CRamS wrote:SSridhar:
I agree with your analysis on TSP perfidy wrt MFN. But question is why does TSP have to go to such lengths? Even if TSP were to overtly declare NO MFN (and I must confess, I am not "chanakyan" and so I am mystified as to why India is begging this abomination for MFN), do you think MMS & Co will stop aman ki tamasha? The number of people who "learn to love TSP" will only grow as TSP insults India even more and gets away with it.
CRS, you forget the master's hand. It is He who is running the Aman-ki-Asha project in both the countries. It appears to me that GoI is sold on this approach (nothing new for us as we have always believed in the dictum of love and generosity with Pakistan) and is going full steam on this. TSP is, as usual, playing a duplicitous role. It pretends to go along with the Master's bidding but only so far as extracting all concessions from India but not reciprocating in return or reciprocating just enough so as not to fall foul of the Master. The Transit Trade agreement between TSP & Afghanistan is a case in point.
So, Pakistan could simply have said 'No' to MFN for India now as well, as it has done since 1995 (when India conferred it on Pakistan). It has always cited the non-resolution of the Kashmir issue and non-tariff barriers as reasons for not bestowing that status to us though WTO & SAFTA demand that. But, that would have not been to the liking of the Master on whom MMS & Co put pressure to make Pakistan concede that status to us. So, Pakistan has decided to play tricks.
See, the very nomenclature of 'Most Favoured Nation' to the arch & mortal kafir enemy of Hindustan, invokes so much hatred & anger among Pakistanis that Ms. Hina Khar could not even get herself around to utter that phrase during the recent Krishna-Khar press meet. She referred to MFN in a convoluted manner. That is the strength of bigotry there.
I am just still shell shocked that after at least 2 or so years when India was fairly united in doing no business with TSP until 26/11 was addressed, when did that sentiment melt down en mass?
SS, coming back to my question, when did India's 26/11 outrage melt away en mass? I know MMS's SeS surrender etc. But that alone cannot explain why so many Indian elites including media, even section of so called "Hindu nationalist" BJP are partaking in this aman ki tamasha. Is there a time line highlighting the descent from India's united outrage post 26/11 to the shameful surrender we are witnessing now? Is there a rational explanation for that rather than the usual explanations that come to mind: lack of capability, cowardice, WKKism, need to grow economy at 10% etc? I mean these factors notwithstanding, I mean 26/11 was a Lakshamn Rekha TSP crossed which should never be forgotten until TSP pays some price. What am I missing?
CRS, it is a good question for which I have no definite answer. In fact, it is possible that we may not know the answer at all. Our history with Pakistan suggests that reasonableness has no place in relationship with that country because TSP is bent on achieving certain goals vis-a-vis India. It is not amenable to reasoning, logic and decent inter-state relationship. And yet, time and time again, we have decided to deal rationally with them only to be rebuffed and the relationship going nowhere. Pakistan had only considered such an approach of reasonableness as stemming from Indian weakness which emboldened them to be more daring with us.
With that institutional history, and with six very major attacks against us (Kargil, suicide blast at J&K assembly, Parliament attack, Mumbai commuter train attack, serial bomb blasts across several cities and eventually 26/11) within a decade, we still decided to sweep everything under the carpet and initiated peace talks with them by mid 2009 as if nothing happened. If we count various other terrorist attacks against us and the Kandahar episode, that period between 1998-2008 was the worst for us. Certainly, the political leadership is confident that Indians do not consider these attacks as significantly affecting their lives and therefore can be taken for granted. Even then, there is no reason for MMS & Co to launch into a major diplomatic initiative that is at a very fundamental level making changes. Why did they do that ?
I can think of only two reasons. One, that the ruling dispensation has concluded that India has no other option against Pakistan than establishing peace with Pakistan even if it meant conceding to their demands. That the Indian populace would not seriously object to these concessions is by now well established and this made the decision easier for the Indian political leadership. Probably they also concluded that once tranquility is established between the two nations, India will be unshackled and growing even more rapidly with a 200 million Pakistani nation offering a good opportunity for our exports.
The second reason could be that the invisible hand has assured India that it will be able to twist Pakistani arm into becoming friendlier with us if only we do all these things that we have done so far (and unilateral concessions we will offer more in the future). They could have also offered some inducements to us such as UNSC permanent membership, nuclear deal, scrapping export ban on dual-use items, membership of various exclusive committees such as NSG, defanging Pakistan of its crown jewels, support against PRC etc. I am not saying that all these inducements were solely in the context of India-Pakistan relationship because there are other reasons for them as well. But, better India-Pakistan relationship fitted well into the overall scheme of things. The overall convergence in worldview between India and the Aman-ki-Asha puppeteer helped matters along, perhaps.
Or, both.
May be SeS time was about the time that all these things happened.