{"id":41424,"date":"2015-02-11T21:40:59","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T03:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=41424"},"modified":"2015-02-11T01:24:01","modified_gmt":"2015-02-11T08:24:01","slug":"has-us-national-interest-collaborated-with-indian-chanayaks-arthashastra-on-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2015\/02\/11\/has-us-national-interest-collaborated-with-indian-chanayaks-arthashastra-on-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"Has US national interest collaborated with Indian Chanayak\u2019s Arthashastra on Sri Lanka?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shenali D Waduge<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0Democratic regime change took place on 8th<\/sup> January 2015 upstaging within just 5 years the leader that ended 30 years of terrorism and became the only leader to do so and Sri Lanka the only nation that succeeded to militarily defeat the world\u2019s most ruthless terrorist organization. That US and India and other powerful nations and players had been working underground to bring \u2018CHANGE\u2019 need not be repeated. The finesse with which the CHANGE took place necessitates to wonder how US succeeded in drawing India to its fold. This next makes us to wonder if US tapped into India\u2019s long time quest to annex Sri Lanka to India with the US long term plan not minding such as an interim measure with the long term plan to eventually balkanize India on track to end-station China. It is a pity India wishes to function as the step-daughter of Asia instead of aligning with Asian nations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0So what prompts India to wish to annex Sri Lanka?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The Arthashastra was composed 2300 years ago. India\u2019s veneration for Chanayaka aka \u2018Kautilya\u2019(Vishnugupta) is seen by the manner its diplomatic enclave is named \u2018Chanaykapuri\u2019 and Indian diplomacy is based on the Arthashastra the \u2018Science of Material Gain\u2019 (handbook on how to run an Empire).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Kautilya was an Indian prime minister from the 4th century BCE (317-293 BC), to the Emperor Chandragupta the 1st<\/sup> rule of the Maurya Empire. \u00a0Chandragupta defeated the Nanda Kings, stopped the advance of Alexander the Great’s successors, and was the first ruler to unite the Indian subcontinent. His famous grandson Ashoka (268-232 BC) was able to consolidate the empire further and Sri Lanka came to be blessed with state patronage for Buddhism.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Indian diplomacy based on this ancient concept is one of \u2018hegemony\u2019 or one of conquest (vijigishu). India strives to be the Napoleon of South Asia.\u00a0 Chanakya\u2019s Mandal Theory is well set into Indian foreign policy. \u2018Your neighbour is your natural enemy\u2019 makes Sri Lanka automatically enter a list that has been engraved into Indian government psyche.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0It is unfortunate that Sri Lanka\u2019s Foreign Policy has not been adjusted to take cognisance of the fact that in India\u2019s eyes Sri Lanka remains its \u2018natural enemy\u2019 whatever Government comes into power \u2013 this key fact does not change.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Just as Kautilya used his cunning to create a civil war in Patiliputra, India followed Arthashastra to the word when Indira Gandhi chose to train unemployed Tamil youth clandestinely in India in the 1970s to start a guerrilla warfare against India\u2019s southern neighbour, Sri Lanka. This was how terrorism in Sri Lanka originated \u2013 from India.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The use of weapon as a diplomacy was again used in 1987 to sign the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord giving Sri Lanka little choice and even violating Sri Lanka\u2019s territory.\u00a0 What is important about Indian conquest as per teachings of Kautilya is for India to conquest only lands within South Asia. Unlike other superpowers it is unlikely that India will ever consider invading a foreign country other than those belonging to South Asia. It is thus important that Sri Lanka keeps in mind the manner India has annexed territories and states inclusive of Sikkim and Bangladesh and realize the portent dangers of using the Tamil question to do the same of Sri Lanka. A factor that US and India seem to presently share common grounds on. If India can become closer to US at the cost of India why would India throw this opportunity?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The next Mandal theory professes \u2018neighbor of your neighbour is your natural friend\u2019. So all of India\u2019s neighbors become its enemies and the neighbors enemies become India\u2019s friend. Indian foreign policy keeping Chanakya\u2019s Arthashastra as its holy grail necessitates Sri Lanka to realize that for India nothing matters except strategy and what is beneficial to India\u2019s national interest. India is trying to digress somewhat by diplomatically forging better ties but it is important for Sri Lanka\u2019s leaders to be aware that no Indian Government will sway from the holy grail unlike in Sri Lanka\u2019s case where we seem to follow a policy of appeasement.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The question is does Sri Lanka take pride in its national history, desire to maintain its national heritage and wish to devise ways to push Sri Lanka\u2019s national interest strategy instead of becoming slaves to other nations\u2019 national interest?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0With the new President off to India it is imperative that Sri Lanka has its own NATIONAL STRATEGY its own NATIONAL INTEREST and its own POLICIES without enabling and facilitating that of other nations on their behalf.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Sri Lanka will be heading for doomsday if we continue to ignore protecting Sri Lanka\u2019s national interests and creating ways to foster and develop those national interest within the diplomatic apparatus available.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0US would have studied how India\u2019s governing establishment follow Kautilya to the letter and would have undoubtedly tapped into areas where Indo-US have commonalities \u2018A ruler with contiguous territory is a rival, the ruler next to the adjoining is to be deemed a friend\u2019. This does explain India\u2019s consistent hostility towards China and the bouquets of encouragement US will shower to continue that hostility. Encouraged also will be ties with all of China\u2019s neighbors with the intent of annoying China.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0When Chanakya propagates the need to expand territory to show the prosperity of the State, it automatically should worry Sri Lanka given the demands made to implement the 13th<\/sup> amendment with land and police powers. The interim-government professes to give land and police powers thus endangering Sri Lanka\u2019s national security.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0That Sri Lanka is referred to as the \u2018tear drop of the Indian Ocean\u2019 highlights that acquiring Sri Lanka has been a headache. Sri Lanka bore the brunt of many invasions, plunder, destruction but at no time did India manage to seize Sri Lanka despite its size. Nonetheless, US can be happy to allow India to annex Sri Lanka using the 13th<\/sup> amendment making it all the easier for the US to utilize the new \u2018friendship\u2019 to advance its geopolitical and national interest.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Once upon a time India produced men like Gandhi and Subhash Bose; today the patriotism shown by Indians have become just slogans to win votes. India will witness a USSR type split and end up in disarray like the former Yugoslavia as India happily pivots to the West thinking it has been accepted by the developed world. With the Asian continent well aware of the world supremacy of China and Russia emerging, India is playing the black sheep which is why India is regarded as the enemy of Asia because of the policy decisions it is taking.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Sri Lankans while not forgetting the role India played does not wish to see India divided into bits and pieces it is a pity that India cannot realize this itself and becoming a lackey of the West.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0In all probability India remains unable like most former colonies to shrug off the servitude mentality towards former colonials. We must realize that whatever America\u2019s national interest this part of the world remains under British \u2018rule\u2019 still and America\u2019s agendas are required to seek approval of the British establishment first.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Nonetheless, where Indo-Lanka ties are concerned it is most likely that US will allow a compromised set up of India exerting greater influence over the North perhaps even agreeing to run a separate North under Indian protectorate status with the eventual US\/Western plan of breaking up India sooner than later towards their final destination China.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0As for Sri Lankans we are living in dangerous time when our leaders seem to have deserted the nation and the people for their own personal agendas \u2013 another betrayal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Whether India is balkanized or not is not as important as how far our leaders are willing to compromise Sri Lanka and this is what the nation and its people need to now be concerned about.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shenali D Waduge \u00a0Democratic regime change took place on 8th January 2015 upstaging within just 5 years the leader that ended 30 years of terrorism and became the only leader to do so and Sri Lanka the only nation that succeeded to militarily defeat the world\u2019s most ruthless terrorist organization. That US and India and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shenali-waduge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41424\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}