Chennai Kowtow
In pandering to the DMK leader M. Karunanidhi so eagerly on the policy towards Sri Lanka,the UPA government has further diminished Indias credibility in the region. Karunanidhis decision to leave the UPA might put an end to the misery of the government,but only for the moment. For the burden of coping with politics in Chennai has long limited Delhis options with Colombo.
UPA 2 has found it hard to achieve that balance in coping with the tantrums of Mamata Banerjee in dealing with Dhaka and DMKs posturing in addressing the challenges with Colombo. Last year,the Indian vote against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council was widely seen to be a response to political pressure from Tamil Nadu. The UPA government has done worse this year in trying to give the DMK a say in Indias diplomacy at Geneva.
It has sent three Union cabinet ministers to apparently negotiate the wording of the resolution being discussed among the member states of the UNHRC. The failure of this effort does not mask the dangerous precedent UPA 2 was setting. UPA 2 looked pitiful because it was no secret that Karunanidhi was simply posturing on the issue of Tamils in Lanka.
When Colombo was fighting its last ferocious battles in the civil war during the summer of 2009,Karunanidhi was the CM of Tamil Nadu. He held a token hunger strike and was quite happy to wink and nod as Delhi helped Colombo defeat the Tamil Tigers. If the UPA handled with ease the more challenging situation in 2009,UPA 2 has not demonstrated the political skill to manage the tricky situations that it has repeatedly confronted.
Sack of Potatoes
While Karunanidhis cynicism is unsurprising,it is quite tragic to see the Delhi Durbar become a political sack of potatoes,formless and malleable,that is ready to be kicked around by any domestic pressure group. Political pusillanimity at home has consequences abroad. India lost much goodwill in Sri Lanka after Delhi voted against Colombo at the UNHRC last year. It could be a lot worse if Delhi once again signals that its foreign policy is all about accommodating domestic pressures.
Once upon a time,the neighbouring countries feared Congress governments in Delhi. Congress PMs were both generous and muscular in their dealings with the neighbours. The imperious attitudes of Congress PMs kept the neighbours on tenterhooks. Delhis appeasement of domestic constituencies today makes it appear like a rather weak interlocutor to our neighbours.
Defence Dialogue
Delhis lack of political will,of course,is not a laughing matter when we consider the damage some of which could be lasting being inflicted on Indias national security interests in the region by UPA 2.
There is no denying that the condition of the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka is of real concern,not just in Chennai but India as a whole. But Delhi has also many interests in Sri Lanka other than supporting the rights of the Tamil minority there. These interests range from the economic to cultural and defence. Yet we have seen Delhi reschedule the annual defence dialogue to be held in Colombo later this week. It is one thing to pray at the feet of regional warlords. It is entirely another to wilfully undermine valuable strategic cooperation with the neighbours.
Playing fast and loose with long-term security interests has made it much easier for other powers like China and Pakistan to expand their presence in Sri Lanka. Both Beijing and Rawalpindi deeply appreciate the geopolitical significance of Sri Lanka,which is located at the heart of the Indian Ocean. Both of them have become major defence partners for Sri Lanka. Can we blame them for taking full advantage of UPA 2s willingness to outsource its Lanka policy to Chennai?
The writer is a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation,Delhi and a contributing editor for The Indian Express
