By Syed Abdulhaq, East Amherst, NY
Hitler needed a pretext to attack neighboring Poland. On the evening of August 31,1939 his SS troops disguised as Polish soldiers committed aggression near the Silesian border town of Gleiwitzburned and killed a few German civilians. Next morning, his tanks rolled into Poland. Thus began the Second World War.
India has been stymied in her efforts to crush or contain the popular Kashmiri uprising. It has lost more soldiers in Kashmir in the past eleven years than it lost in three wars with Pakistan. Having failed militarily it has resorted to state terrorism, crass propaganda, useless political maneuvering, bribery and anti-Pakistan diplomatic offensive. In her efforts to malign Pakistan, it has not hesitated to hijack its own civilian planes or kill its own citizens. To paint the Kashmiri struggle with the wide ‘terrorist’ brush, its occupation troops massacred over 30 Sikhs in Chitispora, Kashmir, on the eve of President Clinton’s visit to India. Just after 9/11 episode in USA India’s own agents attacked the Kashmir assembly in October of this year, killing many, many civilians.
The sole purpose of these nefarious acts was to, somehow, connect the Kashmiri freedom struggle with acts of terrorism. But now the Indian spy agencies have outdone Hitler and Goebbles. There has been an “attack “on the Indian Parliament building, purportedly by Kashmiris supported by Pakistan! Not a single member of parliament or a minister was killed or injured. Only a few dispensable CRP ranks and a Delhi policeman have been reported killed. Not a bad deal for the Indian Government, considering how much mileage it will try to get out of this. Besides badmouthing the Kashmiris, the Indian Government desperately needs to pass the so-called “Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance” (POTO) which is stuck in the Parliament. By staging such ‘terrorist attacks’ the Indian Hindu fundamentalist Government is trying to bully the opposition MPs into passing this draconian ordinance. That will give it a handle to terrorize the Indian Muslims further, manipulate the forthcoming elections, and stir up anti-Muslim feelings, which is the main agenda of the Hindu BJP .The Pakistani Government has rightly condemned this act and fortunately the American media almost ignored this Indian gimmick.
Such Indian ploys conclusively show that there is not only a method in India’s madness but also madness in India’s methods (with apologies to the Bard). Vajpayee’s brazen-faced statements against the Kashmiri struggle only prove the frustration of the Indian Government. His threats, notwithstanding, will not deter us Kashmiris from resisting the evil Indian occupation. Kashmiris will ultimately come out victorious and prevail, God willing.