When a top political leader (or a military dictator) faces a substantial public opinion that openly expresses its lack of faith/trust in his leadership qualities, the leader/dictator in turn tries to find (real or imagined) enemies ‘out there’ to divert public attention.
While President Bush and his team have been chasing ‘such enemies’ for over four years (in what appears to be an unending ‘war’) to make the USA a ‘safe place’, his comrade-in-arms in Pakistan now sees a ‘foreign hand’ in the ongoing major crisis in his country.
And that ‘foreign hand’ inevitably means India. The genial, quite and soft spoken Indian Prime Minister, Mr Manmohan Singh, who has been accused in his country of being ‘too soft’ towards General Musharraf’s regime (some say under pressure from the US administration), must be feeling hurt.
Some time ago when General Musharraf’s elderly mother and his son came visiting India, the gracious Indian Prime Minister (a virtual non-politician and more of an academic) and his hospitable wife insisted that they stayed in his own official house.
A leading Indian newspaper, The Hindu, today carries a story by its Islamabad correspondent Nirupama Subramanian: “Over the last three months, Opposition activists in Pakistan have occasionally voiced the view that India was overly fond of President Pervez Musharraf for his ‘flexibility’ on the Kashmir issue and, therefore, not supportive enough of its ongoing struggle against the regime.
“With the Opposition struggle intensifying, India stands in the dock again, but this time accused by the (Pakistani) Government of a conspiracy to malign the Pakistan armed forces through the ongoing judicial crisis.
(Military ruler Musharraf removed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on March 9, citing alleged misconduct. The move sparked the biggest political challenge to the general since he seized power eight years ago.)
“Tightening rules for television programmes, the Government announced on Thursday that it would strictly enforce an existing rule that requires private channels to seek permission for live coverage.”
Meanwhile a CNN report says: “Thousands turned out to greet Pakistan’s suspended chief justice as he traveled to a northwestern town on Saturday to muster support for his legal battle against President Pervez Musharraf’s attempt to sack him.
“Chants of ‘Go Musharraf Go’, that have become a signature of the three-month-old judicial crisis, were raised as Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry passed through towns and villages on his way to address the legal fraternity in Abbottabad.
“Along the way, Aitzaz Ahsan, the leader of the legal team defending Chaudhry against charges of misconduct, delivered a sharp riposte to a statement of support for General Musharraf issued by the army’s top brass a day earlier.
“There were no live broadcasts of Chaudhry’s journey, as the authorities have clamped down, partly out of nervousness over the increasingly bold criticism of the powerful military.
“Earlier, television channels had followed Chaudhry on his travels to address the legal community in various cities, and broadcast live pictures of rousing receptions given to the judge.”
The Australian reports that: “Pervez Musharraf was in crisis talks with commanders of Pakistan’s 650,000-strong army last night as fears rose that a state of emergency would be declared to quell unrest after the President’s attempt to sack Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.”
In an interview to the BBC, General Musharraf brushed aside the demand for quitting the post of army chief. He said his uniform is like a second skin, which he cannot remove.
Some present day rulers do develop the mindset of the 17th century king Louis XIV when he bemoaned about his beloved France: “Après’ mois le deluge!â€
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.