Your historical chance, Sir

Doubtlessly then, he will have told you that India is one of the oldest civilisations in our history and that many of the wonders of humanity originated here, that its philosophy was so subtle that it influenced the entire East and, until Nietzsche, many western philosophers acknowledged India as one of their major inspirations.

No American President has in the last twenty years graced by his presence the largest democracy on this planet. Your Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says Kashmir is the 8220;short fuse8221; of South Asia. Albright8217;s statement only highlights the United States8217; ignorance about Kashmir, which until two decades ago was a model of Muslim-Hindu amity. Did you know, Mr.

President, that Hindus and Muslims of Kashmir would often pray at the same shrines and that the Islam practiced in Kashmir was an open Islam, very close to ancient Sufism? But this was not to the taste of the hard-line Sunnis of Pakistan and Afghanistan 8211; and they proceeded to radicalise the whole of Kashmir by unleashing a reign of terror, which in turn triggered the exodus of Hindus from the Valley.

Your ambassador would have do-ubtless told you, Mr. President, th-at historically and geographically, Kashmir has always been part of India and that the calling of a referendum there wo-uld be a suicide for any Indian government, because the Muslim majority of the Valley would automatically vote for a union with Pakistan. That in turn, Mr President, would mean that Pakistan would have an immense strategic advantage over India. And other Indian states which are in a secessionist mood might follow suit. Also bear in mind, Mr. President, that Indians do not understand why the West is giving lessons to India about Kashmir. England battled thousands of miles away from their home soil to keep the Falkland islands. France uses its armed might to retain Corsica, an island which has mixed French and Italian roots. Your own country intervenes militarily in parts of the globe where you feel your interests are endangered.

All right, we know, Pakistan is threatening a nuclear war 8211; and it scares you. We do hope, however, Mr. President, th-at you are going to call their bluff by bypassing Islamabad on your way to India. Not only because India is a much mo-re important cou-ntry than Pakis- tan in terms of size, population and economic potential, but also because this country, in spite of all its faults, has been a democracy for more than fifty years. As you know, the same thing cannot be said about Pakistan. Your intelligence people must have told you that Pakistan is sponsoring terrorism not only in India but all over the world. Even the Empire State Building bombings had a Pakistani connection. Your ambassador, who by now is very knowledgeable about South Asia, must also have told you that Pakistan and Afghanistan8217;s hatred for the Hindu pagans, their contempt for this polytheist religion, is as old and obsessive as it was during the first invasion of India by Arabs.

Lastly, Mr. Clinton, your ambassador must have informed you that there is no such thing as Hindu nationalists8221; or 8220;Hindu fundamentalists8221;, as the foreign press likes to label the party whose leader is today the Prime Minister of India. Because in the whole history of India, Hindus have shown that they are extremely tolerant. Hinduism is probably the only religion in the world which has never tried to convert others or conquer other countries. This historical tolerance of Hinduism is never taken into account by foreign correspondents covering India and even, unfortunately, by Indian journalists.

Mr. President, in the Sixties, China was to the world a backward nation, the 8220;Red Devil8221;. Richard Nixon8217;s visit there in 1971 changed everything. Today, it is a must for industrialised nations to invest there, even if the returns are very poor and China is bound sooner or later to enter into grave political turmoil when the bloody hand of communism is withdrawn. Mr President, you have a unique opportunity to do for India what Nixon did for China. By coming only to India and by giving this visit the importance it deserves, you will signal to the world that India is the next superpower of this century, the other democratic giant of Asia and that you, William Jefferson Clinton, was the first western leader to have had the vision of realising it. And history may just remember you for that.