Losing ground abroad

It has been clear from the very beginning that the outbreak of communal violence in Gujarat would tarnish India8217;s image abroad like not...

It has been clear from the very beginning that the outbreak of communal violence in Gujarat would tarnish India8217;s image abroad like nothing else has done in recent memory. But much more perhaps has been the damage done by the failure of the government in the state as well as at the Centre to demonstrate its willingness and ability to govern. What happened in the first 72 hours was tragic enough. But what has been happening since then is no less destructive because, instead of pulling the state out of that downward spiral, our leadership seems to be bent upon taking the whole country toward a future that worries every Indian who grew up to believe in the plurality, diversity and the principle of equality of the human being. Somewhere we seem to be forgetting that no country 8212; small or big 8212; in today8217;s world of information explosion can remain insulated from the perceptions and judgement of the international community. And in this global village perceptions are as important as the reality.

If the United States and other countries had come around to strengthen relations with India while setting aside other concerns, it was essentially because of the positive images that India evoked in recent years. The recovery from economic crisis with fundamental reforms considered impossible only a short while earlier demonstrated the promise of a new India. Coupled with the reality and image of a plural resilient democracy, where the number of voters exceeds the combined population of the US and European Union, this has been a major factor in reminding the world of an India that was attempting successfully what constitutes the most ambitious experiment in human history: to transform a de-industrialised country, a stratified society and the impoverished millions through a consultative process which maintained its spirituality and tolerance. The world had also come to revise its earlier perceptions of what it described as the 8216;Hindu right-wing8217; political party ruling the country generally along the middle path.

So the question that we must ask is, are we risking losing all that? And if so, why and what for? The president of the largest democratic Muslim country in the world gently reminded us, who have the second largest Muslim population in a democracy of much longer standing, of tolerance and pluralism. China, which normally remains aloof from internal affairs of other countries, has mildly talked of the importance of ethnic peace. The US has expressed the hope, in subdued language, that domestic peace would be maintained. But its assistant secretary of state for non-proliferation thought fit to remind the world at this time of the dangers of nuclear armed India and Pakistan being a 8220;matter of concern.8221; Sooner, rather than later, Kashmir could return to the foreign policy agendas of other states. Continuing public disorder and lack of governance in one of the richest and industrialised states would have consequences for an economy already under pressure. Negative impulses on credit ratings could aggravate problems further. Potential damage must be contained at an early date.