Perils of Polly!

Roy Lictenstein-Whaam!

Perils of Polly!


Polly the parrot traditionally has perilous encounters with the family cat and also with machinery such as fans and automated plate-glass doors not designed to accommodate the needs of feathered friends.

Polly the proverbial young girl has perils of a different order. Hers are mainly to do with attempts by males, females and transgenders alike trying to “make” her; in trains and planes, in mountain or dale, always on the razor’s edge of ruin in classic Hindi film “bachao” default.

But frankly, there is a self-inflicted quality to the antics of bird and dolly-bird alike that makes the less liberal observer wonder why they get into unnecessary scrapes in the first place. Sensible pet parrots confine themselves to their cages. And nubile polyannas should presumably learn to enjoy their perils with the pleasure they apparently provoke.

But then, all this may be the jaundiced view of the classic spoilsport that does not enjoy daily mayhem and murder, has no appetite for subversion and no kink for humiliation either. This spoilsport cannot bring himself to consider such goings on as minor kerfuffles all in a day’s work.

He does not think border incursions and infiltration are to be expected every year before winter and the snows set in. He does not relate hundreds killed needlessly because there is no security of life and limb in this country, to the national population count of over a billion people.

This spoilsport is appalled by the type of liberal who says the state is the actual problem and the quintessential “big brother” style bully just millimetres away from full blown fascism.

Neanderthal caveman of a spoilsport that he is, he must reorient his thinking and perspective, the better to be in synchronisation with the intelligent mood of the times, unconcerned with national security, and in order to maintain a necessary political correctness of demeanour.

The spoilsport needs to also consult the cynical manager’s handbook which opines that it is the manager’s duty to first create a problem, then allow, even aid and abet it to grow and fester and splinter into multiplicities. And then, with sufficient fanfare and publicity, come to the rescue and solve the self-same problem. But in doing so, the manager must take care not to solve it all at once, and certainly not all the problemmettes, root and branch, because then he would be working himself out of a job and heading towards an arid redundancy.

Once properly trained and reengineered into the right frame of mind, the erstwhile spoilsport finds himself smiling in relief. He now points to all the chaos and pointless bloodshed from a decidedly philosophical perspective.

He sees that it is to do with the rhythm of life and the battle constant between good and evil in which the ground rule is that neither side can, or should be, eliminated out of the game and benched fruitlessly.

In the game of life one needs both winners and losers and if any side is depleted by way of attrition, why, it must be replenished without delay so that proper balances can be maintained at all times.

This cynical outlook is apparently not just a management survival strategy but may explain the futility of much of our government policy, particularly in hindsight. Our politicians and their endless prevarication on decisions and their impact on poll prospects, has much, actually much too much, blood on its hands. It is a constant and unwavering saga of late comings and inflated consequences with a dash of too little too late.

We have lost more soldiers and civilians in Kashmir than in all the wars and insurgencies since independence, when all we have done is attempt to maintain the status quo rather than solve the problem. Meanwhile, if its instruction we need, anarchic Pakistan has not been tardy in swallowing up Gilgit!

It is true that we’ve been through these situational challenges almost from the start of our independent journey as a nation : in Kashmir, in the North East, in Bengal, with the Khalistanis in Punjab, and now with Maoists scattered in the forested and tribal areas spread all over coastal and peninsular India.

We have overcome each of these internal security threats to our unity in the past after considerable struggle, time, and lives lost on every side. But we have failed always in preventing the anti-national structures forming, drawing sustenance and growing in influence and structure through the early and middle stages.

We have ignored the financing and counterfeit money injection, the drug rackets, the superior arms and ammunition smuggled in, the training and indoctrination, more often than not from foreign sources determined to harm the integrity of our nation. Even if we knew, we never did anything about it.

The Indian Mujahideen, Simi, and others, constantly renamed, the so-called home grown subversives, are yet another case in point. Particularly when they seem to dovetail seamlessly with the LeT and other Talibanised outfits from across the borders to Pakistan and Bangladesh. In addition, the illegal immigration from Bangladesh, shamelessly aided by political complicity, itself tops some two crore people!

We are today behind in terms of force strength, in men and materials alike, to tackle a large and sophisticated internal insurgency problem. Anti-nationals of every hue and in every hot spot have better equipment, training, communications and armaments, as is evident from the relative casualty listings with each passing encounter.

This has emboldened the insurgents to go on the offensive. They now terrorise and subdue not just unarmed civilians and tribals in remote areas, but attack our police, paramilitary and armed forces in towns and cities. They blow up major infrastructure and disrupt election processes. They propagandise, threaten and issue dictates and fatwas. And the fact is we have brought it all upon ourselves because of sustained neglect.

We are no safer in terms of maintaining our borders, seas and territorial integrity either,with an ill equipped, under staffed, under funded and antiquated security and intelligence apparatus. The escalating internal insurgencies and our military unprepared ness is linked. The only way out is to go on the offensive, as we are now doing in Maharashtra, have done in Bengal recently, and not stop till the job, the entire job, is done. And we must make ready for the backlash on our borders.

(1,051 words)

October 11th, 2009
Gautam Mukherjee