India: Does WikiLeaks matter?

It is a reality today that opinions, expressions, understandings and assessments of regimes, and of those who lead and shape them and their subsequent conduct that has affected and continues to influence millions of life everywhere in the world are no more secrets accessible only to a privileged few. Thanks to the effort of WikiLeaks, its information providers and the five media houses that agreed to release this information to the world.

Those who favour openness, accountability, liberty and equality in state actions call this as the first bold step towards establishing true democratisation of information. Those who got exposed, embarrassed and were dragged into the spotlight have termed it 'irresponsible' and 'criminal'. It requires no explanation to understand who stays at what side of the fence.

Question is what is in fact criminal; engaging in espionage violating international laws, creating wars, selling weapons to criminals and toppling legitimately elected governments or exposing such criminal acts?

To say the least the release of the otherwise 'classified' documents exposes the selfish interests of the United States, who so far believed that it has the exclusive right to control world affairs, to determine the rise and fall of governments and thereby determine the political equations of the world and in the process decide the destiny of millions of people across the world. It also exposes how the cronies of the United States administration made use of the White House to cater their selfish interests.

The diplomatic footnotes also reiterates that drastic change of policies does not happen when administrations change in Washington, D.C. It exposes the hypocrisy of a backstabbing administration that breaches all diplomatic protocols and violates UN Resolutions in spying UN staff members, the Secretary General included, and at the same time remarks the aspirations of smaller or less rich states to have an equal voice in the world council of states as 'ambitious'.

The exposé is of no less importance to a country like India despite the desperate damage control praise that the White House showered yesterday upon India in New Delhi through its Ambassador. None of the leaked wires would be strong enough to shock an Indian who is well aware of what Indian administration is and how inept it is to sustain true democarcy.

Any average Indian, having an iota of intelligence will be aware that the United States was doing 'business' with India and Pakistan to survive their weapons industry and sustain their regional politics. Unfortunately it is only those in charge of affairs in New Delhi lacked this simple commonsense.

Should the yet to be exposed wires paint a bleak picture about widespread corruption in India, or the demonstrated unwillingness of the country's administration to deal with blatant human rights violations like what is happening in Jammu and Kashmir or in Manipur, or have adverse remarks about the masters in New Delhi, irrespective of their political colour, about their refusal to deal with caste based discrimination, it will be a real surprise. Since such remarks are indicators to the fact that some people outside India are truly concerned, irrespective of their reasons for it, about the real issues in India.

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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

ENDS

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