By TAO Liang, LI Min
There’s often an argument whether the Sino-Indian border war 60 years ago impacting greatly on the two sides’ relations and the regional balance of power would be avoided. The answer may be a little clear if what the wars and conflicts in South Asia as well as Indian security strategy are reviewed after British quit. Obviously, an incontestable fact is that India’s leading actor in the main conflicts and wars is closely linked to Indian certain hegemony thinking.
India has been harboring the nostalgia of Indian empire to revive glory of past Indian empire like Mauryan and British Raja that is to be ultimate destination of Indian elites since Independence, which is stemmed from the following two points.
One is that Hindu history and cultures Indian is proud of cultivate self-confident Hindu nationalism. Indian people are fond of touting several thousand years brilliant civilization giving birth to world religions such as Hindu and Buddhism overflowing to other regions to influence local cultures shaping like Southeast Asia, East Africa and China.
On the basis of these J. Nehru ever positioned future India as a distinguished great power same as USA, Soviet and China or else it would perish in his book Discovery of India.
Nehru’s invention of the major power for India has been deeply rooted in Indian national strategy. Meanwhile, the large shadow of Muslim’s conquest and British colonial regime viewed as a disgrace driving Indian increasing Hindus nationalism and hatred against Muslim have always been haunting Indian.
The combination of national proud & arrogance with the humiliation construct chemically a dream of Indian empire to propel India towards regional expansionism and hegemonism in the name of security and culture.
The other is that British colonial legacy with thinking of imperialism dominates Indian security strategy.
Ironically, India inherited mostly totally British colonial legacies it ever opposed to and loathed after Independence. Going back Indian long history unfolds that Indian political splits were far more than its union along with continual foreigners’ invasion and conquest, and “India” was a really geographic concept equal to South Asian Subcontinent in a long time till Mogul empire and British Raja achieved political and geographical unity of India. Especially the latter’s colonial expansion towards neighborhoods around India established unprecedented geopolitical formation called “British India Empire” including practically present all countries of South Asia and the Indian Ocean. In the late 19th to the early 20th century with the Anglo-Russian Great Game in Central Asia and Xinjiang and Tibet of China, British carried out a set of strategic doctrines about the Subcontinent security involving in “scientific border”, “buffer zone”, “strategic border” and so on as theatrical tools of colonial expansionism, which are basic origins of Indian national security theory and foreign strategies today.
Significantly, George N. Curzon’s comments on India as the center of world geopolitics have affected Indian decision makers. However, the reality of the breakdown of “British Empire” creating new independent countries can’t melt down independent India’s empire ambition from British colonists after 1947. On the contrary, India has been considering the Subcontinent colonial security doctrines as its national security axioms guiding Indian expansionisms and bullying against its neighborhoods.
Indian empire ambitions have further built up its national strategic theory and foreign strategy in practice. Here are three dimensions to examine Indian attempt to resurgence of empire under the security thinking.
Firstly, India is addicted to territory expansion. Possession of more territories may be a huge lure for lots of countries just causing endless wars, conflicts and blood, but is a top priority for India regardless of International Laws, Treaties, and real situations. Indian occupation and claim on Kashmir not only violate the Indian Independence Act 1947, but also ignore intentionally the UN Resolution proposing a fair referendum. Indian government upgraded unilaterally Indian-occupied Kashmir as its state through amendment of Laws to further impede reaching a peaceful agreement each other in 2019, as reveals Indian extremely coveting territories as well as its consistent bully. In 1975 India directly annexed Sikkim to be a state with forces for so-called security, a Buddhism monarch country under Indian control after 1947.
The Indian stubborn stance on Sino-Indian border dispute trigging bloody massive conflicts is the most typical territory expansionism of India. Indian claims on the large territories are based on British colonial invalid treaties or proposals never introduced into legal schedule, which have
been verified by many respectable international scholars.
The notorious McMahon Line related to Simla Accord 1914 that any a Chinese Central government didn’t rectified and British authority admitted the conference failed is taken for granted India employs it as “legal basis”. It is more ridiculous that Indian claim in the west sector of China-India border is ground on British colonial military officials’ proposals of geographic survey and unofficial maps without any lawful meanings. That is even more shocking that India compelled China to accept its claim becoming into national law that the Sino-Indian border borders had been demarcated and not in dispute, rejecting any China’s offer of peace talks when the boundary situation got worse increasingly. In order to seize more its claimed territories Indian government forcefully put through “forward policy” with military risks to set up posts on China’s side to nibble at Chinese territories for an attempt to create an established fact China would have to accept. Nevertheless, there is a fact that the so-called legal grounds are colonial products imposed Chinese people by imperialism as is a humiliation for Chinese people like Indian people abhorrence of colonialism. Hence, Indian claims both signify destroying integration of Chinese territories, and more importantly hurting Chinese national dignity. Then the border conflict of 1962 was China’s reluctant, restrained react with self-defense to Indian provocation for her dignity, which was justified by Chinese forces’ swift retreat to the ACLs (Actual Control Lines) after the big victories. Unsurprisingly, soon afterwards India reoccupied the areas till present which were promoted “State” making the problems complicated later.
Secondly, India is so indulgent in absolute hegemony in South Asia. As ever victim of colonialism, Indian great leaders for National Independence such as Mohandas K. Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the like were well-known and respected for anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, and anti-hegemonism for human peace in the world, and India was admired to be awarded a leading role at the global stage. On the other hand, the most bewildering is that India has been trying to grab absolute hegemony born in the colonial age in South Asia assumed its “backyard” and neighborhoods since Independence.
Post India-Pakistan Partition irritating Indian National Congress leaders, Pakistan is sole challenger against Indian regional hegemony. It’s a reality that India is unwilling to accept that the creation of Pakistan stood for the dissolution of British Empire as well as the reconstitution of geopolitical power of the Subcontinent so that weakening Pakistan and squeezing Pakistani living space to make Pakistan give in are practically Indian strategic goal through wars, coercive diplomacy, arm race and so forth. After India-Pakistan War of 1971, Indian domination was further consolidated in South Asia while two countries with nuclear weapons, more antagonistic to each other exist in cramped room.
The Himalayan countries locating between China and India including Sikkim annexed, which were British protectorates have been under Indian control or economic and political coercion.
Bhutan, a member of UN has to follow instructions in diplomacy under India according to the bilateral agreements crippling the properties of the Buddhism country’s sovereignty just more really like a protectorate.
Landlocked Nepal trapped in harsh traffic conditions resulting in the mountain country’s dependence on India to make it more convenient for Indian interference in its affairs has to put itself at the mercy of Indian economic and politics.
The other ones such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka have been influenced economically and politically more or less by India, as may be sufficient to alter their internal and external policies, even political institutions.
Furthermore, India excludes great powers outside of the Subcontinent from involvement in affairs including normal economic activities with those South Asian countries to safeguard so-called backyard. Whereas, just the opposite to what one wishes, those countries more zealously try their best to develop close relations with other powers to seek security and economic advance because Indian behaviors height their more deep distrust and fears against India.
In 1990s India came up with Gujral Doctrine to improve relations with the neighbor countries while confronting with tough economical situation. There is an opinion for it that India set out to give up Indira Doctrine indicating Indian regional hegemony to initiate a harmonious neighbor strategy. As it turned out, India can’t change fundamentally the absolute regional realpolitik over the Subcontinent.
India put forward “Neighborhood-First Policy” to take back its “backyard” after Narendra Modi came into power while he alleged India had left the neighbors to other powers in 2014. Modi administration takes two different measures to achieve its ambitions. For one thing, India makes a try to alter neighbor countries’ governments to “pro-India” political leaders through economic and political coercion, and for another, India pays double efforts to exert continual military and political pressure on Pakistan with its belligerence show and allegation of Pakistani supports of terrorism.
Finally, India always regards China as the biggest threat to its domination. After the establishment of PRC, Indian leading figures like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel thought new China would challenge Indian territory integration and pose a constant threat to Indian national security. So India made a attempt to prevent China from reuniting Tibet in all sorts of ways even involving in trade embargo against enemies to compel China to making some concession to continuously maintain the colonial privileges. India alleged publically that China had been a primary threat to its national security treated as a frequently-used excuse to build up nuclear weapons and justify the behaviors of hegemony after the border conflict of 1962. In 1971 India partially threw away admired Non-alignment to ally with Soviet Treaty against China escalating conflicts and hostilities in South Asia.
In 1998, Indian Defense Minister argued very plausibly India responded to the threat from China served as justification against NPT when New Delhi conducting many nuclear tests in defiance of international rules drew strong condemnation from the international community. At present India at all times can make the best of alleged Chinese threat as a strategic card to cater to other great powers to contain China to cash in on the lucrative options.
There is a big question why India has been considering China as the critical potential (sometimes overt) adversary. Are the answers only concerned about disputed border, great powers contest or others? Undoubtedly, these issues are basic contents of Sino-Indian relationship, but not the most logical explanations for that. The real reason may lie in that India feels China as its powerful geopolitical neighbor can only directly probably crack down its domination in South Asia, even Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean Rims. As said before, with Indian intense exclusion of other powers from engaging in the regional affairs, India is unpleased and wary of close relations of major powers with other Subcontinent countries. Thus, India imagines how to keep off China poaching its “backyard” at every time so as to exclude China from developing any normal economic and political cooperation with South Asian countries far more than any other great power.
Nowadays, with Indian rapid economic growth over British on GDP，India is playing more and more important role in world affairs and human progress as rising power from region to globe. However, the nostalgia of Indian empire may be a serious barrier against its ultimate goal of the global leading great power that Indian people have been running after. The outdated thinking of empire can not merely contribute to conflicts and wars just as the tragedy of 60 years ago hurting bilateral relations and undermining regional peace and stability, but paralyze Indian capabilities of economic, international prestige to disturb its rising as well.
The writer TAO Liang is, associate professor, Department of History, Yunnan University in Kunming, focusing on relations of South Asian and major Powers, and LI Min，a PhD associate research fellow, Director of Research Centre on Pakistan, China(Kunming)Academy of South &Southeast Asia Studies.
