4: The Simla Agreement

With the fall of Dhaka on 16 December 1971, India had scored a decisive victory over Pakistan. Over 96,000 Pak
soldiers were taken Prisoners of War (PoWs). Later, an agreement was signed between the two countries on 2 July
1972 at Shimla. Both countries agreed to exchange all PoWs, respect the line of control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir
and refrain from the use of threat or force. Additionally, Bhutto gave a solemn verbal undertaking to accept LOC as the
de facto border.

India released all Pak PoWs in good faith. Pakistan, on the other hand, released only 617 Indian PoWs while holding
back 54 PoWs who are still languishing in Pakistani jails. The Indian Government has admitted this fact a number of
times but has failed to secure their release. India failed to use the leverage of 96,000 Pak PoWs to discipline Pakistan. A
rare opportunity was thus wasted. Forget establishing permanent peace in the sub-continent, India failed to ensure
release of all Indian PoWs - a criminal omission by all accounts.

The naivety of the Indian delegation can be seen from the fact that it allowed Pakistan to bluff its way through at
Shimla. The Indian leadership was fooled into believing Pakistan's sincerity.Unquestionably, Pakistan never intended to
abide by its promises, both written and verbal. Fruits of a hard-fought victory in the battlefield were frittered away on
the negotiating table by the bungling leadership.

No. 5: The Nuclear Muddle

Subsequent to the Chinese Nuclear Test at Lop Nor in 1964, India showed rare courage in carrying out its first nuclear
test on 18 May 1974 at Pokharan. Outside the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, India was the only
nation to prove its nuclear capability. The whole country was ecstatic and every Indian felt proud of its scientific
prowess.But Indians had not contended with their Government's penchant for converting opportunity into adversity and
squandering hard-earned gains.

Instead of asserting India's newly acquired status of a nuclear power and demanding recognition, India turned
apologetic and tried to convince the world that it had no nuclear ambitions. Strangely, it termed the Pokharan test as a
'peaceful nuclear explosion' - a term unheard of till then. The Defence Minister went to the extent of claiming that the
Indian nuclear experiment was 'only for mining, oil and gas prospecting, for finding underground sources of water, for
diverting rivers, for scientific and technological knowledge.' It was a self-deprecating stance. Displaying acute inferiority
complex, India did not want to be counted as a member of the exclusive nuclear club.

Criticism and sanctions were expected and must have been factored in before opting for the nuclear test. Whereas a
few more assertive follow-on tests would have forced the world to accept India as a member of the nuclear club, India
went into an overdrive to placate the world through a self-imposed moratorium on further testing. It lost out on all the
advantages provided to it by its scientists. It suffered sanctions and yet failed to gain recognition as a nuclear
power.The country missed golden opportunities due to the timidity and spinelessness of its leaders.

No 6: The Kandahar hijacking

The hijacking of an Indian Airlines aircraft to Kandahar by Pakistani terrorists in December 1999 will continue to rile
India's self-respect for long. According to the Hindustan Times, India lost face and got reduced to begging for co-
operation from the very regimes that were actively undermining its internal security. The hijacking revealed how ill-
prepared India was to face up to the challenges of international terrorism.

The eight-day long ordeal ended only after India's National Security Adviser brazenly announced that an agreement had
been reached for the release of all the hostages in exchange for three Kashmiri militants including Maulana Masood
Azhar. Sadly, the Prime Minister claimed credit for forcing the hijackers to climb down on their demands. The worst was
yet to follow. India's Foreign Minister decided to accompany the released militants to Kandahar, as if seeing off
honoured guests.

The government's poor crisis-management skills and extreme complacency in security matters allowed the hijackers to
take off from Amritsar airport after 39 minutes halt for refueling, thereby letting the problem get out of control. India's
much-vaunted decision-making apparatus collapsed and was completely paralysed by the audacity of a bunch of
motivated fanatics. It was a comprehensive failure of monumental proportions. India's slack and amateurish functioning
made the country earn the tag of a soft nation which it will find very difficult to shed.

No 7: Illegal Immigration and Passage of IMDT Act

It is a standard practice all over the world that the burden of proving one's status as a bonafide citizen of a country falls
on the accused. It is so for India as well under Foreigners Act, 1946.Political expediency forced the Government to
make an exception for Assam. In one of the most short-sighted and anti-national moves, India passed the Illegal
Migrants - Determination by Tribunals (IMDT) Act of 1984 for Assam. It shifted the onus of proving the illegal status of
a suspected immigrant on to the accuser, which was a tall and virtually impossible order. Detection and deportation of
illegal immigrants became impossible.

Whenever demands were raised for repealing the Act, the Congress, the Left Front and the United Minorities Front
resisted strongly. Illegal immigrants had become the most loyal vote bank of the Congress. Worse, every protest
against the Act was dubbed as 'anti-minority' , thereby imparting communal colour to an issue of national security. The
government's 'pardon' of all Bangladeshis who had come in before 1985 was another unconstitutional act that
aggravated the problem.

The Act was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on July 13, 2005, more than 20 years after its
enactment. The Apex Court was of the view that the influx of Bangladeshi nationals into Assam posed a threat to the
integrity and security of northeastern region. Unfortunately, immense damage had already been done to the
demography of Assam and the local people of Assam had been reduced to minority status in certain districts. Illegal
immigrants have come to have a stranglehold over electioneering to the extent that no party can hope to come to
power without their support. Nearly 30 Islamic groups are thriving in the area to further their Islamist and Pan-
Bangladesh agenda. It is incomprehensible that a nation's leadership can stoop so low and endanger even national
security for garnering votes.
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