Tuesday, September 29, 1998
A Kohlossal shift
It is an irony vindicated by history: failure as the aftermath of greatness. In the life of a nation, a leader appears as the chosen harbinger of change and renewal. Once the mission was accomplished, it would be a grand good bye, often in the form of an electoral humiliation. The best examples in Europe are Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle, leaders who tried in vain to overstay the invitation.
Assaults on minorities
Politicians in Madhya Pradesh are not helping anyone by making wild accusations about the shocking rapes and burglary at a Catholic mission in Jhabua district last week. At this stage in police investigations it is unclear whether they were essentially criminal incidents or a combination of criminal and political.
Fresh elections, please
Had Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan attended the NAM summit at Durban, the talks over Kashmir would have begun sooner. In his absence, details were sorted out with Foreign Minister Aziz Sartaj. The formal announcement had to wait till Nawaz Sharif's meeting with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at New York. A loss of few weeks does not matter if the two countries grasp the opportunity with both hands.
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