Recently Sadanand Dhume waxed eloquent about “India’s glaring confidence deficit”. The views have also been uploaded on the website of an American think-tank called American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where Dhume is a Resident Fellow.
The title sets out the basic message of the article. But are its views accurate? Perhaps the author may need to consider some facts
The governments of Cuba and Venezuela, for example, have termed Dhume’s adopted country, the United States of America, to be their enemy. The way Americans responded has caused serious harm to the people of these two countries. If Sadanand Dhume had spent some time to evaluate the measures, he would have appreciated what the government of the country of his birth has done. Dhume can also observe how USA has forced other governments to at least partially toe its line with respect to these two countries.
In contrast, India continues to grant Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan, even as the latter has not reciprocated. It has diplomatic status with Pakistan, and two prime ministers belonging to what are sometimes called right-wing fundamentalist have gone out of their way to try and be nice. Every time the extra step was taken, India faced another terrorist attack emanating from the soil of Pakistan. Dhume may, of course, want to believe that these are non-state actors.
India does not prevent foreign companies operating in India from doing business with Pakistan. Nor does it prevent Indian passport holders working for such foreign companies from travelling to Pakistan. It is another matter that these Indian citizens often have difficulty of getting a visa to Pakistan.
The list can go on and on. And the information is not a state secret of either India or Pakistan.
In specific terms, Dhume wants India to “aspire to be the stage on which the brightest talent from across the subcontinent shines”. Apart from terrorists, who exactly are these brightest talents in Pakistan? Dhume can think of cricket players, film actors, and musicians. He gives example of his adopted country giving opportunity to talent from Canada, and of Australia to New Zealand. Only, the government of Canada (New Zealand) does not say that the government of USA (Australia) is its enemy.
Even then, the people of India would not mind the non-terrorist talent from Pakistan coming to India. All that the people want them to do is to publicly acknowledge how their government is making life difficult for people of India. A condemnation of terrorism that emanates from Pakistan soil would be a good start. When they do not do it, is it any wonder that people in India would not wish to give them hospitality?
Perhaps Sadanand Dhume knows what the USA has done to use the government of Pakistan to make life difficult for the people of India. For a starter, I would like to suggest that he reads the book, “Blood Telegram”, which narrates how the then American Consul General in Dhaka, Archer Blood, gave detailed information to his own government in Washington about the grave atrocities that the Pakistani army was committing against the Bengali people, particularly the Hindus. Dhume will get to know that his adopted government chose to ignore them, and let the killings, the rapes, etc., continue.
This strategy of using Pakistan as a proxy for their foreign policy when it comes to India has continued since. Thus, America gives advanced weaponry to Pakistan contending that they will be used to counter the terrorists from across the border with Afghanistan. In actual fact, the Pakistani government has used them to terrorise the people of Baluchistan, and use them as a threat to conduct war against India.
Dhume should also get to know what is being taught in the Pakistani textbooks about the people of India, particularly the Hindus. Dhume should also consult historians who have studied how invaders have used the strategy of brainwashing the young to make them hate their ancestors and their civilisation, to rule the conquered country more easily.
Dhume is right about the benefits of a relatively stable and prosperous Pakistan. He, however, exaggerates the benefits for India. Till about 1980, the growth rate in India was around 3%, not because of any belligerent policy against the people of Pakistan. It was entirely due to mismanagement of India’s economy, the main culprit being those who are called the Lutyen’s Elite. When circumstances forced these policies to be changed, the people of India grabbed the limited opportunity and worked to improving their own economic and social position.
A cursory look at the intensity of the covert war that successive Pakistani governments have inflicted on India would show that the intensity prior to 1980 was quite low. Yes, there were the wars inflicted on India by Pakistan in 1965 and 1971—but they were one-time events, and not the continuous actions from Pakistan since 1980. And there were not the terrible acts of terrorism, like the ones in Mumbai in 2006 and 2008, where the specific targets were the people of India.
But the biggest beneficiary will be Dhume’s own adopted country, since sensible governance in Pakistan can only happen when the government takes action to stop nurturing the terrorist organisations that train criminals who indulge in acts of violence in different parts of the world. Like in India of post-1980, the opportunities provided to the people of Pakistan by steps towards sensible governance will be gratefully grabbed and the society will improve not just in terms of economics, but also social. The Ahmediyas will no longer be considered to be non-Muslims and hence deserving to be persecuted, and Hindu girls will not be kidnapped for conversion into Islam and then forcibly married.
Dhume’s civilisational ancestors have a unique record of giving succour to the Jews and the Zoroastrians who had to flee their homelands due to religious persecution. The same ancestors also gave succour to the Syrian Christians who had fled their homeland due to persecution by other Christian sects. In all the cases, not only were the arrivals able to maintain their own monotheistic traditions, but also prosper in other aspects of life. And many of them gave back to the society in terms of philanthropy to express their gratitude to their gracious hosts.
The people of India do not wish to quarrel with the people of the neighbouring countries. What the people of India would like the neighbouring people to do is to raise their voices whenever their governments act in a way that hurts the former. And get them to change such wayward behaviour. As Bhayyaji Joshi, the Sarkaryavah of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and the number two in the hierarchy, once remarked, India does not seek to be a superpower which wants to dominate others, but wants to be a responsible and accountable power. By its size, India is a big brother—but one who is benevolent and will perform the duties that is expected of such a person.
I hope Dhume does not consider me to be impertinent if I suggest to him that he use the opportunity that AEI has provided him to study the true principles of living in harmony where genuine respect is shown amongst the nation-members of the world. The Hindu philosophy is not just tolerance of differences but also acceptance and work towards the differences not creating conflict.
[Ashok Chowgule is the Working President (External) of Vishwa Hindu Parishad.]