ALI SUKHANVER

A huge country, ultimately scattering into fragments; India is going to be the USSR of tomorrow. One of the official think-tanks of China has advised the Chinese hi-ups to settle old scores with India by breaking up the worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Biggest DemocracyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ into 26 parts. Beijing should encourage Bangladesh to invite ethnic Indian Bengalis to abandon Indian nationality and work towards a united Bengali state. It has also been advised to use India’s hostile neighbors as well as the restive elements among the Assamese, Kashmiris and Tamils. These elements should be encouraged to fight hard for independent statehood.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Recently in the second week of August, an article was published in China, with the title ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”‘If China takes a little action, the so-called Great Indian Federation can be broken upƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.

This article also propagated the same thought as presented by the official think-tanks of China. The said article was originally in Chinese language and was later reproduced in several other strategic and military web sites of the country and by all means, targets the domestic audience. According to the media reports most of the websites which published this article belong to China. One of these sites is ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”www.chinaiiss.org ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”which is the new edition of the China International Institute for Strategic Studies; a website which is purely considered to be the mouth-piece of the government of China.

The writer of the article, Zhan Lue has suggested to the Chinese authorities that to split India, China can bring into its fold countries like Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan, support ULFA in attaining its goal for Assam’s independence, back aspirations of Indian nationalities like the Tamils and Nagas, encourage Bangladesh to give a push to the independence of West Bengal and lastly recover the 90,000 sq km territory in southern Tibet. The article says; If India today relies on any thing for unity, it is the Hindu religion. The partition of the country was based on religion. Today nation states are the main current in the world. India could only be termed now as a ‘Hindu religious state. Hinduism is a decadent religion as it allows caste exploitation and is unhelpful to the country’s modernization. The Indian government is in a dilemma with regard to eradication of the caste system as it realizes that the process to do away with castes may shake the foundation of the consciousness of the Indian nation. Zhan Lue is of the view that there exist so many ‘local centres’ in several provinces of India and in the presence of such local characteristics, the ‘so-called’ Indian nation cannot be considered as one having existed in history.

In the light of the above cited article and the recommendations of the official think tanks, the Chinese government might be thinking of joining hands with different nationalities in India like the Assamese, Tamils, and Kashmiris and support them in establishing independent nation-States of their own, out of India. In particular, the United Liberation Front of Asom in Assam ULFA can be helped by China so that Assam, a territory neighboring China, realizes its national independence.

India and china have been in a state of cold war since long. The two countries share a long border, sectioned into three stretches by Nepal and Bhutan which follows the Himalayan Mountains between Burma and Bangladesh. A number of disputed regions lie along this border. The conflict between the countries reached its climax in 1953 when India encroached northward and pushed its borderline to the McMahon Line and occupied 90,000 square kms of Chinese territories. At western sector, in 1959, India voiced its claim to the Aksai Chin areas, counted 33,000 s.kms, of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. In April 1960, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai went to New Delhi to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Nehru; no agreements were reached due to India’s insistence on its unreasonable stand. The ensuing meetings between the officials of the two countries also produced no results. As a result of it The Sino-Indian War started in June, 1962. This war is also known as the Sino-Indian Border Conflict. China had two major claims on what India deems its own territory. One claim, in the western sector, is on Aksai Chin in the northeastern section of Ladakh District in Jammu and Kashmir. The other claim is in the eastern sector over a region included in the British-designated North-East Frontier Agency, the disputed part of which India renamed Arunachal Pradesh. These two major claims were the actual factors behind the war. In the fight over these areas, the well-trained and well-armed troops of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army overpowered the ill-equipped Indian troops, who had not been properly acclimatized to fighting at high altitudes.

In the last May, the Indo-China relations reached a point of no-return when India blamed that China is interfering in Nepal’s internal affairs and causing political upheaval there. The Times of India reported on May 9:2009, “While India was inviting popular opprobrium in Nepal trying to prevent Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda from sacking the army chief, China at the same time sent messages to Prachanda pledging support for doing just the opposite.” Condemning the report Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The report is sheer unfounded rumor. The Chinese government always adheres to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. China, as a friendly neighbor of Nepal, sincerely hoped all parties in Nepal would work together for peace, political stability and economic development.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

The recently published article in China and the recommendations of the official think-tank of China have given birth to strange frightful feelings not only among the Indian public and politicians but also among the Indian Armed Forces. Commenting on the reports that China has been advised to break-up India, the Navy chief of India, Admiral Sureesh Mehta has said, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-India does not have the power to match China’s resources in terms of military. China is likely to be more assertive on its claimsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. Less than a month ago, Headlines Today had highlighted a disturbing prophesy by a noted Indian analyst Bharat Verma that China would mount a blistering attack on India before 2012.The point to be pondered over is the credibility of the said article and the authenticity of the suggestion given to the Chinese government. This article and the advice; both must not be taken lightly. Ignoring them will prove to be costly for India. If China succeeds in awakening the consciousness of nationalities in India, the worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Biggest Democracy is sure to meet an end like that of USSR.