Pakistan ExposedApropos editorial titled ‘Hindu and Pakistan, Oxymoron’ in the issue dated January 7 of Organiser. The only solace in Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother and his wife meeting him in Pakistan was to see him alive. One was hopeful that this meeting would be fruitful in restoring normalcy between the two neighbours but unfortunately that did not happen. The impervious glass partition which separated the two sides, coupled with the cello taped phones on either side compounded the precarious situation. One thing is sure that Pakistan has been totally exposed in the international form as this meeting was held after it was upbraided by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and not prior to it. India should take the opportunity by horns and denude Pakistan before the International Court of Justice with the video of this impudent episode and also break off all diplomatic relations with it. It is disheartening that Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother and wife could not establish any personal contact; there was no free interaction; and there is no surety if Jadhav was not under pressure from Pakistani authorities while talking. To make matters worse, Pakistani officials insulted the mother and wife of Jadhav when in the name of security; they asked them to remove their bangles, bindi, mangalsutra and shoes. All of this has mocked Pakistan’s claim that it allowed the “meeting” on “purely humanitarian” consideration. In yet more shameful act, authorities in Pakistan seized the shoes of Jadhav’s wife and sent them for forensic examination and then came up with a bizarre claim that they discovered “something” in them which could be a SIM, a small camera or a chip, meant to record the conversation between the family. There is no guarantee if they themselves might have planted ‘something’ in her shoes and made a case against Jadhav’s family on the basis of a cooked forensic report. |
As per ruling of a Special CBI Court in Ranchi, RJD Chief Lalu Prasad is guilty of complicity in fodder scam. It is really shameful and disgraceful that a former Chief Minister, who was regarded as the leader of the State looted and plundered public exchequer for self interest. Further by comparing has jail term with Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr and Dr B R Ambedkar who had been jailed for preserving the national interest and for the larger cause of the masses, Lalu Prasad has become a laughing stock. No doubt this sort of evil design and corrupt practice are tantamount to irreversible erosion of his personality and credibility. Lalu Prasad is no more a trustworthy leader of Bihar.
NIMAI CHARAN SWAIN, Bhubaneswar
Out for a Duck
It is unfortunate that cricket legend and nominated member of the Rajya Sabha Sachin Tendulkar was out for a duck in his maiden Rajya Sabha speech. As a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology, we all know that Tendulkar has an attendance of just eight per cent. But what is more disgraceful is that even on rare occasions, when the former cricketer does not make an appearance in the House, he simply manages to score a duck, that is he does not get to speak at all. Known as the ‘God of Cricket’, Tendulkar was supposed to lead the Parliamentary discussion on sport but he stood in the House, waiting to speak as the Congress created ruckus over Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s remark on his predecessor Manmohan Singh.
K S JAYATHEERTHA, Bengaluru
Andhra Toys Too
This refers to the article an ‘Incredible World of Toys’ by Aniket Raja in Organiser dated Dec 31. The Channapatna toys of Karnataka remind me of ‘Etikoppaaka’ toys from my own State of Andhra Pradesh. In fact, both the states are famous for handcrafted toys made in cottage industries at Nirmal (Adilabad), Kondapalli (Krishna) and Etikoppaaka (Visakhapatnam). Of these, I would like to write about Etikoppaaka toys, which have also recently received the GI tag. These 100 per cent eco-friendly lacquer toys are fashioned out of wood from a tree called Wrightia Tinctoria, which is neither useful to humans as firewood or animals as fodder and which grows quickly upon felling, without causing deforestation. Carved on small lathe machines into charming toys, the wood is coloured using only vegetable colours, lacquered with natural Bengal gum and polished with the sharp edges of mogra (Arabian Jasmine) leaves. The artisans, however, are lamenting that forest officials are restricting them from sourcing even such a sustainable and least useful wood, which is affecting their occupation that is already hit by the competition from Chinese and other plastic toys. I earnestly request the Andhra Pradesh Government to do something concrete to help these artisans and their glorious craft. C V KRISHNA MANOJ, Hyderabad
New form of Corruption
It is disappointing that the Congress has been disrupting the Parliament’s precious time, almost every day. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu had rightly slammed the lawmakers and asked them to function in a constructive manner without giving room for disruptions. Disruptions of both Houses of the Parliament is also a kind of corruption as the tax payer’s hard earned money is wasted.
HANSRAJ BHAT, Mumbai
A Pragmatic Decision
Apropos article ‘O Jerusalem!’ by Prof C I Issac in Organiser issue dated Dec 24, 2017. India and 127 countries have struck the right chord for democracy, dialogue and peace by supporting the UN resolution on Jerusalem. New Delhi’s stand on Israel-Palestine has always been unambiguous. India has advocated for bilateral negotiations and mutual respect in breaking the impasse on Jerusalem. Neither Israel nor Palestine are antagonistic to India’s domestic and global interests though the former has been seen to be more favourable dispensed towards New Delhi. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Israel where he struck an instant rapport with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu has been much talked about. Critics have pointed out that by going with the UN resolution, India will be seen to be moving away from Israel, especially seen in the backdrop of Netanyahu’s upcoming India visit. However, India being a country of the Non-Aligned Movement, the vote for the resolution was prudent and pragmatic. Such an important decision on a global platform cannot be seen through the prism of a country’s hostility or hospitability towards India. New Delhi has thus proved that it is not ready to cave into pressure tactics of a global super power. Opposing the move would have lowered India’s prestige in the eyes of the majority of nations who went with the proposal. India would have rubbed many friendly countries the wrong way. Abstaining from voting could have meant India’s non–assertiveness. Anyway India and Israel ties are not so brittle to be shattered by one decision and both Shri Modi and Netanyahu are seasoned enough to know politics and emotions do not always go hand-in-hand.
GANAPATHI BHAT, Alok
Behaving Helplessly
This refers to the article titled ‘The Deafening Silence’ by R K Sinha in Organiser dated November 12 giving shocking figures of RSS and BJP workers killed, mostly in Kerala by the Communists. This is certainly a very serious matter. Anti-Hindu Constitution of India and the anti-national situation created by it and the Congress brigade, is responsible for so many other problems also. Now we have a BJP Government headed by a very powerful Prime Minister. President as well as Vice President are also from BJP. It is only a matter of preparing oneself mentally to convert our country into a homeland for the Hindus and the non-Muslims only by making use of constitutional powers skilfully. Nobody on earth, including Pakistan and Bangladesh can object to this change, as Jinnah and the Muslim League had urged that, “League aimed at sovereign states for the Hindus and Muslims in their homelands, guaranteeing to each, the power and opportunity to work out his destiny in his own way, according to his genius, tradition and culture” (See page-7 of the book Some Aspects of Pakistan by Jamill-ud-Din ahmid). It is strange that we are in such a pitiable condition and acting as helpless people. ANAND PRAKASH, Panchkula, Haryana
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