Volume 1, No. 6, August 2000

Never before have the Indian rulers been so servile in its foreign policy. Never before has it groveled so pathetically before imperialist geo-political designs. Giving up even its nominal role in the non-aligned movement (NAM), the Indian rulers have now tied themselves to the chariot wheels of the imperialists, specifically US imperialism. Having been granted its role of hegemon of South Asia by the US, it is willing to cringe before every US policy, in order to maintain this status. So, it is beginning to act as a chief puppeteer on the US foreign policy stage, and act as the local South Asia bully to serve US interests in the region. Therefore, supporting US policy worldwide, and being the fore-runner in suppressing people’s insurgencies in South Asia, has become the fulcrum of India’s foreign policy. So on every international platform, and every meeting with foreign countries, it has just one theme — terrorism; which happens to be an important aspect of US foreign policy.

Three recent events in the month of June 2000 indicate the extent to which the Indian rulers are prepared to go in their capitulation to imperialist foreign policy interests.

In mid-June Advani led an unbelievably high team, on a 12-day tour of Israel, France and Britain. Accompanying him were: Union Home Secretary, Kamal Pande; Joint Secretary (Security) in the Home Ministry, Vinay Kumar; the Director General of the BSF, E.N. Rammohan; CBI director, R.K. Raghavan; IB Director, Shyamlal Dutta; the RAW chief and a host of other top officials. Never before has such a high profile team accompanied a home minister on a foreign tour. Never before has the liaison between intelligence chiefs of the West and those of India been so all-encompassing. The main aspect of this foreign tour was to pick up counter-insurgency techniques and equipment, in order to more effectively crush people’s movements, not only in India, but throughout South Asia. After all, Indian ‘experts’ are already advising the Sri Lankan government on how to crush the LTTE and training the Nepalese forces on how to crush the Maoists.

Advani and his gang, held high level meetings with Mossad and Shabak in Israel; with Interpol in France; and with Scotland Yard and MI5 in Britain. Mossad and Shabak experts appraised the Indian team of their expertise in agent recruitment, operation, tailing, eavesdropping and information processing. It held discussions with them on Israeli expertise in low-intensity conflict, urban warfare, and commando operations for release of hostages. Vast amounts of sophisticated counter-insurgency equipment has also been ordered from Israel, including the very expensive RPVs, capable of operating above 15,000 ft., from where they can direct artillery fire and relay the enemy’s ground position back to its control station, through a sophisticated set of cameras and sensors. Besides, arrangements have also been made for high-level counter-insurgency training by both Mossad and Scotland Yard.

In addition, Advani held a secret meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and also met a host of senior Israeli defence officials and security chiefs. Advani, infact, went so far as to state on Israeli radio, that he was for cooperation with Israel in ALL areas, including "nuclear programmes."

This visit was followed by yet another high profile visit to Israel in mid-July, by India’s Foreign Minister, Jaswant Singh. During this visit the two countries decided to set up an Indo-Israeli Joint Commission which would steer their relationship in the economic, scientific, energy and cultural spheres. They also agreed to establish a joint forum for combating ‘terrorism’. With a common anti-islamic programme, the BJP fascists and the Israeli zionists have struck a common cord.

Though the BJP’s links with the zionists are historical what is not know is that the seeds of the existing relationship were set infact by, not only the Congress(I) but even the CPI(M) — notwithstanding all their pro-Arab rhetoric. Infact during this same period, the Congress(I) Rajya Sabha Chairperson, Najma Heptullah also visited Israel, and Jyoti Basu has also accepted an invitation.

In the 1970s and 1980s when India supposedly had no diplomatic relations with Israel, senior Congress leaders maintained secret links with Tel Aviv. In those days itself, Israel had helped in setting up elite counter-insurgency units.

And as for the CPI(M), Jyoti Basu had accepted invitations to visit Israel in 1997 and 1998, but only changed his plans at the last minute. Last year, Basu sent Somnath Chatterji, the CPI(M) member of parliament, as a last-minute replacement, along with a team of officials to Israel.

The BJP has now extended such hesitant links with the zionists, to outright collaboration, thereby antagonising the entire Arab world. In fact, at the time when Advani was grovelling before the zionists, the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conference) meeting in Kuala Lampur was endorsing the "self-determination of the Kashmiris." The OIC has passed many such resolutions in the past, but never have they been unanimous, as on this occasion. Not only that, the Malaysian foreign minister, talked about the need "to help muslim communities and minorities in non-member states (an indirect reference to India) to preserve their religions and cultural identity."

Surprisingly, India was the only country from Asia (besides South Korea) that was a co-convenor of this conference held in Poland, in the last week of June. The convenors, besides the US and the hosts, were such utter puppets as the Czech Republic, Chile and Mali. Although 100 countries attended the conference as OBSERVERS, only a handful of them had sent officials of the rank of foreign ministers. Ofcourse, Jaswant Singh was conspicuously present, acting as Madeleine Albright’s chief hatchetman, to push through US’s attempts to promote this spurious "Community of Democracies" in a bid to water down the UN. Unfortunately for them, France stunned the gathering by refusing to sign the final document issued by the convenors, saying that it "amounted to a diplomatic pledge for the democratic states to act as a group." And India was a chief promoter of this US ploy !!

In the last week of June, in a sudden announcement, the government reversed its earlier stand, and announced its de-recognition of the SADR. No reasons were given for the reversal of a decision that had existed for a decade-and-a-half.

Kow towing to the US stooge, Morocco, whose prime minister had visited India in February, India has changed its stand. That too, at a time when the referendum process to decide the future of Western Sahara, which had been annexed by Morocco 24 years ago, was very much on track. The decision has astounded the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) of which the SADR is a member.

In fact, in 1985 India, along with 62 other countries, had been one of the first countries to recognise the SADR. Though, today more than 70 countries have recognised the SADR, India has reversed its decision, at the dictates of the US, and thereby tightened its association with the Israel-Turkey-Morocco anti-Arab axis.

India’s foreign policy servility is nothing but an extension to its total capitulation to imperialist economic interests internally. The enormous speed of the BJP-led government’s implementation of economic reforms, determines its total servility in foreign policy. Both are but two sides of the same coin. The people of India, must fight for our genuine sovereignty and freedom by opposing both its pro-imperialist economic policies and its foreign policy steps.

Opposition to imperialism’s strategies must be the cornerstone of new democratic India’s foreign policy — or, in fact, the foreign policy of any self-respecting third world country.

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