Like
every Indian, I, too, am proud of our PM’s strategic and timely decision to conduct ‘surgical strikes’ on
seven terrorist ‘launch pads’ across the LOC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir this
Thursday. I see this military initiative,
after decades of self-imposed strategic restraint, as a deterrent action and a much needed protest against Pakistan’s
continued terrorist activities on Indian soil – culminating in the Uri terror
attack.
Having
said that, I am amazed at Times Now highly opinionated news anchor - Arnab Goswami’s tirade against 'Peaceniks’, on his Times Now Debate, day before yesterday, accusing them of
acting against the national interest. He also denigrated decade long efforts at
Indo-Pak people–to –people peace initiatives as worthless. Sambit Patra – a panelist on the Times Now
debate, echoed Arnab’s sentiments and added insult to injury by saying that
‘Peaceniks’ have questionable motives and suggesting that they are funded to speak
and act the way they do by vested foreign agencies.
As
is his wont, Arnab did not allow -
Chanchal Manohar Singh, journalist and President of the Society for Peace,
Chandigarh, India, and who has been to Pakistan 42 times in the past 12
years to promote popular peace initiatives to make his point. Neither did he allow Saba Naqvi - journalist and author, to clarity her
views on the importance of continuing with other peace initiatives besides
military action. It may be mentioned that both Chanchal Manohar Singh and Saba
Naqvi, while supporting the ‘surgical strikes’, were merely trying to
articulate the need to continue exploring other avenues to combat Pakistan
grown terrorism, besides military
offensives. (The Times Now debate is in
some measure an Arnab Goswami soliloquy!)
Arnab
Goswami needs to do some research and practice discernment before condemning all
those committed to promoting communal harmony and world peace through nonviolent means, as mere ‘Peaceniks’ with a hidden vested political
agenda.
Our
PM too is a ‘Peacenik’ in so far as
he is able to judiciously make the distinction between the people of Pakistan
and the ruling ruthless military junta promoting terrorism! This is akin to Mahatma Gandhi’s firm belief to, “distinguish
between the wrong-doing and the wrong doer” and the Christian mandate to, “Hate the sin and not the sinner”!
