Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao says Pakistan is hypnoticallyobsessed with India but she and her bosses too are fixated on acoveted prize, a permanent seat at the United Nations SecurityCouncil. The mandarins of New Delhi must be pleased as punch to havehad over to visit leaders of all five permanent member countries inquick succession. Inexorable appears the march but will India find thepot of gold at the end of the rainbow? And, if it does, what are theimplications for itself as well as for Pakistan?
First in was David Cameron of Britain, who arrived during the summerand offered unstinting support, whetting local appetite for the mainAmerican course. And, did he fail to disappoint? No sir, Barack Obamaset the cat amongst the pigeons by endorsing India for the seat, thefirst time ever by the US. India rejoiced while Pakistan recoiled.
But a careful examination shows him adhering closely to what he toldBob Woodward in the book, Obama's Wars. In lieu of the seat, heexpects India to resolve Kashmir. At a press conference with ManmohanSingh, Obama characterized Kashmir as a long-standing dispute makingthe latter stutter that the K-word was not scary. Only then did Obamahand over the endorsement in India's Parliament but couched in suchdiplomatese that countless local hair were split over when "the yearsahead" would dawn.
Next waltzed in Nicolas Sarkozy of France. The French, like theBritish, have consistently seen merit in India's case. Sarkozy though,true to type, proved an enigma. He first tagged on the applications ofAfrica, the Arabs and pretty much the rest of the world onto India's,befuddling his hosts, who are willing to concede as equal aspirantsonly "self-appointed frontrunners" Germany, Japan and Brazil. Just asthey were about to give up on him, Sarkozy warmed the cockles ofIndia's heart by throwing in 2011 as early as when it could make it.
But soon came the caveat. Sarkozy, just like Obama before him,cautioned that with great power status came great responsibilities.Whereas Obama wanted India to be more mindful of human rightsviolations of countries such as Iran and Myanmar, Sarkozy wanted Indiato send military forces to keep world peace. With India already beingone of the foremost contributors to UN peacekeeping missionsthroughout the world, the mandarins of New Delhi must have been leftwondering what more was being asked of them.
No matter, three down, two to go. By now the state jets were landingat Delhi airport almost on top of one another. Wen Jiabao, the leaderIndia was least looking forward to, came with the master key to entry.Shortly before his visit, WikiLeaks revealed China's opposition to anycouncil expansion. Indian hopes were up nevertheless but Wen remainedinscrutable, willing only to acknowledge an understanding of India'saspirations. No one in India knew quite what to make of him and sinceWen was off to Pakistan next, all the country could do was wait withclenched teeth to hear what he would say there.
Rounding off the passage to India was Dmitry Medvedev. Relationsbetween Russia and India have frayed considerably since the heady daysof the cold war, so much so that Russia has waffled on India's bid.Medvedev signaled that the waffle still needed baking, voicing supportfor India while reiterating that reforming the council was tough andrequired consensus.
All the while Pakistan protested vociferously against what it deemedan indulgence of Indian hegemonism. But what will India gain with apermanent UN seat? Could it block Pakistani claims on Kashmir? True apermanent member wielding veto power can stonewall but the veto seemsunattainable for seekers since they themselves have forsaken it. And,while India sees red when the K-word is uttered in the UN by Pakistan,no ascension to permanency can make it strangle the latter. Nor can itefface any past security council resolutions.
So then, what is it? Nothing comes to mind but the obvious, theacceptance that any arriviste craves. Even that appears a falsehankering because ever since its early years, Gandhi's legacy andNehru's charisma burnished the country with global influencedisproportionate to its economic and military capabilities. A bee oncein one's bonnet is hard to get rid of though. And, as every journeymust have a fitting end, India has found a destination to its liking.
Flush with cash, New Delhi wants to beef up its military. All of therecent visitors bar China are major suppliers of defence equipment toIndia. As bees flock to honey, they arrived armed with catalogues ofthe most terrifying stuff. Inherent was a delicate diplomaticquid-pro-quo. The more arms you buy from us, the more we will pushyour candidacy. As Islamabad keeps raising the bar for India's seat,so too will India have to up its arms binge.
Lost in Pakistan's current rhetoric was its vote in October to putIndia in the security council for two years beginning January 1, 2011.Once on, we will never get off is the new mantra of India's brave.India seemingly returned the favor by taking in stride the sale ofChinese nuclear reactors to Pakistan. Is there more afoot than meetsthe eye?
Every country is entitled to its obsession. Pakistan's is obvious. Bycontinually thumbing its nose at a NATO mired in Afghanistan, it hasput the K-word in spotlight, albeit on the backstage. A deal has beenblessed by the powers that be. Both the seat and Srinagar are not faraway.
The writer edits http://www.scooptime.com/ . He canbe reached at sunil_sharan@yahoo.com .