July 27, 1998

The Government's attempt to dramatise the insurgency in Kashmir shortly before the SAARC summit leaves most of the diplomatic corps unmoved.

By Harinder Baweja

A plane loaded with Universal machine guns, lethal Chinese assault rifles, explosive devices and subversive material took off from Srinagar recently and landed in Delhi in broad daylight. Army vehicles surrounded the aircraft and immediate clearances were issued. It was a special flight, on a special mission.

Nine years after the army had captured enough weapons to arm two divisions, the Government of India has woken up to the idea of publicising the proxy war in Kashmir. First conceived by Defence Minister George Fernandes when he visited the arms museum in Srinagar in April, the proposal to "bring Kashmir to Delhi" was quickly cleared by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Come July 14 and the show was on. Proof of how Pakistan has successfully been exporting terror was on display at a three-day arms exhibition inaugurated by Vajpayee. The message: it was about time people at home and abroad knew the exact dimensions of the situation India was facing in the sensitive border state.

It was time, too, to set the record straight. Eight hundred and seven army men had been killed and 2,615 wounded. They, in turn, had killed 7,192 militants and captured 23,822. And the fight was continuing. In an effort to counter Pakistan's offensive in Kashmir and match its propaganda transmitted regularly on Pakistan Television, the Defence Ministry organised special briefings complete with audio-visual presentations on training camps and infiltration routes.

The approach, as the Government has been reiterating, was proactive and the timing and target audience were chosen with care. Displayed across the road from Sansad Bhavan, the exhibition was timed to coincide with Parliament being in session. "We wanted to educate members of Parliament and the international community about the proxy war,'' says Fernandes, who also used the exhibition as an opportunity to rebut Pakistan's demand for a plebiscite in Kashmir.

It was no coincidence that the grand display was held a few days before Vajpayee's scheduled trip to Colombo for the SAARC summit where he meets his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif for their first bilateral meeting. Nor was it pure chance that US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott was leading a team to Delhi and Islamabad for further discussions on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. In fact, through issuing special invitations to the diplomatic corps in Delhi, the Defence Ministry was hoping for a sympathetic hearing on the extent of Pakistan's role in aiding militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.

On that front, the Government cut a sorry figure, for while various diplomats attended the inauguration, European Union (EU) countries decided to make a point by staying away. If the arms' exhibition was a subtle attempt at pushing forth the point that Kashmir was a bilateral matter, it was a feeble exercise, for the following day, the absence was driven home further when, once again, the EU representatives stayed away from the briefing held specially for defence attach s of diplomatic missions. "It was an informal boycott. The situation has changed after both countries decided to turn nuclear. We stayed away because we are not taking sides,'' said a press attach of one of the countries. In any case, most defence attach s have already seen the arms in Srinagar -- a visit to the Badami Bagh Cantonment being part of an annual feature.

It was not just the diplomatic corps which viewed the exhibition with suspicion. Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah is upset too that he had to read about the display in newspapers. "He is facing the brunt of the proxy war and the decision was not even communicated to him,'' confided an aide, wondering how arms could be flown out of the state when all seized arms and ammunitions are legally supposed to be the property of the court.

Farooq's anger stems from another reason. The army was educating India and the world about the fresh impetus given to militancy by Pakistan -- through upgraded arms and better training to foreign mercenaries -- at a time when the state Government is focusing attention on the return of tourists and film units. On hindsight, for some people in the army -- who are now analysing the exhibition -- the display was a case of nine years too late.

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