Bitter 16

Whoever says sweet 16 must think again - more so if you happen to work with Marxist rags. All embarrassing stories- there have been plenty of late - have made page 16 their home. And the corners are reserved for the most uncomfortable among them. In the last post, I had mentioned about the killing of AIFB workers , now on the bottom most corner of Page 16, I find this absolutely outrageous news item.

China objects to PM’s Arunachal visit

NEW DELHI / MUMBAI: Amid warming of ties, China has taken exception to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh and his assertion that the State belongs to India, evoking a strong reaction from New Delhi.

Almost a week after Dr. Singh visited Arunachal Pradesh and said the State is “our land of rising sun”, Chinese Foreign Ministry officials have conveyed to officials at the Indian Mission in Beijing that they are unhappy with the visit and Dr. Singh’s comments there.

Beijing feels that it was not appropriate for the Prime Minister to visit a State major parts of which it claims are its territory.

Such a shocking claim should have made headlines on every self respecting newspaper/TV channel. NDTV made this the lead story on its 10.00PM slot. HT and ToI mentioned this story on their front pages. But communist coolies have hidden the story and instead profess a policy of "give and take" which smacks of impotence and not diplomacy.

This outrageous claim has its roots in Tibet. In a cheap case of quid-pro-quo , India "recognized" Tibet as an integral part of China for the latter to "recognize" Sikkim as Indian territory. Now going a step further, the Chinese have gathered the audacity to stake claim to Arunachal saying AP has had historic ties with Tibet! The Chinese , no doubt, must have been emboldened by the meek Indian leadership and with active support from servile propaganda vehicles, they may even claim the entire north east is theirs.

It is unpardonable for a paper - which ironically calls itself "India's National Newspaper since 1878"- to treat this story with kid gloves. If it is going to hide behind its age old unconvincing "news - and - opinion -are - editor's - prerogative " reasoning , it must stop making absurd claims about being India's national newspaper and instead openly declare that its loyalties lie firmly in Beijing. It has so far remained mum on AIFB killings - not a single edit or news analysis. This latest Chinese assault on Indian sovereignty will go the same way.