The Reviewer: Pick of the Week

ISSUE NO 1.30

PICK OF THE WEEK

FEBRUARY 27, 2000

	PICK OF THE WEEK
	A DIPLOMAT’S DIARY THE TANTALISING TRIANGLE: CHINA, INDIA AND USA By T N Kaul Macmillan Hardcover - 273 pages ISBN: 0333933400 List Price: Rs 345.00
	Reviewed by Subir Ghosh The chances of a man being respected and regarded highly both in his own country as well in those countries which have and have not been on the best of terms with that of his own is rare. It is rarer still if such a man happens to be only a diplomat. Diplomacy does not come naturally to a diplomat, but when the man in question is one Triloki Nath Kaul the answer is a forgone conclusion. Kaul served as India’s representative in most of the important world capitals – Moscow, Washington, Beijing, London, Paris… He was the country’s foreign secretary too, having negotiated agreements with China (1954), Pakistan (1966 and 1972), the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1971) and the United States (1974). Kaul completed this manuscript but did not leave to see its publication. He died in January this year. He was 87. It is not that Kaul never wrote books earlier. He did write nine in the last two decades or so, but this one sums up what he had witnessed, based on personal experiences, in the second half of the twentieth century. When a diplomat of his stature delves into Sino-Indian, Sino-American and Indo-American equations based on first-hand accounts and encounters, it does make some thought-provoking reading. The role of secrecy, says Kaul, which was the key to diplomacy in the past has been diminished over the years. "However, realpolitik still plays a dominant role in secret as well as open parleys between statesmen and diplomats the world over, especially among the so-called great and aspiring superpowers like America, China and Russia." In the short run, it may appear to succeed, but in the long run it does not. Kaul cites the instances of the Vietnam fiasco and the struggle of Bangladesh for Independence and the Indo-Pak war of 1971. Yet, it managed to bring China and the US much closer than before. Kaul, as did Henry Kissinger in his "White House Years", "Years of Upheaval" and "Diplomacy", talks about how difficult it is to tread a thin line. "A diplomat is supposed to be a paragon of virtues, and is not permitted any human weaknesses. He is meant to be self-controlled, dignified, polite, even to a fault, and not display anger or emotion, unless it is feigned or put on for the occasion deliberately. He is expected to be inhuman at times and even superhuman, as the occasion demands. Behind this diplomatic mask lies a human heart that loves and grieves, that suffers the pangs of sorrow and enjoys the ecstasy of love, that loathes what is and longs for what is not." He started out as a diplomat rather late in life – at the age of 34. For the first six years since India’s independence in 1947, he was posted in the USSR, the US and China – all at the behest of Jawaharlal Nehru. It was from day one that Kaul recorded his impressions and experiences in personal diaries. These form the basis of Kaul’s parting shot. His previous works like "Diplomacy in Peace and War", "Indo-US Relations: The Kissinger Years", "Stalin to Gorbachev and Beyond" and "My Years Through Raj to Swaraj" were of more academic value. This one too is, but is more human too. Kaul’s diary is not a mere collection of anecdotes. The historical analysis which hinges on his own postings, having been in the thick and thin of things, narrows down slowly to contemporary international relations and future of it all. Looking at the New World Order from his own country’s point of view, Kaul looks closely at China, India and the US. This is what, he calls, "The Tantalising Triangle". He likes the phrase to a game of love and courtship between three players. "America seems like a young, cocksure, impatient and overconfident player who wants to dominate the game and dictate his own rules. China appears to be like a mature and experienced lover who knows how far to go without going too far, but prepared to take calculated risks. India is like a shy and sensitive youth, moved by romantic passion, yearning for longlasting happiness, rather than going for short-term pleasure and gain." He says the three countries can play an important role in ensuring security and prosperity for all in the 21^st century if they work in cooperation and not in mutual suspicion. He advocates a "common vision" for the trio and asserts that if these different partners "each proud and strong-willed, play the game like true sportsmen in a spirit of give and take, mutual respect and accommodation" the possibility and prospect of making the 21^st century a period of peace and cooperation could be achieved. The "vision", he contends, is "indeed tantalising, but all the more desirable… Once the triangle has a strong common base, it can survive temporary stresses and strains, and emerge stronger and more stable than before." "We are moving slowly but steadily towards the concept of One World, where there is equality but not uniformity, freedom without fear, and progress and development on a fair, equitable, just and mutually beneficial basis. India and America could work towards this goal in friendship and cooperation with likeminded countries, and not by forming and encouraging mutually antagonistic and rival blocs, as happened just after World War II, when the Cold War began, " Kaul says. He is critical of US President Bill Clinton’s policy of carrying "much further Nixon’s policy… at the cost of other countries of South, Southeast, and East Asia… because, it seems, he saw chances of thereby strengthening his own position in America", and argues that it "cannot last long or prevent the onward march of other Asian nations towards peace and progress in freedom and democracy, free from fear of domination or dictation by the so-called "super and great powers." He feels, "The sole-surviving-superpower syndrome of Clinton is dangerous, both for America and the rest of the world", he warns adding "Neither China nor Russia nor India nor Western Europe nor the emerging nations of the rest of the world are willing to accept America as the world’s gendarme." Kaul, who commanded a lot of respect during and after his stint in Washington, reposes his faith in the American people, and says they are "unlikely to be taken in for long by glib talk and tall claims… They want to live in peace and friendship… They do not want a war with anybody, nor do they like their troops to get involved in other people’s wars and conflicts. Clinton’s foreign adventures, exploits, and attempts to dictate to other nations and peoples, singly, or in cohort with some other so-called ‘great powers’, are bound to fail in the long run, both in the eyes of the American people and others nations and peoples, as Nixon’s adventure in Vietnam and Bangladesh failed." The American people, he points out, are inspired by an image of a world "where people of different cultures, races, and religions can live together in friendship… An America that protects the interests of its own citizens…that respects human rights, freedom and democracy throughout the world, that works in harmony and cooperation with other nations and peoples, and not through dictation or domination, but by setting an example of fairness, justice, and fellow feeling for all. It is that kind of America the whole world salutes and not its Nixons and Clintons who try to become the world’s policemen through threats of domination. It is the America of Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, of Roosevelt and Kennedy, that the world will always remember." Kaul also feels China and the US must support India in its fight against Pak-abetted militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and the two nations should also stop applying the doctrine of "self-determination" to integral parts of a sovereign country. "It is time the US and our neighbour China (which has its own trouble spots in Xin Xiang) support India on this issue…It is time China, US and the Western world do not apply the doctrine of self-determination" to integral parts of a sovereign country, as otherwise, Pakistan itself may have to be broken into separate sovereign states in Sind, Baluchistan and North West Frontier Province (NWFP)." "Pakistan and its friends and allies have to understand that the Kashmiri-speaking areas of the Valley, as well as Buddhist Ladakh and the Jammu province are, historically, strategically, constitutionally and culturally integral parts of secular democratic India; the severance of any of these on the ground of so-called doctrine of self-determination (which cannot be applied to integral parts of a sovereign country) could lead to dismemberment of Pakistan itself as well as China and America on ethnic, religious, racial and linguistic grounds," he writes. Warning China and the US that Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism could lead to "Hindu chauvinism, Sikh separatism, Buddhist and Christian irrendetism," he maintains: "The time is long overdue when the forces of fanatical, religious fundamentalism and state terrorism must be curbed by all secular democratic states and forces, singly as well as jointly." Kaul felt the Kashmir problem was "mishandled internally by successive governments at the Centre", and India must be prepared to wipe out the more than 500 training camps for militants in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) if it wants to restore peace in the strife-torn state. India must also seriously consider taking effective punitive action against the violators of the Line of Control (LoC) if Pakistan does not respect the LoC even after the Kargil adventure. The problem, the diplomat remarks, had acquired "more serious proportions" with the entry of the "fanatic Talibans from Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden’s Mujahideens from some Muslim countries… The time has come when we must strengthen and consolidate our position in Jammu and Kashmir state and make it costly for Pakistan to send militants and terrorists across the Line of Control as they have been doing in violation of the Simla Agreement … Unless and until we make it difficult, if not impossible, for Pakistan to train, arm and abet the militant terrorists and religious fanatics to cross the LoC, the internal situation in J&K State cannot be stabilised." Kaul contends that with both India and Pakistan having acquired nuclear capability it is imperative for them to "attempt a peaceful, bilateral settlement of various problems between them, including the J&K question, without outside interference... However, the ball lies in Pakistan’s court to prove their bona fides for developing peaceful and cooperative relations with India, especially after their recent misadventure." "The Lahore Process started by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee can continue only if Pakistan stops its aid, abetment and training for Taliban and other militant groups in PoK and inside Pakistan, and gives credible assurance in this regard."
	Order this book from Amazon.com!
	Contents Previous page Top