The benefits of being weak.

India seems to have earned a lot of goodwill by rescuing around 1,000 people from 41 countries trapped in Yemen. The US has issued an advisory asking its citizens to contact Indian officials in Yemen. There were pictures of an Air India plane with more people than there were seats, with people sitting on each other. Flights were from the capital, Sana'a to Djibouti, on the other side of the Red Sea, probably one hour in duration. But the logistics would have been unimaginable. The President of Yemen, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia by sea from the port city of Aden where he had taken refuge following the Houthi takeover of Sana'a. The Houthis are a Zaidi sect of Shia from the northwest of Yemen who are being supported by the former President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is also a Zaidi. Saudi Arabia is bombing Houthi positions and has imposed a no-fly zone over the country. The airport was one of the first to be bombed. Saudis accuse Iran of arming the Houthis while Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused Saudi Arabia of genocide. To step into this cauldron of hatred, where friends and enemies interchange everyday, and organise these rescue flights would have been a diplomatic nightmare. Gen VK Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs, was on these flights but the courage of the Air India pilots, who are civilians, is beyond belief. Flying these large overloaded civilian planes they would have been sitting ducks if anyone with a gun took a fancy to it. Perhaps this was one occasion when being weak was an advantage. India is a weak state, bullied not only by the US and Europe, but also by its neighbors. China regularly sends its troops into our borders to remind us of our shameful humiliation of 1962. Pakistan, a failed state existing on handouts from the US, brazenly sends in terrorists to bleed us of a thousand cuts. Exactly 6 months after the attacks on Mumbai our Prime Minister was at Sharm al Sheikh, capitulating to Pakistan on bended knees. Only yesterday, Lakhvi, the villain who masterminded the Mumbai attacks, was released on bail in Pakistan. This after India rescued Pakistani citizens from Yemen. Our present Prime Minister started off with a muscular response to Pakistani shelling across the border but after a lecture by the wanton serial killer, Obama he has gone back to the old weak-kneed response of ' constructive dialogue '. Unlike the US, which has been using drones to exterminate alleged Al Qaeda members in Yemen, India is not seen as a threat by anyone in the world. That is why Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Houthis, Al Qaeda, Yemeni armed forces and all other interested parties had no objection to India's rescue flights. Being putty has some advantages after all.