Pushing the General into a corner

IN Opinion | 01/01/1900

But last Sunday nobody could heap such negatives on Roy. Last Sunday NDTV`s nifty exclusive with Musharraf on the eve of the General`s visit to America and the United Kingdom was much more than a flaccid, pull-your-chair up interaction; it was a lesson in tact and ingenuity. With smiles of incredible sweetness, juggling seriousness with sass, Roy managed to push his victim into a corner. After dolloping him with praise, "Everyone says you are a terrific communicator…" he thwacked him with "…but why are you always in denial. For instance, on elections in Kashmir…."

The "communicator" tried to shuffle the subcontinent`s past and present into his answer but Roy was having none of it. Ultimately he got the General to admit to a cascading series of disclosures: The Pakistan`s army involvement in Kargil and the coup de grace -- Musharraf was not ruling out another Kargil. " We should resolve disputes peacefully but when peace talks fail then violence can occur in any form," said the soldier looking like an unlikely military man dressed in a light gray double-breasted suit.

In a damage control exercise, the next day Musharraf shuttled from one interview to another. He gave an explanation of his Kargil remark first to Indus TV and then later to BBC`s Lyse Doucet in London by detailing the discrepancy between what he said and what he meant. But it was too late.

Amazingly, despite Roy`s pointedly hard questions there was an absence of aggression on screen. In fact, there was almost an air of bonhomie between Pervez and Prannoy. Musharraf looked indulgent at times and his eyes at times had a definite twinkle. Perhaps Roy`s knowledge of the subject matter was so deep that it created an air of intimacy. Or perhaps Roy was able to expertly juggle the trivial with the essential and create a balance necessary for tele-harmony.

For instance, he honed in on why Pakistan and India don`t play cricket. " Our boys simply don`t want play India. That is their sentiment," said the General firmly. "Are they scared? " needled Roy. And added his formula to set the ball rolling---a joint cricket team against Australia. The military man looked nonplussed and then ventured… ` I will have to give this a second thought. " Now if only Roy could have got an assurance and an apology from the President of Pakistan for Kargil; that would really prove that the ol` magic was back.

Contact: mannika@vsnl.com
(Reprinted with permission from the Statesman, 20 June 2003)