WE NEED TO BE UNITED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST FASCISM AND REPRESSION
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January 18, 2002
On The Brink
India and Pakistan inch closer to war over Kashmir.
NEW DELHI—As Secretary of State Colin Powell embarks on his second visit
to South Asia since September 11, India and Pakistan continue to stand eyeball
to eyeball for the second month, with three-quarters of a million troops mobilized
at the border between the two nuclear rivals. India’s largest-ever military build-up was launched in response to an
attack on December 13 on its Parliament by five men, who New Delhi claims were
Pakistan-based “terrorists” connected with two groups, Lashkar-e-Toiba
and Jaish-e-Mohammed. The attack, in which 14 people were killed, was condemned
by governments the world over, including Pakistan. Like the United States did with September 11, India hyperbolically dubbed the
December 13 attack an “act of war” and an “assault” on democracy.
And like the United States, it too refuses to make any distinction between terrorists
and their supporters and harborers. It demands that Pakistan surrender those
whom it has named—a list of 20 “terrorists” it claims are responsible
for activities similar to the December 13 attack—or else. The United States leaned toward India in this confrontation, and in the last
week of December placed two groups, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Umma Tameer-i-Nau, on
the “foreign terrorist organizations” list. Bush has repeatedly demanded
that Pakistan crack down on “terrorist” groups active against India,
while British Prime Minister Tony Blair, during a visit in early January, conveyed
the same message in tough words to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. The
Indian government feels greatly encouraged by the early U.S. statement that
it has the right “to act in self-defense” following December 13 and
has imposed harsh diplomatic sanctions on Pakistan. Musharraf, for his part, has cracked down on a number of extremist jehadi organizations,
freezing bank accounts, sealing offices, and arresting more than 1,600 jehadi
militants. In a landmark speech on January 12, he announced a major “anti-terrorist”
policy change and held out substantial concessions to India. New Delhi, however,
has refused to de-escalate its military build-up. It wants Islamabad to blink
first by surrendering the 20 “terrorists.” Powell thus finds himself
in the middle, trying to calm extremely frayed nerves in the troubled subcontinent.
Yet ironically, India is in some ways only imitating the United States and that
other very American example, Israel, in its fight against “terrorism.” For the past month, India has played a game of brinkmanship, steadily ratcheting
up military pressure and coercive diplomatic measures against Pakistan. The
pressure has largely been exercised through the United States—by frightening
Bush with the prospect of a South Asian nuclear confrontation, India implored
him to tell Pakistan to take “effective” action against terrorists.
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajapyee’s government persists in the dangerous
game of nuclear poker, even though its adversary has announced dramatic, far-reaching
changes in its policy on terrorism and violence. In his January 12 speech, Musharraf
inaugurated a radical break with Pakistan’s two-decades-old policy of Islamization
by announcing a plan to sever the links between political Islam and the state,
between the military and the mullahs, and between Kashmir and terrorist violence.
This is perhaps the boldest attempt since Kemal Atatürk’s campaign
in post-Ottoman Turkey to secularize and modernize a Muslim-majority society.
True, Musharraf emphasized the importance of resolving the Kashmir dispute—a
sore point with India—and ruled out extraditing Pakistani nationals involved
in “terrorism” (who will be dealt with domestically). But he said
he would consider an extradition request in regard to non-nationals found in
Kashmir. He also offered a dialogue on Kashmir. India is skeptical of Musharraf’s concessions only partly because of past
experience. Pakistan has all along claimed it has no military relationship with
the militants active in Kashmir, when in reality it has trained and armed them.
(It did the same with the Taliban in Afghanistan.) But there are two other, weightier reasons for India’s cold reception
to Musharraf’s speech. The first is India’s resentment at its exclusion
from the inner circle of the post-September 11 “anti-terrorist” coalition
put together by Washington, to which Pakistan has been central. India today
vies with Pakistan to become America’s “strategic partner” and
“most-allied ally” in South Asia. The second reason is domestic—related to the trademark politics of Vajpayee’s
right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party. For the BJP, the “anti-terrorism”
slogan conveniently diverts attention from its political failures and human
rights abuses in Kashmir. It has also become a way to garner Hindu-nationalist
votes. These votes could be crucial to the BJP’s electoral gamble in Uttar
Pradesh, India’s largest state, where it faces a make-or-break contest
next month. If the BJP loses Uttar Pradesh, its national coalition could be
in jeopardy. India and Pakistan stand at a crossroads. Vajpayee must choose between short-term,
uncertain domestic gains or abiding peace and reconciliation with Pakistan.
The first means continued vassal-like dependence on Washington, which is now
building military bases in Pakistan. The second could open up rich new possibilities
for a peaceful South Asia, which could return to long-neglected social agendas
like fighting poverty and illiteracy. The United States too must decide if it will set a negative, militaristic example
for South Asia and exploit the India-Pakistan rivalry or, alternatively, play
a modest, useful role by counseling restraint and de-escalation and encouraging
a dialogue on Kashmir. |
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WE NEED TO BE UNITED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST FASCISM AND REPRESSION
In These Times is committed to remaining fiercely independent, but we need your help. Donate now to make sure we can continue providing the original reporting, deep investigation, and strategic analysis needed in this moment. We're proud to be in this together.
