Value change please, not regime change

On the pretext of strengthening democracy, the US is using force to push for a change of leadership in Islamic countries. The world should get together and say this can8217;t be allowed. And a strong secular India must lead this voice

With the Lebanon crisis resurfacing in West Asia and the Middle East, a strange phenomenon has emerged. Sunnis and Shias have converged in the cauldron called Lebanon. The US, still shell-shocked by 9/11, is caught in a Catch 22 situation. The Bush administration8217;s policy of democratisation by regime change 8211; in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan 8211; has made Islamic countries feel they are being threatened either in the name of Saddam and Taliban or Iranian nuclear power, Hamas or Hezbollah. Such a fear psychosis and insecurity among the Islamic world in Middle East and West Asia may herald turbulence for peaceful countries like India.

In India, despite diversities in religions, regions, ethnicities and identities, social unity has never been an issue. Religious conflicts 8211; such as the Shia versus Sunni or Islam versus The Rest 8211; never grew roots in India8217;s democratic psyche. But the widespread anger against the Prophet8217;s cartoons published by European newspapers and the conflicts of West Asia led to violent protests during Bush8217;s visit here. And even though seemingly symbolic, these protests reflect deep religious hurt and pain felt by the Indian minority.

Even the best ever nuclear deal between Manmohan Singh and Bush is being interpreted as a collaboration in favour of an US expansionist policy against the Islamic world! Sure, certain communal episodes, like the Babri Masjid demolition and the carnage in Gujarat, are what have provoked these sentiments. The seed of hatred was sown in many an Indian Muslim a mind in Ayodhya, what followed were acts of hatred against one another that triggered off terrorism on a high scale. This can now only be halted by returning to pre-1992 environment of secular resurgence. Or else, the bipolar mindset of Islamic versus The Rest of the World will drive the earth to annihilation.

After having known the pro-Israel bias in US foreign policy, even Sunni countries like Saudi Arabia that have traditionally not supported the Hezbollah have resolved to extend support. Unless a plan to demobilise the militias is launched by UN and US, Israel is likely to continue to be an epicenter of regional conflict. The UN and the international community8217;s delay in acting on bringing about a ceasefire in Lebanon has already led to a humanitarian disaster. The present situation also reflects a lack of global leadership in the face of violence affecting hundreds of civilians.

In this backdrop, India should don the mantle of world leadership again based on the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru, which still evokes confidence among the Islamic nations who considered India as messenger of peace.

The scars of this war may take a long to heal. In fact, the war against terrorism will not be won till win we ensure zero tolerance of religious bigotry. The US and other countries should decide whether they want regime change or value change. The time has also come for us to wake up to the actions of non-State actors out to destroy democratic ethos on the pretext of religion. India is not an exception to this. These non-State actors are fast occupying the space left empty by failed states and countries.

Here too, the solution lies in good governance, not regime change by use of force. The journey that commenced from Afghanistan may end in Beirut. Regime change should remain the absolute prerogative of a country8217;s democratic and secular forces. Any external coercion8212; through terrorism, or in the form of intervention in the guise of strengthening democracy, or indeed as a pretext to restore democracy8212;will be a disaster. The result of such interventions won8217;t be conducive to finding solutions within the democratic space.

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As the physicist Martin Rus has stated, 8220;we are entering an era where a single person can, by one clandestine act, cause millions of deaths or render a city uninhabitable for years.8221; Given the powers of technology, we can tell that, aspiring martyrs will not make good neighbours in the future. Recourse to reason and discourse and mutual inquiry alone can save humanity in the environment of reason in exile. The world beyond reason is satanic and hatred against fellow man is heretical.

8220;Mothers were skewed on swords as their children watched. Young women were stripped and raped in broad daylight, then8230;set on fire.8221;

No, it8217;s not a story from the Middle Ages nor is it a tale from Middle East. This real life story emanates from the land of Lord Budha, Rama and Mahatma Gandhi. It8217;s a paragraph from a report of violence that erupted between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat in the winter of 2002. Over 1000 people died in the month long series of rioting 8211; nearly half as many as have died in the Israeli-Palestine conflict in more than a decade.

The Lebanon-Israel conflict and terrorism let loose in the world need to be halted by the message of peace from India. We should act now or the next opportunity won8217;t be ours. We can only hope that the forces of secularism and rationality will keep the missiles in away for a while, till deeper reasons for this conflict can be finally addressed.

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The writer is a senior Congress politician, former chief minister of Karnataka and head of the Oversight Committee on reservations