THE decolonization of the subcontinent has been widely covered by the writers of international relations. However, only a few writers unveiled the re-colonization of South Asia by India. Indeed, under the leadership of the first Indian Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India conceived a long-term strategy of re-colonizing the regional states of South Asia through a gradual covert strategy. This Indian strategy has three broad features; a) creating political instability in the targeted state, b) creating economic crisis in that state and c) creating conflicts, based on ethnicity, sub-nationalism or religion-based clashes. Indeed, as a successor state of British India, the Indian leadership assumed all the roles of former colonial masters.
A famous Indian writer, Bhabani Sen Gupta, in his writings, clearly outlined Indian goals as a regional hegemony. He said, “The Indian elephant cannot transform itself into a mouse. If South Asia is to get itself out of the crippling binds of conflicts and cleavages, the six will have to accept the bigness of the seventh. And the seventh, that is India, will have to prove to the six that big can indeed be beautiful.” Whereas, the bygone has never proved to be a beautiful and agreeable neighbour, rest six have suffered desperately in the last seventy-five years.
There cannot be any better description of Indian hegemonic designs against its neighbours than what Mr Gupta described. Indeed, it is a soft elaboration of hegemonic based regional Indian order in the South Asian region which had seven states until 2004. In 2005, Afghanistan was included as a member state of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), thus considered a South Asian state thereafter. Unlike the perception of Mr Gupta, in its entire post-colonial history, India never proved itself to be an accommodative and responsible neighbour for South Asian states. Rather, it proved itself as wild-elephant for all of its neighbours; the regional states of South Asia and even some of ASEAN states, attempting to overpower all one by one.
In this game of over-powering the neighbours, only Pakistan proved as a reluctant state to accept the Indian hegemony. Since India found Pakistan strong enough to be overpowered, therefore, managed to disintegrate it in 1971 for establishing its hegemony and regional order over smaller states of South Asia. As outlined by the writer, Kathryn Jacques, India totally dominates over the domestic and foreign policies of Bangladesh right from 1975. Indeed, the ‘turbulent political life and economic woes of Bangladesh’ are part of Indian regional dominance. A coercing Indian policy; where its neighbouring states would be bound to look towards India for the solution of their domestic issues and foreign relationship.
The sovereignty and territorial integrity of two sovereign Himalayan states – Bhutan and Nepal – have been constantly undermined by India ever since the 1950s. Indeed, India wanted Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim as its parts. However, it could only force Sikkim as its part in 1975 despite Chinese resistance. India, however, faced stiff resistance from sovereign states of Bhutan and Nepal. India forced Bhutan to sign an agreement in 1949 for an indirect control over its foreign policy and domestic affairs. Since then, “Bhutan has found it hard to gain diplomatic independence” despite a new agreement in 2007.
Nepal remained under Indian influence for over seven decades. Its struggle to come out of the Indian hegemony was countered through India-sponsored Moist insurgency which lasted until 2006. In 2020, Nepal unveiled a new map, claiming its sovereignty over its own integral parts under Indian occupation and influence which peeved New Delhi. Nepal seriously protested with India over the construction of a road that connects Dharchula in the Indian state of Uttarakhand to the Lipu Lekh called the Kalapani territory, a Nepali territory.
Maldives, a tiny island state, has been facing Indian hegemony since the 1980s. India stage-managed a drama of attacking and rescuing this state in 1988 and thereafter New Delhi has been constantly dominating over its policies, the ruling elite and domestic hierarchical system with a military presence there. The newly elected President of the Maldives, Mohamed Muiz, has clearly announced that he wouldn’t stand for a foreign military staying in his country. This presidential election is a virtual referendum against Indian hegemony of the Maldives.
In Sri Lanka, India has been supporting the three-decade long insurgency of LTTE against Sri Lanka. Indian bid to become a real regional hegemony was countered by Sri Lankan military once India sent its heavy military forces for the peace keeping mission in Sri Lanka in 1987. The Indian military was beaten back and thereafter India fully supported the rebels (LTTE) by all means to punish that state. It was an indirect Indian strategy which caused Sri Lanka’s economic collapse in 2021/22. In Afghanistan, the entire Indian involvement was aimed to destabilize Pakistan through promotion of terrorism while making use of Afghan soil. Despite Taliban rule in Afghanistan since August 2021, Indian RAW is colluding with TTP and Daesh for militancy and terrorism in various bordering areas of Pakistan.
The South Asian region is seriously threatened by rising Indian imperialism. Indian strategy against its South Asian neighbours is based on: imposition of Indian hegemony and an Indian Order in South Asia. Through this order, New Delhi would achieve two objectives; long-term Indian imperialism and hegemony over the regional states and to keep China away from the region.
— The writer is Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
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