From: myadav@ruhets.rutgers.edu (Mahesh Yadav)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: ON THE OCCASION OF AUG,15 -- I
Date: 17 Aug 92 03:01:25 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.



	ON THE OCCASION OF AUG,15 (OUR COUNTRY'S INDEPENDENCE DAY) -- I
	===============================================================

hello guys,

	In our busy life, as it is, one do pause for a moment especially on
the eve of independence day of India (Aug,15,1947), and think about our 
homeland. I would like to share some thoughts especially related to India and
us. Without any apologies, I will take liberty to digress from one subject to
another. Please keep up with me.


 		INDIA'S FORIEGN POLICIES
		========================
			
	 I like to start with the Gulf war in the context of our foreign 
policies.During the war, many of us had serious debates and in general have 
disagreed the way government handled the situation -- by not suporting 
America. If you look back now you will find that India was the first country 
(among developing countries) which airlifted its people. The people from 
pakistan, philippines, among other developing countries had almost given 
up the idea of airlifting their people. This is partly due to lack of 
resources .Secondly (from the account I read in India Today) Indian citizens 
in Iraq-occupied Kuwait were never mistreated. Now during the process of 
rebuilding Kuiwait, Indians are being sought as skilled and unskilled workers 
without any qualms. I would call it as a diplomatic success.

	During the airlift of Indians from Kuiwait, one could also see the 
strength and test in Unity and secularism of the country. By this, I mean, 
as one nation it could accomplish the mammoth task of air lifting all our 
countrymen and  during airlifting, priority was never given on the basis of 
region or religion. As I was reading India Today, I could only crudely grasp
the excitement when the plane with packload of Indians started to homeland with
countrymen shouting in unison - Bharat Mata Ki Jai. It should be noted that
neither moslems nor sikhs ever complained of discrimination (which are 
otherwise common occurence) 

	I will be wrong to say that American way was wrong, in fact American
diplomacy was the biggest success. America which firstly sold most of the 
weapons to iraq, could rally the world including most of the Moslem nations
and get paid to fight Iraq. And after the war, these moslem nations  responded
to America's favour by inviting the Americans to rebuilt Kuiwait!!  Each step 
was a profitable venture! All  this in the time when there was lot of 
anti-American feeling in moslem nations. That is quite an amazing task. 
The reasone for this paradox is while America worked at the government 
level and got every thing it wanted. At the mass level, serious discontment 
was continously brewing and is still unabated. But the indian interest was
never in common with that of America. Had India  persued American way, 
the situation of Indians going to gulf countries now, would have been 
more miserable than as it is. The reason is, most of the Indian workers 
are more integerated in  the company or in the Arab families and 
would be directly affected by the people's discontent. In comparison, 
most of the Americans go there as a skilled workers and more often as a 
part of American company itself, hence are sheilded from general mass.  

	Another case was Indian army in Shri Lanka. I do admire the indian
government that it stood by the principle and not by self interest alone. As 
we all know that the army initially sympathized with Tamilians in Shri Lanka.
The problem could have been truely solved and tamilian interest preserved
had all the militant groups surrendered. The situation took an unexpected turn
when LITE did not surrender and GOI went rightly against them. India with
in its might could have easily divided Shri Lanka. But stood by the priciple.
The mission to preserve Tamilian interest against Sri lankan atrocities 
could have been guranteed, had all Tamil interest groups really been
concerned about tamils. Here too, I would call it as a limited success.

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