Japan emerged victorious in the 1905 Russian Japanese war. In the war, a Japanese mother lost all five of her sons. She was received by the Emperor who told her that Japan was proud of her and her five sons who had laid down their lives in the war. The mother’s answer was that if she had a sixth son he too would have died for the Emperor and for Japan.
The authenticity of this saga of sacrifice is not significant. What the story does highlight very starkly are the deeply ingrained qualities of the people of Japan. Their discipline, restraint and stoicism are a blend of uncommon courage and inner resources, which seem to knock at the gates of immortality. Ultimately, nature holds all the cards. Human beings who stutter about complacently need to be reminded that we really are insignificant grains of sand at the mercy of the terrifying force and unpredictability of mother nature. This is verging on the platitudinous. I am fully aware of that. But some platitudes are necessary reminders of the brutal realities of life. Creation and destruction are two sides of the vaporous coin called nature. Japan’s tragedy is three fold — earthquake, tsunami and near nuclear disaster.
How would we in India have coped with such a calamity, cataclysm, catastrophe? Rural India perhaps would confront such a tragedy with greater fortitude, pluck and stoutheartedness. In urban India, the bedlam, uncontrolled chaos, confusion would be overwhelming. No one would stand in queues, the well -to-do would be well looked after. Discipline could only be enforced by the armed forces. Here I would put a caveat. In the Gujarat earthquake in 2002, my son spent ten days in a tent helping those who had lost almost everything. He told me that no incident of loot took place, people stood in queues to get food and water. That’s a big tribute to the people of Gujarat.
Now to the nuclear (not yet holocaust) aspect of the Japan’s three-fold horror. I claim no special knowledge on the nuclear problem. My worry is that even the nuclear experts are not certain about what really happened, why it happened and could it have been prevented. This in itself is very worrying. Can a nuclear plant be fail-safe? Till Fukushima, it was accepted wisdom that such was the case. It is no longer so. One nagging question. Why build a nuclear reactor on the coast in a Tsunami-prone country?
What are the lessons for India? As a citizen of India I can say the obvious — more safety, more security, more transparency, more debate, before a decision is taken on Jaitapur. The environment pundits (led by a very learned and articulate pundit) will take on the scientists who have their own very experienced and wise physicists. It should be a lively debate. Of one aspect of this complicated and urgent problem I do have a well-defined point of view. We cannot and should not think of unwinding our nuclear programme, which has both civil and military dimensions. Since the world is far from being an ideal place, we can try for a nuclear arms free world, but cannot ensure it. Seven countries have nuclear weapons including India and Pakistan. Three of them are closest nuclear weapons’ states. This number is unlikely to be reduced. It is also unlikely to go up.
Libya is no longer on the front pages of newspapers. On the television screens it appears as item two or even three. The US President has verbalised that very frequently. Even his no-fly zone pronouncement got grounded, both in the Security Council, and the G8 meeting. Ronald Reagan understood Col. Gaddafi better than Barack Obama. He is now threatening to shake hands with al Qaeda and launch a holy war! He is unlikely to do so, but the idea is not cheerful.
The Saudi military intervention in Bahrain is a disturbing development. This is a gross violation of every international norm. It is one thing to go to the aid of Kuwait when it was attacked by Saddam Hussein and quite another to go to a country to suppress people protesting peacefully against the inequities of an autocratic unrepresentative government. Iran’s reacting to the Saudi military intervention was prompt — recalling of their ambassador from Manama. Iran is the key player in the Persian Gulf where Shias outnumber the Sunnis, and from whom come the rulers of these parvenu kingdoms. The Saudis have blundered.
In Yemen, when will the president, who has held unrestricted power for 32 years realise that he is in serious trouble. Will he be the Mubarak of Yemen? There are writings on the walls — written in blood by those who want him out. For the protesters Egypt is the inspiration, not Libya.
Does India have an Arab policy? The answer is, “No”.
Tailpiece: The Wikileaks show the UPA I and UPA II in poor light. How did the US Embassy know the details of the conversation I had with the Burmese leadership? Who told the Americans about my holding Aung San Suu Kyi in “high esteem”? I do, but that is not the point. How many moles do we have? The American penetration of the Indian establishment is alarming indeed.
