May 25, 1998

Dilip Bobb

Everybody and his brother has been busy bursting crackers in celebration of the Indian Government's decision to come out of the closet and unveil what was hidden in the basement. Though the feel-good frisson may be justified and the scientists involved in the Pokhran Phataka deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize, the dust kicked up by the event has obscured the real heroes of the moment who remain unsung. After much digging, their identities and individual contribution can now be revealed.

Ramakrishna Hegde: Though, as commerce minister, he will be directly affected by the fallout, he proved to be the trigger on the nuclear finger. His forceful suggestion that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was weakening and should put his foot down with a firm hand, proved to be a timely wake-up call. The prime minister awoke from his deep dream of peace and acted in a thrice. It is, say the reporters hastily summoned to Race Course Road, the first time that the BJP's Buddha has smiled since he took office.

George Fernandes: Widely considered a bull in a China shop, George provoked a major review of India's security concerns. Successive governments had acted on the assumption that Pakistan was enemy No. 1. By downgrading Islamabad to an also-ran, he set the hawk among the doves and forced a reassessment of the grading on the Richter scale. By firing his multiple missiles at the Chinese dragon, it was George who awoke the Indian Government to the dangers of eating humble Beijing Duck.

Sonia Gandhi: In view of the fact that she is a member of the late Indira Gandhi's family, it was decided that she be taken into confidence about India's intentions. As Opposition leader, Sonia was in possession of a political bombshell, but chose to remain tight-lipped and maintain the shroud of secrecy. Her silence is as much in keeping with her own counsel, as it is with the Gandhi family's tradition of immediately suppressing any source of trouble.

Jayalalitha: Made a large contribution to the war effort by keeping the prime minister awake to developments in the region and the dangerous environment created in India's neighbourhood by hostile elements like the DMK. By demanding retaliatory action against the bomb blasts in Tamil Nadu, she drove the prime minister to create a distraction. Will, no doubt, be suitably rewarded in the next expansion of the Government's muscle.

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