Friday, December 28, 2007

Does Benazir's death matters?

Words of sympathy, bewilderment abound. What did benazir contribute to the world/pakistan political or social scene? Is it that she went on to become the head of one of the Muslim countries but then so they have been in turkey, Indonesia and Bangladesh. All these (so called) Muslim countries have been headed by a woman at one time or the other, quite ironically, something which American's, French and Russians still wish to achieve.

Largely her contributions are not much that wuld be remembered in history.

She was a novice in politics irrespective of what the world media writes about her. Her current sacrifice on the altar of Bush, makes her all the more irrelevant. I believe that was what Ms Bhutto didn't realize since her return from self imposed exile, at behest of Bush & Co., that while Bush could have it both ways, if she succeeded great, she would be another stooge of American interests like Mushrraf already is, but under the garb of democracy and IF she met an ill fate, he could declare under the banner he still maintains under an executive order to invade Pakistan to 'liberate the people and institute democracy'. If alive, there was no way that anyone else would ever win the elections in Pakistan except her PPP.

Her contribution to India was something that not many know about, maybe, something that changed the course of Indian relationship with Pakistan. That was undertaken during her brief tenure as Pakistani PM 98-90.
We all know that militancy in Punjab and Kashmir was at peak post Indira's assasination. Zia was proving too clever to handle and he had made a master move to engage Indians on both fronts and was most likely to have his way if continued to live any longer. Rajiv declared from the ramparts of the Red Fort that 'hum unhey unki naani yaad dila dengey'. A few weeks later Zias plane blew up in mid air and remains a mystery till date.

Benazir took up Pakistan reins thereafter and Rajiv Gandhi met her in Delhi during that brief stint. After that meeting, quite miraculously, the very next day onwards...the Punjab militancy had died out. Just like *poof*.

KPS Gill just happened to be at the right place at the right time and Indians would not give the credit of this to Benazir for electorate would question the reasons behind this pakistani gesture of magnanimity? . When the same KPS Gill was sent to other troubled spots upon people's behest, he failed miserably but no one questions. Not to mention the charges of molestation against this man by a senior civil officer.

Anyways, Benazir describes that meeting with Rajiv in her own words, "Nobody else knew what Rajiv and I discussed. There was no fly on the wall. How can anyone say I have not kept my promises to him when the single biggest result of that meeting was the end of the Sikh insurgency? It was Rajiv who committed to me that he would withdraw from Siachen. I made no promises that could have been broken."

Indian establishment would do well to grant that due, where it lies, if it really has to pay tribute to benazir. But this act of her's also shows that they came out to be a pretty novice vis a vis Rajiv Gandhi, so as to understand politics, where promises are made to be broken.

In another interview with Rediff, she went on to publically state her views about gen Musharraf's analytical skills: "He (Musharraf) was my Director General Military Operations and he presented me with his plan in front of 50 officers about how the mujahideen would infiltrate an area similar to Kargil. How they would bring about a war and the Indians wouldn't be able to dislocate us and they would be forced to start a second front at which point the international community would intervene and we would take Srinagar."

She is probably the only premier of a country who has so routinely violated Official Secrets Act and her oath of secrecy, probably you wouldn't even expect the likes of Laloo prasad or Mulayam Singh to succumb to because of their political misalignments. Good for Indians, but this lady was not supposed to be where she reached, by luck or by fluke.

She played in the hands of India then, she played into the hands of US now. She lived in the hope of emulating Indira because just like her, she got the reins of a political party into her hands, as an inheritance, but unlike Indira, she wasn't shrewd, cunning or politically savvy. Strong! yes..maybe!! but courageous acts can, in retrospect, also be deemed foolhardy.

So, grieve for the lives lost as we should for what they sought to do, but remember US complicity with their tunnel vision. I hope we learn that Shock and Awe as a super power, treating nations they don't understand like dominions is not the solution of democracy because Democracy is rooted in self determination not having a super power dictating what Thou Shall Do and Don't.

That's has been America's arrogant mistake. Ask America's Native American elders and their fate.

Grieve, then do the right thing, not the emotional thing.