In the land of timids

 

 

It’s been more than 16 years since Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in the most gruesome manner. He was not just a former prime minister of India but was among those who had a vision to take India to a higher paradigm in global geopolitics. In these 16 years the country has moved far ahead and probably would have gone farther, if he were alive today. Though India’s polity seldom missed the opportunity to pay floral tributes to his Samadhi on important occasions, yet his country, India, could not muster the resolve to avenge his death. In these 16 years not only LTTE has survived but has become strong enough to shed guerilla warfare and go for an outright war with the Sri Lankan government. All this time when the LTTE became the first terrorist organisation to boast of having a navy and air force and when it continued to sink Lankan Navy ships and bombing installations through aircrafts, India preferred to turn a blind eye at best or started having shivers, lest the situation aggravates to a level when it will be compelled to act, something which it would prefer not to. The question is why it is like this? What would have a USA, France, Israel or Russia done if any of their former heads of state had been assassinated like this? Well, if one goes by precedence, they would have virtually declared a war on such organisations and wouldn't sat at ease unless the perpetrators and their organisation have been exterminated from the core. For the sake of 3000 American citizens killed in the 9/11, USA was prepared to wage a war against Al Qaeda and make the entire world take note of what happens when someone dares to take away American lives. Contrast this with the cold feet reaction of India even when one of its best heads of state was killed.

On the death of the LTTE political wing chief, Thamilselvan, Tamil Nadu CM Karunanidhi wrote poems in grief and justified it as sympathy for a fellow Tamilian. Should such sentiments come in between when the issue is of national integrity? It only proved that inspite of 60 years of independence, India still exists more as 28 states with individual priorities, than as one nation. All that India was happy to do was to kill the field operators involved in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination while turning a blind eye to LTTE as an organization. No wonder even Bangadesh based HUJI is striking terror in India at will because it knows that for all the big talks of nuclear arsenal, and military prowess, India is governed by nervous timids who lack the resolve to hit back. The one who had it, was assassinated sixteen years back.