The Politics of Shoe hurling
and the political future of the North-Easterners: A Hard Lesson
- Part 1 -

By Puyam Rakesh Meetei *

THE POLITICS OF SHOE HURLING AND ITS ORIGIN:

"I do not think it (throwing shoe) was the right way but the issue (1984 riots) was right"
--- JARNAIL SINGH, Journalist of Dainik Jagran. (The Times of India, Wed April 8, 09)

"I forgive him"----
P Chidambaram, Union Home Minister of India (The Times of India)

The stories of 'shoe hurling' at well-known public leaders across the world has brought a new change in the thinking of justice seeking. It shows the dissatisfaction of the public with the present mechanism at work to deliver justice to the victims. As a matter of concern, this practice started with shoe-attack on George W Bush by Muntazer al-Zaidi of Iraq on December 14 in Baghdad.

This was soon followed by a similar incident of a shoe hurled at Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao by a German student at Cambridge in February this year. Again shoes have been thrown at President Ahmadinejad of Iran and Indian Supreme Court judge Arijit Pasayat.

"Enough is enough". The empty talk and irresponsibility towards the sufferings of the civilians and innocent souls have given rise to 'Shoe politics' in the world of politics. The question is not of 'REEBOKING CHIDAMBARAM' or Reeboking (Jarnail threw his Reebok shoe) Congress Party.

It is all about healing the pains of the Sikhs after years of denial for justice. Next time any leader talk about Sikh riot victims, he/she will be very careful of those flying saucers. The ethical question involved is well-noted. After all, everybody wants a new political brand (like Reebok) which concerns the welfare of the general public.

THE 1984 ANTI-SIKH RIOTS AND DIRTY POLITICS:

The incident brought mixed reactions among the Sikh community. There are protest movements against the congress decision to allow Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler to contest elections from the capital. Jarnail's action reflected the true sentiments of the Sikh community which was frustrated over the inaction on the 1984 riots.

"Justice delayed is justice denied". Nearly thirty years had passed without doing much to heal the pains and agonies of the riots. The incident became a strong wave of Sikh protests against Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar who are among the guilty faces (as accused) of the anti-Sikh riots in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi assassination.

The Congress government has been condemned for giving a clean chit to these politicians after a CBI investigation based on affidavit filed before the Nanavati Commission, 2000 by one Jasbir Singh. The question is now the sincerity of the Central Bureau of Investigation. The decision to take action against the offender in such cases is more political than legal. This again shows that politics is a dirty game.

The Honourable Union home Minister P Chidambaram's words "I forgive him" is political in nature. Instead he should have given a second thought to the concerns of the Sikh victims while giving befitting punishment to the offender, Jarnail Singh. Another important argument is that the government is very forgiving not only to Jarnail Singh but also to those who are perpetrating crimes in society.

The Congress party's dumping of Jagdish and Sajjan is a well-calculated action on the part of the party to avoid unwanted attention from the public which is detrimental to its victory. The crux of the problem is 'punishing' the criminals after thorough investigation.

The killing of one MCS officer and other two associates did not spark a communal act in Manipur. But it again shows the lack of justice delivery mechanism in the face of strong political resistance. The silence of the government here is tantamount to sacrificing the freedom of the thousands of Manipuris.

The political leverage is in favour of NSCN (IM) as soon as it engages with a peace-talk with the government of India. This political game of saying "YES NSCN (IM)" and "NO MANIPURIS" will continue for decades if not centuries. The centre and NSCN (IM) has more political voice than the people of Manipur.

This is because we are part of a democratic country with no democratic politics and we have no say in the larger political space of the country. However the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as a result of her 'military action' against the Sikh separatists provoked many in the North India to attack the Sikh community.

This goes very much against the principles of Indian democracy. One man's act must not lead to the victimization of thousands. The political complexities involved in the 'Khalistan' movement have nothing to do with many of the Sikhs who got massacre in that carnage. The underlying fact is something more than just emotional reaction against the assassination of a beloved leader.

The parliament of India is like a den of criminals. Such a 'political den' of criminals runs the politics of the largest democracy in the world (in terms of population). This is really ridiculous.

We have the knowledge of many 'Pappu Yadav' like politicians in India deciding the faith of innocent people. Was there any similar riot against the Tamils in the aftermath of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination by LTTE suicide bomber in collusion with many high profile Tamil leaders in India?

The killing of a 'saffron' leader in Orissa by Maoist cadres provoked retaliation from the saffronised Hindus against the minority Christians. The Gujarat progrom instigated by many prominent leaders of the country need not mention time and again.

The criminals who were committing the massacre got political support from the political organizations which formed government at the centre to run the country. The victims are still in want of justice.

Who are those political leaders masterminding the acts of violence?
Are they not criminals who deserve punishment if they happen to be politicians?
Is the legal system only for punishing the innocent helpless people?

A country which is run by such criminal thugs is shared by the few million of mongoloid peoples in the north-eastern corner of the country. The 1962 border war between India and China led to the withdrawal of the Indian troops from this region on the false plea that it is now under Chinese hands.

The discriminatory attitude shown by the mainland leaders to this region has reached everybody's hearts. But there is no deep political awareness among the general public in this region about their fate. They live as they are. This policy of negligence towards the country's changing political, socio-economic landscapes invites trouble in future. We have to act in unison to avoid such unfortunate outcomes.

My study suggests that the most reputed Universities in India cannot stop making the University a DEN of casteist, racist and communal minds. They keep the spirit of hatred, division, violence, discrimination and exclusivity at the highest level. The future political leaders who would be deciding our fate also carry similar mindset. That means we'll have no better prospect but only hard work to make presence.

Many people with past criminal records are joining Indian politics to de-criminalize politics or to criminalize politics. Future development will have to tell the truth. Criminal certificate holders must not be given a chance to make fun of the system with abuse of power after getting elected.

to be continued.....