On April 13, P.R. Ramesh in The Economic Times wrote an interesting report highlightingthe coincidence of the budget being followed by market destabilisation ...
ET dug up the startling fact that in March 2000, three officials from three differentoffices used identical arguments, language and legal expertise to serve notices on 24foreign companies. The newspaper smelt a conspiracy against Yashwant Sinha. Why notagainst the whole government?
This column had earlier drawn attention to coincidences surrounding the previous fallof the Vajpayee government and the Kargil attack. The motives of the destabilising forcesthen seemed clear. Indo-Pakistani rapprochement was scuttled to benefit Islamabad'smilitary establishment and Beijing. But why destabilise the Vajpayee government now?
Perhaps because it is now on a path that could attempt results more far-reaching thanthe Lahore agreement. If implemented, the Indo-Iran agreement to fight internationalterrorism could make India a global player. It could change the Indian subcontinent. Butcan Vajpayee's government, made vulnerable by scams and misgovernance, advance onsuch an ambitious journey? Chances appear bleak.
Reactions by Islamabad and Taliban have been swift and sharp. Islamabad was enraged byTeheran's invitation to India to help resolve Afghanistan's civil war. TheTaliban lashed out at Vajpayee for describing it as a threat to the region. It reiteratedthat India had suppressed democracy in Kashmir for five decades.
Kashmir has of course been denied democracy. But both India and Pakistan are to blamefor that. It is not for Taliban or Pakistani dictators to speak up for democracy. Both arenervous because Indo-Iran cooperation can lead to events that reopen basic questions.
Such as: is Afghanistan a natural state, or an artificially created union ofincompatible ethnic groups? Do Pakistan's Punjabis prefer democracy and normalcy withIndia, or dictatorship under military rulers guided by Beijing? Can China remain onenation with two systems? Or will it have to choose between the systems of Hong Kong andBeijing?
Turbulence and upheavals seem to lie ahead. The surprise Bangladesh attack may be justthe harbinger.
It's time to end attrition,
To undo the partition,
To abandon all despair—
There's a change in the air!