A major issue in the last two decades has been the clamour by politicians of all hues for strengthening defence capability of India by procuring costly security equipment from abroad, in particular the USA. Under the UPA government the emphasis has in particular been on getting help from investigative agencies of the USA for training India's security system and agencies. The demand on the already stretched financial position of India has also gone up. This is bound to have exacting impact in the context of the global economic recession on the Indian economy.

This state of affairs is a contrast to the position that India should be regarded a peace-loving country which seeks friendly relations with all countries, especially the neighbouring states, which was earnestly projected in the past by its government especially, in the Nehru era. But the response of the Congress party-led UPA government has been what may be characterised as hawkish. The opposition, BJP, on its part, has queered pitch. If earlier the Congress and its leadership did not let go of any opportunity to denounce the BJP for taking an aggressive line towards Pakistan, the Congress party now tends to outsmart BJP in its chauvinistic stand towards Pakistan by going so far as to freeze the on-going peace negotiations with Pakistan and also adopting a big brother stance towards Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Defence preparedness is not merely a question of military build-up and unchecked expenditure on buying arms from abroad. There can be no effective defence preparedness for an independent country, particularly one, with internal social and political cohesion without self-reliant economic base. The scope, scale and efficacy of defence preparedness in the case of India has to be determined not by financial allocations. It has to be in terms of a strategy of socio-economic development and imaginative management of relations with foreign countries in particular neighbouring countries. If defence preparedness is at the cost of development, it is not good. In the management of foreign relations, alternating bouts of euphoria and panic will not do and chauvinism can be no substitute for mature diplomacy for promoting good international relations.

India-Pakistan is indeed a baffling conundrum. The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh and the then President of Pakistan, General Musharraf, for instance, were far away from their home turfs when they signed an agreement in Havana, (Cuba), to join the global war against terrorism of President Bush of USA. They had, ironically gone there to attend the conference of non-aligned nations.

After their departures for Havana, however, both Singh and the General were in furious war of words, (like the one which is going on at present) on the long drawn cross border terror and the territorial dispute on Kashmir, which has been festering in India - Pakistan relationship since their independence from the direct British colonial rule. Pakistan, a neighbour of India and India are sovereign states. They have now joined the global war against terrorism under the strategic hegemony of the USA. But hostility persists on cross border terrorism and dispute on Kashmir remains unresolved which has led to full scale wars between them. To engage, side by side, in the war against global terrorism in alliance with and under command of the USA, therefore, requires unusual alacrity and lot of guts. The intelligence services of both countries have in particular been drawn into active cooperation under the guidance of US intelligence.

The intervention of the US administration, in particular its intelligence agencies is no longer hidden, which was largely limited to Pakistan before India has been engaged by USA to play an active role in the global war against terrorism. It is not surprising either that relationship of India and Pakistan and its interests and disputes too are influenced by intervention, direct and indirect, diplomatic and natural of the USA. The UPA government's flip flop in negotiations with Pakistan to resolve their bilateral issues has now become stark.

The USA, acting its role as the sole super power treated India with disdain for a long time. It has now become “friendly” in its dealings with India side by side with its dealings with Pakistan which has been a strategic ally of the USA for long and enjoys special considerations in the war of USA in Afghanistan. This is bound to make the position of government in India more and more awkward and lead to sharper alienation from the sentiments of the mass of the people of India who are committed to India's political-strategic independence and self-reliant equitable economic, social and cultural development. To be stable and peaceful, India must regain its non-aligned status in the world order which is passing through troubled times in the context of the desperate USA administration struggling to retain its position as the sole super power. (IPA Service)