[Reader-list] soundings on south asia...

[sam]

Hi everyone,

Over the last two years I have been conducting adhoc 50%-disciplined 
research in to extremism in Sri Lanka. This research has taken me in to 
India.

I would like to keep the reader-list community in the loop of my 
research. One of the questions - specific to sri lanka - is why the 
sinhalese and the tamils can't resolve their differences and 'get on' 
with living. Another question is one raised by moral philosopher, 
Raimond Gaita:

"In so many places good people defend the slaughter, defend the 
indefensible, because of their national or sometimes religious 
allegiances. True to the same allegiances, others fall silent when they 
should protest." (Gaita, 2005)

In my research, I have come across a number of interesting people. 
Below, is a cut-and-paste review of a book titled 'Soundings on South 
Asia' which may be of interest to you all. You may already be aware of 
it - and if so, my apologies.

Best wishes, Sam / Melb/Syd/Oz :-)

--------

Delving deep into South Asia by Col. R Hariharan*

(Soundings of South Asia - Author: Syed Ali Mujtaba, Publisher: New Dawn 
Press Inc., New Delhi-110020, Pages 226, Price: Rs 500 - 
http://www.indiaclub.com/shop/SearchResults.asp?ProdStock=14710)

It requires a great deal of courage to write a book encompassing the 
whole spectrum of countries of South Asia, touching upon the key issues 
– or ‘soundings’ as the author calls them. It is a sub-continent with a 
variety of ethnic, racial, religious, social and cultural complexities, 
speaking over 300 languages, and dialects. Their historical experiences 
are equally varied - the most primitive societies jostling cheek by jowl 
with advanced ones. Considering this gigantic task, the author who is 
well qualified to do this both as an academic scholar and journalist, 
has done a commendable job.

The author has formatted the book with an uncanny eye picking upon the 
macro picture. In this cameo, it is inevitable that some ‘soundings’ 
which resonate are missed out and some ‘soundings’ that are hollow get 
into the book. By this yardstick, the author has very few misses. 
Another commendable aspect in the format of the book is that it bears 
witness to the saying ‘no man is an island’ and links issues of one 
country to one or more countries of the region. Significant in these 
linkages is that India and Pakistan are considered together in two 
chapters – Partition of India and its aftermath, and India-Pakistan – 
emphasizing the close impact they have on each other. Other linked 
chapters include two parts on South Asia and one on SAARC. Thus even for 
those who may not have the time or inclination to read all things about 
all countries of South Asia, it will suffice to go through these five 
chapters to get the essence of the Sub-Continent. Many writers tend to 
paint a gory picture of a whole civilization trying to come to terms 
with modernism and overcome their problems of poverty, illiteracy, 
governance and exploitation borne out of historical elements. The author 
has made these macro chapters in the positive drift of optimism that 
comes from his belief that South Asia is on the journey to success.

There are two chapters of soundings – actually a survey of issues from a 
detached perch as opening and closing chapters. The opening chapter of 
soundings has tried to compress too many complex issues and ideas into 
just seven pages. As a result we find that too many of them are 
presented in too little detail. It would have been more convenient for 
the reader if the chapter had been divided into political, sociological, 
economic, and ecological and security issues. The last chapter 
‘Resoundings’ is an attempt to look at super-power influences that 
impinge upon the region, in the context of India and Pakistan gaining 
nuclear capability. The author has touched upon two key issues in this – 
the role China is likely to play and the need for clear-cut nuclear 
policies both in India and Pakistan. The South Asian idiom often tends 
to overlook that China, an economic giant, is looming large over the 
region both physically and economically with a massive reach. The 
author’s emphasis on India and China coming to terms with each other’s 
role is very pertinent. The problems created by the role of military in 
nascent democracies with detrimental results as seen in South Asia in 
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal is another aspect briefly touched upon in 
‘Resoundings’. This issue could have been elaborated for the benefit of 
the readers. Lack of well thought out nuclear policy and structure to 
control its military use is a military strategists nightmare in this 
region. It is a good thing that the author has highlighted this aspect 
more than once in the book. Unambiguous and well-tested procedures with 
‘fail safe’ mechanisms were the reason why both USA and the Soviet Union 
had avoided accidental nuclear power confrontation even at the height of 
cold war. Both Pakistan and India are guilty of not evolving such a 
system; this is one reason why during Operation Parakram, when India had 
deployed troops ready to wage war, the Western powers were having 
nightmares of a nuke war erupting accidentally, while the subcontinent 
slept blissfully in ignorance.

The chapter on Partition and its aftermath was the one that I enjoyed 
best. The generation that brought in the vivisection of India through 
political expediencies, is almost gone from the scene. So it is 
essential that the current generation understand the shenanigans that 
went on the two decades prior to the Partition. M.A. Jinnah, revered in 
Pakistan with the title of Quaid-e-Azam, is considered the architect of 
Pakistan, a separate homeland for Muslims of the subcontinent. The idea 
of a homeland for Muslims originated in present day Bangladesh, then 
known as the province of Bengal. As the author states, the original idea 
was to ensure that Muslims who formed a substantial minority got their 
just rights, with enough freedom to practice their religion and lead a 
decent life as part of India. But political expediency took up the idea, 
played upon the religious sentiments, and with Congress on a rigid mode, 
culminated into Pakistan emerging as an independent country. It provided 
the limelight that Jinnah craved for and was denied in Congress. The 
author has dispassionately analyzed the issues in this chapter, which is 
thought provoking.

Anyone who writes on the issues of India-Pakistan or Kashmir has to do a 
bit of tight rope walking because of the polemics these two subjects 
provoke among an emotional public in India and Pakistan. The author in 
an effort to do just that falls short of providing a few pointers on the 
way the problems could be solved between India and Pakistan. The 
two-nation theory itself, a pernicious prescription at best, stands in 
the way of reconciliation and removing the cobwebs of suspicion. The 
Soundings on India Pakistan relations would have been more useful if a 
little bit of more analysis had been attempted. As regards Kashmir 
issue, the author appears to be skating on thin ice when he says, “the 
prolonged delay of UN resolution on Kashmir prompted the 1965 war but 
that too could not throw any solution”. It was the Pakistani dictator 
General Ayub Khan’s idea to launch “Operation Gibraltar” to infiltrate 
Special Service Group Commandos into J and K touch off a spontaneous 
revolution among Kashmiri population and seize Kashmir. The Kashmiris 
rallied magnificently to India’s support and the operation failed. This 
was the cause of 1965 war. In order to ease pressure on troops in 
Kashmir India opened up the Western front along Punjab and Rajastan 
borders. While it is understandable that the author had given enough 
coverage for the views of Abdul Ghani Lone, the separatist all-party 
Hurriyat conference leader whom he had interviewed, it is surprising 
that the name of Sheikh Abdullah, who dominated the political scene of 
Kashmir for four decades (and whose descendants still bask in his glory) 
is not mentioned even once in the whole chapter.

As an analyst on Sri Lanka, I am always stumped by the seemingly 
irreconcilable contradictions that exist between Tamils and Sinhalas in 
their relationship. It is difficult for non-Tamils to understand how 
such a great divide has emerged between the two ethnic population who 
have so much in common, culminating in a war that had already lasted 
three decades taking a toll of over 60,000 lives. So writing about Sri 
Lanka and its current problems in one chapter, when the outsiders are 
cocooned in ignorance, is a daunting task. Considering this the author 
has done a good job of compressing it in 22 odd pages. The author has 
brought the focus on President Chandrika Kumaratunga and her role in the 
peace process. A little peep into the socio-political aspect of 
Tamil-Sinhala estrangement would have made the chapter more useful. The 
write up on the role of Muslims in Sri Lanka, a section that is often 
ignored in the internecine war between the two major ethnicities, is 
useful because so little is written about them and their plight in the 
civil war. Writing on the Indo-Sri Lanka relations, the comments on the 
‘role’ of the Indian Peace Keeping Force –IPKF are a little perfunctory. 
The author says it was to disarm LTTE which the Army had trained; this 
is incorrect on both counts The role of IPKF was to enforce the 
Rajiv-Jayawardane Accord, in which withdrawing the arms of all militant 
groups, was only one part. Thanks to the Accord, and the presence of the 
IPKF, the northeastern province came into being. It is a fact that the 
Tamils in all the years of struggle could not achieve it. IPKF restored 
rail and telephone communication, organized electric supply in the 
North; neither LTTE nor the Sri Lanka government have been able 
replicate these achievements to this day even in peacetime. When IPKF 
grievously hurt the LTTE, it took refuge in Vanni forests, and in 
desperation entered into an unholy alliance with President Premadasa, 
its sworn enemy, to get the IPKF out. One day when history of the sub 
continent is written with detachment, this realization would dawn.

The chapter on Maldives is an excellent snapshot of one of the tiniest 
countries in the world, threatened more by environmental changes and 
global warming than by other factors. It is packed with facts and 
figures. The author’s comments on the constructive aspects of 
India-Maldives relations is useful in the context of understanding how 
one can attempt to constructively solve India’s ongoing troubled 
relations with Bangladesh and Pakistan on a variety of issues.

The author presents interesting insights into Bangladesh, some of which 
are based upon the British secret papers on 1971 war, which have been 
declassified. The creation of Bangladesh is an articulation of Bangla 
nationalism over riding the Islamic identity, which had bound it to 
Pakistan. This is a lucidly written chapter providing adequate 
information on the problems of the infant nation, which has disproved 
all doomsday men that it would collapse under the weight of its own 
poverty. The achievements of Bangladesh, a nation struggling to assert 
the democratic idiom in the face of two spells of military dictatorships 
and emerging Islamic fundamentalism in politics, are brought out well. 
The constraints of space have perhaps compressed India-Bangladesh 
relations to a mere chronicle of a few facts. The author has included 
little known details of the achievement of Gen. Ershad in revamping the 
healthcare of the country. However, two great achievements of Bangladesh 
that are envy of other nations – the decentralized savings scheme of 
Grameen Bank and the success of population control measures – have been 
completely missed out.

Bhutan and Nepal are factually treated and provide useful insights. Of 
the two, the chapter on Bhutan is more current with the inclusion of 
aspects of democratization process. In the case of Nepal, events have 
inevitably overtaken some parts of the chapter and will require updating 
in the next edition of the book.

Inclusion of Afghanistan and Myanmar in a book on South Asia is a useful 
reminder that they form very much part of this subcontinent. However, 
the historical drift of Myanmar into xenophobia ever since a military 
dictatorship clamped a lid on democracy and severed its historical links 
with India, it is doubtful whether it would like to be called a South 
Asian nation anymore. It has now identified itself with ASEAN, which is 
perhaps more profitable for it for the time being. The chapter on 
Myanmar is interesting but for the paucity of information on the ethnic 
insurgencies that had been going on for over five decades now in that 
country. More than Myanmar, Afghanistan has better historical, cultural 
and social credentials to identify itself with South Asia. India and as 
a corollary Pakistan have had age-old links with Afghanistan. Even with 
so much of super power involvement in that country they continue to be 
relevant as they provide the people-to-people support the country needs 
sorely. The author has deftly handled this chapter.

Overall, the book is well worth the price and time spared to read it. 
There are only two suggestions: one, for each country the author could 
have included a one-page summary of essential basic data; two, at the 
end of each chapter a list of books for those who wish to gain more 
knowledge on the country or issues could have been added. They would 
round off the whole book. The well-produced book really fulfills the aim 
of the book stated in the blurb: “to provide a compendium of the 
region’s development.” A useful addition to the bookshelves of 
journalists, politicians, academic institutions and all those interested 
in knowing and understanding South Asia.


{Col. R Hariharan (Retd), formerly with Military Intelligence, 
specialist in counter-insurgency intelligence, served with the IPKF as 
Head of Intelligence in Sri Lanka.}