ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Geethanjana Kudaligamage

Rajapakse, regional politics, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Eurocentric DevelopmentalismƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ and the western hegemony (Part 12-C)

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-If you dig a pit for me, you dig one for yourselfƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ (Native American proverb, Creole tribe)

(Continued from previous part) Now let us take the whole argument behind the justification of Indian misadventure in Sri Lanka that climaxed with Indian military intervention in the island in 1987, and let us see how imperceptive and paradoxical it is. The main argument of the Indian patronage and sponsorship of Tamil militancy was fundamentally based on two premises. The primary was that India was under the constant threat of the west and, the second was that Sri Lanka was undermining Indian security through her close intimacy with the west. So the cultivation of Tamil militancy was explained as a retaliatory outcome in effect to deter the threat posed by then Sri Lankan president J.R.JayawardaneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s leniency to the west.

This justification suggests that India had considered pro western SL foreign policy of JRJ was a threat to India, because India had thought that west was a treat to her. Although it has never been explained in what terms that west had become a threat to the nation of India, but commonly accepted reasoning was that India had positioned herself in opposition to the west by being an ally to the Soviet block at the time. But in reality, Indian ruling class had never been anti-west to tell the least; other than her public rhetoric, India was not even holding a genuine moral ground as such, and in order to combat the Chinese during the Indo-China war even Nehru even went to the extent to accept arms shipments from Israel, especially at a time of the history when Israel was considered as a pariah nation among international community. To the public posture of Nehru in International arena at that time, requesting arms from Israel by him was unthinkable for the international community. (I mean the real IC, not the fake one) If there was any resemblance to anti-western notion in NehruƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s foreign policy, it was symbolized to his mere request from Israel not to fly Israeli flag when the arms ships were entering to ports of India. Israel politely declined the request. The reason is understandable from the Israeli point of view; because to any moral standard, this request of Nehru was so disrespectful to the rescue party that was coming to salvage him from his ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Everest highƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ military dilemma in Himalayas.

At this point one can ask whatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s wrong in NehruƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s request of arms from Israel because JRJ also received Israel support in his war effort in the eighties. In countering such argument another can say that JRJ never advocated moral righteousness world over like Nehru did. The whole world knew that JRJ was the political prostitute in the Indian Ocean region, and he never even attempted to hide it. And people never expected morality from JRJ either. Blaming JRJ for a fault like receiving arms from Israel is not less hilarious than blaming a notorious prostitute in Maradana for indecently farting in public. However, all our considerations of love to India including myself, as she being our immediate relative, and for she being center of our mother culture of all sub cultures in South Asia, and for she being the attention of our wishes for her wellbeing, yet we cannot help saying that post independent foreign policy of India was full of duplicity and sham. Indira Gandhi was not an exception but a product of it.

Going back to our query, I said that strategists of Indian administration had considered SL as a threat to India. Then to face this threat, the counter strategy that Indian administration envisioned was something comical like jumping from vinegar bath to acid bath. Following this line of thought, Indian strategists took the task of creating a Frankenstein monster of Tamil militancy, ignoring all visible signs of growing this monster in the western womb in its primary stage of creating it at the time. Wittingly or unwittingly India had took over the creation of this neo-colonial monster that eventually meant to eat-up India at the end. On what political or espionage theory one can justify the creation of a monster, if the selfsame monsterƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ultimate goal is to victimize the very creator of it? Did India know that Tamil separatism was cultivating in the western lab at that time and it was looming to unleash its ugly head in the region in immediate future? After all, Tamil separatism was not new in any form of it what so ever to Indian establishment, since the ideology was there in the south for a long time since even before the Indian independence.

This entire drama was taken place during the high time of cold war era. Ronald Regan was the president in the United States, and Margaret Thatcher was the then prime minister of UK. This was the era that global capitalism was under severe restrain and took a twist into restructuring its global apparatus in the entire world into the current version of globalized market economy, in which Trans National Corporations (TNCs) had intensified its agenda of dividing nations in the global south under Thatcherism and Reganism. Previously subtly operated separatist projects, in the form of development programs, intellectual interactions in various forms and research centers in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in the region began to operate with newly acquired vigor with a sudden influx of abundant resources and cash. India was the prime target of these TNC projects worked under the pretext of humanitarian operations and NGOs in the South Asian region. If Indian intelligence agencies were unaware of this, then we must accept the fact that RAW is inefficient even to undertake a mere task like capturing a chicken thief in village level. The assassination of Rajeev Gandhi by their own child LTTE was symbolized their monumental strategic failure in the region. This was an unpardonable failure in their part, and we do not want to buy their childish reasoning of it.

Now million dollar question is, if India was the target of the western TNC agenda, how come India selected the regional military tool of their rival TNC ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Tamil militancyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, to counter the threat from the west? This question becomes even more valid because this separatist tool was envisioned prior to the independence and designed thereafter to divide India at the end. Is this the only strategy that RAW can envision to overcome the threat from the west? RAW had advised India to sit on the sward of its very enemy as its grand strategy of defeating the enemy. One can expect this kind of super strategies only made in India, in limited editions and in custom made. Shame on their policy planers.

IsnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t this the most hilarious political comic of the millennium? IsnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t this even lower than Mr. BeanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s political strategies? In such backdrop can any one prove that India is not in the hands of a bunch of colonized stupids of the subcontinent? WeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ve got only a handful of Ranils, but they have millions of them. This joke only seconds to that of RanilƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s safety-net theory, in which Ranil childishly thought to employ a historically well-known thief to safeguard our national sovereignty from the very same thief who was menacing it. In that scenario, the case was not about Ranil, because as we do not expect morality from JRJ, similarly we do not expect brain storming tasks from Ranil since we know that Ranil is not in that caliber. But the most revealing thing is the naked callousness of western diplomacy, the moral bankruptcy of the preacher of morality, the ethical void and insincerity of entire western political ideology. This is the accepted norm and the model of western diplomacy, in which the words like ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”decencyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ and ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”honestyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ are only found in dictionaries meant to export to third world. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Now the other aspect is, if India did not know that whole western project of ethnic politics in the subcontinent was revolving around dividing India even after going through the bloody partition in 1947, then that leaves a big question mark in their strategic maturity in the upper echelons of Indian administration. At the beginning they willingly entrapped into the British colonial administrationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s partition trap at the independence, due to their lack of confidence on masses. Thirty years after the partition, they put their whole effort to create a terrorist/military element well knowing that is detrimental to their own security. All these historical failures of Indian ruling class tell us one thing loud and clear. They are equally servile and subservient to western ideological dominance in every aspect of their politics, like our Colombians did, who took us to the political disaster in last thirty years.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Then when their strategic blunder in Sri Lankan fiasco went wrong, they sent their military to settle the issues through force exposing IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s another limitation in their over inflated superiority in military power making it as just a farce in the face of others. After their military debacle in Sri Lanka, having wasted a sufficient time to fix their failures, they still ridiculed the nation once again during the terrorist attack in Mumbai. The weakness and limitations of the Indian military was given a wide range of publicity once again in global media exposing the awful state of their armed forces during this terrorist attack. The whole world witnessed how pathetic the performance of their commandos during the hour of need.

This writer is not exaggerating or making fun out of India by advising IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s premier at this point to enlist some of our water well diggers from Sri Lanka to form a better and effective rapid deployment force for the Indian commandos; and they will perform thousand times better than the existing one in India. The reason is, because we want India to be united. If India is unable to keep her home together, Sri Lanka definitely will have problems. Therefore, I am pretty sure that president Rajapakse may be more than happy to extend his helping hand in this regard, because now table has turned other way around; unlike those days in pre Nantikadal era, now India is the security liability of Sri Lanka.

India needs an ideological shift in her regional policy and especially a drastic policy change in its secret services for sustainable peace in South Asia.

Then as I said earlier, after the failure of the controversial military fiasco in Sri Lanka, three decades later, when all evidences were there to prove that west was manipulating regional affairs undermining IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s territorial integrity, making mockery to all previously declared security concerns justifying their sponsorship of Tamil militancy in the face of western security threat, she entered to a nuclear deal with the US. The whole world except India knew that the said proposal of the US was nothing to do with nuclear power in India, but more about to deter the emerging Eurasian regional partnership in the region.

The Eurasian partnership is the only hope that can bring prosperity to the region. And India agreed to above said nuclear deal when Eurasian bloc was getting into shape with the strong leadership of Russia and China; and when all other powers in the region were getting organized to take a big leap toward a greater regional partnership. She did this despite the fact that the emergence of an Asian regional system was strengthening firstly IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s regional position as well as its global one. And even it was apparently well poised to reduce her vulnerabilities to external threats as well. Indian policy planning and strategies must be based on some formula best known only to them, and for us, it is more close to the recipe of Sambaru. (Indian curry) The characteristic of Sambaru is that it is of everything, but stands for nothing. This Sambaru legacy of foreign policy in the past three decades proves that India is resting in wrong hands. For IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s benefit and the benefit of whole South Asia, Indian natives must reconsider about their leadership ASAP.

India must give due respect to Sri Lanka

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ (Native American proverb, Dakota tribe)

Right now, at this very moment, the problem of the Indian foreign policy planers is their unwillingness to acknowledge that Sri Lanka, for her being destined to deter western agenda in the region for her own survival, holds a vital role in the entire regional security agenda. But from the point of view of the rest of the others in the region, India has become a security liability to the region. That is a fact. India has been encircled by an arc of crisis. On the other hand, India is doing nothing to address dire security issues in the region as well, but time to time intensifies the existing flames like Hanuman. India, being the most powerful nation in the region, why canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t she raise her voice against this NGO menace that has been mushrooming in and around the subcontinent during last two decades? Why canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t she bring these concerns into the agenda of SARC in order to regulate the function of these organizations collectively? Separatist agenda of the west is a regional issue that needs a collective effort in the region to overcome it. By her own initiative, Sri Lanka killed the grave digger of India, even this digger was also IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s own making. Did India appreciate it? No! Our fat bully brother is stubborn enough to look away from his own vulnerabilities while singing a Bhajan into thin air like the one below…

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Narahari chanchl hei mathi meri
Kese bhagathi karu me theriƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ (Oh lord, my mind is disturbed; I do not know how to tackle the problem. How can I worship you? You own all merits. I own all demerits. I don’t recognize your obligation. In what manner my dilemma can be resolved? O Lord Krishna you are full of pity. Victory to you my lord, in the sustenance of this world.)

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The hard fact that India doesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t seem to be willing to swallow is that Sri Lanka holds the key, not only to the regional stability or instability, but also even IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s own security; which is largely depending on Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s political destiny in the region. Holding regional security key was something we learned from the school of Prebhakaran. India respected and even worshiped Prabhakaran, for him being the most significant political military factor due to his strong hand in the regional security. India worshipped LTTE and Prebhakaran throughout his reign through back channels in regards to security matters when Prabhakaran was holding the key to it, but denies offering the same respect to the legitimate state of Sri Lanka when the key was taken back into the hands of the responsible state.

For having the key in hands, Prebhakaran became so important before the eyes of Indian administration and their secret service due to the presence of an external party, a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”fourth dimensionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ messing with the issues in the region; this fourth dimension was the west. In post Nantikadal situation, Sri Lanka becomes the most important nexus to stability in the region, not only because of the presence of the above said ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”fourth dimensionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ who had invested their interest in the strategic geographical location of Sri Lanka, but also for the reason of two major powers of the region, India and China being having entrapped into a colonially inherited rivalry (mainly due to the stubbornness of the Indian ruling class) in the region. Due to Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s strong bargaining position, she has become the key holder who can bring these two rivalries to compromise their differences by utilizing her influence. This is another historical task that president Rajapaksa has inherited in his reign of power. That is why I always solicit our policy makers to abandon this age old ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Anunta kade yanaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ passivity in our foreign policy and to transcend from it to the position of a major player in the regional power manipulation, because as far as this rivalry is existing there, there will be a strong cause for the western hand to manipulate in the regional affairs and as an outcome of it, we always will be under IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s suspicion.

We all know one thing pretty clear; that any force can attack Sri Lanka, but cannot hold it for long. That is a historical fact even valid to the date. We must be able to use our strategic card for the benefit for the entire region.

From Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s part of the commitment toward regional security, Sri Lanka has fulfilled her obligations beyond her duty parameters by removing the LTTE, the main destabilizing element in the region that was ultimately targeting India. But India still has to fulfill her part of the duty, at least by recognizing Sri Lanka as her most trustworthy partner who eliminated her primary enemy, the security threat for the unity of IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, and the regional destabilizing politico-military leverage of the west.

Stability in SL is closely related and even interlocked with the stability of India. The position of India is also not deferent, but depending on the political future of Sri Lanka. When anyone speaks of Sri Lankan security, forbidden word is ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”destabilizationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of India; it is as solid as such. We need India to be stable as much as India needs it for her. For example, in any situation of hegemony of a big power toward a small nation, instability and separatism in the big powerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s camp could be beneficial to the weak camp. For example we can see the relationships like Mexico and USA, Cuba and USA. But it is not the same in the case for Indo-Sri Lanka relationship, due to the involvement of a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Fourth DimensionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in the region, and when this fourth dimension is hell-bent on manipulating ethnic violence in the region, Sri Lanka does not enjoy such benefit. Due to this interlocking mutual security interests we do not enjoy such callous foreign policy although India enjoys it in regards to us. This must be the funniest international scenario of 21^st century global relations. How if Cuba had to safeguard USA from her foes?

Actually, however funny it may look, our irony has become safeguarding India from very Indians and outsiders. For our survival, our post JRJ foreign policy also reflects this aspect in its foundation. Having said that, it is equally essential to mention that, adhering to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”yes sir, no sir, and very well sir, type foreign relationship with India will never serve the interests of India or Sri Lanka, because Indian bureaucracy seemed to be unacceptably irrational in relation to their Sri Lankan policy and their own security. And the other concern is the substandard Indian military, it is a well known secret that Indian military is an ineffective organization who has never proved any substantial achievement in its post independent military history. The fact number one is that Sri Lanka can never rely on Indian armed forces for any event of military conflict in the region. For that reason what ever the harsh outcome will be, we will have to tell India in uncertain terms to stop her amateurish approach to Sri Lankan affairs as well as regional affairs that will harm not only her interests, but also our own ones. And we will have to ask them to get their act togetherƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ without causing us problems, and without forcing us to seek other mechanisms for our own security that might definitely go against the good relations between the two nations. To avoid such event, we may need Indian honest commitment for a greater regional partnership in every aspect including a partnership in military, something similar to that of NATO of Europe and the United States.

The Tamil card is the most effective card in the hands of western policy planners regarding their south Asian regional strategies. Although separatist struggle in Sri Lanka has been defeated for now, suppose if India fail to keep her territory together and that Tamilnadu manages to break away from the union, then we can expect the next creation of an Israel in Tamilnadu in the south of Indian subcontinent, and Sri Lanka will be their Golan-Heights and occupied territories.

Under this condition, India must reassess her Sri Lankan policy for the benefit of both countries. If India do not understand her vulnerabilities and do not recognize her true friends and foes in proper perspectives, and still If India is unable to display her willingness to work together for a greater cooperation in the region, Sri Lanka may have to look for alternatives, and may have to seek bilateral defense agreement with a third party for her security. For mainly due to the existing clashes of interests in the region, India has become a security threat for many nations in the region. Not only that, as Chomsky tells us quoting Aijas Ahmed, the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-United States sees India as the weakest link in the emerging Asian chainƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ in the region. Quoting Ahmed he further revels that, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-(US is) trying actively to divert New Delhi away from the task of creating new regional architecture by dangling the nuclear carrot and the promise of world power status in alliance with itself. If the Asian project is to succeed, he warns, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-India will have to resist these allurementsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. (Chomsky, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Failed StatesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚)

I hope our readers must be remember that the head of the sea Tiger wing Soosai once said that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the decisive battle determining the fate of Sri Lanka will be fought in the Indian Ocean.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ This statement never captured much attention it deserved, not even in strategic circles. The recovery of innumerable amount of war-like items related to ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ naval warfare by SL military reveals the type of war that LTTE was about to wage in the near future if they never being decimated by SL forces. It also reveals their Indian Ocean strategy that was no less than creating havoc in the entire region choking whole international trading activities choking economies in Asia. This has been reveled now clearly than ever before by the types of torpedoes uncovered that are capable of combating larger naval fleets than SL navy. They are capable even to attack larger war ships. Did India take notice to those findings?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

India must realize that Sri Lankan administration can never relax her security after she decided to make Sri Lanka as the maritime hub of the Indian Ocean. The reason is clear; in any event of military conflict between any powers in the region, Sri Lanka will become the target number one in the Indian Ocean. As I mentioned in the part two of this series, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-When she (Sri Lanka) took this decision of making her strategic location to a full scale naval hub in the center of the Indian Ocean, she left that traditional comfort zone of passive life, and entered to a zone in which there are no detours. It is a one-way ticket, no return,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ or in other words, it is a do or die task. Therefore, looking for a security guaranty is her priority task number one. The best solution could be becoming a part of a collective Eurasian Military partnership; because none of us can desire to have another ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Bay of PigƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in the southern tip of Sri Lanka. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

(To be continued)