• Latest
  • Trending

“Why must I toe Modi’s line on Pakistan?” asks Mani Shankar Aiyar

December 22, 2017
Economy

Sri Lanka’s inflation rate exceeds 50% for the first time since 1954

July 1, 2022
World Bank creates fund to better prevent, respond to pandemics

World Bank creates fund to better prevent, respond to pandemics

July 1, 2022
Device / phone

Telecom operators warn of shutting down mobile, internet services in Pakistan

July 1, 2022
Oil

Oil seen rising past US$200 a barrel on Russian crude price cap

July 1, 2022
Electricity

Power cut schedule for July 1 in Sri Lanka

July 1, 2022
ICO Fuel Station

Lanka IOC dispatches fuel for 82 sheds

July 1, 2022
Fuel. Image credits - Wassim Chouak / Unsplash

Fuel will be issued in 92 stations on Friday for Health Workers

June 30, 2022
IMF

IMF’s Sri Lanka, Pakistan talks in focus as $66 billion at risk

June 30, 2022
Bus

New increased bus fares announced in Sri Lanka

June 30, 2022
Russian President Vladimir

Putin would not have embarked on Ukraine war if he were a woman: British PM Boris Johnson

June 30, 2022
Nomination of Droupadi Murmu for the Indian Presidency should help uplift India’s Tribals    

Nomination of Droupadi Murmu for the Indian Presidency should help uplift India’s Tribals    

June 30, 2022
World Bank

World Bank to redesign 17 ongoing projects in Sri Lanka

June 30, 2022
  • About Us
  • Advertisements
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Friday, July 1, 2022
No Result
View All Result
NewsIn.Asia
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • All
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    Economy

    Sri Lanka’s inflation rate exceeds 50% for the first time since 1954

    Device / phone

    Telecom operators warn of shutting down mobile, internet services in Pakistan

    Electricity

    Power cut schedule for July 1 in Sri Lanka

    ICO Fuel Station

    Lanka IOC dispatches fuel for 82 sheds

    Fuel. Image credits - Wassim Chouak / Unsplash

    Fuel will be issued in 92 stations on Friday for Health Workers

    IMF

    IMF’s Sri Lanka, Pakistan talks in focus as $66 billion at risk

    Bus

    New increased bus fares announced in Sri Lanka

    Nomination of Droupadi Murmu for the Indian Presidency should help uplift India’s Tribals    

    Nomination of Droupadi Murmu for the Indian Presidency should help uplift India’s Tribals    

    World Bank

    World Bank to redesign 17 ongoing projects in Sri Lanka

  • World
    • All
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    World Bank creates fund to better prevent, respond to pandemics

    World Bank creates fund to better prevent, respond to pandemics

    Oil

    Oil seen rising past US$200 a barrel on Russian crude price cap

    Russian President Vladimir

    Putin would not have embarked on Ukraine war if he were a woman: British PM Boris Johnson

    President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has spoken to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin

    President Gotabaya calls Putin to secure fuel supplies from Russia

    dollar

    Dollar falters as US yields retreat amid recession risks

    PM Narendra Modi conveyed his personal condolences on the passing away of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan last month to President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. (Photo: Twitter/@MEAIndia)

    PM Modi meets UAE President Sheikh Mohamed in Abu Dhabi

    Mukesh Ambani

    Mukesh Ambani steps down as director of Reliance Jio

    People play rugby at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. [Loren Elliott/ Reuters]

    Australia census: Five ways the country is changing

    Monkeypox case count rises to more than 3,400 globally: WHO

    Monkeypox case count rises to more than 3,400 globally: WHO

  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Books
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Series
    Kamal Haasan's Vikram is on a rampage.

    Kamal Haasan’s Vikram is the highest-grossing film in Singapore, UK and UAE

    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

    ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ celebrates 25 magical years

    Salman Khan

    Plot to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan revealed

    Shah Rukh Khan's Jawaan, to be directed by Atlee, to scheduled for June 2023 release. (Photo: Twitter)

    Shah Rukh Khan announces new film ‘Jawaan’

    Chchutir diner Gaan by Bangladeshi singer Nondita

    Chchutir diner Gaan by Bangladeshi singer Nondita

    Song “Bechain Nazar Betaab Jigar”. Talat Mahmood. Film “Yasmin” 1955

    Song “Bechain Nazar Betaab Jigar”. Talat Mahmood. Film “Yasmin” 1955

    ‘KGF Chapter 2’

    ‘KGF Chapter 2’ becomes 3rd-highest-grossing Hindi film

    Popular Bollywood stars Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were married Thursday in a private ceremony at their Mumbai residence. Image credits - Sujit Jaswal via AFP / Getty Images

    Bollywood stars Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt marry in Mumbai

    Lata Mangeshkar: Ae Chand Pyara. Film Khazaana 1951. Music C.Ramchandra. Lyrics Rajinder Krishan

    Lata Mangeshkar: Ae Chand Pyara. Film Khazaana 1951. Music C.Ramchandra. Lyrics Rajinder Krishan

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Science
    • Travel
    This April 2022 handout photograph provided by RR Auction shows cockroaches which were fed moon dust from the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, which were pulled from an auction listing after NASA said the cockroaches and a small vial of moon dust are property of the federal government. (Photo: AP)

    Give us back our moon dust and cockroaches: Nasa

    Moon. Image credits - Ganapathy Kumar / Unsplash

    China finds signs of water in moon’s ‘Ocean of Storms’

    What we should know when we speak of food security?

    What we should know when we speak of food security?

    Beetroot is rich in nitrates and is loaded with health benefits. (Photo: Getty Images)

    Drinking beetroot juice daily could help people with heart condition

    Close-up view of a cancer cell. Credit: Alexey Kotelnikov / Alamy Stock Photo

    Massive breakthrough as cancer vanishes for all patients in drug trial

    India hands over 3.3 tons of medical supplies to Lanka’s ambulance service

    India hands over 3.3 tons of medical supplies to Lanka’s ambulance service

    Lankan Prez orders LKR 1.8 billion (US$ 5 million) to be spent on drugs import  

    Lankan Prez orders LKR 1.8 billion (US$ 5 million) to be spent on drugs import  

    In this 1971 Center For Disease Control handout photo, monkeypox-like lesions are shown on the arm and leg of a female child in Bondua, Liberia. CDC | Getty Images

    The Covid conspiracies being recycled for monkeypox

    Exercise. Image credits - Victor Freitas @victorfreitas / Unsplash

    Best exercise time differs for men and women, says US study

    High life in troubled Colombo  

    High life in troubled Colombo  

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Tech
    Bitcoin. Image credits - Onov3056

    Bitcoin slides below $20,000 to lowest level in 18 months

    Digital banking platform Revolut launches in Sri Lanka

    Digital banking platform Revolut launches in Sri Lanka

    Microsoft's Internet Explorer was first included with a Windows 95 upgrade pack. Image credits - Ina Fried/CNET

    End of an era: Microsoft retires Internet Explorer

    Cryptocurrency boom. Image credits - Executium @executium / Unsplash

    Cryptocurrency market value slumps under $1 trillion

    iPhone. Image credits - Tron Le @tronle_sg / Unsplash

    EU deal to force iPhones to use USB-C charger by 2024

    Whatsapp. Image credits - AARN GIRI / Unsplash

    WhatsApp to get edit button, undo messages and other features soon 

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • All
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    Economy

    Sri Lanka’s inflation rate exceeds 50% for the first time since 1954

    Device / phone

    Telecom operators warn of shutting down mobile, internet services in Pakistan

    Electricity

    Power cut schedule for July 1 in Sri Lanka

    ICO Fuel Station

    Lanka IOC dispatches fuel for 82 sheds

    Fuel. Image credits - Wassim Chouak / Unsplash

    Fuel will be issued in 92 stations on Friday for Health Workers

    IMF

    IMF’s Sri Lanka, Pakistan talks in focus as $66 billion at risk

    Bus

    New increased bus fares announced in Sri Lanka

    Nomination of Droupadi Murmu for the Indian Presidency should help uplift India’s Tribals    

    Nomination of Droupadi Murmu for the Indian Presidency should help uplift India’s Tribals    

    World Bank

    World Bank to redesign 17 ongoing projects in Sri Lanka

  • World
    • All
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    World Bank creates fund to better prevent, respond to pandemics

    World Bank creates fund to better prevent, respond to pandemics

    Oil

    Oil seen rising past US$200 a barrel on Russian crude price cap

    Russian President Vladimir

    Putin would not have embarked on Ukraine war if he were a woman: British PM Boris Johnson

    President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has spoken to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin

    President Gotabaya calls Putin to secure fuel supplies from Russia

    dollar

    Dollar falters as US yields retreat amid recession risks

    PM Narendra Modi conveyed his personal condolences on the passing away of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan last month to President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. (Photo: Twitter/@MEAIndia)

    PM Modi meets UAE President Sheikh Mohamed in Abu Dhabi

    Mukesh Ambani

    Mukesh Ambani steps down as director of Reliance Jio

    People play rugby at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. [Loren Elliott/ Reuters]

    Australia census: Five ways the country is changing

    Monkeypox case count rises to more than 3,400 globally: WHO

    Monkeypox case count rises to more than 3,400 globally: WHO

  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Books
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Series
    Kamal Haasan's Vikram is on a rampage.

    Kamal Haasan’s Vikram is the highest-grossing film in Singapore, UK and UAE

    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

    ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ celebrates 25 magical years

    Salman Khan

    Plot to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan revealed

    Shah Rukh Khan's Jawaan, to be directed by Atlee, to scheduled for June 2023 release. (Photo: Twitter)

    Shah Rukh Khan announces new film ‘Jawaan’

    Chchutir diner Gaan by Bangladeshi singer Nondita

    Chchutir diner Gaan by Bangladeshi singer Nondita

    Song “Bechain Nazar Betaab Jigar”. Talat Mahmood. Film “Yasmin” 1955

    Song “Bechain Nazar Betaab Jigar”. Talat Mahmood. Film “Yasmin” 1955

    ‘KGF Chapter 2’

    ‘KGF Chapter 2’ becomes 3rd-highest-grossing Hindi film

    Popular Bollywood stars Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were married Thursday in a private ceremony at their Mumbai residence. Image credits - Sujit Jaswal via AFP / Getty Images

    Bollywood stars Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt marry in Mumbai

    Lata Mangeshkar: Ae Chand Pyara. Film Khazaana 1951. Music C.Ramchandra. Lyrics Rajinder Krishan

    Lata Mangeshkar: Ae Chand Pyara. Film Khazaana 1951. Music C.Ramchandra. Lyrics Rajinder Krishan

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Science
    • Travel
    This April 2022 handout photograph provided by RR Auction shows cockroaches which were fed moon dust from the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, which were pulled from an auction listing after NASA said the cockroaches and a small vial of moon dust are property of the federal government. (Photo: AP)

    Give us back our moon dust and cockroaches: Nasa

    Moon. Image credits - Ganapathy Kumar / Unsplash

    China finds signs of water in moon’s ‘Ocean of Storms’

    What we should know when we speak of food security?

    What we should know when we speak of food security?

    Beetroot is rich in nitrates and is loaded with health benefits. (Photo: Getty Images)

    Drinking beetroot juice daily could help people with heart condition

    Close-up view of a cancer cell. Credit: Alexey Kotelnikov / Alamy Stock Photo

    Massive breakthrough as cancer vanishes for all patients in drug trial

    India hands over 3.3 tons of medical supplies to Lanka’s ambulance service

    India hands over 3.3 tons of medical supplies to Lanka’s ambulance service

    Lankan Prez orders LKR 1.8 billion (US$ 5 million) to be spent on drugs import  

    Lankan Prez orders LKR 1.8 billion (US$ 5 million) to be spent on drugs import  

    In this 1971 Center For Disease Control handout photo, monkeypox-like lesions are shown on the arm and leg of a female child in Bondua, Liberia. CDC | Getty Images

    The Covid conspiracies being recycled for monkeypox

    Exercise. Image credits - Victor Freitas @victorfreitas / Unsplash

    Best exercise time differs for men and women, says US study

    High life in troubled Colombo  

    High life in troubled Colombo  

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Tech
    Bitcoin. Image credits - Onov3056

    Bitcoin slides below $20,000 to lowest level in 18 months

    Digital banking platform Revolut launches in Sri Lanka

    Digital banking platform Revolut launches in Sri Lanka

    Microsoft's Internet Explorer was first included with a Windows 95 upgrade pack. Image credits - Ina Fried/CNET

    End of an era: Microsoft retires Internet Explorer

    Cryptocurrency boom. Image credits - Executium @executium / Unsplash

    Cryptocurrency market value slumps under $1 trillion

    iPhone. Image credits - Tron Le @tronle_sg / Unsplash

    EU deal to force iPhones to use USB-C charger by 2024

    Whatsapp. Image credits - AARN GIRI / Unsplash

    WhatsApp to get edit button, undo messages and other features soon 

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
NewsIn.Asia
No Result
View All Result
Home Uncategorized

“Why must I toe Modi’s line on Pakistan?” asks Mani Shankar Aiyar

Editor by Editor
December 22, 2017
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 8 mins read
2 0
A A
Share on WhatsApp

New Delhi, December 23 (NDTV.Com): Spokespersons for the Bhara­tiya Janata Party have been asserting on TV screens that I should have taken the government’s permission before hosting an old Pakistani friend of mine to dinner. Why should I seek anyone’s permission to host a dinner party — even if that friend is a Pakistani?

Why cannot I invite friends and colleagues to talk about Pakistan with a distinguished Pakistani? Why must I toe Modi’s line on Pakistan? What gives the government a monopoly of national opinion on our neighbor? Does anyone who does not believe that the Prime Minister is the nation’s sole fount of wisdom become liable to the charge of treachery? Do I not have a right to privacy? Do my guests not have such a right?

The BJP responds that this was not just some dinner party, it amounted to sleeping with the enemy. Indeed, the Prime Minister has darkly hinted that I was hiring a contract killer (“supari”) to get him. Invoking a fake Facebook post, he slyly let slip that the dinner was a “secret” conclave to hatch a “conspiracy” with the Pakistanis to make — horror of horrors — a Gujarati Muslim the chief minister of Gujarat.

ADVERTISEMENT

Utter rubbish, total balderdash, but a nasty move to establish a salience between Pakistan and Indian Muslims to polarise a crucial election.

Well, I don’t consider Muslims or Pakistanis my enemies, especially a Pakistani Muslim like Khurshid Kasuri, who I have known since we were 20-year-old undergraduates at the same Cambridge college some 56 years ago. It was a friendship that was renewed when the founder-President of the BJP, and then Janata Party Foreign Minister of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee, chose me to be the first-ever Consul General of India in Karachi (1978-82).

Did he choose me to go to Karachi to spew at the Pakistanis? Atal Behari-ji would invariably take his seat in the House whenever I rose to speak on Pakistan. For unlike the present incumbent, he was not paranoid about Pakistan. A true democrat, he was interested in understanding other perspectives on that country.

I flew to Islamabad in Dec 1978 from the home of our ambassador in Abu Dhabi, Hamid Ansari, a brilliant diplomat and an engaging companion with whom I had served a little earlier in Brussels. He was among my closest fri­ends in the Foreign Service and I ap­­po­inted him chairman of the Oil Dip­lo­macy Committee when I was Petroleum Minister. Destiny had kissed him on the brow to rise for 10 long years (2007-2017) to the second-highest constitutio­nal position in our land: Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Invaluable in his penetrating insights into the Pak psyche, he has guided me over the years through the maze of Pakistan’s domestic politics. He introduced me to his wife’s relatives in Karachi. Hamid Ansari was second only to Doctor-sahib (former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh) among the distinguished guests at my dinner.

The morning after I reached Islamabad to be briefed by my Ambassador before taking up my new assignment, I heard the Ambassador speaking on the phone to Khurshid Kasuri. I slipped him a note on which I had scribbled that Khurshid was an old friend of mine. He passed on the phone to me, and I could hear the joy in Khurshid’s voice as he welcomed me to Pakistan, insisting that I proceed to Karachi only after visiting Lahore.

That was a tempting invitation as I was born in Lahore. I agreed, subject to Khurshid driving me straight from the airport to my old home at 44, Lakshmi Mansions.

Khurshid agreed and my Ambassa­dor indulgently let me take that circuitous route to my new posting.

That Ambassador, Katyayani Shankar Bajpai, was no soft-heart like me. He has always had a hard, tough understanding of Pakistan, untouched by any of the starry-eyed romanticism that tinges my view of that country. He was at the time in almost daily touch with Barrister Khurshid Kasuri, monitoring developments in the then ongoing Lahore High Court trial of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

Now nearly 90 years old, Ambassador K. Shankar Bajpai was another of my valued guests.

On my landing in Lahore, Khurshid Kasuri picked me up and drove me straight to the apartment where my family had lived till Partition, now taken over by a medical doctor who had been a student in London while Khurshid and I were cutting our academic teeth in Cambridge.

I have since been several times to Lakshmi Mansions (does Modi know it is still called that even seven decades after Partition?), taking my wife and children with me so often that the old chowkidar lets me in even when Dr Malik is not at home.

Most touching of all was when I visited Pakistan as India’s Petroleum Minister to initiate talks on the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. The Residents Welfare Association of Lakshmi Mansions (including writer Sa’adat Hassan Manto’s family) organised a welcome reception for me and Dr Malik asked me to send him a blow-up of my parents’ photograph so that he could, in respectful tribute to their memory, hang it on the walls of their first marital home. Is this the enemy?

In 2003, then president Pervez Musharraf appointed Khurshid Kasuri as his Foreign Minister. Kasuri immediately embarked on the most determined exercise in India-Pakistan history to resolve the Kashmir issue.

The parameters for that bold initiative were set by Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Between them, they agreed that there would be no exchange of territory or people, but an attempt to “render the LoC irrelevant” to the ordinary lives of ordinary Kashmiris on either side of the Line of Control.

The task of negotiating the deal was entrusted on the back-channel to a Pakistani civil servant, Tariq Aziz, and Ambassador Sati Lambah of India (yes, Sati too was my guest at the Kasuri dinner). Sati was not only my Islamabad counterpart through all the three years I served in Karachi, he went on to head the Pakistan division at headquarters, returned to Islam­abad both as Deputy High Commis­sioner and High Com­missioner, and climaxed his high-flying life in diplomacy as the longest-ever serving PM’s Special Envoy: nine uninterrupted years as Doctor sahib’s most trusted aide on Pakistan. No one knows Pakistan better than Sati Lambah.

The kick-off point for the Musharraf-Manmohan dialogue was Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Jan 2004 visit to Islamabad, accompanied by his Foreign Minister, Yashwant Sinha (who had also accepted my invitation but could not attend because he was detained by the Maharashtra police in Akola).

On the Pakistan side, it was Kasuri who supervised and guided the back-channel conversations that brought more progress than ever before on the vexed question of Kashmir. It would have been concluded but for Musharraf’s domestic fracas with the judiciary that finally ended his regime.

Sohail Mahmood, Pakistan envoy in India and Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, former Pakistan Foreign Minister

Sohail Mahmood (left), Pakistan’s High Commissioner in India, and Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, the former foreign minister, were among the invitees to a dinner hosted by Mani Shankar Aiyar. The Indian prime minister described the dinner as a plot to undermine his party’s prospects in the Gujarat elections.

Whenever the dialogue is resumed, the four-point formula will surely constitute the point of departure.

On the Indian side, Dr Manmohan Singh’s Foreign Minister at the commencement of the back-channel talks was Natwar Singh. So I invited him too, bearing particularly in mind that not only had he been my boss in Islamabad for most of my term in Pakistan, but also because of his immortal comment to the Pakistan press on the ghastly Moradabad riots after Eid in 1980: “I feel humiliated as an Indian and diminished as a human being.”

As former foreign minister, Salman Khurshid had gone with Atal-ji to Geneva in the mid-90s to give a fitting reply to Pakistan’s canards in the Human Rights sub-commission, I invited him too. Alas, he mixed up the dates and turned up only the next day. But the other Salman — Salman Haider — former foreign secretary and architect of the 1997 “Composite Dialogue” between India and Pakistan that has persisted over 20 turbulent years (its name, but not its essence, changed by the BJP, as is their wont) came, listened, spoke and heartily ate.

Present too were former High Commissioners Sharat Sabharwal and T.C.A. Raghavan. Raghavan’s masterpiece, The People Next Door, published a few months ago, has quickly become the defining narrative of what Raghavan calls in his subtitle, The Curious History, of our relations with Pakistan.

We also had two former heads of the Pakistan division: Chinmaya Gharekhan, who headed the division when I was in Karachi, and then went on to become principal foreign policy adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office to two prime ministers, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, before winding up his career as the longest-ever serving represen­tative of India to the UN.

He was later Dr Manmohan Singh’s special envoy for West Asia. He is a frequent contributor on foreign policy to several journals, including The Indian Express and The Hindu.

Gharekhan, a conspirator? Ghare­khan, a subversive? Modi-ji, why not che­­­ck with him? Know what? Not­with­standing his name, Gharekhan is not a Muslim, his surname is a title bestowed centuries ago on his family. Indeed, he is a fellow-Gujarati! Khem chhe?

The other head of division present was M.K. Bhadrakumar, former deputy high commissioner to Pakistan. No one in India, absolutely no one, is engaged as deeply as he is with Central Asia, West Asia and our neighbourhood and views all foreign policy in the perspective of great power geopolitics and geo-strategies.

After retirement, he has emerged as the most prolific writer on foreign policy in Indian journalism. Far from stoo­ping to low conspiracy, Bhadrakumar’s published view is that the talk at the Kasuri dinner amounted to little more than “airy nothings”.

We had two professional journalists of long standing: Prem Shankar Jha, former editor of The Hindustan Times, and Rahul Khushwant Singh, former editor of The Khaleej Times, Dubai, and former resident editor of The Indian Express, Chandigarh — blameless except for being stained by association with me since our school days!

Besides, we were graced by the participation of an outstanding defence analyst, Col Ajai Shukla (retd), a soldier and intellectual who understands defence matters better than anyone else in the public realm.

I rounded off my list of invitees with none other and none less than the former army chief, General Deepak Kapoor. I wanted him in so that Kasuri would not get away without first hearing an authoritative armed forces voice. This is the highly-distinguished, highly-decorated officer whose patriotism has been impugned by a prime minister as having attended a “secret” conclave in my home to take out a “supari” on Narendra-bhai Modi.

Even my acerbic tongue cannot find the right word to condemn this outrage.

And, oh yes, of course, there was the newly-appointed Pakistan High Commissioner, learning the ropes, more silent than the Silent Valley, deferring to his former boss, Khurshid Kasuri.

We had nothing to hide. We had come together to brief Khurshid on Indian perspectives on Pakistan because Kasuri is arguably the best friend India has in in­­fluential political circles in that country.

We also wanted to hear him, as an articulate, well-informed and India-friendly interlocutor. He has, of course, been out of office for the best part of a decade and is unlikely to make it again. So the discussion was informal and certainly not “official”. All of us, without exception, were “has-beens”.

There was absolutely nothing “secret” or “secretive” about the get-together. Indeed, the place was crawling with Modi’s intelligence agents. Khurshid Kasuri is related to the Rampur family.

The dates of the wedding in their family had been determined without reference to the election in Gujarat. My invitations had gone out a month earlier and reminders had been issued both by email and mobile phones. Doubtless, both were tapped.

We talked and dined convivially for about three hours, my wife proving to our Pakistani guests that Indian nihari and biryani are quite as good as in Pakistan! Some BJP spokesman misunderstood and claimed we had sat and conspired till 3am. There was no conspiracy. There was no mention of Gujarat. We were just talking Pakistan with a Pakistani guest and friend.

It is shameful that baseless allegations have been flung from public platforms by no less a personage than the present prime minister. How, in a democracy, can the right of any citizen to express views contrary to those of the government be questioned as Modi and his cohort are doing? Are we not drifting towards becoming a police state?

I know Modi hates me. But my party so distrusts me that I was perhaps the only Congressman of 25 years standing who was not sent to Gujarat for the campaign. Yet, Modi’s invective was reserved for me as if the battle for Gujarat was between him and me.

Towards the end of my Rajya Sabha term, I asked him a question on the floor of the upper house. He brushed off my enquiry, adding, quite gratuitously, that I would soon be joining the ranks of the “bhule-bisre” — the forgotten and the destitute. That indeed would have been my fate — except for Narendra-bhai Modi. He has given me more publicity than I could have garnered for myself in three lives. Thank you, Prime Minister.

(Mani Shankar Aiyar is former Congress MP, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha).Courtesy NDTV.com

 

Related Posts

President Joe Biden has told his officials to extend all help to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka

President Joe Biden has told his officials to extend all help to Sri Lanka

June 27, 2022
Is Nepal’s geo-strategic location a bane or a boon?
China

Is Nepal’s geo-strategic location a bane or a boon?

June 27, 2022
Making Indo-Lankan relations a broad-based one and a two-way street
Uncategorized

Making Indo-Lankan relations a broad-based one and a two-way street

June 25, 2022
Inconsistent laws a reason for controversies in National List appointments
Uncategorized

Inconsistent laws a reason for controversies in National List appointments

June 22, 2022
Lankan PM to visit India shortly
Development news

Lankan PM to visit India shortly

June 22, 2022
China wants Lanka to distance itself from India and US to merit aid
China

China wants Lanka to distance itself from India and US to merit aid

June 20, 2022
  • Electricity

    Power cut schedule for July 1 in Sri Lanka

    44014 shares
    Share 17621 Tweet 10997
  • Foreign Exchange Rates from Central Bank of Sri Lanka; USD, GBP, EUR, SGD, CAD

    1181 shares
    Share 479 Tweet 293
  • WATCH : Yohani’s first live performance in India

    784 shares
    Share 326 Tweet 191
  • Power interruption schedule released: Check your area power cut time

    736 shares
    Share 314 Tweet 176
  • Leader of Bohra community meets President

    668 shares
    Share 271 Tweet 165
  • About Us
  • Advertisements
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

© 2022 All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
  • Around The World
  • Breaking News
  • Business
    • Exchange
  • Climate Change
  • Governance
    • Crime
    • Diplomacy
    • Defense
    • Human Rights
    • Politics
    • Strategic Affairs
  • Lifestyle
    • Books
    • Entertainment
      • Arts
      • Cinema
      • Gaming
      • Music
      • Movie
      • Series
      • TV
    • Health
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
  • Culture
    • Ethnicity
    • Gender
  • Development news
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Coronavirus
  • History
  • National
  • Offbeat
    • Media
    • Music and arts across South Asia
  • Recommended
    • Headlines
    • Highlights
    • Top Picture
    • Top Story
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Cricket
      • LPL
      • IPL
    • Tennis
    • Formula 1
    • NBA
  • Tech
    • Instagram
  • United Nations
  • Weather
  • World
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United States
  • Videos

© 2022 All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

mersin eskort -

Meritroyalbet

-
Jojobet
- Süperbetin - eskisehir escort -

https://www.vudols.com/

- Sağlık Personeli - istanbul avukat