There comes a time in the life of every government when it has no answers after it has goofed badly. This is also the time that the people have become less forgiving.

It then pretends, obfuscates and prevaricates. But it knows it’s of no use and that everybody knows it has no option but to brazen it out.

The Modi government’s responses and reactions to the Manipur crisis are only the latest in a long list of such happenings. Starting from Jawaharlal Nehru’s China policy that culminated in a humiliating thrashing in 1962, right down to Manipur now, we have a string of the most monumental mistakes by almost every government since Independence.

Nehru should not have tried to settle the border with China without military muscle but he did. India paid the price.

Indira Gandhi should not have declared the Emergency but she did. India paid the price.

Likewise — although she insisted to Margaret Thatcher the then British prime minister that she had no choice — she conducted Operation Bluestar. She paid for it with her life.

Rajiv Gandhi sent Indian troops into Sri Lanka in 1987. Four years later he too paid with his life.

Narasimha Rao took it easy over the gathering threat to the Babri Masjid. In 1992 it was demolished by a mob of Hindus. The Congress lost Muslim support forever.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee lowered his guard with Pakistan. The result was the Kargil war when Pakistani troops occupied Indian territory. But for American intervention it would have been a longer and costlier war.

Manmohan Singh avoided such huge errors of judgment but made many small ones.

The Modi government has also made errors of judgment. For example, it has been pushed into a corner by China. At least unlike Nehru it did nothing to irritate China.

Manipur issue

But now comes Manipur. The government has just been ignoring the State or if it’s doing something it is being very secretive about it.

There are only two reasons why governments find themselves in such impossible situations: arrogance or carelessness. When the two occur together, the wind goes out of their sails.

In 1962, it was Nehru’s arrogance. In 1975 it was Indira Gandhi’s arrogance. In 1991, it was Rajiv’s carelessness with his security. In 1992 it was Narasimha Rao’s carelessness. In 1999 it was Vajpayee’s carelessness.

But what is it now? Carelessness or arrogance or both? How can a government that claims decisiveness as its USP become so indecisive?

There is no immediate answer. There’s only speculation. And that makes things even worse.

Heads of government everywhere also tend to avoid being questioned on their mistakes. Nehru was the last Indian one to allow it, that too while the war with China was on.

But none of his major successors have shown that degree of confidence, Indira Gandhi included. Even Rajiv Gandhi, a good man, refused to answer questions on Bofors by asking his MPs to keep on shouting.

Parliaments are devices to hold governments to account. When a government refuses to cooperate with the basic design of governance, there can be only one of two explanations: it doesn’t know what to say or it’s in such a delicate situation that silence is the best option.

If there is a third explanation, maybe some BJP spokesperson will enlighten us soon.