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October     Last updated: October 28: 7:00 p.m.

World Window
Arabian Night(mare)s

Atul Rawat

The raging conflict in West Asia has its worldwide impact. The Arab nations, on the one hand, have created a worldwide oil crisis. On the other hand, they are trying to blackmail perceived soft states like India into at least condemning Israel. They have achieved a unity of sorts in trying to blackmail India. A report in an international Muslim newspaper writes in a warning tone that an “Indian reaction favouring Palestinians is expected before it is too late....” The Semitic secularist lobby led by the left has also jumped into helping the Arab nations in this exercise. The communists have begun to denounce the so-called pro-Israel tilt of the NDA Government. The CPI-M has demanded that the Government of India should demand a meeting of the UN Security Council where Israel should be condemned. These Indian champions of the Arab cause demand roll- back of petrol prices despite their very own patrons creating the fuel crisis world over.
This is also a time when the Government of India should take into consideration the history of past fifty years of Indo-Arab relations. It is to be remembered that these were the same Arab nations who had always sided with Pakistan in both 1965 and 1971 wars. Despite the Nehruvian foreign policy, which had always supported them, even on the issue of terrorism in Kashmir the Arabs have usually taken the side of Pakistan and terrorism. In reality, terrorism has been their modus operandi even in their fight against Israel. No wonder, Yasser Arafat, the leader of Palestinians, was known for a long time as a major terrorist leader. His stubborn attitude on Jerusalem is an indicator of the extreme hardline that he takes. The reports on corruption he indulged in abound in the world press.

On the other hand, we have a natural friend in Israel, the nation of people who have been suppressed for two thousand five hundred years. Their suffering in all nations except in India in their diaspora has endeared India to the Israelis. Despite a negative Nehruvian policy towards them, the Israelis had more of positive feelings towards India than the Arab nations whom our secularists pampered for consolidated Muslim vote- bank back home. For a long time the Muslim vote-bank politics was sought to be camouflaged behind the smokescreen of an argument of procurement of petroleum from Arab nations. The secularists who advanced this argument never bothered to tell that India was never given oil at cheaper rates. On the other hand, Pakistan being an Islamic country was given oil on different terms and conditions.

Due to the radical Arab postures, there is almost no chances of any peace initiative to succeed. The Egyptians are hosting an Arab Summit on October 21. Islamic leaders like Ghaddafi have already demanded war against Israel or at least a blockade. Observers are expecting that the Summit will take a hardline position on the issue and may show an unprecedented unanimity. That would naturally increase both the chances of war with Israel and the deepening oil crisis in the world.

In such a time of turmoil, India must stand on the side of Israel who has been a natural friend and has offered its support many a times on such vital issues as fight against terrorism. Terrorism, which is the single largest problem before both Israel and India, has led to a situation for both the countries where they are sailing in the same boat. Even now, while the Israeli Prime Minister has written two letters to our Prime Minister, apprising him of the situation, there is no such letter from the Yasser Arafat. Even now it is only the Indian Consulate in Gaza who is keeping in touch with the Palestinian leadership. On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Barak's letter came just after the violence started. He followed it up with a second letter last Thursday.
While the Indian decision to send medicine for Palestinians may be termed a humanitarian help, the political and diplomatic efforts should be made by India to support the Israelis who are beleaguered by terrorism just as we are, whatever may be the objections of the Arabian agents—both green and red.

Vote-Bank Politics in America

After “Muslim Indians” having successfully subverted the Indian democracy for five decades by their Muslim vote bank politics, now their American counterparts, whom for the convenience of terminology we may say “Muslim Americans”, are preparing to use their vote-bank tactics against the American democracy. The nearest political event that is approaching fast is the American presidential elections. Despite the fact that the “Muslim Americans” are very few in number, they still wield some power in certain pockets. The most prominent among them is the south-east Michigan where around four lakh “Muslim Americans” live. Most of them are of Arabian descent. The most important tactic in the arsenal of vote-bank practioners is the pre-meditated en masse voting. This is the tactic they are dangling like a carrot before the American politicians. They have chosen the Republican candidate George Bush II to patronise this time. The real reason behind this patronage being extended is that the Democrat candidate Al Gore has chosen a Senator Joe Lieberman as his running mate. Lieberman is a known religious Jew. But on the face of it they are not speaking much about this reason and are simply saying that Bush had condemned the ethnic profiling of “Muslim Americans”. They are very much against this practice to which the American Administration resorts to find out the antecedents of the probable immigrants from Arabian countries. While it is used to filter out probable terrorist entriesm the “Muslim Americans” cite it as a pretext to deport a disproportionate number of Muslim immigrants.

As the race between the two contestants is neck and neck, even Al Gore was quite fast to condemn the practice of secret profiling. But that has not really made a difference in his favour. A supposedly neutral Council of American Islamic Relations has “disclosed” that the support for Al Gore has come down from 32 per cent to 24 per cent last September. On the other hand the support for George Bush had gone upto 40 per cent in September in comparison to 28 per cent in June. It is to be remembered that Al Gore was quite late in declaring Senator Joe Lieberman as his running mate. It is only after this declaration that the “Muslim Americans” seem to have decided to ditch the “liberal” Gore for a “radical” Bush. Usually the minorities etc. consider the Democrats more liberal. Although the “Muslim American” are few in number they can make a difference because the match is very even and the few can tilt the balance. It is an ideal situation for the practitioners of the vote-bank politics to flex their muscles and subvert a democratic system.