Palestinian Vote Further Erodes India’s Non-Aligned Credentials

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By Dr. Sawraj Singh

India abstained from the United Nations vote that would have allowed the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel’s war crimes.  This is a very significant shift in India’s policy.  India has always voted in favor of Palestinians.  The final vote was 41 in favor with only one country, the U.S., voting against the resolution. Four other countries abstained: Kenya, Ethiopia, Paraguay, and Macedonia.  All of the eight sitting European countries voted in favor of the resolution.  India joins the other four countries, which many feel were pressured or bribed to abstain.  The Palestinians were shocked and saddened by India’s vote.  Many expressed their feelings, “even though the voting is a great victory for us yet we are very sad that India did not support us.”

Some Palestinians were very disappointed because they felt that India is abandoning the policy of nonalignment.  They always considered India a leader of the Nonalignment Movement.  However, they are seeing a shift in India’s policy toward the U.S. and Israel.  The Palestinians and other Arabs have an impression of India, which started the nonalignment movement along with Nasser. Nasser is considered the father of Arab nationalism.  Many Arabs look at India as a friend and staunch supporter of the Arab cause. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, India for all practical purposes, abandoned the Nonalignment Movement and joined the American camp.  India is moving more and more towards an alliance of America, Israel, and India.  This is an anti-Russia and China, anti-Islamic and anti-third world alliance.

The Indian leaders keep talking about a ‘Look East’ policy.  However, in reality, they appear to be tilting more towards America.  The nationalist forces in India are not comfortable with the shift in India’s policy.  They are not happy that India does not have the same close relation with Russia which it used to have.  They are also concerned that the Islamic world may start seeing India the same way it looks at America and Israel.  Such a perception of India by the Muslims of the world is extremely dangerous for India.

The Congress Party had become a party of corporate culture, particularly after the leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh, who was a product of Western financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

However, the BJP was different from the Congress Party.  The BJP represented the urban middle class particularly small shopkeepers and other small businesses.  However, after the BJP came to power, it adopted the corporate culture of the Congress Party.  I called this phenomenon ‘Congressization of the BJP.’

We can clearly see the difference between the nationalist element in the RSS and in the corporate (comprador) sector is the BJP, particularly on the Muslim issue.  The RSS has tried to reach out to the Muslims.  It has, for the first time, celebrated Ramzan and invited diplomats from seventy Islamic countries to join the celebration.  However, the BJP is moving closer to Israel.  It has increased cooperation with Israel in the defense and intelligence fields (Mossad).  Prime Minister Modi became the first Indian PM to visit Israel.  Abstaining from voting on the resolution can be seen as a continuation of the same policy.

It is ironic that India is tilting towards America and Israel when their influence is clearly on the decline.  Any comparative study will prove that economic, military, and political power is shifting to their opponents.  We can compare the World Bank, the IMF, and NATO to the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, BRICS, and the SCO and it becomes clear to which side the balance of power is shifting.  America and Israel have already developed a mentality of siege, whereas the other side has the initiative and the will. The South Asian axis of Russia, China, and Pakistan is emerging fast.  An India aligned with America and Israel can be completely surrounded by unfriendly powers.

India’s Western friends can do very little to break this siege.  Nationalist forces in India should unite to prevent India from joining the wrong side.  An alliance with America and Israel can be a perfect recipe for disaster.  We should see who are the Kauravs and who are the Pandavs in the coming Mahabharata?

America and Israel are the Kauravs of today.  The declining powers are the Kauravs because history tells us that decline leads to decadence.  The American empire today is like the Roman empire in decline.  Very soon, probably before the middle of the century, America and its allies will face the same situation which the Soviet Union and its allies faced half a century before them.  Whereas Russia has risen again,

America and its allies will have no such luck. Their fate will be more like the Kauravs who lost the Mahabharata war.  Let us see what happens to the tribes, nations and countries which choose the wrong side.  Let us take the example of one such tribe.  The Kamboj tribe was the leading tribe in Punjab at the time of the Mahabharata.  Kamboj warriors were very famous.

They are mentioned in the epic Mahabharata.  However, after joining the Kauravs and losing the war, they lost their leading position in Punjab and faced an exodus from Punjab.  Today, the Jatt tribe is leading Punjab.  However, they have not learned any lessons from the history of Punjab. Today, the Jatt tribe is heavily tilted towards the West.  It is already facing an exodus from Punjab.  In the last two decades, there has been tremendous decrease in the percentage of the Jatt population in Punjab.  Twenty years ago, the Jatts constituted about 34% of the population of Punjab; today it is estimated to be at about 17%.  If the present trend of migration continues, which seems to be the most likely scenario, the Jatt population at the middle of the century can be 5% or less.  Most of them (almost all) will have migrated to the countries which are likely to lose the Third World War (New Mahabharata).

India should seriously reconsider its policies and alliances.  India can still revive its traditional friendship with Russia and avoid the disastrous consequences for itself and the rest of the world.  Without India on their side, America and Israel will be unable to start the Third World War.  They simply do not have the manpower to start a world war.  India is the only country which can provide that manpower.  By strictly becoming neutral, India can prevent the war.  Nonalignment was and still is the best option for India.

Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected].