The civilized world was joined in grief by the tragic loss of four innocent lives by an act of mindless terror by an ISIS killer ISIS Khalid Masood (52), a radicalized black convert to Islam. That this nefarious attack occurred on Westminster Bridge within hailing distance of Parliament signifies the hatred and contempt for freedom and the rule of law by jihadi thugs. Driving a vehicle into people in public spaces has become the latest mode of execution: trucks and vans have driven into markets in German and French cities and towns, killing and injuring shoppers and bystanders. The day of the London incident was the first anniversary of the bombings in Brussels. Prior to this was the gruesome assassinations of the editorial staff of the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdoe. These and other acts received enormous coverage in the western media, and rightly so.
However, double standards were detectable. Mumbai, India’s financial hub, was subjected to a sustained, meticulously planned jihadi attack from across the border in March 1993 in which over 300 citizens died. The reaction in western capitals was one of embarrassment. It was much the same in December 2001when jihadi gunmen penetrated the grounds of India’s Parliament and made for the entry into the chamber itself, but were thwarted by the courage of a young police woman who raised the alarm at the cost of her life.
On November 26, 2008, yet another commando-style killing spree in Mumbai resulted in 167 deaths; and more recently an attack on the Pathancot India Air Force base also claimed Indian lives. Western reports of these events were noticeably detached, since these attack emanated from Pakistan, long a Cold War US ally and recipient of billions of dollars in military and financial aid.
India’s Foreign Secretary (not minister) S Jaishankar, issued a calibrated statement in the wake of the London outrage, which reads: ‘Nothing has globalised more than terrorism, yet responses to it remain very tactical, National: therefore remain very limited.’ Readers would do well to mull over these wise and pointed words.
The sad truth is that the West, especially US administrations, have used, and use, jihadi groups, whom they label ‘moderate,’ for political purposes. Take Zbgniew Brzezinski, once National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter, who boasted to a French magazine of how the administration (under his prompting) had targeted Russia, saying, ‘Which was more important in world history? The Taliban or the fall of the Soviet Empire? A few over-excited Islamists or the liberation of Central Europe ?’ Charles Cogan, a senior CIA official, quoted a colleague operating in Central and South Asia in 1993, describing thus the CIA-Islamist partnership: ‘We took the means to wage war, put them in the hands of people who could do so, for purposes for which we agreed.’
The barbarians are no longer at the gates; they are through them. Grandiose rhetoric in Washington from representatives of the 67-member coalition of the willing cannot conceal the grim reality that minor gains on the ground in the Middle East - at huge human cost - are heavily outweighed by intensified jihadi activities across Europe. Having sown the wind, the West is reaping the whirlwind.
Yogi Adityanath as UP Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath’s appointment as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh has been denounced in the expected quarters of media opinion as the funeral rite of Indian democracy. Yet it could turn out to be an inspired choice. Prime Minister has wrong footed his political opponents ever since he threw his cap into the ring in India’s general election in 2014.His campaign was brilliant; he sensed the mood of the country’s yearning for change; and the BJP won an absolute majority – a popular mandate to carry it through. He initiated a raft of economic reforms, which he applied with strategic vision step by step.
On the international stage he has emerged as a formidable statesman. Those in the West who shunned him, following the Gujarat riots, welcomed him with open arms. He addressed Parliament in London and the Joint Houses of Congress in Washington to wide acclaim. With adept footwork, he kept his lines to Russia open and has taken the Indo-Russian relationship to the next level. The recent decision by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to opt for Russian nuclear reactors for power generation has been predicated on the rider that the training of their scientists and engineers will be conducted at Kundakulam, the site of India’s nuclear facility built with Russian technology. [See Economic Times March 23]. Diplomacy is no zero um game.
Chinese designs to enter this critical sphere have been aborted. Mr Modi has well understood the difference between party politics and the national interest. Hence what he opposed as Gujarat chief minister – the Indo-US nuclear deal of 2008, for instance - he accepted as India’s Prime Minister.
Examining the full Modi narrative, what could be the calculation behind Yogi Adityanath recent elevation? First, is his vast following in eastern Uttar Pradesh, from where was elected to Parliament in four back-to-back general elections. While most media reports quoted liberally his incendiary comments on the Muslim community, only two reported that in his sanctum sanctorum he has a devoted Muslim staff who have served him loyally over the years. The Yogi’s first statement on taking his oath of office was to pledge to serve the entire community across faith and caste lines. If Mr Modi can grow in office, there is no reason why Adityananth should not do likewise. Power is not simply licence to do what one pleases but also a constraint on irresponsible conduct. Adityanath has two approved and trusted deputy chief ministers to render advice as and when required.
Uttar Pradesh has long been India’s foremost badland of endemic crime and corruption. Yogi Aditynath as ascetic can be trusted to come down hard on evils, since he has no vote bank in both these criminal fraternities. Next, the decision to jettison the customary Muslim vote bank politics paid off handsomely. Blackmail and blandishments by the reactionary Muslim clergy have not worked. Development will apply to Muslims as it will to other communities. The new UP government will be judged by its ability to deliver a better standard of living based on more job opportunities. Vote bank politics kept back those most in need. Mr Modi’s investment in Yogi Aditynath carries an element of risk. No risk, no gain has been the motto of the most accomplished politicians and entrepreneurs. The Indian Prime Minister stroke may well pay rich dividends in the medium and long-term.. We shall wait and see.
Begum Samru: Tale of a remarkable woman
Eighteenth century India witnessed the slow disintegration of the Mughal state and the rise of myriad regional contestants, large and small, who jostled for power in the emerging space.
B egum Samru was born to a Mughal nobleman, Latif Ali Khan, whose estate was situated some 80 miles from Delhi in what today would be recognized as Uttar Pradesh. Following his death, the elder wife in the harem, threw out the younger wife and her daughter. Reduced to penury mother and ten-year daughter eked out a precarious life in the city’s narrow, congested streets. On the death of her mother, the orphaned daughter, trained as dancer under a courtesan Khatum Bai. Adopted by the blind Emperor Shah Alam II, she caught the eye of an Austrian soldier of fortune named Walter Joseph Reinhardt, and lived with him. His sombre looks had earned Reinhardt the sobriquet Le Sombre, which, in due course, evolved into the Hindustani Samru. Reinhardt’s army was on hire to the highest bidder. When Shah Alam was besieged by the Jats, Reinhardt’s force came to his rescue, earning him a principality near Meerut called Sardhana. After Reinhardt’s death, the diminutive Begum obtained the sanad to this vast estate. She built her own army and became one of the most formidable soldiers of her time. She rescued the emperor from the Rohilla chief Abdul Qadir, was duly rewarded, managed her estate with skill and earned substantial revenues. She took the name Joanna after Joan of Arc and built the beautiful church of Our Lady of Graces in Sardhana. It was designed by an iconic Italian architect and completed in 1820 under the direction of her heir David Dyce Samru. Visitors throng the site for its engrossing architecture and ambience.
