| I felt it
necessary to mention this before proceeding further,
because Indian Policy Makers have, perhaps, lost the
significance of this factor, in their relationship with
Pakistan in particular and Afghanistan generally. If the
strong links and connections had been re-introduced, then
surely we would have had a greater say in what has
happened in that unfortunate country, in the last few
years. We definitely would have had good and authentic
prior knowledge of factors such as the Taliban and not
been surprised by their advent and successes. Having had
close relations, till Najibullah's removal from power, it
should have been important for us to have a say in
'affairs' Afghanistan, post Najibullah also. It would
also have been a great success if we could have saved him
from his gory end. Charitably speaking, perhaps, we
tried, but did not succeed! Afghanistan
Research Papers, is a very timely and a welcome addition
to the scanty public knowledge regarding this
strategically positioned nation. Given the poor relations
that have existed between Indiaand Pakistan for the past
half a millennia, and the strong interest and presence by
Pakistan, in Afghanistan, India has her own interests to
safeguard. The Research Papers have gone into great
detail considering the pros and cons of le affaire
Afghanistan. The strategic importance of this land locked
country, with borders, which are geographical, but not
ethnic, in all directions has been clearly brought out.
The dynamics of such a situation cannot be lost on India,
where similar situations exist in many areas. The
interest of the United States of America has been
repeatedly stressed because of the potential oil and
mineral wealth of the CIS States, which need massive
capital for exploitation. Afghanistan is a key player in
this scheme. The fall out of all this on the Russian,
Chinese and Iranian interests has been lucidly brought
out.
The author
has also stressed that in the long term national
interests India needs to shed some of her inherited
inhibitions and become a seasoned player of real
politick, even if it means a major change in the existing
foreign policy parameters for that area. The business of
being goody goody, and sitting on
the fence is one image that India must totally avoid, if
it desires to be a world power, commanding respect. If we
carry on being obsessed with only Pakistan, on one hand,
and the perceived insensibilities of the USA for our
viewpoint, on the other, we are going to end up losing
respect from others, and be considered a whining giant.
There is always respect for those who are strong, know
their
own status, amongst others and do not hesitate to state
what is against their national interests. Strategic
thinking needs to be studiously cultivated and applied in
practical terms. This should always be based on long term
interests with medium and short term compulsions worked
out for immediate use. In Afghanistan this has been
woefully missing, resulting in national interests being
compromised. To recoup the situation is always more
difficult and definitely time consuming. The author has
given two scenarios of what can be done. These are
pragmatic, though by no means the only ones available.
That a concerned academic can deduce these should act as
an incentive for those who are in a position to influence
issues to further research and analyse, and act on these
findings.
Kuldip S. Ludra deserves to be
complimented on this effort and I whole heartedly support
and commend him.
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