GARHWAL POST / editorial / 30th September 2013 Insult to injury By itself, ‘dehati aurat’ is not a derogatory term, just a crude phrase. It can, however, be derogatory if, as Barkha Dutt – the Indian journalist on the spot – claims, it was used in an ‘allegorical’ way. By alluding to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the ‘dehati aurat’ appealing to a third party to redress a grievance, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was derogatory in his comment. It reflects the typical contempt of the feudal Pakistani towards women and its unconscious extension to the subject of the allegory. The other journalist, Pakistan’s Hamid Mir, had no doubt whatsoever about what Nawaz meant and broadcast it to the world. Of course, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cannot openly take cognisance of the comment, but should factor it in while assessing Sharif’s state of mind. It is clear what Sharif thinks of the PM, in particular, and the Indians, in general. It also explains why the Pakistanis continue to take chances with India. They either have reason to be extremely confident in dealing with us, or have reached dangerous levels of self-delusion. Perhaps, assurances from China have something to do with this bravado. It is time, maybe, for Rahul Gandhi to describe India’s foreign policy as ‘nonsense’ and consign it to the dustbin, along with sundry other ordinances and legislation. The timid and careful manner in which Manmohan Singh has led this country clearly has not impressed anybody, not even powerful members of his own party. So, with all the negative feedback, can the nation expect any corrective action? Will, for instance, Singh’s planned interaction with Sharif see India adopting a tougher line? Will the curbs against action across the line of control imposed on the Armed Forces be removed? Going by past experiences and countless similar humiliations, it seems unlikely. As such, is it going to be business as usual during the months before the next General Elections? Or, will Rahul Gandhi deliver the coup de grace and take over the responsibility his party is so eager to give him and start a ‘new’ chapter? Or, will Singh take the issue to the people of India – something that the leader of any other democratic country would have done long ago? The way Narendra Modi is building up momentum - with no little help from regular embarrassments for government – it would be wiser to call early elections. The turnout at Modi’s rally in Delhi should send alarm signals through the Congress. The fact that he is also consciously targeting South India, which has a large number of middle-class professionals concerned very much about the deteriorating business environment, could speedily erode this traditional bastion of the Congress. Declaring elections would, however, require exactly the kind of decision making ability that Singh has failed to exhibit till now. No matter how many spin-doctors of the Congress propaganda machine, and the media, work on exonerating the Prime Minister, his leadership is under a cloud that refuses to lift. He remains suspended in mid-air like Trishanku – held up by Sonia Gandhi, and pressed down by his inability to make it through the doors of the promised heaven. In all of this, he has become the butt of not just Modi’s jibes, but also the wise-cracks of every two-bit comic with time on the airwaves and the net. India suffers in impatience.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 08:56:03 +0000
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