Modi hamstrung?
rojection as a strong, authoritative, even dictatorial leader is the image Narendra Modi relishes for himself, and those “pushing” for him to lead the BJP to power in New Delhi insist his decisiveness is what India needs after a non-governing UPA-II. The BJP has also consistently sought to create a constituency among the military and ex-servicemen&’s community. Yet current events are chipping away on both fronts as the Gujarat chief minister is opting for the easy, “let the law take its course”, way of out controversy. Thereby opting for parochial preferences ~ as he did at Uttarakhand ~ rather than “sell” himself as a national figure. The fate of several hundred Sikh/Punjabi farmers working the soil in Kutch wavers as Modi backs off from directing his underlings to withdraw from the Supreme Court an appeal against a verdict of the High Court that favours the farmers. Their story is simple, one that began with responding to a national call, and now being ousted after transforming a region. Aware of the manner in which Punjab farmers had “tamed” the Terai and transformed the Andamans, after the 1965 War (which few may remember actually began in Kutch) Lal Bahadur Shastri had appealed to the farmers to settle in what was then little better than a wasteland and create a security buffer zone. The miracle was repeated, but after the value of the converted lands rose, jealous eyes were cast on it. And so a few years ago an archaic legal provision, inherited from the erstwhile Bombay state, was resurrected by district officials, and non-locals were given marching orders: many moved out rather than risk ultimate eviction. Those who stood their ground won their case in the High Court, the Gujarat government has appealed against that verdict.
Where Modi invites the charge of duplicity is that though he has told the chief minister of Punjab (an NDA partner who lost no time in taking up the farmers’ cause) that there would be no eviction, he also professed an inability to scrap the obsolete land revenue laws, and like politicians across the board, passed the buck on to the judiciary. Admittedly he is caught between conflicting interests, but that is when decisive leadership is required. Thus far Modi&’s dithering has not kicked up much political dust beyond Punjab, and Kutch, but the BJP would have a hard time playing this one down should it “explode”. LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Yashwant Sinha have come out with all guns blazing over AK Antony&’s pussy-footing the killing of Indian soldiers on the LOC. Are they too “chicken” to pressure Modi to act in favour of farmers who resettled themselves to thwart Pakistani designs? Or did Jai Jawan Jai Kisan also die at Tashkent?
Diplomatic ‘earthquake’
he European Union has turned the screws on Israel with the ban on funds for projects in the Jewish settlements of West Bank and East Jerusalem. The time-frame of the ban is critical ~ Israel will have to guarantee that any settlements and institutions on land occupied since 1967 are excluded from further  projects that may be on the anvil. The crippling curbs are bound to sour relations between the West and Israel if the official response is any indication ~ “an earthquake for EU-Israel relations”. Predictably enough, the EU move has been welcomed by Palestine. Its 28 member-states  have been barred from providing “grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the EU”, indeed further funding that can benefit the residents of the settlements. The EU is on firm ground in terms of international law. At another remove, it is Israel that has been on a weak wicket not least because the settlements are built on what is internationally regarded as Palestinian land. Therefore, through its action, the EU has reaffirmed that they are illegal in the context of legal provisions that must guide international engagement. It is early days to claim, in the manner of the Yesha Council, which represents Israeli settlers, that the “one-sided and discriminatory EU directive means Europe had effectively decided to abandon any involvement it had in the peace process”. Such presumptuous conclusions must await further developments. Suffice it to register that the EU perception is well-grounded. In its reckoning, as indeed of many other power blocs, the settlements are one of the biggest obstacles to any peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Truce and tragedy
here is little to suggest that the UPA government will be able to keep its “promise” of solving the Naga issue during its second term. After the last round of talks some months ago, the NSCN(IM) leadership claimed the issue was in the  Centre&’s court and said it was waiting for its next move. In fact it wants to test New Delhi&’s sincerity. Meanwhile, the situation in Nagaland is rather confusing and tense over non-observance of the ceasefire ground rules and free-for-all extortion. This deserves attention in the light of the recent spat between the NSCN(IM) and the Dimapur-based  Action Committee Against Unabated Taxation.
 So no one can tinker with the NSCN(IM). And given this situation one wonders why this so-called  “de facto” status was not made public at the time of the signing of the cease-fire. The people in neighbouring states are still in the dark about the jurisdiction of the Nagaland cease-fire and till now only the Centre and the NSCN(IM) know  its “agreed terms and conditions.”  So, this is democracy at work.