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In the month of October last year, Nicholas Burn, the undersecretary of state
for foreign affairs and emissary of US president, George Bush, was on a two day
visit to tie Indian capital. He was entrusted by Washington to make the ground
work for Bush’s proposed visit to India in February 2006. The Hindustan
Times (25-10-2005) carried an interview with Bush’s emissary, which
sounds very interesting. We would try to analyze Burn’s statement though brief,
to understand why ‘India is priority for President Bush’.
In reply to the question why The US talks about making India a major power in
the 2lst century, Burns says that during the Cold war, India was a non-aligned
nation while USA was an aligned one. However, after the end of the Cold War they
are in a new phase of the "globalized world" – "where our interests are
converging". The reality is that the Indian ruling classes and their political
representatives had always been on good terms with US imperialists ever since
the days of Prime Minister Nehru. Chester Bowles, twice US ambassador to India
and an intimate friend of Nehru, played a leading role in cementing such
relationships. US imperialist agencies such as the MNCs, World Bank, IMF etc.
were eager not only to establish their grip over Indian agriculture (Community
Development Project Green Revolution) and industry, but also to make India
bulwark against the rising tide of Communism and pose a threat to Mao’s China.
In fact, Nehru was projected by them as the representative of ‘Asian democracy’
against Mao Tse-tung. Contrary to what Burns holds, India was never a
non-aligned country, however loudly people like Nehru or Indira Gandhi pretended
to be so. In fact, India was a by-aligned county, either tilting towards USA or
towards the Soviet Union but without getting rid of none. The interests of the
two countries are "converging" because there is only one super-power in the
world after the dismemberment of the USSR and the restoration of capitalism in
China. It is a world where US imperialism appears to be a tiger and India
gleefully hitches her wagons to that American star.
According to Burns the greatest challenges of the future are "transnational
challenges", "global climatic change", "proliferation of chemical, biological
and nuclear weapons", "terrorist groups", "international crime and trafficking
in women and children". As they cannot do all these things on their own, they
need "strategic partners" like India. The country which is the largest
manufacturer of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, admonishes other
countries for not destroying those weapons. The country which is largely
responsible for global warming and refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol, seeks to
combat global climatic change. The state which directed its Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) to stage military coups in other counties to topple established
governments and to assassinate heads of states, which attacked and has been
attacking other countries with its military might, which commits
unheard-of-barbarity against peoples of other lands, trampling underfoot their
sovereignty and does irreparable damage to ecology and mankind, now talks about
the need to fight international crime. The state which itself is a terrorist
state and which bolsters such states elsewhere such as Israel, now talks about
fighting terrorism. In his list of priorities, there is no place for grinding
poverty and misery of the masses of the world, as if such problems do not exist
on this earth.
Burns states that USA needs "strategic partners", i.e., countries like India
which "has that global ability and identical interests", what is USA’s global
strategy? Simply stated, it is to bring the rest of the world under their knees
– economically, politically, culturally and militarily. First, the previous
Vajpayee led central government and the present Manmohan singh-led government
accelerated the process of opening the country wide open to foreign investors by
privatizing PSUs, lifting all state-imposed restrictions one after the other and
allowing Foreign imperialist agencies entry into most of the sectors of the
Indian economy – a process that started with much fanfare during the l980s. This
policy of ‘liberalization’ was an essential component of the terms of contract
under which imperialist agencies provide India with loans, ‘aid’, technology and
what not – terms always kept hidden from public knowledge. US imperialism was
the main beneficiary of this policy. India also seeks to carry on her long
cherished expansionist designs under the umbrella of US power and assistance.
Second India is also the buyer of US military technology and weapon of various
types such as light weapons, long-range weapons. fighter aircrafts etc, which
drain out thousands of crores of rupees over the years. India had thus been
utilized as a vast market for US weapons.
Third, this is accompanied with Indo-US joint military exercises in Mizoram and
other places with the ostensible purpose of combating insurgency. As reported in
the press, between 7 and 19 November, the Kalaikunda air base in West Mednipore,
West Bengal, the Indian and US air forces will take part in joint training
exercise, named Exercise Cope India 05. Such joint operations with the USAF had
been held in Alaska and Gwalior in 2004. As reported, Kalaikunda is to be
utilized as a permanent site for such joint exercises in future. Defence
Spokesperson wing commander R. K. Das said that the USAF would send a squadron
of 16 to 18 F-16s, supposed to be one of the world’s most advanced fighter jets.
Although the joint exercises would take place from November 7, the American
pilots totalling nearly 300 have come from Misawa and Kadena airbases in Okinawa
in Japan to familiarize themselves with the IAF’s frontline aircrafts such as
Jaguar, Bison, MIG-27, MIG-29 and Sukhoi-30. The USAF would bring along AWACS
(Airborne Warning and Control System) and transport aircraft-C5. The AWACS "is
fitted with long-range radar capable of aerial surveillance as also command,
control and communications functions at high altitude. The AWACS can
simultaneously detect and track air, sea and ground targets", Das said (Hindustan
Times, 02-11-2005). In the 120 countries where the US imperialists have
setup military bases, they started with such joint air operations. Needless to
say, such operations would inevitably lead to the setting up of the first
official US base most probably in Kalaikunda. The proposed Indo-US nuclear deal
is part and parcel of this ‘strategic partnership’.
Fourth, who are the main targets of US Imperialists and their Indian
Collaborators? Their targets are the Maoists of India and Nepal and
nationalities of the north-east who had been carrying on heroic struggle despite
heavy odds for national self-determination. The US state has put CPI Maoist on
its list of ‘terrorist’ organization and supplying necessary materials, training
and guidance to suppress Maoist revolutionary movement. Kalaikunda is a
strategic place from the military point of view. It is within striking distance
of Nepal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and other areas. As the revolutionary
movement gains momentum in West Bengal and other neighbouring areas, crucial
military battles are likely to be fought in West Medinipur where Kalaikunda is
located.
Fifth, however strongly Nicholas Burn might deny US claim to make India its
partner for the containment of China, the contradiction between the USA and
china, like that between USA and Japan or USA and Russia is a reality. India has
participated in joint military exercises of different types with USA, Russia,
China and France. Israel is another ally of India in this sector. The goal of
the USA is to bring India within its fold Side by side both Russia and China are
apprehensive of US dominance in world affairs and have recently conducted joint
military exercises. China after the restoration of capitalism in the post-Mao
era has gradually been emerging as a powerful capitalist country at least in
parts of Asia and so containment of China can also become an American Priority
in future.
As we can see, the main reason behind USA’s eagerness to build up a "strategic
partnership" with the Indian ruling classes is to maintain its global dominance
and the imperialist system which is beset with deep socio-economic-political
crisis at home and growing popular resistance against its policies and control
abroad. The Indian ruling classes aspire to become junior partners of the US to
fulfill their wild expansionist dreams in this part of the world. However,
history has proved time and again that it is not the oppressors and their
stooges, but the people and people alone who are the motive forces of history.
The revolutionary masses of India will surely give a fitting rebuff to the wild
ambitions of the US and Indian ruling classes in the days to come.
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