Former US Secretary of State, Henry A. Kissinger in a recent statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, foresaw the possibility of India emerging as a great power to return to the course of British imperialism to influence, if not dominate, in the arch extending from Aden to Singapore. “This will produce clashing perceptions with China in Tibet and Myanmar and with Indonesia, Vietnam and to a lesser extent China in South Asia,” asserted the former diplomat. Kissinger is one of the most sophisticated and perceptive observers of the Asian scene. His works clearly testify to the course of history in China and elsewhere in Asia. The Kissinger statement appears to have upset the Indian authorities who do not cherish anyone equating India with British imperialism although the core of the assessment that India would emerge as a big power is welcomed in Delhi, India’s uneasy relations with small neighbors Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan are much too evident to indicate the state of affairs in southeast Asia. On one hand, India has been trying to dominate the region and on the other suppressing internal regions Punjab Kashmir, Assam that never took kindly to the British imperialism in the past 20 years Kissinger’s assessment, therefore, seems eminently sensible and is confirmed by the course of history since 1947. The situation for Asia remains. grim.
Buta note of caution needs to be struck here. The prospects for certain internal regions are even more alarming. The people of Punjab mainly Sikhs and those of Kashmir were the principle victims of British imperialism in the 19th century. Sikhs lost their own self-rule to the British in a series of wars. The 1947 British withdrawal did not result in restoration of the Sikh rule. The British rule was replaced by the Indian nomination of Punjab. Incidentally the Indian rule at least had the merit of looking secular in nature on the British lines. Of late, this character has started changing drastically. A series of draconian laws, such as TADA, were directed first against the Sikhs and then against Muslims. Punjab and its natural resources water had been mercilessly looted for about 30 years by India. The latest trend is even more alarming. There is a growing tendency to change the character of the Indian security forces. These are being dominated by Hindus to the exclusion of non-Hindus. This is evident from the composition of two elite forces the national security guards and the special protection group.
In the 7400strong force, there is not one Sikh or Muslim in it, What is more, subtle indoctrination of armed forces along Hindu way of life is on in the country. Since Hinduism is nothing but Naziism, the danger is that India’s armed forces are being trained in fascism. No wonder, officially sponsored secret murder squads are on the prowl. The kind of polity that is emerging in India makes the prospects, seen by Kissinger, not only accurate but much more dangerous.
The new world must pay attention from this part of the old world.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 28, 1995
