires so desperately to reach where it belongs in the constellation
of nations. Third, they are men with ears on the ground and eyes on the
future. In the last five decades, we have been ruled by men and women of
questionable integrity; rulers who chose the interest of their caucus or
coterie before the nation's; rulers who believed in perpetuating dynastic
rule; rulers who chose to follow a particular economic agenda for their
mutual benefit. It is time we, as a nation, got better politicians, better
ministers, better rulers-men and women with integrity, with vision and
energy to push ahead. George and Advani are two such men. They are not
stereotype politicians; not the pan-chewing,abusive men in crisp white
kurtas and Gandhi topis. Their actions could be questioned or debated but
their integrity remains unquestionable.
Leaders like Advani and Fernandes
assume even greater significance in the current political context when
the Congress is so assiduously cultivating and packaging an alternative
Prime Minister whose only claim to fame is of being the daughter-in-law
of a Prime Minister. I have no personal grudge against Mrs Sonia Gandhi.
I respect her as the torch-bearer of the Gandhi family but if she harbours
any hope of becoming the Prime Minister, she should shy away from gimmicks
like the half-dip in the Sangam. Mrs Indira Gandhi, perhaps, could have
pulled it off. Not her clone. Mrs Sonia Gandhi, instead, should have camped
at Gujarat, summoned all her fawning associates and told them to get on
with the rescue and relief work. A very conspicuous absence from the quake
scene,if you care to notice Mrs Gandhi, has been the Seva Dal workers,
otherwise so diligent in arranging rallies and protest marches for their
leaders. I am sure Mrs Gandhi would have noticed, at least in network news
bulletins, the guys first to jump into rescue and relief measures wore
khaki shorts. My point is we can, for the time being, do without leaders
like Mrs Sonia Gandhi.
That leaves us with a Mayawati,
a Kanshi Ram, a Jayalalita or a Mulayam Singh Yadav. They are all petty
chieftains, lording over their selective constituencies of caste and creed,
afraid to step out of their narrow political horizons and too eager to
stoke pent up feelings of the underprivileged. I remember the days of Mulayam
Singh as the Defence Minister. He blindly went by what the bureaucrats
passed on to him; he dished out favours to his kinsmen like a turf leader.
Admitted he was always on the move-not to any frontier or Siachen but to
Lucknow and Manipuri on air force helicopters. The only thing he felt comfortable
in was to mouth a select few phrases-dushman ke daanth katthe kar denge
(teach enemy a lesson) variety. Do a quick comparison to George Fernandes'
tenure as the Defence Minister and it leaves no one in doubt the manner
in which the latter has managed to do some long overdue stable cleaning
in South Block.
LK Advani, likewise, has given a
direction to the functioning of the Home Ministry. It is fast shedding
the image of being a controller of police organisations. The only noticeable
happenings from its North Block office were the frequent transfers and
postings and appointments of heads of police organisations, especially
Delhi Police. I am sure the Home Ministry is still giving as much importance
to such organisational necessities. It certainly is giving due attention
to matters like counter-insurgency operations, ways and means to bring
about peace in the north-east, activities of the ISI and other similar
organisations across the country. In Kashmir, the ministry is looking beyond
mere deployment of central security forces. Advani, for instance, is a
frequent visitor to the valley, fearlessly holding forth on the Indian
point of view, clearly neutralising the propaganda from across the border.
I agree with his stand. Kashmir is an Indian State and peace or no peace,
it cannot be sliced off either to Pakistan or a handful of senile self-styled
leaders.
These two men have another common
factor. Both attract passionate criticism. Advani is often portrayed as
a rabid politician and George as the one who shoots of his mouth at the
drop of a hat. Facts belie this characterisation. Advani is as much of
a Hindu politician as Vajpayee or for that matter any one. It is like saying
someone is a Muslim politician and therefore cannot be anything else but
a fundamentalist. George was pilloried for saying China was a Threat Number
One and mind you not Enemy Number One as the media, always on the look
out for a chance to sensationalise, reported it. If you really look at
the current geo-strategic equation, China is a bigger threat to India than
Pakistan will ever be.
People, not surprisingly, have high
expectations from these two leaders. One of the foremost task before Home
Minister Advani is to clear the existing misgivings in the hearts of the
non-Hindus. He should see to it that construction of a religious place
should not become a focal point of polarisation between two religious communities
in a nation where both have co-existed for ages. His clarity and authority
is required in handling the Kashmir situation before it gets out of hand.
Peace in the valley is at a delicate stage; Pakistan is under tremendous
international pressure to stop at least the overt aid to terrorists; local
populace is desperate for peace and secessionist but popular leaders want
a way out of the quagmire. What it requires is a firm but sympathetic handling
of the peace process.
There is no way we can tolerate
Lashkar threats but it is the responsibility of the Home Minister to ensure
that locals should not become more alienated in the process. George, on
his part, should bring about a more cohesive and strong defence structure
which can safeguard and ensure India's rise to become a Super Power in
the present century.
