India - Victim or Villain

The K-word is the major irritant in India's foreign policy. To be frank we do not have a clear stand on the issue. Or atleast the govt has one but they do not enunciate to the public. Irrrespective of what Pakistan claims, the world knows it is a state sponsored terrorism. Some express this and others do not. And the pro-India people of Kashmir believe the terrorism is the handwork of Pakistanis. And it looks like India needs to get this one solved to an extent before we get a place in the new expanded security council. With four of the Big 5 expressing their support for India's place in the new council, the US is not vocal about its position and it looks like they are pushing India for something before they make their stand known to the world. And what they are pushing for can be nothing but Kashmir. India needs to mend it fences with its neighbours. Solve the problems amicably and then make a legitimate claim for its place in the new council. But is this possible given the kind of neighbours we have? We have neigbours with Terrorism and support to anti-India elements as their state policy. Are we being victimised here to go soft or deal with illogical nations for a place we deserve in the new council.

But if we look back to 80s we can see a different India altogether. The central govenment under late Indira Gandhi and the TN state govt under MGR sponsored LTTE. They financed the group from its inception. RAW trained the militants. The pro-tamil supporters and sympathisers visited these guerillas many a times during the conflict. Anyone who oppsed this intervention is a political pariah then and now in TN. The LTTE were treated in hospitals of TN. The nation of Srilanka was burning. Suicide attacks everywhere. Thousands killed. A tiny nation like Ceylon cannot take all this. And who sponsored this??? India. Was this not a state policy then? Yes I accept that Tamils were subjected to some second class treatement by the Sinhalese majority. There was a problem in hand. We excacerbated this altogether. I remember people with kids begging in the streets of chennai. Kids were crying for food everywhere. It was a pathetic situation then. All this happened just because the armed conflict started. India basically destroyed that tiny nation with its irresponsible behaviour. And the result, a time bomb set on by Indira blasted on the face of her own son a decade later.

If we claim we are victims of state sponsored terrorism, we should also accept we were villains too.