K.
Iqbal
Following
the footsteps of Kashmiris, the people of Delhi flocked to the polling booths
on February 7, to register their anti-Modi sentiment. Exit polls predict that
‘Aam Aadmi’ (Common Man) Party may even win two third majority. After having
invested substantial political capital in these two elections, falling short of
success would be quite a setback for Modi. Concurrently, Washington has asked
India to improve ties with neighbours and the New York Time has slammed Modi
over his silence on religious intolerance. Maybe Modi needs a moment of
self-reflection.
Pakistan
has repeatedly stated that it seeks improved ties with India. However, Indian
leadership’s aggressive language has sabotaged these efforts. Modi’s reluctance
to move in the direction of peace places the region in danger. Modi’s electoral
campaign had overtones and undercurrents of anti-China and anti-Pakistan
rhetoric. On the domestic side his articulations point towards Hindutva. There
was hope that after the elections he would mellow and practice statecraft as a prudent
leader. So far it has not happened. Flimsy electoral slogans have gone to his
head. There is no likelihood that he would replicate AB Vajpayee. He has not
been able to outgrow his Tea-boy and Chief Minster shoes.
It
is time that Modi be taken on his face value and reciprocated accordingly.
Nawaz Sharif should caution his trade minister who appears in haste to bestow
the ‘Non-Discriminatory Market Access’ (NDMA) status to India. It will be
worthwhile if ministry digs out archives of the Uruguay Rounds of trade talks
in which Pakistan had started participating, as a member state, soon after its
independence. The security related clauses in those archived documents
specifically link free trade with India to the resolution of the Kashmir
dispute. India has given numerous direct, indirect and cross subsidies to its
agriculture sector which Modi has refused to withdraw on the pretext of his
priority to ‘feed its poor’. The trade minister is being foolhardy in assuming
that he will be able to protect Pakistan’s agriculture sector against the
onslaught of highly subsidised Indian products.
Modi’s
Chanakyan mannerism during Obama’s recent visit to India was quite telling. He
went out of his way to flatter Obama. It is interesting to contrast it with the
Saudi King’s behavior. When the American President reached to condole the
passing-away of King Abdullah with the new monarch King Suleiman, the king left
his guest unattended when the call to prayer was made.
Despite
Modi’s behavior, nothing eye popping happened at the end of the summit.
However, at the end of his visit Obama reminded India to care about others, of
different religion, race or region, because without harmony and inclusively
India could barter all its advantages.
One
area of converging US-India interests relates to China’s containment in the
Asia-Pacific region and the Indian Ocean. During Xi Jinping’s visit to India on
September 2014, Modi hyped up a benign border incident to humble the guest.
Modi’s message to Xi (translated from the Hindi), was, “Even such small
incidents can impact the biggest of relationships just as a little toothache
can paralyze the entire body.” This was indeed music to American ears.
No
wonder India was mentioned in Obama’s dispatches as a “global partner” and was
invited to play role in global geopolitics, especially in the South China Sea
and in the Indian Ocean. Beijing downplayed the significance of Obama’s trip to
New Delhi, but has surely noted that the joint statements released after Modi’s
visit to Washington (shortly after receiving Xi in India) as well as after
Obama’s trip, referenced maritime activities by China’s Navy.
While
he pours tea for Obama, Modi pushes Pakistan to conform to the demands of new
India in leaving out Kashmir from the international agenda and punishing the
Mumbai trial suspects before a dialogue can be granted to Pakistan. He
generates sporadic pressures on Pakistan through frequent ceasefire violations.
Jammu and Kashmir is an issue of right to self-determination of the Kashmiri
people, enshrined in numerous UN resolutions. India continues to usurp this
right with impunity, in violation of the UN Security Council Resolutions and
the UN Charter. Unlike India, Pakistan’s position on the Jammu and Kashmir
dispute is based on international humanitarian law, UN Security Council
resolutions and underpinned by moral and political principles. The reality is
that India with its illusions of grandeur is obsessed with aggrandizement.
On
the domestic front, factors contributing to Modi’s victory have been several.
They include: the support given to him by the corporate sector, the fanatical
zeal of the RSS, the false projection of the ‘Gujarat model of development’,
the polarization of society along religious lines, and discrediting of the
Congress government through the campaigns launched by the likes of Anna Hazare.
Now gradually the cabinet system of governance is giving way to one man’s
autocratic ways, with secretaries of Government departments reporting directly
to Modi. The ‘labor reforms’ brought in by this government will do away with
whatever little protective clauses are there for laborers. Land acquisition by
industrialists is being made easy at the cost of those who own the lands. The
other social welfare schemes for the poor are under threat of being done away
with too.
The
intimidation of religious minorities has been stepped up. Christmas Day was
declared as ‘Good Governance Day’ in a move to undermine this festival. Attacks
on churches and mosques have been taking place frequently. The statements that
we are Hindus and this is a Hindu State have become more and more assertive,
and Modi maintains a purposeful silence, because all this is an integral part
of the agenda of the BJP and its parent organization, the RSS. With the BJP now
having a simple majority, their agenda unfolds in an uninhibited manner. Time
has come for Pakistan to take Modi at his actions and not his articulations and
carefully manage its India policy to safeguard national interests.
