
Devsagar Singh /New Delhi
The MPs’ delegations to foreign countries to brief them on Operation Sindoor and seek their support for India do not appear to have served the purpose. All that they did is address people of Indian origin (PIO) about the need to target Pakistan’s terrorist groups after the Pahalgam killings of innocent tourists. Their main job was to convey to the people and the Government of the respective countries that Pakistan and its proxies were responsible for the Pahalgam attack which left India with no choice but to target the terror hubs.
Reports reaching here suggest that the Indian teams hardly met Government leaders or addressed influential citizen groups in these countries. Western nations do not give much weightage and credence to casual visits unless scheduled in advance. It is unclear how much our missions abroad came to their aid. There is a perception in certain circles that not much was done by India’s diplomatic missions abroad to counter Pakistan’s proactive moves to play the victim card in the aftermath of India’s sudden attack .
India’s global outreach for any meanigful PR exercise during this period, indeed, remains tardy and raises a question mark as regards the country’s foreign policy initiatives, especially in regard to engagement with the international media. Most major international publications have representatives based in India. Were they briefed about the Pahalgam massacre and its perpetrators? They were certainly not barred from general media briefings where the domestic outlets, particularly the TV news channels, dominated. It has always been a practice to confide with the foreign press on issues of international ramifications. This has been dispensed with for over a decade now with the Government hardly concerned about it. This resulted in rather hostile coverage of the India-Pakistan skirmish in major western publications.
As for the MPs’ delegations still in foreign shores, reports suggest they hardly addressed the media there. It is difficult to surmise the brief they took from the Government before leaving India. It may not be out of place to guess, however, that a strongly centralised power structure at home may not have afforded much chance for a briefing from the top. People lower down in the ladder hardly matter. So the MPs’ groups have their own gala time visiting temples, mosques, tourist places and the people of Indian origin.
Already questions are being raised over arranging visits of some 80 MPs to different world capitals at considerable expense. Mention is also being made of Pakistani leaders like their foreign minister speaking freely about how terror groups got sustenance on errand from the west. He has practically shut up the western mouths by saying so. Pakistani diplomatic missions , it is learnt, has been in overdrive explaining Pakistan’s position on Operation Sindoor and after.
Compare it with the scene at home. A highly centralized system of functioning has resulted in people in responsible positions unable to speak much or keeping mum even when the occasion demanded. On the other hand, there are people like a Madhya Pradesh minister who insulted Col. Sofia Qureshi , one of the two women officers who briefed the press on Operation Sindoor, for her Muslim identity.
One expects the delegation heads of MPs to submit a report of their work and the same finds place truthfully in the media space.