The Subcontinent

Over Israeli Objections, Washington Proposes “Joint Operations” With New Delhi

By M.M. Ali

In a rather elaborate interview with The Washington Post published Aug. 12, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage provided what may be described as a blueprint of proposed American policy toward South and Southeast Asia in the first half of the 21st century. U.S. policy would be based on “greater military planning, joint operations and eventual sharing of weapons technology with New Delhi.” India, it seems, may merely have to play the coy bride, because Washington promises to do the rest—from lifting the present sanctions to treating India as “a strategic partner” in the control and management of the Indian Ocean. To this end, a Pentagon spokesman disclosed, India has been granted membership in the exclusive club with whose members the U.S. shares its global strategies and sensitive military thinking.

The Armitage interview obviously represents the State Department’s thinking out loud, in order to put countries in the region on notice and to draw reaction from interested nations. The only country that has objected to the proposed policy so far is Israel. The Aug. 13 issue of Ha’aretz reports that the Israeli military establishment reacted sharply to Washington’s announcement because it undercuts Tel Aviv’s recently contracted deals with India to supply “anti-armor missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, radar systems, electronic warfare suites, and avionics for combat aircrafts.”

It is clear that the U.S. policy outline primarily is aimed at containing China by boosting India’s military might and gaining an American military presence in the area, something Delhi has resisted for decades. If Washington undertakes to foot the military cost, as it promises to, and encourages U.S. multinationals to accelerate investment in India, New Delhi can just sit back and relax for at least the next 20 years. It will be interesting to learn, however, what Delhi expects in return.

If history is any guide, there are serious thinkers in Washington who do not trust India as a faithful U.S. ally or a reliable partner. The country’s only objective now is to play a role in international affairs commensurate with its physical size. Unfortunately, to date its poverty, less than state-of-the-art military strength, and violations of human rights have prevented it from playing the role of even a regional power. Too, it is doubtful if the U.S.-India agreement on China exceeds Delhi’s current assessment of expediency. India is fully aware of the inherent risks in going too far down the road with the U.S. Despite such misgivings, and the bitter failure of America’s previous effort to shore up Vietnam as a buffer to China, it appears Washington is willing to play ball with Delhi.

The Russian Context

The Bush administration’s present thinking on South and Southeast Asia needs to be viewed in a larger geopolitical context. The Soviet Union may be dead, but Russia is very much alive. President Vladimir Putin not only is uncomfortable with NATO’s expanding orbit in Europe, but also has an eye on the possible spillover of Islamist influence from Pakistan and Afghanistan into neighboring Central Asian republics. On the latter issue, Putin may find friends in America as well as in India. Russia can even play the Iran card to contain what it perceives as the “Islamic threat” in Central Asia. Washington and New Delhi would be only too willing to go along with Moscow. It is clear, however, that Putin will not jeopardize his relations with China, or even North Korea, for lesser considerations.

The former Soviet republics of Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, with their sizeable Muslim populations, are all located in the northern neighborhood which includes Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Kashmir. India has shown that it knows how to play the “Islamic fundamentalism” and “terrorism” cards with both Moscow and Washington. So much for resolution of the endemic Kashmir dispute and the end of tension in South Asia.

Parallel Treatment

These are very confusing times. One wonders if it is Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who is giving orders to kill Kashmiris and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee ordering missile attacks on the Palestinians, for the scenarios in the Middle East and in South Asia have grown almost identical. The parallel extends to the ways that Israel and India treat their respective minorities. Arabs inside Israel live at the mercy of Jews as third-class citizens devoid of rights and privileges. Those under occupation have become targets for practice shooting. Similarly, Indian Muslims, Christians and Sikhs increasingly are being subjected to growing political, social and economic discrimination. Outside its borders, Indian army and paramilitary troops weekly kill Kashmiri Muslims by the dozens.

Ironically, in both cases the victims under occupation are looking to the United States for protection and peace. Unfortunately, Washington has its own global considerations and appears to be in no great rush to help stop the unending carnage in Kashmir or Palestine.

Recent Wave of Hate Crime

India has mastered the trick of beating the West at its own game. The secret, it has found, is simply to hold periodic elections. Nor does it matter if the electorate is illiterate. After the election, the government can stomp on secularism and crush the minorities under its heels. No questions will be asked, and it will still be heralded as “the world’s largest democracy,” entitled to gifts and rewards. The Indian thinking is that both England and the U.S. are interested in the form rather than the substance.

As part of its policy for the Hinduization of India program, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its extremist cohorts—the Rashtriya Sawayem Sewak Sangh (RSS), the Bajrang Dal, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Hindu Mahasabha and the Shiv Sena—embarked upon a campaign to harass the Indian Christians and Muslims. Following is a sampling of hate crimes which have taken place within two weeks in one part of India:

. India's professions of secularism were exposed when, according to Indian press reports, the BJP government in the state of Madhya Pradesh invoked a law on the books that prohibits anyone from converting from their religion without government permission. Nineteen people who had converted to Christianity were forced to revert to Hinduism because their decision "violated the law." Such laws belie the government claims of secularism.

. The brutal murder of Phoolan Devi, a member of parliament who belonged to the lower Dalit caste, in broad daylight in New Delhi, is an example of how political opposition is being dealt with in India. Phoolan, also known as "the bandit queen," years ago was kidnapped and raped by several upper-caste Thakurs. She avenged her abuse by joining an outlaw group and killing the men who raped her, for which she was jailed 11 years without a trial. After her release she was elected to a seat in the Parliament. Phoolan was a symbol of resistance to the centuries of oppression perpetuated in the name of religion on India's poor, women and lower caste people. She had become a political force in the powerful state of Uttar Pradesh, where elections are scheduled for February, and had vowed to oppose every BJP or BJP-supported candidate. Interestingly, Delhi police find the murder "puzzling."

. According to India's English-language daily newspaper Hindu of Aug. 1, members of the RSS and VHP demolished a 16th century mosque in Asind, a district in Rajastan, and placed a Hindu statue at the site. This has led to riots between Hindus and Muslims and caused tension in the community.

. The BBC on Aug. 8 reported that two lovers, Vishal, 19,  a Brahmin, and Sonu, an 18-year-old girl belonging to a lower caste, were hanged one after the other by Vishal's parents and the village chiefs in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Hundreds watched as the couple died.

. NDTV, an Indian affiliate of MSNBC, reported Aug. 8 that a 30-year-old nun, Sister Leena Verghese, was shot in Madhya Pradesh. A similar incident in 1995 took the life of another nun in the same area. Yet another nun was raped in 1998. Police are still investigating the incidents.

. On Aug. 7, the Indian press disclosed that RSS and VHP members had attacked the Mother Teresa Shanti Nivas (community service organization) in the state of Orissa and assaulted two Christian missionaries working there. According to the police, RSS/VHP activists had objected to the missionaries distributing relief material to flood-affected people in the area.

. In a special Aug. 11 dispatch, News India reported that Khadia police in Ahmedabad picked up Dashrath Patel, president of Hindu Mahasabha, a right-wing BJP coalition partner, on charges of abetting the death of Bharati Barot, alias Firdaus Banu. A young woman who had converted to Islam and married her lover, Saleem Shaikh, Firdaus Banu was lured into the Hindu Mahasabha office and was later reported to have committed "suicide" by burning herself while inside. Hindu Mahasabha, it will be recalled, was behind the assassination of Gandhi in 1948.

. A report in the Aug. 6 Hindustan Times said that right-wing local Hindu activists tore down a mosque in Bhubaneshwar, Gujarat, and converted it into a Hindu temple, causing serious consternation in the community. Muslims have appealed to the governor to intervene and restore the mosque. So much for Indian secularism and the "world's largest democracy."

Agra Summit and Beyond

The abrupt end of talks between Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf and India's Prime Minister Vajpayee on July 16 was no great disappointment to anyone, including the U.S. No one, however, wanted to describe the parley as "failed." Once the dust had settled, each side held the other responsible for the deadlock. Extremists among the BJP, including L.K. Advani, Murli Mahohar Joshi, Bal Thackeray and others, exerted considerable pressure on Vajpayee to resist Musharraf's overtures. The Pakistani president was straightforward, and insisted on the Kashmir dispute being the focal point of the talks
between the two leaders.

The two countries agreed to hold talks at the level of ministers and secretaries, and President Musharraf already has extended an invitation to Prime Minister Vajpayee to visit Pakistan. There were no winners. As usual, however, there were losers-the Kashmiris who have sacrificed their homes, families and their lives for over half a century.

For its part, Washington, which talks of peace from "Kosovo to Kashmir," has decided to side with India in setting its South and Southeast Asia table. As a result New Delhi finds itself under no compunction to resolve its disputes with Pakistan.

It is, however, in the interest of both India and Pakistan to live in peace and concentrate on the economic betterment of their teeming millions. Instead, both sides have engaged in inordinate military spending and now allocate their precious dollars to the further development of nuclear weapons.

Prof. M.M. Ali is a Washington, DC-based consultant on South Asia.