Benito Z. Swu
[dropcap]S[/dropcap]ince the time the N.Modi led BJP captured power in India, India’s specific initiatives, not by design but when initiated and comes into India’s domain, is looking to be more and more like that of a purely timebound containment in order to subdue hitches of any hue of the fifty shades of grey in these troubled times. And more so when the BJP ruled India is being seen with the narrow squint eye view of the BJP being a communal party with a singular agenda.
Pakistan’s strategy of play with her overconfident ignorance of the knowledge of India’s ignorance who only feigns so because doing so is the better option when helplessness due to the compulsions of being a mature democratic secular independent republic nation comes in the way. But any way, feigned ignorance has helped India in picking up the bits and pieces which over a period of time has added up to quite an array of armory. India does not need a conventional war, or a well strategized first strike heavy hammer nuclear blow to annihilate Pakistan. It is surprising that India’s strategy seems to be truly following up with Pakistan’s own rhetoric of bleeding India with a thousand cuts. Think about being hoisted with its own petard.China becoming openly critical of India cozying up to America does not in the least seems to be bothering Modi. He infact seems to be reveling and more at ease and at home in this new found high power relationship, the opportunity of which the Congress led UPA simply let go after having initiated it early in the day. The bohemian of the two leaders of India and America was there for the world to see, which even went to that extent of the “maan ki baat” radio episode. India is definitely on the right track, as far as cementing the relationship with America both in the thick and in the thin of times. The relationship will have a cascading and ripple effect of positivity in strengthening the moderation view of nation building and democratic values all over the world. Such relationships empowers the very common people of different hues because of whom Nation States exists in the first place.
As for Sri Lanka, former Sri Lankan President Rajapaksha had seen to it that Sri Lanka never actually become a good neighbor of India. During his long extended rule as President of the country, Rajapaksha would break bread together with the Chinese but never said or did anything that would have strengthened the bilateral relation with India irrespective of whichever political party or alliances that had ruled India. It did nothing to help in this context when the Congress led UPA did not think it worth walking that extra distance in building good neighborly relationships with the Lankans. What so ever, Rajapaksha’s ego of invincibility and with China as his counterfoil there was just no space for any meaningful dialogue to take place for Delhi and Colombo. It has only been a two way traffic for Sri Lanka and China at the expense of India. Sri Lanka as a small country had played and fallen right into the hands and palm of China. So much that Sri Lanka even went down to the extent of shooting and sinking Indian fishing boats and taking into custody Indian fishermen under the pretext of them straying into Lankan waters. Rajapaksha did practically nothing to mitigate the trade imbalances of Sri Lanka with India, neither did the UPA regime invest any real heartedness to achieve the same with Colombo. China on her part had made no secret of her intentions and desire to have the geographical and strategically located Colombo under its sphere of influence.
But now with Rajapaksha forced to eat humble pie in the Srilankan Presidential election, and a new President in place, Modi seems to be making the right moves. Modi’s policy of not leaving foreign policy to chance seems to be paying off. Today it is to Modi’s credit that inspite of provocations and hiccups, Modi has reached out to the new dispensation in Sri Lanka, the first Prime Minister of India to do so after a gap of 28 years. PM Modi has so magnanimously signed MOUs in Customs to address Colombo’s concern on trade imbalances. PM Modi’s stance is that it would simplify trade and reduce non-tariff barriers on both sides. Sri Lanka’s new President M. Sirisena too has been a gracious host and have also released 86 Indian fishermen as a goodwill gesture to mark the visit of PM Modi to the island nation.
As on the Bangladesh front, the less said the better. However it is good that Begum Hasina’s Awami League is in power today. Had it been Begum Zia’s BNP, the ride would have been more bumpier. Bangladesh, more often than not, forgets that it is India who played the Godfather’s role in its very creation. And it is the stability of India whose ripple effect enhances her own stability. One cannot be wrong to say that instead of Bangladesh giving India her due, Bangladeshi citizens entering India as illegal immigrants with the government of Bangladesh in the know have been giving India headaches after bodyaches, and has been ungrateful.
The stability of the North Eastern states of India will have direct as well as indirect ramifications for the nation of Bangladesh. There are no easy options here for PM Modi of India. Hardpressed as he may be to handle both illegal Bangladeshi immigrants of the Islamic faith, as well as those illegal Bengali speaking Bangladeshi immigrants of the Hindu faith with the same yardstick, just maintaining that statuesque is not helping. With the reputation of being a doer, he has to take a decision one way or the other. With the state of Assam, the nerve center of the North East, and its Congress government whose loss on power in the coming assembly election will have national ramifications at this point of time, has guaranteed that the state government will not be taking up any action that would even remotely puncture the tyre tube of its main votebank.
Prime Minister Modi will have to take up any one of the two options that he has, other than the one that he is following up now till date, which is not at all doing good to his reputation. The reputation of a doer, for which today he has become the Prime Minister.
The predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, with the military junta still experimenting with democracy, which actually was just in the nick of time and therefore good for them, will not be a thorn for India. Atleast not as long as the BJP is in power. Its market will open up even more for India and it all looks like a win win situation for both India and Myanmar. With just the right vibe from India, Myanmar could prove itself to be that good friend and neighbor of India which fulfills the criteria of the saying, “a friend in need is a friend indeed.”
As a lay man’s outlook, Nepal, which had earlier as a monarchy been the only Hindu kingdom in the world and a close history with India, can however, not be trusted by India. Even inspite of the many positivity that had come its way because of India, Nepal is a case of blow hot and blow cold simultaneously and will remain unpredictable. But India, with its close sociocultural and strong religious ties with Nepal will always be that good big brother inspite of the backhand knuckle rap it receives from India, time to time, and to which Nepal can do nothing about.
Bhutan was that first foreign country that PM Modi visited after becoming the Premier of India. And this gesture is never insignificant. It is pregnant with meaning and goodwill. Bhutan will always enjoy the geographical blessings of being the small neighbor of a large strong independent democratic and secular republic of a subcontinent that is India. Bhutan will remain a faithful and dependable ally and a good neighbor of India stretching beyond distant times to come.
