|
|
|
|
The Agra Assignment... Or Mad Over Mush |
||
|
 |
Why else would be event be organised in Agra? After all, other than the Taj, that city's singular claim to fame is its mental asylum. Wait, somehow all that seems to make sense. Is that where the dignitaries will be hosted? In what could be considered their natural surroundings? Well, given the background of Indo-Pak friction, no one in their right mind would accuse the policymakers of either country of being in theirs. Now, the real question of protocol arises? Who exactly is going to receive Musharraf at the airport? Will it be President K R Narayanan, who may have found that experience galling despite his recent gall bladder operation? When Musharraf was merely the Chief Executive, the Government, according to totally unfounded rumours, was planning on sending the Chief Executive of the Delhi Vidyut Board to greet him so that they could exchange notes on bankruptcy, of ideas and finances. Now no one is really sure, except for Ajit Kumar Panja, who desperately wants to return to the Ministry, so that he can find himself on the tarmac with his trademark toothy smile frightening the cows that roam around IGI Airport.  Musharraf has already won round one of the protocol war. From a mere Chief Executive he has become the President sending poor ol' Rafiq Tarar to oblivion or Saudi Arabia, whichever he chooses. As President he gets the constitutional respectability that his tinpot dictatorship does not deserve. And, he really put a fix on Vajpayee and co. After hyping up the summit after months of refusing to negotiate with a regime that murdered democracy, the Indian Government suddenly finds itself eating crow, with garnishing in the form of laying out the red carpet for the mastermind of Kargil.But still they keep crowing on about the possibilities that the summit holds. Exactly what no one knows, except that perhaps, Pakistani sugar, of the white and brown varieties may become more freely available in India. The only persons who are happy are the Americans. They can depute an intern to an Under Secretary to monitor the talks since that's what that great internationalist George W Bush's worldview is. The US wants India and Pakistan to get along so that their arms industry can sell weapons to both without the sneaky Israelis or Chinese marring that monopoly. Musharraf's entourage should be pretty large, even without his poodles. That's not counting the infiltrators who are possibly, at this very moment, busy occupying various outposts in Kashmir while the Indian establishment remains focused on the summit. Shades of Lahore and that bus, no? But then, we should always remain positive and presume the best. At the very least we won't see pictures of Musharraf dancing with the women of Nyala! We hope so for that could be the breakthrough in Indo-Pak relationships the world has been waiting for. RECENTLY ON JAAL: Going Ape Over Kashmir Bad Dream Factory Ballot Boxing Borderline Patriotism Bill Clinton's Hidden Agenda The Tapes: Replay The Naked Truth About Sinha's Dream Budget Give Us This Day Our Daily Disaster A Dip Into The Kumbh Hype Hype Hurray The A 2 Z Of Y2K What's Behind Bush? The Florida Ceasefire The Damn Dam Controversy A Weak-Kneed Operation Faster, Higher, Stranger You Have The Right To Be A Volunteer The ICE ICE Baby A Tale Of The Jungle King The Secret Autonomy Report Report When Batsman Became Betsman India's Human Genome Projectile Stone Age Flaws In ICE Age Laws A Dry Spell For Policy Planning Lara's Theme Dotcom Bubble Gum: Burst Or Bust Inside A VIP Cell A To Do About Dos A Dress Code For Klintonji Al Faridi Gnuman writes fiction and is also a journalist though the difference is difficult to perceive. SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK ABOUT THIS ARTICLE:
|
| | About Us | Archives | Help | E-mail | Advertise | Legal Crap | Webmaster | | |
| Copyright © 1998-2001 Jaal™ | nEtAhOy ! |
