The perfidy continues......

Pakistan may cede Gilgit Baltistan to China to pay off its mounting debts....The treachery has been going on for long.

1947.        The Brits knew the importance of Gilgit Baltistan - it's the area that connects Indian landmass to Central Asia. And the British could NOT allow that portion to fall to India - so when Jammu and Kashmir ceded to India the Brits used Gilgit Scouts to engineer a land grab for Pakistan.

In Nov 1947, under the command of Maj WA Brown, the Gilgit Scouts overthrew the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in Gilgit and declared accession to Pakistan. The Muslim element of the State Forces joined the rebels and killed the Hindu troops.

 

1971.         India defeated Pakistan to create Bangladesh and there were genuine fears in the US/UK that India will take over PoK which means even Gilgit Baltistan. They could not afford that - the US sent message to the Soviet Union that if India so much as tried to move towards PoK, the US will nuke India. This message was conveyed to India by the Soviets. And that was that.

2022.         With Pakistan collapsing, the US and China sat together and stated that they have differences over Taiwan but on India, they were on the same side. They both cannot allow India to make a grab for PoK again and take over prime logistics real estate of Gilgit Baltistan. Hence, it's possible that Pakistan may cede Gilgit Baltistan to China (with the blessings of the US).

     *       *       *

The Tamasha Going on in Maharashtra

During the last Assembly elections in Maharashtra in Oct 2019, the BJP and the Shiv Sena had a pre-poll alliance. The results, for the 288 Assembly seats, were as follows :-

* BJP              106

* Shiv Sena      56

* NCP              54

* Congress       44 

* Others           28

Post polls, with Shiv Sena breaking ranks with the BJP over the seat of the chief minister - could have been a combination of Udhav's ego and his son's eagerness to become a minister - to form an alliance called the 'Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi' with the crafty Pawar's NCP and the Congress.

The misgovernance and the corruption were evident from day 1 of the formation of the ministry. Udhav, in his eagerness to be the CM and to please the NCP and the Congress, strayed away from his party's core ideology - Hindutva. Moreover, the movie actor, Sushant Singh Rajput's murder through circumstantial evidences were pointing a finger at Aditya Thackeray as brought out by Arnab Goswami on the Republic TV.

The Udhav government, consequently, made the fundamental mistake of putting Arnab Goswami in jail. There was a train of people - like Rane, the union minister and an MLA-MP husband-wife team - who were taken into custody because they said against the government, just to show the might of the family! Obviously, it was too clear to note that the doings could have been the handiwork of the immature and vindictive junior!

As I punch this, 38 Shiv Sena MLAs under the leadership of Eknath Shinde have broken off from Udhav Thackeray, reiterating that they are for the core ideology of the party.

Yet another instance of naked ambition, greed, high handedness and vindictive actions, toppling the high and mighty. 

Obviously, one doesn't have to establish as to who will have the last laugh! 

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. 

Made two trips - one to the fish stall and the other to the bank - in Hameed's auto rickshaw.