‘Bombing Palestine to Stone-Age!!’

by

P.S. Sahni

 

[All characters in this ‘theatre’ of war are real; any resemblance to fictional ones is purely imaginary!]

At an emergency war-room located in Tel Aviv within a huge bomb-proof bunker are seated Joe Biden, Netanyahu, Macron, Sunak and Olaf Scholz for a round-table meeting.

Agenda: Complete annihilation of ‘human-animals’/ ‘cockroaches’ – expletives derogatorily used for Palestinians by the Israeli government. Putting up grim faces, the utterances of these five men are business-like.

Joe Biden: Quick Netanyahu, spell out your plans.

Netanyahu: We continue to air-bomb the civilians; have moved in our tanks for a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. We understand it would take a long time to finish them off.

Joe Biden: It’s a slow process but in a long drawn-out war public opinion will turn against us.

Olaf Scholz: With due apologies to Netanyahu and without touching raw nerves, may I remind you that when Hitler faced a similar problem – about exterminating a community he opted for the Jews to be sent to gas-chambers – saves the bother of long-term killing on a daily basis. The Holocaust has taught us that this option should not be explored as a final solution for the Palestinians.

Sunak:       I am a Person of Indian Origin. I remember my grand-father telling me in childhood about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre at Amritsar, India executed by the then British (India) rulers on 13 April 1919. As a matter of fact, the topography of the Gaza Strip suits Israel fine. The area is enclosed from all sides with one exit point at the Egyptian border which could be bombed to ensure no Palestinian escapes from there.  May I remind this August gathering that Jallianwala Bagh had a similar topography with all gates sealed and no escape routes for the thousands upon thousands of pilgrims (Sikhs & Hindus) who had gathered there on the festive day of Baisakhi. There were also people protesting against the Rowlatt Act. So Brigadier General Dyer ordered his army to do a clean and fast job, which they did through machine-guns. Of course martial law was in force in Punjab. The objective was achieved. True the number of people who had gathered and got killed/injured was in thousands only. That Israel is modifying this template to ensure 2-3 million Palestinians get eliminated!

Joe Biden: One hears about bombing Palestinians to stone-age. I recall the phrase ‘bombing Pakistan to stone-age’ used by our Assistant Secretary of State in a telephonic conversation with the Pakistani leaders after 9/11 when the latter were not taking a clear stance – whether they were with us Americans or not.

Netanyahu: I’m against bombing Palestine to stone-age. I’d rather eliminate all the Palestinians but leave the land at Gaza Strip, West Bank reusable by us after the mission is accomplished so that we could re-settle our own people there. Bombing Palestine to stone-age – even if it eliminates all Palestinians – would leave the barren stone-aged land of no use to us. So, what’s the big deal?

Macron:   (addressing Joe Biden) The American government has the experience of dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. I am against a similar exercise undertaken at Gaza Strip though some would argue that it would be a quick, clean and smart job eliminating all the – as the Israelis term – ‘human-animals’ and ‘cockroaches’ in one go.

Sunak:       I have it on authority of nuclear scientists and evolutionary biologists that not even a nuclear bomb can eliminate cockroaches – which have an inherent survival instinct against nuclear radiation.

[Netanyahu does a quick Google search on his smart phone using words – Cockroaches, Survive, Nuclear Radiation.]

Netanyahu: (interrupting others) Sunak is right on the dot!

Joe Biden: If that be so, whose brilliant idea was it to dub the Palestinians as ‘cockroaches’ and the like? If what Sunak says is true, Israelis better stop using expletives like cockroaches for Palestinians. That way we’ll come out of this messy war with our heads held high and with a measure of dignity.

 

[All others nod their heads in agreement.]

 

Macron:    That still leaves a minor irritant. What if we face a Nuremberg type of trial after the Palestinians are eliminated by the Israeli army? Let me remind you that all of us are going to face elections in our respective states within a year. God forbid if our parties lose the elections. Don’t forget that people are supreme. The opposition parties would get to our jugulars.

Olaf Scholz: Not to bother much. Post Nuremberg even the top most leaders were given a jail term of a couple of years; and that, too, was shortened subsequently at the behest of the Allies themselves who needed the services of these very Nazi-criminals to keep the restless masses – reeling under inflation after WWII – subdued in their own countries. So don’t fear any Nuremberg type of trials or their consequences. What is more, in post-Nazi Germany itself very many of those involved were allowed to escape to other countries. Recently, the Canadian government under Trudeau was actually honoring an Ex-Nazi right in the holy precincts of their Parliament! Don’t get me wrong; better not to kill all of Hamas leaders. Each one of us may actually need their services to stay in power in our own countries. That’s realpolitik, howsoever disgusting it sounds.

Joe Biden:  (irritatingly) By the way, Sunak could you at least ensure that your BBC fellows stop calling Hamas as fighters and use the designated term ‘terrorists’. BBC has become a pain in the a_ _e for me.

Sunak:       Trust me I have already put in a word, discreetly though, but it does not work.

Joe Biden:  Why don’t you cut off the BBC’s funds; impose a sort of economic sanction or freeze their bank accounts.

Sunak:       That would actually mean no news emanates from the U.K. – which is worse than having to hear reference to Hamas – the fighters 24x7. At least we are better off than the Russian government-controlled media which refers to Hamas as the liberation force. Hamas in Arabic actually means ‘zeal’. Hamas is also an Arabic acronym for “Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyya,” which means “The Islamic Resistance Movement.”

                  While we are at it, may I just remind you that while British official records till date refer to Bhagat Singh as a “terrorist”, the people of India and its government calls him a patriot, martyr, revolutionary and freedom fighter. All of us here could take a cue from history – unless we decide to rewrite world history as George Orwell had prophesied it to eventually happen.

Joe Biden:  Netanyahu, do keep in mind as you strategise your moves – that the USA has imposed war in about dozen and a half countries since WWII and every time I confess our army had to finally retreat back to the barracks with punches all over our faces. The short statured Vietnamese, would throw boulders from tree-tops above on American soldiers stationed on the ground below and kill them.

                   We were lucky there was no internet in the 1960s so we could hide the atrocities committed by us on the civilians from the rest of the world for a long time. But, now any Palestinian – I mean Hamas – could click a picture with his/her smart phone in Gaza Strip, get it viral and the whole world knows about it. You are plain unlucky to be waging a war in the internet-era.

                 Of course we had our problems way back in the sixties with lone-wolf journalists – I mean those with social conscience; it is thus that the ‘My Lai’ massacre, Napalm bombing, ‘Agent Orange’ resorted to by us got public. We became wiser in later years though and started the concept of ‘embedded journalists.’ But even that’s not fool-proof.

Macron:    Brother Netanyahu please bear with me; your Cabinet colleagues calling Palestinians as ‘human-animals’ – betray their utter stupidity. All human beings are animals, if you will social animals; so use of expletive ‘human-animals’ in relation to Palestinians bounces back on you and all of us present here, nay the whole humanity. Please listen to Joe Biden’s sagacious advice – don’t react in anger! Remember if you spit at the sun, the spit falls back on you.

 

At that very moment there was what sounded to be a shrill and long air-raid siren getting repeated again and again. Joe Biden was the first to duck under the table for cover – rather quick for his age – followed by the other four. Years of regular drills and exposure to SOPs instilled in the Heads of States had got their reflexes to be in perfect survival mode. A couple of  minutes later an anxious Israeli security official rushed into the bunker as he could not see the images of these leaders on the CCTV screen in the adjoining part of  the bunker.

 

Biden looks at the security official from his vantage position under the table.

 

Joe Biden:  Is the raid over?

 

Sheepishly the security official bent down, cleared his throat and whispered into Netanyahu’s ear that the sound was actually the long drawn out cry of a Palestinian child who had been grievously injured in an Israeli bomb strike.  Al Jazeera was airing the clip capturing the child’s cry repeatedly through its Arabic news service – which the Israeli intelligence officials sitting in the chamber adjoining the war room were tracking minute-to-minute as part of routine exercise to gaze into the mind of the Arab world.

 

The leaders stood up with a sigh of relief and Joe Biden announced the meeting to be over. All synchronously saluted each other with a ‘V’ sign, though one of them had faltered and even embraced a Nazi style salute – and worse shouted HAIL HITLER before rectifying the mistake.

Indian Prime Minister lacks the courage to Tell Netanyahu: ‘This is not an era of war’

 

by

P.S. Sahni

 

Media reported extensively in 2022 – at the start of Russia-Ukraine conflict – that the Indian Prime Minister had a telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and with a (contrived) air of a philosopher statesman pontificated: ‘this is not an era of war.’ Leaders of western nations – in particular the USA – hailed and interpreted it as a harbinger of a peace move initiated for an early end to the conflict.

 

However in the recently declared Israel war on ‘terror’ – a euphemism for committing a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza – no such homilies and pearls of wisdom have emanated from Narendra Modi’s stance. Reportedly over 6546 unarmed Palestinians bombed to death; 17439 injured; millions being forcibly displaced from their homes and under total siege.

 

Why is the Indian PM – who constantly boasts of his 56 inches of chest circumference – now somersaulting on his views on war?

 

The Indian PM has not taken a stance on whether the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza strip was destroyed by an Israel air strike causing the death of over 500 Palestinians. Maintaining a deathly silence on the identity of the perpetrators of this abominable crime is itself a crime. If the Indian PM thinks there is insufficient evidence to apportion the blame on either party – Israel or Hamas – he should publicly & loudly say so. This could halt the media blitzkrieg unleashed by both Israel and western countries. The Indian PM should additionally ask for evidence from those absolving Israel.

 

In recent times the Indian government took a stance vis-à-vis the Canadian government that the evidence supplied by the latter is insufficient to conclude that Indian agents were responsible for the murder of a Canadian Sikh named Hardeep Singh Nijjar.  Why is the Indian government not showing courage to ask for the evidence – regarding bombing of Al-Ahli Arab hospital – and then assess it before taking a final stand?

 

Does the Indian government have the courage to tell the Israeli ambassador based in Delhi to stop interfering in the internal affairs of India. Attention is invited to his recent tweet on ‘X’ after the Indian cricket team’s victory over Pakistan. In the tweet the Israeli ambassador is trying to drive a wedge between India and its neighbour. On another occasion (TOI, 20.10.2023) he is seen to be indulging in spreading Israeli propaganda re. Israel-Hamas conflict. Diplomats are not expected – nay allowed – to indulge in crass political activities. Recently the Indian government took umbrage at Canadian diplomats indulging in political activities and packed them off from Indian soil. Why is the Modi government lacking the courage to pack off the Israeli ambassador from Delhi?

 

Fourthly, the whole world has seen how fragile the Israeli defence and security system was; the impenetrability of the system was just a brand-name. In the last decade, the Indian government has risked a tectonic shift in its policy relations with Palestine & Israel. There has been no meaningful debate in the Parliament on the issue. The opposition parties have not been consulted. There is a palpable lack of dissemination amongst the masses of this policy and the reason thereof. In any case all agreements/MOUs between the Indian government and Israel signed in the last decade need to be reviewed – in particular those pertaining to purchase of defence & security gadgetry. After all, 1400 million Indians need a much safer security system than the one which failed Israel.

Jewish Diaspora - Speak Up For Palestinians

 

“When crime becomes authority

And hunts down people branding them criminals

Everyone with a voice and keeps silent

Becomes criminal himself.” (Poet Varavara Rao)

 

About time middle class Jews

Spread across the world

Break their silence

And speak up.

 

While you sought greener pastures in the west

Got exposed to democratic, secular ideals

Your elected government back home

Created a monstrous, theocratic state.

 

Of what use then

Your exposure to progressive, liberal ideas

While fundamentalism rules the roost

In Israel.

 

Enterprising and economically well off

Jewish establishments control the world media

Brutally manipulating news and views

To serve its political interests.

 

Judiciary - the last bastion of justice

Being systematically subverted

Under pressure

From ultra-right wing coalition partners.

 

Courts regularly legitimise

Demolition of Palestinian houses

And hand over vacant land

To right wing Israeli settlers.

 

In Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’

Shylock demanded his pound of flesh

Ensure this politically incorrect image of Jews

Remains buried six fathoms deep.

 

Let Netanyahu not exhume it

And revive it by revengeful acts

Jews abroad break your silence

Speak up before it is too late.

 

Netanyahu now demands his pound of flesh

Total elimination of Hamas, the fighters

Can he assure that it will be just a pound of flesh?

No more, no less; not a drop of civilian blood?

 

Present turbulent times cry out

That middle class Jews world-wide

Should collectively don the role

Of a Daniel come to judgement.

 

By roaring publicly for a ceasefire in Gaza

Urging for immediate lifting of siege of millions

And ensuring peaceful return of land

To its rightful owners, the Palestinians.

 

P.S. Sahni

Open Letter to Indian External Affairs Minister: Act Against CIA Funded Dalai Lama

 

Respected Minister,

 

The nation is witness to strong arm tactics against activists who have allegedly received tainted foreign funds for their work amongst the underprivileged. Laws like UAPA, sedition, NSA, IPC have been slapped against these activists who are languishing in jails for years without any bail. Agencies like CBI, ED, CBDT, NIA, IB, RAW, police have “obliged’ the rulers in this crackdown for about a decade. The victims include those allegedly involved in Bhima Koregaon violence; Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand; Muslim activists of Popular Front of India (PFI); Muslim movement leaders in Kashmir; the Christians particularly in northeast India and lately Punjabi immigrants (Sikhs) to Canada. To create terror in the minds of citizens, nationwide raids are staged and the public is told immediately that incriminatory documents/weapons have been found in the premises of those raided. The corporate press is ever ready to pimp on behalf of the authorities. The media is fed by the very authorities whose job it is to prevent media trials. Presently the media is splashing pages after pages with half-baked news regarding Canadian citizens espousing separatist cause allegedly with money got through dubious means. The Union Home Ministry is working overtime in this ‘cleansing’ operation.

 

Sir, you are well aware that the Dalai Lama has been a recipient of CIA funds for decades starting from 1959 – when he and his followers entered India illegally without any visa to set up a base camp demanding independence of Tibet from China. Why should the Government of India be extending help to these Tibetan Separatists? While the funding of separatist activists in Canada is yet to be proved in a court of law, the Dalai Lama’s administration has itself confessed in full glare of international media about his CIA funding: (Quote).

 

“Dalai Lama Group Says It Got Money From C.I.A.

 

The Dalai Lama's administration acknowledged today that it received $1.7 million a year in the 1960's from the Central Intelligence Agency, but denied reports that the Tibetan leader benefited personally from an annual subsidy of $180,000.

The money allocated for the resistance movement was spent on training volunteers and paying for guerrilla operations against the Chinese, the Tibetan government-in-exile said in a statement. It added that the subsidy earmarked for the Dalai Lama was spent on setting up offices in Geneva and New York and on international lobbying.” (The New York Times, Oct 2, 1998)

 

Sir, do you have the courage to subject the Dalai Lama to the same treatment extended to say separatist activists based in Canada? Would the Indian media ever write pages after pages on a daily basis on the CIA funding and separatist activities of the Tibetan protesters who indulge in violent protests including self-immolation? Lately you have been talking ad infinitum about the double standards of western countries. We stand by you on this observation. But allow me to point out that you, too, are seen to be indulging in double standards. Why should the Dalai Lama’s separatist activities be supported even as Kashmiri movement leaders are thrown in jails for demanding the right to self-determination? The corporate press parrots the alleged findings of investigative agencies; terms like hawala transactions; benami properties; money laundering; narco trafficking; extortion; gang wars; are thrown in to damn the credibility of alleged accused. The recent media blitzkrieg against Punjabi immigrants in Canada has painted the entire Sikh community as Khalistanis. This way the rulers could consolidate Hindu votes. In 1984 a similar scurrilous campaign against Sikhs ensured 400 plus Lok Sabha seats for the then ruling party. Is the Modi Government tempted to use this template to garner 400 plus seats in 2024 general elections? Sikhs sure come in handy for political parties to garner absolute majority in Lok Sabha.

 

It is just as well to add that the Indian Constitution refers to Sikhs as part of Hindus. If that be so, why does your government and the corporate press talk of Sikh separatists as if they are not Hindus? Have you ever referred to:

-       Dalai Lama as Buddhist separatist

-       Tamil militants espousing the cause of Tamil Eelam as Hindu separatists

-       United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) as a Hindu Separatist Organisation

-       Dravidistan separatist movement as a failed Hindu separatist attempt

-       Achutistan separatist movement as a failed Hindu separatist endeavour?

 

It is only in relation to Sikhs, Muslims and Christians that you have a different policy. As in the case of Tamil militants and ULFA you could refer to separatists in Canada as Punjabi separatists. Your policy appears to be to give the name of the language spoken/state name when it comes to Hindu separatists. Apply the same policy to all sections of Indian society uniformly. Else the charge of double standards will stick on you and your mentors. As a person born in the Sikh faith I feel deserted, ditched, damned, demonised and defamed by the statements of the rulers in relation to the Indo-Canada conflict. The perpetrators of 1984 Sikh genocide have not been brought to justice. Besides L.K. Advani’s support to Mrs. Gandhi on army being sent for assault on Golden Temple is not forgotten.

 

My unflinching political views are:

Neither Hindu Rashtra nor Khalistan,

United shall stand Hindustan

Both the Hindu Rashtra and Khalistan are outside the pale of the present Indian Constitution.

 

[P.S. On 3^rd October 2023 NewsClick founder, Prabir Purkayastha was arrested in connection with a case which was registered after an investigation published on 5 August 2023 in the New York Times alleged that NewsClick was part of a global network that received money for pushing Chinese propaganda. Incidentally it was the same paper which had published the news report about the Dalai Lama’s CIA funding.]

 

P.S. Sahni is a member of a non-funded, non-party organization, PIL Watch Group. The views expressed are personal - the outpourings of an anguished soul.

Email: pilwatchgroup

Indian Government Must First Evict Dalai Lama & his Followers before Admonishing Canada for Separatist Activities

PIL Watch Group is watching with concern serious developments in Canada in recent months and the statements of Union Ministers and even opposition MPs; also the corporate press which is working overtime to damn India-Canada relations. The Indian government has expressed concern over violent incidents which have taken place in the recent past in Canada. The Union External Affairs Minister wants the Canadian government to bring an end to violent protests and take action against separatists. For the sake of argument we concede that electoral gain could be a reason for the Canadian government to protect the interest of Punjabi migrants.

To take a high moral stance the Indian state would have to first rectify its own grave errors in letting Dalai Lama and his followers to stay as guests of honour even as they demand independence of Tibet from China which is a sovereign independent country. They had entered India illegally without any visas. Followers of the Dalai Lama indulge in violent political protests including self-immolations for their demand right in Delhi. BJP MPs have openly sided with Tibetan protesters at the National Protest Site, Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. The Dalai Lama is being treated as a ‘ghar jawai’. Is the Indian government trying to garner Buddhist votes in India and by inference majority Hindu votes since 1959? The Indian Government will have to stop the Dalai Lama from engaging in politics from the sovereign soil of India. It is only then that the Union External Affairs Minister’s statement will carry any weight, otherwise the two governments – Indian as well as Canadian – are seen to be indulging in realpolitik.

P.S. Sahni & Shobha Aggarwal

PIL Watch Group

Email: pilwatchgroup@gmail.com