:: P.C. Alexander

Fight internal terror,stop fearing Taliban

P.C. Alexander

May.06 : Ever since the short-term occupation of Dunar, near Islamabad, by Taliban militants, we in India seem to be overreacting to the danger that Taliban forces can pose to India’s peace and security if they capture power in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Speculations about the fallout of such a development on India have started appearing in our media and fears are being expressed on what would happen to India’s security if Pakistan’s nuclear button comes under the control of the Taliban.

An oft-quoted axiom of political geography is that no country can choose its neighbours. Today India’s immediate neighbours have the dubious distinction of being in the list of the "top 25" failed states, according to the grading done by Washington-based Foreign Policy. The two entries in this list in our immediate neighbourhood, namely Pakistan and Afghanistan, are the most vulnerable among the failed states. Few among the even most ardent followers of Islam would on their own opt for Talibanisation as the agenda of the Taliban has been quite repulsive and unacceptable. Some blatant examples of the Taliban’s extremism, like destruction of works of art, discouragement of girls’ education, ban on music and television, have led to the alienation of the Taliban movement from large sections of the common people and therefore, the chances of the Taliban coming to power in countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan are quite slim. Still, fear about the resurgence of "Talibanism" in our region continues unabated, as does the fear of its impact on India.

Even in the worst-case scenario of the triumph of Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, it is most unlikely that the Taliban can ever make inroads into a strong and secular state like India. It is equally unthinkable that even the most fanatic sections of the Muslim community in India will ever welcome or assist in the extension of Taliban rule in India. Even if some Muslims in India are so misguided by religious fanaticism that they will welcome the Taliban to India, fact is that India is a strong democracy with formidable military power and can prevent any such development.

The only possibility then to be warned against will be the fallout from our neighbourhood countries with antediluvian doctrines which aim at destabilising our democratic and secular system of government. But all the Taliban countries of the world, whether in our neighbourhood or in distant places, put together will not be able to induct "Talibanism" into India so long as our secular democracy remains as strong as it is today.

It should be remembered that the Taliban was allowed to take roots in Afghanistan by the United States, during the Cold War years, in order to throw out the occupation forces of the USSR. The defeat of the Communist forces in Afghanistan would have been quite impossible without the undisguised support extended to the Taliban by the US. This was a typical case of the remedy proving to be more dangerous than the disease. However, within a very short period the US itself had to play an important role in the overthrow of the Taliban rule in Afghanistan. It is, therefore, most unlikely that the Nato forces in Afghanistan will sit back and watch "restoration" of the Taliban. History need not always repeat itself.

Now let me come to the fears about Pakistan’s nuclear weapons falling into the hands of Islamic groups hostile to India. Ever since Zulfikar Ali Bhutto bragged about the need for an "Islamic bomb", the Western world had remained alert about the possibility of the nuclear weapons of Pakistan coming under the control of unfriendly governments. The fear now is not that the Pakistan government would itself use nuclear weapons against its enemies, but that it may become so weak that it may be helpless in preventing misuse of such weapons. But such fears are quite unfounded as is clear from the dozens of safeguards and guarantees a country like India had to provide during the recent negotiations for a nuclear cooperation agreement with the US. It is most unlikely that the US will stand idle if it even has a shadow of doubt about the possibility of the misuse of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

What is it then that India has to do in the circumstances in which it finds itself — the only stable country in the midst of many failed states? The answer is that it should do its best to reduce the deficiencies which have been identified in the discharge of its responsibilities for providing peace and security to its people. While India may be included in the category of stable countries, we cannot ignore the fact that the country has been facing threats from several extremist groups and movements like the Naxalites, the Maoists and others in its border areas, particularly in the Northeast. It is a well-known fact that the writ of the government does not run in several parts of the Northeast. People who wish to live in peace are forced by the rebel groups to give protection money and in some states even senior government officers in departments meant to maintain law and order are forced to buy peace with money.

In most places where the Naxalite or Maoist movement has gained strength in recent years, the root cause has been identified as dissatisfaction with the low impact of the development process, especially in areas which are predominantly tribal. Whenever the problems of peace and security of the people in these regions have been raised in Parliament or in various committees of Parliament, the government has taken the totally indefensible line that the responsibility for law and order is mainly of the state government while the Centre’s role is to strengthen the hands of the states by providing funds and resources. This, to say the least, is a grossly inadequate appreciation of the respective responsibilities of the Centre and the states in dealing with the problem of internal security.

Instead of getting unduly anxious about the likely fallout of Taliban’s emergence on India, what is required is urgent attention to the Naxalite and Maoist menace and introduction of an administrative system suitable to the special needs of the people living in the country’s border districts. Their grievances and sense of insecurity have started affecting the peace and security of the whole nation. The earlier those are attended to, the better it will be for strengthening national integration and for fighting forces of subversion and insurrection which are threatening to weaken our national unity and capacity to deal with divisive forces from within and outside.

P.C. Alexander is former governor of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra