Kabuliwala: Reflections on India-Afghanistan

Recently the US President, Joe Biden, announced the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan by 9/11, typically reminding the day when the attack on the World Trade Center in New York happened two decades ago. The president visited Arlington crematory and pointed to the stone marks around and lamented that so many lives were lost in the past. The major goal of the US – the end of Osama bin Laden and decimation of Al Qaeda – is now realized, the US has no reason to sacrifice the lives of more Americans, the administration reasoned. The announcement expectedly received mixed reactions. While the democrats in the US and many of the US allies support it, some of the republican leaders at home are skeptical that the withdrawal would help the US goal of peace and stability in Afghanistan. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, was in Kabul recently to engage the Afghan leaders for the withdrawal process and for assuring them of the US support after the withdrawal.

The announcement has sent jitters across the region. Fear of the rise of Taliban, and its support to forces like Al Qaeda and Islamic State, and Islamic extremist groups from all over the world including from Pakistan, has gained ground. Pakistan has a major influence in Afghan politics, due to its geographic proximity, religious and ethnic affinity, and it is known to use these forces as strategic tools against India. The withdrawal of the Soviet forces led to rise of terrorism in Kashmir as Pakistan mobilized these forces to destabilize India, and those memories are still fresh in the mind of the Indian leaders and strategic thinkers. General Rawat’s concern that the withdrawal will give a boost to the ‘disruptors’ makes sense in this context.

But the India of 21st century is not the India of the 20th century. India must play its cards astutely. India’s Foreign Minister, S. Jaishankar, said at the ‘Heart of Asia’ Conference in Tajikistan recently, probably anticipating the withdrawal, that “India has been supportive of all the efforts being made to accelerate the dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban, including intra-Afghan negotiations.” During the visit of Afghan foreign minister to New Delhi last month, India’s foreign ministry emphasized “on peaceful, sovereign, stable and inclusive Afghanistan”, which could be realized through “democratic constitutional framework.” India needs to use its rising economic and military clout in the region, and its soft power to gain a leverage in Afghanistan. And this can be possible through astute diplomacy and engaging India’s neighbors Pakistan and Afghanistan and ally Russia. India has contributed to Afghanistan’s development, and it can play a creative role to adjust to the new reality.

It is not that India will not face challenges while initiating peace measures in Afghanistan. Pakistan will play all its cards including Kashmir and Islam to undermine India’s initiatives. It has been established many times in the past how Pakistan inspired terrorist groups target Indian facilities in Afghanistan. China will try to ensure that it fills the vacuum left by the US, and as a major economic and military power, it will try its best to keep democratic India out of the equation. Pakistan, inspired by political Islam, and authoritarian China will not feel comfortable to welcome democratic India’s aspirations in Afghanistan.

But that is not and should not be the end of the tunnel. India’s foreign policy establishment needs to navigate through this complex scenario and explore all possible diplomatic options to engage both China and Pakistan to have its due place in Afghan peace process. Besides engaging these states, India also needs to engage Taliban. As a pragmatic policy, it needs to engage Taliban leaders and motivate them for a peaceful solution of the conflict. Contrary to some beliefs, Taliban would likely be more amenable to India’s soft power attractions. In contrast to Pakistan hard core anti-India policy, it is possible that Taliban, a majorly Pashtun community group, will be interested to develop closer relations with India. Such a scenario will not be easy as Pakistan will play all tricks to keep the Taliban away from India, but India needs to use its hard and soft diplomacy to win Afghan Taliban to its side.

The cultural relations between India and Afghanistan are deep. Unlike Pakistan, Afghanistan as a state has no history of hostility and rivalry with India. Kautilya’s Mandala theory would aptly describe Afghanistan as a natural ally of India. Tagore’s story of Kabuliwala, in which Abdul Rehman Khan from Afghanistan sees his daughter in Mini in Calcutta is not just a creation of the Nobel Laureate’s mind, but a true reflection of deep sociocultural and historical ties between the two countries. Besides reviving these ties, India must capitalize the withdrawal of the US forces to increase its presence in Afghanistan. In this, the US and Russia can support India’s aspiration, and India, with Pakistan and China, can be part of a multilateral and multinational process for peace and stability in the region. The withdrawal is portrayed as a challenge for India, but it can be an opportunity.

This article of mine was published in TOI blogs:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/periscope/kabuliwala-reflections-on-india-afghanistan/  

Year Anew 2011

We welcome a new year. The year 2011, like the year 2010, will come to us, and will have 12 months with same names. It is true that the events will not be same as in the year 2010, but it is true that the events in 2011 will have their links, antecedents or causes or something there will be with the events in 2010. I do not say that the events in 2011 will be all related to the events of 2010, and there will not be new developments or ‘virgin’ moments, but there will also be developments which will be linked to the year 2011, then to 2012, and so on.

In fact the developments in their multiple dimensions take place in every plane of human life both collective and individual. In collective human lives – in the form of family, or villages, or clans, or nations or such larger agglomerations the developments will take place. And these developments as the developments in the relations among the common human entities will be either for good or for bad. It is certain that relations will not be static. In fact the relations, and particularly the human relations abhor any kind of statist tendencies, and so also among the relations between the nation states, or intra-state, or among regional organisations.

On a different scale the Idea will move further towards East, or as in the Hegelian dictum, the march of God on earth will move from west to east. But this movement is so perplexing, it is very difficult to confront it in very physical shape, and it will take many more years – that the West and East will be equals in all senses. When I say equals, I do not mean physical or quantitative equality, the nations are different, the cultures are different, and they will remain different. But it should be, rather it must be a relation in harmony, relation of harmony, not a relation of subordination and superimposition or subservience, or something like that.

Something similar will be happening or is rather happening in the individual plane. In this age of technology, when everybody can claim to the domain of knowledge and known, and in this era of connectivity and globalisation, the individual is at once a decider of destiny and a slave of his fate. The individual with superior knowledge and idea can also be a master of his fate. It all depends, or will depend, the kind of consciousness, knowledge and wisdom he or she has. Every individual obviously will react differently to different situations. Similarly the consciousness of the individual will determine his or her actions. A fundamentalist terrorist brainwashed by dogmas of a religion cares for nothing because he or she has no consciousness or has imposed consciousness which guides him or her for devious goals. Obviously it is a complicated question that why a terrorist becomes a terrorist? Or rather who is a terrorist – individual or any group who kills the innocent by means of gun or who swindles billions and makes millions deprived and dead?

The victims suffer many ways. They suffer everywhere, at every turn, without any recourse. Putting in a different way, the Kautilyan saying ‘big fish eats small fish,’ or might is right is the principle that guides most of the actions of the most of the people and most of the actions of national as well as international entities. But the common concern is that – when an individual in isolation is motivated to harm, it can be controlled, but when a man is motivated by opium of religion, or culture, or whatever having direct bearing with mass human life – that becomes dangerous.

Turning to a different principle, I remember what Sri Aurobindo says, that human life is bound to evolve towards better, if not today, then tomorrow, if not tomorrow then day after. The descent of superconscious and ascent of human being to higher conscious are inevitable, as the evolution of man from primate was inevitable. But one may ask, whether this is pure mysticism, or is there any truth? It is a matter not to be argued, not to be seen from a rational angle, because it is something what Kant says beyond the rational. It is not irrational, but suprarational. It does not negate rationality, but transcends it while according it its due place. It is something to be realised not rationalised. If it is so, then it is possible that human beings can aspire to have a higher consciousness, which can provide strength and wisdom to work harder and wiser so that the killing of the innocent and maiming of the humanity by unnecessary wastage of resources in arms, nuclear weapons, and devious agendas. This is an important and interesting question, which needs to be pondered in the eve of the New Year.

Simply put, can we be good human beings by moderating our lower passions and related actions motivated by greed, anger, hatred, lust, craving for power and many such, and think of the other in a wider framework what in Sanskrit called ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,’ the whole world is one family. If we can think and act that way as individuals and impact our families and neighbours, and the larger communities that will indeed be a great step towards a better society undoubtedly. Or can we pledge – we will not harm others in thought or deed. If controlling thought process is difficult, then at least in deed. By doing so, we can contribute positively towards a better society in 2011.