Why Kejriwal Wants PM Modi To Expose Pak's Lies Now

Sigmund Freud defines "Denial" as a primitive psychological defense mechanism against trauma.

The above sentence has been quoted from the book Colossus written by one of the greatest contemporary historians, Niall Ferguson; it is apt to define the mindset of a country which 69 years ago decided to become an independent nation in the name of religion. The name of the country is Pakistan. Pakistan has been perpetually living-in-denial: it has been in denial that it is a failed state; it is in denial that it is in a mess and that the mess is of its own creation; it is in denial that in a country which was created in the name of religion, it is religious fundamentalism which has been its undoing; it is in denial that Pakistan is perceived to be a terrorist state across the globe; it is in denial that India which achieved freedom at the same time is a flourishing democracy and is reckoned as one of the major emerging powers in the world. 

The same Pakistan gave another example of living-in-denial" last week when it was taught a lesson by the brave hearts of Indian army which executed a surgical strike across the Line of Control (LoC), but Pakistan has been refuting the existence of such a military operation. The Indian army conducted a surgical operation at seven spots across the LoC and destroyed the hideouts of dreaded terrorists; according to media reports, more than three dozen terrorists were killed in this late night strike. It is true that it was not the first surgical strike as claimed and detailed by many defense experts, but this was the first one which was made public by an Indian government. It is another matter that Pakistan is refusing to accept the reality and has foolishly unleashed a propaganda war against the Indian state to discredit India at the global level. It was in this backdrop that Arvind Kejriwal released a 172-second video on Monday afternoon. 

This video talks about the valour of Indian soldiers and salutes the courage of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the decision to give a befitting reply to Pakistan for the attack at the Uri army base in which 19 Indian soldiers were killed by terrorists. It also underlines the fact that Pakistan is trying to prove India wrong by declaring that no such surgical strike has happened and that the Indian government is spreading falsehoods. The Pakistan army took a busload of foreign correspondents to their side of Kashmir and visited those areas which had been identified as the areas where surgical strikes did happen. This is the reference for the reports filed by international newspapers like The New York Times. These reports place a question mark over the authenticity of the strikes. 

The New York Times quotes a local resident Rustam and writes, "On Saturday, Mr Rustam, 22, pointed in that direction and said the Indian troops never left their posts...they never crossed the L.O.C." The paper quotes a senior Pakistani military officer, Lt. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa, as saying that Indian troops had fired "only small arms and mortars at Pakistani military posts." He allegedly said, according to the report, "Indian troops opened fire at 2 a.m. on Thursday at five locations over an area spanning 155 miles...the gunfire lasted about five hours, but the Indian troops never crossed the Line Of Control and Pakistani troops returned fires." 
 On Saturday evening, a video clip of a CNN correspondent surfaced on social media. It was claimed that the said reporter was standing right at the place where one of the surgical strikes was carried out by the Indian army few days back. This reporter also said that the area around was calm and life was running normal, clearly hinting that India's claim was probably not true.

It is important to note that these stories are filed from the Pakistani side. They were taken to the LoC by the Pak army. In journalistic jargon, such tours are called "conducted tours". These reporters had no access to the Indian side of the LoC. They were not taken to the spots which were targeted by the Indian army, by the Indian authorities. So there is every possibility of a bias creeping into their reports due to the non-existence of a ground report from the Indian side. But The New York Times and CNN are global news brands, their reports carry a lot of weight internationally. So Pakistan is using them as fodder for its powerful propaganda. 

The whole purpose of the Pakistani propaganda is to create doubt in the minds of international players and discredit India's reputation. It's a war-like situation and in war, propaganda plays a very important role. At the national level, the media is fully supporting the government's initiative, but Kashmir and the Indo-Pak border has an international dimension too. Pakistan is not only fishing in troubled waters in Kashmir but also trying to internationalize the issue. So it is in the national interest that global media should be effectively briefed so as to robustly counter Pakistan's propaganda and silence national as well as global skeptics. 

AAP has serious differences with the BJP and with Mr. Narendra Modi, who has not left any stone unturned to destabilize the AAP government in Delhi. But that is part of politics. On the issue of national security and terrorism, India should stand united. Partisan politics should not have any place in this hour of national crisis. Arvind's appeal is the acknowledgment of the demand for bi-partisanship support, and those who look at it differently are advised to change their specs as there is no point to living-in-denial like Pakistan. The truth is more powerful. It has to be established beyond doubt. 

(Ashutosh joined the Aam Aadmi Party in January 2014.)

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