The purpose of the conference would be to preserve the “sovereignty and territorial integrity independence and nonaligned charters” of Afghanistan. Mr. Singh is it what India is doing that leads to my next question. Would you tell us if you believe that philosophy is of India regarding expansion? Iqbal Singh: Well I think India considered itself rightly or wrongly as regional superpower in South Asia. And they have been actually active for the last ten years to advance their claim accordingly. They think that they have a right to ensure there is some kind of stability in Afghanistan according to their viewpoint. Since India has a treaty of friendship with the Soviets which was signed in 1971 which has a military clause India is acting to have certain policies imposed in Afghanistan. They are pro Najibullah present puppet leader who was supported by the Russians and India is doing its best to ensure that the regime over next few years. India is of course using the diplomatic language to convey to the world that they are not interfering in the affairs of Afghanistan. That they are simply aiding another sovereign state and they have a right to do so. Most of the countries pulled out their embassy staff from Kabul in Afghanistan after the Soviets have pulled out except India and two other minor countries. So it is an irony that Russians have pulled out after nine years from Afghanistan, India’s two policies which appear to be upholding the Soviet view point there.
So think today India appears to be flexing its muscles showing that they are regional superpower and that countries around them should listen to them. Pakistan Sri Lanka Nepal and Bangladesh. You are aware that India now has blocked the Nepal trade routes whichis a locked country and India has also got 23 countries which we can discuss later.
But I think essentially India is flexing its muscles as regional superpower and has been building up its armed forces. India’s defense budget in the last 12 years has multiplied from 400% from a mere 2800 crores to 13,500 crores of rupees this year. It is a considerable expansion.
John: You have mentioned that you are among one of the leaders in the world in Agriculture and Industries. Tell us about Arts and Cultures.
Iqbal: India, as I mentioned has eight hundred million people it has 25 languages and 45 languages ‘out of them are among worlds fifteen largest spoken languages. It has wide variety of culture. This is something of which India is very proud of and has been conveying to the world through its various arts and cultural shows. Last two years it was brought out in around U.S.A. and later in USSR and I think that is a positive aspect of Indian life. India is a very complex very colorful and a very varied country and I think people who visit there are simply fascinated.
In India if you say this building is two hundred years old, nobody looks at it unless a building is a thousand or thousand five hundred years or more old, Nobody pays attention to it. It is a fantastic country that way and I thank God that his strength is very much there.
John: I think my listeners will be amazed when they find this out. Everyone knows the movie capital of the world is Hollywood in California. But the second largest movie producing country in the world is India. Is that correct?
Iqbal: That is correct. In fact some years back India Produced the largest number of movies and India has captured the movie filed in Middle East in Far East, in South East Asia etc. So they are doing very good in the Sield of movies. In fact one of the Indian movies, Salam Bombay, won an award in an International show. It was a very good movie about the slums in Bombay. John: There was a movie produced a few years back called Gandhi. I want to ask you, did the Indian government produce that or the British Government? What do you think about the film and the story of Gandhi? Iqbal: Well there are mixed feelings on this. The movie was produced by a well-known British author but when he Started running short of funds he approached the Indian Government and the Indian government did indeed foot Part of the bill. 1am not sure of the figure but I know it was considerable. know 1015% of the bill was footed by the Indian government. Obviously they must have received something in return whether to exclude certain offensive portion or whether to get the script approved by the government of India, I do not know but this has come under great criticism by the great critics of the Indian movies,
But this movie was a very graphic movie. It was very a very effective movie. It has won a number of awards in Hollywood but many critics consider that it is not a true representation of recent contemporary history of India. That Mahima Gandhi was enlogised unnecessarily that he was shown as the king of nonviolent movement. It was due to his policy that India lost a three quarter million people in mass murders that took place in the sub-continent. We got questionable reviews of the movie, but as far as the special effects, sound effects, and the colour etc. it was a very effective movie indeed. But of course Muslim viewers and those in Pakistan considered the movie lopsided not representing the correct view point rom the Muslim perspective,
In fact as a foot note here: Three months back a history book written by the one of freedom fighters in India who lived along Jawhar Lal Nehru and Gandhi. He has blamed Jawahar Lal Nehru and Gandhi for the division of India whereas this movie tried to say that Jinnah and Pakistani leaders are responsible the division of India. I think critics are right this was not a true representation of recent history.
John: Could I ask you hard ball question. We heard throughout for the last twenty years that Gandhi was man of the peace and all the preached was nonviolence and he wanted to strengthen his people and he did not want any death or destruction or chaos to his people. Everywhere Gandhi went it s that there was chaos; anarchy and revolution what are your thoughts on that?
Iqbal: That is a very interesting comment you have made. You see there is a question of rhetoric and reality. In fact, Gandhi fasted for days and weeks. He spoke in terms of nonviolent language, he spoke in terms of peace and Prosperity.
But on the other hand it is also said the reality is that wherever he went he was able to mobilize people. He got millions of Indians out on the street but unfortunately there was always trouble that followed as a consequence of this mobilization. We fond HinduMuslim riots. We found Hindus ransacking certain areas of the Muslims, we found Muslims ransacking and killing thousands of Hindus and this kind of blood bath continued. By the time
“So I think today India appears to be flexing its muscles showing that they are regional superpower and that countries around them should listen to them.”
India obtained Independence for the six next months, India lost a close to a million people as a result of mutual Killing. I think this is the world’s largest recorded civil war damage in terms human life and also, if I may add, after India was divided world largest migration of refugees took place. Close to six million people crossed borders in Punjab and Bengal. So to say whether Gandhi was really a non violent person or was it a divide between rhetoric and reality, I think is very much a question which is alive in the minds of scholars today.
John: Now there are some other countries that India is involved in and I like to tell my listening audience about them. Not only primarily Goa but also Maldives.
Iqbal: Oh yes! India is obviously very sensitive to any instability around its borders. Maldives is a group of very tiny islands on the western coast of India at its tip at the bottom, 400 miles away. There was coupdetat few months back, India sent its troops into Maldeep and were able to crush coup de tat and restore the Prime Minister there who had been there previously. India now has withdrawn its troops and India has left behind 400 500 soldier to ensure the stability there,
India has also seventy thousand troops (Peak level) in Sri Lanka. It is called Indian Peace Keeping Force. It has gone there to keep peace between the two feuding communities of Tamils and Sinahalese.
To Be Continued
Article extracted from this publication >> June 30, 1989
