Shades of War

The Iraq war continues to pose achallenge to the Indian government, and more so as the latter comes underdifferent kinds of pressures — from the opposition, the BJP and, lately,the RSS. In a way, the pressures are only a reflection of the manyideological layers that together represent Iraq today. Iraq is an Islamic stateled by a leader with pronounced secular leanings. Iraq is also the underdog in aone-sided war that public opinion has condemned as both illegal and immoral.Yet, Iraq finds itself placed against a superpower that the world holds in aweand fear. To not support Iraq would mean to endorse the principle ofpre-emption, which is a thought that must strike terror in all sovereignrepublics. To support it would mean to stand in opposition to theUnited States and thus invite the wrath of a superpower, bound to become evenmore powerful after the demonstrated success of its "awe and shock" Iraqstrategy. The RSS obviously can view Iraq only from its Hindutva prism. Since itis an Islamic country, it must be opposed at all costs, even if the US''spolicies are judged to be ill-conceived.The RSS goes on to defendthe lack of a UN mandate for the war on the plea that India could hardly be expected to get the world body''s sanction for a similar strike on Pakistan. TheBJP, on the other hand, apparently wants a harsher line taken against the US toprotest its double standards vis-a-vis Kashmir. Clearly, the BJP''s standhardened following the cold-blooded massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits byterrorists, and in particular after the US responded to this by asking India tohold talks with Pakistan. As for the government, it has been walking thetightrope on Iraq in the best traditions of a democracy that fears for itssovereign rights and yet would like nothing better than to dine on the hightable with the United States. Which must explain the mismatch between Atalji''sunequivocal condemnation of American unilateralism and official India''s uneasyattempts to shift the blame for the war to the UN, and indeed, to unconvincinglycite Kashmir as the reason for its ambivalence towards the US. Politics may bewar by other means, but war is what it is: A brutal demonstration of what thevictor can do to the vanquished. Champions of India''s self-interest would dowell to understand this bitter truth.