I. How do you assess India’s level of preparedness to assume a greater role in international politics?
Let me make a general remark about historically what great powers do. Good great powers are seen as custodians of an international system from which they benefit. So they are interested in global commerce, security, and more recently, the environment. Bad great powers suffer from the strategic entrepreneurship of misguided leaders who have eccentric ideologies. Indifferent great powers suffer from strategic arthritis. Their leaders’ well-meaning attitude makes them reluctant to advance either principles or interest in international affairs.
I am sure India would be a unique great power. But India will need to develop a certain idea of what it wants to do in international affairs. At present it remains, at the highest level of formality, committed to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). But in practice it is interested in multiple alignments. It has a foreign policy that sees it want to maintain very good links with a number of different societies, cultures, countries, and people. At present the Indian leadership is interested in progressing, deepening, and managing those multiple alignments outside of its neighborhood. And yet it would not be easy to deal with a neighborhood like the one you find yourself in and at the same time conduct an extrovert foreign policy. The Indian leadership is now caught between the requirement of its neighbourhood and the ambition of being seen as a global player.
II. How do you see India’s relation with China working out in the future while it tries to project itself as a military power in the region?
Both India and China are investing substantially in defence. China more spectacularly so — 18 per cent (of GDP), by its own admission, last year. China wants to have capacities that will take it outside of its own region. India is doing the same. One sees in India’s defence diplomacy real activism towards two areas where it had little engagement before — South East Asia, where there is a great deal of interest in helping in the security of Malacca Strait; and the Persian Gulf, where India has large and expanding economic interests and where the security of Hormuz could affect its interests. It’s an objective fact that when you have three Asian powers rising at the same time, there will be competition. It will not be a competition that any of the three powers will want openly to talk about, because the nature of Asian diplomacy doesn’t permit that. But you have Japan wanting to be a more normal power. You have China wanting to be a global power and India wanting this role, too. Other countries in Asia will be playing these countries off against each other. The invitation to India to join the East Asia summit came from ASEAN states that wanted to have a diplomatic balance to Chinese presence at the summit. So it’s not only the case that India and China have border disputes and parallel ambitions but also that other regional countries perceive that and conduct their diplomacy with that perception.
Dr John Chipman, D G & Chief Executive of the International Institute for Strategic Studies
Indian Express 20 April 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Sikhs in other parts of the country began to feel safe, because of the Relationship with BJP Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab
•At the Centre, there is always a fear associated with Punjab — that of Sikh politics. A tag of separatism has been attached to it.
Sikhs can’t be separatists. In our very roots, even in our prayers, we think of the whole world as a place for the entire humanity, not just this country. These are all baseless fears that the Centre comes up with to taint us.
•So, there was never a separatist mood here?
No, there wasn’t. Even when the country was partitioned, there was an offer from Jinnah, but as true patriots the Sikhs chose to stay in India.
•Tell me about your experience with the BJP leaders when you were in jail. It seems to have bridged the gap between Hindu and Sikh politics.
Yes, the divide narrowed down. The relationship with the BJP was not for a specific purpose. It was natural and Sikhs in other parts of the country also began to feel safe. They were confident that a major political party in the country was with them. This was a positive development, because earlier, they used to feel isolated.
•Why do the Sikhs distrust the Congress?
Because immediately after the country became independent, the Congress gave us step-motherly treatment or rather, deceived us. Nehru made several promises to the Sikhs. As a reminder to these promises, Master Tara Singh held a conference in Delhi and was arrested there. When Punjab became a linguistic state, they deceived us yet again. It was they who wanted to make linguistic states. The strongest case was that of Punjab. They didn’t agree to it and there was agitation and finally, we became a linguistic state. But we were betrayed. Chandigarh was not given to us; it was with its parent state and then made into a Union Territory.
•Was the Congress also responsible for the Bhindranwale phenomenon?
If the Congress had handled things properly, everything would have been fine. They have only one theory in Punjab politics — to create friction between the Hindus and the Sikhs. This has been their strategy since the very beginning and this is how they have hurt Punjab. We had always wanted Hindus and Sikhs to live peacefully, not for political gains but because everyone likes a harmonious atmosphere.
•And then you say that people developed a hatred for terrorism. How did that happen?
People started reporting about militants. They realised that it would not benefit them and now there is hardly anyone who supports militancy. Mann might call himself a champion and a good friend of the Congress, but he only got 1,300 votes. And the Congress policy of always pitting an Akali Dal rebel against the main Akali Dal to weaken it has been their biggest mistake.
"Because the people of Punjab couldn't get justice from the Congress, they thought AK-47s could help them get that. They were influenced, but gradually that influence waned off"
Indian Express- 30th June 2008
Sikhs can’t be separatists. In our very roots, even in our prayers, we think of the whole world as a place for the entire humanity, not just this country. These are all baseless fears that the Centre comes up with to taint us.
•So, there was never a separatist mood here?
No, there wasn’t. Even when the country was partitioned, there was an offer from Jinnah, but as true patriots the Sikhs chose to stay in India.
•Tell me about your experience with the BJP leaders when you were in jail. It seems to have bridged the gap between Hindu and Sikh politics.
Yes, the divide narrowed down. The relationship with the BJP was not for a specific purpose. It was natural and Sikhs in other parts of the country also began to feel safe. They were confident that a major political party in the country was with them. This was a positive development, because earlier, they used to feel isolated.
•Why do the Sikhs distrust the Congress?
Because immediately after the country became independent, the Congress gave us step-motherly treatment or rather, deceived us. Nehru made several promises to the Sikhs. As a reminder to these promises, Master Tara Singh held a conference in Delhi and was arrested there. When Punjab became a linguistic state, they deceived us yet again. It was they who wanted to make linguistic states. The strongest case was that of Punjab. They didn’t agree to it and there was agitation and finally, we became a linguistic state. But we were betrayed. Chandigarh was not given to us; it was with its parent state and then made into a Union Territory.
•Was the Congress also responsible for the Bhindranwale phenomenon?
If the Congress had handled things properly, everything would have been fine. They have only one theory in Punjab politics — to create friction between the Hindus and the Sikhs. This has been their strategy since the very beginning and this is how they have hurt Punjab. We had always wanted Hindus and Sikhs to live peacefully, not for political gains but because everyone likes a harmonious atmosphere.
•And then you say that people developed a hatred for terrorism. How did that happen?
People started reporting about militants. They realised that it would not benefit them and now there is hardly anyone who supports militancy. Mann might call himself a champion and a good friend of the Congress, but he only got 1,300 votes. And the Congress policy of always pitting an Akali Dal rebel against the main Akali Dal to weaken it has been their biggest mistake.
"Because the people of Punjab couldn't get justice from the Congress, they thought AK-47s could help them get that. They were influenced, but gradually that influence waned off"
Indian Express- 30th June 2008
Significance of the Amarnath yatra
Jagmohan
The controversy surrounding the Amarnath yatra is unwarranted. The forest land which had been allotted to the Amarnath shrine board was for a specific purpose — providing basic amenities and temporary shelter to the yatris in pre-fabricated structures. Heavy rains and sudden hostility of nature are not unusual in this area. It may be recalled that 256 persons lost their lives in a snow storm during the yatra in 1996. Of all the Indian pilgrimages, the pilgrimage to Amarnath is considered to be the most sacred.
Recalling Swami Vivekananda’s experience, Sister Nivedita wrote: "Never had Swami felt such a spiritual exaltation. So saturated had he become with the presence of the great God that for days after he could speak of nothing else. Shiv was all in all; Shiv, the eternal one, the great monk, rapt in meditation, aloof from the world." Later on, Swami Vivekananda himself recounted: "I have never been to anything so beautiful, so inspiring."
The holy cave is accessible only during a short period of time every year, usually during the months of July and August. At that time, inside the cave, a pure white ice-lingam comes into being. Water trickles, somewhat mysteriously, in slow rhythm, from the top of the cave and freezes into ice. It first forms a solid base and then on it a lingam begins to rise, almost imperceptibly, and acquires full form on purnima. It is believed that on that day, Lord Shiv revealed the secrets of life to Parvati. It is also believed that while Lord Shiva was speaking to Parvati, a pair of pigeons overheard the talk. And this pair still comes to the cave at the time of the yatra as incarnation of Shiv and Parvati.
When some people talk of Kashmir’s relationship with the rest of India only in terms of Article 1 and Article 370 of the Constitution, I am surprised at their ignorance. They don’t know that the relationship goes deeper. It is a relationship that has existed for thousands of years in the mind and soul of the people, a relationship that India’s intellect and emotions, its life and literature, its philosophy and poetry, its common urges and aspirations, have given birth to. It is this relationship which inspired Subramania Bharati to perceive Kashmir as "a crown of Mother India, and Kanyakumari as a lotus at her feet", and also made him sing that "She has 30 crore faces, but her heart is one."
The separatists' argument that the Government is planning to settle outsiders, one the pattern of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, to change the demographic character of Jammu & Kashmir, is baseless. It is still more intriguing that mainstream political poarties, including the People's Democratic Party, the National Conference have also demanded revocation of the land transfer order RJ Khurana, Bhopal
Asian Age - 30th June 2008
Jagmohan
The controversy surrounding the Amarnath yatra is unwarranted. The forest land which had been allotted to the Amarnath shrine board was for a specific purpose — providing basic amenities and temporary shelter to the yatris in pre-fabricated structures. Heavy rains and sudden hostility of nature are not unusual in this area. It may be recalled that 256 persons lost their lives in a snow storm during the yatra in 1996. Of all the Indian pilgrimages, the pilgrimage to Amarnath is considered to be the most sacred.
Recalling Swami Vivekananda’s experience, Sister Nivedita wrote: "Never had Swami felt such a spiritual exaltation. So saturated had he become with the presence of the great God that for days after he could speak of nothing else. Shiv was all in all; Shiv, the eternal one, the great monk, rapt in meditation, aloof from the world." Later on, Swami Vivekananda himself recounted: "I have never been to anything so beautiful, so inspiring."
The holy cave is accessible only during a short period of time every year, usually during the months of July and August. At that time, inside the cave, a pure white ice-lingam comes into being. Water trickles, somewhat mysteriously, in slow rhythm, from the top of the cave and freezes into ice. It first forms a solid base and then on it a lingam begins to rise, almost imperceptibly, and acquires full form on purnima. It is believed that on that day, Lord Shiv revealed the secrets of life to Parvati. It is also believed that while Lord Shiva was speaking to Parvati, a pair of pigeons overheard the talk. And this pair still comes to the cave at the time of the yatra as incarnation of Shiv and Parvati.
When some people talk of Kashmir’s relationship with the rest of India only in terms of Article 1 and Article 370 of the Constitution, I am surprised at their ignorance. They don’t know that the relationship goes deeper. It is a relationship that has existed for thousands of years in the mind and soul of the people, a relationship that India’s intellect and emotions, its life and literature, its philosophy and poetry, its common urges and aspirations, have given birth to. It is this relationship which inspired Subramania Bharati to perceive Kashmir as "a crown of Mother India, and Kanyakumari as a lotus at her feet", and also made him sing that "She has 30 crore faces, but her heart is one."
The separatists' argument that the Government is planning to settle outsiders, one the pattern of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, to change the demographic character of Jammu & Kashmir, is baseless. It is still more intriguing that mainstream political poarties, including the People's Democratic Party, the National Conference have also demanded revocation of the land transfer order RJ Khurana, Bhopal
Asian Age - 30th June 2008
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