THE KILLING OF FISHERMEN BY THE ITALIAN MARINES OFF KOCHI; WHY IS INDIA AGGRESSIVE

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books

Rule of Law is virtually unknown in India. Every criminal with political protection can escape justice with impunity. Courts can easily be persuaded to render judements which are to say the least quite insipid and bland. Think of the S P S Rathore case or the judgements in the Jessicca Lal case or even the Nitish Kataria case. I am saying this only to remind the reader that Indian legal system is not robust as any Western country.

A few days back two Italian marines,Latore Massimilliano and Salvatore Girone shot and killed 2 fisherman from Tamil Nadu off the coast of Kochi.They were marines protecting a cargo/ container ship under the command of Enrica Lexie.The initial justification given by the Captain of the ship, who refused to surrender, was that the two fishermen were "pirates". The threat of piracy was invoked as the justification for the killing of two non-white men by two Europeans. Are we going back to the days of the Portuguese when Indians were killed on the high seas for no reason except that the ships did not carry a cartaz issued by the Goan government. No country can ignore the affront to its national dignity which is posed by trigger happy Europeans.

After much delay the ship and the two marines surrendered to the harbour police at Kochi. Initially they claimed that the ship was in international waters, an argument that he GPS data from the ship itself disprover. Then the argument was made by the consular authorities that the 2 marines would be tried in Italy. Are the Italians so naieve as to think that because India has an Italian ruler frommthe Maino family, extra territorial rights are to be enjoyed by trigger happy Italian marines. The Quatrrochi Affair afterll and the Bofors Scandal are still simmering under the surface. So India,at least for now put on a tough act. The question is will India keep up the tough stand.

I venture to suggest that once the noise dies down and the UP election is over, India will start diluting its stand and will release the 2 marines to Italian custody with the gentlemen's agreement that they spen time in Italina jail, an agreement that Italy will not openly flout but will not keep. Right now it is politicallly inexpedient for India to appear lenient toward the Italians. Sonia, the dynastic figure head, does not want another row over favors shown to the denizens from the land of Maino. That is all. The Congress Government is indulging in bravado and I think the Italians will keep their mouth shut and go along with the drma which is being played out in Kochi.

I hope I am wrong but I have always been right in all my predictions.