E-Paper
Subcontinent adrift
When the area in which one lives in experiences turmoil, the residents of the biggest house in the neighbourhood have two options.
When the area in which one lives in experiences turmoil, the residents of the biggest house in the neighbourhood have two options. They can barricade themselves from the outside world and pretend that the ruckus will not disrupt the quietude of the household. Or they can step out and carefully try, as a friendly, well-meaning neighbour, to calm things down. In the neighbourhood that is the subcontinent, India finds itself surrounded by countries that are going through a serious bout of instability. In the north, Nepal’s Maoists have extended their ceasefire by another three months to “create the necessary atmosphere for the successful conclusion of the ongoing peace talks”. This is welcome news, but it also underlines the fragile nature of the peace that descended in Nepal after King Gyanendra’s announcement of giving up autocratic power in April. The Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and the Maoists will now decide the nature of the constituent assembly and what will be done about the armed wing of the Maoists. In other words, they will decide about the future of Nepal.
On the eastern flank, Bangladesh is facing a crisis. With the country’s president installed as the head of the caretaker government until elections are held early next year, India’s eastern neighbour has entered a dangerous vacuum. The opposition party, after scaring the earlier candidate from taking over the job, is still far from pacified about the transition. Violence has followed and the law and order situation could well spiral out of control. And if that were not enough to make the subcontinent a rickety place, in Sri Lanka matters seem to be returning to the ‘usual’ conflict-ridden state with talks between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government in Geneva breaking down. The level of mistrust between the two parties being what it is, it is hardly surprising that the revival of ceasefire looks very distant indeed. It is difficult to talk about peace even in faraway Geneva when the two parties exchange artillery fire in northern Jaffna.
With all these fires raging or ready to rage, India can hardly afford to not look out of its windows. At a time when our borders with these countries hardly insulate us from harm, New Delhi has to step out and calm things down rather than wait for things to calm down by themselves. The past has, on occasion, made us phobic about engaging in our neighbours’ problems. But India must realise that these problems can seep into our borders — as they have — to become our problems. So the opposite of burning fingers must not be seen as fiddling while the fires roar. And one hasn’t even mentioned Pakistan.
