INDIAN BUREAUCRACY IN DOCK

Borders and Boundaries: Follies galore

India must publish maps showing Tibet as independent country under occupation of Chinese. Only then Chinese maps on Jammu and Kashmir could be countered effectively. There is a Tibetan Government in exile within Indian soil and we are within our right to declare Tibet as disputed area which belong to Tibetan people. Having said the way to counter Chinese moves, as impassionate observer of history let me share my thoughts with readers and invite a debate.

The maps of 1930 show Indian border in North East sector, which is McMahon line between India’s Assam and Tibet region as Boundary Un-demarcated. In Northwest, North sectors [from Kashmir Ladakh to Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh it was inscribed as boundary undefined. Miss Dorothy Woodman in her book Himalayan Frontiers in 1969 wrote, “The innumerable discrepancies on maps might lead to the most naïve student of cartography to the view that the devil can quote maps to serve its own purpose.” The discrepancies in maps are a disease infecting both sides. Both countries based their claims on erroneous maps.

In Indian side as per eminent parliamentarian and scholar Kuldip Nayyar “ The Government itself with drew several official maps and books which did not indicate meticulously a curve here or a bend there or which left the boundary undefined. Many maps of the Survey of India and the books of Publications Division were withdrawn, and there was a circular sent to return all such materials “[Between the Lines p 137-138]. Similarly Chinese Premier Chou–en-lai made it clear in April 1955 during Bandung Conference, that China’s borders with neighbouring countries had not yet been fixed.

BANGLADESH BORDERS:

The legacy of past not only haunts India and China, it also hurts India and Bangladesh. There are 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladesh enclaves in India.” The legacy of high stake card games between two kings, rulers of Cooch Bihar and Rangpur within old Bengal State centuries ago where they used estates as stakes when they ran out of cash, resulted in our nation having Bangladesh enclaves and Bangladesh having our enclaves. This is an issue, which had not been sorted out yet; it applies to the Indo China border dispute.

The sudden raking up of a claim over Arunachal Pradesh by China had created heartburns amidst Indian people. Indian people did not expect that Chinese would go on digging a past, a creation of colonialism, to put roadblocks to normalcy between two great civilizations and countries. But whatever China does aims to cut India down to size and to dwarf India as super power, eating into its geo-political spheres of influence.

BUREAUCRATIC BLUNDERS

India had spent crores of public money to safeguard our borders; thousands of our brave men have given their lives to secure our borders. The War with our neighbour is not a footnote in history, but a chapter of sacrifice made by our army men. The cat on the wall Maharaja Harisingh’s clan[ Dr.Karan Singh ] till today enjoys patronage from the ruling establishment as reward for bartering their loyalty to India. The Indian Army only needed a nod from Indian Prime Minister at a crucial period of Indian history to drive Pakistan out of Kashmir. The Indian Home Minister Sardar Vallabai Patel was urging Indian Prime Minister to give green signal to our Army Chief Major General Kariappa to secure Hyderabad and Kashmir at one go. While Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru consented for army intervention in Hyderabad, which fell for Indian arm in a day, hesitated to give his consent with regard to Kashmir. This indecision resulted in ever bleeding never-ending Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. It is not treason to look back at history. This today BJP claims that nation had paid heavy price for Nehru’s folly.

Similarly it is not a sin to pin point the blunders committed by our bureaucrats. Only politicians are portrayed as villains but bureaucrats enjoy immunity. This is bad practice. While workforce of the country, the real masters in a democracy are subjected a hire and fire policy, why not hire and fire policy be framed for bureaucrats and only such a whip will make them deliver goods without delay to the people.

I reproduce a letter addressed by me to then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 5.1.2004. His government did not act norI hope any government by bureaucrats and for bureaucrats will punish the guilty. But people of the country, the supreme power in a democracy have the right to know where and how it went wrong.

Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Thiru.Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Respected Atalji

Subject: A white paper sought on the Kashmir issue to evolve national consensus and fix responsibility for faulty maps

All Indians will echo your feelings with regards to the Pakistan’s bartering away of Kashmiri territory to China, our neighbour. At the moment out of the total area of 222.336 square kilometers of Kashmiri state the possession is as follows:

Area of Jammu and Kashmir in possession of India: 101,387 square kilometers.

Illegally occupied by Pakistan: 78,114 square kilometers

Illegally handed over to China by Pakistan: 42,735 square kilometers

Illegal occupation of China and Pakistan: 120,849 square kilometers

All this is shown as total area of Jammu and Kashmir 222,336 square kilometers. This figure is shown from 1988/89 to 1999 in all manuals brought out by the Ministry of information and Broadcasting.

So while with spirit of nationalism and patriotism we are ready to share your feeling of hurt for Pakistan’s handing over an area of 42,735 square kilometers to China. But let me request your office to trace out my letter-dated 24.8.1999 in which I had complained first about the following grave mistake.

I humbly submit that from the Source of INDIA: A REFERENCE MANUAL 1953 brought out by the Publications Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in page 1…. “THE AREA OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE WAS GIVEN AS 92,780 square miles which is equivalent to 240,300.20 square kilometers. How could this become 222.336 square kilometers in 1988?

Pakistan holds 78,114 square kilometers. China owns 42,735 square kilometers. India owns 101,387 square kilometers. By mistakes committed by our bureaucracy in preparing faulty maps, we have lost 18,036.20 square kilometers. Are we to take it for granted that 18.036.20 square kilometers vanished into thin air? Like Bermuda’s triangle in our earth’s oceans do we have a Bermuda’s triangle in our Ministries, which had swallowed 18,036.20 square kilometers? Who is responsible for this? Who is going to be held accountable for this? Are we going to find scapegoats? Or whether The National Democratic Alliance Government has the moral guts to fix the responsibility on the Congress governments that caused this national loss to our country?

While 1953 Manual says 92,780 square miles equivalent to 240.300.20 square kilometers, in 1960 Edition the area becomes 86,024 square miles equivalent to 222.802.16 square kilometers. Official reference journal published by a Ministry of the Government of India in 1960 at page 24-25, a district wise break up of the area of Jammu And Kashmir State is given. The total of this area arrives at a figure of 84,476 square miles, which is equivalent to 218,792.84 square kilometers.

In 1964 Edition page 7 has a different story to tell. It contains two different figures. In the column area figure a) shows 86,023 square miles equivalent to 222.799.57 square kilometers. Figure (b) shows 56665 square miles, which is under Indian possession. This amounts to 146,762.25 square kilometers? In 1965 Edition page 7 changes over to 222.896.78 square kilometers? In 1966 Edition page 7 Area of Jammu and Kashmir once again changed to 222,800 square kilometers? In 1968 Edition page 8 area of Jammu and Kashmir once again changed to 222,870 square kilometers .In 1988-89 edition the area of Jammu and Kashmir was shown as 222.236 square kilometers. In the very same edition in a different page693, the area of Jammu and Kashmir was shown as 222.236 square kilometers and a note inserted which stated “That this area includes 78,114 square kilometers under illegal occupation of Pakistan, 5280 square kilometers illegally handed over by Pakistan to China and 37,555 square kilometers illegally occupied by China “

N.Nandhivarman General Secretary 5.1.2004

After recalling the effort of Dravida Peravai six years ago, now when scam after scam hits head lines, I felt the need to overhaul our bureaucracy, purging them, and enacting stringent acts to punish them. Unless bureaucracy is tamed, blunders like this will only be in history.

N.Nandhivarman General Secretary Dravida Peravai