Panel Title: History of the Indian
Princely States
Convenor:Dr.
Christian Wagner, German Institute for International and Security
Affairs, Berlin Co-convenors:Dr.
Mohammed B. Alam, Professor of History and Political Science,
Miyazaki International College, Japan, & Karsten
Frey, Dept. of Political Science, South Asia Institute, University
of Heidelberg
Friday
9 July, 8–12
Panel Abstract: Contemporary works
on International Relations of South Asia cover a wide range of topics
that encompass aspects of foreign policy, nuclear deterrence, the
debate over India's hegemonic influence in South Asia, bi- and multilateral
relations, international regimes and its impact, prospects and problems
of South Asian regional co-operation and so on. Moreover, transnational
actors as well as international norms gained more and more attention
in the theoretical discourse in contrast to state centred analysis
and classical realist approaches.
The panel offers the opportunity to combine the different angles
of the international relations debate with problems and issues with
particular relevance to South Asia. Possible topics are:
- foreign policy analysis of individual countries (i.e. from Bangladesh
to Sri Lanka),
- strategic and security issues (i.e. nuclearisation deterrence,
defence spending, Kashmir)
- Confidence-Building in South Asia (i.e. CBMs, Nuclear Risk Reduction
Measures, third party mediation)
- the impact of international norms and regimes (i.e. human rights,
NPT, CTBT),
- aspects of bilateral relations (i.e. India and neighbouring countries,
Nepal-Bhutan),
- the role of external powers and institutions in South Asia (i.e.
USA, China, Russia, Europe, UN, WTO)
- prospects of regional cooperation (i.e. SAARC, BIMSTEC, IORARC),
This panel seeks papers that will examine issues such as these,
holistically in relation to contemporary South Asia.
Paper Giver 1: Theodore
P. Wright, Jr., Niskayuna, New York, USA
Paper 1 Title: American Intervention
in South Asian Interstate Disputes: Afghanistan and Kashmir: the
Israeli/Zionist Aspect
Paper Abstract: Intervention by the United
States in the disputes among South Asian states, chiefly India and
Pakistan, began slowly after their independence, in what was still
perceived in Washington as a British sphere of influence. When it
did come it was largely as a byproduct of the Cold War with the
Soviet Union. Until the American and allied attack on Afghanistan
in October 2001, there was no direct military involvement comparable
to those in Latin America (Cuba, Panama), East Asia (Korea) and
the Middle East (Lebanon), but only economic and cultural influence.
Above all, the supply of weapons to Pakistan (1954-65), to India
(1962) and to the Mujahidin of Afghanistan against the Soviet occupation
in the 1980s, promoted warfare in the region. Diplomatic involvement
in South Asian disputes such as Kashmir was limited and ineffective.
The closest the United States came to direct military intervention
was President Nixon's futile dispatch of a nuclear aircraft carrier
into the Bay of Bengal during the war over Bangladesh secession
from Pakistan in 1971.
It will be the thesis of this paper that it was the convergence
of several major new trends both inside and outside the region in
the 1990s which led to the hitherto unimaginable American military
attack on the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and its al Qaeda guests.
Of course, the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on Sept.11,
2001 were the immediate precipitants, but the larger "war on
terrorism" and its subsequent extension to Iraq are explicable
in terms of broader changes.
l. The rise and politicization of religious fundamentalism in
Islam (al Qaeda and the Taliban), American Christianity (End of
Days theology), Hinduism (Hindutva) and Judaism (the Likud).
2. The infiltration and rise to dominance in the United States
foreign policy-making process, especially regarding the Middle
East, of the so-called "neo-conservatives" and "Christo-Zionists",
and more broadly the increasing power of the Zionist lobby in
the U.S. Congress.
3. The volte face of Indian policy towards the Arab-Israeli dispute
from the Arab/Palestinian side to the Israeli side, and the concomittant
loss of Indian Muslim influence, beginning in 1991.
4. In the case of the Afghan war, the feminist antipathy to the
Taliban because of its violation of the supposedly universal human
rights of women, which prevented timely U.S. recognition of the
regime.
5. The shift of media dominance to right-wing television as against
the print media worldwide.
6. The fraudulent election of George Bush to the U.S. presidency
in 2000.
Paper Giver 2: Veena
Ravi Kumar, Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi , India
Paper 2 Title: Pathways to
peace in Kashmir: The significance of diplomacy, democracy and development
in South Asia
Paper abstract: The objective of my proposed
study is to explore the ways by which the peace dividend of the
present can be consolidated so that a road map for resolving the
Kashmir problem can be evolved. To fulfil this objective I attempt
to follow the opportunities that have been opened up in the areas
of diplomacy, democracy and development. Although intellectuals
and political leaders in India have been averse to recognising the
need for mediation I consider that the behind the purdah persuasion
of the USA has significantly changed the course of India-Pakistan
relations. Hence, I propose to explore how the United States can
contribute as an interested interlocutor in nudging the two countries
to actively work on a road map to resolve the Kashmir tangle.
The thaw in India-Pakistan relations is also because the spaces
for democracy have been opened up in both India and Pakistan. The
recently held elections in Kashmir universally acknowledged as 'free
and fair' and the subsequent formation of the government of Mufti
Mohammad has brought the agenda of development along with the healing
touch policy to the forefront in Kashmir. This new agenda has such
a powerful impact that even the Hurriyat Conference in Kashmir is
now in two minds and sometimes willing to enter into negotiations
with India. Similarly, in Pakistan the conduct of national elections
and the reintroduction of democratic practices have succeeded in
subduing the influence wielded by Jehadi extremist groups and have
even contributed to the moderation of such extremism. Hence I propose
to study the means by which these democratic processes can be reinforced
by appropriate policy measures and political interventions. In this
context, being a woman I will be particularly interested in exploring
how women can be empowered to participate in political processes
so that political processes are made to respond to issues of women's
rights and gender equality.
Economists as well as industrialists and traders acknowledge that
both India and Pakistan stand to gain if trade between India and
Pakistan is opened up and if the SAFTA (south Asian Free Trade Area)
programme of the SAARC is implemented. Economic development in South
Asia will open new secular spaces and would reduce the incidence
of unemployment and poverty-the twin causes that induce young men
to join the ranks of militants. Hence, my study will also concentrate
on the politics of development and would explore for ways in which
regional economic cooperation may be promoted skirting the road
blocks that have been erected by mutual suspicion in India-Pakistan
relations. While diplomacy, democracy and development will create
the conditions conducive for drawing road map to resolve the Kashmir
problem, one cannot wait for the ideal conditions. Hence it is necessary
to begin to draw the rough outline of the road map to peace in Kashmir.
Eventually I intend to draw upon the lessons from such experiments
in Ireland and Sri Lanka and to resolve seemingly intractable issues
of self determination to work out a new, different and workable
road map for peace in Kashmir and in the entire subcontinent.
Paper Giver 3: Zafar
Nawaz Jaspal, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad
Paper 3 Title: Nuclear Risk’s
Preventive Approaches in an Adversarial Indo-Pakistan Scenario
Paper Abstract: The purpose of the proposed
research is to examine the repercussions of current nuclear arms
race between India and Pakistan and chalk out an acceptable strategy
for both India and Pakistan, which would not only decrease the security
dilemma of both the belligerent neighbors, but also reduce the nuclear
risks in South Asia. Such research is greatly needed in the strategic
environment of South Asia, where peace and stability is constantly
threatened by arms race and military jingoism between India and
Pakistan. There is a dearth of literature on the nuclear risk preventive
approaches between India and Pakistan. The proposed study, hence,
would be an effort to fill this gap.
Paper Giver 4: Klaus
Voll, India-Consult, Hameln and Free University, Berlin
Paper 4 Title: Conflict Resolution
and Confidence-Building Measures between India and Pakistan: An
Indian Perspective
Paper Abstract: After an enduring "low-intensity
war" by Pakistan, the Kargil cannonade, the attack on the Indian
Parliament on the 13th of December 2001 and the following confrontation
between India and Pakistan with an imminent war-danger in 2001/02,
an intensified "Cold War" between India and Pakistan followed.
The Peace Initiative by the Indian government, starting with Atal
Behari Vajpayee´s speech in Srinagar on the 18th of April
2003, led to a positive response by the government in Pakistan.
The paper analyses the major factors, which led, since the SAARC-Summit
in Islamabad, to this watershed in the current bilateral relations.
India´s wider geo-strategic interests, domestic and economic
compulsions, the ground-situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the influence
of civil societies as well as the informal pressure by the United
States of America and the international community on both rivals
contributed to these developments. But can this momentum be maintained
in a constructive and sustainable manner?
Against the background of the campaign for the Lok Sabha-elections
2004 and its outcome, the vexed question of Kashmir as a part of
the composite dialogue, the discussions between the Indian Government
and a part of the erstwhile Hurriyat conference, terrorist activities
in Kashmir and the delicate military balance, the major unfolding
patterns in the negotiations between India and Pakistan will be
analysed.
Based on discussions with leading Indian politicians, foreign- and
security-policy analysts from various think-tanks, academic institutions
and the media, as well as interactions with civil society activists,
an objective perspective about the success of a sustainable conflict-resolution
and durable confidence-building measures between the two nuclear
rivals in South Asia is attempted.
Paper giver 5: Happymon
Jacob, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Paper 5 title: Track-II Diplomacy
and Indo-Pak Relations
Paper abstract: Track-two diplomacy in South
Asia addressing bilateral issues can survive only if it becomes
part of the larger civil society movement in India. Unless and until
peace activism and track-two diplomacy radically broaden their constituency
by way of co-opting more issues, groups and people and also by letting
go of the traditional issues like Kashmir, Indo-Pak relations, and
addressing issues like women’s issues, water pollution, water
scarcity, labor issues etc., track-two diplomacy in south Asia will
die a premature death.
Paper giver 6: Mohammed
Badrul Alam, Miyazaki International College, Miyazaki, Japan
Paper 6 title: Between Dominance
and Confidence-Building Measures: A Study of India’s Nuclear
Doctrine and the Current Regional Environment In South Asia
Paper abstract: With the acquisition of nuclear
weapon capability by India in a formal way in 1998 (to be subsequently
followed up by its neighbor, Pakistan) and the escalation of conflict
over the ongoing Kashmir tangle, the nuclear debate in the sub-continent
has become a live issue with far reaching regional and global ramifications.
My paper will critically examine and evaluate India’s nuclear
doctrine by tracing the roots of India’s nuclear policy from
India’s independence up to the present and discuss India’s
stand on NPT, CTBT and other current measures towards nuclear non-proliferation,
nuclear arms control and confidence building measures. As India’s
proclaimed nuclear doctrine is being scrutinised, which type of
weapon system India will prefer and adopt in order to have a stable
deterrence? What will be India’s nuclear strategy and counter-strategy
vis-a-vis Pakistan? Can India win a possible nuclear war with Pakistan?
What will be the outcome of such policies in the regional sector
as well as in the international scene? Is there a possibility for
the emergence of a stable nuclear proliferation regime in South
Asia? The paper will attempt to provide answers to the above questions
in addition to forecasting a probable security scenario for South
Asia in the immediate foreseeable future.
Paper giver 7: Christian
Wagner, German Institute for International and Security Affairs,
Berlin
Paper 7 title: India as a
Regional Power?
Paper abstract: The debate about India as a
regional power in South Asia is shaped by a realist paradigma that
assumes a hegemonic approach. This can be underlined by Indira Gandhi’s
security doctrine of the 1980s and by various interventions. But
a closer empirical look reveals that despite the military and economic
asymmetry in favour of India, her South Asia policy was far less
successful than expected. Except for smaller countries like Bhutan
and Nepal India has never been able to exert a permanent influence
on the domestic affairs in the neighbouring countries. India’s
relations with Pakistan are the most obvious case for this argument.
Although there had been instances in India’s bilateral relations
with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were India had a strong impact on
their domestic development there are also long periods where India
was not able to push her interest.
Moreover the domestic changes and the liberalisation after 1991
have changed India’s South Asia policy fundamentally. The policy
of confrontation has been more or less completely replaced by an
approach that favours co-operation. This can also be seen in India’s
new approach towards multi-lateral institutions like the South Asian
Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC).
The paper argues that India’s regional policy can no longer
be understood by a state-centric realist approach alone. The importance
of economic factors in India’s foreign policy as well as the
new security challenges that are linked with the networks of transnational
terrorism make it necessary to include new theoretical approaches
in order to understand India’s South Asia policy.
Panel report:
The panel on ‘International Relations and
the South Asian Security Order’, which took place in the
Nya Festsalen on Friday, 9th of July, 8 -12, was jointly chaired
by Dr. Christian Wagner, German Institute for International and
Security Affairs, Berlin, Dr. Mohammed B. Alam, Professor of History
and Political Science, Miyazaki International College, Japan,
and Karsten Frey, South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg.
Four papers were presented at the panel.
The first session from 8.00 to 9.30 was commenced with the presentation
of Prof. Theodore Wright, New York, on ‘American Intervention
in South Asian Interstate Disputes: Afghanistan and Kashmir: the
Israeli/Zionist Aspect’. Therein, Prof. Wright gave a broad
overview of the history of US foreign policy towards South Asia
since the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, with an
emphasis on the role of the Zionist lobby in the U.S. Congress
and the impact of the Arab-Israeli dispute.
The second paper was presented by Prof. Mohammed B. Alam, Miyazaki,
Japan, on ‘Between Dominance and Confidence-Building Measures:
A Study of India’s Nuclear Doctrine and the Current Regional
Environment in South Asia’. Prof. Alam critically examined
and evaluated India’s nuclear doctrine by tracing the roots
of India’s nuclear policy from India’s independence
up to the present and discuss India’s stand on NPT, CTBT
and other current measures towards nuclear non-proliferation,
nuclear arms control and confidence building measures.
The discussion on both presentations of the first session was
chaired by Dr. Christian Wagner.
After the coffee break, the second session from 10.30 to 12.00
included two presentations. The first paper was presented by Prof.
Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, on ‘Nuclear
Risk’s Preventive Approaches in an Adversarial Indo-Pakistan
Scenario’. The paper aimed at exploring acceptable strategies
for both India and Pakistan, which would not only decrease the
security dilemma of both the belligerent neighbors, but also reduce
the nuclear risks in South Asia.
Finally, the panel was concluded with the presentation by Dr.
Christian Wagner, Berlin, on ‘India as a Regional Power?’.
Therein, Dr. Wagner developed an explanatory model to India’s
emerging foreign policy over time along the concepts of hard and
soft power.
The discussion to the second session was chaired by Karsten Frey,
Heidelberg.
All four papers were followed by a lively discussion. The general
discussion, which had to be limited to 15 minutes only, mainly
focused on India’s changing role within the South Asian
region as well as in the global arena.
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Last updated
2010-03-01
