THE FOREIGN Minister of India went on an official visit to Malaysia. In its capital Kuala Lumpur he presented a set of silver bowls to his counterpart which was accepted with thanks. However, on a closer examination of the sterling silver presents it came to light that supposedly silverware was made of a cheap alloy. On a further examination of records back home in New Delhi, it was discovered that the Ministry of External Affairs had paid a sum of Rs 44,000/- for the fake silverware whereas the middle man who had facilitated the transaction had actually paid Rs 14,000 or so for the deal. The hell broke loose thereafter and an investigation in depth was ordered. The facts as stated were found to be true but no responsibility was pinpointed for bringing the nation into disrepute.

It was further found that the same Foreign Minister, Shri SM Krishna had presented fake silver bowl to foreign ministers of other countries that he had visited. Not only that, it also came to light that the same middle man had been facilitating purchase and delivery of the fake silverware for the last ten years or so. Apparently some senior officers were also recipients of the largesse of these illegal transactions and they kept their mouths shut and country continued to be put to shame for presenting fake silver ware to the foreign ministers of  other countries with whom it wished to cultivate friendly relations.

Nevertheless, no official, senior or junior has been punished for these acts and omissions of cheating. It is also not clear whether effective steps have been taken to ensure that there are no repetitions of such fake transactions in future. The law of the and may have to be made more stringent so that the cheats well versed in the art of fooling others do not get away with light punishment for serious crimes of this nature that involve reputation and image of the country.

It is rather unfortunate that the Ministry of External Affairs is involved in many acts and omissions of cheating directly or indirectly. There have been press reports about empty passport books being found abandoned in uninhabited places or by the lake side in remote corners. If the blank passport books are kept in safe custody under lock and key, there is no way they can disappear. Many foreign terrorists were found in possession of the Indian passports seemingly issued through due process sanctioned by law. However, issuance of passports was done after palms of officials were greased and a lot of money changed hands elsewhere.

Moral of the story is that the Ministry of External Affairs has to tighten its belt and ensure that its blank documents or forged documents do not change hands and pass onto the hands of terrorists lest the security of our motherland would be jeopardised.

Special Psychology lessons for the officers and clerks handling sensitive documents have to be conducted to ensure their security. Now terrorism in many forms is on the ascendancy and any loose talk or inappropriate comment may harm us and benefit the enemy. Of course, no patriotic person will like that to happen. If a traitor is up to an act of this nature it is our sacred duty to prevent it.

Let us remember that our Dharma prohibits us from destroying our values of life. Such acts, if repeated will damage the credibility of our country and no other country will take us seriously. Indeed the permanent loss in diplomacy will be ours. The damage done will be irreparable and the isolation of India would be imminent.