Kidnapping the Italians


When the Naxalites kidnapped a couple of Italians recently, I wondered what was their thinking? That India would cave in to their demands because they kidnapped a Western country’s citizen? But Italy of all Western countries? Because that would imply they are woefully out of touch with the power equations that exist today!

Maybe the Naxalites should start reading newspapers or websites instead of just communist literature. After all, Kerala insisted on and got custody of the Italian commandos who killed some fishermen. Italy as a country is considered to be a bankruptcy risk; India, on the other hand, is growing even in a recessionary environment. And yet, do the Naxalites believe that India is the weaker country in interactions with Italy? Or are they banking on Sonia’s (possible) soft corner for her country of birth to do the trick?

That apart, I am curious what the moralists who support the Naxalites, like Arundhati Roy, have to say. Is it OK to kidnap random Italians, who have nothing to do with any (real or imagined) Indian atrocities on the tribals? But of course, Roy’s stances have never been about morality, no matter how much she pretends and preaches. Her single objective is to call the Indian government the most evil entity in existence ever: at all times, and no matter what the other party does!

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