Search the Internet           Tips

Eastward Ho!

The sun never sets on the British Empire,' ran an old adage at the beginning of this century. As we stand at the cusp of the 21st century, this is so obviously erroneous that it needs no proof. Nevertheless, and this is a legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru -- the 'last Englishman to rule India' -- the foreign policy establishment has had a long-standing fascination for the setting sun. Or, at any rate, for the direction thereof -- meaning the West.

I don't know how much of this was due to the fact that Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi were far more comfortable with the West. (Both of them could, for instance, make themselves understood both in English and in French.) Whatever the reason, Indian foreign policy was largely skewed; while we knew all about the Europeans and the Americans, countries east of India were largely ignored. And yet a hefty chunk of the human race lives there -- in China, Japan, the ASEAN group, Burma, and all the rest.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee administration has taken a markedly more realistic view of relations with countries such as the United States. Its diplomacy vis-a-vis the nations to the east has been markedly more low-key; as of 2001 that is about to change.

Take a look at the prime minister's itinerary in the year that is about to begin. In January, Vajpayee is scheduled to tour Vietnam and Indonesia. In February, Japan and Malaysia. In March, the prime minister of China will pay a visit to India. Nobody should have any complaints as of 2001 that India is ignoring the East, or that it is unduly fascinated by the Western powers.

That is as it should be. It is nobody's case that any Asian nation can challenge the mighty United States whether in military power or in economic influence. But that should not blind us to the fact that China is a potential superpower, nor to the fact that Japan, despite all its problems with recession, is still an economic superpower. Nor should India lose sight of the fact that it has ancient and enduring cultural links with South-East Asia.

It is a simple fact, though not widely acknowledged in India, that the largest Hindu temple complex in the world is in Cambodia -- Angkor Vat. The largest Buddhist complex is in Indonesia -- Borobudur. In Malaysia, the commander-in-chief is still called Lakshmana -- a remnant of the role played by Rama's brother in the battle of Lanka. And in Indonesia, such words as 'sea' and 'ship' are recognisable for their Tamil roots.

In the years before Independence, these roots were still remembered by several politicians. It was, perhaps, because in those days there was another shared legacy -- the struggle against European colonial powers. (As late as 1945, when Japan's World War II leadership was put on trial, the only judge to move for clemency was an Indian -- Radha Binod Pal.) In subsequent years, however, the Indian establishment drifted away; making an appearance in Paris or London became more important than doing so in Jakarta or Hanoi.

The only time that Eastern questions impinged on the Indian consciousness was in 1962 when China danced across the Indian frontiers. Unfortunately, the storm of protest and the questions raised at the time about Indian preparedness soon subsided into the usual apathy. Links that had been forged twenty-two centuries ago when Ashoka sent Buddhist missions across Asia were allowed to rust.

When you look back at the years from the 1950s down, you find there was little effort to forge any meaningful relationship. (Jawaharlal Nehru's stupid fantasies about 'Hindi Chini Bhai-Bhai' were anything but 'meaningful'!) Looking back at over four decades, I can remember only one attempt by the foreign office to take the East seriously.

That took place in 1979 when the external affairs minister in the Morarji Desai ministry managed to visit China. The trip had to be hastily curtailed because of a clash on China's border with Vietnam. (It proved that nationalism was still stronger than Communism!) Yet, no matter how much it was dogged by poor luck, it was a sincere attempt to improve relations. Should it come as any surprise then that the intrepid external affairs minister of the day was none other than Atal Bihari Vajpayee?

The vagaries of Indian politics have ensured that it has taken him two decades -- a whole generation when you think about it -- to recommence where he left off when the Morarji Desai ministry fell. In the intervening period, all you can point to was a single visit by Rajiv Gandhi to Beijing -- and there was no discernible result at the time.

It would be a mistake, however, to think that India's attention is limited only to the Asian giant to its north. New Delhi is willing, even eager, to forge mutually beneficial relations with South-East Asia. India recognises, for instance, that Indonesia possesses the largest discovered natural gas resources and that the same country owns huge, and untapped, coal reserves. India is also watching the unique route chosen by Malaysia to conduct economic reforms. In return, India has a wealth of skills to offer -- at prices that no advanced economy can possibly match.

Let us see -- China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. In a span of three months, the prime minister shall be either a guest of or a host to the leaders of each of those nations. These five are, by no coincidence, the largest and arguably the most influential nations to the east of India. The prime minister has set himself a fairly hectic schedule, but that is the price he has to pay because his predecessors neglected the East.

As of 2001, that shall no longer be the case. If there is one guiding slogan for the foreign office in Delhi it is 'Eastward Ho!'.

T V R Shenoy