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Books on India
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Update No: 036 - (25/01/07)
DIFFERENT TAKES ON SEPARATISM IN KASHMIR AND
ASSAM
Kashmiri leaders belonging both to India and Pakistan have concluded a joint
declaration urging 'Mujahideen' groups to support the peace process between the
two countries. Releasing the joint declaration at a press conference here this
afternoon, the Kashmiri leaders that included visiting Chairman of the moderate
faction of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and
President of the 'Azad Kashmir' of Pakistan Raja Zulqarnain Haider, called for
continuation in the peace process. The declaration establishes a tripartite
dialogue involving Pakistan, India and the people of Kashmir in addition to the
setting up of two working groups by the respective governments of India and
Pakistan, in order to enhance intra-Kashmir dialogue. Mirwaiz said that both
countries should do as much as possible to extend their whole hearted support to
this dialogue to facilitate the peace process and mount further pressure on the
public to unite on this issue. Mirwaiz's remarks might well draw flak from
political opponents and those, like the Islamic jihadists, opposed to any
peaceful resolution to the conflict. The All Party Hurriyat Conference is an
alliance of 23 separatist groups based in Indian Kashmir. Mirwaiz Farooq also
met with Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who shared his views about
ongoing talks with India to resolve the Kashmir conflict.
While separatist leaders in Kashmir have displayed some inclination towards
promoting a healthy dialogue, the situation has been quite different in the
north eastern state of Assam which has been the victim of ULFA attacks (a
terrorist body seeking secession from India). The jailed leader of the United
Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), Ramu Mech has stated that "the situation
(in Assam) will turn frightening" if the government does not free five
imprisoned rebel leaders and hold discussions on sovereignty for the state. Mech
is one of the five jailed ULFA leaders whose release is being demanded by the
banned group. On the recent killing of 70 migrant workers by the ULFA in the
state, Mech said, "more than 30,000 Assamese women have been widowed during
our struggle but the Centre was never concerned. Why is it so bothered only when
Hindi-speaking people are killed?" Mech also said the ULFA was never
opposed to talks and favoured a permanent solution to Assam's problems. The
spate of terror unleashed by the ULFA insurgents provides yet another angle to
India experience with insurgency. While religion has been a more fundamental
issue in Kashmir, language issues seem to hold more weight for the ULFA
militants. However, both strands of extremism have tried to seek a sovereign
state for their own people although as can be seen, Kashmiri insurgents have
become a little more receptive towards negotiations and peace talks in recent
months; indicating a positive difference when compared to ULFA's agenda.
INDIA- RUSSIA MILITARY PARTNERSHIP
Russia and India have embarked on a new phase in their relationship in 2007.
Both countries are going to proceed with the development of fighter jets. This
was announced by the Russian defence ministry prior to Defence Minister Sergei
Ivanov's visit to India this month. A joint Russian-Indian military exercise is
also scheduled to take place in the north-western Russian city of Pskov, close
to the Estonian border. Ivanov during his two-day trip to India is scheduled to
visit the city of Bangalore and attend political talks in New Delhi. Besides the
co-operation with fighter jets, Russian President Vladimir Putin is also
scheduled to travel to India to commemorate the country's Independence Day
celebrations on January 26. Indian and Russian delegations would be meeting and
would discuss all aspects of their bilateral relationship, including strategic,
political, defence, economic, commerce and cultural.
Putin's visit comes after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Russia in
December 2005. At the time, India and Russia had signed the following agreements
in Moscow: Reciprocal Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in Military
Technical Cooperation; Space Exploration Cooperation Agreement; Agreement on
Cooperation in the Field of Solar Physics and Solar Terrestrial Relationships;
and Agreement on Implementation of Programme for Military and Technical
Cooperation until 2010.
INDIA - CHINA BORDER TALKS
India and China have just concluded their ninth round of talks on seeking to
resolve the outstanding boundary disputes in a "open, friendly and
constructive atmosphere," and have agreed to continue discussions in
Beijing later this year. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of
External Affairs in India, "The talks were held in an open, friendly,
cooperative and constructive atmosphere." Indian National Security Adviser
M.K. Narayanan and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo were the two
special representatives from each country. India has maintained that China is
illegally occupying 43,180 sq km of Jammu and Kashmir, including 5,180 sq km
illegally ceded by Islamabad to Beijing under the Sino-Pakistan boundary
agreement in 1963. On the other hand, Beijing accuses New Delhi of possessing
some 90,000 sq km of what it claims to be Chinese territory, mostly in Arunachal
Pradesh.
The joint statement was silent on whether any progress was made on pushing the
resolution of the boundary question that has shadowed ties between the two Asian
powers over more than four decades. The talks also did not make much headway
over China's claim to the monastery town of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
Instead, Beijing claims the entire Arunachal Pradesh as its territory - a claim
reiterated by the Chinese ambassador to India, Sun Yuxi ahead of President Hu
Jintao's visit to India in November last year. This assertion was met with
severe criticism from the Indian side as Arunachal Pradesh has always been an
integral part of India. Narayanan and Dai held talks on a framework for the
boundary settlement on the basis of an agreement on political parameters and
guiding principles, that includes not to disturb settled populations, as any
part of a package settlement of the boundary dispute, during the visit of
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to India in 2005.Dai also called on Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Wednesday and held
talks with them on a wide range of bilateral and global issues, including
boosting trade and investment and greater cooperation in strategic issues. The
two countries declared a resolution of the boundary question as the strategic
objective of their growing relationship during the visit of Hu to India. Despite
India's and China's burgeoning relationship in the economic arena, the boundary
problems might be the major stumbling block in building strong relations between
both countries. As long as China believes that the state of Arunachal Pradesh is
part of its own territory, it might find it extremely difficult to forge any
kind of productive partnership with India. Alternatively, it is so peripheral to
China's geopolitical interests that it may seek to use this issue at some point
as a bargaining chip over some more weighty matter. Or, China may just prefer to
leave the issue unresolved in case it ever wishes to raise the temperature in
some future dispute with India. Right now however, peace and light seem to
predominate in this relationship.
ECONOMY
The WTO chief Pascal Lamy, is visiting India this month. During his stay in
Banglaore and while addressing a meeting organized by the Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII) Lamy asked India to offer concessions on agriculture
subsidies for the successful conclusion of the Doha Round of multilateral trade
negotiations. Launched in 2001, the Doha Round was aimed at easing poverty
through trade and boost the global economy but talks came to a grinding halt in
July 2006 owing to the differences between the US, EU and developing nations,
mainly on farm tariffs and subsidies. The WTO Director General is meeting major
world leaders about resuming trade negotiations. Lamy said that he was aware of
the position taken by India on agriculture but argued that opening up the sector
for imports would not make the lives of Indian farmers any tougher. He said that
the roadblocks in agriculture negotiations had to be surmounted to facilitate
the next round of Doha talks. Lamy said that both developed and developing
countries would need to take tariff cuts though greater responsibility would be
on rich nations. He said that even after the concessions, nations will have some
flexibility. Approximately 30 global trade ministers will meet in the Swiss
resort of Davos at the end of this month to discuss how to take the Doha Round
forward. Lamy himself will hold talks with officials from India, which has been
a key negotiator for developing nations along with Brazil. Earlier, Lamy met
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to seek concessions from India to revive the
stalled Doha Round. In a 30-minute meeting with Dr. Singh, he briefed him about
the fresh efforts for reviving global trade talks because he wanted key WTO
members, including India and Brazil, to go an extra mile for sealing the Doha
Round.
MOBILE 'PHONES
In separate news, Motorola Inc. announced an agreement with Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), for the supply of a Universal Mobile
Telecommunications Service (UMTS) cellular network for Delhi and the National
Capital Region (NCR). Under the agreement, which includes network deployment and
maintenance services, MTNL will be expanding its GSM network by 2 million lines.
As the first UMTS rollout in India, the UMTS network deployment will take place
after the relevant regulatory authority of India has authorized spectrum
allocation and appropriate licenses are obtained by the network operators. MTNL
has ordered UMTS equipment for validation and plans to place further orders
subject to allocation of frequency spectrum. Once UMTS equipment is in place,
value added services are planned to be deployed to enable MTNL to gain new
revenue streams. "Motorola has always been a front-runner in providing
cutting edge technological solutions and services to India's telecommunications
industry," said Firdose Vandrevala, head of Motorola India. "This
collaboration with MTNL demonstrates Motorola's commitment to build the
best-in-class wireless network that will be the backbone for superior wireless
services in India."
INDIAN MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE TIE-UP WITH BUSINESS SCHOOL
A major development this month has been the partnership between Columbia
Business School, a premier U.S. institution of graduate-level business studies,
and the Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad (IIM-A) that will focus on
student exchange programs. This partnership is another step toward Columbia
Business School's goal of deepening its relationship with India. Columbia
Business School and IIM-A will design and host an international study program
for students of both institutions. This partnership will go beyond the academic
experience by providing practical, first-hand knowledge of global business
through executive presentations and field visits to top businesses both in India
and the U.S. The partnership is one of many efforts by Columbia Business School
to deepen its ties to India in the coming year. In collaboration with the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the School will host a discussion with
business and government leaders in New Delhi. The discussion, entitled Prospects
for the World Economy after the Recent U.S. Election, will include India's
Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram; Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath; and business
leaders like Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises and Professor Jagdish
Bhagwati of Columbia University.
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