Within four days two Prime Ministers known for their hard-line approach publicly apologized for whatever had happened in their respective countries. On August 30 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly apologized for the August 26 collapse of a 35-foot tall statue of Maratha king, Shivaji, in Sindhudurg’s Rajkot Fort. The statue was built by the Indian Navy and was unveiled by none other than Modi on December 4 (Navy Day) last, that is just eight and a half months before.
On September 2 Israeli PM and good friend of Modi, Benjamin Netanyahu, also publicly apologized for the death of six hostages who were in the custody of Hamas since October 7, 2023. He, however, made it clear that this tragedy would not stop him from carrying out military operations near the Philadelphia Corridor.
Israeli Defence Forces allege that it is from here that Hamas gets smuggled weapons and other material from Egypt. If Netanyahu’s allegation is to be believed, it remains a mystery as to how even after 11 months of non-stop bombardment Israelis have failed to check the smuggling of arms and ammunition through this 14 kmland border with Egypt, which is not hostile toward the Zionist country. Netanyahu on October 29, 2023, also apologized for an earlier statement in which he blamed the security services for failing to prevent the Hamas attack on October 7.
Maharashtra election
Modi and Netanyahu are known for their tough stands and one can hardly expect apologies from them. Yet if the Indian Prime Minister had done so when the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar already apologized then there is something worth pondering. After all, the Maharashtra Assembly election is due later this year and all indicators suggest that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its two alliance partners that are the breakaway factions of Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party are precariously placed. With Marathas up in arms over the demand for reservation the collapse of the statue of their warrior hero at this point was embarrassing for the governments both at the state and Centre. As if that was not enough, renowned sculptor Jaydeep Apte was arrested. Thirty-nine-year-old Apte had built sculptures in Britain too and is said to be an experienced hand. He had already said he was not given sufficient time to complete this project. Thus, it would be wrong to put all the blame on him. But this is not the only structure to come down after the June 4 Lok Sabha election result day. In Bihar well over a dozen bridges had collapsed, Most of them were recently built. Similar incidents have taken place in Delhi, Gujarat, MP, UP, etc.
Water had started leaking in the newly built Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and the Parliament building. Ram Path built in the Holy City had caved in at several places after the first heavy monsoon shower. Yet Modi did not apologize. This is simply because no election is due there. As Marathas treat Shivaji as a god and the election is around the corner Modi yielded to the opposition’s pressure to apologise. Only time will tell whether it works or not. Though the blame game had started after the coming down of the statue, the fact is that before accusing the engineers, sculptor, and contractors those at the top will have to take responsibility as all the above-mentioned structures had collapsed or leaked because they were built in a hurry keeping in mind the election. What is being ignored is that such incidents are sending wrong signals to the outside world.
Netanyahu succumbs
Netanyahu, who had not apologized after the October 7 failure which led to the death of hundreds of Israelis, had done so after the recovery of six bodies of hostages from Hamas. The Israeli authorities blamed Hamas for their killing, but their version is often taken with a pinch of salt. In the past several hostages have either been killed in cross-fire or are directly killed by Israelis themselves. Several months back the Israeli Defence Forces had killed three hostages when the fact was that they were waving white cloth while escaping from captivity. A white piece of cloth was a sign to indicate that they were not enemies. Netanyahu apologized on September 2 following massive outrage and protest over the killing of these hostages. Over five lakh people took to the streets calling for an immediate halt to war against Gaza and the return of hostages. Israelis are well aware of the Hannibal Directive of its government in which their people are killed. This strategy was introduced way back in 1986 after a spate of abductions by Palestinians. It is said that the IDF shot down a large number of Israelis who were being taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Some sources suggest that more Israelis were killed at the hands of the IDF than Hamas on October 7.
Israeli society is no more prepared to accept the loss of lives in such a way. As Netanyahu knows that his government may collapse the day he ends war in Gaza he was left with no option but to resolve to continue bombardment. The apology was just a ploy to buy time.
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