UK seeks millennium partnership with India

The theme of the lecture “Britain and India: Partners for a New Millennium” attempts to set at rest not only some of the ghosts of the past which have dogged the bilateral relationship, such as Kashmir and non-proliferation issues but also such as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Significantly, the British minister seemed at pains to assuage New Delhi that London understood its reluctance to resume the dialogue with Islamabad, adding voluntarily that “events in Pakistan provide a depressing contrast” with India.

“The Indian government is very concerned about Gen. Musharraf’s intentions and the military coup in Pakistan,” Hain said later in answer to a question, and added: “I fully understand them. Dialogue will have to take place sometime but how and when, I leave that to the Indian government to decide.”

As part of the lecture, Hain had already said: “There is no such thing as a good military coup. Whatever Nawaz Sharif’s deficiencies — and there were many — and however good Musharraf’s intentions, he must be left in no doubt that an early return to democracy is the best service he can render Pakisan.”

Answering other questions later, Hain stressed that Britain led the way at the recent Commonwealth summit in suspending Pakistan from its councils of ministers. He pointed out that there would be no ministerial visits from London to Islamabad as long as the military regime there continued, that in fact it was not “business as usual” with Pakistan.

He would not say, however, if Britain would suspend aid and economic investment in Pakistan pending the return to democracy.

The `Ramnath Goenka’ lecture on Friday seemed to have provided the British with the perfect platform to disseminate its changing positions on a large number of issues with India.

Unlike the hectoring stance taken by London after New Delhi went nuclear last May, Hain today said that as mature countries, both could agree to disagree, on issues such as the CTBT and Kashmir.

“I believe that India will be one of the next century’s superpowers. Not simply because of its size, certainly not because of its nuclear capacity. But because of India’s huge economic potential, political stature and its commitment to democracy,” he said.

In response to a question on India and the CTBT, Hain pointed out that Britain wanted India to sign the Treaty “sooner rather than later. I’m not saying you should do it tomorrow,” he said, adding, “but it would be in India’s interest to do so. India will gain enormous credit around the world if it did.”

It was, however, Hain’s comment on Kashmir, where he reiterated his government’s new definitive view that it would “not mediate unless being asked to by both India and Pakistan”, that showed up the shift in the Labour Party’s position on the issue.

As recently as 1995, the Labour Party, then in the opposition, had stated that as the old “imperial power” it was Britain’s responsibility to mediate on Kashmir between India and Pakistan. It was this statement that helped destroy the visit of the late Derek Fatchett, Hain’s predecessor, to India a couple of years ago.

On Friday, however, Hain seemed to go out of the way to propose a shared agenda for the future. He stressed the importance of increased bilateral investment and praised the courage and skill of Indian software entrepreneurs who have brought the “cutting edge” to information technology (IT) companies in the US.

“I want India and Britain to forge a new international IT alliance to take us forward into the new century,” Hain said, pointing out that he had taken a detour to Bangalore before touching Delhi, to announce a new initiative to bring together UK and Indian academic bodies and foster links with the private sector in both countries.