The grand Indian strategy
Dr Muhammad Khan
Tuesday, August 13, 2013 – The book entitled, Grand Strategy for India 2020 and Beyond, edited by Krishnappa Venkatshamy and Princy George is indeed a future vision of India to become a major global power. It is an initiative of the Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. The book is based on a four-day international conference on India’s National Security Strategy, held by IDSA in December 2010. Its overarching theme deals with all aspects of Indian national security strategy in 21st century. A lot of deliberations, spanning over years have gone through the idea of conceiving this book of Grand Indian Strategy by National Strategy Project Team of IDSA.
As per this book, India is envisioning itself to be part of a world beyond South Asia. It has a global vision and a global agenda. With this vision in the consideration, India will pursue a policy of enhancing its ‘intellectual and intelligence capacities for long-term strategic analysis beyond South Asia.’ In the subsequent step, India will ‘build up its hard and soft power resources to meet plausible contingencies that will flow from great power competition in the region.’ In order to defend its core interests at the global level, Indian strategists are eyeing at formulating an offensive ‘doctrine or diplomatic posture.
While this all is being planned and executed at the level of Indian strategists and policy planners, the world is passing through ‘a time of great geopolitical transformation.’ There is an evident shift from the politics of Atlantic to the politics of Pacific; indeed, the Asia-Pacific is rapidly becoming the centre of major global activities, viz; political, economic and security. In the analysis of Indian strategist, there would be a “dramatic shift in the locus of global power with the relative decline of the United States and the spectacular rise of China.” There is a parallel economic rise of India and China in the global horizon, which would “alter the geopolitical landscape and the nature of the global system in the coming two decades.” In order to be in stepping with the global changes, India feels that, its ‘assumptions, theories, paradigms need to be revaluated in light of the technological, social, economic and political developments in the emerging world.”
Since there is a visible clash of interests between United States and China in the Asia-Pacific region, therefore, Indian strategists are proposing for the country a policy of wait and see and be part of winning team at an appropriate moment. In the wordings of Arvind Gupta, IDSA Director-General, “India should carefully watch security developments in the region, especially the China-United States axis, identify important currents, anticipate the consequences for India’s security and develop resources that will ensure our security under various contingencies.” Indeed, Indian policy makers and strategists are great lover of US strategists like Admiral Mahan, resembling a Hindu name and President Woodrow Wilson, therefore are now replicating what US did in becoming a major world power in the mid 20th century and the sole super power after 1990, sequel to the disintegration of former Soviet Union. In the decisive moment of World War-I, President Woodrow Wilson, gave his famous 14 points and US enter the war theatre on behalf of winning party, the Allies to become a global power of 20th Century. In the later years, with the view to become un-parallel, it disorientated the world by exploding two nuclear devices on otherwise dying power of Japan in August 1945.
Nevertheless, India has a grand agenda and a grand strategy to pursue it at global level, yet it has never missed a chance to destabilize its immediate neighbours and near abroad. Starting from a pure and traditional Hindu State; Nepal, it has tried to dominate all regional countries. After successfully softening all other South Asian neighbours through various soft and hard ways, India is hell-bent to defame Pakistan. It has launched multiple campaigns to coerce Pakistan. Indian spying network is busy in the training of terrorists of all kinds including TTP, who have unleashed a wave of terror throughout the country. Today no part of Pakistan is safe. It is the bloodshed all around, perpetrated by the terrorists, trained, equipped and financed by RAW and its like-minded networks of the major powers.
Lately, despite a ceasefire agreement, India Army carried out unprovoked firing on the Pakistani military posts and innocent civilians. Recently, Indian army has killed four civilian in Grace Sector of Neelum Valley, who were plucking summer flowers for their livelihood. They were the locals and doing this as their routine business. Previously, Indian Army killed many civilians in other parts of AJK. Besides, Indian Military has killed many Pakistani soldiers along LoC in the gross violation of ceasefire agreement. In order to avoid international condemnation, Indian twice accused Pakistan of killing its soldiers. There was a great variation in the statement of Indian Defense Minister and Indian media. Indian officials and media betrayed the international community to hide the facts.
On the cultural grounds, Indian dramas and films found their way into Pakistani culture making handful of loyal viewership, without any noteworthy official resistance or governmental prohibiting laws of Pakistan. Civil society resisted through their meager voice but those enjoying political, social and economic influence favored storming invasion of foreign media instruments having power and the ability to kill without firing any bullet. There is a hostile propaganda against own values and belief system advances at a gradual pace starting with a positive thought and supporting a just event but it contains deeply entrenched acrimony to create sense of suspicion amongst our youth who are passing through a formative stage of development and are at the initial phase of understanding their religious beliefs, cultural norms and core values.
Indeed, this all is part of Grand Indian Strategy. India is pursuing its regional and global grand agenda, to project itself as a rising global power of 21st century. The question arises, are we ready to put up a befitting response to this Indian onslaught.
