विगत शुक्रवार को अमरनाथ यात्रा के मुख्य आधार शिविर बालटाल पर कहर टूटा। यह कोई प्राकृतिक आपदा नहीं थी, बल्कि मानव निर्मित त्रासदी थी। लंगर वालों और घोड़े वालों के बीच हुए तथाकथित संघर्ष में साठ से अधिक टेंटों में आग लगा दी गई, सामान लूट लिए गए और तीर्थयात्रियों को अपमानित कर मारापीटा गया। दर्जनों घायल हो गए, जिनमें कई सुरक्षाकर्मी भी हैं। पीड़ितों के अनुसार घोड़े वालों के समर्थन में नारे लगाते आए शरारती तत्त्वों के हुजुम ने टेंटों में सोए हुए लोगों को भी उठाकर पीटा। बहुत से तीर्थयात्रियों ने सेना की मदद से अपनी जान और सम्मान की रक्षा की और जिन तक सैनिक सहायता नहीं पहुंच सकी, वे मजहबी जुनून के शिकार बने।
दिल्ली और देश के अन्य भागों में बहुसंस्करण वाले एक प्रमुख समाचार पत्र को छोड़कर बाकी मीडिया ने इस बड़ी घटना पर चुप्पी साध ली। कल्पना कीजिए यदि मुट्ठी भर हज यात्रियों के साथ कहीं ऐसी घटना हो जाती तो न केवल राष्ट्रीय, बल्कि अंतर्राष्ट्रीय मीडिया में बवाल मच जाता। यह दोहरा मापदंड क्यों? क्या सेकुलरिज्म का अर्थ यह है कि हिंदुओं को छोड़कर बाकी सभी समुदायों के मजहबी अधिकारों की ही चिंता की जाए?
Sharif must deliver on promise
Hope burns bright eternally in human hearts. And not just India but the world would hope that Nawaz Sharif, poised to become prime minister of Pakistan again after a jail term and a long exile, would restart the peace process with India and initiate the process to dismantle the terror machine which has been playing havoc in the region for decades now.
In his hour of electoral victory, Sharif is claiming that the army will no longer dictate terms, as it did in his previous stint in office. The eternal hopefuls in India are taking his words at face value and many of them have come to believe that things are bound to take a turn for the better and India must seize the initiative.
India’s Malala lesson: Do not fan the flames of orthodoxy
The shocking incident in the jihadi-infested Swat valley of Pakistan where Islamists shot at 15-year old girl Malala Yousafzai for daring to campaign for the right of girls to go to school has stirred the conscience of the world, including some in Pakistan. Even Pakistani army chief General Kayani who visited the seriously wounded girl in hospital, described Malala as “an icon of courage and hope… fighting to preserve (values) for future generations”. President Asaf Ali Zardari described her as his own daughter and called for a struggle against the militant mindset.
The popular outrage within Pakistan following the incident has kindled hope of things changing for the better in this Islamic country. This optimistic sentiment is best illustrated by the Newsweek (October 29) cover story’s headline, “‘The Girl Who Changed Pakistan’ and the accompanying blurb that reads: ‘The 15-year-old girl who may finally turn the tide on extremism.’
Elusive peace with Pakistan
With Pakistan about to set up an interim civilian government in preparation for a new general election, there will certainly be a freeze in any initiative from New Delhi on the western front. In so far as the world is concerned, the issue in Pakistan is not the election itself, but whether the civilian government, always at the edge, will survive and the terror factories operating in the country shut down.
In this context the revelation by a Pakistan army officer that the Kargil War was planned and executed by the Pakistan military under General Pervez Musharraf who then was the army commander, is a timely reminder to both Pakistan and India (and to the world) of the key role that the military plays in the political affairs of our western neighbour.
Where does the civil society stand in its war against terror? Are the hi-tech security measures and strict policing sufficient to deal with this menace? The failed car bombing in New York’s Times Square has underlined the grim reality that the civil society cannot hope to win this war till the religious mindset — which is the motivating factor behind mindless violence — is not suitably dealt with.
