India�s Growing Regional Responsibilities: Meeting the Challenge

Speaker: Prof Sumit Ganguly
Chair: Amb TCA Rangachari
Date: 20 August 2008
Venue: CLAWS Conference Room

Sumit Ganguly
Great powers shape their neighbourhood. They provide for collective requirements like regional security and peace. They are proactive in their policies and not just reactive. India is emerging as a great power. India’s current economic growth is phenomenal and is capable of double-digit growth; gone are the days of ‘Hindu Rate of Growth’. Consequently, there is substantial reduction in poverty. The present economic strength is the most critical element that was lacking in the first five decades of India’s independence.

Indian democracy is irreversible and its institutions have withstood every challenge. There is a scope for improvement, however. Substantial growth of India’s military power in recent times is appreciable. Professionalism of Indian military is well known. It is capable of facing all internal and external challenges. The most interesting aspect is that the Indian military is subservient to the civil authority. Indian ‘soft power’ – ranging from democracy to Bollywood cinema – is growing and has been widely recognised. India’s popular culture has its constituency well beyond its borders.

However, India is surrounded by weak and meddlesome neighbours and needs to exercise much greater control over its borders. It is in India’s interest to have a stable neighbourhood. India can emerge as a great power only in a transformed neighbourhood. Therefore, it is India’s responsibility to shape its neighbourhood. The major challenge is how to do this without coercion; coercion is a counter-productive strategy and is unsustainable in the long run. There are other ways to go about it:

Firstly, India should not hesitate to involve itself in relief measures during natural disasters in its neighbourhood. Such responses should not be ad hoc and under ad hoc coalitions.

Secondly, India should display magnanimity by opening its own markets liberally to its neighbours, especially to weaker and smaller states even at some economic cost to itself and should be prepared to do so on a non-reciprocal basis.

Thirdly, India should encourage legitimate movement of people, while at the same time strictly controlling its borders. There is immense insecurity among its neighbours, therefore India has to work harder to instill confidence in its neighbours. India needs to reassure its smaller neighbours that despite major differences, their territorial integrity is guaranteed.

Fourthly, India should give minimal set of guarantees to its minorities. This is the best way to undercut those neighbours who are meddling in Indian affairs on behalf of minorities.

DISCUSSION:
The following observations were made during free-flowing discussion that ensued after the presentation:

• Growth has to be accompanied by equity. Absence of equity in the long run is detrimental to national security. India needs to evolve a mechanism for ensuring social equity.

• India’s goodwill towards its neighbours should not be a one-way traffic. Neighbours also have to respond favourably. Unfortunately, India’s acts of benevolence are forgotten easily, but acts of malevolence are narrated over and again by some of its neighbours to sustain nationalistic politics.

• India needs to have self-confidence and needs to formulate grand but achievable goals. It should link its Afghanistan strategy with its larger strategy towards Central Asia. If ISAF leaves Afghanistan, there has to be sustained involvement by India. Otherwise, it will give sufficient space for Pakistan’s dominance. There is no need for India to genuflect before the ‘Middle Kingdom’.

• Myanmar poses a real challenge for Indian policy makers on what is moral, desirable, strategically right etc. India can, however, be guided by its national interests.