India's predicament.....

I always thought India's neighbourhood as endearing, tentative and troublesome.....

I have had this discussion a zillion times with friends and others. What to do with India's tough neighborhood? I got many suggestions ranging from clever subversive tactics to outright full scale war. When in comes to my opinion(I would invite comments on the topic), I need to tell you that the future matters. I mean, is it our goal to attain global(or regional) superiority or is it to mutually co-exist. I would suggest a combination of the two, i.e, maintaining our superiority in core areas and simultaneously promoting coexistence.

Lets enumerate them. First is Pakistan, wait a sec, or is China first? Okay then China and Pakistan occupy a joint first place in the list of disturbing neighbors. Next comes Bangladesh and to a minor extent Nepal and Myanmar. Due to its own sad reasons, Sri Lanka too has been an issue of unrest in India (though it is just the collateral of its internal affairs). The only bright spot is Bhutan, a small land-locked country which really is a good friend of India.

People's Republic of China or China has been rapidly developing and possesses many similarities with our country. Though there are many opinions, the clear fact is that it has one major intention, domination. Be it in any field, one aspect the Chinese will be after is domination. Even in the Beijing Olympics, one can safely say they worked hard at maintaining/imposing their superiority. Though its not wrong on the outset, their stand has often created trouble(many actually) for India. It is known that India and China still tussle over the borders. A cherry-on-top fact would be that China claims Arunachal Pradesh(I've heard you don't need a visa to get to China from Arunachal Pradesh) among other territories. Recently it stated that “it is obvious that the territory in question(which we staunchly reinforce to be India's) is disputed and it is known we do not accept the McMohan line(because they believe Tibet was never sovereign to actually draw it!)”. Tibet has also been an issue and God knows when it'll end. It is testing for New Delhi to counter many of its moves. Furthermore, China has been promoting weapon and nuclear technologies of Pakistan. And it is also accused of supplying weapons to India's border countries of Bangladesh and Pakistan, and it is clear that it is keen on keeping a check on India's growth and development. All this said, it is still important for India and China to work together and hold the fastest emerging power centres of the world. How troublesome!

It is almost futile to talk about Pakistan. This is mainly due to the exhaustive intricacies our relations involve and that there are multiple centres of power in Pakistan. Each topic can easily be compiled into huge volumes and any views of mine will have to clarify countless issues and all it will do is raise more questions. Suffice to say, the best thing that can happen to India is a stable government in Pakistan(with a single centre of power). Though this is a very big ask and will seems improbable as per the current situation, the general intention should be this.

Bangladesh, ironically freed by India, has become a thorn in recent times. With fake currency emanating from Pakistan and Bangladesh alike, one wonders why it has become like this. Continual breaches in border ceasefire from Bangladesh's side have not helped the cause either. Both the leaders in Bangladesh face criminal charges(and both are women). How India deals with Bangladesh will be critical for other issues as well.

Over to Myanmar(Burma). Though India has many good ties with Burma, it is always risky having an oppressive military regime by your side. Though it an open fact that Burma is ruled by military junta, it is depressing to know that it is almost the most abusive of all. Human rights has been a disaster and the plight of underprivileged is unimaginable as per various international Human Rights organizations. How far India involves in Burma's affairs for its own good is what we should wait and see.

Sri Lanka's action against LTTE caused a furore in the country and things are seemimg to settle only now.

Firstly, I presume that a full scale war(with anyone) is not an option(unless it really is unavoidable) and it is really a waste of time to tell why(moreover with today's risk of nuclear confrontation). One viable option is diplomacy and a clever one at that might fetch some ends. I think that while dealing with any issue, it is always good to have a look at the big picture(i.e, to have an idea of what might eventually happen).

US, Russia, Britain etc. will always take a lot of interest in whatever happens. And as for US, its a double edged knife and has to handled with care. The situation is a bit better with Russia though. We also have the EU, NATO, XYZ to deal with. It is to note that am making no comment on the activities of the current or previous governments of India but am just giving my perspective. Also, in today's globalised political scenario, your decision is just not yours, it affects numerous decisions of other countries also. Its a game with unlimited possibilities and unpredictable eventualities. Really, its a huge web!


Hmmm....I might as well a book filled with inconsequential crap....wanted to elucidate more but am getting tired(mentally) already....so, tata