Award for Major Gogoi a slap for Omar Abdullah

The contrasting reactions of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Punjab Chief Minister Amrinder Singh on the commendation certificate given to Major Leetul Gogoi by the army chief for forcing a civilian to sit on his jeep’s bonnet as a “human shield” to rescue over a dozen security and election personnel from a stone-pelting mob in Jammu and Kashmir in April speak for themselves. Omar, a Congress ally, wanted the army to courtmartial him while Amarinder, the recently-elected chief minister of Punjab supported the army chief’s step wholeheartedly even saying that those who opposed the conferring of honour on Major Gogoi were being foolish. The morale of the army, which has been doing a very difficult job in Kashmir with requisite restraint is bound to be raised by General Bipin Rawat’s bold action in the face of scathing criticism from human rights activists. That Major Gogoi’s action, taken on the spur of the moment, evidently saved many lives of security and election personnel and perhaps of stone pelters was of no consequence to the likes of Omar, and of activist Arundhati Roy who even went to the extent of eulogising the Pakistan army while damning the Indian army.

Omar and Arundhati have time and again taken a jaundiced approach to the violence in Kashmir. They would not condemn stone pelting or the instigators across the border even though stone pelters have killed and injured hundreds of people, but they are ever ready to fire nasty salvoes at the Indian government and its army. While Omar is playing a political game and is pandering to the Pakistan government and to the separatists out of trepidation and expediency, Arundhati’s credentials have for long been suspect as an activist who has massive double standards and is in league with dubious forces. The Congress party would rather be on the side of Omar and Arundhati but has been silent because of the forthright stand taken by Amrinder without whom the whole Congress edifice would collapse. It is well accepted that Amrinder had won the Punjab elections handsomely because he wrested from the high command the assurance of a free hand. Party heir-apparent Rahul Gandhi was consciously kept out of the election campaign thanks to Amrinder. Now, on the Major Gogoi issue, there is a conscious effort not to rub Amrinder on the wrong side.

Barring a few politicians and sham proponents for peace like Arundhati, the silent majority in the country would support the award given to Major Gogoi and commend the army for the fine job it is doing. Omar Abdullah’s National Conference stands thoroughly exposed as a party whose leaders are antinational . That this has come on the heels of the shocking revelation that during the Manmohan Singh days the government had commissioned the British origin Pakistani lawyer Khawar Qureshi to replace Harish Salve to represent India in an International Court of Justice case adds to the Congress party’s low stock today.