Republic Day Resolve 2002:
THE ‘DIPLOMATIC’ traffic between Washington and New Delhi has perhaps never been as dense as it is today. Even as Advani returned from Washington and Powell left the Indian soil, Fernandes was in Washington pleading with Rumsfeld for closer military ties. Who knows, with the sky over India and Pakistan remaining overcast with war clouds, ‘closer military ties’ could even be a euphemism for yet another consignment of commission-coated coffins for our would-be martyrs? Meanwhile, a ship loaded with World Trade Centre debris is being emptied at the Chennai port.
White House officials and the American media must be getting confused telling one visiting Indian minister from another. After all, they all chant the same mantras to worship Washington. Not so long ago, Bush did not even know the name of India’s Prime Minister. And now White House has to deal not just with Vajpayee, but Advani, Jaswant Singh and even George Fernandes. Little wonder, American correspondents have begun to address Jaswant Singh as Mr. Prime Minister!
While the Indian government remained obsessed with Powell’s second visit since September 11, the Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji has just quietly gone back after a week’s visit during which trade and travel, and mercifully not terrorism and war, remained the key agenda. Come March 28 and Beijing and New Delhi will be directly air-linked. Zhu also put forth China’s plans to raise the level of bilateral trade between China and India from $ 3 billion at present to a target of $ 10 billion.
For the last two decades China has been steadfastly following this new line of letting economics do all the talking. The Chinese voice could not be heard much either during the Gulf War a decade ago or during the current American war and its aftermath in Afghanistan. But by choosing to visit India in the midst of mounting Indo-Pak tension and growing American intervention in the region, China has in its own way sent out a message to the US.
The visits of Zhu Rongji and Colin Powell represented two alternative courses for India’s foreign policy. A policy of closer cooperation between India and China, the world’s two most populous countries, could prove to be instrumental for a heightened Asian assertion against the US-led hegemony of the West. The saffron establishment of India however considers China to be India’s biggest potential threat and the US as the greatest natural ally. But this ‘alliance’ is only a euphemism for strategic subservience or ‘glorified slavery’ which can only reduce India to the status of a pitiable appendage of the US and the Western powers.
As the country gets ready to observe yet another Republic Day, the nation must make a choice. Far from recovering India’s fabled ancient strength and glory, saffronisation has meant a body blow to our inner strength as a nation and hence also to our dignity as a nation in today’s world. Internally, saffronisation has already played enough havoc with our economy and education. The VHP goons are once again out on the streets with their vicious plans to hold the country to ransom over Ayodhya. And externally, we are fast being reduced to just another country desperate to submit itself to the writ of Washington.
This Republic Day, let us make a firm choice. Let us renew the republican spirit by making a pledge to desaffronise the society and the polity. Let the whole of India resonate with this Republic Day resolve: India Shall Be Freed from this Saffron Prison and American Shadow.