Walk the Talk

Walk the Talk
Lalit Koul

A two year old baby is lying in his bed and sipping milk from his bottle. His mother is telling him stories about his father, who is a soldier and has decided to give up his life for his country. She is telling him how brave his father is and how proud he is of his service to his nation.

Suddenly, bullets start coming at mother from all the directions. Within seconds she is lying dead next to his two year old son. A dreaded terrorist appears at the door and takes a hard look at the crying baby. Next thing you know, the dreaded terrorist is emptying his AK-47 on this two year old baby. Within seconds, baby lies silent in a pool of blood in his bed.

That was the situation on ground in Kaluchak, Jammu on May 14, where Islamic terrorists gunned down 38 innocent people, including 11 women and 11 children. But who cares what is happening on the ground as long the sky is clear.

Yes, as long as the sky is clear.

“The sky is clear.” That is what Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee told media on May 23, 2002.

Is the Sky Really Clear?

Or is Mr. Vajpayee living on some other planet, to which we common people don’t have access to?

When on average 15-20 innocent Indian citizens become victims of Islamic terrorism every day, is the sky REALLY CLEAR?

Isn’t it actually colored red with blood from thousands of innocent lives who have been mercilessly killed by Islamic terrorists?

Mr. Vajpayee, who is known for his oratory skills, is a man of few words. And that necessarily is not a bad thing. Brevity is best for good communication. But unfortunately the problem is that Mr. Vajpayee is a man of words only. Action is not the hallmark of this Indian Prime Minister.

To be a great leader, one has to Walk the Talk. Just talking does not serve any purpose. Instead, it encourages the adversaries (in this case Pakistan and its Islamic Jehadi terrorists) to inflict more and more injury to the nation.

Let us take a hard look at recent record of Mr. Vajpayee’s great talk:

Oct. 2, 2001 (In a letter to US President Bush, after suicide attack on J&K Assembly on October 1, 2001)
“Incidents of this kind raise questions for our security which, as a democratically elected leader of India, I have to address in our supreme national interest. Pakistan must understand that there is a limit to the patience of the people of India.”

Dec. 13, 2001 (Addressing the nation after terrorist attack on Indian Parliament in New Delhi)
"Now the fight against terrorism has reached its last phase. We will fight it to the end. The attack was not only on Parliament but the entire nation. There should be no doubt in anybody's mind about Government's resolve to fight terrorism. We will all do it together. We will foil every attack.”

May 15, 2002 (Addressing Indian Parliament after the massacre at Jammu on May 14, 2002)
"Jammu attack was massacre of innocents and India must counter terror.”

May 22, 2002 (Addressing army soldiers during Kashmir visit):
“My visit here should be seen as a signal. Whether the neighbor understands it or not, the world understands or not, history will remember it and we will write a new history of victory. Our goal should be victory because now the time has come for a decisive fight and in this war, we will win. We have to fight our own war, we are ready for it, we are prepared for it."

May 23, 2002 (Addressing media in a press conference)
"The situation is serious and it is a challenging situation, and we will meet the challenge. We will see what happens in the future. We had said war clouds were hovering, but sometimes lightning strikes even if the weather is clear. We hope that the lightning will not strike."

And all that talk has resulted in:

Since September 2001, 456 dead and 847 injured innocent Indians.

(Note: These figures pertain only to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Number of people, who were counted as injured and ultimately succumbed to their injuries is not available.)

Finally, on May 23, 2002, to a question whether he was satisfied with Musharraf's promise to fight terrorism, Mr. Vajpayee said, "No, I am disappointed. What is important is not making a declaration, but implementing it. Words must by matched by the deeds and that has not happened".

Mr. Prime Minister, I, a proud Indian citizen, is disappointed with YOU. You have to match YOUR words with deeds. And that is to do whatever it takes to defend India and its interests. That is precisely why you are the Prime Minister.

India can not and need not listen to the advice of “Restrain. Restrain. Restrain” from White House, US State Department and Pentagon. Colin Powell’s reasoning for giving us the ‘Restrain’ advice is “Indo-Pak conflict at this time is going to adversely affect our war on terror.” Apparently, in the eyes of US policy makers, it is okay to keep sacrificing the innocent Indian lives until General Tommy Franks captures Usama bin Laden dead or alive. Everything else is secondary. The life of a two year old baby, who got gunned down by Islamic terrorist and thus could not see his third spring, is apparently less precious than an American life.

That is United States logic. But that does not buy me and my fellow Indian citizens any peace and security. India needs to stand up for its rights and defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty, with or without United States.

I wonder how anybody in Prime Minister’s Office can sleep at night when two year old Indian babies are machine-gunned to death by Islamic terrorists. I certainly can not.