Wednesday, October 31, 2012

WHY DO THEY DISLIKE INDIA?

The governments of Pakistan, China, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh reveal to akram hoque of B&E...

Nehru’s dreams started unraveling in 1947 itself when the founder of modern Burma, Aang San was assassinated and Indians were forced to leave everything and flee. By the winter of 1948, Nehru had got a first taste of jihad in Kashmir, a jihad that now threatens to debilitate India even as it destroys Pakistan. Two more shocks awaited Nehru and his vision of a peaceful and comradely South Asia in 1959. The leader of Sri Lanka, Solomon Bandarnaike was assassinated and the genie of anti-Tamil policies uncorked; the resultant civil war has just about reached a lull. And of course, China annexed Tibet, claiming it was always a part of China, forcing the Dalai Lama to flee and get exile in India. By 1962, when the Chinese military humiliated India, Nehru’s dreams of a ‘friendly’ neighbourhood were utterly and completely demolished. Since then, India has simply not been able to forge really close and friendly ties with the people and governments of its neighbours.

Let’s face it. No matter how many times Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh stand in front of the mirror and ask “who is the fairest of them all?”, the fact is that India is not very popular in the neighbourhood. Perhaps the only saving grace is that it is usually the governments of these neighbouring countries that are more hostile towards India than their citizens. For Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, India is the Big Brother and Bully that has a nasty habit of throwing tantrums and throwing its weight around. For Pakistan - or at least a large part of the ruling establishment in Pakistan - India is the Eternal Enemy that defines the existential rationale for the nation state. For China, India is a ‘hegemonistic’ upstart that needs to be taught a lesson every now and then. Why, even Bhutan has problems with India.

This is particularly galling for Indians and Indian policy makers. India is a unique country amongst major powers - including Japan, China, Russia, Germany, France, Britain and the United States - that has never invaded a neighbour. India is the only country amongst major powers that has actually ‘lost’ homeland territory in the last 100 years. India is known for its unique culture of tolerance, co-existence, respect for all religions and openness to new ideas and identities. And yet, why is it that people and governments in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh think that India is a Big Bully which threatens their very existence? Somewhere deep down, Indians are downright offended by the very notion that India can play the Big Bully against any country. And yet, the perceptions persist...


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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