President Obama had a nice interaction with almost all the India leaders. All of them talked about the sensitive internal security scenario in the country in the face of threats from terror outfits but there was no other matters of World security rather than some odd reference to China..
It is understandable that our immediate concern is about security but it would have been nice if our leaders would have looked beyond south –Asia for the reasons of terror and internal security. President Obama has accepted India as a World Power. India was a world power since 1947 and how India was in the forefront in keeping stability in the bi- polar cold - war World by creating NAM. India has also created SAARC in mutually solving the problems of south - Asia which could not work because of Pakistan’s proximity to West. Now it is the ripe time for India to play a leading role in keeping stability in the world. India can only bring stability in the modern world because of its peace loving attitude and speaking for the oppressed.
Most of the problems of terror are not only emerging from south – Asia. What is the impact of US policies in Afghanistan, Iraq, Middle – East, and Iran?
In Afghanistan, the clock ticking down on the US war - Government and security forces is clearly unable to handle matters on their own, the United States should take a new look at what India could contribute towards the stability in Afghanistan. India has been a natural alley of Afghanistan for over the past years. Once upon a time it was a part of India. Talks about Pakistan should also include Afghanistan because Pakistan always considers Afghanistan as a problem. Actually US, Pakistan and India has common problem in Afghanistan. India – Pakistan should look beyond Kashmir and work together with US to find a permanent solution to the problems in Afghanistan. There should be a dialogue between all the four partners so that the terrorist forces operating there can be frustrated forever. America and Pakistan can breathe much easier about the future of Pakistan in such an environment.
US should stop acting unilaterally in these matters which have common social interest. A democratic Asia will be more important to US interest than the continuing of war. India is contributing a lot for Afghan stability and the dream of withdrawal of troops can be possible by keeping India active in Afghanistan policy matters.
India has committed more than $1.2 billion in aid to Afghanistan since 2001, making it the sixth-largest donor to the country, and has provided funds for education, health, power, telecommunications, infrastructure, and food aid. It has constructed Afghanistan's new parliament building, built roads, and is erecting a dam in Herat. Several thousand Indians are on the ground in Afghanistan engaged in development activities, and India maintains four consulates (in Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar, and Mazar-e-Sharif) in addition to its embassy in Kabul. It is developing Iran's Chabahar port, which could provide a sea outlet for Indian trade with Afghanistan, and an air base across the border in Tajikistan. How can America ignore India’s concern in Afghanistan? Commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal wrote, "While Indian activities largely benefit the Afghan people, increasing Indian influence in Afghanistan is likely to exacerbate regional tensions and encourage Pakistani countermeasures in Afghanistan or India." So it is important for Indian leaders to show our concerns and bringing Pakistan to the development of Afghanistan. We should have made President Obama understand that a stable Afghanistan is as much important as a stable Pakistan for the regional and World peace.
India has committed more than $1.2 billion in aid to Afghanistan since 2001, making it the sixth-largest donor to the country, and has provided funds for education, health, power, telecommunications, infrastructure, and food aid. It has constructed Afghanistan's new parliament building, built roads, and is erecting a dam in Herat. Several thousand Indians are on the ground in Afghanistan engaged in development activities, and India maintains four consulates (in Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar, and Mazar-e-Sharif) in addition to its embassy in Kabul. It is developing Iran's Chabahar port, which could provide a sea outlet for Indian trade with Afghanistan, and an air base across the border in Tajikistan. How can America ignore India’s concern in Afghanistan? Commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal wrote, "While Indian activities largely benefit the Afghan people, increasing Indian influence in Afghanistan is likely to exacerbate regional tensions and encourage Pakistani countermeasures in Afghanistan or India." So it is important for Indian leaders to show our concerns and bringing Pakistan to the development of Afghanistan. We should have made President Obama understand that a stable Afghanistan is as much important as a stable Pakistan for the regional and World peace.
On Iraq, India has always opposed American policy there. The Government of India has taken the politically and morally correct stand of calling for a strict implementation of the UN Security Council resolution on the question of the search for any weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the capability for producing them still in the possession of Iraq and for destroying them and, simultaneously, opposing any unilateral action by the US and the UK against Iraq by bypassing the UN resolution. India holds that it is for the Iraqi people to decide the legitimacy and humanity or otherwise of the Saddam Hussein Government and that it is not for the US or the UN or any other external power or institution to dictate what kind of Government the Iraqi people should have. Even Americans are regretting now of their adventurism in Iraq. They should have taken the Iraqis into confident in removing the autocratic regimes. If they had heeded to India’s concern then America could have saved a lot of money and muscle power wasted there. So it is for US to decide how to involve other nations in finding a permanent solution in Iraq but from our point of view it was genuine to show our concern for the Iraqi people and the instability and the rise in terrorism due to the continuance of war in Iraq.
America cannot find a problem to contentious West – Asian problem just by involving PLO and Israel because the terrorism has made deep inroads in to the society. Once upon a time PLO was enough to find out a solution when Yasser Arafat described Indira Gandhi as his sister but US never heeded to the policies of NAM when India was an active member.Our leaders should have shown our concern for the difficulty in solving this issue.
America needs to solve its problems with Iran to have stability in the region. It is better than another war in the Middle East. India has always kept friendly relations with Iran. India has a lot of cultural, trade, strategic and military links with Iran. In spite of the problems there, India continue to maintain strong cultural and economic ties. Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, India, continues to be a major center of Shiite culture and Persian study in the Indian subcontinent. India has the largest Muslim population in the world too. India is one of the largest purchasers of Iranian crude oil, importing 350,000 barrels of oil per day. After 1979 India’s relations with Iran was very good. In the 1990s, both India and Iran extensively supported the Afghan Northern Alliance against the Taliban regime.These advantage can be used in solving the problem and bring permanent solution there. At the same time India has opposed many undemocratic policies of the Iranian government in the recent years.
India was always in the forefront in trying to bring peace and stability in the world during the time of Pandit. Nehru and and Mrs. Indira Gandhi. So it would have been fit for our leaders today to continue India’s struggle for World peace when India has so much clout as world leader in both economical and political terms. This is the only option to fight terror and it was India's policy always.
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