India@60

Its 60 years of Independence in the South Asian peninsula and a perfect moment to look back. Theoreticians have noted that a nation starts looking back at its history after 50 years. The two nations created as a result of an imaginary line drawn on map, which the three leaders thought would lead to a painless movement of people and lead to tranquility and relief from foreign oppression did lay the seeds for the world’s most dangerous cauldron of jingoistic pride and mindless nationalism. For the uninitiated Pakistan, India and Bangladesh belong to one block of land south of the Hindu-Kush Mountains and the Himalayas in the north and the Arabian Sea/Bay of Bengal to the south. This land was so large and diverse in both its geographic and regional differences that it was worthy to be called as an entire subcontinent. It was then the Indian subcontinent and the Indian Ocean (no other civilization have an Ocean named after it) was a validation of its legends across the globe.

As bloody and brutal the partition was, the trios that were the architects of the partition have fallen from grace in the eyes of some and regained their respect in others. Pakistan was borne out of a belief of Muhammad Ali Jinnah that Hindus and Muslims cannot peacefully co-exist, while India was borne in the belief of Jawaharlal Nehru that in such a diverse society as the Indian subcontinent, secular democracy was the only form of government that will work. Lord Mountbatten, who was acting as the pimp of the monarchy to push for the prostitution of Indian subcontinent, did not realize that history will not forgive him. Unfortunately for the world, history repeated again and the British were involved in an endless list of partitions across the world including Palestine, Iraq , Korea, etc.The British empire was responsible for many such ills that plague our world today. For the world that is slowly waking up to the ills of corporate globalisation, it would be interesting to know that the British East India Company, under the garb of a spice and tea trading company subjugated an entire continent. If we connect the dots of oppression and injustice around the world, a very grim picture emerges to the dangerous precedent set by the British empire. Today United States follows the same path of nation subjugation in the advancement of private industry, which benefits its CEO and corporate boardrooms.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India has fallen from grace to become the symbol of the nation's weakness and gullibility since Independence. The images of him sitting at the feet of Edwina Mountbatten was shamefully disgusting and lacking any self respect. This obviously was to the delight of British, who felt Nehru carnal connections could be used as a yardstick for a safe and profitable British exit from the continent. Edwina's participation in the affairs of the nation is seen by today's youth as casual, disinterested and self serving. Edwina illicit romance did have a substantial effect on revisionist history as written by the British or western thinkers as well as Nehru's new band of intellectuals. Nehru does deserve some credit for his passion for democracy and nation development. Unfortunately, he will be remembered for his passion for white women. His grandson and later his great-grandson haven't really been any different. Years later, Rajiv Gandhi would marry a nondescript Italian woman from a relatively unknown town who now heads India's largest political party.

Jinnah, the first Prime Minister of India is still revered by the Pakistanis. The nation built on the premise that Hindus and Muslims cannot live peacefully has very little choice but to accept Jinnah's legacy. Any disagreement with that ideology is akin to dissolving the nation itself. Not only have Pakistanis grown up in revisionist history of the spiteful "Hindus" but they have embraced the concept with much enthusiastic nationalist pride. Pakistan has fought many wars against India to further the idea of separation of Muslim states from the Indian republic. In the meantime, Jinnah's vision of a strong economic Islamic republic has been shred to smithereens. Pakistan today is the epicenter of Islamic terrorism and the most volatile nation on earth. It is run by its covert intelligence agency the ISI(Inter Services Intelligence). For people in India, the ISI represents all that is wrong with Pakistan. Beginning with Kashmir separatists movement, the Khalistan separatist movement and then a chain of terror attacks including the 1993 Serial Bomb Blasts in Bombay. The ISI's grip over the nation has pushed it to the brink of complete collapse of democratic institutions. The Pakistani middle class , which was once more vibrant and affluent than its Indian counterparts and represents the voice of moderation, is shrinking fast. Many Indians of my generation have empathised with the Pakistanis but at the same time have seen the theatre of war and religious radicalization emerge in front of them. The United States have played a very significant role in Pakistan's state of affairs today. The CIA in the early seventies with the help of ISI, armed and equipped the Taliban for its covert war against the spread of Communism. Its ironic today that Bush Jr shares photo ops with the leaders of Northern Alliance(including Hamid Karzai), the side of the militia that were being backed by the Soviets.

India's destiny in the midst of this nexus of the good and the bad is shaky. India has to choose its friends wisely as the sides they represent are fallible. The relationships these nations had for the past many years are short term, fragile and susceptible to betrayal. Therefore, the good and the bad are easily interchangeable. Indian leaders have been cognizant of this reality and have befriended many foes of its own friends. Russia and the US are both friends of India, despite their mutual suspicion of each other. India similarly maintained its relations with all so called rogue nations including Iraq, Iran , Korea and Africa on the basis of its own bilateral benefits. It did get a lot of flak and isolation because of its unpopular friendships, but as India rises into an economic power, everybody wants to court India as friend. These multiple bilateralism has paid off and India finds itself aligned with the big players and well as being seduced by the unpopular ones.

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