Foreign policy making in ‘New Delhi’ has often been accused of being rooted in mere ad hocism, and bereft of any clear strategic thinking. Lack of political cohesion and will, bureaucratic inertia and institutional problems have often been held responsible for this. Even as it is possible to identify and define some strands of strategic thinking running through post-independent India’s foreign policy formation, they are more of an exception than a pattern. India’s policies towards Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and Afghanistan (strategy towards northwest) have often been ill-conceived, ill-timed and ill-managed. Can India make good its past mistakes and tread a new path of foreign policy formation towards its northwest? Does its leadership have the statesmanship and willingness to tread this path less traveled? It is crystal clear to even the most cursory observer of the North Western region of India that it is at a historic juncture and is undergoing unprecedented geopolitical transformations. The region could go either way: it could either become the epicenter of peace or that of conflict. In other words, a historic moment in making peace in the region has presented itself before us: if we miss it this time, we miss peace in the region for long years to come. The good news, however, is that there seems to be elements of a new grand strategy formation in India towards the region which of course needs a lot more refinement, political will, articulation, consistency and wisdom. What should the major pillars of this nascent grand strategy formation in India towards the northwestern region? Such a strategy should, ideally, comprise the following four pillars. Economic interdependence should be the primary pillar of this strategy. Even as I am no die-hard believer in the neo-liberal peace thesis, the theory has some significance for the new politics of the region. Trade to avoid wars, and let your enemies have stakes in your existence so that economic interdependence leads to security spillovers. Between the two sides of J&K, India and Pakistan and Afghanistan, regional trade linkages and stakes should be promoted and built. The bold and unprecedented move by the J&K Bank to propose to open branches in Pakistan should be considered to be just a forerunner to a long list of things to follow. Secondly, it is important that India takes the initiative to build on the already existing regional efforts at connectivity and linkages such as reinventing the Silk Route to revive the ancient trade links and access to the Central Asian region, actively promote the proposed Asian Highway network, pursue access to Afghanistan and to Central Asia through Pakistan apart from being steadfast in the efforts to promote more linkages between India and Pakistan. This also brings up the concept of ‘cultural and religious’ Confidence Building Measures (CBMs). CBMs in the South Asian context have almost always been ‘non-Asian’ in its essence and approach. One of the reasons why many standard and archetypical confidence building initiatives by the governments and other non-governmental organisations in the region have not produced the desired results so far is because such initiatives, as a rule, are conceptualized, designed and implemented in a ‘non-South Asian’ manner, that is, without taking into the regional realities of South Asia into consideration. CBMs shouldn’t merely consist of hotlines, flag meetings, and early warnings but should reflect the religious and cultural ethos and realities of the region be it Punjabiyat, Kashmiriyat, Islam or Hinduism. Thirdly, India should ‘assist’ (however like a ‘regional big brother’ it may sound) Pakistan catch up with democracy and help it realize the vision of its founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah to create a modern, tolerant and democratic Pakistan. Pakistan today is finding itself at the receiving end of a flawed grand strategy, and is in a desperate need to resurrect itself from this situation of near total collapse. Any effort by India to make use of this situation by pushing Pakistan further into chaos will do no good for regional security and for future India-Pakistan relations. On the contrary, if Indian policy makers can have the sensibility and statesmanship to stand by Pakistan its search for democracy and peace like a good neighbour, the strategic dividends of such an approach would be far reaching. Policy makers in New Delhi should not miss the woods for the trees. Finally, all the policy initiatives pointed put above depend upon a key regional grand strategic approach that India needs to adopt: strategic altruism. India should be willing to show a high level of ‘enlightened and self-interested strategic altruism’ in its dealings with its neighbors. But why India of all the countries in the region? Has India not been a target of hatred and violence for such a long time? So why bother when other countries are in trouble? First of all, whether or not India intends to be the regional hegemon, India is the preponderant power in the region by default and that has traditionally instilled fear, suspicion and even hatred in the minds of its neighbors. India should make use of this opportunity to dispel such fears and demonstrate to its neighbors that it is a well-meaning country. More importantly, it is in India’s interest to invest in peace in the region. India’s internal stability, rise to great power status and economic growth depend a great deal in stable peace in the region.
(Source: Greater Kashmir, March 5, 2008. URL: http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=5_3_2008&ItemID=8&cat=11 )
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