Introspecting Aloud

Democracy in the view of our ministers

From No dilution in AFSPA for Jammu & Kashmir (Economic Times)

While the home ministry appears to be going with the ‘liberal view’ that dilution of AFSPA could save the situation, the defence ministry was of the opinion that such knee-jerk options will only complicate matters. The Army, which has the complete backing of Mr Antony, has been maintaining that “special laws are required to tackle special situations”. Even those who are seeking dilution of AFSPA concede that ordinary laws are insufficient when the state is witnessing an Intifada-type situation.

So basically, our defense minister believes that our democratic laws are only for times when there is no crisis facing the country. Everything is hunky dory, and the government doesn't have to really break into a sweat for routine work. But when the work of the government gets tough, then, instead of working smarter and harder, you can just change the laws to make your job easier. Because you know, laws of this country are pretty flexible in view of our overlords. Now why can't we have jobs like that? When we approach a deadline at work, instead of putting in extra hours, we should be able to tell our clients to reduce the requirements so that we finish it in time. Umm, not a great analogy, but the closest I can think of at this time of the night. And I am not even getting into the completely sinister campaign in this whole issue about making this a problem about laws. This is foremost a issue about something even more fundamental and basic than laws - our fundamental rights. They are effectively saying that our fundamental rights are completely unreliable. Completely dependent on the whims of the current government. I am not surprised about the Army lobbying for the act. Who doesn't want their work to get easier? But again, in all fairness, they are doing a job which is not theirs to begin with. And I love the way Economic times added a completely unanonymously attributed statement at the end of the para("Even those who are seeking dilution of AFSPA concede ..."). That looks more like their opinion.

Comment on General Kayani’s extension

Interesting analysis of Pakistan army chief's recent "extension" at Filter Coffee:

Yet, of all the 14 chiefs of army staff to have served Pakistan, only one man holds the distinction of having commanded both Pakistan’s premiere intelligence agency, the ISI, and the Pakistani army.  That man is Gen. Kayani.  That Gen. Kayani played an integral part in ensuring that talks between S.M. Krishna and his counterpart in Pakistan failed should be no surprise.  What Gen. Kayani does or doesn’t do within the confines of Pakistan’s political environment is a matter entirely internal to Pakistan.However, “secure” Pakistani generals have displayed a knack for misunderstanding their relative power within the Pakistani establishment and misconstruing their ability to force India’s hand on “unresolved issues.”  And this is something that India needs to be wary of.

Alarm bells about the Indian Army

(On Asian age, via Communalism Combat) Arrest of Lt. Col. is an alarm bell

Hindu extremists call themselves "nationalist" and extremists of other breeds "secessionist" and "anti-national". This is a grotesque inversion of democratic logic, especially in a country of such bewildering diversity as India. The message should be clear: if we don’t hang together, we’ll hang separately. If incursion of the extreme tendencies among the majority community into the armed forces is not eradicated with a firm hand in the incipient stage, the prognosis can be unnerving. This is how the seizure of power by unconstitutional elements began in Pakistan and in most of the dictatorships in West Asia and elsewhere. All in the name of nationalism.