'Willing To Speak But Afraid To Utter'

Madam, I thank you for giving me the opportunity. Madam, we are passing through momentous times.  I personally believe that we are not completing aformality of passing this Resolution and declaring that we have discharged our responsibility.  There aretwo issues that have been stated at the beginning of this Resolution.  First thing is our concept as anation.  What are we as 'Hindustan'?  The great poet Rabindra Nath Tagore wrote a poem and thatcomplete poem was devoted to what our country should look like after freedom.   It began with thewords, "Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high".  Rabindra Nath wanted us tohave a mind without fear and to hold the head high and that poem ended by saying, "Father, into thatheaven of freedom, let my country awake. 

I am not very sure whether we merely learnt the poem by heartor whether our decision-makers and the policy-makers realise that their views and their mind has to be withoutfear.  I personally believe that in relation to Pak, we have a policy where we are willing to strike butare afraid to wound.  In regard to the world, we have a policy where we are willing to speak, but afraidto utter.  If this is the direction of our foreign policy, I think a time will come when the Ministry ofExternal Affairs will have to be renamed as Foreign Ministry. Foreign Ministry was named as the Ministry ofExternal Affairs because it should show the independence of our policies.  If we, in the world matters,dither, fear or shiver, then probably it has to be rechristened again as 'Foreign Ministry'.

Madam, this war by all accounts is the most heinous war. I for one am speaking on behalf of my party, the Shiv Sena, support this Resolution and cannot think of Bushwithout branding him as a war criminal and a mass murderer.  When I say this, I am aware that in my ownsituation my daughter, my grand-daughter and my son-in-law are in the USA.  Madam, this war has nosanctity in the international law.  It is against the wish of the United Nations.  It is against thewish of the people of the world.  The destruction and devastation  it has caused, the children, thecivilians that have been mayhemed (sic), bruised, marred and tortured, has no parallel. 

How can we look at Bush in any other way than we look atMussolini and Hitler?  He should be in the same cabin where Milosevic is lodged right now in theInternational Criminal Court.  This war has been in violation of the UN Charter.  If the USAcondemns the Iraq's war on Kuwait, the US has no right to intervene in Iraq.  There are a few issueswhich come up because of this uni-polar world, the world that is dominated by the USA as gendarme  of theworld, as a policeman of the world. 

The issue is  whether we  accept that the USA canstrike any country,  any time, at will.  I would like to know whether that kind of right can beconceded to the USA and whether the sovereignty of  nations is a disposable and dispensable commoditythat it can be tampered with impunity in the way in which George Bush has tampered with the authority andsovereignty of the Iraqi people.  This has arisen out of the fact, in my opinion, that America is tryingto show to the world that this is an 'American Century' and they are trying to impose the doctrine of 'Pax Americana' on the whole world.  We are likely to be only toys in their hands and therefore, our foreignpolicy must be a strong policy and we must say what we want to say, at that time when it is to be said. 

I feel in bringing this Resolution, we are doing something.But it is too little and too late and all the same in the current situation, it has to be welcomed.  Imust mention that we have lost another initiative that is in relation to the NAM Movement.  When Panditji, Nasser and Tito conceived of the Non-Aligned Movement, it was not an independent ideology.  It was aspirit of freedom and the extension of the same spirit of freedom by which we wanted to go beyond the yoke offoreign rule, beyond slavery  that took us to the Non-Aligned Movement.  If the spirit of freedomhas to be preserved in this world, then we have to ensure that the Non-Alignment Movement remains strong. 

It was this time when George Bush was claiming that he issupported by 30 or 40 countries of the world, our Government could have taken an initiative, held a meeting ofthe Non-Aligned Movement and shown to the USA that if there are 30 countries with you, there are 160 countriesagainst you.  That initiative I believe has been lost.  Therefore, even now our Government shouldtake some initiative in the NAM and try to lead them together and declare this kind of atrocities on the worldcommitted by Bush as unacceptable to the whole world. 

I must congratulate France, Germany and Russia.  Franceand Germany are NATO members.  Even then they stood up.  We have counted them as  one amongstmany.  They could do it though they are members of  NATO.  There is an agreement between them. We could not have a say till today after 21 days of the invasion.  I must compliment the Iraqi people. The spirit of patriotism they have shown has only a few parallels in the history of the world.  They areArabs.  They are Muslims.  I and my party Shiv Sena go ahead and congratulate them.  I salutethem because they are true to their motherland and true to their soil.

If there are unpatriotic Muslims, they should take a lessonfrom these patriotic Muslims.  They can lay their lives on the altar of the patriotism and altar of theirmotherland.  There are Muslims in other parts of the world; let them realise that that is the true pathto eternity, to die for one's land and to stand by one's motherland.  There are some Muslims who thinkjust as George Bush is thinking of Pan Americana, they think of some Pan-Islamic fundamentalism.  Theymust take a lesson from Iraqi people who are true to their nation, to their soil and to their patriotism and,therefore, we congratulate the Iraqi people.

Madam, this is not only a stand which I am taking in theParliament, my Party leader, respected Shri Bala Saheb Thakre, has openly taken the stand and that stand showsthat we Hindus, in Hindustan, are not against Muslims because they are Muslims, lahu ka rang lal hai;we are against only those Muslims who are working against the nation and we are with all those Muslims who aretrue to their nation, and, therefore, I congratulate the Iraqi people for their commitment to their nation,their sacrifice on the altar of the freedom and sovereignty. 

Madam, this thing has been brought here from Mumbai, pleasepermit me to say this, and you will be surprised to know that my party newspaper, Samna, has manifoldMuslim readership than Hindu readership these days because day-in-and-day-out, we are writing articles againstIraq.  We are writing because we feel that is an atrocity committed against the Arab people of Iraq andeveryone of us is against this.  But, Madam, our External Affairs Minister made a statement that we couldmake premature strikes. 

My party's opinion is that if you cannot make prematurestrikes against the camps where terrorists are being bred, trained and generated, why announce it?  Makean attack and show that you can make that attack.  Madam, there are camps not only in Pakistan, but thereare camps in Myanmar, and we are told that there are camps in Bhutan......(Interruptions).  It is relatedbecause after the statement by our External Affairs Minister, the U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. Colin Powellhad to tell us that we cannot do that, as if he is the headmaster of the world. 

How could he retort to the statement made by our ExternalAffairs Minister, Minister of a sovereign nation.  And, we stand by the statement made by our Minister. How could Mr. Powell, as if he is the headmaster of the world, tell him, "No, no, this is notcorrect"? Is he there to interpret the law of the world and the international statute?  We condemnthe statement that Mr. Powell has made.  We welcome the statement that our External Affairs Minister hasmade and we say that let him match his words with his actions and let him attack those camps where terroristsare being bred, trained and generated, because they are a threat to the world. 

In this world, we not only have one thing. We like the Iraqipeople who are fighting for their freedom.  But, we do not like the thing that some people, in the nameof Jehad and Islam, from other parts of the world, go and fight in that country.  That is also athreat to this world. Just like George Bush, who is a threat to this world, the other parallel Islam and, inthat name, people are leaving their respective countries and going to that country to fight for Jehad,is also a threat to this world and a threat to India, and, therefore, that must be berated, deprecated andcondemned at all costs. 

Madam, Shri Arjun Singh had very wisely mentioned.  Now,they call it reconstruction.  But, Madam, it is a feast of vultures.  I will never, in my lifeforget, that characterisation of the post-war Iraq as a feast of vultures.  Madam, let that feast ofvulture not take place.  Let us intervene in the comity of nations as a leader of the Non-AlignedMovement; let us stop this war now; let us push Americans out.  India is a country of hundred and tencrore people, every single human being on this planet and in this country -- China has taken a stand; we havetaken a stand; Russia has taken a stand; Germany has taken a stand; France has taken a stand.

Madam, if we join together, America has to withdraw here andnow. With these words, I once again solemnly stand by this Resolution, support this Resolution, andcongratulate the Government of India for bringing in this strong and significant Resolution condemning theaggression on Iraq by the blood-thirsty Americans and their leader George Bush.