Darius Nakhoonwala
Indian leader writers must count amongst the most mealy-mouthed in the world. As their response after the attack on the Ayodhya religious site showed, they are far more willing to avoid uncomfortable facts than anyone else.
Only two of them were willing to face up the central fact, namely, that the attack was inspired by Pakistan. This was the Busines Standard, which placed the issue squarely on the table, saying " There remains the other question, the role of Pakistan in all this." It then went on to point out that "Given the vested interest that the ISI has in keeping the terrorism pot on the boil (albeit on a low flame for the nonce), it would appear that General Musharraf is not fully in control" and that the ISI was keeping all options open.
The Pioneer, expectedly though, wrote "Gen Musharraf, of course, has a standard response every time it is pointed out that terror schools that breed fanatics continue to flourish in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir - that there is no button that he can press to demolish the jihad factories. But Gen Musharraf has had enough time to at least turn the heat on those who are actively engaged in training, arming and encouraging cross-border jihadis."
All the other papers bleated about the need to close ranks, stand firm, the benefit to the BJP and so on. Some said that this was not the time to ask for resignations and they were right. But then having asked for unity, they went on to blame the BJP for playing politics.
The Telegraph wrote, "There is an obvious political fallout of this incident. The threat to the temple may well provide a shot in the arm to a languishing movement. The Bharatiya Janata Party, as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance, had put the Ram Janmabhoomi movement on the back-burner much to the dismay of the extreme elements in the sangh parivar. But there is now a distinct possibility that the movement might come back into the limelight."
The Indian Express mumbled in the same vein that "the Opposition must give it the political space and support it needs to concentrate on the task. This is not the moment to howl for resignations. This is not the moment to stir up the phantom of an entire community in danger, this is the time to close ranks."
But it was KPS Gill who delivered the mot juste. Writing in the Pioneer he compared media and political responses to the attacks on Ayodhya and London. "in general, that the broad Indian response was to exploit; the British response was to enable."
His best point, however, was that "people in general behaved well. There was no panic, public disorder or obstructive behaviour either in Ayodhya or in the London street. It is, in fact, at the leadership level and in the mass media that the most deplorable examples of irresponsibility and failure were noticed in India, contrasting dramatically with the institutional responses in the UK."
No one can put it better.