Deadly Chakra of coalition Dharma

The issue of fishermen is once again caught in the diplomatic net between Sri Lanka and India. It does not take much time, after the most cordial of statements about good relations between the two countries is issued, for the matter to stir up the waters between the two countries and calls for firm and prompt action from New Delhi.

Having possibly set aside the controversy about the alleged shooting of South Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, when Tamil Nadu pressure saw the Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao come here for talks, and a Joint Statement of friendship and good intent issued, there is the new issue of 136 Indian fishermen who had come into Sri Lankan waters, with 18 trawlers too, who were apprehended by Sri Lankan fishermen and handed over to the Police.

Judicial custody

As in any democracy, where there is due process in implementing the law, they have been remanded into judicial custody, and can be expected to be dealt with in keeping with the laws that govern intrusion into foreign waters, with full awareness of the friendship that exists between the two countries.

But the theatricals of Tamil Nadu, especially DMK politicians, and the drama of coalition politics does not allow for the resolution of such issues without high decibel levels of protest from New Delhi, and the impression that India with all her regional power needs assurances of safety from Sri Lankan fishermen and even the Sri Lanka Navy.

It is not the advances in telecommunications achieved by India that prompts External Affairs Minister Krishna to make urgent telephone calls to his counterpart in Colombo to seek the release of these fishermen. It is always possible for the Indian High Commission in Colombo and the new consulate in Jaffna to verify the condition of these Indian citizens and give assurances about how they are being treated.

Various scams

But the pressure of politics, in a situation where the Centre is sailing the roughest of seas over various scams of epic proportions, does not allow for soft talking and quiet diplomacy to deal with an issue that needs more of diplomacy than histrionics to resolve.

It is to India’s credit that swift action has been taken to beef up security at the Sri Lankan mission in Chennai, and the attempts by mobs led by some politicians to march to the Chennai Mission stopped.

There are reports that tension was high with Tamil Nadu politicians reiterating, as usual without verification, the allegation that the Sri Lanka Navy had killed two Indian fishermen earlier, and linking this incident of sailing, straying, poaching or otherwise illegally entering Sri Lankan waters by India fishermen to the earlier incidents, where proof of involvement by the SLN has never been produced.

Not surprisingly, where celluloid drama is very much part of the politics of Tamil Nadu, with Jayalalitha always in the wings, Kanimozhi, the daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi had also urged the Sri Lankan government to ensure the protection of the Tamil Nadu fishing community.

The resonance of this drama in New Delhi was the call by External Affairs Minister Krishna to Prof G L Peiris in Colombo, as the Hindu reported it, to express India’s “deep concern” over the detention of 136 Indian fishermen in Jaffna and asking the Sri Lankan government to take “necessary” steps to get them released.

“I have also conveyed my deep regret that Sri Lankan nationals and Sri Lankan fishermen have taken law into their own hands and confronted our fishermen,” Krishna said.

Deep concern

He said even though there is no justification for fishermen to stray into Sri Lankan waters, likewise Sri Lankan fishermen have to be “very cautious” when they are getting into Indian waters. It was a surprising admission of wrong doing on the part of the Indian fishermen who “strayed” into Sri Lankan waters, and more than a veiled threat to Sri Lankan fishermen who may in fact stray or be blown into Indian waters. Such posturing must obviously please the politicians in Tamil Nadu, who are gearing up for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections in the coming months. There will many more occasions for such dramatics from Chennai and New Delhi in the months ahead.

It is interesting that this strong reaction from New Delhi came the day after Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had an hour long meeting with editors of TV channels to “slam the Opposition and chide the media for creating the impression of a “scam-driven country,” and also gave the rationalization of “Coalition Dharma” or the very essence of coalition politics, to explain some aspects of the 2G, 3G and others scams that his government is now faced with.

Clear statement

When asked why he had retained the DMK member A Raja, at the centre of the 2G scam, who has since been removed from the Cabinet and is now in the custody of the CIB as Minister of Telecommunications in the present UPA Govt., the Prime Minister’s reply was a clear statement of “Coalition Dharma”.

He made it clear that coalition compulsions made his party accept its ally's [DMK's] choice of Cabinet Ministers, and as the Hindu commented "presumably their ways", too.

With so much of political thinking to draw from, both in India and elsewhere, and in the midst of a wave of unrest sweeping Wet Asia over corruption, it was strange to see a person of such experience and erudition as Dr Manmohan Sigh bring it all down to Coalition Dharma.

However, unsatisfying it may be, this is a clear admission of how much the Union Cabinet at the Centre is being virtually manipulated by its coalition allies, especially those in Tamil Nadu.

There was the clear impression that the Indian political leadership today is more like a puppet on a string, with the puppeteers being its coalition allies, who can call the shots that lead to huge scams that are crippling the Government, and pushing it to the limits of haughty and unfriendly interventions over the issue of Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters or vice versa.