A Petrified Step in Right Direction

The ever monolithic Gen. Parvez Musharraf has silenced his critics who recognized him of being soft on Islamic hard liners by successfully executing the “Operation Silence”. The way he has handled the situation, show both his military and governance qualities with a right blend of astuteness and opportunism. We can easily correlate this Pakistan incident with our episode of “Operation Bluestar” and espy various details where Musharraf got it right and our management failed.
The Bluestar was conducted all in secrecy and thus created doubts in general public’s mind whereas the Pak Army ensured media briefing at regular intervals. In sharp contrast to the negotiations held with clerics by Musharraf before the final attack, there was no colloquy in Bluestar’s case. What made things worse in 1984 was that a huge number of pilgrims died in military assault on golden temple. So the difference is this that though Bluestar is considered as a negative and regressive step in Indian history, Operation silence will most probably be seen as a show of strength and state power against the militants.