An owl's dream that will never be fulfilled thanks to a hidden hand

The owl has become a victim of his own hype. He must have expected Musharraf to get overawed by his perceived and hyped greatness and surrender to him. Thankfully, for Pakistan, Musharraf knows about the  megalomania of Vajpayee. He knew that the owl was going to take the bait as he is too eager to be reincarnated as the South Asian dove of peace.
 
 

So, Musharraf was all set for his one to one meeting with the owl. And the owl took the bait, hook, line and sinker. He agreed to everything Musharraf asked for. Musharraf went back to his minions and informed them that the task is accomplished. They promptly produced the draft of a joint declaration which was sent to the Indian camp. Indian camp did not know what to do. They were worried. They were not prepared for this. Vajpayee will commit such a hara-kiri was beyond their wildest imagination. The whole process had to be scuttled some way or the other. However, the owl's ambition was coming in their way. How will he be able to fulfill his ambition of winning the Nobel? Signing the draft declaration would have meant the downfall of this government. Vajpayee had almost agreed to declaring Kashmir as a disputed territory. He had done what Nehru had left undone. In doing so he had back stabbed the memories of his one time mentor, Dr.Shaymaprasad Mukherjee, from whom he had once learnt the tricks of parliamentary debating. Mukherjee had died for the Kashmir cause.

Somehow, by God's grace alone, the declaration was not signed. Who put the spanner in the wheel? It was certainly not Vajpayee. He had agreed to everything. Pakistanis were frustrated now. They mentioned of the hidden hand. Musharraf knew he won't get what he wants and he decided to make the best of the opportunity and went for his PR coup. He did not want to go back without a victory.

His breakfast meeting with all those liberal, peace loving and  foolish media men of India gave him that. He went back a victor. Why is Vinod Mehta so pissed off? This is not for the first time he has been baited by the Pakistani embassy. A select group of so called liberal journos have all along played in the hands of smart Pakistanis who use them to plant their vicious stories in the media.

It was the hidden hand that saved us.

Thankfully it was around. Had it not been around, Vajpayee had sold us away to Musharraf. Whose hidden hand it was? I am sure it was not of Advani and Jaswant. They are co-opted by Vajpayee. Yashwant Sinha does not take interest in anything anyway. He is a budget oriented finance minister who cannot even control his corrupt officers. He should be booted out of the ministry. He has sold the people of this country. He is a 'Chor'. He cannot save this country. Whoever it was, the nation should thank him or her. He/she is the real hero of the summit from Indian point of view. So let us not forget the hidden hand. We must search for it and honor it.

The frustration of Musharraf was real. He had worked everything out with Vajpayee. And if Vajpayee has not shown his face to the media after the Tamasha in Agra, there is a reason for it. He has lost his face. He might even be sulking for not being able to fulfill his Nobel dream.

What he is going to do at UN now when he meets Musharraf there? We have to be on our toes. The owl must not be allowed to go to Pakistan until we have identified the hidden hand. The hidden hand must accompany him wherever he goes. Can we trust the owl? No, unless we are donkeys. The best thing could be that the owl himself quits and leaves this country to itself. This country can do without Pakistan's friendship and his third rate leadership.
 
 

Postscript

Musharraf’s press conference in Islamabad has made everything clear now. One to one talk between Vajpayee and Musharraf was centered on Kashmir alone. Indian PM had occasionally mentioned other issues as a matter of record. Vajpayee had indeed agreed to put Kashmir apple on the platter. He was too eager to achieve a breakthrough over this issue. He was willing to compromise on everything, ignoring all those much-mentioned parliamentary resolutions. The fact is none of our leaders take those resolutions very seriously. The wish of the people does not count for much. Musharraf has succeeded in making Kashmir as the only issue worth resolution. His strategy has worked so well (the strategy of slow-bleeding us in Kashmir using terrorist tactics). Indian government has not yet comprehended all the contours of this strategy. Had it been so, it would have taken the harshest measures possible to end terrorism in the region instead of talking peace with the General and sundry militant groups. Containment of terrorist activity in the valley is the one and only way to convince Musharraf that his strategy is not working. Inviting him for talks sent a clear-cut signal that he is succeeding in his aims.

Musharraf’s mention of Bangladesh should be an eye opener for all of us. He thinks the way we succeeded in creating Bangladesh; he would succeed in creating an independent Kashmir in a similar fashion. He is already talking about the people of Kashmir. He has also stopped mentioning the UN resolutions. This is a strategic move. He wants to make a Bangladesh out of Kashmir. He thinks this probably can be an achievable objective. It may sound a bit too simplistic. However, we must not forget that in politics such simplistic ideas have great chances of succeeding.

Now, thanks to the foul up by Vajpayee, we are struck in a self-defeating stance. How do we get out of this situation? There is one way. While we should play the game of diplomacy and continue with our peace posturing, we should crack down on terrorists and make it too expensive for Pak to pursue that path. Thereafter we will have peace in the region. The age old tactics of tit for tat works better in Indian sub-continent. The majority of people in this region are too self-centred to fight for a so called cause. They want peace and like to express their political preferences once in five years during election time. Continued sway of National Conference in the valley is a proof of that. It is always a handful of variously motivated characters who create trouble. It is foolish to give them legitimacy.

The worst that happened in Agra was something else. Musharraf was the author of Agra declaration. He drafted it and sent it for approval. Vajpayee and Jaswant were party to this. Vajpayee had no clue about Musharraf's intents as he was lost in his dreams of the Nobel. Had someone on the Indian side not woken up in time, we were going to be made into a laughing stock. That is why we need to look for the hidden hand. He or she is our savior.