OPINION (Spotlight Weekly)

Is India serious about SAARC ?

By HARI KRISHNA SHRESTHA

Atal Behari Vajpayee's speech at the 11th summit of South Asian leaders contained India's continued commitment to the regional co-operation process. " What we need today is the dose of maturity which would lead SAARC from adolescence to adulthood ," said Vajpayee about the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, a forum created in 1985 by seven countries belonging to the region : Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

But how much has India contributed to take the SAARC along the line Vajpayee has suggested ? This is a question that requires introspection by his own colleagues and policy-makers. After all, India is big both because of its size and population. While one may hope that Vajpayee's latest overtures in Kathmandu will allay all existing doubts, but experiences to date leave little room for optimism.

That the Government of India (not the people of that country) prefers to take an unco-operative approach regarding the regional body was exemplified by a series of events and incidents before and during the Kathmandu summit. First, Indian authorities banned its airspace to the Pakistani aircraft effective from January 1. They knew that the Pakistani leader would need to fly to the Nepali capital two days later. The ban, if that was an absolute necessity, could have been applied a week later, for example. But that was not to be.

How can regional co-operation be enhanced when there is non-cooperative attitude from one of the members of the regional association itself ? India's arrogant posture on this count caused considerable inconvenience not only to President-cum-General Parvez Musarraf but also to all of those who had converged in Kathmandu for the summit to begin as scheduled (4 Jan).

But, as is known to the rest of the world, Musarraf's aircraft---flying through China---could not arrive in Kathmandu in time due to bad weather enroute. [ It is a different matter though that this air detour showed that Nepal has a possibility of using alternative exit and entry route ]

There was yet another abortive attempt to scuttle the SAARC summit at the eleventh hour. The arrest on January 3 of a Pakistan Embassy staff by Nepali policemen for allegedly dealing in counterfeit Indian and US currencies is case in point. Since senior officers commanding Nepal Police are currently under scrutiny of a high-level panel formed to investigate this bizarre affair, it will be appropriate now to wait for the report of that panel.

However, it does not need any time or extra effort to assume (mainly because of timing) that there was an external hand in it. " It was a crude attempt to destabilise the SAARC process and embarrass the host," was President Musarraf's reaction at the press conference he addressed before he left Kathmandu. He said he took up the case with both the king and prime minister who promised an enquiry.

Needless to emphasize, this year's summit was to take place in November 1999. And Nepal had made all preparations to host it in Kathmandu. But India backed out at the last moment, saying its leader Vajpayee could not sit side by side with an army General who had usurped power through a coup in October. In fact, that was an internal matter and did not affect Pakistan's commitment as a country. [ The world's largest democracy changed its position swiftly, and all of us have seen Vajpayee and his colleagues welcoming the same army general as the President of Pakistan !]

Inconsistencies abound. During premiership of I.K.Gujral, the Indian government floated a proposal of so-called Growth Quadrangle consisting of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal . The bid was to weaken whatever unity was there among the seven SAARC members. Although the proposal left out the Maldives and Sri Lanka as well, India's intention appeared to push Pakistan, its sole rival in the region, out of the SAARC process that was built for the entire South Asian region.

Another instance of inconsistency in this context is the status of Bhutan in the SAARC. Fifteen years have gone by since the SAARC was founded, but Bhutan has not been able to host the summit even once. Nor has this country got an opportunity to nominate one of its diplomats to occupy the post of Secretary General , heading the Kathmandu-based secretariat. Is it because of Bhutan's unwillingness to fulfill its commitments to the SAARC Charter its king, Jigme Singhye, signed in 1985 ? There hardly is any evidence to safely assume that this indeed is the case.

Reality bites. And the reality is that India does not allow Bhutan to stand on its own even in a regional forum, let alone major international gathering. Bhutan's case proves Vajpayee's desire to take SAARC in its " adulthood " a wishy-washy gesture made for the benefit of a global media presence in the Nepali capital. Why is Bhutan being prevented from attaining its adulthood in the first place ? What makes Bhutan to shy away from being a modern and democratic country and play its role independently as a member of the United Nations ? Why can't Bhutan hold conclusive talks with Nepal and sort out the refugee issue amicably ? Unfortunately it is mainly because of India, which is clinging to an anachronistic treaty signed---under duress---in 1949 providing a role for India : to 'guide' Bhutan in the conduct of its foreign policy. Clearly, India has not yet renounced the 'colonial mindset' it inherited from the British.

But if it is a wrong perception, time has come for New Delhi to prove its point . And its own leader, Vajpayee, has set a tone towards this direction . " Some mindsets may have to be altered, and some historical baggage jettisoned," said Vajpayee at the Kathmandu summit. Let his political colleagues and bureaucrats manning his government work hard to translate his undertaking into deeds.