The Hindu : Should India do the U.S. bidding?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 12, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

Should India do the U.S. bidding?

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI June 11. India has gone out on a limb entertaining repeated American requests to deploy troops in Iraq. Or so it seems at a time when India's own assessment is that the Americans have got "bogged down" in Iraq, the attempts to accommodate the United States on the troop deployment issue appear bizarre.

While India must do what it can to help Iraq, it should also retain independence in decision-making when it comes to sovereign questions. While it is important for India to maintain good relations with the U.S., it will have to pay a price if it finds itself rushing to do the "American bidding".

Given the political orientation of the BJP and its "Hindutva" politics (with the Gujarat events not yet becoming history), any deployment of Indian troops in Iraq will not be well received in the Gulf. Iran, in which India has invested considerably, is likely to be disturbed the most.

As media interest shifts away from Iraq (remember Afghanistan?), the latest issue of Time magazine reports: "For American troops, Iraq is still a dangerous place... in the weeks since April 9, an additional 55 (Americans) have been killed, 15 of them by hostile fire." The war, a senior American General is quoted as saying, had not ended.

Would India send its troops into harm's way? Whatever clarifications a Pentagon team visiting India next week may offer on the troops issue, Indian troops in Iraq will be serving "under" the occupying American and British force. Even if a separate "zone" is created, there can be no "independence" of command.

The "troops issue" will truly serve as a "litmus test" on whether or not India is a "client State" of the U.S. or can still take independent decisions.

Another question is, whether India will receive a public endorsement from the U.S. that it will unconditionally support India's entry into the U.N. Security Council? Will the U.S. give up its stand that Kashmir is a "disputed" territory? After all, Russia, France and Britain have no problem supporting India's entry into the Security Council.

And what about the political reaction in India? Barring newspaper statements, the Opposition has not been able to bring any pressure to stop the Government from sending troops to Iraq.

Does the Government have the mandate to send troops to Iraq? What are the implications of sending the troops under a non-U.N. peacekeeping mandate? What about taking the approval of Parliament on an issue that might fundamentally alter India's foreign policy?

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