Challenges Posed To India by Neighbors

There are some relations that you have to maintain, whether you want it. Maintaining relations with neighbors, especially with Pakistan and Bangladesh, is one such compulsion of ours, while there are other reasons for Nepal and Sri Lanka. We do not face any direct threat from Bhutan and Maldives, but it is essential to keep them in our camp from the viewpoint of strategic security.

Kinds of Challenges
In addition to Myanmar and China, there are our political compulsions behind constantly maintaining good relations with Afghanistan to our north. Therefore, it is not at all surprising or objectionable when Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh expresses the wish to maintain good relations with every neighbor.

Despite this basic logic, we cannot turn away from the question: at what cost are these relations? Except for Myanmar, India is paying a heavy price to maintain relations with almost all other neighbors. Because of challenges created by domestic conditions in Pakistan and Bangladesh and the policies adopted by them, along with the border adjoining these countries, we have the compulsion of heavy spending on internal security, while other kind of challenges coming from China have troubled India.

On the economic front, it has released a different kind of virus threat to us, the infectiousness of which is increasing. It could be said that China also understands that the foundation of Indian economy is not weak. Therefore, it has adopted the policy of destroying our roots. Are we alert about it?

Overcome All Obstacles
We cannot sit quiet when the neighbor's house is on fire. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in wishing Pakistan success in the war against terror. We would also have to give priority to it in resolving the outstanding differences with neighbors. We would also have to overcome all obstacles coming in the form of insistence in this process.

Will the neighbors also understand this thing? You cannot clap with just one hand. When we are talking about maintaining good relations with neighbors, we would also have to keep in mind what kind of attitude they have toward us. We cannot keep our eyes closed to US financial aid to Pakistan, and military support from China. We are also facing the challenge of fighting on a new front in the east with cooperation from China.