A pro-Washington coup in India’s foreign policy is no longer being viewed as mere conjecture. The fast changing scenario has not even been denied in Delhi. In fact, the U.S. administration and the Rao government of India are pushing ahead with new equations in the Indian sub-continent. India is getting big financial help from the U.S. – controlled ILM.F. On its part, Delhi is becoming even more ruthless in its handling of dissidence in Kashmir, Punjab and Assam. The Bush admiration no longer appears concerned about the violation of human rights in India. Nor is it losing sleep over India’s uninterrupted nuclear program. A quiet, new dimension is being added to Indi refashion political alignments in perfect tune with India’s new foreign policy strategy. Thus, India’s two leading Hindu parties – Congress (I) and the B.J.P.-are getting closer to each other. This is explained by the fact that India’s central authority is growing tolerant of B.J.P.’s plan to demolish the historic Babri mosque and to build in its place a Ram mandir to placate the hard-core Hindu fundamentalist lobby. B.J.P.’s L-K. Advani is all praise for P.V.Narasimha Rao as Prime Minister. This assures the Rao administration a semblance of stability. On the other hand, India’s minorities are getting more and more restive. The C.P.(M) and C.P.L leadership are torn between their Hindu fundamentalist roots and allergy to a pro-U.S. tilt in India’s ruling establishment.

The new equation has already sent across signals ‘in the entire south-east Asian region. A high-level Chinese delegation visited Pakistan twice in less than a month. The Chinese are also busy courting Iran. For the first time in 13 years, China is ‘mending its relations with Vietnam. In the process a cooling off of the Sino-Indian relations can be predicted. India’s small neighbors like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka cannot remain mute witnesses to the drama. No wonder, the relations between India on the one hand and these small nations on the other hand are getting strained notwithstanding the emergence of high-level and low-level encounters within the framework of S.A.A.R.C and other such for a India itself talks of militant’s  training Bangladesh and Burma to destabilize the Delhi rule. Pakistan’s former foreign secretary Agha Shahi in an interview even mentions the stoppage of U.S. aid to Pakistan in the wake of the changing geo-political situation in the region, Shahi says the new U.S, and policy could not lead to an improvement the India-Pak relations. “Pakistan would find new friends ready to stand by i dealing with India if the U.S. continued to find going along with India more convenient”, asserts Shahi. In substance, the Pak officer only confirms the newly emerging situation in the region.

The emerging U.S.-India axis in south-east Asia will inevitably lead to certain counter-formations as is indicated above. This region is bound to become the center-stage of new tensions after the west-Asian imbroglio. The arms race, including the race to develop nuclear weapons, will be stepped up. At the same time, the new equations will further embolden India’s ruling class to militarize the internal polity. This will create its own vicious circle of enhanced U.S. aid going down the Indian drains because Delhi will increasingly rely on the use of force to suppress dissidence within the country. It will deepen India’s economic crisis, The U.S. will increasingly be isolated from India’s minorities and regional groupings. In sum India before long will cease to be a democracy even in the form all sense. This is the likely scenario the U.S. administration will have to contend within south-east Asia, In its own interests, as well as in the interests of peace and democracy, in the sub-continent President Bush should think twice before going ahead with his plans. If Washington thinks India will emerge as a peaceful area to do business ‘with, it will be its mistake.

Article extracted from this publication >> November 15, 1991