Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo
There is a beautiful episode in Mahabharata that reveals the truth of truths for all and sundry to know, understand and assimilate. During the Mahabharata war, Bhishma is lying on the bed of arrows on the hard ground and the Pandavas along with Dropadi are around him listening to his words of knowledge and wisdom. Suddenly, Dropadi’s out of context smile is noticed by the war stalwart Bhishma who was also the most revered eldest in the Kuru family.
He pointing towards Dropadi, the Panchali, says that the sarcastic smile of her was genuine. She had a reason to do so comparing Bhishma’s words of wisdom on the bed of arrows with his role consequent upon Daryodhana’s orders during the dice-gamble victory against Pandavas. Since her smile was based upon a fundamental query regarding his (Bhishma’s) silence at the time when Panchali was ordered to be undressed and unclothed in the open Court of Hastinapur kingdom by Daryodhana and Dushasana, she deserved an appropriate and honest reply by him (Bhishma).
Bhishma continues and says that the food taken by him, as an ardent follower of Hastinapur kingdom, had its effect on his moral conduct and observancy. Food was impure, morally, pregnant with lies, so was the conduct which also reflected in his faulty observancy. It was but natural that he couldn’t muster the required courage to oppose the immoral and illegal actions of Daryodhana and Dushasana. So was true with all of them who were supposed to do the same in the Hastinapur Court presided over by king Dhratrashta.
All, including Bhishma, failed at the right time of their test. It all happened so because he was so influenced by the immoral and Adharmic food of the palace that his conscience got polluted and the afflicted conscience reflected in the most brazenly manner and forced him to keep mum and sit silent while the worst thing of unclothing his daughter-like daughter-in-law, Panchali, was being enacted. Bhishma apologized to Panchali for his failure to raise his voice in the Hastinapur Court when her modesty was challenged by the sons of Dhatrashtra.
The moral of the story is that the food and education coupled with the company one keeps and their value system have a tremendous impact upon the conscience of an individual, society and a nation. 1947, in Indian history, saw the cruel death of humanity, morality and value system so unashamedly that hundreds of thousands of people got killed and multiples of them got uprooted and were rendered refugees in their own country. It was genocide of its worst kind after the second world war.
The basis of 1947 tragedy had its roots in hatred and acrimony that Muslim League found a basis for refusal of co-existence between Hindus and Muslims. Thus was born Pakistan, vivisecting the motherland, the thousands of years old society with common blood and DNA and blackmailing the government of India to part away with Rupees Fifty five crores as “indemnity” towards the newly created nation-state called, Pakistan.
The basis of the newly and artificially created state was so hugely immoral that it continues to have its immoral sway even up to date. The immoral standing led Pakistan to spread bundles of lies throughout the globe over the last seven decades. Initially, as with all such cases, Pakistan achieved success in spreading lies and canards about most of the things, statecraft included, besides the history of its share.
But with the passage of time, the law of dimishing marginal utility worked, and Pakistan started losing its face internationally. Lies became its code of conduct, terrorism its strategic asset of blackmail and the support to both formed its part of state policy. As with terrorism, so with lies, Pakistan is recognized as the established global epicentre of lies and falsehood.
David Cameron, former British PM, on his visit to India and Pakistan was the first global leader to call Pakistan as the global epicentre of terrorism. He didn’t change his statement when he reached Pakistan. Ever since the ‘onset’ of Islamic terrorism in the world, Pakistan nourished it with everything possible at its command and capacity. In the political and diplomatic field, it used lies as its biggest strategic asset to make its headway and hoodwink the global public opinion over the sixty continuous years.
Pakistan in the initial period vehemently refused to accept that Al Qaida chief, Osama bin Laden had been given refuge in Pakistan. When US, without any sort of permission from the government of Pakistan, killed Osama and also took away his dead body, Pakistan refused to accept the same happening in Abbottabad near Rawalpindi, the headquarters of its military. However, with truth and facts coming out as they were, the government of Pakistan used silence as its response to the reactions of the world. Recently in the budget session of the National Assembly, PM Imran Khan said that the American forces entered Pakistan and killed Laden without informing Islamabad after which everyone started abusing his country.
Khan further said, “I don’t think there’s a country which supported the war on terror and had to face embarrassment for it. Pakistan was also openly blamed for US’s failure in Afghanistan,……For Pakistanis across the globe, it was an embarrassing moment when the Americans came and killed Osama bin Laden at Abottabad…….The whole world started abusing us after that. Our ally came inside our country and killed someone without informing us. And, 70,000 Pakistanis died because of US’ war on terror”. Bin Laden was killed by United States Navy Seals in Pakistan’s Abbottabad in May, 2011.
Khan’s remarks drew criticism from the Opposition. “Osama bin Laden was a terrorist and our PM called him a martyr. He was behind massacre of thousands,” said Khawaja Asif of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, immediately after the speech of Imran Khan. The fact of the matter is that Pakistan accepted the truth that Pakistan gave refuge to a declared global terrorist in its backyard, though after a decade of the event.
Imran Khan doesn’t like to call himself as Niazi, but what he is, is not. His full name is Imran Khan Niazi and he belongs to the same clan that produced Pakistan’s most infamous soldier, Lt. General Niazi who surrendered along with his around one lakh Pak soldiers in Dacca in 1971 before Major General J.S.Arora of the Indian Army. Pakistan was candid enough in admitting its surrender in Dacca but what it didn’t like to admit was it’s another subsequent surrender at Bogra in East Pakistan, where Major General Nazar Hussain Shah, General officer commanding, 16 Infantry Division of Pakistan Army surrendered before Major General Lachman Singh Lehl, General officer Commanding, 20 Mountain Division of Indian Army on 18th December 1971.
Pakistan initially lied about Surgical strikes post Uri episode and later about Balakot air strikes by Indian Air Force. The same Prime Minister of Pakistan admitted both these strikes by India while addressing his officers in Islamabad. It has been telling all lies about Kashmir and the violations of human rights in Kashmir over the last three decades around the world and consequently failed to take the world opinion alone with.
Pakistan’s obsession with lies is so deeply rooted in its statecraft that international embarrassements don’t deter it from the wrongly beaten tracks. Terrorism and Lies are the two major strategic assets of Pakistan which it believes are responsible for it to exist. Both are genuine food to its state policy on internal and external affairs. India and the rest of the world may or may not compel Pakistan to change its course, but the modern generations in Pakistan are the only silver lining in this context.
The division in 1971, Balochistan crisis and losing foothold in the Islamic world could not deliver appropriate lessons to Pakistan yet in this context. The proactive line of Modi Government in connection with Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh is the last hope for the people in Pakistan to make their government to reconsider its options on both the issues, support to terrorism and advancement of global lies. The sooner India finishes its unattended and unimplemented agenda on Jammu and Kashmir, better it will be for the world to rid Pakistan of its traditional lies. So the key is with New Delhi to change the course of history, regardless of issues pertaining to military action with China. Hope all issues are put on the front burner, without any further delay.
(Feedback: ashwanikc2012@gmail.com)
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