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International Journal of GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS South Asian Studies Original papers that fall within the scope of the Journal shall be submitted by e-mail. An Abstract of the article in about 150 words A Biannual Journal of South Asian Studies must accompany the papers. The length of research papers shall be between 5000 and 7000 words. However, short notes, perspectives and lengthy papers will be published if the contents could justify. Notes should be placed at the end of the text and their Vol. 2 January – June 2009 No. 1 location in the text marked by superscript Arabic Numerals. References should be cited within the text in parenthesis. Example : (Sambandhan 2007:190) Bibliography should be placed at the end of the text and must be complete in all respects. Examples: 1. Hoffmann, Steven (1990): India and the China Crisis, Oxford University Press, Delhi. 2. Bhalla and Hazell (2003): “Rural Employment and Poverty: Strategies to Eliminate Rural Poverty within a Generation”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.33, No.33, August 16, pp.3473-84. All articles are, as a rule, referred to experts in the subjects concerned. Those recommended by the referees alone will be published in the Journal after appropriate editing. No article shall be sent for publication in the Journal if it is currently being reviewed by any other Journal or press or if it has already been published or will be published elsewhere. e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

SOCIETY FOR SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES Department of Politics & International Studies Pondicherry University Puducherry, India

International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 Contents New Discourse in Gender and Local Governance: A Comparative Study on Sri Lanka and India D Parimala ... 108 Soldier, Diplomat, Historian: Mark Wilks and the Representations of Empire in the Early Nineteenth Century Venkata Raghotham ... 1 Ramayana Story in Palm Leaf Pictures Lalu S Kurup ... 141 From Containment to Strategic Partnership: Explaining Conflict and Collaboration between the Global and a Regional Power Nalini Kant Jha ... 14 Indo- Pak Relations; Post 9/11 Policy Alternatives for India Sudhir Kumar Singh ... 148

Indian Diasporic Identity in UK: Opportunities & Dilemmas Badruddin ... 26 The Female World in R.K. Narayan’s The Guide: A Study of Ambivalent Gender Relations Romika Batra Sukhija ... 160 Modernity, Liberal Democracy and Political Islam: A Critical Perspective V Bijukumar ... 42 Imperial Hegemony and Subaltern Resistance in Mizoram K Robin ... 170 South Asia and WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism (1995-2007): A Survey Girish Kumar ... 58

Indian Compliance and Trips Agreement Understanding the Economics of Indian Foreign Policy Arundhati Sharma ... 73

Ploughmen, Wild Tribes and the Monarchy: Reflections on the Notion of ‘Good Governance’ in Kautilya’s Arthashastra Shri Krishan ... 88

A Study on the level of Indoor Air-Pollution and its Effects on the Health of Women and Children in the Tribal Hamlets of Kerala, India Shyamlal G S ... 97

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Soldier, Diplomat, Historian: Mark Wilks and the Representations methodological principle involved in such analyses Kannada and Telugu. Secondly, historical events in the elaboration of a discursive field linking within such as wars, battles, rise and fall of dynasties are of Empire in the Early Nineteenth Century texts with a host of institutions, ideas and political placed in a context that is sensitive to both the Venkata Raghotham and economic interests. Historians like Robert structural features of continuity and the contingent Orme, Mark Wilks, Mountsturat Elphistone and features of change. Finally, Wilks, sensitive to the Grant Duff are generally viewed as ‘imperial Enlightenment project of comparative ethnography, historians’ whose works in the words of Burton attempted to identify the linkage between ‘civil Abstract Stein constitute a ‘trophy of domination’ (Stein society’ and political power and in doing so created Mark Wilks, like any contemporary of the Enlightenment was attracted to the 1985:387). the concept of south Indian villages being ‘little characteristic differences in the forms of civil society and royal power in India republics’, a notion that entered western social and and Europe. Caste and Despotism were invoked as literary tropes to explain and The highly charged military and political political theory through the writings of Karl Marx. rationalize the apparent unchanging nature of the Indian society—vegetating context in which these historians wrote their works, The earliest description of rural agrarian in the teeth of time—in the purple prose of Karl Marx. Rejecting the then widely the Carnatic Wars, the Mysore Wars and the communities of Mysore as ‘little republics” are accepted theory of environmental determinism, Wilks argued that despotism, by Anglo-Mahratta Wars lends credence to the view found in Historical Sketches and Marx cites Wilks which he meant absence of “civil liberty” was the result of the absence of written of Stein. All four of these early historians were as his authority when he analysed the unchanging law and the infusion of religion in purely secular matters of civil society and its participants in military engagements with Indian nature of Indian social formation that constituted functioning. states and therefore their views were necessarily the foundations for a despotic political order. colored by their experiences. In her path breaking India Inscribed: European and British Writings on In this paper we attempt an analysis of Introduction: Issues and Perspectives representation of the histories of states, cultures India’s 1600-1800, Kate Teltscher has used Mark Wilks’ Historical Sketches of the South of and societies that differ fundamentally from the techniques of literary analysis in order to Mark Wilks (1759-1831) remains a India with a view to uncovering the influence of prevailing notions of property, civil society and demonstrate the common assumption, strategies the Enlightenment on his concept of historiography. curiously neglected historian of the early nineteenth government. Wilks in his Historical Sketches of and imagery shared by early historian and travel We have examined Mark Wilks’ reconstruction of century, a period that saw the emergence of British the south of India made a pioneering attempt to writers that reflect the “anxieties of empire”. Linda paramountcy over India. As a soldier, Lt Col. Mark the early history of the Vijayanagarara Empire in place the political structure encountered by the Colley has added yet another dimension to the post order to demonstrate the lien critical method had Wilks participated in several of the battles that were English in southern India in the historical context colonial perspectives by arguing that the on his approach to history. Secondly, we investigate fought in southern India and was with General of the disintegration of the Vijayanagara Empire experience of captivity was central to the growing James Stuart when Tipu Sultan’s capital was Wilks’ treatment of the history of Mysore under and in doing so laid the basis for a historical sense of English / British identity (Colley 2002:307). Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Indian historians have stormed in May 1799. As a diplomat, Mark Wilks, methodology that is still relevant in that the excoriated Wilks for his “bitter invective” against the Resident at the restored court of the Wodiyars An important intellectual factor in the combined epigraphic evidence with the material at Mysore, was quite successful in bringing Mysore history of the second half of the eighteenth century these two rulers (Habib 1999:xviii). We argue, collected by Colin Mackenzie: the weakness of herein, that part of his denunciation of the Hyder- firmly into the grip of the administration of the was the influence of the European Enlightenment the later corrected by the strengths of the former. Tipu regime stems from the political context Madras Presidency. Committed to the restoration particularly its engagement with historiography and informing his work: a justification for the restoration of what was then regarded as an ‘ancient dynasty,’ With Edward Said’s Orientalism and the the past. In scholarly interpretations of the writings of the Wodeyar dynasty under the subsidiary Mark Wilks had to deftly subvert powerful votaries consequent rise of post-colonial theoretical of historians such as Mark Wilks the influence of alliance with the East India Company. Finally, we of outright annexation of the territories of Tipu constructs, texts such as Mark Wilks’ Historical the Enlightenment is hardly ever emphasized even examine the participation of the Indians in the Sultan and he undertook a long range historical Sketches of the South of India are interrogated though his monumental Historical Sketches of establishment of the company raj. Individuals like investigation that combined the principles of for traces suggesting ‘identity’, ‘ideology’ and more South of India bears three important marks of Diwan Purnaiya who served both Hyder Ali and enlightenment historiography with the analysis and recently artifacts that “fashion” individuals. The enlightenment historiography. Firstly, Wilks was able to reconstruct for the first time a continuous Tipu Sultan and as Prime Minister under Krishna narrative of the history of peninsular India from Raj Wodeyar possessed the ability to transcend the early thirteenth century by scouring historical regime change and retain agency at the time of Dr. Venkata Raghotham is a Professor of Department of History, Pondicherry University, Puducherry – 605 014. materials in three different languages: Persian, rapid and momentous change.

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(Thrower 2006). The classical education Mark his abiding interest in Persian literature. Ability to East India Company did not essentially trade in Wilks acquired at the Isle of Man is attested by his read Persian was considered essential for superior slaves, but its employees were not above indulging frequent references to Herodotus, Livy, Strabo, office in the Madras Army as Persian became in that inhuman trade. Saint Helena was known to Nearchus and other Greek and Latin writers of language of diplomatic correspondence by the play host to slaving ships sailing across the Atlantic antiquity. His life long interest in classical literature middle of the seventeenth and early eighteenth from the west coast of Africa. It appears that for and scholarship made Wilks give the following piece century. sometimes towards the close of the eighteenth of advice to his young nephew Mark Cubbon in a century slaves were being brought to Saint Helena The Madras Army at the close of the letter written on May 9, 1807. from Bengal. The Indian Records series of Fort- eighteenth century was a patchwork of armed William-India House Correspondence in its volume I advice you above all things not to allow peasants drawn from the poorer, dry regions of your classical education to slip through: peninsular India. The regiments constituting the XIII p.225 contains an important document that in Greek you had not made sufficient Madras Native Infantry to which Mark Wilks was sheds light on this trade. It must be mentioned that progress to hold your own with facility, seconded consisted of troops that had fought in Mark Wilks, as Governor of Saint Helena, though and although the first of languages it may the two earlier Carnatic and Mysore wars (Wilson he did not or could not outlaw slavery, seems to go if you find it troublesome to recover 1883:38). Co ordination of both strategy and have taken a humanistic view and the tombstone (Thrower 2006:88). logistics was the responsibility of the Military of Samuel Ally, a freed slave at Kirby in the Isle of Board at the Fort. In 1786 Mark Wilks with the Mann provides a moving testimony to this fact Apart from solicitous concern for rank of captain was appointed Deputy-Secretary (Thrower 2006:98). Cubbons’ classical education Mark Wilks could of the Military Board and in 1787 accompanied always be relied upon to send his nephew Octavo Mark Wilks, as Governor of Saint Helena, Barry Close on a diplomatic mission to Mysore. volumes of Greek works. was responsible for the safety and well being of In 1788 Wilks was appointed Town Major and its most illustrious inhabitant, Napoleon, the deposed The classical education imparted to Mark soon after became aide-de-camp to Col. James emperor of France. The French Emperor seems Wilks destined him to one of the non conformist Stuart, becoming military secretary in 1794. After to have held Mark Wilks in high regard. Henry ministries like his famous namesake from Norfolk. a brief furlough in England, Wilks returned and Lowe, Wilks successor was a study in contrast Figure 1 : Mark Wilks as a Lieutenant in 6 Madras However, a career in the East India Company was served as private secretary to Lord Edward Clive and Napoleon seems to have had a healthy Native Infantry probably painted 1795-99 (Courtesy widely regarded as opening the wide doors of fame, and it is the delicate mission’ undertaken by Wilks disregard for him. At Saint Helena, Mark Wilks of Director MNH) fortune and prosperity, while the ministry would as Clive’s secretary with which William continued the work associated with the Darlymple’s White Mughals begins. Mark Wilks: A Brief Biography only lead to religious and spiritual solace. With the Enlightenment inviting the famed botanist William backing of Sir Henry Fletcher, Deputy Chairman In 1803 when John Malcolm was sent as Roxburg who had set up the botanical garden in Mark Wilks remains a shadowy figure in of the court of Directors, Mark Wilks secured a the agent of the East India Company to Basra, Calcutta to help with the cultivation of cinchona spite of having behind a historical masterpiece and cadetship in the Madras Army in 1781 when he Mark Wilks was appointed Resident at Mysore obtained from South America at Saint Helena with several letters together with the correspondence was 21 and was commissioned officer in 1782. and served as political resident until 1808 when the ultimate purpose of introducing commercial between the Court of Directors and the Mysore Since the Madras Army worked closely with the he returned to England. cultivation in India. Residency. Recently professor L.B.Thrower has Political Department of Fort St. George cadets like pieced together his life in his From Mann to Mark Wilks were trained in the Persian language The second phase of Mark Wilks life Upon his return from India, Mark Wilks Mysore: the Indian Careers of Col Mark Wilks and they retained a life long interest in Persian began with his appointment as Governor of Saint settled in the Isle of Man where he owned the FRS and Lt Gen Sir Mark Cubbon. Based on literature. Wilks published an English translation Helena, an island in the Atlantic Ocean. This island beautiful estate of Kirby. Having lost his son, John private papers preserved in the Isle of Man and of the Persian poet Nasir-ud-din’s, Aklak-i-Naseri was one of several acquired by the East India Barry, named for Col. Barry Close, Wilks remained British library this book explores the life of Wilks in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society. Company in the seventeenth century when its a devoted parent to his only daughter, Laura. and his nephew Mark Cubbon from a biographical The lengthy correspondence Mark Wilks had with sailing ships needed a port before beginning the Scholarly recognition to study of south Indian perspective and there is little analysis of his Lt Col. William Kirkpatrick dealing with the long arduous and dangerous passage history came in the form of a fellowship of the historical scholarship and intellectual influences nuances of Persian prosody provides evidence of circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope. The Royal Society and was the Vice President of the

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Royal Asiatic society for several years. His public in the Mackenzie Collection in his narrative Mackenzie Collections, against the grain, accepting Lt Col Mark Wilks in his Historical service in the Isle of Man saw him being elected (Majeed 1992: 148). Political and military events as evidence “facts” corroborated from Sketches has given the genealogy of the to the house of Keys in 1811 and in 1823 was analysed within the framework of an exact inscriptions. rayar of that country but his dates are a elected Speaker of the House (Thrower 2006:98). chronology, with lengthy analysis of land and riddle to me, they do not accord with any The eighteenth century antiquarians and property relations, together with detailed reflections known reckoning and he does not In this brief sketch of the life of Mark historians encountered a genre of historical material of English interests in India, threatened first by the expound his method (Brown 1853: Wilks we have attempted to show the extraordinary that was novel in that European antiquity was American Revolution and second by the Napoleonic preface). career of a young man from the remote islands of unaware of its existence. These were the copper aftermath seen through the prism of Balance of the British Isles to high office. The East India plate engraved inscriptions whose discovery during Erroneous dates abound in Historical Power, are the outstanding features of Wilks’ Company provided both opportunities as well as the course of Col. Colin Mackenzie’s surveys led Sketches but Wilks attempted to bridge the gulf historiography. challenges and by physically locating the spatial to the recognition that such records offer a window between chronological confusion and historical distribution of places associated with the life of Quite early into his scholarly pursuit, Mark into the past. Yoking the elusive events of the past exactitude. Mark Wilks we may begin to appreciate the global Wilks discovered the startling contrast between to the iron frame of time, disciplined by the use of The foundation of Mark Wilks historical reach the East India Company had acquired: Isle European conceptions of the historicity of human a calendar, arranged in a linear direction, was the scholarship rests on the collection of material of Mann, London, Madras, Calcutta and Saint actions and therefore rationally apprehensible and ideal of the Enlightenment and Mark Wilks clearly assembled by Col. Colin Mackenzie. Known as Helena. Mark Wilks makes a global perspective Indian indifference to historical events and their embraced this ideal: the Mackenzie Collection this assemblage of possible in that all the major events and personalities consequences. To quote Wilks: These ancient documents are of a documents transcribed by nearly 20 Indian of the late eighteenth century intersected with his The department of ancient history in the singularly curious texture; they almost assistants has been neglected by historians as a own individual biography (Ogborn 2008). The East in so deformed by fable and always fix the chronology, and frequently source of history, primarily due to the fact that American War of Independence, the French anachronism, that it may be considered enfold the genealogy and military history these records contain an impossible blend of fact, Revolution, the Rise of Napoleon, the bitter contest an absolute blank in Indian literature. of the donor and his ancestor, with all fiction and fanciful narration. In recent years this with Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan in Southern India, (Vol I:xxv) that is remarkable in their civil “Imperial Archives” as Nicholas Dirks terms it has public debate over slavery and the impeachment instructions, a religious reforms; and the been viewed as colonial “Britain’s most extensive of Warren Hastings were all public events in the This important statement reflects the facts derived from these inscriptions are engagement with Indian history”( Dirks 2002: 82). life of Mark Wilks and can illustrate the extent to fractured historical consciousness encountered by illustrated by a voluminous collections of The instrumental logic animating such surveys was which historical events shape and transform the the officials of the East India Company in that there manuscripts, which can the trusted with spelt out clearly by Bernard Cohn when he argued lives and fortunes of ordinary mortals. was indeed a strong emphasis on the puranic confidence so far as they are confirmed that the “Surveys” and the knowledge gathered mythology and its regional variants in providing the Wilks and the Mackenzie Collections by these authentic documents (vol I: xxv). from surveys was transformed into “textual forms” cultural resources for memory and representations that was “deployed by the colonial state in fixing, The influence of the Enlightenment on the of the past. A more sympathetic interpretation of In a letter dated 12 November 1809 to bounding and settling India”( Cohn 1997: 8). canons of historical scholarship and the conventions the same historiographical conundrum is found in William Kirkpatrick, Mark Wilks referred to the of historiographical representation was the Textures of Time: Writing History in South India immense problems he encountered in Both Nicholas Dirks and Bernard Cohn considerable. Historical scholarship was being in which Narayana Rao, David Shulman and reconstructing the early chronology of south India align themselves firmly with Foucault’s idea that underpinned by whole panoply of devices, the Sanjay Subramanyam point out: and those stemming from the calendar introduced ability to mark, see, observe and represent is footnote being one of them, whose purpose was by Tipu Sultan (Mss Eur F 228:21). With the inscribed with relations of power and dominance, A latent metaphysics animates each of the transparent evocation of evidence on which assistance of Abbas Ali, “field munshi” of Hyder the very basis of colonialism. This view, the these works and calls for analytical the narrative rested (Grafton 1998). Mark Wilks Ali, Wilks hints at the preparation of a memorandum dominant view in the post-colonial discourse on formulation, as is the case in any other was among the earliest historians to use both literary which is unfortunately lost. Synchronizing dates India, is misplaced in that it does not engage either historiographical text, from anywhere in and inscriptional evidence in his work. Unlike James using the Adick or intercalary month that fell in with the individual agency or the larger cultural the word. (Rao et.al.2001 252). Stuart Mill who used only English language records the eleventh or twelfth month of the lunar calendar and intellectual world that existed outside of the of the East India Company, Wilks integrated Mark Wilks preferred to read the material, did lead to inconsistent chronology and hence CP micro world of colonialism. The issues of identity material from the traditional accounts preserved particularly the documents collected from the Brown remarks: have become dominant in the field of post colonial

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theory and the encounter between England and reproduces the Vidhyaranya myth in the account the rise of Vijayanagara Empire in the middle of Wilks was merely echoing the sentiments of South India is reduced to ashioning and articulation of the foundation of Vijayanagara (vol I: 18). the fourteenth century and the usurpation of Hyder Francis Whyte Ell, his Madras based contemporary of identities. A G Hopkins in a critique of post Ali that linked the History of the region with the (Trautman 2006:113). In a letter dated November 4, 1809, Mark colonial perspectives has pointed out: “The new larger domain of Islamic states and polities. For Wilks perception of Vijayanagara Empire skepticism has enabled researchers to retreat from Wilks states in some detail the literary material an understanding of the Turkish and Mughal as a “barrier to the progress of the Mohammedan the hard political and economic questions that were used, and refers to a History of Mysore compiled periods of the Indian history, Wilks relied on the arms”, was further elaborated by Robert Sewell once central to imperial history. Modes of by Purnaiya (Mss Eur F 228:21). In the same letter chronicle of Ferishta. in his the Forgotten Empire. This view is essentially production have been replaced by modes of he refers in passing to “intelligent and experienced There is an important insight with which derived from the traditional literary accounts discourse; ideas have become material forces; Hindus who possessed journals or family manuscripts” (Mss Eur F 228: 21). A red book Wilks begins his analysis of the Vijayanagara preserved in the Mackenzie Collection, in which material forces as once understood have become Empire: the formation of regional languages and the foundation of the Vijayanagara Empire is epiphenomena” (Hopkins 1999:199). given to Mackenzie is stated to be “a great treasure”. It is obvious that in the 200 years since the politics of empire. “The ancient divisions of attributed to Vidyaranya a sage under whose The genre of historical materials used by the compilation of the Mackenzie Papers, several the country may be traced with great probability influence Hari Hara and Bukka are stated to have Mark Wilks has been termed Karanam of the records have been lost. Wilks also refers to by the present limits of the spoken languages than acted. As in the case of language, discussed earlier, historiography. The manuscripts collected by a History of the Wodeyars which was written in by any other guide which is easily accessible...” here again we find a tendency towards reification, Mackenzie and his assistants like Kavali Venkata Kannada language that was translated into Persian The reason for the emphasis on language can be these times of religion. Recent historical researches Rao and Booria were late eighteenth and early in 1798 at the behest of Tipu Sultan (vol I: xxi). traced level to the belief prevalent amongst the have demonstrated that religious identities in nineteenth century renderings or redactions of late Wilks was able to use the Persian version. This philosophers of the Enlightenment that a common Vijayanagara were complex and multi vocal Vijayanagara prose texts recording the life, material eventually found a place in the Mackenzie spoken language was the consequence of a shared (Raghotham 2002: 139). history. Thus esentialising language Mark Wilks adventures, valor and political and ritual Collection as it was passed on the Colin Mackenzie Historical Sketches of the South of India observed: transactions of powerful warrior lineages link to by Kirkpatrick, one of the commissioners for published first in 1810, made a realistic attempt at the nayakas. Karanam historiography was not self Mysore appointed by the Earle of Mornington. Identity of language may safely be placing Vijayanagara history in a universal consciously reflective but it did possess a structure, Apparently at the time of the sack of admitted to prove identity of origin; and framework. Like his famous contemporary, usually the genealogy—vamsavali—of the nayaka Srirangapattinam, the archives of the Mysore in the absence of more direct evidence Edward Gibbon, Wilks also identified the rise of family, its incorporated diverse elements like wars, Kingdom were destroyed. Wilks refers to constitutes a criterion of political union, Islam as a powerful force that shaped the course migrations, wonder stories, titles (birudas) awarded Kaditams, cloth books, on which royal records less liable to change from the influence of history and he placed the predatory expeditions and danas (gifts) performed. Representing history were written. From the references given by Mark of time than any other test that can be of Malik Kafur and Ulugh Khan in the context of in this form also provided a template for legitimacy Wilks it is possible to conclude that south Indian proposed (vol I:5). the expansion of the Delhi Sultanate, Again, in that such documents reflect on the wider domain kingdom in the century and a half after the fall of presaging the argument of the Richard Eaton, Wilks The European Enlightenment confronted of south Indian politics. Vijayanagara, had begun to record historical facts saw the emergence of the Bahamani Sultanate the tangled question of the ‘origin of nations’ by and Vijayanagara as part of the same historical Mark Wilks recognized the utility of such in an orderly manner, forming the basis of what positing a dyadic link between language and process and not as a reaction to the former. records and in the true fashion of Enlightenment historians now regard as the Karanam ethnicity. Mark Wilks in the passage cited in the historian used the Mackenzie manuscripts to historiography. The Mackenzie collection offers previous paragraph was merely reflecting the The explanation of the Delhi Sultanate “illustrate the civil, military and religious or glimpse into the material such as Maisur Arasu scholarly consensus of his day. Projecting the south of the Deccan is perspicaciously viewed by institution.”(Vol I: xxv). In the eighteenth century, Purvabhyudhya that reflects on the rise of the spread of languages—Tamil, Telugu and Wilks as a consequence of the expansion of the history moved beyond the limits of political and Wodeyars to prominence in the penumbra of Kannada—backward to the medieval past, Mark Mongols and the threat they posed to the Islamic military events to investigate the larger world of Vijayanagara decline. Wilks merely reified the process of identity polity. South India provided the wealth with which society and economy—civil society--as that Mark Wilks and Vijayanagara formation based on linguistic affiliation, the the Mongols were “bought off” as Wilks put it, domain came to be called. Wilks’ reconstruction enduring basis for an imagined linguistic grouping quoting Ferishta as his source. The resultant of the early history if the Vijayanagara Empire is Mark Wilks’ approach to the history of back into the Vijayanagara past. In attempting a redistribution of wealth in Mongol heartland is entirely versed on the Mackenzie Collection as he Mysore was framed by two significant events— homology between language and nation Mark captured thus:

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It is a curious fact that the plunder of the The external appearance of the general claims inams and descent was seen to confer the territories of the erstwhile Sultans. The English south India was thus transformed by a government was brilliant and imposing, legitimacy to succession. Therefore one level at policy towards Tipu Sultan and earlier toward, double process to be buried in the plains its internal organization feeble and which disputes were fought over was that of Hyder Ali was based on the realization that the of Tartary (Vol I: 23). irregular; foreign conquest was a more history, a contest, as it were, for the past. Sultanist regime was implacably opposed to the fashionable theme than domestic finance ambitions both territorial and economic, of the In fact Mark Wilks points continuity The Wodeyar kingdom of Mysore claimed at the court of Vijayanagarar. company. The defeat of Lord Cornwallis at York between the Mongol invasion of 1398 under Taimur its political legitimacy to its emergence as a Town in 1776 and the fall of Britain’s Atlantic and the eventual establishment of the Timurid A splendid monarchy with uneven and principality during the heyday of Vijayanagara empire with the material assistance of France House in India under Babar merely a century later. limited capability to extract and deploy resources, Empire. Mark Wilks recounts the charming story perhaps made Tipu Sultan seek French assistance. Mark Wilks, like any contemporary of the human and fiscal, is now the prevailing paradigm of a damsel in distress who was rescued from an An embassy was sent to Versailles in 1787. Tipu’s Enlightenment was attracted to the characteristic of Vijayanagara historiography. inappropriate marriage that was preserved in a aim was to seek 3000 French Soldiers who would differences in the forms of civil society and royal Mackenzie manuscript (Vol I: 39). Such stories The fall of Vijayanagara in 1565 and the be paid a fixed salary by the Sultan Lafont power in India and Europe. Caste and Despotism are found distributed across the political landscape rise of “little kingdoms” like the Wodeyar Kingdom 2000:168). Further, the French were to receive were invoked as literary tropes to explain and constituted by the poligars. In the case of the of Mysore is seen by Mark Wilks as setting the commercial privileges. The French revolution of rationalize the apparent unchanging nature of the Mysore kingdom we have the added dimension of stage for a new phase of state formation in 1789 broke out before these objectives could be Indian society—vegetating in the teeth of time— a pastoral community-the Idaiyar—emerging to peninsular India, in that kinship and community achieved. Tipu Sultan was aware of Napoleon’s in the purple prose of Karl Marx. Rejecting the political strength and prominence. Thus the rise of linkages provided the impetus for the growth of presence in Egypt and sought his help. The East then widely accepted theory of environmental the Mysore kingdom was a consequence of the polities that were expansionist in proportion to their India Company alert as it was to the situation in determinism, Wilks argued that despotism, by which fall of Vijayanagara though for political reasons ability to tap into the emerging military labor market Europe responded by creating ring of the states he meant absence of “civil liberty” was the result the fiction of allegiance to the rulers of Penukonda, and fiscally extractive in their desire to maximize whose appetites were whetted by a vague promise of the absence of written law and the infusion of Vellore and Chandragiri was preserved with fiscal resources to sustain their military of territory carved from the kingdom of Mysore. religion in purely secular matters of civil society decent reverence. The rise of the Mahrathas, the establishments. The Maharattas and the Nizam of Hyderabad were and its functioning. As Wilks remarks: Nizam of Hyderabad and the French power in south roped in to form a Triple Alliance against Tipu The Mysore kingdom under the Wodeyar India are traced in some detail by Mark Wilks in The affairs of the government, of Sultan. Mark Wilks was objective in this and the regimes of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan are order to prepare the background for the judicature and of police down to the most assessment when he stated that the policy of examples of such states. cataclysmic fall of Srirangapatinam in May 1799. minute form of social and domestic Cornwallis was “calculated to produce a war with intercourse, are all identified with Tipu Sultan, Diwan Purnaiya and Mysore Mark Wilks was appointed political Tipu Sultan, than an open defensive alliance”(Vol religious observances, the whole is resident in 1803 and seems to have started II: 378).It would be interesting to analyze company The sources consulted by Mark Wilks and sacred and unchangeable ( vol I :27). collecting material for his great work soon after. policy towards ‘native states’ in the context of the traditional narratives collected and assembled Wilks was suited for this assignment having worked prevailing notions of English statecraft predicated The despotism springing from the union in the Mackenzie Collection admit the conclusion closely with the Mackenzie survey. Lord William upon the balance of power. The correspondence of “divine and human code” generates its own that in the eighteenth century history writing had Bentinck had requested Wilks to prepare a report of the Earl of Mornington makes it clear that even countervailing tendency through dynastic begun making inroads in south India. The century on the revenue interior administration and as the company was protesting its firm alliance changes—incessant revolutions as Wilks termed that witnessed unprecedented levels of military resources of Mysore, as a follow up of the survey with the Peshwa it was at the same time them. violence, migrations, contests over sovereignty, both undertaken by Colin Mackenzie in 1799. The encouraging Scindhia; this wedge in the Mahratta in Madras and Bengal, increasing integration of Vijayanagara Empire is therefore seen as detailed statistical abstract of income and confederation was to lead to the collapse of Indian handicraft industry into an emerging ‘global the outcome of the force of despotism clashing expenditure which figures as part of the report is Mahratta power in 1818. economy’ and, of course, rise of new forms of with the expansionist zeal of the Islamic Delhi based on information collected by the Mackenzie political organization and legitination, also saw new The options before the East India Sultanate. Yet Wilks rightly recognizes that the survey (Robb; 1998:205). power and élan exuded by Vijayanagara was and novel forms of anchoring collective memory Company adverting to the erstwhile territories of fragile and uncertain; recent historical researches to written records and social identity. Genealogies The defeat of Tipu Sultan in 1799 brought Tipu Sultan were two fold: annexation or have confirmed the insight of Wilks. and the like were invoked for settling land right to the fore the issue of partition or annexation of restoration. Thomas Munro, the then Collector of

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the Ceded Districts was a powerful voice against Mark Wilks provides little information about their provide a fairly good indication of the non document clearly established possible fault lines in the restoration of the Wodeyars. Barry Close and able administrator who began his career as a involvement of not the actual innocence of the dministration of Tipu Sultan. It certainly does Mark Wilks amongst others were advocates of a shresttidar under Hyder Ali rose to the position of Purnaiya and Qamar-ud-din Khan. In a letter not make Purnaiya complicit in an act of Treachery. different policy: restoration of the Wodeyar family, a finance minister under Tipu Sultan and was written by General Harris dated May 13, 1799 Conclusion with territorial compensation to satisfy the Peshwa trusted with a contingent of horses and troops just over a week after the fall of the and the Nizam. At one level the entire History of which was garrisoned as Satyamagalam. Purnaiya Srirangapatinam the general observes: We have argued in this paper that the the South of India can the read as a retrospective himself was not above inflating his importance in influence of the European Enlightenment formed This morning Purnaih, who has so long defense of the policy of restoration most strongly the administration of Hyder Ali by recounting an an important aspect in the historiography of Mark been at the head of the principal advanced in the council of Fort Saint George by intimate conversation he is said to have had with Wilks. We have demonstrated that he effectively departments of the Mysore government Josiah Webbe. the Sultan (Vol II: 121). Mark Wilks earlier while used both literary and other sources in his narrative. and enjoyed the confident of the late writing his Report paid Purnaiya handsome tribute We have shown that the Mackenzie Collection Burton Stein in his outstanding biography Sultan, paid me a visit, having arrived for husbanding the resources of the truncated formed a vital corpus of information on which Mark of Thomas Munro does not refer to Munro’s role last night from the army which remained Mysore kingdom. In the Historical Sketches he Wilks mounted his reconstruction of the History in the settlement of Mysore, following the fall of under his command (Dispatches of states that the commercial regulations of Tipu of Mysore. In his treatment of the history of Srirangapattinam (Stein: 1998). In a Minute dated Lord Morington:7). Sultan, al Siraijiya, were administered by Purnaiya. Vijayanagara, we have drawn attention to the use June 10, 1799 Thomas Munro provided a series This letter certainly proves that Purnaiya of the concept of oriental despotism and have tried justification for the outright annexation of Mysore. In History of Tipu Sultan by the well known enjoyed the confidence of Tipu Sultan and if there to contextualize the notion of despotism in the In this minute there is the realization that an historian, Mohibbul Hasan, Purnaiya is depicted was any secret correspondence prior to this political discourse of the eighteenth century. The eventual conflict with the mahrattas was inevitable, as an individual whose loyalty to Tipu was meeting General Harris would most certainly have concept of history embodied in Mark Wilks work together with a realistic assessment of their mode suspected. Mark Wilks, however, does not provide known. Moreover, the proposal that Purnaiya made is quintessentially derived from the Enlightenment. of warfare. Munro was stinging in his remarks on even a hint of the changed loyalty of Purnaiya and was certainly unorthodox: he advocated the the policy of restoration: being a contemporary and one with whom Purnaiya crowning of Fatheh Hyder as the king. Had shared a good rapport we may safely expect him No political advantage can be gained by Purnaiya been a party to the conspiracy against to record such a happen stance. The silence with dragging the descendant of the Rajahs Tipu, it is highly unlikely that he would have sought respect of Purnaiya’s alleged treachery suggests of Mysore from his obscurity and placing the throne for his son. Another letter quoted by that there was little truth in the theory of internal him an the musmud, unless we suppose Kate Brittebank states: subversion as the cause for the defeat of Tipu it to be me to divide only a part of the Sultan. Mark Wilks makes no mention of the I think it is very immaterial whether country, in order that we may, by alleged plot of 1797 in which Mir Sadiq, Purnaiya Futteh Hyder and Purneah come or not. excluding the Nizam extend our own and Qamar-ud-din Khan were said to have been At all events I have got his family of his influence over the rest (Gleig vol I:233). involved. The failure of Purnaiya to intercept the latter, which is tolerable security for his Further, Munro was opposed to the idea troops of General Harris cannot be attributed to behaviour (Brittlebank: 2003). of investing a six year old boy with the crown. any mala fide intent and even Mir Sadiq, the diwan, The fact that Purnaiya’s family was held Instead of restoration, Munro argued for a partition was actually killed in the battle along side Tipu hostage to ensure his good behaviour suggest that of Mysore between the company and Nizam, Sultan. Wellesly, the commander-in-chief, writing he was not party to any conspiracy against Tipu implying thereby that Mahratta hostility could be to his brother, the then governor general, mentions Sultan. assuaged temporarily with the cession of the death his Sadiq and in no way implies that he In the Interest of historical accuracy there Anaigondi, adding that they “might not be perfectly had in anyway assisted the investing army is one single solitary document in the form of a satisfied” (Gleig vol: 233). (Brittlebank 2003:201). memorandum to lord Mornington that states that The boy king placed on the throne was Historical records pertaining to the days Mir Sadiq and Purneah would become useful under the direct authority of his divan, Purnaiya. immediately following the death of Tipu Sultan instruments in stablishing a new government. This Figure 2 : Mark Wilks

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We have situated the book within the Hasan, Mohibbul (2006): The History of Tipu Sultan, Aakar From Containment to Strategic Partnership: larger context of debates within the ruling circles Books, New Delhi. of the East India Company on the issue of Tipu Hopkins, A G (1999): “Back to the Future: From National Explaining Conflict and Collaboration between the Sultan and his dominion after 1799. Further we History to Imperial History” Past and Present, 164, Global and a Regional Power have looked at the role of Purnaiya in order to pp.198-243. Nalini Kant Jha answers a question that has dogged south Indian Lafont, Jean-Marie (2000): Indika: Essays in Indo-French historiography. Relation, 1630-1976, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi. Abstract References Majeed, Javed (1992): Ungoverned Imaginings: James Mill’s “Ups and Downs” in India-US relations in the post-colonial era is in fact the This paper was delivered as the Loyola College History of the British India and Orientalism, Oxford outcome of the clash and convergence in interests of the American global power Endowment Lecture at the Tirunelveli session of the South University Press, London. with that of a regional power like India. Viewed thus, Indo-US tensions till the Indian History Congress, January 30-Feb 1 2009. The Ogborn, Miles (2008): Global Lives: Britain and the World, 1980s was an outcome of American compulsions to contain all independent author thanks Dr G Chandrika, Reader, Department of Cambridge University Press. centres of power including India and this country’s aspirations to play an History, Pondicherry University, for making valuable independent role. However, since India lacked capability to influence American Rao, Velcheru, Shulman David and Sanjay Subrahmanyam policy, it became the target of its containment. The situation began to change suggestions. (2001): Textures of Time Writing History in South India, Permanent Black, New Delhi. since the 1980s due to several reasons, the most important being India’s emerging clout. Not surprisingly, the real improvement in India-US ties occurred only after Brown, C P (1883): Carnatic Chronology: The Hindu and Raghotham, Venkata (2002): “Empire and Historiography in it demonstrated its scientific advancement by conducting nuclear tests in 1998 Mohammadan Methods of Time Reckoning Explained, Late Medieval South India: A Study of the Early and its capacity to withstand American sanctions. Hence, the key to the prospects Government Press, Madras. Vijayanagara State” in State and Society in pre-Modern of India-US relations and indeed India’s role in the world depends on its continued South India ed R Champakalakshmi et al Cosmos Brittlebank Kate (2003): “TalesofTreachery:Rumour as Books, Trissur, pp. 131-144. development and political stability. Source of Claims that Tipu was betrayed” Modern Asian Studies, 37, 1, pp195-211. Robb, Peter (1998): “Completing our Stock of Geography or an Object Still More Sublime: Colin Mackenzie Cohn, Bernard (1997): Colonialism and its forms of Survey of Mysore, 1799-1810”, Journal of the Royal Surely, US-India relations have drastically US-India ties nose-dived after the end of the Cold Knowledge: The British in India, Oxford University Asiatic Society, New Series 38 No.2, pp181-206. improved in recent years despite changes of several War due to differences on issues like non- Press, New Delhi. Stein, Burton (1985): “State Formation and Economy guards in both Washington and New Delhi. Most proliferation and human rights, etc. Ironically, when Colley, Linda (2002): Captives: British Empire and the Reconsidered” Modern Asian Studies, vol 19 #3, pp of the scholars and analyst trace this improvement India conducted nuclear tests in May 1998 against World1600-1800, RandomHouse, New York. 387-415. after the end of the Cold War in general and since American wishes, US-India cooperation got back Dirks, Nicholas (2002): Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the —————————Thomas Munro: The Origin of the the second Clinton administration in particular. They to rails though after initial bickering. This paper, Making of Modern India, Permanent Black, New Colonial State and His Vision of Empire, Oxford usually argue that the demise of the Soviet Union therefore, explains conflict and co-operation in Delhi. University Press, New Delhi. enabled both the countries to rediscover their India-US relations mainly in terms of clash and Dispatches of the Earl of Mornington Thrower, L B (2006): From Mann to Mysore: The Indian shared democratic values (Harrison and Kemp convergence of national interests defined in terms Gleig G R (1830): Thomas Munro: Life and Letters vol I, Careers of Col Mark Wilks FRS and Lt Gen Sir Mark 1993:1-73, Kronstadt 2006). of national power (both hard and soft components) Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, London. Cubbon, Center for Manx Studies, Isle of Mann. rather than peripheral factors such as shared values Grafton, Antony (1997): The Foonote: A Curious History, Trautman, Thomas (2006): Language and Nations: The In reality, however, the foundations of this and Indo-Soviet friendship. To elaborate this point, Faber and Faber, London. Dravidian Proof in Colonial Madras, Yoda Press, accommodation were laid down during the Cold it is necessary to begin with a brief backdrop of New Delhi. Habib Irfan (1999): Confronting Colonialism: Resistances War itself (Jha 1994: 89-107). On the other hand, India-US tensions before the 1980. and Modernisation under Haider Ali and Tipu Wilson, W J (1983): The History of the Madras Army vol I, Government Press, Madras. Sultan, Tulika Books, New Delhi. The author is former Dean, School of International Studies & Head, Department of Political Science at Pondicherry University, is currently a Rajiv Gandhi Professor (a National Professor) in Contemporary Studies at University of Allahabad, Allahabad (UP) - India-211002. He can be reached at [email protected].

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Containing India India should not align itself “with the United States its public sector industries whereas the Soviet Afghan issue. Their talks made it clear that neither somewhat and build up our economic and military Union readily agreed to do so. Except during the of them was willing to go that far. Pakistan’s then When the US emerged as a truly global strength” (Gopal 1979: 44-65). On the other hand, food crisis in the 1960s and the consequent need Foreign Minister, Agha Shahi, neatly epitomized power after the Second World War, two years later, he expressed serious reservations regarding the of food aid from the United States, and on a few the new relationship as “a handshake not an India emerged as an independent state. By Soviet Union during the initial years. He wished to similar occasions, India consistently refused to toe embrace” (Wriggins 1987:72). Once these limits compulsions of being a global power, the US was publicize, “Asian peoples had no sympathy for the US line. It is thus obvious that Indo-Soviet were understood, the worst fears of New Delhi obliged to contain all independent centers of Soviet expansionism.” To him, “International friendship and the Cold War was not the root cause regarding the US-Pakistan relations were powers that were not willing to toe American line. Communism was aggressive and the Soviet policy of Indo-US tensions though once differences somewhat allayed. Besides, the Reagan It is true that America gave greater attention in Southeast Asia was wholly destructive.” He also between the two countries occurred due to India’s Administration’s greater prudence in dealing with towards containing the Soviet Union because it made it clear, even to the Western Powers, that pursuit of an autonomous foreign policy, Indo- China and improvement in India’s own relations was the only country, which posed substantive “there was not even the least chance of India living Soviet friendship and the Cold War complicated with China contributed to reduction in New Delhi’s challenges to America’s global influence. But at up with the Soviet Union in war of peace.” An the differences (Jha 1988:51-52; Jha 1982:26). immediate, though not long-term security fears, and the same time, United States applied its containment important reason behind his aversion to the Soviet thereby enabled it to distance itself from Moscow policy towards those powers which were not willing From Containment to Accommodation Union during those early years was the Soviet and move closer towards the Americans.2 to surrender to American dictates. When the US disapproval of his policies and also open support It is generally assumption that Soviet initiated the policy of containment aimed at all New Delhi’s move to reduce its for Communist uprising in various parts of India, intervention in Afghanistan in 1979 and the independent centers of powers like Cuba, Vietnam, dependence on Moscow also got an impetus from the most serious being the violent movement in beginning of the Cold War II aggravated the Indo- etc., India because of its civilization heritage, big its concerns regarding its non-aligned credentials, Telangana1(Gopal 1979: 44-65). US tensions by alleviating Pakistan’s status as a size, strategic location, ideals of freedom struggle front-line state in American strategic perception which were under cloud ever since the signing of and aspirations of its leadership began to pursue a It is, therefore, obvious that if Nehru later for bleeding the Russians white in Afghanistan. the Indo-Soviet Treaty in 1971. New Delhi possibly independent foreign policy symbolized by the policy turned towards the Soviet Union, he did so In reality, however, the heat of the Cold War felt the need to remove this cloud, because it was of non-alignment. This made Washington to apply reluctantly, not voluntarily. Surprising as it may melted the coldness in India-US relations. For, the to inherit the Chairmanship of the Non-Aligned its policy of containment against India as well appear, he was left with no choice but to do so Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan altered Movement (NAM) in 1983.Similarly, India, with a (Nayar 1976; Jha 1992:79-94; and 1998:26-28). with the United States itself through its support the basic parameters of New Delhi’s prospective large Muslim minority and complicated ties with for Pakistan against India on the issue of Kashmir, the countries of the Islamic crescent, must have That is why, the United States attempted strategic profile. This brought a grudging realization which was vital for India’s survival as a secular felt the need to show greater sympathy to their to create an unfavourable balance of power against on its part that it had to cultivate the US, China state. Besides, he could not ignore Soviet use of concerns about the Soviet-attempted subjugation India in South Asia by admitting Pakistan in its and even Pakistan (recall the then foreign minister, its power of veto in the Security Council in defence of their Muslim brethren. India, therefore, rejected alliance network. Those who see US-Pakistan Narasimha Rao’s hints at Karachi in 1980 for a of India’s stand on Kashmir. Washington’s the Cuban concept of the USSR as a natural ally alliance only in terms of American policy towards coordinated approach to the Afghan issue) to opposition to India was mainly an outcome of the counteract the adverse implications of the Soviet or the US as a natural adversary of the NAM containment of Soviet Union forget that as fact that the United States, being a global power, move on Indian security. That, the Soviet Union (IDR 1982: 112-15). compared to Pakistan, India was more capable of disliked India’s emergence as an independent did so without warning India, exacerbated New checkmating Soviet influence in every respect. Non-alignment credentials aside, India’s centre of power and its leadership of the Non- Delhi’s disenchantment and provided an Besides, Indian foreign policy elites were largely economic requirements too promoted its softened Aligned Movement. The Soviet Union, being less unwelcome proof that despite professions of pro-Western. This was evident in many ways. stance towards the US. Ever since the 1982 powerful, economically and militarily, was inclined friendship, Moscow would not hesitate in doing India not only joined Commonwealth of Nations in budget, Mrs. Gandhi attempted to modernize the to strengthen India’s autonomy in International what it considered to be in its best interests, 1949, but its leaders, Jawaharlal Nehru had clearly Indian economy through trade expansion, relations and thereby circumscribe US global regardless of Indian sensitivities (Muni 1992:53; manifested his pro-Western proclivities. While acquisition of high technology and financial influence at least in South Asia. Limaye 1993:30). preparing for his official visit to the US, he asked assistance, and for that purpose, she needed the Indian High Commission in Britain, V. K. This is why, the United States refused to At the same time, New Delhi could not American assistance bilaterally as well as Krishna Menon, why, in view of its requirements, strengthen and modernize India’s defence fail to notice the outcome of discussions going on multilaterally. At the same time, India’s developing particularly of food, machinery, and capital goods, capabilities after the Sino-Indian War of 1962 and between United States and Islamabad on the defence strategy, which placed priority on the

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indigenous production of high technology weapons, encouraged by a large number of Indian expatriates global presence.7 This shrinkage had to be met by symbolized the cool relations between the United made access to US wares crucial (Limaye in the US. These Indo-Americans, counter a new strategy and thus was born the idea of States and India for many years” (Weintraub 1983; 1993:30). She, therefore, gradually realized that balanced to some extent, the lack of politico- “cooperative security.” It implied US willingness Gould & Ganguly 1982: 13). This projection was India’s interests lay not in collective confrontation bureaucratic contact between the two countries to accept India’s regional status, if it agreed to vindicated, in November 1984, when the Reagan with the “West” in league with a mythical Third (Cohen 1988:34; Jha 2001:55-78; Helweg & accept the American global role (Jha 1993:17). administration issued National Security Decision World. Instead, New Delhi must build its strength Helweg 1990). Directive 147 (NSDD 147) and personally signed by shrewdly exploiting the potential friendship with Indicators of Accommodation off one initiative incorporated in NSDD147.9 This To cap it all, India’s growing capability also the US and other industralised countries.3 initiative was the Memorandum of understanding contributed to the shift in US perception regarding The mutual pursuit of accommodation by on Technology Transfer (MOU) leading to transfer Personally, Mrs. Gandhi’s move towards India. Just prior to Mrs. Gandhi’s arrival in India and the United States since the 1980s got of technology to India. the US may also have been influenced by her bitter Washington in 1982, the White House stated that manifested in various fields, namely, personal experience during the days of her political “we well recognize which country is the most equation, nuclear field, technological and defence The MOU of 1984 and the follow up wilderness (1977-79), when Moscow deserted her powerful country in South Asia. No one has to collaboration, economy and politico-strategic procedural implementation agreement, signed after in favour of the then ruling party in India.4 Perhaps explain that to you” (White House 1982:3). While cooperation. Personally, Mrs. Gandhi sought a Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to the US in 1985, introduced her son, Rajiv Gandhi too, inherited this personal similar views were expressed earlier, it was the private meeting with President Reagan at the substantial changes in Indo-US relations in areas consideration. He indicated this by asserting, “I do first clear-cut reiteration by the Reagan North-South Economic Summit at Cancun, Mexico, of defence cooperation and sales of military and not have to admit liking President Reagan.” 5 Administration. It revealed the administration’s in 1981 and initiated a warm personal dual-use equipment technology. Its significance lies realization that Pakistan could no longer be correspondence with President Reagan, and in the fact that earlier there was a tendency The US, on its part, too appreciated India’s balanced with India and that it, therefore, made agreed to visit Washington after a lapse of thirteen especially in the department of defence to ask for substantive motives for improving relations with sense for the US to improve relations with a power years.8 a political price for Indo-American technological the US and realized the imperatives to retreat from with which it would have to deal within the cooperation, namely, a compensating reduction in As stated earlier, cooperation in the the rigid posture initially adopted by it. In other forthcoming years (Limaye 1993:36; Chanda India’s ties with the USSR. However, since the words, Washington realized that despite New 1988:34; Tellis 1987:185-219). nuclear field began with President Carter’s clearing 1984 MOU, there has been an increasing Delhi’s early dithering about the Soviet invasion, of nuclear fuel supplies to India in June 1980. In recognition in the United States for the long-term India shared America’s interest in a Soviet Last but not the least, the economic 1982, during Mrs. Gandhi’s visit, this contentious security benefits of technological transfer to India. withdrawal and was opposed to further Soviet liberalization programme in India, initiated by Indira issue was passed to the French for containing expansion southwards (White House 1982:3). As Gandhi and accelerated by her successors, difference over this issue. Moscow’s sensitivity to This became evident in October 1986, a corollary to its strategy of weaning India away obviously attracted American attention. India’s this flexibility was quickly demonstrated when the when a high level Pentagon delegation led by the from Moscow, Washington encouraged and increasing emphasis on free market mechanism then Soviet Defence Minister, Ustinov, rushed to Secretary of Defence, Casper Weinberger, visited rejoiced at India’s gradually improving relations with and deregulation policies advocated by the Reagan New Delhi with fresh offers of defence New Delhi to negotiate transfer of military and Pakistan and China. For this could relieve the and Bush Administration at home and abroad collaboration and enhanced trade arrangements. military related technology to India. Again in April American dilemma of dealing with regional enhanced their interest in ameliorating ties with New Delhi picked up some of the Soviet offers, 1988, the then US Defence Secretary, Frank adversaries in a zero-sum game and thereby India. This country’s middle class, constituting a but Mrs. Gandhi appeared determined to maintain Carlucci, visited New Delhi. She agreed there to reducing Soviet influence in the region (Hatch vast market for US goods and services, attracted a more diversified policy (Thornton 1982:20). sell India a ring-laser gyroscopic for use for light 1984:3). In order to address this concern, the attention of American businessman at a time combat aircraft (Thomas 1990:825-44). New Delhi, The fact that India, as an emerging power Washington had to establish a dialogue with India. when the US economy was suffering from high on its part, permitted American naval vessels to unemployment and trade deficit.6 Many large US of some consequences, appeared interested in visit Indian ports. It also allowed US officials to The prospects of securing India’s friendship companies, including Pepsi, Cola and several high buying arms outside the Communists block inspect Indian defence facilities (Khalized without abandoning Pakistan, enthused those pro- technology firms, lobbied the Reagan prompted even a conservative senator, Orrin G 1989:419-20). An American analyst of South Asian India conservatives within the US, who were Administration to support expanded economic links Hatch, to welcome new warmth in relationship. politics, therefore, argued, “If the United States refusing to see the American policy in South Asia with India (Limaye 1993: 30) moreover America’s He observed, “I believe a historic shift is underway has a ‘tilt’ in South Asia on military sales, it may as requiring a choice between New Delhi and economic problems obliged its policy- makers to ten years from now scholars will look back on this be argued that it is towards India rather than Islamabad (Cohen 1988:34). They were realize that it would have to wind down its massive past year as an end of an Ice Age, which Pakistan”(Rose 1990:59).

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The economic relationship, too, became From America’s strategic perception, the the US efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation. without much hardships belied American hope of important in the last half of the 1980s as the US dissolution of the USSR reduced Pakistan’s The Clinton administration, therefore, not only India’s capitulation to its pressures. As a noted replaced the Soviet Union as India’s largest trading significance as a bulwark against Soviet expansions condemned Indian tests, but also sponsored a UN economist observed, “The economic impact of US partner with a relatively balanced exchange in West Asia. For the first time, the US could look Security Council resolution in June 1998 calling sanctions did not hurt India beyond a point” relationship. There was, for instance, substantial directly at the countries of the region without upon India and Pakistan to stop their nuclear (Bhagwati). On the other hand, the emergence of growth in Indian software exports to the highly reference to any outside power. Economically, the weapons development programs. At the same India’s vast middle class as a growing market for competitive US market (Rose 1990:59). failure of socialism, prompted the Indian time, Washington imposed several sanctions American Commodities attracted American government like many governments the world over, against India (Jha, 1999: 1-18). business community towards this country. At the Undoubtedly, Indo-US cooperation in the to initiate the market based economic reforms same time, America’s growing need for India’s aforesaid areas reflected political understanding While doing so Washington, however, largely along the lines advocated by Washington. software engineers made Washington realize that between the two democracies. Washington not only forgot that it was dealing not with India of 1960s its own multiple losses from imposing the sanctions welcomed India’s intervention in Sri Lanka, where New Delhi sought to move towards the when even strong leaders like Indira Gandhi had on India were considerable. These American losses an Indian Peace Keeping Force was sent in 1987, US to compensate, as far as possible, the loss of to bow to American pressures for American food included direct export losses as well as loss of and Maldives, where Indian paratroops frustrated its time-tested friend, the Soviet Union, as well as aid to save its teeming million (Jha 2002) but an clientele to its other business rivals. a coup against the President, Muhammad Abdul seek American aid in India’s programme of India of 1990s when it had developed, several Gayoom, but also counseled other South Asian economic recovery. It was not surprising, therefore, leverages to influence America. What were these To cap it all, while the US could afford to regimes to accept India’s paramount role. For that the process of improving US-India relation, leverages? ignore damage to its international reputation arising instance, American comment on India’s economic which had begun in the Regan era reached its peak The first and foremost factor that out of alleviating a vast population under India’s blockade of Nepal was that Kathmandu should during the Bush administration when the two motivated Clinton administration to mellow down democratic regime, it could hardly afford to ignore come to terms with realities such as India’s control countries conducted joint military exercises in the its opposition to India’s nuclear tests was India’s its own business community and lobbies adversely of Nepal’s access to the sea (Hagertey 1991:351- summer of 1992. Understandably, the assumption ability to stay together and move forward despites affected by their administration’s South Asia Policy. 63; Ayoob 1990:112-14). of office by a Democrat, President Bill Clinton fractured electoral verdicts since 1996. The very They indeed lobbied hard for a pragmatic aroused expectations of another leap in Indo-US The developing political understanding fact that Indian nuclear establishment was able to interpretation of American law concerning relations (Jha 1993: 17). between two democracies led to their cooperation conduct tests notwithstanding intrusive sanctions to enable them to continue business with in containing terrorism. In order to allay Indian These expectations, however, soon dashed surveillance by the American intelligence and India. The American banks, for instance, lobbied suspicions regarding American encouragement to to the ground as shrill voices out of, Washington internal institutions demonstrated the triumph of the administration for their continued cooperation ethnic conflicts in India, the US refused to grant a produced shriller echoes in India. Though the then India’s science and technology, not surprisingly with India. They feared that restriction on US banks visa to a Sikh nationalist leader, J. S. Chauhan. Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s visit to the US in the change in American stance towards India’s will prompt other banks from Europe and Asia to

When a Sikh extremist hijacked an Indian airliner May 1994 cleared up many misunderstandings, both nuclear concerns progressed as feedback pored step into the Indian market (Jha 1999:1-18). In in September 1984, the US cooperated with India the countries continued to quarrel over several in from American think tanks and nuclear addition, the one million strong American in ending the siege and flew the captured back to issues like Kashmir, human rights, nuclear- technocrats. The first shift in American postures community of Indian origin, known as Indo- India. Similarly, India cooperated with the US in proliferation, Missile Technology Control Regime came with feedback from its nuclear monitoring American community too played a critical role in combating narcotics as it realized the importance (MTCR) and trade related issues (Jha 1994). organizations, which for full six months were bringing Clinton administration closer to India (Jha of US expertise, technology and intelligence engaged seriously in assessing the worth of Indian 2001:55-78). The Pokhran-II and Revival of Co-operation nuclear technology and the extent to which Indian capabilities in this regard. India thus benefited from The quite diplomacy pursued by the Indian scientists claims on the two-day tests were the “Opening” in the 1980s – whether Washington Ironical though it may appear, the real leader, Jaswant Singh, and the then US Deputy 10 justified (Murthy 1999) to Delhi or Delhi to Washington. improvement in India-US relations occurred only Secretary of State, Strobe Talbot, played a after India’s nuclear tests in Pokhran in 1998. Dashing of Hopes after the Cold War The second factor that motivated the significant role in bridging nuclear divide and Americans were; of course, very angry over Clinton administration to bridge its differences with reviewing India-US friendship during the second The end of the Cold War generated new India’s temerity to defy the hegemony of nuclear India was the revival of its economy. The very term of Clinton administration. The disillusionment hopes about deepening of India-US cooperation. powers, as they found India’s act as an affront to fact that India was able to withstand US sanctions of Russia with American arrogance, and the

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continuing eastward expansion of NATO as well The most dramatic outcome of the patent protection to pharmaceuticals, agricultural one of a few emerging and major powers whose as strains in US-China relations also contributed enhanced partnership between the US and India chemicals, and various food products. An choices, “will be key factors in determining the to induce fresh thinking in Washington towards was the civil nuclear cooperation deal announced agreement inked in April 2005 regarding civil international security environment of the 21st engaging, and not, isolating India. by President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan aviation increased a number of flights and century” (US Department of State 2006:28). Singh in July 2005 and formalized when the two passengers traveling between the US and India The most critical factor in this regard, leaders met in New Delhi in March 2006. As India by more than 60% in little over a year. Although there were no major arms sales however, has been India’s growing clout in did not test a nuclear device prior to 1967, when Furthermore, the number of American students in 2006, the USS Trenton – an amphibious transport Washington. New Delhi’s capabilities to withstand the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) was attending Indian universities rose by 50% in 2005 landing-dock ship – was readied for delivery to sanctions, its attractiveness for the American under negotiation, this country is non-nuclear power and stood at 1,800 in 2006. There were also close India. During the year, the Indian Navy sent over business community, though lesser then that of according to the NPT. Thus, the US and other to 80,000 Indians studying in the United States in 300 personnel to Norfolk, Virginia, for training so China, America’s need of India’s software nuclear technology exporters that make up the 2006, more than any other country. These are they can sail the vessel to India by early 2007. professionals and the Indo-American community Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) cannot sell India indications of the significant deepening of bilateral The Trenton, which will inevitably be renamed by are some of the indications of India’s position in even peaceful nuclear items because of its relations over the last few years, especially in 2006 the Indian Navy, promises to be India’s second American perception. Not surprisingly, President weapons program. This has been a major irritant (Lavoy 2007: 116). largest warship after the Hermes-class aircraft Clinton’s support for India in the 1999 Kargil in US-Indian relations for decades. Accepting carrier INS Viraat. Negotiations proceeded for the conflict with Pakistan and his visit to India in March India’s logic that civil nuclear cooperation is the Another area of deepening relations was related sale of six refurbished Sea King helicopters 2000 - the first by an American President in 22 price that must be paid for strategic engagement, civil space cooperation. India has long coveted to sail with the Trenton. In 2006 the United States years - accelerated this rapprochement. Bush decided to reverse the US law and NSG American space technology, but Washington had also delivered 10 of the 12 AN/TPQ-37 Firefighter Strategic Partnership policy to permit reactor sales to India in exchange restricted India’s access to it because of concerns counter-battery radar sets ordered by India for for its commitment to separate its civilian and that it could be diverted for use in India’s ballistic $190 million in 2002 – the largest ever Indian The foundation of accommodation in India- military nuclear facilities and place the former missile programmes. In recent years, the two purchase of US military equipment. The radar can US ties, which President Reagan and Prime under international safeguards. China, Pakistan, governments have ironed out differences on this pinpoint mortars, artillery, and rocket launchers up Ministers Indira and Rajiv Gandhi laid down and and several other countries – plus numerous non- issue, and during Bush’s May 2006 visit they agreed to 300 kilometers away after tracking a shell for that continued to grow during senior Bush and proliferation proponents – criticized the deal but, to have Indian space launch vehicles launch just a few seconds. Talks also progressed on the Clinton years despite occasional differences, as 2006 drew to a close, the US Congress enacted American satellites and satellites carrying American sale of C-130J Super Hercules Military transport witnessed a drastic transformation during present legislations to enable the controversial cooperation. components. Two months later, officials agreed to aircraft, long-range patrol aircraft, equipment for administration of President George W. Bush. Unfortunately, narrow political interest of political include two US scientific instruments on India’s the Indian Special Forces, and various types of Banking on India’s growing global power and parties in India has not permitted New Delhi to go Chandrayaan-I Lunar Mission, scheduled for 2007. helicopters. As 2006 drew to a close, the Indian looking for a counterweight to China in Asia; Bush ahead with his historic accord (Jha 2007:1-17). There also are plans to include Indian astronauts Air Force was finalizing a tender for a $6 billion removed nuclear-related sanctions, approved in training programmes for the US astronauts purchase of 126 multi-role combat jets, with the defence technology cooperation, accelerated Despite the intense political wrangling over (Lavoy 2007: 116). US-made F-16 Falcon and F-18 Hornet aircraft bilateral trade and investment, and collaborated with the nuclear deal in both capitals, Washington and regarded as the frontrunners (Lavoy 2007:117). India in the “war on terrorism.” India also departed New Delhi managed to boost bilateral cooperation Security ties between India and the US from past patterns to embrace the U.S. For in other areas. For example, economic interaction are expanding even faster. A new bilateral defence At the eighth meeting of the senior US- example, New Delhi was an early supporter of is growing rapidly. U.S. exports to India doubled framework signed in June 2005 charts a 10-year India Defence Policy Group held in New Delhi in the Bush Administration’s Missile Defence Policy. from $4 billion in 2002 to $8 in billion in 2005 and course for joint and combined military exercise and November, US Under Secretary of Defence for It also participated in operation enduring freedom bilateral trade grew from $16 billion to 27 billion exchanges, expanded defence trade, and new Policy, Eric Edelman and Indian Defence in Afghanistan by sending warships to escort US during the same period. In 2006, US-India trade opportunities for defence technology transfer, Secretary, Shekhar Dutt agreed to upgrade joint supply ships through the Malacca Strait in 2002; it exceeded $30 billion. Trade and investment should collaboration and co-production. The 2006 military exercises from the present level of platoons nearly sent a division of combat troops to Iraq; accelerate even faster because India agreed in Quadrennial Defence Review – which the and companies to more integrated battalion-level and a twice voted against Iran in the International 2006 to lower tariffs on industrial goods from 15% Pentagon released in February – identified India and command-post engagements. After conducting Atomic Energy Agency (Lavoy 2007:115). on average to 12.5%. India also agreed to extend as “a great power and key strategic partner” and over 40 exercises in the past five years to improve

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Indian and US military Inter-operability the new occurred not due to any emotional or ideological 5. Rajiv Gandhi told this in his reply to a question from Bhagwati, Jagdish traces US estimates of curb effects in his, emphasis will be on multi-level military maneuvers reasons but because of hard facts noted earlier in the Press. See “Gandhi Shifts Tone over Nuclear Issues: “Chronology of International Reactions: World involving all three services and having a mix of this paper, the most important among these factors Talks in US Called Satisfactory Overall,” Washington Response to Indian and Pakistani Bombs,” Economic commands. An example is the US-India is rapid advancement in India’s power, which today Post, June 19, 1985, A18. Times, internet edition. Shatrujeet urban commando exercise that took depends not only on political and military 6. The US Budget deficit, which stood at $74 billion in Chanda, Nayan (1988): “A New Indian Summer,” Far Eastern place in Southern India in October, which was component but also on technological and economic 1980, increased to $212 billion in1985 and $290 billion Economic Review, February 25, 1988, p.34. linked with the annual Malabar naval exercises. advancement. This changing paradigm of power in 1992, as reported in, New York Times, March 19, Cohen, Stephen P. (1988): “Right for the Right Reason: The Future joint exercises are planned for high-altitude is the crucial factor in bringing two democracies 1993. Reagan Administration and India, International Studies maneuvers in Uttaranchal and Alaska and will closer rather than simply the end of the Cold War 7. There is a widely shared view in the US that running Quarterly, New Delhi, 15, (2), p.34. involve troops from various military commands and or of sharing of certain values. The makers of Russia to ruin in an arms race sapped American industrial services. In the past, the Indian military has always India’s foreign policy must not forget this crucial and technological vitality. For details, see Joseph S. Gopal, Sarvepalli (1979): Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography, interacted with the US Pacific Command, but in a significance of power in International relations if Nye Jr., Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of New Delhi, 2 (1947-1956), pp.44-71. they wish to engage not only the US but other significant policy change that demonstrate India’s American Power (New York: Basic Books, 1990; Paul Gould, Harold and Ganguly Sumit, eds., The Hope and increased importance to the United States, India significant states also in a meaningful manner. Kennedy, Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Reality: US-Indian Relations from Roosevelt to Reagan, will also be allowed to coordinate with U.S. Central Unfortunately, the lack of domestic consensus Changes and Military Conflicts from 1500 to 2000 (New West view Press, Boulder Colorado, p.13. Command and Strategic Command in the future about India’s national interests has circumscribed York: Random House, 1987); and C. Raja Mohan, (Lavoy 2007:117). its emergence as great power. We can only hope “Towards a New World Order,” in Rose et al, eds., n.7, Hagertey, D. T (1991): “India’s Regional Security Doctrine,” now that some broad consensus in this regard will p.21. Asian Survey, 31, (4), pp.351-63. Looking into the Future emerge after the next general elections. 8. State Department and White House Officials were Hatch, Senator Orrin G (1984): “Reagan and Our Strategy pleasantly surprised by a second letter from Mrs. for India,” Washington Times, November 6. The above-mentioned account of Notes Gandhi congratulating Reagan on his electoral victory. improvement in India-US relation should not blind Harrison, Selig S. and Kemp, Geoffrey (1993): India and 1. Nehru’s reservation in regard to the Soviet Union and See, “Indian Premier’s Visit to her First in More than us to continuing differences between India and the America after the Cold War (Washington DC); a special his inclination to support the Western side is 10 years,” New York Times, June 26, 1982. For the US. To cite only a few: though, both the countries section on research agenda in Indo-US relations after acknowledged by Western commentators. See, for significance of Mrs. Gandhi’s 1982 US visit, see Nalini are threatened by terrorism, America is more the Cold War in Indian Journal of American Studies instance, the account of the then Canadian High Kant Jha, Hindi article, entitled, “Bharat-America concerned with terrorism in Afghanistan than in (Hyderabad:ASRC), vol.21,no.1, Winter ‘91, pp.1-73. Commissioner in India, Escoot Reid., in his book Envoy Sambandh: Sambhavnaye,” Navbharat Times (New Kashmir. While India regards Iran as its friend, to Nehru (New Delhi, 1982). Delhi ), June 20, 1982. Helweg, Arthur W and Helweg, Usha M (1990): An Washington treats it as a proliferator for Weapons Immigrant Success Story: East Indians in America, 2. Former Indian Ambassador to France, Singh Narendra’s 9. The relevance of NSDD 147 for India –US Relations of Mass Destruction. The US is not yet ready to University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia Pa. accommodate India in the UN Security Council. assertion in an article, entitled, “Mixed, Signs for an was two-fold: first, it set down in writing the evolving India on the other hand, likes a multi-polar world Improvement of US-Indian Ties,” International Herald US perceptions and policies with respect to India. IDR Research Team (1982): “The Afghan Problem and South Tribune, June 10, 1985; and Point Paper on “Air Chief as against America’s interest in preserving uni- Secondly, it provided the bureaucratic basis for Asian Perceptions,” Indian Defence Review, 1, Marshall La Fontaine: Perceptions and Comments,” amelioration of ties with India. See “Rethinking Policy polarity. pp.112-15. November 5, 1987; US Government, Department of towards South Asia,” New York Times, November 24, The continuing improvement in India-US Defence, Briefing Paper, unclassified , p.1. 1984, p. 23. Jha, Nalini Kant (1994): “India and the United States: Pursuit and Limits of Accommodation,” Strategic Analysis, New relations, however, presents an optimistic picture. 3. This pragmatism in India’s foreign policy invited fierce 10. Authors’ interview with Dr Walter K Anderson, at the Delhi, 27, (2), April 1994, pp.89-107. If the process of accommodation can withstand criticisms from the Leftists. See, for instance, Bidwai Department of State, Washington DC, on Dec 22, 1992. changes of four guards in the White House and Praful (1991): “India Lurches towards the US: Foreign Jha, Nalini Kant (1992): “India, Pakistan and Creation of ten guards in New Delhi, we can reasonably hope Policy without a Doctrine,” Times of India (Patna). References Bangladesh,” International Studies, New Delhi, 29, (1), that this trend will continue during the next Others, however, welcomed it. See, for instance, pp.79-94; Ayoob, Mohammad (1990): “India in South Asia: The Quest President and Prime Minister irrespective of the Adhikari Gautam (1991): “A Giant Leap Forward.” for Regional Dominance,” World Policy Journal (7), Jha, Nalini Kant (1988): “Indo-US-Pakistan Triangle: Illusion fate of India-US nuclear deal. This is because of 4. Author’s interview with India’s Consulate General in pp. 112-14. and Reality,” Link, New Delhi, 30, (23), pp.26-28. the fact that the improvement in relations has San Francisco, USA, Sushil Dubey, February 8, 1993.

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Jha, Nalini Kant (1988): “Understanding Conflict and Muni, S.D (1992): “South Asian Relations: Bilateral and Indian Diasporic Identity in UK: Opportunities & Dilemmas Cooperation between Two Democracies of the World,” Regional,” in Leo E. Rose and others, eds., Towards a Third Concept, New Delhi, 2, (14), pp.51-52, New World Order: Adjusting India-US Relation, Badruddin Institute of East Asian Studies, Berkeley, p. 53. Jha, Nalini Kant (1982): “Accommodation–Containment,” Mainstream, New Delhi, 20, (49), p. 26. Murthy, M S S (1989): “A Year after the Blasts,” Indian Express (Brahampur), May 18, 1989. Abstract Jha, Nalini Kant (1993): “Sizing Bill Clinton’s Policy on Indian community in UK is among many ethnic groups which are increasingly India,” India Abroad, New York. Nayar, Baldev Raj (1976): American Geo-Politics in South visible throughout due to its colonial connections, historical relations and socio Asia, New Delhi, Manohar. Jha, Nalini Kant (2001): Indian Americans: The Growing cultural ties. However, the influx of ‘New Immigration’ in 1990s following the IT Force,” India Quarterly, New Delhi, 57, (3), pp.55-78; Rose, Leo E (1991): “India’s Foreign Relations: Reassessing Revolution and new concept of globalization has been the focus of enquiry. Indian Basic Policies,” in Marshall M. Bouton, et al, eds, India Diaspora communities are among the cluster of newly formed immigrant groups Jha, Nalini Kant (1993): “US and India: Coming Closer?” Briefing, 1990, Asia Society, p.59. with wide support of ethnic, social, economic and cultural alignments. They are India Currents, San Jose, Calif., p.17. well managed due to supply of knowledge based labour, hardworking and Tellis, Ashley J (1987): “India’s Naval Expansion: commitment in workforce. Over the years, the level of academic and professional Jha, Nalini Kant (1994): “Reviving US-India Friendship in a Reflections on History and Strategy,” Comparative achievements of Indian communities in UK are phenomenal and suitably may be Changing International order,” Asian Survey, 34, (12). Strategy, 16, (2), pp. 185-219. called as ‘Model Diaspora’. Higher level of entrepreneurship in academics, Jha, Nalini Kant (1999): “US, Pokharan II and South Asia,” professional and business enterprises are evident about the Indian Diasporic Thomas, Raju G. C (1990): “US Transfer of ‘Duel Use’ India Quarterly, 55, (1-2), pp.1-18. identity in UK despite racial differences, nationalist segregation and stringent law Technologies to India,” Asian Survey, 30, (9), pp. 825- against migrant communities after 9/11 Episode. It has raised multilayered level of 44. Jha, Nalini Kant (2002): Domestic Imperatives in India’s demands and expectation from Indian Diaspora in UK. Foreign Policy, South Asian Publishers, New Delhi. Thornton, Thomas P (1983): “The USSR and Asia in 1982: Jha, Nalini Kant (2007): “Taking Stock of India-US Deal on The End of the Brezhnev Era,” Asian Survey, Berkley, Civil Nuclear Cooperation,” California, 23, (1), pp. 11-25. Historical Background oppression or victimization at various levels. There is hardly any part of the globe untouched by popu- U.S. Department of Defense (2006): Quadrennial Defence India Quarterly, New Delhi, 53, (4), pp. 1-17. The concept of ‘Diaspora’ denote the lation movement and hence Diaspora remains a Review Report, February 6, 2006, p. 28, http:// Jewish communities derived from the Hebrew Khalized Zalmy (1989): “United States in South Asia,” controversial but interesting area of research. www.derencelink.mil/pubs/pdfs/QDR20060203.pdf. word Galut which means ‘Exile’. It is often a Current History, Pa.., Philadelphia, 88, (542), pp. 419- The philosophy of Diaspora and popula- 20. Weintraub, Bernard (1983): “India said to be on the Verge of dangerous term in a number of ways. Diaspora $ 1 Billion Arms Deal with the US,” Washington Post. maintains a strong sense of connection to a tion movements have engrossed mankind since Kronstadt, K. Alan (2006): CRS Issue Brief for the Congress homeland through cultural practices which include the time immemorial. The theme traditionally ap- on India-US Relations, updated on April 6, http:// White House (1982): “Background Briefing Paper on the religious, philosophical, social and political peared in the writings of philosophers, statesmen, Visit of Indira Gandhi,” July 26, p.3. www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/crs/ib93097.pdf connotations. The twentieth century witnessed soldiers and human right activists. Globalization of Lavoy, Peter R (2007): “India in 2006: A New Emphasis on Wriggins, W.H (1978): “Pakistan’s Foreign Policy after huge population movements worldwide. Some of culture and realization of humanitarian initiatives Engagement,” Asian Survey, 47, (1), p.115-117. Afghanistan, “in S.P. Cohen, ed., The Security of South these were due to natural disasters while others brought Diaspora culture to the forefront of politi- Asia: American and Asian Perspectives, University of were involved in large-scale transfers of people cal consciousness. Soon it got wider support from Limaye, Satu P (1993): US-India Relations: Pursuit of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, p. 72. (Shahi Agha’s by government and local actions. Some diasporas humanitarian international law in the developed Accommodation, West view Press, London, p.30. statement at Seminar in Lahore on June 30, 1981). were voluntary because the people accepted while world though the problem originated in developing other diasporas have occurred as the indigenous countries. Thereafter, sustainable efforts were and local communities fled due to persecution, made to promote Diaspora Studies in academic

Dr. Badruddin is a Reader in Political Science at PES College of Arts & Science, Goa University, India. E-mail: [email protected]

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and professional discipline. India being the largest communication for generations. The presence of not only in the peaceful departure of the British Indian Diaspora : Three Phases of History democracy in the world, increasingly felt the rel- a large number of moderate leftist intellectuals like from India but also helped in continuation of ties Indians entered UK in three different evance of population movement of varied nature. Gokhale, Naoroji, Sir Mancherjee Bhawangree, with the English society. Even Mahatma Gandhi, phases. The first wave of generation migrated Shapurji Saklatvala, Krishna Menon, and many Indian Diaspora, having presently over 20 the Father of Nation, was highly inspired by the during the 19th century that developed intermixed more strengthened the political movement. While millions worldwide, spread in over 70 countries, is English parliamentary system functions, the meth- characteristics and soon became an integral part living in Britain, Indians helped in mobilizing public perhaps unmatched by any other nations in terms ods of non-violent struggle, and techniques of lib- of the English Community. The second major wave opinion and prepared grounds for Indian National of nation, race, language, religion and region. Indi- eral education. Indian democracy drew rich occurred in the 60s and 70s when PIOs following Congress (INC). Naoroji, the first Liberal Party ans in UK are the largest community outside Asia sources like Rule of Law, Cabinet Form of Gov- the entry of Gujarati Origins who were forced to member of British Parliament (1892) a successful percentage wise, and the second largest popula- ernment and the British Parliamentary system from leave erstwhile British colonies in East Africa. The Parsi businessmen, and the ‘Grand Old Man of tion wise, only surpassed by the United States. the English constitution. Moreover, the British en- highest influx of Indians in UK took place between the Congress’ communicated Indian opinions and Though immigration from India to the other parts lightened community was highly impressed by the 1950s to 1960s when Britain faced serious applied his liberal education and experience in the of the world is for trade avenues, migration in Eu- social reforms brought by Raja Ram Mohan Roy, problems of racial war against the Asian migrants. UK to highlight India’s problems in a proper per- ropean states especially in UK has distinct oppor- Mahatma Phule, Dayananda Saraswati, and B.R. Large numbers of workers, mainly of Punjabi origin spective. A well known English author Arthur tunities and makes the Diaspora community a Ambedkar and thereafter promoted English schol- also went to the UK as Industrial workers. Many Conan strongly defended the Indian Parsis in Brit- unique one (Gupta 2002 ).1 ars to study about the epics like Bhagavadgita, of them Left the UK for the USA thereafter ain and considered them as a boon in disguise. and Mahabharata. British Governor General reflecting secondary and tertiary waves of PIOs The origins of the modern Indian Diaspora During the first World War, some over Warren Hasting praised Bhagavadgita as the migration. The second wave had considerable is associated with British Colonialism and its in- 1.50 Lakh British Indian Army soldiers were re- most dignified text in the world.2 The colonial policy expertise in trade, business and entrepreneurial corporation into the larger empire. Indians were cruited in various cadres in Britain where Indi- activities. The economic successes and prosperity taken over as indentured labour to far-flung parts resulted in the emergence of the Indian Commu- ans were found competent enough to tackle the of the Indian community in UK commenced in a of the empire in the nineteenth-century, a circum- nities in virtually every part of the empire. The local situations. During world wars (1914-1945), major way with this second wave of migration, stance to which the modern Indian populations of patience, perseverance and expertise played a over 4.2 million Indians joined the war on behalf establishing the Indians as ‘shopkeepers’. It made Fiji, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, Surinam, Malay- vital role in the trans- formation of these colonies of allied forces out of which 2.5 million were in a major impact on the socio-economic profile of sia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and other places at- into organized economies and modern states. Size- the fighting arms of those forces. Many soldiers the UK. The Sikh communities initially comprised test in their own peculiar ways. Over two million able Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), the earli- who were part of the war effort, decided to settle only of men, resulting in large demographic gender Indians fought on behalf of the empire in numer- est arrivals during 18th and 19th Centuries, and Non down in Britain. The largest settlements, however, imbalances in UK. Small section of Indian ous wars, including the Boer War and the two World Resident Indians (NRIs) who subsequently mi- occurred during the Independence of India in 1947. community also migrated from Uttar Pradesh, West Wars. During the Post-World War II period, the grated to Britain, thereby created unique segment A number of Indian organizations were also estab- Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh. dispersal of Indian labour and professionals has within the large Indian Diaspora of the U.K. The lished by Indians during post independence. Almost The arrival of Indian families in the UK had the been a world-wide phenomenon. Indians and other presence of such extraordinary diversity in a coun- all of them believed in mobilizing the British public effect of strengthening the pattern of social life South Asians provided the labour force that helped opinion for their cause. This further contributed to try with which India had over the two centuries a along the lines that existed in India. Traditional in the reconstruction of war-torn Europe, particu- Indians becoming a part of the English political colonial relationship, had resulted in a truly unique customs, religions and cultural values were also larly the UK and the Netherlands, and unskilled process. In establishing a host of Student Union Diaspora. The substantial presence of PIOs in the maintained. The pressures of discrimination from labour from South Asia has been the main force in in world’s top most academic bodies like London, British parliament, several Counselors and a num- the dominant society led to further strains and the transformation of the physical landscape. Oxford, Cambridge, Birmingham, and Manches- ber of Mayors reflected the significant participa- consolidation of the traditional lifestyle of the India continues to remain on the global map ter Universities, the INC leaders were on the fore- tion of PIOs in the public domain and political minorities. However, the growth of an Asian sub- due to its unique identity and support of global front. A large number of INC Leaders during the processes in the U.K. Among other prominent PIO culture is seen in the combined Bhangara and community. Obviously, the Diaspora community independence movements, Including Tagore and citizens working in different capacities include western dance music, which reflects the synthesis who migrated to different parts of the world, con- Nehru, were deeply influenced by the liberal edu- industrial grants, hoteliers, traders, media person- of the British and Asian cultures. The Asian and tinue to remain a major concern. Britain, once the cation they had received in U.K. The non-violent nel, scientists, artists, literary figures, academi- Afro-Caribbean communities in the 50s and 60s imperial power, constitutes an important source of nature of Indian independence movement resulted cians and sportsmen of eminence. experienced difficulties in assimilation in the

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mainstream host society due to ethnic and racial College, a counselor in Brighton of Young Liberals, the US, UK and Europe are outsourcing work to Infosys Technologies entered the UK in 1996, its discriminations. This brought a new concept of President of the Liberal Democrat and a Member Indian companies. The Indian telecommunications European revenue reached £75 million in 2002 and ‘multi-culturalism’ and drew on the public agenda of House of Lord played significant role to promote infrastructure is constantly improving and it continues to grow. The company has 450 of the UK, which emphasized the need of co- Commission for Racial Equality and Advisory developing so that data can be seamlessly employees in the UK. Since 1975, Tata existence of different cultures to enrich the multi- member of Judicial Studies Board in London.5 transmitted. IT development budgets allowed for Consultancy Services in the UK and its clients culture Fabric of the nation. The Asians who were While other prominent members like George Edalji, crucial development work to be carried out in- include Bank of Scotland, British Telecom, and uprooted from Uganda in large numbers under the Shobna Gulati, Lakshmi Mittal, and Mark house, or sent to bespoke service providers in Transco has 1,000 employees. Britain’s ageing dictatorship of Idi Amin, the Ugandan, constituted Ramprakash are well known figures and continue Silicon Valley (USA), and London. population and slow birth rate will leave the country an important segment of the PIOs who went to to remain the source of inspiration for Indian short of 700,000 workers in health and social care, India and the UK are making serious Britain in a large influx in the early and mid 70s. Diaspora in UK. retailing and financial services by 2010.9 Most of them settled in and around London while bilateral efforts to intensify economic cooperation New Amendments & IT Revolution rest of them scattered in the East Midland, in IT related sectors. Non-traditional knowledge- UK India Business Council (UKIBC), based sectors therefore have acquired greater presently is the biggest IT Based investor in UK Leicester, ,Birmingham, Manchester, Bradford and India being the third largest economy, next 3 prominence and promises in bilateral relations. due to global shifting process. For successful Yorkshire (Patel, 1993). They basically entered to that of USA and China, has a potential resource partnerships and business ventures, British and in traditional business like traders of pearl, gold, for IT lovers and professionals that benefit the Nearly 120 Indian companies are residents in the Indian companies need to respect each others’ diamond, semi precious stones, and other domestic stakeholders in number of ways. The Electronic UK and 75 of them belong to IT sectors. This concerns, commitment and objectives and strive handicrafts for which India has been the centre Knowledge Management Culture (EKMC) offered facilitates the conversion of student visas into work to gain trust and transparency. This is an excellent for generations (Berthet, 2003). 4 The Royal Houses new avenues and wider prospects for Indian IT permits in the skill shortage categories while the piece of work which highlights the perceived and of England along with the precious nobles always professionals in UK. The signing of World Trade individual concerned stays in the UK. It is therefore real challenges in UK-India business partnerships. patronized the craftsmanship of Indian classical Organization on 1st January 1995 opened the obvious that the Diaspora in the UK will continue There is now a mutual desire to develop more minds. floodgates for Indian IT professionals as Britain to grow and acquire even greater diversity in the collaborative relationships, and to discover how to faces a massive skills shortage in IT. In fact, the coming years despite stiff conditions imposed by The last and third phase witnessed a high establish truly effective strategic partnering success and achievements of Indians in UK have the British Immigration Department. Unfortunately, influx of IT Professionals, Academics and Catering relationships. Most companies participating in the attracted the attention worldwide. London Business the recent move to Promote Highly Skilled Migrants Technology Experts, and Medical Practitioners in research – in India and the UK - expressed a School continues to attract the highest IT Programmes (HSMP) has debarred over 5000 the late 1990s. This has led to a dependence on 8 positive view that partnering with each other can professionals from India apart from hundreds of Indian professionals . The present debate on young workers from non-western countries, be extremely beneficial. 10 When done well, it other IT related institutes in UK. Almost every HSMP is subjective and race biased due to absence especially high-tech skilled workers such as IT and unequivocally realises the desired vision and University in UK has earned reputation of having of empirical data. The discussion about the ‘Brain Software, doctors, teachers, fashion designers, outcomes for all concerned. Trust emerged as the a large number of IT lovers from India and Drain’ is motivated by political agenda and hoteliers, engineers and experts in a number of foundation of a successful partnership. There is a corporate world (Subramanyam,2003). 6 prejudices that needs much academic other professions. During the last couple of years, conversations. HSMP in UK, is being investigated greater need of alignment of objectives, the highest concentration of Indian students in the Indian Professionals in UK continue to at many levels which can also be seen as an ‘Ideal collaborative mindset, sponsorship and UK through a number of academic exchanges earn new possibilities by exploring innovative Model’ of mutual economic benefits. commitment, environment, engagement approach, programmes show the excellence in academics. concepts in IT Fields which often surprise the and value added principles. In this turbulent and Indian Student Unions in Oxford, Cambridge, English community. Survey conducted from time The exhaustive list of IT activities in UK competitive global market, it is absolutely essential London, Manchester, and Birmingham have been to time show that the average income of Indians run by the Indian professionals in UK deserve to for Indian and British companies to assess the among the most active student organizations and in IT Profession is higher than the locals. 7 Most be congratulated. As on date, over 12,000 jobs have nature of their critical business relationships. Never the tradition still continues in a number of ways. Indian companies have made the offshore supply moved from India to the UK, mostly in the before have organisations had to rely on their Take an example of a prominent intellectual cum of services as specialists and skilled based. By professional services and IT industries. Among the partners to such an extent and this research will politician Lord Navnit Dholakia, an IT mindset, was continuing to provide economic services, utilizing leading Indian companies in the UK, the Wipro help them to identify the areas where change is conferred as the ‘Asian of the Year 2001’. A the large pool of highly skilled IT professionals Technologies provides British companies with required in order to create world-class partnering student of Chemistry at Brighton Technical available, more and more organizations throughout business processing operations in India. While relationships.

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Social Demography Between 2001 and 2005, National Statistics has Table II: Indian EthnicGroups by Religion UK , 2001 social, cultural and political organizations though released estimates for the number of Indians in nearly 1000 organizations exist and a number of There has been always a controversy England only. They were as follows: 2001 - them still have to be listed. The community about the NRIs and PIOs settled in UK at different Ethnic Group %age of Population 1,045,600, 2002 - 1,074,700, 2003 - 1,109,100, 2004 organization is by and large a constituent among times and places due to lack of reliable data base. Hindus 45.00 - 1,156,000, 2005 - 1,215,400. However, the the following alignments: The first systematic census of NRIs and PIOs projected population of Indians will either go down was conducted by UK National Census (UKNS) Muslims 12.70 A) Religious Based organizations or remain stabilized in the years to come due to in 1951 when NRI and PIO were just 43,000 which Sikhs 29.10 Ever since the advent of Indians in Britain, included Pakistanis, both East and West. It stringent law. Following continuous trend (including those of mixed Indian ancestry), in 2008 there are Christians 04.90 the relations through the networking of religions happened due to intercultural mixing and inter-state organizations duly noted time and again has worked likely to be well over 1,600,000 Indian people in migration. Diaspora continued to witness upward Buddhist 00.20 as a chain of communication between NRIs and the UK despite new immigration rules. trends in population growth. The most systematic PIOs with their Indian minds and soils. Important Jewish 00.10 survey conduced by UKNS in 2001 following the The following table may be of a great value amongst these are: Hindu Cultural Society, India 9/11 Episode when a greater sense of realization to examine the comparative study of migration of Other Religions (Mixed) 01.70 Centre Temple Hindu, Indian Cultural Association, was seen in Diaspora community. According to Indian Muslims Federation, Ahmadiya Muslims Indians in UK along with Pakistani and Bangladeshi Atheists 01.70 the 2001 UK Census 1,053,411 people (1.8% of Association, Deadwood Bohra Community, Arya Indians. the country’s population) were of Indian descent. Religions kept in Hide 04.60 Samaj, Jain Samaj Europe, Indian Christian Organization etc. In fact, Religious and cultural Source : Census of England and Wales 2001, Table S/ 101 identity has been a significant factor in helping the Table I : Growth of Indian Population in Great Britain Compared to Total Population Community to cope with the stresses of adjustment in a foreign land. This is evident in the vast While considering the geography of Indians mushrooming of Gurudwaras, temples and in region, there is considerable variation in terms mosques as well as committees which administer of population distribution. In general, over 5 to 10 them. There are about 800 such committees spread % Indians live in London and the suburban regions in different parts of UK of which nearly 50% while the rest are living in other urban centres as belong to temple committees. Many religious shown in Table III. functions are organized in the temples, Gurudwaras, and Mosques. Britain’s largest Swami Narayana SOCIO-CULTURAL PROFILE Hindu Temple has the credit of having its place in Indian culture has been constantly The Guinness Book of World Records. referenced within the wider British culture, at first B) Ethnic Based Organizations as an “exotic” influence in films like My Beautiful Source : Ceri Peach, South Asian Migration & Settlement in Great Britain, 1951- 2001, Laundrette, but now increasingly as a familiar Ethnic alignments in UK have been deeply Contemporary SouthAsia,Vol.15,No.2June 2006, p.134.Also visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ feature in films like Bend It Like Beckham. Indian rooted in the blood and soil of Indian English culture Non-resident_Indian_and_ Person_of_Indian_Origin#Indians_in_the_UK food is now regarded as part of the British cuisine, for ages with strongest networking. Most of these probably no where in the world. The Indian have incorporations with the English and the locals and work successfully online with Indo UK According to the April 2001 UK National who stated no religion represent 11 %. An community today maintains a vibrant and dynamic organization. Prominent among them are : Indian Community wise, Hindus comprise 45%, Sikhs overview of community wise distribution is shown socio-cultural life within the framework of its numerous organizations and associations which Association Manchester, All India Brahmin 29%, Muslims 13%, Christians nearly 5% while in Table II. are based mainly on their Indian religious or Association, Bengali Cultural Association, Council Jains, Parsis (Zoroastrians), Buddhists and those regional origin. In addition, there are a number of of Bengali Cultural Associations UK Sanaton

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Table III : The figures for all of the English regions, cities and boroughs are based on 2005 estimates, Association, UK Leicester Ankur Manchester there are 334 temples in UK while London has whilst the figures for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are from the 2001 Census. Malayalee Cultural Association, Worcestershire 136 temples (Nesbitt, 2006).13 All these continue

%age of Malayalee Cultural Association, Anand Overseas to provide holy ground and community facilities Distribution of Total Indian Significant Total Region Population population communities Brotherhood UK,Goan Overseas Association, for Hindus as well as educations trustees. Hindu population Aden Vanik Association, U.K. Young London schools in UK frame their instructions. Sikhism Harrow - 22.0% Indian Goans, etc. remains a strong sense with all possible social Hounslow - 18.3% security owing to instructions in schools and Sikh Brent - 18.1% The list is exhaustive and most of these Ealing - 15.0% Trust Institutions in UK. 14 It is very common among associations have their own web pages to promote London 7,512,400 491,300 6.50% Redbridge - 14.3% British Sikhs ( and everywhere in the world) to Newham - 12.1% their activities. In London, the South Asian portray Sikhism as Khalsa in the forms of rituals Hillin gdo n - 10 .0 % Communities continue to remain on the political Barnet - 8.8% and deity. However, many supporters of Khalsa map where Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims have Croydon - 7.5% believe prompting ideology without caring political greater sense of realization due to self Wolverham pton - 12.0% Indian or religious conflict with other Indian ethnic groups. Cove ntry - 8.1% identification, the diversity of belief, and practices West Midlands 5,366,700 196,500 3.70% Birm ingham - 6.0% within the social community (Geaves 2005)11 In general, Indian ethnic group in UK, a Walsall - 5.5% Sandwell - 9.4% Paradoxically, however, the significant ethnic part of larger English population, is bound together Leicester 24.9% Indian communities in UK now a multi-religious faith, by common ties of language, nationality and Oadby and W igston - 11.2% have successfully maintained their social identity culture. It is a complex process that has often been Charnwood - 5.0% thereby proved a new critique since 9/11 event at associated by uneasy and uncomfortable national East Midlands 4,364,200 141,900 3.30% Derby - 4.0% Blaby - 3.5% New York. Even a number of liberal intellectuals interest. However, the combination of tolerance, Nottingham - 3.0% like Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses have interdependence, and separatism has been more Northampton - 2.2% brought changes in the Diaspora community that relevant due to doctrine of freedom and South East 8,237,800 131,000 1.60% Slough - 14.7% Indian has proved a new thought in the direction of democracy. India Diaspora community continues Blackburn10.2% Indian religious sentiments. Despite all, Muslim ethnic to face challenges due to ethnic and racial Preston - 8.3% community continues to be considered as insurgent variations. A recent example of Indian doctors and North West 6,853,200 95,200 1.40% Bolton - 5.9% Trafford - 2.4% and symbol of destruction and hence remain under nature of racial discriminations is UK is a serious Manchester - 2.3% tight scrutiny. While most of the Indians are linked concern for medical professionals. Cam bridge 2.7% Indian with their ‘homeland’ despite close ties with inter- A Case of Medical Practitioners East 5,606,600 81,000 1.40% Bedford - 4.3% religious communities in UK. Muslim organizations Luton - 4.2% irrespective of South Asian nations, have often Let us briefly examine Indian Bradford - 2.9% Indian Yorkshire and Leeds - 2.2% been viewed suspicious by the western media and doctors who are practicing in London and other 5,142,400 71,800 1.40% the Humber Kirklees - 4.2% minds. They are often described as ‘Folk Devils’, cities of UK are now under tight scrutiny since Sheffield - 1.1% as Werbner has truly quoted : ‘ the politics of race, January 2006. The Medical practitioners continue Bristol - 3 .9% Indian quasi nationalism or xenophobia by contrast, is a to confront against new Immigration Rule on South West 5,124,100 37,500 0.70% Gloucester - 2.0% 12 Swindon - 3.0% violent politics’ (Werbner, 2002). There have Medical Practice (IRMP) and British National been cases of arrest and detention of Indian Health Services (BNHS). The British Association S cotla nd 5,094,800 17,000 0.30% Glasgow - 2.4% Indian Muslims in UK. The Hindu organizations in Britain, of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) often North East 2,549,700 17,900 0.70% Newcastle Upon Tyne - 1.7% Indian though less critical unlike Islamic, continues to organized protest against IRPM which blames W ales 2,903,085 8,200 0.30% Cardiff - 1.3% Indian remain active despite differences in ideologies. The Indian medical standard as poorly organized and Northern Ireland 1,685,267 1,600 0.10% British Hindus has often been identified as non competent that don’t match with IRPM and Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_British homogenous due to individual faith. At present BNHS norms. The termination of 15,000 Indian

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Doctors has already led to the formation of the Muslim Diaspora Cases of inter racial weddings, common rituals popular Wax Museum has a distinction of a number Joint Council for the Welfare Immigrants (JCWI). and religious ceremonies are frequently reported. of Indian celebrities with original wax figures, The migration of Indian Muslims in Britain Unfortunately Non-EU Doctors have to undergo The visit of English VIPs like Prince Charles and probably nowhere in the world. British Film Council has often raised crucial questions about how they for specialized skills which is an open violation Visa Former US President Bill Clinton in Indian (BFC) continues to promote the identity of Indian are to be behaved as Muslims publicly or privately. 15 Associations and Royal Opera Houses have Film slots in London’s Big Ben and Trafalgar –Free Permit Training Schemed (Lall, 2006). Anthropologists assess the social relations as the opened wider cultural avenues between India and Square, famous for pigeons, demonstrations and However, the move of BAPIO to make petition bedrock of ethnic community and beliefs. But the favoring Indian doctors and medical students and UK. Some prominent names Dilip Tahul, Nina New Year revelries that claim to have great fan of process of understanding of locality through the Indian films (Ahmed, 2003).22 The proposal to the issues of Race Equal Impact Assessment social engagement of trans-border flow of Wado, Namita Punjabi, Gurinder Chadha, Arun (REAI) continue to remain a debated topic. Nayar and Ayesha Dhanker are the ideal establish Bollywoood School in London by Indian movement that are often misinterpreted as a source celebrities like Anupam Kher, Urmila Matondkar, BAPIO’s Vice Chairman Dr Satheesh Mathew of Islamic Fundamentalism that dramatically lack examples. Karan Billimoria who married with an and present Dr Ramesh Mehta virtually failed to English Lady Heather, won ‘Asian of the Year Tabbu and Boman Irani is a move to promote the secular appeal. However the absence of material arts, yoga, dance, music shows the convince the British Judicial Bench leading another 2002’ Award for giving new concept of flotation authentic information and the hurry in decision potentials of India’s commitment. 23 In the year to set of controversies that still continues.16 In fact it rate in the London Stock Exchange (Nair, 2003).20 making about Muslim Diaspora, including Indian come, India is likely to start dozens of cultural is also a reminder for Indian Medical Association Muslims, often result in misunderstanding the issue D) Craze of Bollywood in UK programmes to promote bilateral dialogue between and Indians Doctors who earn degree either in the Western World. The recent case of Illegal London and New Delhi Officials. through heavy donations or reserved quota which Immigration from India is among the four people The ever-increasing demand for Hindi don’t match with BNHS. EU Doctors irrespective arrested by UK Border Agency (UKBA) in the films and ethnic television is a major element in Economic Profile of any standard of medical profession, remain to keeping the Indian Diaspora active and alive. The northern England at Middlesbrough these are Economically, Indians in UK are better popularity of the Hindi cinema cuts across barriers be answered as number of European countries restaurant owners. Humran Parvez (30), claimed equipped than the English due to hard work and of language, religion and caste which are don’t match with BNHS. The way Asian doctors that he had no idea that four men are working in commitment. Indian talents have already proved a are being targeted, is definitely concerned with his restaurant illegally. However, Parvez may be otherwise seen in most communities. Hindi and phenomenal success especially after the IT racial criteria. under detention because he did not verify the regional South Indian films in UK also enjoy revolution in nineties. It is evidently known by the documents. 19 Like Parvez, there are hundreds of considerable popularity amongst the other south Sikh Diaspora per capita income that stand about £ 15860 UK more such examples that make India Muslim Asian communities apart from the English locals. per annum. Studies conducted by the London Britain has witnessed the emergence of Diaspora more critical. Some cases of prostitution and entertainment at School of Economics, and Social & Economic remote areas where Indian and Pakistani girls are modern Gurudwara movement embracing 250 C) Unique feature of Cultural Organizations Research; University of Essex, have show that institutions and succeeded in establishing a distinct forcefully brought to UK under the cover of Indians have attained considerable prosperity in sacred spaces. Britain has the largest home for The Indian community is culturally very Bollywood films and music business. Girls the field of steel, engineering, manufacturing, Sikh community, the most upward mobile ethnic active. It organizes numerous cultural festivals time performing Mujras in areas with larger Asian finance, hotels, pharmaceuticals, IT, media, trade, group (Tatla 1999).17 Since 1980s, Sikh and again. One of the leading Nehru Centres was population in London suburbs, Birmingham, trading (including cash & carry), catering, fashion, organizations in Britain have articulated national established in 1992 in London that functions as Bradford, and Leicester are duly identified (Dutt, and consultancy services. Almost every sector has 21 identity though the rights of ‘self determination’ in part of the High Commission of India. It is a major 2003). Mujras are also promoted in private posh distinction in establishing monetary institutions that Punjab and national organizations outside Punjab. source of admiration and a hub of Indian culture houses, bars, and night clubs where brokers with wok as a base for economic prosperity of UK and It is duly noted that Sikh nationalism openly and intellectual life. Considerable space exists for the support of the local earn handsome money. India. Some prominent economic organizations are 24 challenge the contemporary global order through further expansion and there is a wide range of However, the modernized UK culture, media and listed below. minds do permit to run the demand of Indian rejection of sovereign statehood by asserting diaspora activities for which Indian artists, poets, 1. Real Estate Holding and Development Indian 18 glamour. Thanks to craze of Bollywood starts like Khalsa Panth (Shani 2000). Unfortunately, Sikh and exponents of culture are in great demand. Real Estate nationalist elites, however tapped in the discourse Another Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan performs a very Shilpa Shetty, Amitabh Bachhan, Aishwarya Roy, of 9/11 event. But the transnational links of Sikhs useful role in fulfilling the cultural need of the Indian Vivek Oberaoi and Salman Khan who continue to 2. International Media and Entertainment Group is a well known fact. community and helps in establishing links with India. earn popularity. London’s Madame Tussaud’s the Nikanor

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3. Indian Power Generation Political Profile Parliament as mentioned in the opening part of There are also one dozens of ethnic Indian this paper. radio and TV channels, namely- Sunrise Radio 4. Indian Real Estate Owing to the century-old tradition of Yorkshire, MP Media Service, Zee TV, Asia -1 participation in the political processes in the UK, MEDIA 5. Naya Bharat Property Indian Real Estate TV, Sony TV, Namaste TV, Sabras Radio, Radio the Indian community in Britain has made its Host of Indian communities occupy XL, APNA TV, and MP Media services. The 6. Evolvence India Holdings plc presence felt in the political arena in the country. important positions in the mainstream British launching of first regional Tamil Channel, SUN TV The increase in its numbers, accretion in economic media, including organizations like the BBC, The has already earned wide popularity in UK (Suroor, 7. Indian Fund strength, attainment of higher educational levels Daily Telegraph, The Financial Times, etc. Their 2003).25 Most of these tend to focus primarily on and enhancement in social status are being 8. Promethean India presence in these organizations contributes to a news and events related to the Indian Subcontinent gradually reflected in the increasing political better understanding of India and more balanced and help the community to remain in touch with 9. Indian Private Equity visibility of the English community. There are over projection of issues of concern to India. The ethnic India. The growing availability of newspapers on 250-300 Councilors of Indian origin scattered all 10. Dhir India Investments PLC Indian media has a strong and powerful presence the Internet is another important new development over the UK. Through the network of “British- throughout the country. There are nine prominent for keeping the Diaspora connected with India. 11. Distressed Assets and Property in India. Indian Councilors Association” (BICA), about a ethnic publication: India weekly, Gujarat Samachar, The contributions of media, literature and cinema dozen Indian Mayors of different councils have 12. Indian Media/Animation Garavi Gujarat, Asian Trader, Amar Deep, India are increasingly in mainstream British society. also been elected time and again. Traditionally, home & Abroad, South Hall Gazette, New World, 13. Indian Oil and Gas Indians have been supporters of the Labour Party Demands & Expectations from India and Asian Affairs that highlight the activities of and till recently, over 65% of the Indian population 14. Design Business Association Indians in UK. The following table will be helpful The Indian community in the UK has was estimated to be voting in favour of labour expressed the pressing needs, grievances and India has now emerged as a leading to overview. though there are members from conservative and demands from India to the High Level Committee investor in the UK, with most of the 125 Indian liberal partiers too to represent Indian English for for the grant of dual nationality. Bangladesh, companies set up in London and other cities of historical reasons. Table IV : List of Selected Periodicals and Place Pakistan and Sri Lanka have allowed dual UK. Indian companies have invested over 250 of Publication nationality to their people in the UK. It is the million pounds in the UK, and have created several Out of the three major political parties: Sl. Name of Journal/ Place of perception of PIOs that Dual Nationality would hundred Jobs in this country. Hundreds of Liberal, Labour and Conservative, the first two No. Periodicals Publication have a positive influence especially on the second Chambers of Commerce and Industries in the UK have formed Friends of India Parliamentary and third generation of Indians settled abroad. incorporate ‘Asian’ units or chapters manned by groups. Apart from these Friendship Groups in the 1. Ajit Weekly Birmingham There is an urgent need to reduce the Visa Fees Indian-origin professionals. Besides, some of the political parties, there is also a British –Indian 2. Asian Voice London of the PIOs for easy access and physical prominent community organizations also play a key Parliamentary Association which cuts across party 3. Awaze Punjab Weekly North Middlesex movements. Purchase of agricultural land on the role in disseminating business information which is lines and consists of members of the British 4. Awaze Qaum Birmingham UK soil can be allowed by PIO Card holders. A involved in business promotion. There are at least Parliamentary Association. It is known as the 5. Des Pardesh Weekly South Hall, London Single Window Clearance System (SWCS) for PIO 15 prominent PIO commercial organizations and “Curry Club” that meets regularly to discuss 6. Garavi Gujarat London investments in India is increasingly important to consultancy services in Britain, such as Indian matters of topical interest and help to promote 7. Gujarat Samachar London fasten the cases. Safety and security during their Development Group (UK) Ltd., Indian India’s bilateral relations. Lord Swaraj Paul as 8. Indi a Ho me & Abroa d London visit and stay in India and elimination of harassment Development Fund, Confederation of Indian Head of the British delegation for the Indo-British 9. India Weekly London at airports should be guaranteed. Round Table, a non-official initiative launched Organizations and Indian Forum for Business. 10. Jagat Wani Birmingham Though decisions to trade with a country or during the visit of Honorable Robin Cook to India. Promotional linkages of the youth with 11. Punjab Times Derby company are not taken on emotional considerations Prominent members of the Indian community have India is the urgent demand of third stage generation. but on realistic, economic ones, the PIOs been assisting officials of the Indian High 12. The Sikh Times Birmingham These include increasing two-way exchanges of knowledge of the home country and its culture as Commission whenever necessary in their efforts Source: Country wise Bibliography in Indian Diaspora cultural troupes and regular interaction between well as their family links are generally considered to lobby political opinion makers. Historically, (2004), Department of Sociology, Sardar Vallabh Patel Uni- the High Commission and representatives of the as an advantage and attraction. number of INC Leaders has represented British versity, Vallabh Nagar youth to understand their aspirations and needs

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and acquaint then with the positive aspects of India. the Indians. As the host of ‘Cultural Pluralism’ 5. “Lord Dholakia- A Unique Achievement” Asian Voice 20. Payal Nair (2003): “The Cobra King of Beer” Asian Linkages between educational institutions for Indians actively participate in British system London, January 2003, p.45. Voice and Gujarat Samachar, London, January, p.14. exchange of students as part of a degree course whether it is education, business or culture. After 6. R. Subramanyam (2003): “Indian IT Success Intrigues 21. Vijay Dutt (2003): “Bollywood Craze Fuels Sex Racket between India and UK will help to access the all, Indian Diaspora comprises several micro based Foreign Students” Economic Times, 21 August. in London” Hindustan Times, Delhi, 28 July, p.11. educational matters. Cells in Central and select community that are readily available everywhere. State governments to deal with PIO/NRI problems, Hence, there is a greater need to examine the 7. http://indianprofessionalsinuk.com/news.php?view=7 22. Rashmee Z.Ahmed (2003):“Bollywoood Chalks in New Path in UK”, Times of India, New Delhi, systems of fast track disposal of cases and greater hidden character of Indian Diaspora 8. See,”Britain Allows Indian Professionals to return” transparency in banking transactions must be given 3 July, p.12. Unfortunately, the influx of fresh migration http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ due weight age for Indians who are working in Britain_allows_Indian_professionals_to_return/ in UK has often resulted in the imbalance between 23. Bollywoood School in London, Sunday Navhind Times, different managerial capacities. PIOs who return rssarticleshow/3220767.cms, 11 July 2008. 23 March 2008. education and employment. UK’s inability to absorb to India after retirement should be made aware of qualified Indians is also a logical consequence of 9. http://www.rediff.com/money 24. http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/financial- their rights under the provisions of the law. A frustration at various levels and the question of services/200804289108.htm permanent body should be established to address 10. Ibid. human capital remains difficult to answer by the various problems faced by such returnee 25. Hasan Suroor (2003): “Sun TV Launched in UK”, sensible critiques. While in India the changing 11. Ronald Geaves (2005): “The Dangers of Essentialism: Indians. Greater coverage by various media Hindustan Times, Delhi, 19 August, p.10. perception about the skilled migration has been South Asian Communities in Britain and the World agencies reflecting the needs of the PIOs should driven by the role of NRIs in IT, Education, Health Religions” Contemporary South Asia, Oxford shire, be highlighted. PIOs and NRIs who make films on and Bio-Technology. There is growing awareness Vol.14, No.1, March, pp.75-76. References India should not be required to submit for their towards the investment flows, skill, knowledge, Abraham, Thomas (2003): “People of Indian Origin as Global scripts. Renewal and grant of new passports should 12. Werbner Prinna (2002): Imagined Diaspora Among technology transfer, trade and business Manchester Muslim, James Currey, Oxford, Citizens” Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar, January, not involve cumbersome and time consuming opportunities. There is a universal fact that Indians pp.235-36. pp.17-18. references. A time limit should be set by government in UK, their savings and remittances do represent for such responses to avoid harassment. Redressal 13. Nesbitt Eleanor (2006): “Locating British Hindus Agnihotri, Rama Kant (1987): Crisis Identity: The Sikhs in direct measurable benefits wherein Diaspora are of problems faced by the NRIs in regard to Sacred Space” Contemporary South Asia, Vol. 15, No. England, Bahri Publications, New Delhi. often able to leverage a network to raise funding investment, trade and industry. Such initiatives will 2, June, pp.1985-99. opportunities, access distribution of wealth and Ali, Nasreen (2003): “Diaspora & Nation: Displacement & significantly boost bilateral ties between India and spawn of better enterprises. 14. See Model Syllabus of Religious Education Model I : the Politics of Kashmiri Identity in Britain” UK at various levels. Living Faith Today (1994): School Curriculum and Contemporary South Asian Vol.12, No.4, Assessment Authority, London. December, 471-79. Conclusion Notes 15. Rashmee Roshan Lall (2006): “Indian Doctors Slans Alibhai-Brown, Yasmin (1995): No Place Like Home,Virgo The Diaspora study aims in establishing a 1. Bashabi Gupta, “An Exploring into the Changing UK Immigration Rule” Times of India, Delhi, 22 April. Press, London. baseline for observation of the socio economic Nature of identity Formation within the Indian parameters of the Indian community. Despite odds Diaspora in Europe”. Paper presented at the 16. “NRI Doctors Lose Review Plea against UK Anad, Sushila, Indian Sahaib (1996): Queen Victoria’s Dear and differences, limited English minds have room International Indian Diaspora, University of Government” Navhind Times, Goa, 10 February 2007. Abdul, Duckworth, London. Heidelberg, 9-14 September 2002. for flexibility, tolerance, openness and opportunities 17. Darshna Singh Tatla (1993): The Sikhs Diaspora: The Bose, Brinda (2001): “Footnoting History: The Diasporic for British Indians. This is evident by the continuing 2. For details visit, www.Indiandiapora.nic.in Search for Statehood, UCL Press, London, p.43. influx of Indians representing diverse languages, Imagination of Amitva Ghosh” in Paranjape, Makarand (ed.), In-Diaspora: Theories, Histories & Texts, India religions, races and cultures. After all, the new 3. C.B.Patel (1993): “The Indian Community and 18. Giorgio Shani (2002): “The Politics of Recognition: Log Publications Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, pp.235-45. culture of India is marked by talents, competence, Britain” in Motwani, J.K. (ed), Global Indian Nationalism and the International Order” International Diaspora, DPS Enterprises, New Delhi, pp.389-90. Journal of Punjab Studies, Coventry, UK, Vol. 7, No. and credentials which are clearly noted in many Burghart, Richard (1987): “Conclusion: The Perpetuation of 1, January June, p. 193. streams of the British society. At the academic 4. Berthet Samuel (2003): “Indian Diaspora in the United Hinduism in an Alien Culture Milieu” in Richard, and professionals levels, UK officials continue to Kingdom” in Sarva Daman and Mahavir Singh (ed)., 19. “Illegal Indian Immigrant Arrested in UK” Navhind Burghart, Hinduism in Great Britain, Tavistock show leniency, mutual interest and goodwill towards Indians Abroad , Hope India Publications, New Delhi. Times, 15 November 2008, p. 9. Publications, London, pp.225-50.

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Eade, John & David Garbin (2006): “Competing Vision of Malik, Dipak (1993): “Indian Emigration in the Nineteenth Modernity, Liberal Democracy and Political Islam: Identity & Space: Bangladeshi Muslims in Britain” Century” in Motwani, Jaghat K (ed), Global Indian Contemporary South Asian, Vol.15, No.2, June, Diaspora, DPS Enterprises, New Delhi. pp.45-49. A Critical Perspective pp.181-93. Patel, C.B. (1993): “The Indian Community in Britain” in V Bijukumar Faist, Thomas (2002): “Extension du domanine del la Lutte- Motwani, Jaghat K, (ed), Global Indian Diaspora, DPS International Migration and security before and after Enterprises, New Delhi, pp.389-93. September 2001, International Migration Review, Abstract New York. Pareksh, Bhiku (1993): “Indians in Britain” in Motwani, Jaghat K (ed) Global Indian Diaspora, DPS Political Islam’s negative attitude towards liberal democracy can be seen in the Fisher, Micheal H (2004): “Indian Political Representation Enterprises, New Delhi, pp.394-95. context of its approach towards western project of modernization in the guise of in Britain during the Transition to Colonialism” Modern imperialism. Both the colonial and postcolonial modernity failed to make Asian Age, Cambridge, Vol.38, No.3, pp. 649-676. Ram, Sodhi (1989): Indian Immigrants in Britain, Inter-India substantial headway in the socio-economic life of the people forcing the Arab Publications, New Delhi. world to distance from liberal democracy. The contemporary Islamic upsurge Fox (2002): Ethnic Minorities & the Clash of Civilization: A deserves to be seen as a positive and creative response to the challenge of western Quantities Analysis of Huntington’s Thesis”, British Sherwood, Marika (1990): “Ticket to Leave: History of East kind of modernity. As against the western propaganda that Islam is by nature Journal of Political Science, Cambridge, Vol.32, Indian Seamen’s Immigration to Great Britain” History anti-democratic, there are many values of Islamic tradition that are conducive to pp.415-34. Today, Vol.40, August. democratization. It is entirely compatible with modernity, notably science and Jain, Prakash (1993): “Five Patterns of Indian Emigration” Singh, Amar Kumar (1993): Indian Students in Britain: A the spirit of rational inquiry. In fact, the strategic and economic interest of the in Motwani, Jaghat K, ed, Global Indian Diaspora, Survey of their Adjustment and Attitudes, Asia west prevented Islamic countries from genuine democratization rather than the DPS Enterprises, New Delhi, pp.29 Publishing House, London. innate values of Islam as argued by the west.

Koran, David A (2000): Exodus within Border: An Introduction Singla, Surinder Kumar (2001): “Recognizing Indian to the Crisis of Internal Displacement, Brookings Diaspora’s Contribution” World Focus, New Delhi Institute Press, Washington DC. Vol.22, No.3, March, pp.14-15. The twentieth century was aptly described Various scholars and Muslim intellectuals as the age of confrontation between two rival defined Political Islam in different meanings. Kumar, Sudhir (2001): “Gandhi and the Diaspora Question: “Tale of Dedicated Community Service and Textiles “Asian ideologies – Capitalism and Communism – over Kramer used it to denote ‘a wide range of Histories, Texts and Readings” in Paranjape, Makarand Voice, London, January 2003, pp.30. the mankind. These two ideologies preached its individuals and associations dedicated to the (ed), In-Diaspora: Theories, Histories & Texts, India own kind of modernity and influenced human transformation of state and society so as to make Log Publications Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, pp.68-78. thought and action. However, at the beginning of them, ‘Islamic’ (Kramer 2004, 536). According the twenty first century Islam emerged as the to him Political Islam refers to Islam conceived as potent political force through out the Muslim world. a set of beliefs, a code of conduct, or a repertory More specifically, since 1970s, the reassertion of images and metaphors relevant to politics, as well Islam and Islamic values in Muslim politics and as to various attempts to define an “Islamic State” society started. The Islamic countries were called or “Islamic Order” (Kramer 2004, 536). for a return to the original principles of the Islamic state. In the recent past, Islam has assured a high Initially, Political Islam was not place and role in the modern world by calling for a synonymous with violent, racial or extremist more visible role in political life, namely Political Islamism and it is restricted to opposition groups. Islam.1 In the course of time, by interfering into the political

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Permanent Campus, Mawlai, Shillong – 793022, Meghalaya Phone: 09436 333398 (Mob), E-mail: [email protected]

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affairs Islam promised the people a clean and better religious life of the Muslim world. The colonial elite with the cooperation of bureaucratic elite westernised Muslim elite visualised political government. In the 1980s, it started as a reform modernity, thus, created a discontent among the championed secular nationalism in the Arab World. freedom and by aping culturally and intellectually movement against authoritarian and corruption of Muslim world who tried to create a collective However, the non-political Muslim associations towards the west. After decolonisation, the Middle East regimes. In other words, Islam image of Islam against the colonial west. During tried to reconstruct the postcolonial state on the westernised secular elites replaced foreign assumed its political colour with a claim to the the colonial period, the Europeans started to project basis of Islamic ideology to counter western colonization with internal colonization (Khan 2004, defence of state legitimacy, civil order and political their own imagination on the Muslim societies. As ideologies and institutions (Malik 2004, 155). The 273). The western educated intelligentsia stability. a result, ‘the heterogeneous Islamic world was modernisation initiated in the aftermath of the advocated ‘the emulation of European civilization reduced to a monolithic, anti-modern and anti- Second World War generated certain structural as a cure for the poverty and underdevelopment Contesting Western Modernity intellectual world excluded from the world problems such as insufficient societal integration, of the Islamic world’ (Ismael 1991, 36). They Political Islam developed as a critique of history’(Malik 2004, 154). For many Muslims, artificial boundaries and narrowly based advocated the adoption of social, political and the western modernisation project imported to the colonial modernity was simply the form of economies in the Arab world. The western view economic institutions and structures of the west. Arab countries. It engaged in a direct humiliation at the hands of the West. Several of ‘secularization’ imposed on the Muslim world They emphasised the western values of liberalism confrontation with the West by criticising the movements called for the Muslims to revolt by – contrary to the spirit of Islamic culture and and secularism. When the westernised Arab western modernity. Huntington described the clash rejecting the influence of the West and the values civilization. This produced a unique set of intellectuals while appreciating the western values between the West and the Arab world as a ‘clash of colonial modernity and returning to the true parameters for socio-political life, fundamentally tried to devaluate the Islamic cultural heritage, a of civilizations’ (Huntington 1996). However, the values of Islam. A prominent among them was different from the ones on which a faith based certain section strongly opposed the liberal secular fact remains that the confrontation is beyond the the Muslim Brotherhood, a powerful influence in society is established (Ahmad 1983, 218). Political attack on Islamic and Arab culture. They are clash between the two civilizations. The perceived Egyptian politics in the 1940s. Islam challenged the western project of secularism calling for preserving and protecting the Muslim keeping away both religions from politics/state. threat of western modernity to the Arab world The colonial modernity shrunk the cultural legacy, cultural, institutional and intellectual ethos. It has to be remembered that the western concept forced them to protect its traditional values from space in the Muslim world. In fact, modernity of secularism is closely related to Enlightenment Postcolonial modernisation failed to bring the onslaught of western modernity. The advocates destroyed the symbolic relationship between Sufi modernity which is considered as the triumph of out drastic social changes in the Arab world. The of Political Islam sees that ‘Islam is the solution’ orders and crafts guilds and undermined their ability reason and rationality. Political Islam, on the other western modernisation project was superimposed to the problem confronted by the contemporary to organise public life in urban centres (Choueiri hand, preaches that religion and state are on the traditional society. The present revivalism world. They advocate that Islam is the only 2003: 265). The cultural hybridization of the colonial interrelated and interlinked. Thus, Political Islam is because of the inability of the modernisation alternative to the world’s existing powers and process adversely affected the Arab world. Thus, can be seen as a onslaught of the Enlightenment project to bring out drastic social change. The ideologies, from Capitalism to Communism, and colonialism sowed the seeds of Islamic movements values – rationality and secularism. Islamic growing feeling that the westernising model cannot from Liberalism to Fascism. Political Islam seeks in many parts of the Muslim world. Some sections movements claim that the western project of deliver goods. As Ahmad argues that the Islamic to re-establish the religion of Islam as a political of Muslim community tried to reform the Muslim ‘secularism’ as an attempt to renounce the Muslim resurgence is a ‘multi-dimensional phenomenon’. system in the modern world. It is re-interpreting society in secular (western) way and opted for religious values. The wider feeling is that On the one hand, it is ‘an historical expression of conventional concepts in the contemporary the integration of the colonial system with Islamic ‘secularism’ is singled out as the most dangerous the concerns as well as the aspirations of the situations. It develops a notion against the West, theology. The move towards this direction came internal threat to Muslim identity and authenticity, people, based primarily upon internal indigenous the nature of political power, functioning of from the western educated intelligentsia. However, notions that have high priority on the Islamist factors. On the other hand, it is also a response to democracy, etc. the move was sceptically watched by other agenda (Kramer 2004: 539). They reiterated that an external challenge, the challenge of post colonial sections of the society. Islam and Colonial Modernity its commitment to the traditional values of Islam impacts on Muslim society’(Ahmad 1983: 226). The genesis of the contradiction between Flaws of Postcolonial Modernization is posing a threat created by the western modernity. During the nationalist movement, Islamic western modernity and Political Islam can be The project of postcolonial modernization ideology was an ideology of mobilising people traced back to the colonial era. It can be seen as has a bearing on the conflict between the West After the decolonization, both the internal against colonial masters not only for political a reaction to the colonial encroachment upon the and Political Islam. After decolonisation, the and external forces exerted pressures for the freedom but also for economic one. However, Islamic state and society. Like other Third World secularised urban post-colonial regimes in the Arab ‘westernisation’ of the Islamic world. It has to be political freedom remained only the direct transfer countries colonialism destroyed the socio-cultural world moved towards state capitalism. The ruling kept in mind that during the colonial era, the of power from the west. Even after independence,

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the colonial powers exercised their authority over imagined historical Islam to prevail over modernity challenge of modernity (Ahmad 1983, 220). The of life. Muslim society is essentially based on group the Muslim countries. The western domination (Noorani 2006, 79). The postcolonial project of values of western liberalism imposed on the Muslim interest and community interests. Because of the continued not only at the political level but also at modernisation in its socio political and economic world weakened the traditional values. emphasis on the group, the Muslim family is still the socio-economic level. The political dimensions has flawed in the true sense of the Modernization has an even greater effect by relatively cohesive and not broken down (Ahmed modernisation coupled with socio-economic term. Socially, modernization led to a breakdown proving new channels of communication, in fact, 1990, 220). modernisation super-imposed on the western ethos of traditional family, religious and social values. led to a backlash between tradition and modernity. Islamic movements see that Europe’s of modernity. Decolonization does not mean that Political modernisation with the national Islamist movements are the contradictory product advance towards technology and industry created the end of western influence over the Muslim independence could not reconcile with the of modernity, both in their political attitude towards shackles to that society. The import of western countries. The colonial objective of the civilizing traditional values of the society. Economic the state and in the content of their social claims technology and development along with mission changed to westernise the Arab world. modernisation, in fact, created a faulty one moving (Addi 1997: 112). One of the reasons for the globalisation would destroy the cohesiveness of towards negative effects. Economic wealth fundamentalist revival in the Islamic countries is The westernised political leadership pushed the Islamic society. Political Islam, in this context, generated through high oil reserve could not the strength of the perceived threat from liberal, a development agenda/modernisation project on the emerged as a result of a ‘development syndrome’. address high unemployment rates, government western values to tradition Islamic societies Arab societies. While the state is modern, the The western model of development through corruption and growing gap between rich and poor. (Fukuyama 1992: 46). society remained as traditional. As it has been technology transfer threatens the basic ethos of Modernisation could not sustain social order and evident from that ‘the new political, economic and The contradiction between tradition and the Muslim society. political stability as it came under pressure from intellectual leadership of the Muslim countries was modernity is based on the dichotomy between domestic and international forces. Cold War Conundrum replica, a transplant implanted by western powers’ individual and community. While the western (Ahmad 1983: 225). Like other postcolonial states The western model of economic and society is based on individual self development, The cold war situation has some Islamic states, the ruling elites were the products political development failed to address the problem Islam emphasis on the group and community. repercussions on liberal democracy and Political of western education and training, turned to the of Islamic countries. The Muslim population saw Islam leaves little to the individual. The three of Islam. The super powers during the cold war west as a model for nation-building. The adoption the western model as completely a failure. While the five injunctions of Islam – prayer, fasting and period criticised the Middle East to meet their of western political institutions meant the increasing the western model was projected as the symbols hajj – are directly related to group activity and strategic needs – thwarting democratic regimes. influence of the west over the Middle East. It has of modernity, the Islamic world felt it as the source participation (Ahmed 1990: 220). Arabian societies The superpowers conveniently used the Middle been argued that ‘from the west came of moral decline and spiritual malaise. The are comprised of traditional bonds whether tribal, East region to serve this purpose. The U.S. used industrialisation, urbanisation, technology, discontent towards the western model in the course ethnic, communal, religious or kinship based. Islam the Iranian ruler Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi commercialisation, rationalism, constitutionalism of time developed into anti-west sentiment and in believes in a single community of brotherhood as an ally against communism in the cold war and and other notions that in time would constitute particular with the U.S. The U.S., on the other (Ummah) – irrespective of national geographical supplied him with large amounts of military powerful force of change. The imposition of these hand, extended it support and cooperation to boundaries. equipments. Shah, was, in fact, used by the U.S. methods and ideas on the traditional social structure authoritarian Muslim rulers who backed to plunder the oil resources in the region. Islamic movements see that the western heightened expectations and aspirations throughout westernisation. For instance, Iran’s Mohammad modernity values would shackle their society. Islamic Revolution and the West the Third World, motivating the political elites that Reza Shah Pahlavi support to westernisation turned Islamic countries feel that the western model stepped into power to continue the process of him into a pet of the U.S. Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979 paved produced moral havoc, the social ills and the modernisation. The effect of this acculturation was the way for the western animosity towards the Modernization vs. Fundamentalism psychological shock. Citing that the modern values a gradual dismantling of the old order’.2 Arab world. By deposing the pro-western ruler The imposition of western modernity left American society destitute – children are Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Iranian Political Islam is a response to the postulate created a fear psychosis among the Islamic suffering due to the high incidence of frequent revolution established the Islamic Republic of Iran of modernity itself, particularly in its colonialist and communities. The attack on traditional values divorces and broken families. Modernity created and developed hostility to the West, especially to post colonialist manifestations (Choueiri 2003: 256). generated discontent among the people. This was tension in society which explicated in the forms of the U.S.A. For instance the prominent theoreticians It is the expression of collective desire to go back manifested in the form of Islamic fundamentalism. rising incidents of violence in schools and and ideologues of the Islamic states, such as to the fundamental values to challenges in the The contemporary Islamic upsurge deserves to be classrooms. The western society based on nuclear Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeni of Iran and Syed Outh contemporary world. Political Islam wants an seen as a positive and creative response to the family creates insecurity and disintegrating way of Egypt emerged as the strong critique of the west.

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The hostility to the west developed as the total the emergence of unipolar world under the U.S. in issues of national politics and social justice of resources of the Ummah – material as well as repudiation of liberal democracy. The very idea further accelerated the process. As Choueiri states (Sachedina 2001: 4). human – to the achievement of social justice and of an Islamic state, which, in fact, developed after that the rise of Islam as a political force was the self-reliance’ (Ahmad 1983: 277). The confrontation Political Islam rejects any distinction the Iranian Revolution represents not only a outcome of ‘the failure of nationalist and socialist of western modernity with Islamic tradition has between the religious community and political rejection of liberal democracy in its moment of forces with the collapse of the Soviet Union and been further aggravated by the growing western community. It does not recognise the public and triumph but also a means to register opposition to the emergence of the U.S.A. as a sole media exposure to Islamic countries. The western private spheres. It does not separate or distinguish the global hegemony of the west (Sayeed 1995: 22). superpower’ (Choueiri 2003: 256). music, life styles, entertainment and films often between the spheres of secular and sacred. acts as the liability to Islamic ethos and values. The Iranian revolution and the subsequent The west and U.S. have been identified Globalisation and Political Islam emergence of the Islamic state were projected as as the most powerful external enemy of Islam. In In the context of globalisation, westernisation is an alternative to the two confronting blocs during order to sustain its global military hegemony the The modernity imposed by the forces of making inroads in Islamic society. Multinationals the cold war–the Capitalist West and the Communist U.S. is confronting with the Arab countries. Along globalisation creates havoc to the Islamic world. are dumping goods to Islamic countries, especially East. The Arab countries found ‘Islam is the solution with the clash between tradition and modernity, The values of globalisation contradict the values the West Asian markets. A consumerist culture is to the confronting ideologies during the cold war. western imperialism also inspired Islamic of Islamic societies. The neo-liberal globalisation developing which is posing a challenge to Islamic As Khan states that ‘just embracing this concept revivalism. Its opportunism aided funda- is based on individual interest rather than protecting values. The new middle class which is developing was liberating in experience as it implied that by mentalism (Noorani 2006: 79). In order to protect community interest. Community and group interest in this region was often described by the west as advocating Islam, one was not only free of western its economic and strategic interest, the west have been replaced by individual self motive in the torch bearer of modernity and liberal global ideologies of capitalism and communism; fostered many rebels and Islamic fundamentalists. the process of accumulation of wealth. democracy. However, such a middle class often but was also free from the internal colonization by The Islamic organisations were armed, financed acts as a liability to Islamic values and its traditional secular westernised elites who used authoritarian and supported by the West. The progressive Globalisation has created more havoc to norms. Globalisation made adverse impact on the means to subjugate Muslims in their own countries. elements in the Arabian countries were nibbled in Islam rather than any other religious communities. Muslim societies. High media exposure, Thus, the rejection of western ideas and ideologies its bud alleging that it had support from the In other words, Islam responded vigorously to technological intervention also generated discontent was a mark of rebellion against imperialism as well communist bloc. globalisation than any other religion in the world. towards the west. The growing feeling is that as internal colonialism’ (Khan 2004: 266).3 The reason can be seen in the context of Islam as freedom and political sovereignty enjoyed by Dar- Re-orienting Ideology and Reconstructing a totalistic religion which regulates the whole of al-Islam (Islamic territory) is under attack by the On the other hands, the west was deeply Identity human life. It not only sets up spiritual goals, but western powers. concerned over the Islamic revolution and the also provides the institutions, laws and the general As it has been stated earlier that Islamic establishment of Islamic state fearing that it would environment in which those goals should be Internal Flaws of the Arab World resurgence was a response to the shattered spread the entire Arab countries which ultimately attained (Ahmed 1990: 19). Islamic laws are political aspirations created by the western The civil society and political culture will adversely affect their oil interest in the Middle based on Koran. Islamic state does not believe in domination. While rediscovering of identities, Islam existing in the west are not conducive to liberal East region. popular sovereignty but ultimate sovereignty and was used for rejuvenating the individual and social democracy. The nature of society is basically absolute authority only vest in God. Islamic religion Islamic state was essentially a postcolonial life. This was quiet surprisingly watched by the patriarchal and the tradition of authoritarianism and regulates the entire aspects of individual life birth, expression that rejects western cultural and west and dubbed it as ‘fundamentalism’. Islamic conservative monarchies. Many Arab countries death, dress, food, marriage, etc. The penetration geographical domination of the Muslim world ideology is used for legitimising their mobilization. still divided into tribes (most notably in Yemen) or of values of western modernity in the era of (Khan 2004: 266). It was projected to rescue the Islamist movements are mobilising people in the sects (Lebanon), it is hard to establish political globalisation has changed these aspects of Muslim Ummah from western domination. liberation of the Muslim land from the western parties. The authoritarian rulers feel that the individual life in the Islamic world. domination thereby challenging western modernity. introduction of liberal democracy would loose their Post Communist Situation Islamic movements want to reconstruct society Globalisation in the Arab world led to the grip on economic resources which were monopolised Political Islam emerged as the potent more in Islamic ideology and its values. They are search for identity and distinctiveness. The crisis by them for a long time. They are promising the enemy to the west after the setback of communist in search of a new social order based on Islamic of identity taken in the forms of demands for people that the authoritarian regimes are able to regimes in Soviet Union and other East European values. While religion is permeating the national Muslim state. Political Islam ‘stands for a meet the material needs of the people rather than countries. The decline of communist modernity and culture Islamic tradition maintains an active interest reaffirmation of Islamic morality and a rededication its democratic counterpart. While the authoritarian

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regimes are legitimising their regimes by means of upbeats the free flow of information. In the era of As a result, political pluralism is a distant dream in instance, in 1999, women held 14 of the 270 seats adopting populism, the opposition to authoritarian information revolution, many Arab countries are the Arab world. In the contemporary world, in Iran’s Parliament. regime is profoundly divided by religious and facing to connect internet and restricting the flow Political Islam is posing a grave threat to liberal Political leadership in all these countries ideological cleavages (Brumberg 2003: xi). of information. The increasing role of military in democracy, especially in the Arab world. Political is an exclusively male preserve. Religious and civil affairs restricts the deepening of democracy Islam depicts liberal democracy as a western game Socio-economic climate in the Arab world other cultural factors ultimately set boundaries on at the grass root level. Arab democracies are too plan to destroy the values of Islam.By exaggerating is no longer conducive to accept/reckon with the women in the Middle East region. The conservative weak and lacking in public support to withstand the threat of Political Islam, Arab regimes are project of democratization. Ethno-religious element in Islam often prohibits female military intervention (Kubba 2003: 30). further strengthening the authoritarian roles and divisions and their manipulations have a bearing employment outside the home and virtually thereby stifling the political opposition and CSOs. on the democratization process in the Arab world. Unlike other countries, civil society in confined women to their house. In the absence of Any effort to political modernization was blocked Most of the Islamic countries are afflicted by ethnic Middle East is not so vibrant in pushing for educational opportunities, political participation and most of the countries forced to remain conflicts. The multi-ethnic and multi-tribal democracy. ‘In the Middle East, there have levels remain low for the majority of poor women traditional. In the era of globalization, the opening character of the society poses a threat to historically been three Civil Society Organizations in the Middle East. Thus women are marginalized up of the Arab society to the external world democratization process. Ideally, there is a that have enjoyed considerable autonomy and from the main stream of economic life. Women generated backlash which assumed in the form of common faith in Islam that unites Muslim countries. independence from the state’. They are the clergy have significantly less access to resources and to terrorism.Othman rightly points out that It visualizes one great Islamic community or nation (Ulema), tribes and tribal confederacies, and income opportunities. Women’s voices have been ‘Islamization affects the prospects for democracy (the Umma). However, in reality, there is a gross traditional merchants known as the ignored and women have been cast to the in all these Muslim nation-states not because there tribal division. Usually, the largest ethnic bazaaris’(Kamrava and Mora 2003, 342). The sidelined. is any intrinsic contradiction between Islam and community controls the state and uses it to popular pressure from civil society and individuals democracy but because the resurgent movements The depiction of women as inferior to men dominate the others (Kurth 2005: 320). for democratization is very low in the Middle East. Civil society activities are often restricted by the of Political Islam do not (or perhaps refuse to) and the consequent denial of democratic rights to Arab societies are lacking freedom, government. According to Othman, civil society recognize the intellectual prerequisites of them were legitimized by Islamic regimes. Thus, knowledge and women’s participation. Most of in Muslim countries is facing two key tasks. Firstly reactualizing Sharia principles with democratic democracy failed to become an ‘inclusive’ the Arabian countries yet to open political space to ‘the challenge of ensuring that democracy is trajectories in the modern world’ (Othman 2003: exercise. There are number of reasons for such women. The forces of tradition that take Islamic somehow maintained if not developed further within 124). ‘exclusiveness’. Even though the western liberal law, including inequality for women. Islamic democracy spread to more regions during the third the existing state and policy’. Secondly, ‘these Democracy recognizes the right to vote fundamentalists are trying to enforce strict versions wave of democratization, it failed to extend Arab countries take on the urgent work of engaging with as the important fundamental right. Equality in of Islamic law and promoting the tradition of male regions. The history of longstanding conflict Islamic and the nature of the polity and democracy voting is cornerstone of a democracy. Most dominance. Political opposition and dissent is not between Islam and the West has not made Islamic that is implicit in their blueprint of the Islamic developing countries have recognized gender tolerated by the leadership. Rulers regard any movements naturally incline towards western state’(Othman 2003). In most of the Arabian equality in suffrage and granted the right to vote opposition to the state as a threat to national security forms of political democracy. Waterbury contends countries, pressure from below for democratization to both men and women. However, women in and ruthlessly suppress it. People preferred strong that ‘the Arab Middle East is exceptional in its is weak. CSOs are not so vigorously advocating some Muslim countries are not allowed to exercise leaders able to act swiftly and promptly to address resistance to political liberalization, respect for reforms. In many Middle East countries, there is this right for a long time. These societies base their their needs. Popular disillusionment with political human right and formal democratic practice’. a favourable condition to the development and decision to deny woman the right to vote on change led to apathy and cynicism (Kubba Others argue that the political leaders and rulers spread of CSOs. Ethnic and tribal conflicts persist religious beliefs. The Unites Arab Emirates remain 2003:30). Since the ‘populaces of many Arab states in Middle East have strong control over economic in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Algeria and many other opposed to women’s political participation. Women still have not developed a shared sense of political and political power. They fear that democracy Muslim countries pulling back the activities of civil in some parts of the Middle East tend to be rigidly community, and consequently the people need would bring political reform and lead to lose their society. governed by religious and traditional beliefs that authoritarian rule to ensure political stability’(Davis grip over it. exclude them from politics. However, there are 200: 230). The over influence of religion in politics often restrict democratic expansion. Religion exceptions in this respect. Despite restrictions For a long time, Arab countries are The freedom of press is under a mess in interprets the political life. Liberalism and imposed on women by Iran’s Islamic government, restricting the flow of information through internet. the Arabian countries. The crackdown of Press democracy were treated as antithetical to Islam.4 women are making significant progress. For For instance, Saudi Arabia relies upon limiting

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the number of its internet subscribers who pressure. For a long time, U.S. initiative to implant Islam and Confucianism. Protestantism and posing a grave threat to liberal practices even in constitute less than one per cent of the population. democracy in Arab world, could not realize its democracy have been positively interlinked. In countries where it has not achieved political power Iraq and Libya recently connected to the World objectives because the socio-economic condition Protestantism, there is a great emphasis on directly’ (Fukuyama 1992: 45). In the contemporary Wide Web. Syria, which had been connected, and political culture are entirely different from the individualism and the protest countries are more world only Islam has offered a theocratic state as subsequently blocked access to it. All Arab states western world. likely to give rise to democratic regimes than a political alternative to both liberalism and have ministries of information charged with Catholic ones. Like Protestantism, Hinduism is also communism. But, the doctrine has little appeal for The classical argument of the controlling the flow of information into their considered to be conducive to democratization non-Muslims, and it is hard to believe that the Modernization theory, in fact, finds incongruence respective countries and ensuring the steady flow because it lacks a centralized hierarchy. movement will take on any universal significance with the Arab World.6 Even though, major Arabian of state propaganda. (Fukuyama 1989: 14). countries are economically rich, democracy is a Further, it is argued that Confucian culture Onslaught on Liberal Democracy distant dream. For example, Saudi Arabia, the promotes rigidly hierarchical societies and encourages The western argument of religion in wealthiest of the major Muslim countries is far obedience to authority, both of which are Premised on the attack on western relation to the process of democratization has no from democracy. On the other hand, sub Saharan modernity, Islamic fundamentalists launched a antithetical to democracy. The West alleges that logical reason. Number of Catholic countries Africa which is economically poorer than the Arab vehement attack on western ideas and institutions. initial slowdown of the process of democratization adopted liberal democracy during the ‘third wave’ world, democracy built. The ruler and political In fact, the Islamic attitude towards the western in Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan during the of democratization starting from 1974. It has to leadership exercises strong control over economic modernity generated a misconception about 1970s and early 1980s was due to the influence be remembered that in order to tackle the ‘menace resources. The reason to fear of democracy that modern democratic institutions and liberal of Confucianism. Like Catholicism and Confuci- of Communism’, Pope made a clarion call to the political reform would strip them of their booty democracy as such. Political Islam, for instance, anism, Islam is considered to be detrimental to Catholic countries to move closer to liberal (Brumberg and Diamond 2003: xi). High illiteracy sees liberal democracy as the product of liberal democracy because the notions of political democracy. In fact, the Catholic Church played a rate is often acting as a stumbling bloc to true westernization. freedom are alien to Islam. Islamic beliefs do not substantial role in Poland’s move away from the democratization. readily support democratic institutions because it Soviet Communism. In the recent past, many The much claimed ‘third wave’5 of global fails to separate religion and politics. Majority of Catholic countries underwent the democratization democratization did not touch the Arab World. Most The genesis of the debate on Political Islam and liberal democracy can be traced from Samuel the Arab countries, especially in the Middle East, process such as Philippines, Chile and Brazil, etc. of the Arabian countries are paying lip service to are non-democratic in nature because of the deep Huntington and Francis Fukuyama’s reflections on Moreover, protestant values were for a democracy and resist political liberalization. In fact, rooted influence of Islam in the society. Arabian countries at the turn of the last century religion and democracy which can be explicated long time described as congruity with democracy laid the foundation for modern states with in the Western stand. Huntington while discussing Francis Fukuyama in his theory of End of rather than Catholicism. Even Samuel Huntington democratic institutions. The Arab fought against the ‘Waves of Democratization’ is arriving at a History argues that the ‘unabashed victory’ of accepts that large number of protestant countries the Ottoman Empire and was granted conclusion that religious values are playing vital liberalism, after its success from two competing adopted liberal democracy rather than its catholic independence. However, this phenomenon served role in the process of democratization. According ideologies of the twentieth century – Fascism and counterpart during the first and second waves of the interest of the urban rather than the rural people to Huntington, certain religions are prone to liberal Communism – has not touched the Islamic world. democratization. Only in the third wave, Catholic (Kuba 2003: 30). Modest democratic reforms were democracy and others are not. The role of religion Most of the Islamic countries are suffering from countries embraced liberal democracy.7 This initiated by many monarchs. For example, in the process of democratization constitutes an ‘democratic deficit’ as it is more vulnerable to clearly shows the Catholic conscious was for a monarchies such as Jordan and Mexico have arena of debate among the practitioners of liberal ideas. According to Fukuyama Islam long time prevented the spread of liberal increased space for people’s participation in the democracy in the West. From the western point constitutes a systematic and coherent ideology just democracy. Contrary to the arguments by political life of the community, and Tunisia has taken of view, religious values can push for like liberalism and communism, with its own code Huntington which rationalised Catholic steps to expand political participation. However, democratization or impede the flourishing of liberal of morality and doctrine of political and social consciousness with liberal democracy, the fact all these initiatives proved to be slower move democracy. Huntington argues that religious justice. “The appeal of Islam is potentially remains that the ‘Catholic phenomenon’ is, in fact, towards democratization. Only Turkey among the traditions of a country play an important role in universal, reaching out to all men as men, and not a reaction to the Soviet Union influence over the Middle East Muslim countries has a largely democratic transitions. In his opinion, historically just to members of a particular ethnic or national Catholic countries. A sense of fear arising out of democratic system. Others like Libya and Saudi there has been negative relationship between group. And Islam has indeed defeated liberal the Soviet Union to influence Catholic countries to Arabia still remain closed in spite of international democracy and Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, democracy in many parts of the Islamic world, Communism forced Pope to decry them to move

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closer to liberal democracy. For example, the sighting the potent threat of Political Islam and human beings. Peace is the essential character of best to overthrow democratic regimes. They Catholic Church played a substantial role in Islamic fundamentalism as a potent threat to Islam. Ideally, Islam rejects all the justifications supported despots and puppets and allied with the Poland’s move away from the Soviet communism. humanity. The west depicts Islam as negative to for war in the world such as nationalism, racism, most retrograde forces in society to control its oil It is international compulsion arising out of Soviet political democracy and finds it as the new enemy greed and economic expansion. Islam has certain wealth. All the modern and democratic regimes influence rather than the late arrived Catholic after communism. Moreover, the west is inherent values suited for democracy – which came into power by overthrowing the consciousness which forced Catholic countries to undermining the structural reasons for the Islamic individualism, aversion to hierarchy, etc. emperors wanted to nationalize and take control adopt liberal democracy. resurgence but giving only simplistic arguments. of oil resources, which was opposed by the United The western propaganda that Islam is by States and its allies. In Iran, the government of The western contention has no face value Moreover, Confucianism has not impeded nature anti-democratic. In the name of Mossadegh was overthrown and Raza Shah Pehlavi as it is evident that many of the Muslim countries democratization of South Korea and Taiwan. In democratizing ‘Islam’ the west is engaging in the was installed as the ruler in 1953 under the watchful adopted liberal democracy in the recent past. In these countries democracy came late because the process of revitalising it. The advocates of the eye of CIA. Mossadegh was considering the 1994, seven states – Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Yemen, legacies of Japanese colonial domination produced thesis that Islamic religion is anti-democratic by nationalization of the oil industry. Shah acted as a Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritania – had moved in a lengthy period of authoritarian rule from 1945 to citing the denial of women rights for substantiating puppet and permitted the plunder of his oil the direction of democratization. In 1993, Morocco early 1980s. Again, the values of Hinduism have their argument. Arab nationalism, in their view, is resources. not brought sustained democracy in the Hindu state conducted its free parliamentary elections since less tolerant and allows less room for democracy. of Nepal. The Himalayan Empire is still confronting the 1960s. In Egypt, political reforms began under In the Arab world, authoritarian relations prevail In Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden and his with monarchical regime before establishing President Anwar al- Sadat in the mid-1970s. The in the family, the religious community, the workplace fundamentalist outfit Taliban were nurtured by the democracy. reform efforts were forwarded by his successor and between social classes. The west contends U.S. with the help of Pakistan to over through pro- president Hosni Mubarak. He pursued a policy of that Islam is posing a formidable challenge to Soviet People’s Democratic Party regime in 1978. The recent effort of the West to equate gradual liberalisation and democratization by prevailing secularist modernist ideas. It was often The Taliban elements were armed, financed and Islam as anti-democratic deserves no empirical inaugurating economic reforms and privatisation. depicted as a threat to liberal, secular, democratic supported by the CIA to fight against the influence evidence. Islamic values (especially Political Islam values. Liberal democracy has not made substantial of Soviet Union. Saddam Hussein, America’s in the modern sense of the term) are no longer Islam as a religion preaches humanism. entry into the Islamic world. The west perceived number one enemy was also the creation of incompatible with liberal democracy as the West Islam, as distinguished from Christianity, is a that Islam as a religion is diametrical to liberal American policy towards Iraq. He was supported argues. Malaysia is among Asia’s most stable temporal project, wanting to usher in ‘the kingdom democracy. Fukuyama’s conclusion that Islamic by the CIA against the progressive forces in Iran democracies having a Muslim country. Indonesia, of God’ on earth. It respects from the dignity of values are antithetical to liberal democracy invites which came into power after the Iranian Revolution the world’s largest Muslim country has recently human being, concern for the welfare of fellow lot of criticism from the Islamic intellectual world. in 1979. democratized. Islam in India is more prone to citizens. Its basic thrust was towards universal Islam is basically an egalitarian religion and democratic values. brotherhood, equality and social justice. Ideally, The western powers are engaging in a war enshrines human dignity and fraternity. the objectives of an Islamic state necessitates that against terrorism often legitimises their misdeeds The western contention that Islam is the Muslim community be founded on the principles The assumption of western scholars that by considering that the Political Islam is antithetical contrary to democratic values was contested by of equality, solidarity and freedom. Indeed, Islam political Islam and democracy is elusive has been to liberal democracy. However, such a many scholars. According to them, ‘there are many was born in its struggle against a decaying social contested. Political Islam, in fact, is the creation generalisation proved to be negative while taking features of Islamic traditions that are conducive to system based on feudalism. Islam is considered of the west against the communist regimes in Soviet into account of the experiments of liberal democratization and especially to the development both as religion in the technical sense and a social Union and other East European countries. The democracy in other Arab countries. A number of of flourishing market economies upon which revolution which posed powerful challenge to the west always wanted the Arabian society as Muslim countries have experimented liberal democracy can rest’ (Bainbridge 1997, 343). oppressive structures. traditional and fostered authoritarian regimes to democracy by conducting elections based on Political Islam and liberal democracy is safeguard the oil interests of the West. competitive party system. incompatible is a simplistic argument without Islam is more than a religion which believes properly understanding the course of action. During in God, it provides a specific way of life. It is The depiction of Islam as antidemocratic Historically, certain innate factors impeded the cold war, America legitimised its military entirely compatible with modernity, notably science by the West has to be analyzed in a historical liberal democracy in the Arab world. It is argued hegemony by sighting the threat posed by the Soviet and the spirit of rational inquiry. Islam is a liberating context. In the oil triangle, which also happens to that ‘democracy is supposedly impeded in Arab Union. Today, the U.S. is engaging in the same by force – liberating from bondages constructed by be predominantly Islamic, the U.S. has done its countries because they were not formally

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constituted as modern nation-states until after the 2004: 415). International monetary agencies like negative relationship between democracy and long-term “secularization” of the Catholic Church, Ottoman Empire collapse in 1918’ (Davis 2005: World Bank and European Union often make Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Islam and following in the steps of Martin Luther 400 years later. 230). The other major reasons for the lack of foreign aid, trade and investment in Arab countries. Confucianism. Protestantism and democracy have been see Huntington (1991). democratization can be seen as socio-economic, Along with U.S. these financial institutions are positively linked. In Protestantism there is a great political, cultural and religious forces whose roots encouraging the implementation of market reforms emphasis on individualism. Protest countries are more References likely to give rise to democratic regimes than catholic go back to decades. hoping that economic liberalization can bring one. Endorsing the view of Huntington that Islam is Addi, Lahowari (1997), “Political Islam and Democracy: political liberalism. However, the economic The important reason for the lack of incongruence with liberal democracy, Vatikiotis (1988) The Case of Algeria” in Axel Hadenius (ed.), Democracy’s liberalization in the Middle East cannot bring democratic structures in the post colonial Islamic argues that the notions of political freedom are Victory and Crisis, Cambridge University Press, political liberalization. societies lies in the experience of colonialism and considered alien to Islam. see Huntington (1993) and Cambridge, pp. 105 – 120. neo-colonialism. It has to be noted that the national Today, the Arab countries have been Vatikiotis (1988). Ahmad, Khurshid (1983), “The Nature of Islamic Resurgence” boundaries of the postcolonial states were redrawn undergoing a process of transition. There is a 5. Samuel Huntington, an American political scientist, in John L. Esposito (ed.), Voices of Resurgent Islam, by colonial powers. Hence people in the new growing public discourse on issues previously argues that liberal democracy spread to world not in a Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 218-229. political entities did not necessarily share a national considered taboo. Civil society groups are breaking linear process but ‘waves’. He offers three waves of identity. This lied to the demand for building ‘Arab new ground. The ability to communicate freely democratization. The In the First Wave, the long wave Ahmed, Akbar S. (1990), Discovering Islam: Making Sense Unity’ or ‘Pan-Arabism’(Stodte and Froeblich with the outside world is leaving a variety of effects (1828 – 1926), democracy spread to USA, Britain, of Muslim History and Society, Vistaar Publications, 2004: 462). on the views of the people, reinforcing some and France, Italy, Argentina and the Overseas British New Delhi. changing others. The high speed of flow of domains. During the Second Wave, the short wave The west’s attempt to impose liberal information and the constant exposure to different (1943-62), West Germany, Italy, Japan, India and Israel Ahmed, Akbar S. (1990), Discovering Islam: Making Sense democracy on Islamic countries is a futile exercise. became democratic. The current wave of of Muslim History and Society, Vistaar Publications, Political Islam cannot be dislodged by the west for cultures and belief systems is reshaping the opinions, values, concepts and perceptions of democratization, the Third Wave, started in 1974, New Delhi. it was born from the local political culture, and democracy extended to the countries like Portugal, Latin citizens in formerly closed societies. There is was an outcome of the history of national liberation American, Asia, Africa and eastern European countries. Ayubi, N. (1991), Political Islam: Religion and Politics in immense domestic pressure emanating from movement. Its ideological reality deeply rooted in see Huntington (1991). the Arab World, Routeldge, London. society and it is the manifestation of popular human rights and women groups for transparency, discontent (Addi 1997: 117). Islamic religious accountability, etc. However, these things can be 6. Modernization theorists such as S.M. Lipset believe Bainbridge, William Sims (1997), The Sociology of Religious fundamentalism is, in fact, a response to modernity. translated into the way of democratization depends that advanced economic development is precondition Movements, Routeldge, New York. They are engaging in the process of defining upon the internal and external conditions of these for democracy. They argued that ‘democracy is the modernity while defending the tradition. Thus, countries. likely outcome of a braider process of modernization Bin Sayeed, K. (1995), Western Dominique and Political in which the economy industrializes, roles get more Islam: Challenge and Response, Albany, State fundamentalists engage in technological, Endnotes specialized, and values and orientations change’. This University of New York, New York. philosophical and political dimensions of modernity argument was posited by Lipset. see Lipset (1959). (Lawrence 1989: 24). 1. Political Islam means applying Islamic texts to modern political life. In the Arabian world, Islam continues to Brumberg, Daniel and Larry Diamond (2003), “Introduction”, The U.S. war on terrorism and its project be one of the major political forces. 7. Samuel Huntington suggests that the large number of in Larry Diamond, Marc F. Platner and Daniel Brumberg of democratization is counter productive to the Catholic countries participating in the current ‘third (eds.), Islam and Democracy in the Middle East, The 2. The Middle East Congressional Quarterly Inc. (1981), wave’ of democratization makes the later in some sense Johns Hopkins University Press, London. pp. vii-xxv. democratization process in the Middle East. The Washington: Congressional Quarterly Inc., p. 109. a Catholic phenomenon, related to the change in Catholic authoritarian regimes further legitimized its consciousness in a more democratic and egalitarian Carothers, Thomas (2004) “Democracy’s Sobering State”, authority in order to defend the nations from the 3. This view was further explained by Ayubi (1991) and direction in the 1960s. The prior causes of change in Current History, Vol. 103, No.677, Dec., pp. 412-416. U.S. invasion. The growing tendency of Esposito (1997) see Ayubi (1991) and Esposito (1997). Catholic consciousness would be seem to be: the general governments in the Middle East and many parts legitimacy of democratic ideas that infected Catholic Choueiri, Youssef (2003), “Islam and Fundamentalism” in of Asia to use the authoritarian banner as an 4. Samuel Huntington (1993) argues that religious tradition thought (rather than arising out of the later), rising Roger Eatwell and Anthony Wright (eds.), excuse to crack down on political opponents, and of a country plays an important role in democratic levels of socio-economic development that had taken Contemporary Political Ideologies, Rawat Publications, thereby crushing democratic dissent (Carothers transformation. According to hi, there have been place in most Catholic countries by the 1960s; and the Jaipur and New Delhi, pp. 225-278.

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Davis, Eric (2005), “History Matters: Past as Prologue in Kubba, Laith (2003), “The Awakening of Civil Society” in South Asia and WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism (1995-2007): Building Democracy in Iraq”, Orbis: A Journal of World Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner and Daniel Brumberg Affairs, Vol. 49, No.2, Spring 2005, pp. 229-244. (eds.), Islam and Democracy in the Middle East, The A Survey Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, Girish Kumar Esposito, J. L. (1997), Political Islam: Revolution, pp. 28-34. Radicalism or Reform, Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder, Co. Kurth, James (2005), “Ignoring History: U.S. Democratization Abstract in the Muslim World”, Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs, This paper surveys the participation of South Asian nations in the WTO Dispute Fukuyama, Francis (1989), ‘The End of History”, The Vol. 49, No. 2, Spring, pp. 305-322. Settlement Mechanism from 1995-2007. The WTO with its strong dispute settlement National Interest, Summer. mechanism profoundly influences the domestic law/political economy of nation- Lawrence, Bruce B. (1989), Defenders of God: The states. South Asia is not an exception. This article explains the disputes filed by Fukuyama, Francis (1992), The End of History and the Fundamentalist Revolt Against the Modern Age, Harper Lastman, Harper Collins, New York. and Row, Sans Francisco. and against South Asian nations.

Huntington, Samuel (1991), “Religion and the Third Wave” , Lipset, Seymor Martin (1959), “Some Social Requisites of The National Interest, No. 24, Summer, pp. 29-42. Democracy: Economic Development and Political The Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade rulings of dispute settlement mechanism are Legitimacy”, The American Political Science Review, Negotiations was successfully concluded at considered as “binding legal obligations (Jackson, Huntington, Samuel (1991), The Third Wave: Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 69- 105. Marrakesh, Morocco on 15 April 1994. The jurisdiction 1997) and because the WTO Agreement on Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century, of GATT was extended to three more areas - Understanding of Rules and Procedures Governing University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. Malik, Jamal (2004), “Colonialism” in Encyclopedia of Islam investment, intellectual property rights and services. the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) stipulates that an and the Muslim World, Vol. I, Macmillan Press,. (GATT originally covered trade laws in goods sector “Appellate Body report shall be adopted by the DSB Huntington, Samuel (1993), “The Clash of Civilizations”, only.) The new agreement covers agriculture and and unconditionally accepted by the parties to the Foreign Affairs, Vol. 72, No. 3, pp. 22-49. Noorani, A. G. (2006), “The Koran and Muslims”, Frontline, textiles also, which were outside GATT purview and dispute…” (WTO Legal Texts, 1995) 14 July, pp. are of great significance to India. The final Act Huntington, Samuel P. (1996), The Clash of Civilizations and comprised of 28 Agreements, in addition to 26000 Designed as ‘a central element in providing the Remaking of World Order, Penguin Books, London. Othman, Norani (2003), “Islamization and Democratization pages of national tariff and service schedules. An security and predictability to the multilateral trading in Malaysia in Regional and Global Contexts” in Ariel understanding was also reached regarding the system’ (DSU Article 3.2), “no review of the Ismael, Tareq Y. and Jacquesline S. Ismael (1991), Government Heryanto and Sumit K. Mandal (eds.), Challenging and Politics in Islam, CBS Publishers and Distributors Authoritarianism in Southeast Asia: Comparing settlement of disputes. Consequently, a judicial achievements of the WTO would be complete (P) Limited, New Delhi. Indonesia and Malaysia, New York and London: apparatus, the Dispute Settlement Board (DSB) was without mentioning the Dispute Settlement system, Routledge, pp. 117-144. established. The DSB is a legalistic, ‘rule-oriented, in many ways the central pillar of the multilateral Kamrava, Mehran and Frank O. Mora (2003), “Civil Society mechanism with a formal, adjudicatory decision - trading system and the WTO’s most individual and Democratization in Comparative Perspective: Latin Sachedina, Abdulaziz (2001), The Islamic Roots of making process and strong enforcement measures contribution to the stability of the global economy”- America and the Middle East” in Carolyn M. Elliot Democratic Pluralism, Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Dam: 1998). The Understanding on Rules and the remarks made by Renato Ruggiero, the (ed.), Civil Society and Democracy: A Reader, Oxford Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes previous Director-General of the WTO on 17 Apr. University Press, New Delhi, pp. 324-355. Stodte, Claudia and Anne-Sophic Froeblich (2004), (DSU) contains “remarkable innovation” that take 1997 still holds good. During the first ten years, “Authoritarianism and Democratization” in the system in a more “legalistic direction” (Steger the number of requests for consultation before the Khan, M. A. Muqtedar (2004), “The Islamic State” in Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Vol. I, and Hainsworth 1998). It very well reflects the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) Encyclopedia of Government and Politics, Vol. I, Mary Macmillan Press London. metamorphosis from GATT’s power-oriented conflict lodged by the members was 3241 with majority of Hawkesworth and Maurice Kogan (eds.), Routledge, resolution to law oriented dispute settlement. The outcomes resulting in a change in the national trade London and New York, pp. 265-278. The Middle East Congressional Quarterly Inc. (1981), Congressional Quarterly Inc, Washington. Kramer, Gudrun (2004), “Political Islam”, in Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Vol. II, Macmillan Press, Vatikiotis, Panayiotis (1988), Islam and the State, Croom Dr. Girish Kumar is a Lecturer, School of International Studies, MG University, Kottayam and a Post-Doctoral Fellow, London. Hell, London. Law Institute, New Delhi

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law or policy. This is in stark contrast to the number followed by EEC with 119 cases (68 as complainant Nepal and Bhutan. Except Bhutan, all the Asian economic solidarity is absent among them of disputes filed before the International Court of and 51 as respondents), Canada with 39 cases (26 members of South Asia joined WTO as a founding and South Asian nations prioritise WTO negotiations Justice. The statutes of ICJ provide for the as complainant and 13 as respondent), Brazil with member. Bhutan has only begun its accession over regional SAARC negotiations. They focus acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction; but less than 34 cases (22 as complainant and 12 as respondent) recently. (Bokhari, 2008). Most of them are ill – on forging need-based coalitions like services for fifty states have accepted such jurisdiction and less and India with 33 cases (16 as complainant and 17 equipped with human and material resources to India, textiles and clothing for Bangladesh, duty than hundred cases have been referred to the ICJ as respondent).3 devote permanently to their WTO desks at free quota, duty free access and erosion of in the first fifty years of its existence (Gantz 1999). Geneva. Strong economic imperative for a South preferences of LDCs in general. (Kulkarni, 2008). John H. Jackson regards WTO DSM as ‘one of The inferences based on this statistical the most important, and perhaps even watershed, analysis reveal that two developing countries- India Table 1: South Asia at WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism (1995 - Septemeber 2008) developments of international economic relations and Brazil and the most industrialized countries, in the twentieth century (Jackson 1998) where namely, USA, EEC, and Canada share the top five As complainant As defendant As ‘right perseveres over might’ (Lacarte-Muro and places. The developed nations used the WTO Country Total no. of Panels Total no. of Panels third Gappah 2000). dispute settlement mechanism the most number requests established requests established party of times both as complainants and as defendants. Major Players involved in the WTO Disputes Of the 324 requests for consultations filed before India 17 9 19 6 51 the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, Pakistan 3 2 2 0 9 The statistics of the disputes filed by the developed nations invoked the dispute settlement top five litigants during the first ten years of WTO Sri Lanka 1 0 0 0 3 provisions 2054 times as complainant; whereas the (1995-2004) is presented in the following diagram. developing countries invoked 119 times. As Bangladesh 1 0 0 0 1 Total 22 11 21 6 64 Figure 1: Major Players involved in the WTO Disputes respondents, developed nations appeared before WTO dispute settlement mechanism 190 times, Source: William J. Davey (2005): ‘The WTO Dispute Settlement System: The First Ten Years’, J. Int’l Econ. L. vol. 8, pp. 17-50 90.00 and developing nations appeared 134 times. It would be interesting to note that these 324 requests 80.00 for consultations were filed by or against just fifty- Maldives and Nepal never participated in establishment of the panel nine times. Among these 70.00 seven nations. This means that the participation of the dispute settlement process of WTO. disputes, establishment of Appellate Body was 60.00 rest of the ninety WTO members are minimal or sought in six. On two disputes, mutually agreed 50.00 absolutely nil. Barring the single case of India solutions (MAS) were reached. The rest of the 40.00 Bangladesh that has filed a case against India5 the six cases were inactive. India initiated cases against 30.00 participation of the least developed countries was India has used WTO’s DSB extensively- seven Members - US (7 times), EC (5 times), (she ranks fifth among the Member nations and Poland, South Africa, Brazil, Turkey and Argentina 20.00 almost nil, either as the complainant or as second among the developing nations). This (1 each). In five Indian complaints, few South 10.00 defendant. However, China’s entry may make significant changes in future, for it has added a extensive use clearly indicates the importance of Asian nations (Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri 0.00 ‘new layer of complexity to polarised relationships’ determinations made by WTO judiciary in Indian Lanka) reserved third-party rights. In the shrimp between the developed and the developing nations economy. The first case that induced India to have case, Pakistan was even a co-complainant. (Andenas and Ortino 2005). recourse to the dispute settlement procedures of WTO was on the dispute on automobiles with The disputes also revealed the very nature 6 As Complainant As Defendant South Asia and WTO Dispute Settlement Poland as a complainant. In fact, it could be of India’s trading partners. The United States is Source: http://www.wto.og./wto/dispute/bulletin.htm Mechanism regarded as the continuation of a GATT case with India’s largest trading partner. Bilateral trade in Poland. 2005 was $26.8 billion. India mainly imported Out of 324 disputes filed during the first South Asia comprises three developing aircraft and its parts, computer hardware ferrous ten years, the US2 ranks first with 168 cases (80 countries India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and four As a complainant, India approached the waste/scrap metal, machinery, cotton, fertilizers, times as complainant, 88 times as respondent) least developed countries, Bangladesh, Maldives, WTO DSM seventeen times. India sought the and diagnostic equipments from the US. Major US 61 South Asia and WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism (1995-2007): A Survey Girish Kumar 62

Table 2: India as Complainant imports from India include textiles and ready-made The first case filed by India that reached South garments, internet-enabled services, agricultural the panel was against the United States and India Disput Sl Asian and related products, gems and jewellery, leather triumphed.7 In this case a panel convened at the Year e Details of the dispute Defendant Stage No. nation as request of India determined that the United States No. products, and chemicals. Naturally, in its trade Third Party relations with the US, textiles sector is something violated its obligation under articles 2 and 6 of the 1995 1 DS 19 Import régime for automobiles. Poland MAS• extremely sensitive to India. Out of the six ATC by imposing a transitional safeguard restraint M easures affecting imports of Pakistan 2 DS 32 US Inactive on imports of woven wool shirts and blouses from women’s and g irls’ wool coats. complaints filed against the US, three complaints M easures affecting imports of Pakistan Panel/AB related to textiles. The dominant markets for India. The panel further concluded that the U.S. 3 DS 33 US woven wool shirts and blouses. Stag e India’s textile and apparel exports are the US and action constituted a prima facie case of nullification R estrictio ns on imports o f textile Panel/AB or impairment of the benefits accruing to India 1996 4 DS 34 Turkey EU, which together accounted for nearly 83 per and clothing products Stag e cent of exports in 2003. Two of the complaints in under the ATC. Still India appealed certain issues Import prohibition of shrimp and textiles were addressed to EC. Textile and clothing of law in the panel report. On April 25, 1997, the shrimp products (Brought by United Sri Lanka Panel/AB 5 DS 58 Ind ia, Malaysia, Pakistan, States Stag e exports contribute over 27% of Indian total exports Appellate Body affirmed the legal findings and 8 Thailand) to the EU. conclusion of the panel . The DSB formally M easures affecting import duties adopted the decision on May 23, 1997. 6 DS 134 EC Inactive on rice In fact, one-third of the total complaints Anti-dumping measures on imports India filed related to the textiles sector. Out of the Other agreements India has invoked 7 DS 140 of unbleached cotton fabrics from EC Inactive include the Anti Dumping Agreement. But the 1998 nine disputes that reached the Panel stage where India India filed as complainant, four were on the textiles complaints on anti-dumping measures from Anti-dumping measures on imports Panel/AB sector. It displays the lobbying power the Indian developing countries including India are unlikely 8 DS 141 of cotton-type bed linen from EC Stag e to decrease because their export prices are always India. textile industry wields over the Government of India Anti-dumping duties on import of in using WTO DSM as a forum to address trade lesser than the home prices owing to the economies South 1999 9 DS 168 certain pharmaceutical products Inactive of scale and absence of procedural bottle necks Africa issues. Exports to US have further increased after from India. the Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA) ceased. The enjoyed by the export-oriented firms in developing Anti-Dumping and Countervailing 9 10 DS 206 US Panel US statistical analysis reveal that in the post MFA countries (Aggrawal 2004). This was one of the M easures on Steel Plate 2000 reasons that prompted India to proceed with the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Panel/AB scenario exports from India into US have increased 11 DS 217 US Bed linen case till the Appellate stage against the Offset Act of 2000 Stag e by 27 per cent than the corresponding period last Anti-Dumping Duties on Jute Bags year. Presumably, the WTO complainants in these EC. Neither in the Wool Shirts nor in Bed linen 12 DS 229 Brazil Inactive from India India succeeded fully but in both cases it won 2001 areas against the US and the EC are likely to M easures Affecting the Import of important points, which ‘benefited directly in future 13 DS 233 Argentina Inactive increase in future in the post MFA regime. Pharmaceutical Products 10 Textiles sector also supports over 80 million Indian situation.’ (Davey 2005). Rules of Origin for Textiles and Bangladesh, 14 DS 243 US Panel Apparel Products Pakistan people through direct and indirect employment. In bed linen, India successfully argued a 2002 Co nditions fo r the Granting o f Pakistan, Sri Since 1992 exports of textiles and clothing from Panel/AB point that the EC did not take the special situation 15 DS 246 Tariff Preferences to Developing EC Lanka Stag e India have grown by 7.7 per cent annually, reaching of India into account, before imposing anti-dumping Countries US$ 13.4 billion in 2002 and accounting for 4 per duties against India. The SDT provisions Anti-Dumping Duties on Certain cent of global trade in this sector. India was the 2004 16 DS 313 Flat Rolled Iron or Non-Alloy EC MAS necessitate a nation to explore the “possibilities of Steel Products fifth-largest global exporter and the second largest a constructive remedy prior to the imposition of Customs Bond Directive for Panel/curr net exporter of textiles and clothing in 2002. The anti-dumping duties” and the “European 2006 17 DS 345 M erchandise Subject to Anti- US ently und- developing countries as a whole are very much Communities acted inconsistently with Article 15 Dump ing /Co untervailing Duties er app eal concerned about the back-loading of the of the Anti Dumping Agreement by not exploring • Mutually Agreed Solution integration process vis-à-vis textiles and clothing possibilities of a constructive remedy prior to the (Laird 2000). imposition of anti-dumping duties (provisional or

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final) and by not reacting to detailed arguments of the nine cases India won; whereas in other four Table 4: India as Defendant from Indian exporters…”11 The Panel upheld cases India has mixed results. (See the following Sl. Dispute Complai Indian contention, because “the possibility of an tables). In its case against the US on Agreement Year Details of the dispute Stage undertaking has already been broached by the on the Rules of Origin, India lost. This means that No. No. nant 12 1996 1 DS 50 India: Patent protection for pharmaceutical developing country concerned.” As a India has greatly succeeded in unlocking the markets US Panel/AB complainant, India has mixed results. In four out of the rest of the world through WTO DSM. and agricultural chemical products 1997 2 DS 79 India: Patent protection for pharmaceutical & EC Panel Table 4: India as Complainant Panel/Appellate Body agricultural chemical products 3 DS 90 India: Quantitative restrictions on imports of US Panel/AB Dispute Defendant Agreement involved Outcome of the agricultural, textile and industrial products 4 DS 91 India: Quantitative restrictions on imports of number nation dispute Australia MAS DS 33 United States Art. 6 of Agreement on Textile India won agricultural, textile and industrial products 5 DS 92 India: Quantitative restrictions on imports of Canada MAS and Clothing (ATC) agricultural, textile and industrial products DS 34 Turkey Art. XI, XIII (GATT) and Art. India won 6 DS 93 India: Quantitative restrictions on imports of New MAS 2.4 of ATC agricultural, textile and industrial products Zealand 13 7 DS 94 India: Quantitative restrictions on imports of Switzer DS 58 United States Art. X:1 and XX(g) of GATT India won MAS DS 141 EEC Anti Dumping Agreement India partially won agricultural, textile and industrial products land 8 DS 96 India: Quantitative restrictions on imports of EC MAS DS 206 United States Anti-Dumping Agreement; and India partially won agricultural, textile and industrial products the SCM Agreement 1998 9 DS 120 India: Me asures af fecting export of certain EC Inactive DS 21714 United States Anti Dumping Agreement & India partially won commodities 10 DS 146 India: Me asures af fecting the automotive Subsidies Agreement EC Panel/AB DS 243 United States Agreement on the Rules of India lost sector 11 DS 149 India: Import restrictions EC Inactive Origin. 12 DS 150 India: Measures affecting customs duties EC Inactive DS 246 EC Paragraphs 2(a), 3(a) and 3(c) India partially won 1999 13 DS 175 India: Measures relating to trade & US Panel/AB of the Enabling Clause. investment in the motor vehicle sector 2000 14 DS 279 Import Restrictions Maintained Under the DS 345 United States Anti-Dumping Agreement; and India won EC Inactive the SCM Agreement Export and Import Policy 2002-2007 2003 15 DS 304 Anti-Dumping Measures on Imports of EC Inactive Certain Products 2004 16 DS 306 Anti-Dumping Measure on Batteries Bangla Inactive Given the constraints in financial India sought advice on three cases (US-rules of desh resources, participation as a third party in WTO origin, EC-GSP, and Automobiles). (Valles, 17 DS 318 Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Products Chinese Inactive dispute settlement process is one way for a ‘Comments’ in Andenas and Ortino (ed.)). During Taipei developing nation to improve their legal expertise.15 the first 311 disputes panellists having Indian 2006 18 DS 352 Measures Affecting the Importation and Sale Panels of Wines and Spirits from the European establi shed As a third party India has participated in the nationality served 17 times and they chaired EC dispute settlement process fifty-one times. This the panel 10 times. Among the developing Communities (report not circulated) involved disputes related to TRIPS, textile products, countries India topped the list. A single panellist 2007 19 DS 360 Additional and Extra-Additional Duties on Panel/ Now primary products and dumping (Chaisse and who has served most number of times belonged US Imports from the United States at AB Chakraborty, 2007). India also frequently sought to the Indian nationality - Mohan Kumar, who the advice from the Advisory Centre on WTO Law. served the Panel fourteen times (Horn and For instance during the first years of ACWL itself Mavroidis 2007).

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As a defendant, nineteen cases were filed Switzerland, Bangladesh and Chinese Taipei (all- On 8 October 1996, India, Malaysia, article 21.5, the DSB found the US Revised against India. The complainants requested one each). Pakistan and Thailand requested consultations with Guidelines and its application by the US authorities establishment of panel in seven disputes. Five the US concerning a ban on importation of shrimp justified. disputes reached the Appellate Body stage as well. As a defendant India has appeared be- and shrimp products from these complainants The EC is the top complainant against India that fore the panel five times. Except one, in all the imposed by the US under Section 609 of US Public In the second dispute, Pakistan requested has used the WTO DSM most times. Out of the disputes, where India has figured as defendant, Law 101-162. Violations of Articles I, XI and XIII consultations with the US regarding the imposition nineteen disputes, EC invoked dispute settlement Indian measures were found as WTO-inconsis- of GATT 1994, as well nullification and impairment of a unilateral transitional safeguard measure procedures nine times followed by the US (four tent. These disputes along with their outcomes are of benefits, were alleged. Sri Lanka was one of (quantitative restriction) applied by the United times), Australia, Canada, New Zealand, presented in the following table. the third parties. Following US appeal, the Appellate States on imports of combed cotton yarn from Body reversed the Panel’s finding that the US Pakistan. India reserved its third-party rights. The Table 5: India as Defendant measure at issue is not within the scope of Panel found that the US excluded the production Dispute Complainan Agreement involved Outcome of measures permitted under the chapeau of Article of combed cotton yarn by vertically integrated number t nation the dispute XX of GATT 1994, but concluded that the US producers for their own use from the scope of the DS 50 United States Arts. 63, 70.8 and 70.9 of TRIPS India lost measure, while qualifying for provisional “domestic industry producing like and/or directly DS 79 EEC Arts. 63, 70.8 and 70.9 of TRIPS; 9.1 India lost justification under Article XX(g), fails to meet the competitive products” with imported combed and 10.4 of DSU requirements of the chapeau of Article XX. India cotton yarn. The US neither examined the effect DS 90 United States Art. 4.2 of Agreement on Agriculture; India lost and Pakistan reserved their third-party rights. The of imports from Mexico (and possibly other X:1 and XVIII of GATT US noted that it had issued revised guidelines in appropriate Members) nor demonstrated that the DS 146 United States Art. 2.1 and 2.2 of TRIMS; Arts. III:4 India lost implementing its Shrimp/Turtle law. The US also subject imports caused an “actual threat” of serious and XI:1 of GATT noted that it had undertaken and would continue damage to the domestic industry. Hence, the US DS 175 EEC Art. 2.1 and 2.2 of TRIMS; Arts. III:4 India lost to undertake efforts to initiate negotiations with measure was found WTO-inconsistent. The AB and XI:1 of GATT the governments of the Indian Ocean region on confirmed panel rulings. Thus in both disputes DS 360 United States Articles II:1(a) and (b), and III:2 and India won the protection of sea turtles in that region. Even Pakistan got a favourable ruling from WTO. III:4 of the GATT though Malaysia pursued the matter further under

Pakistan Table 7: Pakistan as complainant at Panel/AB Pakistan appeared before the WTO times as complainant and twice as respondent. It dispute settlement mechanism five times- three was a co-complainant in the Shrimp case. Dispute Defendant Agreement involved Outcome of number nation the dispute Table 6: Pakistan as Complainant DS 58 United States Ar t. X:1 and XX(g) of GATT Pakistan won DS 192 United States Provisions of Article 6 of the ATC Pakistan won South Asian Sl Dispute Defen Year Details of the dispute nation as Stage No. No. dant In the third dispute filed by Pakistan solution in the form of price undertaking agreements Third Party against Egypt, Pakistan claimed that the definitive between the concerned Pakistani exporters and 1996 1 DS 58 Import Prohibition of Certain Shrimp US Sri Lanka Panel/AB anti-dumping duties imposed by Egypt on the Egyptian Investigating Authority. and Shrimp Products* matchboxes from Pakistan and the investigation 2000 2 DS 192 Transitional Safeguard Measure on As defendant, two requests for US India Panel/AB leading thereto violated the imposition of these anti- Combed Cotton Yarn from Pakistan consultations were filed against Pakistan (See dumping duties and the investigation leading thereto 2005 3 DS 327 Anti‐Dumping Duties on Matches from Table: 8). The first one was filed by US on patents. Egypt MAS were inconsistent with Egypt’s obligations under Pakistan But the grounds of dispute brought against Pakistan the GATT 1994 and the Anti-Dumping Agreement. *Joint complaint by India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand .See Appellate Body, United States — Import in patents dispute were similar to the one brought Prohibition of Certain Shrimp and Shrimp Products, WTO/DS 58 dated 12 October 1998 But Pakistan and Egypt reached a mutually agreed

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against India. Pakistan found a mutually agreed of, inter alia, hides and skins and wet blue leather Conclusion tion in Geneva and good support from the capital. solution with the US. But India fought till the AB made from cow hides and cow calf hides. The EC In 1996 the average number of meetings in the As of 1 September, 2008, 378 disputes stage. The second dispute was brought by EC on contended that this measure limits the access of WTO had risen to 46 a week.16 Even for large were filed at WTO Dispute Settlement Mecha- export measures regarding Hides and skin. The EC industries to competitive sourcing of raw and delegations such hectic schedules were observed nism. The major participants of WTO DSM are EC requested consultations with Pakistan in semi-finished materials. The case remained to be a strain (Shaffer 2003). Barring the case of EEC and USA for they control a major stake in respect of a Notification enacted by the Ministry inactive. India, the participation of rest of South Asia is of Commerce of Pakistan prohibiting the export global trade; whereas South Asian controls share negligible. is less than two percent. No wonder, the WTO DSM was reduced to an arena of transatlantic There should also be better coordination Table 8: Pakistan as Defendant trade war, especially during the first few years of between the government and the industry Sl. Dispute Compl WTO. However, that did not desist the develop- because different private interest groups, pre- Year Details of the dispute Stage No. No. ainant ing nations from participating at WTO DSM. dominantly industry, are at play in WTO (Pauwelyn, 2003) and constitute the driving forces 1996 1 DS 36 Patent Protection for Pharmaceutical and US MAS Membership in the WTO is of great importance behind WTO litigation. Horn, Mavroidis and Agricultural Chemical Products to developing countries. WTO does have specific Nordstrom (1999) say that sectors with powerful 1997 2 DS 107 Export Measures Affecting Hides and Skins EC Inactive provisions to address the concerns of the devel- oping countries. The special needs of developing lobbies like textiles, clothing and agriculture would

countries are recognized in the preamble itself. be more successful and countries with more The DSU too contains innumerable provisions that economic power bring more complaints. Gregory Sri Lanka Sri Lanka reserved third party rights then. The are supposed to meet the needs of LDCs. The Shaffer (2003) has explained the significant im- report of the Panel concluded that the provisions Sri Lanka appeared before the WTO first ruling of WTO’s Dispute Settlement Mecha- portance of ‘private-public partnerships’ through of the agreements relied on by the claimant were which US and EC private commercial interest dispute settlement mechanism only once. It invoked inapplicable to the dispute. This was also upheld nism delivered on January 17, 1996 in a complaint WTO dispute settlement procedures against Brazil was brought by Venezuela and Brazil against groups manipulate WTO litigation. The by the AB. But as third-party Sri Lanka developing nations because of their political, his- as a complainant. But the case is inactive now. participated in two more cases- the Shrimp case United States’ environmental restrictions on But the subject matter of this case was already a gasoline imports was often regarded as a triumph torical, economic, and cultural background, which and the GSP case. Both the disputes involved India is mostly sceptical to private participation has so bone of contention between Philippines and Brazil. and Pakistan. for the developing South against the developed North. The DSB held that the Environmental far refrained from such an approach. SAARC na- Table 9: Sri Lanka as Complainant Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation regarding tions are no exception. Consequently, the US and the European Union benefited more than Dispute imported gasoline was inconsistent with WTO Year Details of the dispute Defendant Stage obligation. the disadvantaged developing countries by using No. the WTO dispute settlement system. A perusal of 1996 DS 30 Countervailing Duties on Imports of Desiccated Brazil Inactive But effective participation of developing Indian complaints reveal the lobbying power of Coconut and Coconut Milk Powder fr om Sri Lanka countries in WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism the Indian textile industry over the was crippled by their inability to take advantage Government of India in using WTO DSM as a Bangladesh Interestingly, the complaint was against India. The and defend their rights. WTO’s dispute adjudica- forum to address trade issues. More than one- Bangladesh is the only least developed nation that dispute demonstrated the absence of a disputes tion process is very much “member driven” and third of Indian complaints related to the textile has invoked WTO dispute settlement procedures. viable settlement forum at South APTA. requires greater resources. The DSU has become industry. Similarly, Indian fight at WTO more ‘judicial’ than its drafters intended and hence DSM in the patent case as a complainant despite Table 10: Bangladesh as Complainant the investment of lawyers with greater technical the certainty of a failure till the Appellate Body Dispute expertise has become a necessity. A WTO claim stage was, to an extent, attributed to its strong Year Details of the dispute Defendant Stage No. could cost US$300,000-400,000 for the attorney’s generic pharmaceutical industry. The presence of 2004 DS 306 Anti‐Dumping Measure on Batteries fr om Bangladesh India MAS fees alone (Shaffer 2004). For effective partici- such export-oriented lobbying industries are ss pation, a member needed a well-informed delega- absent in other South Asian countries.

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Even if there exists any such strong lob- ... [T]he real reason seems to be all about bananas, with 9. Aradhana Aggrawal, The WTO Anti-Dumping Code: Issues or two persons. The rest of the 18 survived out of bying group, their major competitor will be their a touch of beef hormone. The US won the last two trade for Review in the Post-Doha Negotiations, WTO Working London, Brussels or national capitals (UNCTAD, 1997). neighbour in South Asia. All member countries of disputes with the Europeans brought before the WTO paper series no: 4 (New Delhi: ICRIER, 2004), p.25. These figures clearly demonstrated that effective .... The problem was not that the US won these cases, participation by the developing world was not taking SAPTA produce similar export products, both ag- 10. Davey, supra note 8, fn103. ricultural and industrial, forcing them to vie for in- but that after winning the banana case the US place in WTO. ternational markets and go after GSP benefits of Administration pounded its chest in loud self- 11. Panel, Anti-dumping Measures on Imports of Cotton-type 17. Panel Report, European Communities-Conditions for developed nations. Thus the penchant among South congratulation like the louts that infest British soccer Bed Linen from India, WTO Doc., WT/DS 141/R, dated stadiums. Bad form. No one likes to be shown up, least the Granting of Tariff Preferences to Developing Asian nations to go after the pay-offs offered by January 6, 1997, para 6.219. (On these provisions, the of all Sir Leon Brittan, the European Union Trade developed nations- the US and Japan stood united that Countries, paras 2.1-4.41, WT/DS246/R (Dec. 1, 2003). the US and EU in the form of preferential treat- Commissioner. Sir Leon lost the beef and banana cases there was no legal duty, since “the second sentence of AB, European Communities-Conditions for the ment and market access in exchange of political and wanted revenge after the Americans behaved so Article 15 does not impose anything other than a procedural Granting of Tariff Preferences to Developing Countries, allegiances has made the creation of South Asian badly.’ (See William J. Davey, ‘The WTO Dispute obligation to “explore” possibilities of constructive paras 2.1-4.41, WT/DS246/AB/R7 (April 2004). Also camaraderie a distant mirage (Kelegama 2007). Settlement System: The First Ten Years’, J. Int’l Econ. remedies.” see Pakistan’s statement as third party supporting the Only by avoiding the striking of such political deals L. vol. 8, (2005), pp. 17-50; also see Marc. L. Busch EC (Paragraphs 5.79- 5.84). with developed nations it will be possible to con- and Eric Reinhard K, “Transatlantic Trade Conflicts 12. Id., para 6.238. References struct a South Asian partnership. (Jawara and Kwa and GATT/WTO Dispute Settlement”, in Ernst-Ulrich 13. Joint complaint by India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand 2003). The dispute India filed against EC17 (EC- Petersmann and Mark Pollack, Transatlantic Economic .See Appellate Body, United States -Import Prohibition of Aggrawal, Aradhana (2004): The WTO Anti-Dumping Code: GSP case) was, in fact, an attempt to stultify such Disputes: The EU, the US and the WTO (Oxford: Oxford Certain Shrimp and Shrimp Products, WTO/DS 58 dated Issues for Review in the Post-Doha Negotiations, WTO preferences given by developed nations to other University Press, 2003), pp 465-485. 12 October 1998 Working paper series no: 4, ICRIER, New Delhi. developing countries including Pakistan. 4. There were multiple complaints as well. For instance, 14. Joint complaints by Australia, Brazil, Chile, European Notes Import Prohibition of Certain Shrimp and Shrimp Communities, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Thailand Andenas, Mads and Federico Ortino (ed.) (2005): WTO Law Products, WTO Doc., WT/DS 58/1 dated 14 October, (WT/DS217); and Canada and Mexico (WT/DS234). The and Process, BICL, London. 1. WTO, Overview of the State-of-play of WTO Disputes 1996. Co-complained by India, Malaysia, Pakistan and DSB also agreed, in accordance with Article 9 of the DSU, (as notified on January 1, 2005) available at . The number Australia, Brazil, Chile, EC, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea Review available at http://www.ips.lk/staff/ed/ of complaints filed every year is given in brackets -1995 5. WTO, India-Anti-Dumping Measure on Batteries, ‘ and Thailand (WT/DS217) on 23 August 2001 would also publications_ed/international/swto/swto.pdf (25), 1996 (39),1997 (50),1998 (41), 1999 (30), Request for Consultations’, WTO Doc.,WT/DS 306/1 examine the complaint by Canada and Mexico (WT/ 2000(34), 2001(23), 2002(37), 2003(26), 2004(19). dated 8 January 2004. DS234). Chaisse, Julien and Debashis Chakraborty: Dispute Settlement in the WTO: In the Light of Chinese and 2. This includes all the joint complaints filed by the 6. WTO, ‘Request for Consultations’, Poland -Import Re- 15. In this respect China is far ahead of India. Since its Indian involvements available at http:// disputants. gime for Automobiles, WTO Doc., WT/DS19 dated accession on 11 December 2001, China participated in works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article 28 September 1995 and ‘Mutually Agreed Solution’, 62 cases as third party as of now. During the same =1013&context=julien_chaisse visited on 27 Feb 2007. 3. William J. Davey divides the first ten-year period into dated 11 September 1996. (Also see WTO Trade Policy period, China participated in the WTO dispute two - the first half from 1995 through 1999- witnessed Review Body, Trade Policy Review- India, Report by settlement system thirteen times - twice as a complainant Dam, Kenneth W (1970): The GATT: Law and International filing of 185 requests for consultations involving 125 the Secretariat, WTO Doc., WT/TPR/S/100dated 22 and eleven times as defendant. See http://www.wto.org/ Economic Organisation, University of Chicago Press, disputes. The US filed 60 followed by the EC with 47. May 2002, pp.155-6). english/thewto_e/countries_e/china_e.htm Chicago and London. During the second period there was a decline in consultation requests - a total of 139 requests were filed 7. Panel, United States, Measures Affecting Imports of 16. Countries with larger trade delegations are more likely Gallagher, Peter (2000): Guide to the WTO and Developing between 2000 through 2004. The first period also Woven Wool Shirts and Blouses from India, WTO Doc., to be active than the developing countries. For small Countries, MA: Kluwer Law International, Boston. witnessed WTO DSM being used as an arena to settle WT/DS 33/R, dated January 6, 1997, para 8.1. delegations of only two or three persons, who had to ______(2005): The first ten years of the WTO: 1995- the transatlantic trade wars. Davey quotes J.D. Foster cover WTO, UNCTAD, ILO and other Geneva-based 2005, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. (J.D. Foster ‘Going Bananas Over the FSC’, Tax 8. Appellate Body, United States: Measures Affecting organizations, it was an impossible burden. In 1997, of Features, June-July 2001 (Tax Foundation publication)): Imports of Woven Wool Shirts and Blouses from India, the 28 developing country members of the WTO, only Gantz, David A (1999): ‘Dispute Settlement under the ‘Why did the Europeans suddenly raise the [FSC] issue? WTO Doc., WT/DS 33/AB/R. 10 had permanent missions in Geneva – that too of one NAFTA/WTO Choice of Forum, Opportunities and

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Rules of NAFTA Parties’, American University Institute staff/ed/publications_ed/international/swto/ Steger, Debra P. and Susan M. Hainsworth, (1998):‘WTO WTO, India-Anti-Dumping Measure on Batteries, ‘ Request Law Review, vol. 14. swto_review_nations.pdf Dispute Settlement: The First 3 years’, Journal of for Consultations’, WTO Doc.,WT/DS 306/1 dated 8 International Economic Law, Vol. 1, Issue 2, pp.199- January 2004. Haxton, Eva and Claes Olsson (1998): WTO as a Conceptual Lacarte-Muro, Julio and Pettina Gappah (2000): “Developing 226. Framework for Globalisation, Global Publications in Countries and the WTO Legal and Dispute Settlement WTO, Overview of the State-of-play of WTO Disputes (as cooperation with Third World Information Network, System: A View from the Bench”, 4 Journal of UNCTAD (1997): The Uruguay Round and its Follow-Up: notified on January 1, 2005) available at . Report of Workshop convened by Secretary General Hoekman, Bernard and Will Martin, (ed.) (2001). Developing Laird, Sam (2000): The WTO Agenda and the Developing WTO Panel/Appellate Body Reports involving South Asian of UNCTAD, United Nations: Geneva. Countries and the WTO: A Pro-active Agenda, MA: Countries, University of Nottingham, Centre for Nations. Blackwell Publishers. Research in Development and International Trade. WTO (1995): The Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations: The Legal Texts, WTO, Horn, Henrik and Petros C. Mavroidis: The WTO Dispute Narlikar, Amrita (2003): International Trade and Developing Geneva. Settlement System 1995-2004: Some Descriptive Countries: Bargaining Coalitions in the GATT & WTO, Statistics) available at http:// Routledge, London. siteresources.worldbank.org/INTRES/Resources/ Pauwelyn, Joost (2003): Conflicts of Norms in Public 469232-1107449512766/Horn MavroidisWTODSU International Law: How WTO Law relates to other Rules DatabaseOverview.pdf, visited on February 27, 2007. of International Law, CUP, Cambridge. Horn, Henrik, Petros C.Mavroidis, and Hakan Nordstrom Petersmann, Ernst-Ulrich and Mark Pollack (2003): (1999): Is the use of WTO Dispute Settlement System Transatlantic Economic Disputes: The EU, the US and Biased? CEPR, London. the WTO, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Hudec, Robert (1987): Developing Countries in the GATT Saman Udagedera, “SAPTA Negotiations: Constraints and Legal System, Gower, England. Challenges” in Saman Kelegama (2001): Impediments to ______(1975): The GATT Legal System and World Trade Regional Economic Cooperation in South Asia, Diplomacy, Praeger Publishers, New York. Colombo: Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka and Coalition for Action on South Asian Cooperation in Jackson, John H. (1997): ‘The WTO Dispute Settlement association with Friederich-Ebert-Stiftung available at Understanding - Misunderstandings on the Nature of http://www.fessrilanka.org/pdf/pub/Impendiments/i- Legal Obligations’, 91 American Journal of International 2.pdf Law 60. Shaffer, Gregory (2003): Defending Interests: Public-Private Jackson, John H. (1998): “Designing and Implementing Partnerships in WTO Litigation, Brookings Institution, Effective Dispute Settlement Procedures: WTO Dispute Washington D.C. Settlement: Appraisal and Prospects”, in Ann O Krueger Shaffer, Gregory (2004): “Recognizing Public Goods in WTO (ed.), The WTO as an International Organization, The Disputes Settlement: Who Participates? Who Decides? University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London. The Case of TRIPS and Pharmaceutical Patent Jawara, F and A Kwa (2003): Behind the scenes at the WTO: Protection”, Journal of International Economic the real world of international trade negotiations— Law 459. the lessons of Cancun, Zed Books, London. Shaffer, Gregory (2003): “How to make WTO Dispute Kelegama, Saman (ed) (2007): South Asian in the WTO, Sage, Settlement work for Developing Countries” in ICTSD, India. Towards a Development- Supportive Dispute Settlement System in the WTO, Switzerland, ICTSD available at Kulkarni, Parashar (2008): “A Call for South Asian http://www.ictsd.org/pubs/ictsd_series/ Solidarity”, The Nation on Sunday, http://www.ips.lk/ resource_papers/ DSU_2003.pdf

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Indian Compliance and Trips Agreement Understanding the date. The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is one Conventions and Treaties of Paris Convention, of those issues adopted in the agenda that is 1967 for the protection of industrial property rights Economics of Indian Foreign Policy undergoing the process of implementation changes in inventions, trademarks and industrial designs, Arundhati Sharma in the developing countries. Thus, it becomes etc. and the Berne Convention, 1971 for the imperative to delve into the paradigmatic shift of protection or copyright in literary, musical and India from a passive and dormant to an active artistic works, etc. An important sphere of participant in the WTO negotiations. WIPO’s activities concerns assistance in the Abstract development of developing countries through The reorientation of India’s Foreign Policy in 1991 gave preeminence to WTO and IPR: Understanding Intellectual training programmes, seminars and workshops to economics, so far implicit, as a vital instrument to integrate with rest of the world Property Rights (IPR) and advance its non-economic objectives. Since then, there have been visible enable government officials and other personnel shifts not only from past emphasis on ‘politics’ to ‘economics’ as important In order to appreciate and protect from developing countries to acquire knowledge determinant of foreign policy but also from ‘defensive’ to ‘active’ as regards creativity and innovations made by people, and practice in various aspects of industrial Indian stance pertaining to various negotiations in the multilateral forum, the contributing to the larger interests of society, the property. India has been an active participant in WTO. This paper attempts to understand the evolution of India’s foreign policy WTO provides for certain incentives in the form WIPO’s seminars, meetings and projects. which strives to engage with the world while simultaneously pushing forward its of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). This extends The Uruguay Round at Punte Del Este foreign policy objectives in line with its national interest by focusing on the to ideas, knowledge, inventions, innovations, under the GATT, 1994 not only mandated the TRIPS Agreement. research and designs in areas of art, literature and WTO as the multilateral trading system but also technology. The WTO defines it as: extended the trade coverage to include goods, “Intellectual property rights are the rights services and intellectual property rights. The main Introduction integration process began in the 1990’s. Since then given to persons over the creations of motive behind the WTO was to promote free and India’s positioning in terms of participation has seen their minds. They usually give the fair trade through commitments by countries at The significance of economic drastic changes whereby India is using WTO as a creator an exclusive right over the use reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers. considerations, implicit earlier, in India’s foreign projection of its foreign policy. The Uruguay of his/her creation for a certain period Consequently, the TRIPS Agreements provided for policy is reflective of its efforts and attempts to Rounds of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN), of time.”1 the protection of intellectual property as part of integrate with the rest of the world breaking its 1994 served as a turning point in stimulating such the process of liberalization. The Agreement on earlier policy of aloofness. This is visible in the instrumental change. This not only saw the As trade became intensive and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property active participation and avowed initiatives of formation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) comprehensive in its coverage, there arose tensions Rights (TRIPs) is an international treaty policies compliant with the agreements of to subsume the GATT in 1995 but also a new in economic relations. Thus, the extent of administered by the World Trade Organization multilateral negotiations yet consistent with its defined role to be played by the developing protection of IPR became pronounced. (WTO) which sets down minimum standards for national interest of maximum benefits. One effort countries, particularly India as the leader and Consequently, the WTO introduced the Trade most forms of Intellectual Property (IP) in this direction to integrate while simultaneously spokesperson for the former, to integrate into the Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regulation within all member countries of the promoting its national interest is visible in the Patent world economy. India has moved beyond the (TRIPS) Agreement to ensure long and short term World Trade Organization.2 (Amendment) Act, 2005 in light of the TRIPS conventional trade in goods to services and benefits and costs of both the producer and society Agreement of 1994. While India’s interaction with investment since then. Within the ambit of varying covering the application process, adequate Basic tenets of the TRIPS Agreement protection, enforcement and dispute settlement the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dates back context, there arose new issues of discussion and The TRIPS Agreement laid down the mechanism. to the days of General agreement on Tariffs and negotiations; some issues resolved while some provisions, principles and scope of intellectual Trade (GATT) concluded in October 1947, the real others continue to be contested and deliberated till Prior to the WTO, the World Intellectual property rights: Property Organisation (WIPO) situated in Geneva Principles3 promoted the use of intellectual property Ms Arundhati Sharma is a Research Scholar, M.Phil (Second Semester) , South Asian Studies, School of International Studies, throughout the world. This was achieved through The TRIPS agreement conforms to the basic Jawaharlal Nehru University , New Delhi-110067, Email id: [email protected]. cooperation among Member States based on principles of the WTO:

InternationalIJSAS Journal 2(1) of 2009, South Asian pp.73-87. Studies IJSAS ISSN January 0974 - June- 2514 2008 International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 75 Indian Compliance and Trips Agreement Understanding the Economics of Indian Foreign Policy Arundhati Sharma 76

• National Treatment: treating one’s nationals one undertaking from those of other pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products, development in the turn of the millennium that its and foreigners equally undertakings. they must accept the filing of patent applications voice was heard and many concessions on several from the beginning of the transitional period. The issues saw the light of the day. As regards the • Most Favored Nation (MFN): equal treatment • Geographical indications: identifies the place latter applied to Indian case too which did not have TRIPS Agreement, India was able to bargain for of nationals for all trading partners of WTO of origin of the product and protect the rights a product patent at the time of adoption of the concessions on pharmaceuticals and agriculture. of the member, region or territory of product • Enhancement of economic and social welfare: agreement 6. of origin. protection should contribute to technical Before proceeding towards the shifts in The Doha Declaration also extended the innovation and the transfer of technology and • Industrial Designs: protection of novel Indian position as regards TRIPS, it is to be taken transition period for LDCs for implementation of benefits of both producers and users. industrial designs from third parties to sell, into account that intellectual property rights were the TRIPS obligations from 2006 to 2016 limited import or copy the protected designs without protected through the Patent Act, 1970 which Features4 to patents and marketing rights, and data the owner’s consent for 10 years. provided for process and not product patent.8 This protection for pharmaceutical products. Thus, enabled the production and marketing of new drugs The main features of the TRIPs agreement are: • LDCs are still obliged to implement the rest of Patents: protection of patents available to through a different production process conducive • • their obligations under the TRIPS Agreement as Standards: defined standards for protection, novel inventions in both product and process to Indian conditions at a much lower price than of 2006 7. namely the subject-matter to be protected, the for a period of atleast 20 years to prevent the patented products of developed countries. It commercial exploitation. rights to be conferred and permissible Shifting position of India: WTO and TRIPS: also provided for compulsory licensing which exceptions, minimum time duration of • Layout-designs of integrated circuits: Economic Diplomacy allowed the government to compel the patentee to protection in conformity with the WIPO, the protects the layout-designs in integrated license the invention or cancel it on account of Paris Covention for protection of Industrial India’s stance in the WTO needs to be circuits from commercial exploitation of selling, non-working i.e. it is not put to use in India. Again, Property and the Berne Convention for the analysed through the changing domestic conditions importing and distributing without the owner’s it provided the License of Right to ensure the usage protection of Literary and artistic works. that reflects a radical departure and distinctiveness consent. of the patented product after the expiry of the of India’s foreign policy pursuit. The various • Enforcement: provisions for domestic patent period by any person without the consent • Protection of undisclosed information: it stakeholders in terms of civil society and industrial procedures and remedies for enforcement of of the patent holder with payment of royalty. lobby also assume significance. At the time of intellectual property rights including civil, allows for maintaining trade secrets and India’s independence, its passive participation, as India, like many other developing countries, administrative, borders and criminal measures, classified information having commercial a member of GATT in 1947 can be understood in opposed the inclusion of the TRIPS in The WTO procedures and remedies. value. the developmental strategy of closed, inward- mainly on the grounds of differential level of • Dispute settlement: the disputes arising out of TRIPS Agreement and implementation looking economy focused on self-sufficiency and technological know-how and domestic capabilities. the TRIPS Agreement signatories would be requirements import-substitution. It was only in the mid-1980’s India’s know-why’9 process of development 10 resolved through the WTO’s Dispute With respect to the implementation of the that trade as developmental strategy received capabilities based on ‘reverse-engineering’ . This Settlement Mechanism. agreement, the TRIPS Agreement provided for a attention. This coincided with the beginning of the made possible the development of products through Uruguay Rounds of GATT negotiations, 1986. replication of process of advanced technological Scope5 one-year transition period for developed countries to bring their legislation and practices into Given the legacy of a protectionist regime, low countries. A product patent as per TRIPS would The TRIPS agreement extends to areas like: conformity i.e 1996. Developing countries and level of technological growth and the inchoate hamper the development of products through countries in the process of transformation from a integration process with the world in 1991, India reverse-engineering whereby the Indian • Copyrights and related rights: it covers centrally-planned into a market economy would remained skeptical of greater engagement in the Pharmaceutical Industry flourished. Interestingly, protection of computer programs, rental rights, have a five-year transition period i.e. 2000, and multilateral forum. Thus, from 1991 till the Doha by the post- 1989 there was visible dissension and also performer’s rights (recordings, least-developed countries 11 years i.e 2006. Rounds in 2001, India took a hard line on the amongst the domestic industrial lobby. The one with reproduction and broadcasting) for not less than Developing countries which do not at present number of issues in WTO, including the TRIPS dominant MNC’s favoured the TRIPS Agreement 50 years. provide product patent protection in an area of Agreement. It was only when India has achieved based on the logic of strong technological level to • Trademarks: refers to protection of signs technology would have up to 10 years to introduce an international recognition and stature on account serve their long run business interest, while the capable of distinguishing goods or services of such protection i.e. 2005. However, in the case of of its economic stability and technological nascent industrial lobby, forming the larger chunk,

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opposed it for fear of competition and hence being (Amendment) Act, 1999 is consistent with the called the ‘mail box system’ 18 to provide a legal box’ system through an administrative order which wiped off. There was the civil society in protest Berne Convention. sanction to product filed for patent application. This was challenged by US as breach of obligations against the agreement for increase in drugs prices required modification in the Patent Law. As a under certain clauses. Consequently, India changed 2) Trade Marks: The Bill to review and replace and public health concerns11. Thus, there were consequence, the Indian Government amended the its Patent Act in 1999 to include ‘mailbox system’ Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 has clear-cut linkages between the government, Indian patent Act, 1970 through an ordinance in and Exclusive Marketing Rights (EMR). The been passed and notified in the Gazette of India pharmaceutical industry and civil society. The December, 1994 facilitating the filing of applications Patent Act was again amended in 2002 and finally since 3oth December, 1999. The process to political dynamics is instrumental in understanding in pharmaceuticals/agricultural chemical products. in March, 2005 the Patent Act, 2005 came into bring it into force which shall harmonise the the variations in the strategy of Indian Government Another amendment in March 1995 covering force. In the interim period, the Patents trade marks laws with the international practice towards the TRIPS Agreement. health and genetic engineering was initiated but (Amendments) Ordinance, 2004 introduced is under consideration.15 failed to receive the approval of the Parliament. product patents for food, pharmaceuticals and With increasing pressure from developing 3) Geographical Indications (GI): The Thereafter, Indian Government provided for a ‘mail chemicals. countries like India, Brazil and South Africa, the Geographical Indications of Goods Doha Rounds in 2001 conceded to the demand for (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 notified Table 1: Comparative analysis of Patent Act 1970 and 2005 exemption of patent clause in medicines/ in the Gazette of India on 30th December, 1999 pharmaceuticals based on concerns of public health, awaits its enforcement.16 1970 Indian Patent Act TRIPS Agreement geographical indication (GI) beyond wine and Process Patents in agriculture and Process and product patents in almost all 12 spirit . This was to extend to rice varieties, Indian 4) Industrial design: the Industrial Design Act, agriculture/chemicals fields of technology. basmati, as against the US production of similar 2001 that replaced the Design Act, 1911 is in Patent Duration of 5-7 Years in chemicals Patent Duration of 20 years from filing date rice by Ricetech, biological and genetic resources, force since 11th may, 200117 and pharmaceuticals and foods/agriculture and traditional knowledge. This led to the TRIPS from the date of filing 5) Patents: The most comprehensive and Agreement whereby the developing countries Compulsory Licensing and License of rights Limited compulsory licensing, no license of contentious changes is noticeable in the Patent were provided with some flexibility considering the in public interests rights. Act of 1970.The TRIPS Agreement provided individual domestic needs and concerns. Fields excluded from patents included Excluded fields : plant varieties and bio for minimum standards of patent regime both agriculture and medicinal properties technology Although India has modified the Patent product and process i.e the process of Law of 1970 in conformity of the TRIPS producing a product and the product itself can Agreement, it continues its demand for protection be patented provided it conforms with the in term of technological transfer, biodiversity and TRIPS conditions. This came in clash with the The Doha round of negotiations provided of the developed world, US and EU, to push GI 13. then existing patent law that ascribed to process for the adoption of a sui generis system for patents on life including plant, animal, biological only of the developing countries, including protection of plant varieties, traditional knowledge process and genes beyond the obligations of TRIPS Enforcement of TRIPS Agreement: India. India, as per the Patent Act, 1970 did and bio diversity. This acknowledges three major Agreement through bilateral or regional India has brought changes in the areas not recognize product patenting for areas: agreements. mentioned under the TRIPS Agreement to fulfill pharmaceuticals and specific agricultural – No Patents on Life Mechanism of IPR in India its commitment during the span of 10 years. The products. A patent in the product for India major amendments that have been undertaken are: meant to incur loss in the export of medicine – Protection of Farmers’ Rights to save, use India has modified, and amended/enacted made available at lower prices and also and exchange and sell seeds laws in areas of Patents, Trade Marks, Designs 1) Copyrights: India amended the Copyright Act competition in manufacturing of medicine by and Geographical indications in conformity with of 1957 periodically to comply with the TRIPS emulation of the same process on account of – In terms of bio diversity, to ensure that the TRIPS Agreement. India has enacted necessary Agreement. The copyright law of May, 1994 deficient technology. provisions of TRIPS conforms the Convention legislation in the IP laws and also rules for has been an important landmark that covered of Bio Diversity. processing of IP applications. computer software, satellite broadcasting and The 10- year transitional period fixed for digital technology14 which conforms to the the developing countries meant the introduction of However, the TRIPS Plus restricts the The Department of Industrial Policy and Rome Convention. The Copyright a mechanism to file product patent applications, flexibility. TRIPS Plus refers to one of the strategy Promotion (DIPP), established in 1995 and

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reconstituted in 2000 with the merger of the An Intellectual Property Appellate the poor with exorbitant increase in prices of there surfaces the fear of diminishing export Department of Industrial Development (DID) Board (IPAB) set up in Chennai hear the appeals food and medicine. earnings from the IPR Regime. Here, it is to be noted under the Ministry of Commerce is the nodal against the decisions of Registrar of Trade Marks, that prior to the Patent Act, 1970, 85 % of medicines • it is discriminatory due to limited access to department concerning the legislations pertaining Geographical Indications and Controller of Patents. in India were supplied by the Foreign Multinational information and transfer of technology, unlike to Patents, Trade Marks, Designs and Pharmaceutical Companies.21 This directly impacts In addition, copyright is protected through the developed world, as a result of IPR. Geographical Indications in India. The department on the public health. There are three visible Copyright Act, 1957 as amended in 1999 is assisted in its administration by the subordinate The worst affected would be the implications in the pharmaceutical industry: administered by Department of Higher Education. office of The Controller General of Patents, agriculture and pharmaceuticals sectors. Patents The Semi-conductor Integrated Circuits Layout 1. Impact on Research and Development (R&D): in agriculture would result in monopoly power of Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM). This is Designs Act, 200 administered by the Department The cost associated with pharmaceuticals done through: of Information and Technology protects the Layout the companies receiving patents in particular plant infrastructure is very high. The TRIPS regime varieties, seeds, etc and, hence, restrict research • The Patents Acts, 1970 (amended in 1999, Transistors and other circuitry elements. New not only means the end of reverse- engineering varieties of plants are protected through the and development in those agricultural products but also investment in R&D process on 2002 and 2005) through the Patents Offices leading to loss of bio-diversity. It might also lead at Kolkatta (HQ), Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights account of competition for longer sustainability. Act, 2001 - administered by the Department of to commercial exploitation of common man in While the TRIPS Agreement assures of • The Designs Act, 2000 through the Patents Agriculture and Cooperation. indigenous medicinal plants. In case of patents in stimulation of R&D, the variations in globally Offices at Kolkatta (HQ), Mumbai, Chennai pharmaceuticals, it would increase the cost of endemic diseases and developing country Besides the legislative initiatives, and Delhi. medicines and hence affect public health. Thus, it specific diseases defeats such improvement. modernisation of IP infrastructure has also been can be seen clearly that there is intrinsic relation Since the private companies are profit oriented, undertaken focused on infrastructure development, • The Trade Marks Act, 1999 through the Trade between economic, social, and technical and there is always the bias to develop research computerization, human resource development Marks Registry at Mumbai (HQ), Chennai, industrial development of a country. and development of drugs that would accrue training and awareness E-filing facility for patent Delhi, Kolkatta and Ahmedabad. larger markets and returns. Therefore it is seen and trademark applications has been introduced The enforcement of the TRIPS mostly that while there is constant development • The Geographical Indications of Goods since 20th July 200719. Civil and criminal Agreement with comprehensive changes in the to fight cancer, in terms of diseases like (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 through provisions exist in various laws for dealing with Patent Law brought in a mix bag of benefits and malaria, tuberculosis are negligible. More so, the Geographical Indications Registry at counterfeiting and piracy. The DIPP has been set loss. While it proved propitious for the larger even there are drugs to cure the diseases Chennai. up an Inter-ministerial Committee to coordinate stakeholders, it adversely affected the smaller dominant in developing countries, there is no IP enforcement issues. The 11th Plan (2007-2012) segment of society. While much has been debated The Indian patent Office is recognized as assurance that the prices would be lowered to allots Rs. 300 crores for further modernization in whether the changes were in the form of bane or an International searching Authority (ISA) and incur losses. terms of physical infrastructure, human resource, boon, the Act of 2005 has far reaching International Preliminary Examining Authority computerization and databases and creating consequences. On one hand it has provided 2. Impact on pricing: The investment in R&D (IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty of awareness among different stakeholders20. safeguards for innovation and creativity in terms would automatically lead to increase in the WIPO. of idea; on the other, it has neglected major areas prices of drugs. Moreso, for small farmers’ India and Trips Agreement: Implication in like public health and agriculture. patenting their seeds and plant varieties would The National Institute for Intellectual varied sectors Property Management (NIIPM) has been Negative Impact seem a distant dream for patenting an invention cost around US$5000-US$23, 000.22 established at Nagpur as a national centre of The inclusion of the IPR in the Uruguay Round agenda was predominantly the initiative of 1. Pharmaceuticals excellence for training, management, research, 3. Impact on drug accessibility: Monopoly of the developed world. Thus, it became a contentious education and policy advice in the field of IPR. The Pharmaceutical industry bears the a patented product would benefit the larger issue with the developing world, including India, Since the construction of the institute is underway, maximum amount of pressure from the TRIPS industry at the cost of small and medium-sized; putting stiff resistance on the grounds: it is working from the Patent Information System Agreement. This is mainly because India earns this shall limit the availability of drugs. To in Nagpur. The CGPDTM is in-charge of the • it would strengthen the monopoly power of the major profits through the export of cheaper drugs compound it, the simultaneous price hike would Office along with the Patent Information System. multinationals companies and adversely affect on account of low labor cost attach and hence raise the question of access of public to drugs.

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2. Agriculture by Mosanto in collaboration of Indian based Figure 1 : Statistics of Patent Enforcement Mahyco company put 1.26 million and 3.28 million There is no denying the fact that agriculture hectares under Bt Cotton cultivation in 2005 and 35000 forms the backbone of Indian Economy. It 2006. This was a severe blow to the traditional 30000 contributes 21% of GDP and employs 53% male cropping patterns as more farmers took to Bt cotton 23 and 75% female workers for livelihood. The 26 cultivation . The high cost coupled with low yields 25000 TRIPS Agreement poses severe challenge to in later stage led to low returns and income and agriculture threatening the self-reliance and hence to debt trap. This in turn impedes bio 20000 livelihood of farmers. It is a threat to indigenous diversity, traditional agriculture and longer knowledge and bio-diversity. The Indian sustainability. 15000 Government stressed on GI for preventing bio- piracy that debars the real benefits to the developing The Positive Changes 10000 countries. This was in response to the patenting of The positive changes are evident in terms 5000 Indian Basmati rice variety by the Rice Tech of the Patent Law Procedures wherein one can company of the US, gene sequences of rice by see drastic improvement in filing of application and 0 Swiss MNC Syngenta and such other like turmeric, providing the real benefits to the owner of product. 2004‐05 2005‐06 2006‐07 neem, jamoon, bitterrgourd etc by the US and European MNC’s.24 The genetically modified plant Patents filed examined granted varieties like GM paddy, wheat, corn, oil seeds and The filing of patent applications has Source: Annual Report of CGPDTM 2006-07. vegetables are eroding the productivity and fertility increased from 17,466 in the year 2004-05 to 28,882 of soil. This is the main reason for India to initiate applications in the year 2006-07 and that of Figure 2 : Statistics of Trade Marks the Plant Variety Protection and Farmer’s Rights applications examined stood at 14,119 in 2006-07. 25 Act, in 2001 and the Seeds Act, 2004 . The number of patents that were granted saw The monopolization of agro-biotechnology an increase from 1911 in 2004-05 to 7359 in 27 by few private companies has led to 2006-07 (Figure 1). commercialization of crops for financial returns. Trademarks As I have mentioned earlier the bio-piracy has became conspicuous. Another adverse As regards Trade marks, the number of consequence of the IPR laws are felt in Food applications filed, examined and registered stood Security and erosion of biodiversity. The monopoly at 1.03,419, 85,185 and 1, 09,361 respectively in power of the companies has led to increased prices 2006-07 against 78,996, 72,091 and 45,015 in 2004- of seeds of plant varieties and increased the 05 as is evident from the graph28 (Figure 2). dependence of farmers’ on them for supply. By Geographical Indications undermining the traditional knowledge dissemination process and introduction of According to the Annual Report of CGPDTM, Genetically Modified (GM) crops, the biodiversity 38 Geographical Indications products have been has been eroded. There is seen an interconnection filed in 2006-07 covering areas of tea, horticulture, between the patent laws and rise of farmers’ handicrafts, textiles etc. and 30 registered since suicide in India who on account of high price of 2003. These include Darjeeling Tea, Chanderi seeds and monpolised supply by few has led them Saree, Pochanpally Ikat, Solapur Chaddar, Mysore to debt–trap. The introduction of GM cotton variety Silk, Kullu Shawl, Bidriware, etc.29 Source: Annual Report of CGPDTM 2006-07.

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Designs same without the holder’s consent. This would conventional perspective, a process patent in not amount to infringement of the Law. South would deprive the monopoly of the North According to the DIPP, the number of application filed, examined and registered stood at 5372, in the share of the larger markets of the former. 5179 and 4431 respectively in 2006-07.30 Besides, India adopted sui generis system Thus, a conflicting perception between the North of plant protection through the Protection of Plant and the South is inherent. The preference of the Figure 3 : Diagram showing the Pattern in Designs Varieties & Farmers rights Act 2001 (PPVFR) to North for the product patent is, therefore, comply with the TRIPS Agreement and ensure understandable. However, in trying to earn farmers right to sow, save, exchange, sell, research financial gains, the pharmaceutical industry of the 2006‐07 and design of new plant varieties32 . However, the North that pushed the TRIPS Agreement Seed Bill, 2004 puts constraints on the farmers in overlooked the other dimension in terms of terms of a registration certificate to sell, barter innovation, imitation, cost and welfare Registered Filed seeds and also the supply or availability of seeds. 30% 36% consumerism. Taking all these variables into Another challenge is in the form signing of UPOV account, the conventional logic is defeated. For for protection of plant varieties that is not conducive instance, under process patent not only the Examined for the farmers’ right to sell or exchange seeds developing world but the developed world would 34% beyond their lands. have the permission to imitate and innovate and As a signatory to the agreement of WTO sell products in the developing markets and and TRIPS, which came into force on January I, thereby allowing a share in the developing 1995, India has accepted the minimum standards markets. In terms of cost and welfare to be adopted under the stipulated time of 10 years consumerism, the logic of earning profits from Source: Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, India through a series of amendments to the Patent Acts the larger market would be defeated if the of 1970. However, the Patent Amendment Act, products do not find appropriate demand in the Flexibilities/Safeguard Mechanism in Line – Government Use for non commercial 2005 has evoked debates about the real gains. South. This can be understood in the global vs with India purpose There is also the challenge that confronts India in poor country specific diseases mentioned earlier. In order to counter the negative impact of – Emergency and extreme urgency the form of TRIPS Plus. The Amended Act, 2005 This challenges the very principles of National being TRIPS compliant, the developing world also throws light in the latent political motivations Treatment and Most favored Nation (MFN) and – Bolar provision: it refers to license for including India succeeded in achieving some that has impinged on such shifting position. Pattern enhancement of social and economic welfare. old generics for various grounds for the safeguard mechanism at the Doha Round, 2001. of intense lobbying by the larger segment of Considering the deleterious impact on developing purpose of research and development and India has incorporated these flexibilities in the industry at the cost of the smaller one is apparent. world in general, India’s shifting change reflects a regulatory approvals. Patent (Amendment) Act, 2005 keeping in view The cost-benefits argument of providing protection transformed environment- both global and public health and national security. The principal However, the specified time limit of six to innovations and stimulate R&D dissipates in domestic- and also the bargaining power to instrument available in the Patent Act includes: 31 months to obtain a patent by the Controller can developing countries or the South when seen from integrate judiciously with the global economy. social welfare and profit terms. Considering the Integration as an integral part of India’s foreign get delayed apart from the 3 years of original patent • Compulsory Licensing (CL): It refers to the North (Developed) and South (Developing) Trade policy has been served but stimulation of expiry. procedure whereby a Government can allow Configuration, there might be conflict of interests development process in a uniform manner in varied any company, agency or designated person the • Parallel importation: This is an instrument not only in inter-industry trade but also intra- sectors remains debatable. However, a foreign right to make a patented product, or use a to enjoy and exploit the benefits of differential industry trade33 .Hence, the TRIPS agreement policy needs to be dynamic. The changing posture patented process under license without the prices of drugs in different countries. This is impacts adversely on both the North and the South. of India in the international forum, bargaining for consent of the original patent holder. This is based on the logic of “exhaustion of rights” Therefore, there is the need to analyse the deeper concessions as seen in the TRIPS Agreement, is also referred as “non-voluntary license” to entailing that once the patented product is put and concealed cost and benefits attached to the reflective of the reorientation in its conduct i.e the curtail monopoly and promote competition. for first sale the patent holder’s right is implementation of ‘blanket approach’34 of the economic dimension, liberalization at domestic This can be exercised through 3 ways: exhausted and another entity can export the TRIPS Agreement. Observed from the level and globalization at international level, as an

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instrument to achieve non-economic benefits. Notes 15. http://www.laws4india.com/ipr.asp .Accessed on March 26. Ibid. 4th, 2009 Economics have come to restructure the conduct . 1 http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/ 27. Annual report of CGPDTM 2006-07 of relations in Indian foreign policy framework. intel1_e.htm The analysis of TRIPS Agreement and its 16. Ibid 28. Ibid enforcement reveals that India has succeeded 2. “Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual 17. Ibid to achieve economic development that has been Property Rights”. Viewed on 28th February, 2009, http:/ 29. Ibid the underlying objective of India’s foreign /www.mse.ac.in/Trade/About%20TRIPS/Agreement.pdf 18. Prabhu Ram, “India’s new “TRIPS-compliant” Patent policy. The flexibilities if used effectively would Regime: Between Drug Patents and right to Health”. 30. Ibid allow India to develop low cost drugs through 3. http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/ Viewed on 12th March, 2009 http://jip.kentlaw.edu/art/ generic production and hence accessibility of agrm7_e.htm volume%205/5%20Chi-Kent%20J%20Intell 31. “Public Health Safeguards in Indian Patents Act”. Viewed medicines. %20Prop%20195.doc on 12th March, 2009 http://www.whoindia.org/ 4. http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/TRIPS_e/ LinkFiles/Trade_Agreement_section5_implementing_ The Amended Act has evoked critical intel2_e.htm 19. “Intellectual Property”. Viewed on 28th February, 2009 public_health.pdf scrutiny from varied quarters. However, two things http://dipp.nic.in/ipr.htm need to be noted: 5. http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/27-trips.pdf 32. “Trade Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights, 20. Eleventh Five Year Plan of Strengthening and Modernizing livelihoods and right to food in India”. Viewed on 28th - that there are both negative and positive 6. http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/ursum Intellectual Property Offices. Viewed on 12th February, 2009 http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/ elements in any development-oriented policy. _e.htm#nAgreement March, 2009, http://dipp.nic.in/scheme_ipo_ cescr/docs/info-ngos/3DIndia_2008.pdf Foreign policy strives to promote its national 18082008.pdf interest. In doing so, it takes cognisance of 7. http://www.who.int/medicines/areas/policy/doha 33. Arijit Mukherjee and Uday Bhanu Sinha (2004), the all pervasive nature of welfare. Yet, this _declaration/en/index.html 21. Patent Reform in India: The Campaign to protect public “Product Vs Process Patent”. University of Nottingham welfare is neither to be misunderstood in health”. Viewed on March 1, 2009 http:// Research Paper No. 2004/18. Viewed on March 1, 2009, absolute terms nor at the cost of the neglected 8. Suman Sahai (1993): “Indian Patents Act and TRIPS”, www.ipngos.org/NGO%20Briefings/Patents%20 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm? segments. Economic and Political Weekly, 28 (29/30): p 1495- Act%20amendment.pdf abstract_id=764104 1497 - the changing global realities warrant 22. “Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights”. Viewed 34. Ibid; p.7. reorientation of priorities for sustainable 9. Amit Shovon Ray, and Sabyasachi Saha (2008): “Shifting on 28th February, http://www.actionaid.org.uk/doc_lib/ benefits. Coordinates of India’s stance at the WTO: 53_1_trips.pdf References Understanding the Domestic and International Economic Analysed within this context, compliance Drivers”, ICRIER 23. “Trade Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights, Agarwal, Pradeep and P Saibaba (2001): “TRIPS and India’s of TRIPS Agreement through the modified Patent livelihoods and right to food in India”. Viewed on 28th Pharmaceuticals Industry”, Economic and Political Act, 2005 allows the prospects of realizing India’s 10. Ibid: p: 7 February, 2009 http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/ Weekly, 36(39), pp.3787-90. potentialities and a preparedness to play its role cescr/docs/info-ngos/3DIndia_2008.pdf Agreement on Trade Related Aspect of Intellectual Property. 11. Ibid; p: 8 as a emerging great power. Commensurately, to Viewed on 28th February, 2009, http://www.mse.ac.in/ 24. B.M. Kumaraswamy, “Trips Agreement-A threat to influence the decision-making process at the Trade/About%20TRIPS/Agreement.pdf international level in her favour as a spokesperson 12. Ibid India’s Rich Heritage Bio-Diversity and Food and Health th of the developing world, a long cherish dream security”. Viewed on 28 February, http://pbr.co.in/ Dalal, Praveen “Indian Patent Law: Some reflections”. Viewed 13. Transfer of technology to LDC’s becomes important in view.php?id=253 th since independence. One cannot override the fact on 28 February, 2009, http://trade.development order to provide a fair deal; biodiversity for sustainable that the amendment has been made with certain gateway.org/uploads/media/tradeINDIAN%20 development under UN Convention of Biological 25. “Trade Related Aspect of Intellectual Property PATENT%20LAW%20SOME%20REFLECTIONS.doc flexibilities that provides for the protection of Diversity Rights, livelihoods and right to food in India”. rights. Thus, the Amended Act, 2005 is an Viewed on 28th February, 2009 http://www2.ohchr. Ghatak, Shambhu, Patents: A Case History of Indian Drugs accomplishment of Indian diplomacy and foreign 14. Copyrights in India”. Accessed on 4th March, 2009 org/english/bodies/cescr/docs/info-ngos/ and Pharmaceutical Industry. Viewed on March 1, 2009, policy projection. http://www.ftp.net.in/articles/copyright.doc 3DIndia_2008.pdf http://population.developmentgateway.org/

International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 87 Indian Compliance and Trips Agreement Understanding the Economics of Indian Foreign Policy

uploads/media/population/IPRs_and_Indian_ Patent Reform in India: The Campaign to protect public Ploughmen, Wild Tribes and the Monarchy: Reflections on the Pharmaceuticals.doc health. Viewed on March 1, 2009, http:// www.ipngos.org/NGO%20BriefingsPatents%20 Notion of ‘Good Governance’ in Kautilya’s Arthashastra Ganesh, C: “Intelletual Property Rights: Boon or Bane”. Act%20amendment.pdf Shri Krishan Viewed on 28th February, 2009, www.icaindia.net/ Ray, Amit Shovon, and Sabyasachi Saha (2008): “Shifting intellectual_Property_Rights.doc Coordinates of Indian Stance at the WTO: Understanding the Domestic and International Economic Intellectual Property Rights. Viewed on 28 February, 2009, Abstract drivers”, ICRIER, 1-19. http://did.nic.in/ipr/iprnarr.htm The ruling classes have always used a variety of moral-ethical languages to Sahai, Suman “GATT/WTO and the IPR Regime”. Viewed justify and legitimate their rule. Recently, some scholars have tried to relate the Kumaraswamy, B.M, “TRIPS Agreement- A Threat to India’s on 28th February, 2009, www.genecampaign.org/ notion of good governance to Kautilaya’s text Arthashastra. Our contention is Rich Bio-Diversity and Food and Health Security”. Publication/Article/Trade-WTO/TR-GATT- that though a notion of good moral order and righteous and virtuous rulers Viewed on 28th February, http://pbr.co.in/ WTO&IPR.pdf existed in all pre-modern social orders they can hardly be compared to view.php?id=253 contemporary polities because a monarchical form of government, by its very Saha, R “management of Intellectual property Rights in India. Kamath, G Bharathi “Trade Related Intellectual Property nature, presupposed autocratic functioning of the state and an assault on Viewed on 28th February, 2009, http://pfc.org.in/ rights (TRIPS): A Primer”. Viewed on 28th February, the livelihood and existence of socially marginalized groups engaged in workshop/workshop.pdf 2009 http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/ cultivation and food gathering to extract maximum revenue for running the state. On the contrary, good governance is a contemporary notion which is FC35/fc535.html Sahai, Suman (2001): “TRIPS Review: basic Rights Must embedded in other ideas like equality of opportunity, protection of human rights, Be Restored”, Economic and Political Weekly, 36 (31), Mishra, Veena (2001): “TRIPS Product and gender equality and equitable sharing of resources. It does not make sense to pp.2918-19. Pharmaceuticals”, Economic and Political Weekly, 36 trace the obligations and stipulation about such mode of governance in a (48), pp.4464-67. Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights, Livelihoods and monarchial setup. the right to food India. Viewed on 28th February, 2009 Mukherjee, Arijit, and Uday Bhanu Sinha (2004): “ Product http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/docs/info- vs Process Patent” University of Nottingham Research ngos/3DIndia_2008.pdf Paper No. 2004/18. Viewed on March 1, 2009, http:// papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=764104 Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights. Viewed on 28th The notion of governance and good modern complex society, many other institutions February, http://www.actionaid.org.uk/doc_lib/ governance are being increasingly used in and actors are involved in the process of “Overview of the TRIPS Agreement” in Impact of TRIPS on 1 53_1_trips.pdf development literature. Governance is the governance. In rural areas, for instance, these Pharmaceutical Prices, Accessed on 28th February, 2009, process of decision-making and the procedures other actors might be influential powerful landed http://www.whoindia.org/LinkFiles/Trade_Agreement_ http://dipp.nic.in/ Chapter02_Trade_Agreement_Impact_of_TRIPS.pdf by which decisions are implemented or certain magnates, peasant associations, cooperatives, http://dipp.nic.in/dippsub.htm decisions are not implemented. In any NGO’s, religious and community leaders, caste- Prabhu Ram, “India’s new “TRIPS-compliant” Patent hierarchically arranged social-order, the hierarchies, and both formal and informal financial Regime: Between Drug Patents and right to Health”. http://ipindia.nic.in/ apparatus of state wields the power to conduct institutions etc. The situation at national level and Viewed on 12th March, 2009, http://jip.kentlaw.edu/art/ http://www.indianembassy.org/special/ipr/ipr.htm public affairs and manage or mismanage public in urban areas is far more complex. Here, volume%205/5%20Chi-Kent%20J%20Intell resources. It is believed that good governance powerful corporate houses and other business %20Prop%20195.doc http://dipp.nic.in/ipr.htm accomplishes these tasks in a fashion that is free interests, organized and well-articulated urban Public Health Safeguards in Indian Patents Act. Viewed on http://www.wto.org/index.htm of abuse and corruption and in keeping in view elites, transnational companies, media, well- 12th March, 2009, http://www.whoindia.org/LinkFiles/ the rule of law. However, it needs to be entrenched crime, landed and drug mafia http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/27-trips.pdf. Trade_Agreement_section5_implementing_public_health.pdf understood that government is only one actor in and syndicates may play important role in Patent amendment Act, 2005, Viewed on March 1, 2009, the process of modern-day administration. In decision-making. http://ipindia.nic.in/ipr/patent/patent_2005.pdf

Dr. Shri Krishan is a Professor in History, P.G. Regional Centre, M.D. University, Haryana, India-123401.

International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 IJSAS 2(1) 2009, pp.88-96. ISSN 0974 - 2514 89 Ploughmen, Wild Tribes and the Monarchy: Reflections on the Notion of ‘Good Governance’ Shri Krishan 90

In order to realize the goal of good democracy and acceptance of the goal of good king Chandragupta. The norms prescribed in the Mauryan agriculture had two types of governance, what we need is social empowerment governance is in itself no guarantee of that all text of Arthashastra may be simply a theoretical landholdings, one were the rashtra type of holdings of marginalized social groups. In the contemporary citizens will enjoy equal participation in political construct or might not depict the existing realities which were the direct descendants of the holdings social setting in India, caste and class based social processes. of the times. In the words of Amritya Sen: “India’s of the former tribal oligarchies who had been inequalities are so deeply entrenched that they are past has become an ideological battleground”4 For subjugated in pre-Mauryan times. The rashtra Recently, some scholars have maintained bound to affect the developmental process and him, it is important to recognize that the significance landholdings were to a large extent independent that the Kautilya’s Arthashastra, a treatise on participation of deprived sections of society in our of past for us today involves selection and choice of the state machinery in their internal functioning statecraft in ancient India can be taken as a model democratic polity.2 A few important elements of in which our contemporary concerns can have a and administration. Their only obligation was the of good governance.3 Let us examine the claim in good governance are accountability, transparency reasonable role. But he cautions that it is also regular payment of the rashtra taxes to the state. the light of what we have conceptualized as basic and participation of citizens. It means that public important to see that this connection between the The second major type of landholdings was sita principles of good governance. The commentators or state officials must be responsible for their acts present and our involvement with the past neither landholdings, which were formed by clearing forest who have tried to relate Arthashastra with an to the entity from which their authority is derived undermines the need to look for veracity and lands with the help of the tribesmen whose tribal ancient model of good governance uncritically and citizens must be involved in the process of ascertained evidence nor removes the case for way of 1ife had been systematically encroached accept that most of our knowledge about State development and governance. There must also be deliberately concentrating on those cases in which upon and subjugated to the needs and requirements policy under the Mauryas comes from the provisions for the availability of information to the the lessons involved have particular relevance to of surplus appropriation by the Mauryan polity. It Arthashastra written by Kautilya (more popularly general public about the state’s rules, regulation our concerns today”.5 would be interesting to recollect here the episode and decisions and their legal enforceability. The known as Chanakya), who was a Brahmin minister about the birth and passing away of Rama’s wife equity dimension of governance seeks to ensure under Chandragupta Maurya. Though it was The historians of Mauryan Empire suggest Sita whose name these landholdings bear or that development is inclusive, that all people benefit written at the end of the fourth century BC, it that the Mauryan state became the central land perhaps vice versa. The corollary in the name Sita from well-functioning political and economic appears to have been rediscovered only in 1905, clearing agency with the objective of extending for Rama’s queen and also for a type of landholding institutions and political, economic and social after centuries of oblivion. The treatise in its present settled agriculture and breaking up the illustrates the fact that the sita type of holding must processes. Equity is often used in the context of form is most likely not the text written by Kautilya, disintegrating remnants of the frontier hill tribes have been a very common type of holding in ancient giving traditionally disadvantaged groups such as though it is probably based on a text that was whose members could serve as a useful source of India such that the word sita was given to a women, disabled persons, ethnic minorities, and authored by Kautilya; and in no case can the text providing labourer-cultivators on these newly mythological character who was supposed to have indigenous peoples, equal access and control over in its entirety be ascribed to Kautilya, on account cleared forest lands. The Maurayan Empire was been a daughter of the earth. But this story also resources and opportunities. Measures are often of numerous stylistic and linguistic variations. The divided into Janapadas or districts, which illustrates that the sita type of holdings could have used to compensate for historical and social book, written in Sanskrit, discusses theories and reflected earlier tribal boundaries and were come into being as a new type of landholding which disadvantages towards creating a level playing field. principles of governing a state. It is not an account administered by emperor’s closest relatives or the was evolved out of an earlier one (perhaps the Equity leads to equality. Governance also implies of Mauryan administration. The title, Arthashastra, most trusted generals. The Mauryan army was rashtra holding or some other holding). This was that institutions and processes have to demonstrate which means “the Science of Material Gain” or organized in four major corps, whose strength was the possible reason why the daughter of the earth, their responsiveness to the hopes and aspirations “Science of Polity”, does not leave any doubts reported to have been six hundred thousands who sprang from the earth, was called Sita of the people at large, not just certain social groups about its ends. According to Kautilya, the ruler infantry, thirty thousands cavalry, eight thousands .However, it was during Maurya rule that the word or elites. Responsiveness includes the extent, to can use any means to attain his goal and his actions chariots and nine thousands elephants. Even if we sita seems to have come into wide usage and the which public service agencies demonstrate require no moral sanction. The only problems make discount for exaggeration, it attests the sita holdings were a result of clearing up of forest receptivity to the views, complaints and suggestions discussed are of the most practical kind. Though remarkable size and level of centralized polity. To lands mainly with the labour of displaced tribesmen. of citizens and service users, by changing their own the kings were allowed a free reign, the citizens encourage the clearing of forests lands, tax This clearing up of forests lands opened contacts structure, culture and service delivery patterns. were subject to a rigid set of rules. This remissions were granted, and tribal areas were with still farther tribes. The expanding Mauryan Allowing citizens to obtain redress for their demonstrates that what Kautilya was dealing was settled with state support, mostly by shudras, whose Empire needed more and more resources for its grievances and advocate for change in policies and a normal kind of monarchial state. Before we status was slightly higher than slaves. Arthashastra military adventures and therefore more and more processes increase participation and promotes proceed further, it needs to mention here that this cautioned that a denuded treasury posed a grave tribal people were subjugated by the Mauryan transparency. Such broader notion of good textual source contain at best the views of threat to the security of state, advising the monarch State. Thus was extended the margin of the governance means that establishment of formal Chanakya, the famous minister of the Mauryan against too many remissions of land revenue.6 monarchical revenue system and of settled

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agriculture as well. The state maintained a close singers, drummers, baffons (vagjivana) and bards of the major economic functions. The reason for entitled to only a portion of the crop they reaped, control over the -state owned sita lands. These (kushilava) make any disturbance in the work of this control of agriculture, industry, trade and the with the rest going to the state as revenue. These lands were not made the property of the cultivator. the villagers. levy of all varieties of taxes on the population was agrarian relations were basically feudal in nature They were leased to him for his lifetime and he perhaps that the state was in dire need of a great in the sense that they enabled the state official to could hold the lease on condition that he cultivated These extreme provisions were enforced amount of surplus for military considerations. State drain off a substantial chunk of agricultural surplus. the land and paid taxes. The penalty for non- by establishing guarded frontiers for each of the played a significant role in the economic life of This was the reason why these relations were cultivation was confiscation of the leased land. The isolated and disjointed agricultural villages called the people. New settlements were established and preserved by the various dynasties that followed reason why the Mauryan State insisted on intensive janapadas. These internal frontiers not only decaying ones were rehabilitated by drafting the Mauryas. During the Post-Maurya and the cultivation with maximum results suggests that served the purpose of toll and tax collection but surplus settlers from the overpopulated area of Gupta periods, the state revenue collectors were taxes in Mauryan times bore a close proportionate also exercised control over the movements of the Ganges valley. Generally the lower castes were absent and their place was taken by the grantees relationship with the size of the crop. Hence it was peasants. The state also had a full-fledged network encouraged to move out of the Ganges valley and of brahmadeya, devadana and agrahara lands, in the interest of augmenting the state’s revenue of spies to observe and maintain up-to-date records settle in the new agricultural settlements. Land but the position of the share-croppers remained collection, to insist on maximum results. of every minister and state official to check on was leased out to them. In order to make the virgin almost unchanged as they had to pass on a share their loyalty and honesty. Spies disguised as land cultivable, the state allowed remission of taxes of the crop to the feudal grantees in the place of In Mauryan times, the sita lands could not philosopher-hermits were placed around the for a few initial years and other concessions by the state-appointed revenue collectors. A new class be sold or transferred without special permission residence of every important person. Any sudden way of supplies of cattle, seeds and agricultural of feudal landowners emerged as intermediaries from the state. Their cultivation too was strictly acquisition of wealth or suspicious behaviour on instruments which they were required to repay who passed on a part of the revenue they collected on a family basis. No form of collective labour or part of any important official was closely watched later. But no land could be sold off by these to the king. any other type of work that could strengthen and reported. Such was the steel-framework of cultivators, they were supposed to cultivate it and common tribal solidarity or identity was permitted the Mauryan state which enabled preservation of churn out revenue for the state. The Arthashastra was one of the greatest to flourish. Even religious associations were the highly centralized character of the empire. political books of the ancient world. Max Weber restricted in such type of land holdings. Thus by This centralized feature that characterized said that this. “truly radical ‘Machiavellianism’ in leaving out the establishment of any collective But the real factor that enabled such the Mauryan polity was made possible due to the the popular sense of the word, is classically association by ensuring segregation of individual centralised functioning was the limited, but widely limited spread in which the fiscal machinery had expressed in the Indian literature in the cultivators in such lands, the Mauryan state scattered janapadas on which taxes had to be to function. Though the agricultural settlements Arthashastra of Kautilya and compared to is, absolutely eliminated all potential of any popular levied. The state got its revenue directly from the were scattered throughout the empire, the size Machiavelli’s The Prince is harmless.”7 Although resistance or trouble from the peasant masses. The peasants with no intermediary in between as in and area dimension of the dotted janapadas made Kautilya proposed an elaborate welfare state in right to movement was also restricted for the fear the later feudal ages. The smallness of the fiscal possible the centralized system of the Mauryas. domestic politics, something that has been called a of cultivators shifting from the sita lands to those jurisdiction made possible the consistently followed, This centralized system which was built upon the socialized monarchy, he proved willing to defend outside the pale of fiscal jurisdiction. No peasant policy of not giving land grants that could principle of the Arthashastra, did not create a the general good of this monarchy with harsh could even become a monk without making prior permanently deprive the state from any revenue corollary of feudal lords who could occupy the measures. Even slavery thrived in certain situations provision for his dependants. The Mauryan state hence the absence of a hereditary revenue hereditary position of revenue collectors and earn during the Mauryan times.8 As we have mentioned took no burden of unproductive citizens upon itself. collecting hierarchy of state officials that became their own income from retaining a fraction of the earlier, the Arthashastra is a treatise on statecraft This explains the barring of entry of Buddhist and a character of later ages. The Mauryan State also revenue collected. In the absence of such a class and economic policy which identifies its author by Jaina Bhikshus, before Ashoka in these sita lands. undertook commodity production on a large scale. what came into being was a class of revenue the names Kautilya and Vishnugupta, who are This was aimed at preventing the conversion of Apart from farmlands it also owned warehouses, collectors who were the paid officials of the traditionally identified with the Mauryan minister peasants into unproductive monks. Agricultural shipyards and mines. In short, the Mauryan Mauryan State. But this high officialdom and the Chanakya. production was not even to be disturbed by non- economy functioned not only without intermediary superior community had its opposite in the form agricultural, non-economic pursuits. According to revenue collectors but also largely without of a proletariat who worked on the sita state The traditionally identification of Kautilya the Arthashastra, there shall be no buildings, in individual owners of means of production. The owned farms without a claim to the land they tilled. and Vishnugupta with Mauryan minister Chanakya villages, which could be used for sports and state itself was by far the biggest owner of the These tillers of the sita lands were termed the would date the Arthasastra to the 4th century recreational activities. Nor shall actors, dancers, means of production especially land and regulator ardha-sitikas or half share-croppers as they were BC. Some scholars are of the opinion that this

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document definitely dates back to the early carried out the executive role of collection of In this sense, the economic thinking of slaves, labourers and prisoners Mauryan era. Many administrative terms used are revenues or bali and bhaga, which became regular Arthashastra can be compared to the seventeenth (dandapratikartri) to sow seeds on sita or crown similar to those used in the edicts of Ashoka. The taxes as compared to pre-monarchial ritual century Camaralist thinking in Germany, which also lands. The marginalization and exclusion of certain Magdha kingdom under the Nanda dynasty is given offerings and gifts. It also maintained law and order laid considerable stress on increasing tax revenue social groups in the monarchial set-up comes out as a case study. The language of many fragments and dharma or ‘just ordering of society’ or the for the Prince.14 We may come across such without a doubt because although there were is archaic. Certain inconsistencies may be meticulously articulated hierarchical varna statements in Arthashastra that “In the happiness references to cooperative ventures like explained by the fact that the document has system.12 It was emphasized in Arthashastra that of his subjects lies the happiness of ruler and in construction of reservoirs for irrigation but personal probably seen many revisions by various authors it was the danda and dandaniti on which the triple their welfare, his own welfare or that whatever physical labour was not required in such cases as at different times. It has been suggested that Vedas and vartas depended. The triple vartas pleases himself he shall not consider as good, but the resourceful people could send their bullocks Vishnugupta was a later editor of the original work were the agriculture, cattle breeding and trade that whatever pleases his subjects he shall consider and servants. The state was also more and more by Chanakya. However, certain affinities with brought in grain, cattle, gold, forest produce or good”. However, Kautilaya’s Arthashastra put the trying to establish control over forest and other smritis and references that would be anachronism kupya and free labour or vishti for the king’s possession and use of power above ethical resources and such control might well have for the 4th century BC suggest assigning the treasury. It was claimed that there was never a questions. Therefore, although there is advice and excluded the tribal people from entitlements to such Arthasastra to the 2nd through 4th centuries CE. better instrument than the spectre to bring people suggestion against oppressive fines, free labour and common property resources. It was explicitly stated Thomas R. Trautmann and I.W. Mabbett concur under control. The absence of a magistrate or excessive taxes (dandavishtikarabadhaih), in the text of Arthashastra that the king had the that the Arthasastra is a composition from not wielder of danda (dandadharabhave), it was simultaneously we also come across injunctions right of ownership in fishing, ferrying and trading earlier than the 2nd century AD, but definitely proclaimed in this text would lead to social anarchy against actors, dancers, singers, drummers, in vegetables and the superintendent of forests 9 based on earlier material. What we here wish to and disorder expressed in the famous proverb of buffoons (vagjivana) and bards (kusilava) as they collected timber and other products like medicines, contend, however, is that good governance is a fishes (matsyanyayamudbhavayati) or how big disturb the agricultural operations and get resources animal skins from the forests. Particular attention contemporary notion which is embedded in other fish eats the smaller ones. Speaking of duties of a from villagers. The chief concern of state was to was paid to exercise control over elephants as they ideas like equality of opportunity, protection of king, Arthashastra depicts king as the heda- get maximum amount of agricultural surplus from were crucial in the battlefields for destroying the human rights, gender equality and equitable sharing prasada or the dispenser of both punishments and the expanding agriculture. Apart from agricultural arrayed army of an enemy, its encampments and of resources. It does not make sense to trace the rewards or as a person in which powers of Indra taxes, state also obtained produce from forests fortifications. The social conflicts arising out of obligations and stipulation about such mode of and Yama were blended. The text also mentions (vana) and herd of cattle (vraja). The lands given expansion of cultivable lands might be the reason governance in a monarchial setup. Even though, the rebellious districts and wild tribes to Brahmin for their subsistence were exempted for apprehension expressed about the wild tribes most pre-modern societies and states had notions (aranyacahara) and need for special surveillance from taxes and fines but the bulk of cultivable lands and their activities and they foreshadow the 10 of righteous and virtuous rulers , they should not measures to track down the treacherous opponents were occupied by taxpayers only for life stigmatization of these groups under colonial rule. be compared with the present-day polities. The Arthashastra admonished the king not to take of sovereignty. It was time of expansion of (ekapurusikani). possession of any country which was liable to the Arthashastra is considered by historians agriculture and Arthashastra advises the ruler to Lands might be confiscated from those inroads of enemies and wild tribes. This clubbing as a manual on statecraft11, dealing with what ought encourage steps to establish new settlements. In who did not cultivate them and given to others for together of ‘wild tribes’ with enemies is to be than what was. The text of this manual gives view of social cohesion, it further advised, not to cultivation or alternatively they might be cultivated understandable because the’ wild tribes’, living seven elements (prakratis) of sovereignty: the settle people from same community or tribe in one with the hired labour (gramabhristaka) through under a leader and moving in the neighboring Swami or the monarch, the amatayas or the group place rather settle them in different janapadas leaders or vaidehaka. There are other references forests had their own strongholds, they were of advisors to the king, the janapada or a specific so that they did not have the opportunity to in the text of Arthashastra that points towards numerous and brave and ready to fight in broad territory, which included cultivable lands, forests, congregate and conspire for a revolt.13 Although, the existence of social hierarchy in the villages. daylight and capable of seizing and destroying pastures, water resources in that region as well as Arthashastra literally means the science of wealth There were ardhasitikas or tenants cultivating countries and kings. They could, therefore, cause mines, the durga and pura or fortified cities and but actually it was a work on polity concerned with vaptiriktam or uncultivated lands on the basis of problems for the stability and security of the trading centres, the kosa meant treasury where increasing wealth and power of the ruler. The sharing the produce by half as well as kingdom. revenue collected was deposited, the danda refers maximum collection of revenue and organization svaviryopajivinah who lived by their own physical to the coercive apparatus of state or force and of an efficient law and order machinery was its exertion and who received only 1/4th or 1/5th of What needs to be emphasized is that the finally the mitras or allies and friends. The state main objective. produce as their allocation. The state also employed state emerged in a highly differentiated economy

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and in stratified social formations; in our ancient revenue and the introduction of administrative Economics”, Indian Economic Review, Vol. 31, No. 1, shows how the idea of social justice was articulated and history, the State also appeared as kingdoms and forms that are appropriate to regional and local pp. 101-108; Lazlo Zsolnai (2004): Spirituality and implemented in various ancient civilizations like Chinese, empires and it was the outcome of political governance, and the encouragement of a flexible Ethics in Management , Springer; Nicholas Cepddi Babylonian , Iranian and other cultures. For ancient processes in class structured societies. The ideology acceptable to its constituent elements. (2005): ed., Business and Religion : A Clash of India, See M.G.Prasad, “social Justice in the Ancient transition from chiefdom to kingdom or monarchial Imperial systems have to control diverse Civilizations, M and M Scrivener Press and Subash India” in Irani and Silver, eds., Social Justice in Ancient system took place in North India in the middle of communities and they have to evolve varying nature Sharma, “A Brief History of History”, Journal of World, pp. 91-100. Human Values, Vol.11, No. 2, pp. 123-137 the first millennium BC while it came much later of this control.16 11. References and citation for Arthashastra are based on in the Southern parts of the subcontinent around 4. Amartya Sen (2006): “Our Past and Our Present”, 1915 Shamasastry’s translation of Kautilaya’s In light of above analysis, we may sixth century AD. Once the state emerged, it Economic and Political Weekly, November 25-December Arthashastra in our article. conclude that for a democratic restructuring of our subordinated the vis or peasantry. Social 1, p. 4877. contemporary administrative machinery, we need 12. See Vilho Harle, Ideas of Social Order In the Ancient stratification created tensions between producers not turn to glorification of outdated monarchial ideals 5. Ibid. p. 4800. World, Greenwood Press, Westport, 1998, especially (ploughmen and tribes) and the agency that and norms. There is a need to specifically empower the Chapters on ‘Dharma and Caste as the basis of established its control over territories as the 6. Wendy F. Kasinec and Polushin, Michael A (2002): the marginalized and excluded sections of society Social Order’ (pp. 52-64) and ‘The Wise King as the resources were required to carry out the Expanding Empires: Cultural Interaction and Exchange basis of Social Order’ (pp. 111-128) to understand that and involve them in the process of governance. managerial functions of the state. The good in World Societies from Ancient to Early Modern Times, there was nothing unique in the notions of Kautilya’s This is the only remedy that can save thousands Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, p. 63 governance meant for the rulers how to get the Arthashastra and every society had its ideas about social of lives who are being lost in India’s countryside maximum amount of agricultural surplus from the 7. Max Weber, “Politics as a vocation”, W.G. Runciman justice as well as the proper social hierarchy and rules through mass suicides due to the impact of deep- cultivators and how to control the social groups (1998): Selections in translation, Trans. Eric Mattews, to be observed to maintain it. rooted agrarian crisis. that existed on the fringes of settled agriculture. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 220. 13. See Jayant Gadkari (1996): Society and Religion From Romila Thapar refers to anthropological Notes 8. Sharma, Rekharani (1978): “Slavery in Mauryan Period Rigveda to Puranas, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, (C. 300 B.C.-C.200B.C.)”, Journal of the Economic pp. 115-116. concepts like lineage society and household 1. For ideas and concepts of governance and good and Social History of the Orient, Vol.XXI, NO. 2, May, economy to explain the hierarchically arranged governance see Sam Agere ( 2000): Promoting Good 14. See Ajit Kumar Das Gupta (1993): A History of Indian pp.185-194 Varna society.15 She describes how Vedic literature Governance: Principles, Practices and Perspectives, Economic Thought, Routledge, pp. 28-41 for this is full of references to lineage terms like gotra, Commonwealth Secretariat; Commonwealth Secretariat 9. See Thomas R. Trautman, Kautilya and Arthashastra: interpretation vraja etc. and how lineage groups comprised of (2005): Citizen’s Governance Kit tool: creating Change A statistical Investigation of Authorship and Evolution 15. See Romilla Thapar (1984): From Lineage to State: by Making people’s Voices Heard; Pani Niranjan, Santap of the Text, E.J.Brill, Leiden, 1971, p. 185 and rajanya and vis and how the former group came Social Formations in the Mid-First Millennium BC in S. Mishra and Bijaya S. Sahu (2004): Modern Systems I.W.Mabbet (1964): “The Date of Arthashastra”, to exercise greater control over the community the Ganga Valley, Oxford University Press, Delhi. resources leading to internal differentiation and of Governance: Good governance vs E-Governance, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 84, No. Anmol Publishers. 2, pp. 162-169. dissolution of lineage based social organization 16. Romilla Thapar (2006): “The Mauryan Empire in Early during later Vedic period. Other contributing factors 2. See Kishan, Shri (2008): “Entangled History in 10. See N. D. Irani and Morris Silver, ed. (1995): Social India”, Historical Research, Vol. 79. issue 205, August, like environment, technology, extraction of social Discourses of ‘Good Governance’: From Colonial Justice in Ancient World, Greenwood Press, Westport pp 287-305. surplus from the producers, urbanization and Notions to Globalized Enclosures in the Contemporary ideology also paved the way for the making of World”, in International Journal of South Asian Studies, state. In another place Romila differentiates a Vol. I, No. 1, Jan - June. kingdom from an empire by arguing that an empire 3. Some writings which draw inspiration from Kautilaya’s is a more evolved form of state than a kingdom. Arthashastra include N, Shiva Kumar and U.S. Rao According to her, an essential feature of the empire (1996): “Guideline for value based management in has generally been an extensive territory held Kautilya’s Arthashastra”, Journal of Business Ethics, together by continuing conquests and a centralized Vol. 15, No. 4, April, pp. 415-423; Charles Waldaner, administration. An empire, therefore, requires a William J. Zahka and Surendra Pal, “Kautilaya’s restructuring of economy to provide substantial Arthashastra: A neglected Precursor to Classical

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A Study on the level of Indoor Air-Pollution and its Effects on the (Nigel et.al. 2000). One of the important reasons like India, it is opined that the indoor combustion cited by various research studies is poverty, which of biomass fuels accounts for 3.5 per cent of the Health of Women and Children in the Tribal Hamlets of Kerala, India acts as the barrier towards the adoption of cleaner national burden of diseases and over 0.4 million Shyamlal G S fuels. Moreover the slow pace of development deaths are attributable to solid fuel use (Jindal S.K ensures that it will take a longer span of time till all 2007). the households can depend on cleaner fuels for Objectives Abstract their cooking purpose. Notwithstanding the In majority of the developing countries, biomass is regarded as a main source of significance of exposure to indoor air pollution and The study tries to analyse the extent of household fuel energy. Ineffective combustion of biomass basically due to lack of the increased risk of Acute Respiratory Infections indoor pollution in the tribal hamlets of Trivandrum effective processing and drying resulted in an increase in the indoor air pollution (ARI) in childhood, chronic obstructive pulmonary (IAP). The smoke from biomass fuels is a complex mixture of aerosols, which district and its effects on the nutritional status of contain significant amounts of carbon monoxide, suspended particulate matter disease and lung cancer, and the health effects women and children. have been somewhat neglected by the social and hydrocarbons. The groups which are adversely affected by this are women Study Area and children even in tribal communities who lead a life respecting the rules and researchers and policy makers. regulations of nature. It is surprising to note that fires in traditional stoves and Kerala is geographically divided into three the smoke associated with them often have considerable practical value in the Review of Literature parts– lowland, midland and the highland (Figure tribal hamlets. It is considered as a tool for insect control, which had various From the review of literature, it can be 1). The study area is limited among the tribal scientific justifications as well. The smoke generated from these traditional stoves communities in Trivandrum district of Kerala. The is even used for drying the collected wood and also the fresh palm leaves with observed that majority of the research studies had opined that the exposure of indoor pollution, and tribal population is considered as the guardian of which the house is thatched. As a result of these excessive exposure, it had its nature which leads a content life giving due respect adverse effects on the nutritional status of women. Using BMI < 18.5 as the especially to particulate matter, from combustion to the forces of nature. Traditional stoves are criteria for Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) 60 percent of the women in the of biomass fuels has been widely associated with considered as the most popular one in these areas. in [Weight [Weight in tribal Kilograms] hamlets were found to be suffering from various degrees of CED, which in the incidence of Acute Respiratory Infections turn has its impact on child survival. The study is of the view that intervention (ARI) and eye infections (Hazeltine and Bull 2003). Studies have shown that the efficiency levels range Ind ex Mass Body Mass Index = 2 ) ] Meters in [Height ( [Height in strategies Meters can] ) be successful only if it takes into consideration the correlation The adverse effects of indoor pollution is more between 5 – 10 %. These stoves are considered between poverty and fuel pollutants. prone in developing countries and is considered as as the most poisonous ones due to the incomplete a public health hazard especially among women combustion of biomass fuels. Keywords: Oxidation, Indoor Air Pollution, Anthropometrics, Malnutrition, Body Mass Index, Biomass and children (Joshi 2006). The extensive list of Methodology Fuels, Acute Respiratory Infections Smokeless Chullas. indoor pollutants includes numerous exhaust vapours, particulate matter, gases, organic Fifty households lying in the reserve forest chemicals, spores, allergens, micro-organisms and area of Trivandrum district are selected for the Introduction the traditional way of cooking with the help of study. The study used both primary and secondary unprocessed biomass fuels in the form of wood, various other substances. The ambient indoor Indoor pollution can be traced right from data sources for the study. The secondary data dung and crop residues. As a result of this, women atmosphere is further aggravated by the burning the pre-historic times, when man started to lead a provided by Sredha, an NGO which is involved in who are responsible for cooking and her children of biomass for cooking purposes. These excessive settled life either inside caves or in newly pollution studies was used for analysing the extent are more exposed to these poisonous fumes. uses of biomass can add to the burden of industrial constructed shelters made out of thatched roofs. pollution and can affect human well-being even in of indoor pollution. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a Fire became an indispensable element in life for Though the proportion of global energy non-urban areas (Capistrano 2005). It is also simple but objective anthropometric indicator of cooking, keeping him warm and even as a derived from biomass fuels fell from 50% in 1900 pointed out that the levels of pollutants vary the nutritional status. The Belgian Statistician protection from animals. As per the estimates to around 13% in 2000 yet it is surprising to notice dramatically by location and over time, depending Adolphe Quetelet developed the formula for BMI available, 90% of the rural households still follow that there usage has increased among the poor on changing meteorological factors such as wind in the 19th century: speed and wind direction which makes it difficult to analyse the health effects of individual pollutants Dr. Shyamlal G.S is a Faculty Member, ICFAI National College, Kochi, Kerala. (Kjellstrom et.al. 2002). In a developing country

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Though the tribal community is said to be a close- cent of the households had more than one source Figure 1 : Satellite Map of Study Area knit family yet we were able to notice that there of income i.e., they had a main and a subsidiary was a sizeable group which had adopted the source of income. Hence, it can be concluded that nuclear family system. Thus we can conclude occupational diversification can be observed in that the nuclear family system, which is one of these tribal hamlets. the basic features of the modern life, had started Table 3: Monthly Income of Households making inroads even into the tightly knit tribal communities. From this study, we observe that Monthly Income No. of Respondents the tribal communities are educationally backward. It was found out that a higher number of tribal Less than 500 21 communities had got basic education while the 500 – 1000 17 numbers dwindled as we go upward. Majority of the population surveyed had an educational status 1000 – 1500 9 ranging between middle and high school. Above 2000 3 Moreover, with respect to the general situation prevailing in Kerala, here too the women folks Source : Terra Metrics and Europa Technologies It can be observed that the income group are more educated than the men. less than 500 and the 500 – 1000 income group Over the years nutritionists have developed They are short in stature and brown to black Table 2: Main Source of Employment has a sizeable proportion while only a minimal more refined ways to interpret BMI values. Now, complexion. Their head is long, forehead receding Type of Employment No. of Respondents number of family represent the other groups. It different BMI values can convey whether a person and the brow ridges prominent. The language was observed that majority of the families spend is underweight, ideal weight, slightly overweight spoken by the kannis exhibits features of M F P 24 about 80 percent of their income on food while or obese. The table below is the most complete Malayalam and Tamil and the Kannis call it as Agriculture 9 there was only minimal or no expenditure on health one used for the analysis of BMI. Malampasha, which means “language of the and education. Hence the tribal communities can Hills”. In certain cases, the houses were Unskilled Labour 7 be characterised as those families which lacked Table 1: Reference Table of BMI constructed close to each other and while in others, access to proper health facilities. Failure to obtain they are scattered. Bamboo and reed are the chief Income is an important determinant in as- necessary medical treatment for acute or chronic Value of BMI Status of Nutrition building materials used for construction. The plinth sessing the status of the households. Information medical conditions, or increased exposure to is slightly raised, and the floor generally rectangular. 39.99 – 35 Dangerous State on annual income of the tribal households was infection owing to poor personal hygiene all A long open veranda in the front is a special 34.99 – 30 Obese collected during the study. The study observed can have an adverse effect on the life and feature. The main room may be portioned into two that majority of the population belonged to the in- livelihoods of these communities. In a way all these 30 – 25 Maximum Limit or three chambers. Like any other tribe, they are come group of less than Rs 500, which is less tend to complete the cycle of poverty for these 25 – 18.5 Normal also engaged in the collection of Minor Forest than sufficient to sustain a family of four persons. communities. 18.5 – 17 Grade I Malnutrition Produce. But now one can witness houses In these households the husband is the sole bread- 17 – 16 Grade II Malnutrition constructed of mud and brick with tiled, asbestos winner, whereas in other families where both the Nutritional Status of Women and Children or terraced roofing. This trend had further husband and wife were employed, they were able The status of women in a society is a Less than 16 Grade III Malnutrition intensified with the Peoples Plan Campaign under to have a monthly income somewhere between significant reflection of the level of social justice which the Panchayat started the liberalised 500 – 1000. In this study, we also tried to gauge prevailing in that society. Women’s status is often Findings distribution of funds for construction of houses. the extent of occupational diversification in the described in terms of their level of income, Kanikkar, popularly known as Kani are The mean age of the respondents selected tribal hamlets. It was found out that about 22 employment, education, health and fertility as well found in the Agastyarkutam peaks of Western for the study is 31.14, which means that we were percent of the households reported only one oc- as the roles they play not only within the family Ghats and the other high ranges in Trivandrum. able to get information from a matured group. cupation as their major breadwinner, while 78 per- but also in the community as well (Stuart 2001;

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Basu 1993). The cultural norms that particularly pregnancy can have a direct bearing on the birth Table 5: Details regarding the Maternal Height The Table 6 shows the distribution of BMI affect women’s health are attitude towards weight of the offspring. Women among the less of tribal women. Using BMI less than 18.5 as the Height (in cm) No. of Respondents marriage, marriage practices, marriageable age, privileged communities are malnourished and their criteria for Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) 60 values attached to fertility and sex of the child, dietary energy intake is not adequate enough to Less than 140 14 percent of the women were found to be suffering pattern of family organisation, her status in the compensate their heavy physical workload. Height 140 – 145 16 from various degrees of CED. It means that the society, decision making capability and the ideal was measured with the help of tape to the nearest 145 – 150 10 situation in the tribal context is very delicate and role demanded of women by social and cultural 0.1 cm and weight was measured using Kurups dangerous in terms of women’s health, which in conventions. All these determine her place in the Scale. Body Mass Index was calculated using the 150 – 155 6 turn has its impact on child survival. Various studies family, her access to medical care, education, formula mentioned above. Knowledge and practice Above 155 4 had pointed out that the incidence of low birth nutrition, and other health resources (Basu 1993). of tribal women on maternal nutrition was collected ICMR reported that the height of Indian weight (2500 gms) was highest in the CED – The tribal women, constitute as in any other social with the help of an interview schedule. Weight, reference women was 151 cm, but in this study as Grade III or severe group (<16.0 BMI), and group, about half of the total population (Tanuja height, body mass index which affect maternal as followed by various other studies, 145 cm is gradually declined as the BMI status of mother et.al. 1993). However, the importance of women well as child health when checked against Indian considered as the minimum standard prescribed increases. It was also reported that the incidence in the tribal society is more important than in any Council of Medical Research (ICMR) standards, for a woman. The distribution of tribal women of low-birth-weight, which is an indicator of other social group in India, because of the fact that is lower for all categories i.e. pregnant women, non- according to height is given in Table – 1.5. If less “Intrauterine Malnutrition”, is higher among mothers the tribal women, more than woman in any other pregnant women, lactating, and non-lactating than 145 cm is taken as a cut-off point for short with a low BMI status (Taneja and Saxena 1998). social group, work harder and the success of the women. family depends on her. She is not considered as a stature then more than half of the tribal population Table 4: Details Regarding the Maternal Weight Pollution in the Tribal Hamlets drudge or a beast of burden but is found to be (59%) can be categorised as suffering from malnutrition. Prenatal mortality and prematurity Out of the houses surveyed, majority of exercising a relatively free and firm hand in all Weight (in Kgs) No. of Respondents aspects related to her social life. rates were found to be high among short statured the respondents lived in thatched houses, which is Less than 40 31 women. But if you take the standard prescribed typical of the tribal culture. We also noticed the The tribal women marry at an early age. 40 – 45 13 by this study, it was observed that 41 percent of emergence of terraced houses in these areas, The mean age at marriage is 15 years, which is 45 – 50 5 the population had better height standards. which were constructed by the funds provided lower than the national average of rural women, under the Peoples Plan Campaign. Majority of the Above 50 1 BMI is now being increasingly used as a which is 17 years. Almost 21 percent of them had households did not have any separate kitchens. measure of nutritional adequacy in adults, and is given birth to their first child when they were The Table 4 shows that majority of the Generally a corner of the household is earmarked considered to be a better indicator of chronic energy between 14 – 16 years of age. The average number women studied had weight below 40 kg. This low for cooking purposes. Food is cooked with simple deficiency. It is also a good index to assess the of children born per tribal woman is three which weight causes toxaemia, malnutrition, low-birth- triangle shaped arrangements made out of pieces current forms of malnutrition in a community. BMI when compared to their nutritional status is a much weight baby, parental mortality, and poor lactational of rock. The emission of large amount of smoke values indicated higher prevalence of various forms higher one. The study also observed that the gap performance. Nutrition also affected lactation and conveys that there is imperfect outlet which finally between each birth is 2.2 years, which is less than breast-feeding, which were the key elements in of malnutrition among the women. results in an increased emission levels in the house. the gap stipulated (3 years) by the health authorities. the health of infants and younger children and a Table 6 : Classification based on Maternal BMI It was also observed that only 2 percent had made Child bearing imposed additional health needs and contributory factor in birth spacing (Basu 1993). BMI Values No. of Respondents provision for smoke outlet in their house. Indoor problems on women, physically, psychologically, and Generally, these tribal women belonged to the lower 0.00 – 16.0 10 air pollution is a greater threat to health than outdoor socially. The complications of pregnancy, childbirth socio-economic strata due to which they were not air pollution. The use of biomass fuels, such as and illegally induced abortions in areas where 16.0 – 17.0 14 able to increase their food consumption during lac- wood, dung, agricultural waste and coal, as cooking environmental and health conditions were adverse tation period. Since low maternal weight is an in- 17.0 – 18.5 11 fuel is the principle cause of indoor air pollution. had resulted in further aggravating the health status dicator of maternal nutritional status, one can as- 18.5 – 20.0 12 The smoke from biomass fuels is a complex mixture of the women folks in these hamlets. sume that poor energy intake in pre and post preg- 20.0 – 25.0 2 of aerosols, which contain significant amounts of Anthropometric Index of Tribal Women: nancy stages has a greater impact on the weight of carbon monoxide, suspended particulate matter and It is known that weights before and during the future generations (Taneja and Saxena 1998). 25.0 – 30.0 1 hydrocarbons. The “Rule of 1000” states that a

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pollutant released indoors is 1000 times more likely are thatched with fresh palm leaves, which are person more susceptible to carbon monoxide China whereby improved chullas were distributed to reach people’s lungs than a pollutant released then dried from the smoke produced during cook- toxicity, which is one of the main pollutants in the to rural and impoverished communities, yet due to outdoors, since it is released at close proximity. ing. It is believed that artificially dried leaves last biomass smoke. All these along with the lack of effective monitoring had resulted in the longer and is durable than dry leaves. inaccessibility of modern medical facilities further slow death of these programmes. Figure 2: Fire Triangle aggravate the nutritional scenario in these areas. Table 7: Grading of Pollutions in Households The Government of India through Agency Grades of Pollution Percentages We also found households were animal, for Non-Conventional Energy and rural technology fowl and human beings living under one roof. Only (Anert) had tried to popularise the concept of Mild Pollution 19 less than one percent of the sample taken for study energy efficient chullas. This programme is being had separate sheds for animals. Dilapidated, under taken by the Agency for Non-Conventional Moderate Pollution 33 crowded housing has long been cited as one of Energy and Rural Technology (Anert) in Kerala. High Pollution 48 the factors responsible for the socio-economic As in any other new programme, the easy way to Source : Sredha, Trivandrum. status gradient not only in the child health but also achieve the acceptance of the population is to the on the family as well. These conditions lead to supply them at a reduced price. With this view in For a proper analysis of pollution, one increased illnesses and other injuries. Moreover, mind, the government had adopted the subsidised should not only consider the level of pollution found it also has adverse effect on the intellectual programme. Self Employed Workers (S.E.W.s) in the house, but also the duration of exposure as development of the children. About 83 percent of were given training by these agencies for well. This can be measured either directly through the house surveyed did not have ventilation and in undertaking the installing of these chullas in personal monitoring or indirectly by combining any construction plan regardless of the fact that it households. The study observed that due to the information on pollutant concentrations in each is traditional or modern, cross ventilation is euphoria created by media and the SEWs some of environment where people spend time with suggested which will ensure free flow of fresh the households had accepted the chullas. But when information on activity patterns. The study observed air. Poor housing and overcrowding combine to the utilisation was analysed, it was found out that that on average tribal women spend about 5 hours Fire triangle illustrates that for oxidization, make the population living in such settings only 7 % of the households are interested in using during the daytime and another five hours in the there is a need for three elements, heat, fuel and especially vulnerable to communicable diseases. the chulla. There was also lack of optimum nighttime for cooking purpose. Pollution intensity an oxidizing agent which is normally oxygen. The Damp housing also harbours household mites and utilisation, which had even negated the very during the nighttime is very high due to low level most prominently used and abundantly available encourages the growth of mould, making the objective of not only protecting the health of of air circulation and further enhanced by the fuel in the forest area is Biomass. Biomass fuel is inhabitants susceptible to respiratory problems, women but also in protecting the environment as moisture content in the air. Because of their any material derived from plants or animals, which especially wheezing. Damp housing is also thought well. It is suggested that proper follow up along customary involvement in cooking, women’s is deliberately burnt by humans. The study noticed to contribute to rheumatism and arthritis, although with the awareness of the products should be exposure is much higher than men’s. Young children that cow-dung which lies in the lowest rung of the the evidence is not conclusive. provided to the tribal community which looks are often carried on their mothers’ backs while energy ladder is not used in the tribal hamlets as suspiciously towards alien products. cooking is in progress and therefore spend many Intervention Strategies the source of fuel. More over as the study area is hours breathing smoke. Conclusion and Suggestions located in the midst of dense forest; there is The main aim of any intervention strategy abundant supply of plant residues and wood. The According to WHO estimates, the smoke is to reduce indoor pollution without any adversely Indoor air pollution is a major public health study also noted that the fires in traditional stoves from household biomass (made up of wood or crop affecting safety, efficiency and environment. hazard particularly among the poorer sections of and the smoke associated with them often have residues) stoves within a three-hour period is Exposure can also be reduced by means of the society. The greatest contribution to this burden considerable practical value in the tribal hamlets. equivalent to smoking 20 packs of cigarettes. The improved stoves, better housing, cleaner fuels and results from childhood acute lower respiratory It is considered as a tool for insect control, which study also quoted that pregnant women cooking behavioural changes. Finally the acceptance of infections. The incidence of the adverse impact of had various scientific justifications as well. During over open biomass stoves had almost a 50 percent the intervention strategy will depend solely on the indoor pollution should take into consideration the rainy season, the smoke is used as a source for higher chance of stillbirth. Moreover, studies had cost/affordability factor of the new methodology. number of pollutant related diseases like Acute preserving the dryness or even drying the collected shown that the incidence of anaemia among the Though one can observe large-scale strategies Respiratory Infection, Tuberculosis, Bronchitis, wood for future uses. Normally the tribal hamlets tribal communities is very high. Anaemia makes a being adopted in various countries like India and Asthma etc.

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To eliminate this silent-killer, government http://www.cpcb.nic.in/News%20Letters/Archives/Air%20 New Discourse in Gender and Local Governance: and other non-governmental organizations should Pollution%20And%20Human/AIR_POLLUTION_ encourage the use of improved chullas through a Generation.html A Comparative Study on Sri Lanka and India government-subsidized programme. Through the Doris Capistrano (2005): Ecosystem and Human Well Being, D Parimala People’s Plan Campaign, the governments impart Island Press. awareness regarding the advantage of cross ventilation in the construction of houses. In the tribal Jindal S.K. (2007): “A Health Perspective of Indoor Air Those societies which have given equal access to women and men in economic and political areas, kitchen should be separated from house and Pollution”, Indian Journal of Medical Research, opportunities have progressed much faster than those which denied such access. Gender pp.409-411. stove should be kept at a raised platform to reduce equality is a necessary condition for sound human development. the exposure by leaning over fire. It is also Jindal S.K. (2006): “Emergence of Chronic Obstructive Mahbub ul Hug suggested that effective drying of fuel wood, good Pulmonary Disease as an Epidemic in India”, December maintenance of chimneys etc can go a long way in 2006, pp.619-630. Abstract reducing the adverse effects of indoor pollution. Joshi S. K. (2006): “Solid biomass fuel: Indoor Air Pollution Since women’s wider participation in politics is essential for the strengthening of democratic processes and the polity, political movements of different sections Though the initiatives towards reduction and Health Effects”, Kathmandu University Medical Journal, Vol. 4, No. 2, Issue 14, pages 141-142. of the people have an important responsibility to ensure that women are able to of exposure related diseases had given us only participate in the arena of active politics. So without reservations no political mixed results, yet the effectiveness can be further Mark M. Pitt, Mark R. Rosenzweig, and Md. Nazmul Hassan party will voluntarily make any substantial increase in the number of women enhanced through imparting the awareness to public (2005): “Sharing the Burden of Disease: Gender, the candidates. towards silent killer – Indoor-Pollution. The Household Division of Labor and the Health Effects of intervention strategies should take accounts various Indoor Air Pollution”, CID Working Paper No. 119, aspects like household energy supply, energy Harvard University. Introduction of marginalized people. Centuries of women’s efficiency, affordability and finally its effect on struggles are and should be linked to working class Nigel Bruce, Rogelio Perez-Padilla, Rachel Albalak (2000): The last four decades of the previous movements, human rights movements, ecology the environment. Effectiveness of theses “Indoor Air Pollution in Developing Countries: A Major millennium were the ‘assertion of the subordinated movements, peace movements and movement for intervention strategies can only be judged through Environmental and Public Health Challenge”, Bulletin masses’. People across the world started their fight democratization and decentralization of the society. a grassroots level study involving various of the World Health Organization, vol.78 no.9. against all kinds of oppression and assert their stakeholders. Finally, it is also necessary for the Priti V. Taneja and Manisha Saxena (1998): “National rights in every spheres of life. The most significant The empowerment process begins with a policy makers and planners to have a clear Anthropometry of Bhil Women in Jbhua of Madhya progress of this assertion was the gender understanding of the correlation between poverty method of understanding development to address Pradesh” Harvard University website. empowerment. For the first time in history, women the various issues like devolution of power, and fuel pollutants before they embark on any as a community organized themselves to demand Stuart Gillestic (2001): “Health and Nutrition”, American representation of gender and subordinated social intervention strategy. their rights in socio-cultural, political and economic Journal of Clinical Nutrition, August. groups, especially on decision-making, References domain. Since the 90’s, the South Asian countries implementing bodies/institutions.The understanding Tanuja D. Karmakar, Sampath Kumar, S. Jayalekshmi and started the simultaneous process of globalization of any problem with the gender point of view is a Barrett Hazeltine and Christopher Bull (2003): Field Guide Abel R. (1993): “Nutritional Status of Tribal Women in at one hand, and development and governance on to Appropriate Technology, Academic Press. Bihar”, Harvard University website. method of approach to life and politics. It is a way the other to address the issue pertained to the of asking questions and searching for answer. It is Basu S.K. (1993): “Health Status of Tribal women in India” Tord E Kjellstrom, Anne Neller and Rod W Simpson (2002): empowerment of women as well as the oppressed because; women are applying their personal – Status paper for the National Workshop on Status of “Air Pollution and Its Health Impacts: The Changing sections of the society. experience to transform the social relation. The Tribal Women in India-organised by Council for Social Panorama”, Medical Journal of Australia, pp.604-608. Moreover, women’s empowerment is not existing discourses on development have three Development, New Delhi and sponsored by National gender perspectives approaches – women in Commission for Women, New Delhi. and can not be separated from the empowerment

Dr.D Parimala is a faculty of Department of Education, University of Delhi, India.

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development, women and development and Governance There are five important features in the • Only 6 per cent of positions in the judiciary gender and development. For a better discourse of governance (i) Accountability (ii) are held by women; World Bank defines governance as an” understanding of these approaches, we would Transparency (iii) Public Participation (iv) Legal exercise of political power to manage a nation’s • Only 9 per cent of civil servants are discuss them briefly. protection of citizens rights (v) People friendly civil affair.” Governance as a concept has become women; service. Emphasis must also be laid on increasing familiar in the recent past, particularly during the Gender and Development (GAD) transparency in government, which will help in • Only 20 per cent members of local government transitional phase of globalization. Governance is reducing corruption. are women. Among these approaches, GAD had defined as “a search of ways and means of contributed immensely to gender analysis. This is managing the affairs of the state.” Also explained Gender and Governance (GAG) in (Figure shows, in the decision making an organized approach for examining factors as “a reflection of the role of the state in giving Development Discourse forums in South Asia, Women share the smallest related to gender in the entire process of directions to the development of the country and GAG is composition of both (GAD & piece of the pie.) development programme. As for gender is the political regime which they derive from the WAD) discourses. It is a new discourse that has considered a ‘social construct’ and is determined role which the state assigns to itself.” It is essential The Major objective of the paper is to been emerging through various interventions made by the societal structure. Indeed, it understands to differentiate between “Government” and identify the inter – linkage between the emerging by the state, civil society and the International the gender values and practices, to know how “Governance.” Government refers to formal development discourse in the context of gender community at different levels. It illustrates the societies are organized; how they function and their structures; Governance refers to the political and local governance; to understand the grass intricacies of Gender and (local) Governance in potential for social change or transformation. management of civil society as a whole and includes root democracy and the decentralization of power terms of development, and their significance. Gender analysis is an insight into power relations Government. The main point of dissent amongst and help documenting the best practices promoting – man/women, privileged/deprived and urban/rural the students of governance is about the role of the A handful of women in the region have good governance and women’s political dichotomies. state. Some have wished to retain the primacy of achieved fame, as political leaders. In recent participation; to analyze the constraints and the state action; others emphasize the importance years, political parties in India have also come alive problems faced by men and women in the Primarily, GAD recognizes the differences of the citizen and the civil society in governance. to the strengths of the women’s movement and of electoral process in Sri Lanka and India. and also makes difference in management of increased female voter turnout during elections. resources, approach, perception and budgeting. In The crisis of governance today emanates National as well as regional political parties across The role of women participation in the entire this pattern, women draw connections between from two basic sources at the national level- the South Asia have also had women leaders in top governing institution in South Asia: their personal experiences and political generalities, over extended role of the state; and the incapacity party positions (see table 1). Nonetheless, political particularly in India and Sri Lanka; about the oppressions of women, while reflecting of the institutions of governance to perform all the parties have not necessarily given adequate on their personal experience to develop those necessary functions. There are (a) excessive public Women hold the top positions in major number of positions to women in their hierarchies. generalities. They came to understand their corruption (b) poor public services with respect to political parties of the region, yet these Women account for only 9.1 per cent of the experience, their past, in a way that transforms power, water supply, sanitation, law and order, etc. powerful positions have not translated into membership of all executive bodies in the major them for a change. By working out the links (c) low credibility of the political class and the civil positive outcomes for the majority of South political parties of India. Recently, the Indian between the personal and political, and by working services. Asian Women. Most political parties do not National Congress is reported to have decided to the links between daily life and social institutions, even maintain data of their female membership Good governance generally implies reserve one-third of the executive positions in the they have begun to understand reality as a social and few women are granted party tickets for citizen’s participation in decision making and party hierarchy for women. South Asia also has process, the product of human activity. elections. In some countries women are more implementation processes. Good governance could the lowest rates of women participation in their visible in local governance structures than in Here, the question is not merely concerned be ensured through decentralization and greater governaning structures. For example, in South any other governing institution. Most gains have with a fair/equal representation but is intended to citizen’s participation in managing everyday affairs, Asia: been made in India, where one third of the seats change and transform the oppressive social system federalism and multi-level democratized • Women occupy only 7 per cent of the per cent in panchayats are reserved for women. through political participation. Emergence of this governance with devolution of powers to the lowest of the parliamentary seats; However, gender bias pervades at all levels of dialogue lay down the foundation for the emerging levels of elected bodies. The affair of the state governance in South Asia, which may be one new approach to perceive the development thus must be so organized that the common citizen • Only 9 per cent of the cabinet members are of the reasons for the region’s governance process. derives the maximum benefits. women; crisis.

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Governing institutions the India have only recently seen a shift in the gender, and no reservations have been made for concern; to contribute to policy. Reservation is only attitude of politicians towards them, as an electorate women in the Parliament or local governing bodies. a stepping stone and the first step toward election Decision-making has traditionally been and as election candidates. Female representation In Sri Lanka, both the president and Prime Minister through direct franchise. It is not the end, but the regarded as a male domain in Sough Asia. Often in the Lok Sabha has remained around 7 to 8 are women. Chandrika Bandaranaike means to an end, and one that may be the only using customs and traditions as a tool, women have percent during the past four elections. After the Kumaratunga, has been the President of the way to ensure the future of female political been sidelined from most of the decision-making general elections of 1984, the proportion of women country since 1994. In 1999, she was reelected to empowerment in South Asia. processes. While the past few decades have in the Lok Sabha rose sharply from 5.1 percent to the office. Sri Lanka has the honour of being the witnessed an improvement in the status of women, The experience of female 8.1 percent only to decline to 5.3 percent in the first country in the world to elect a female Prime especially for the urban middle class women parliamentarians in South Asia has been mixed. election of 1989. Since then, the number of women Minister. In 1960, Siriamvo Banadaranaike was who have a degree of freedom in making Their limited representation in national and in the Indian Lower House of Parliament has been elected as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1956 decisions, for the majority of South Asian women provincial legislatures has meant limited increasing steadily. However, it remains much such freedom remains an elusive dream. This lack to 1959) propelled her into politics. Her party won participation as well. There are many laws and lower than 33 percent, the critical mass of women of liberty is a tradition that is rooted in the home the general election in 1994 as well, and she is practices across the region that continue to required for meaningful decision – making strength, and the community, where male members maintain currently finishing another term as Prime Minister. discriminate against women and are justified in the as expressed in the Convention for the elimination strict control over decision—making and follows Despite this, at 4.9 percent, the proportion of name of culture or religion. Such discrimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). through to the highest levels (of national legislatures women in Sri Lanka’s Parliament remains well has been allowed to exist because women and parliaments). India has never had reserved seats for below the world average. Today, Bangladesh is parliamentarians continue to be a minority. Further, women in its national legislature, and without the only South Asian Country that can boast a guided more by party ideologies than specific Parliaments reservation or some other affirmative action policy, proportion of female parliamentarians at par with women’s issues, female Parliamentarians’ opinion Female participation in South Asian it will be a long time before 33 percent of the world average. have also differed on various issues. In some instances, national issues have taken priority over parliaments is abysmally poor. Despite the fact that parliamentary seats are occupied by women. There It is the only country in the world where women’s issues. For example, in Sri Lanka, while four out of seven South Asian countries have had has been a lot of debate on this issue and the the both leader of the parliament and leader of the there have been several initiatives for women’s female Prime Ministers or heads of state at one consensus of women’s groups is in faovur of House are women. From its very inception the development, women’s issues have not received time or another, female participation in Parliaments reservation. India’s successful experience at the Bangladesh Parliament has had a policy of the attention they deserve because of the continuing remains very low. The 7 percent participation rate grassroots level has helped to strengthen the case encouraging women’s participation in public policy civil strife in the country. However, it would be of women in the parliaments of South Asia is one for reservation. But the Bill for reservation has – making. According to clause 65 of the incorrect to say that female parliamentarians have of the lowest in the world. The other countries not yet been passed by the parliament. Bangladesh Constitution, fifteen seats were where female representation is as lower or lower not been vocal about women’s issues. There are The major problem is not with reservation reserved for women candidates who were to be than that of South Asia are the Arab Countries. instances of female parliamentarians taking up itself but with the rules and regulations for it. indirectly elected by members of Parliament. This women’s issues even when the initiative was not Over the past decades, there has been some Currently, 50 percent of the constituencies return clause did no exclude women from contenting forthcoming from their parties. Aided by women’s progress, but it is uneven. For example in India the the same candidate to the Lok Sabha in successive direct election for the 300 general seats. The lobby groups, they have played a very crucial role number of women in the Lok Sabha (lower House election. The reservation bill proposes rotation of provision for reservation of seats for women was in advocating women’s rights. It is in large part of Parliament) has increased from 22 to 48 in the reserved seats that would undermine the chances made given the social impediments against women due to their efforts that women have had some past fifty years, but it represents less than 9 percent of winning of political candidates. It is mainly contesting elections openly with men. It was form of representation in the governing bodies, and of the total strength of the Lok Sabha. In Sri Lanka because of this reason that there is such strong expected that due to Clause 65, the rate of women’s that women have been protected from some of today, women constitute 4.9 percent of the opposition to the Bill. Other possible drawbacks participation in public affairs would increase and the more discriminatory practices. Parliament. Pakistan and Bhutan at 2.6 percent are discussed below. that eventually there would remain no need for and 2 percent respectively, are at the lowest rung the clause. In the Indian Upper House of Parliament, Srilanka has no specific constitutional of women’s Parliamentary representation. the Rajya Sabha, female representation declined guarantees for women’s representation in There is a need for a critical mass to be between 1980 and 1999 from 12 per cent to 8.5 While one of the first South Asia female governing institutions. The constitution states that created at all levels of governance, so that women per cent. Currently, there are 20 women in the Prime Ministers was Indira Gandhi, the women of there should be no discrimination on the basis of are given the opportunity to voice their needs and Rajya Sabha. While the Deputy Chairperson of

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the Rajya Sabba, Najma Heptullah, is a woman, considered high powered or influential. Social In Bangladesh, two women were par with the national level. For instance, in Kerala women face increasing competition from male welfare related Ministries are generally assigned appointed as State and Deputy Ministers within women currently occupy 9.2 per cent of the seats politicians for nomination to the Rajya Sabha, to women Ministers. For instance in 1999, the only the cabinet after independence in 1971. Over the in the state legislature. Similarly, in Delhi (National especially since political parties prefer to give seats woman member of the Council of Ministers, years, while professionally competent women Capital Territory) female representation is as high to their important members who have lost in the Nepal’s highest executive body, was a State such as Barrister Rabeya Bhuiyan who has held as 13 per cent. However, in the remaining states, general elections. More often than not, these Minister who held the portfolio of the Ministry of the post of a State Minister for Women’s Affairs, the average proportion of women is about 5 important members are male. Women and Social Welfare. have been appointed to the cabinet, they have been percent. In some states such as Gujarat, Bihar and given fairly low-profile portfolios in the Children Orissa, it is as low as 2 or 3 percent. Similarly, women politicians in Pakistan In India, the first woman Cabinet Minister and Women’s Affairs Ministry or the Cultural have faced a hard time being nominated to the was Mrs. Indira Gandhi who was appointed In Pakistan too, the proportion of women Ministry. However, by virtue of being Prime Senate. Since members, of the Upper House of Minister for Information and Broadcasting. In 1966 in provincial legislatures is very low, Prior to 1990, Minister, both Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina Parliament are nominated through an electoral when she became the Prime Minister, no woman when seats were reserved for women in provincial have retained control over Defence, Information college composed of members of the national and was appointed to her cabinet. During her time as assemblies, the number of women legislators had and the Cabinet Division during their respective provincial assemblies, women have very little Prime Minister, the two significant contributions reached as high as twenty-seven in the four governments. Currently, of the four women in the chance of being elected, given the underlying made for women were the introduction of Medical provinces combined. During the next election, with cabinet, two have been given important portfolios patriarchal attitudes. In 1977, 3 of the 63 members Termination of Pregnancy Act (1972) and the Equal the removal of the quota for women, however, the of the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister for of the Senate weere women. This was the highest Pay for Equal Work Ordinance (1976). In 1969, a number of women plummeted to only five, declining Environment. Both these women have had long number of women in Pakistan’s Senate. Ironically, woman was appointed to the Ministry of Social further to three in the following elections. political careers and extensive grassroots after the 1988 election when there were 24 women Welfare, she was India’s second female Cabinet experience, which has enabled them to influence Provincial councils were established in Sri in the National Assembly, only one woman was Minister. Since then women have been consistently policy. Lanka nearly twelve wears ago in response to the elected to the Senate. In the election of 1985, no present in the Indian Cabinet through the social escalation of ethnic violence. The third phase of woman had been elected to the upper house. welfare portfolio. Women ministers have also been No South Asian woman has yet held a election for these councils was held in 1999. Women Similarly in Sri Lanka, while the Upper House of appointed to urban development, external affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a Ministry of hold between 2 and 3 percent of the seats in these Parliament was abolished in 1971, only 6 women and youth and sports portfolios. Finance portfolio. Since women ministers are provincial councils. However, given the constitutional were elected to it in the twenty- five years of its generally assigned less influential portfolios, they In Pakistan, only six women have been structure of these councils, one of the major existence. have little influence in decision-making. The appointed to cabinet in 53 years. Of these, two disadvantages has been the ease with which seats tragedy of the female parliamentarian or cabinet In Nepal, by contrast, there are were appointed after the 1997 election, as can be transferred to other people. While this is not minister is that even women in influential positions, proportionally more women in the Upper House Minister for Women’s Development and Youth common practice, after the elections of 1999, two have tended to focus on “national” rather than of Parliament than the Lower. Women have fared Affairs and Minister for Population Welfare and of the successful female candidates stepped down women-specific issues. better in the National Assembly (Upper House), a third as Special Advisor to the Prime Minister. to give their seats to their husbands. On the positive whose members are elected by the in 1960 to 12 Currently, Pakistan has a woman Minister for Provincial Level side however, these elections also saw a greater in 1999, overall female representation remains Education. number of women contesting provincial council In the three South Asian countries with particularly low at only 5.3 percent. seats. Nearly two hundred women announced their Few women have been appointed to the state or provincial legislatures, India, Pakistan and candidacies for the 1999 elections as compared to Cabinet Sri Lankan cabinet. From 1960 to 1994, there was Sri Lanka, women have generally fared better in only twelve in the previous one. Furthermore, a consistently only one woman in a cabinet of more the national legislatures as compared to the sub- woman’s group also contested elections as members Female representation in South Asian than twenty men. At present, there are four national. The overall female representation in of an independent group. Despite the fact that they cabinets is also negligible. Currently, only 9 percent women in the cabinet, including the President and provincial or state legislatures remains less than failed to win even a single seat, it illustrates that of Cabinet Ministers across South Asia are women Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. The other two that in the national assemblies (see table 3). In increasingly women are realizing that if there is to (see table 8.2). A problem faced by female female cabinet ministers have been given charge India, however, female representation in some be any solution to their issues and concerns, they Ministers all across South Asia is that they are of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Ministry states such as Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya must participate in the decision-making process at seldom appointed to Ministries that are normally of Social Services. Pradesh and Rajasthan, is either higher than or at every level.

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Local Governance Similarly, the Indian Constitution embodied Table 1:Women Leaders of Political Parties in South Asia itself to bring a socio-economic and political Organization at the grassroots level allows transformation. The initiatives of empowering India SoniaGandhi (Indian National Congress) people to contribute significantly to the governance women and the subordinated masses are reflection Jayalalitha (AlADMK) of their communities. For women, successful of its democratic spirit and commitment. Especially, Lakshmi Parvathi (NTR Telugo Desam Party) grassroots experience has, meant a chance to form the 73rd 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts provide Mayawari (Bahujan Samaj Party) a coherent voice, to be heard and to make a for an opportunity for women’s entry into political Mamta Banerjee (All India Trinamool Congress) difference in their communities. Across South Asia, spheres. These Amendment Acts provide for a 33% the experience of women in local government has Pakistan Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan People’s Party) reservation of seats for women in the governance varied, with some countries being more successful Ghinwa Bhutto (PPP-Shaheed Bhutto) of local bodies (Rural and Urban) with aspirations than others in attaining greater female participation. of good governance and fair representation in the Bangladesh Shaikh Hasina (Awami League) Sri Lanka’s current system of governance development process at grass-root level. The most Khaleda Zia (Bangladesh National Party)) consists of three tiers – the Muncipal Councils, significant aspect is that the gender representation Sri Lanka Sirimavo Bandranaike (SLEP) Urban Councils, and the Pradeshiya Sabhas. While in the decision-making has been taken into account. the total membership of these councils exceeds Good governance needs both participatory and Chandrika Kumaratunga (SLEP) three thousand, less than 3 per cent are women. equal/fair representation at every stage of policy- Sirimani Athulathmudali (DNULF) In the last local bodies’ elections, held in 1997, only making and implementation. It is also the central one woman was elected Mayor of a Municipal component of democracy. Although the Acts have Source: Gopalan 2000; Guhathakurta 2000; GOP 1999; and Javawardena 2000 Council. enabled around 7.95 lahks women to participate in the PRI as member, sarpanch and chairperson Figure 1: Voter turn-Out in Lok Sabha Elections In the province of Jaffna. Unfortunately, throughout the country for more than five years. in 1998 she became the victim of political assassination. In the Urban Councils, while there It is well established that constitutional are currently two female Vice-chairperson, women support and legislative measures are necessary for occupy none of the 36 posts for Chairperson. At bringing about social change, but they cannot present, three of the Chairpersons and two achieve the goal single-handed. Conscientious Vice-Chairpersons in the Pradeshiya Sabhas are efforts are required to strengthen and consolidate women. them for meaningful empowerment. Despite this, women represent only 1.72 The Growth of Indian Women Performance per cent of the total membership of the Pradeshiya of Involvement in Public Decisions Sabhas. Recently the government has put forth a India has a proud record of democracy – recommendation for fixing a quota of 25 per cent there have been 13 occasions since Independence for women in local government. when the country has gone to the polls to elect a Female participation in political parties: new government. Women gained voting rights at Source: Election Commission of India In Sri Lanka, the main political parties also have Independence, and over the years, the number of A large number of women participated decline. women’s wings, but membership in these wings women voters has shown a steady rise. While the in India’s freedom struggle, many in positions of remains low. Funding and infrastructure for participation of women remains lower than that of leadership. However, women’s participation in The representation of women in the Lok these wings are minimal. Women related men, the gap has reduced from 16% to less than political life has been declining steadily since Sabha has basically remained stagnant, after a high activities of these wings remain sporadic and 10% in the last four decades. In the 1999 Lok Independence. Increasing violence in public life of 8.09% in 1984. The stagnation is even more confined mostly to mobilization of women for Sabha elections, 58% of women voters exercised is the reason, offenly quoted to explain this visible in most of the State Assemblies. political purposes. their franchise.

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Table 2 : Women’s Presence in the Lok Sabha In the 1999 elections, out of a total of 4, Apart from political parties and Parliament, 000 candidates, only 280 (6.5%) were women In women are also seriously under-represented in Year Seats Women MPs % Women MPs a significant number of cases, women candidates other spheres of decision-making. In a country like 1952 499 22 4.4 complained that they were fielded in “losing” India, this seems paradoxical – on the one hand, 1957 500 27 5.4 constituencies where the party was in a weak women have moved into the professions and civil 1962 203 34 6.8 position and male candidates were reluctant to services in far higher numbers than in other South contest. However, an analysis of the results of Asian countries. On the other hand, their entry 1967 523 31 5.9 the 1999 general election shows that women have into the upper echelons seems to be restricted by 1971 521 22 4.2 a definite “winning edge”. a glass ceiling. 1977 544 19 3.3 1980 544 28 5.2 Table 4: Party-wise Representation 1984 544 44 8.1 Party Women Women Men Men 1989 517 27 5.2 Contestants Elected (as % Contestants Elected (as 1991 544 39 7.2 (as % of total of women (as % of total % of men contestants) candidates) contestants) candidates) 1996 543 39 7.2 BJP 7.4 60.0 92.6 53.2 1998 543 43 7.9 Congress 11.0 28.0 89.0 24.8 Average 527 31 5.9 Source: Election Commission of India Other Parties Fielding women 7.2 22.2 92.8 17.3 Table 3: Representation of Women in State Assemblies (% Women MLAs) candidates State 1952 1960‐65 1970‐75 1979‐83 1993‐97 1998‐99 Independents 4.0 1.3 96.0 0.3 Bihar 3.6 7.9 3.8 3.7 3.4 ‐ Source: Election Commission of India

Uttar Pradesh 1.2 4.4 5.9 5.6 4.0 ‐ Table 5: Women in Decision-making Rajasthan 0.0 4.5 7.1 5.0 4.5 7.0 Kerala 0.0 3.9 1.5 3.2 9.3 ‐ Institution Women Men Women as % of Men

West Bengal 0.8 4.8 1.6 2.4 6.8 ‐ Executive bodies of political parties 9.1% Andhra Pradesh 2.9 3.3 9.1 4.1 2.7 9.5 Cabinet Ministers 8 76 10.5%

Source: Election Commission of India High Court judges 15 488 3.1% women’s equality, have less than 10% women in Women’s low participation in politics does Civil Services 6.8% not seems to have any direct correlation to literacy, their legislatures. if one were to go by the figures for Rajasthan and In spite of the fact that most of the national Executive bodies of trade unions 6 108 5.6% Kerala, which have the lowest and highest literacy political parties have stated in their manifestoes rates respectively. Women’s overall social position that they support reservations for women in also does not seem to be a determinant – Kerala Parliament, but very few women candidates are Source: South Asia HDR, 2000 and Manipur, with strong social traditions of actually nominated.

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Reservation for Women castes, and further marginalize women from An alternative approach that of party- the country for more than five years. It is well oppressed groups. The rotating lottery system based quotas, has been proposed by an established that constitutional support and legislative The Constitution (81st Amendent) Bill, envisaged for the reservation of seats has been independent coalition, the Forum for Democratic measures are necessary for bringing about social drafted in 1996, proposes the introduction of criticized on the ground that it violates basic Reforms. This would involve an amendment to the change, conscientious efforts are needed to reservations for women in the Lok Sabha. The Bill principles of democratic representation by forcibly Representation of the People Act, 1951, to make strengthen and consolidate them for meaningful has the support of a wide range of women’s groups unseating one third of candidates. This system also it mandatory for political parties to nominate empowerment. The question is whether an and women politicians across party boundaries, but implies that no politician would be able to seek women candidates in one third of the intervention like the constitutional amendment is has faced equally strong opposition on a number reelection twice in succession from the same constituencies, including reserved constituencies. able to contribute to women’s empowerment or if of counts. constituency, thus making it difficult for elected Parties failing to meet this obligation would be the patriarchal structures, manifested in the One objection is that a quota system would representatives to nurse their constituencies and penalized by withdrawing recognition to two male household and the state, will continue to dominate. benefit women from the privileged classes and build a strong political base. candidates against a shortfall of every women candidate. The alternative Bill also proposes The reservations in Panchayats have Figure 2: Structure of the Local Governance in India amendments to Article 80 and 171 of the provided a possibility for erosion of traditional Constitution to allow for reservation for women in (gender, caste, class) roles and hierarchy but it is legislatures and the Rajya Sabha. a long and difficult process. Women in India not only have to fight for their right to be more than Local governance in India and Constitutional proxy members but also to break the barriers of Amendment Acts of 73rd and 74th gender based division of labor, illiteracy, low level The Indian Constitution embodied itself to of mobility, seclusion, lack of training and bring a socio-economic and political information, which continue to exist. Women’s low transformation. The initiatives of empowering self-esteem at the household level and their new women and the subordinated sections of the society role in local politics where they are now expected are the reflection of its democratic spirit and to function as leaders that create a contradiction commitment. Especially, the 73rd and 74th between women’s role at home and in Panchayats. Constitutional Amendment Acts provide for an The Panchayati Raj Act provides for – opportunity for women’s entry into political spheres. These Amendment Acts provide for a 33% 1. It provides for direct election to all seats of the reservation of seats for women and marginalized Panchyats at the village level, to the body at people in the governance of local bodies (Rural intermediary. (Block samiti and Zila levels). and Urban) with aspirations of good governance and fair representation in the development process 2. Provides fixed tenure of 5 years, with the next at grass-root level. The most significant aspect is elections to be held within a period of 6 months. that the gender representation in the decision – 3. It provides for a compulsory three- tiers system making has been taken into account. Good in all the states, except where the population governance, being the central component of does not exceed 2 million people. democracy needs both participatory and equal/ fair representation at every stage of policy – making The Act is most significant for reservation and implementation. for women, SC& ST this provision may be summarized as – Although, the Acts have enabled around 7.95 lakhs women to participate in the PRI as 1. Not less than 1/3rd of the seats will be reserved members, sarpanches and chairpersons throughout for women (including that of SC & ST) and

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these may be allotted by rotation to different 9. By organizing them a basis of mutual trust. commercial and political negotiations participation at the grassroots. The 73rd and 74th constituencies of a Panchayat. conducted outside the home are by males. Amendments have resulted in the entry of nearly The low participation of women in elections a million women into panchayats and local bodies. both as voters as well as candidates is due to : 8. Opposition within parties – they feel that most 2. In proportion to the total population of the area, At the national level, more than a third of these seats will be reserved for SC & ST. There women do not qualify on merit. 1. Women are not independent voters. women are chairpersons of panchayats at different would be reservation for women in these seats As mentioned earlier, it has been observed levels. There are some surprising variations across allotted to SC & ST. 2. Majority of them are illiterate. that women are linked normally to welfare issues States, however. For instance, West Bengal does 3. Not less than 1/3rd of the total no. of seats for 3. Majority of them make their choice on the (called women’s issues) than development. India not have a single woman as chairperson of the the offices of the chair persons at each level basis of suggestions from male members of is one of the first countries to enact legislation to Zilla Parishad, and has a lower proportion of would be reserved for women rotated among the family – husband & sons. create opportunities for women’s political women chairpersons at other levels as well. different Panchayats at each level. 4. Women lack information and political Table 6 :Women in Decision-making Positions in PRIs If utilized fully, as many as 8,00,000 women awareness. including those belonging to SC&ST can become % Women as GP % Women as PS % Women as ZP 5. Women are not politically conscious. State panches and sarpanches. Chairpersons Chairpersons Chairpersons The political parties are reluctant to give New Discourses Andhra Pradesh 33.76 30.00 tickets to women because: Women are coming forward, contesting Himachal Pradesh 36.62 31.94 33.33 1. Party’s imperative to select a winnable reserved seats (33%) in local elections. There has Karnataka 33.33 33.71 35.00 been steady increase in number of women candidate. Madhya Pradesh 38.66 26.80 37.78 contestants. The women empowering has 2. Gender bias is society. improved in India the following ways: Manipur 33.13 50.00 3. It is assumed that patriarchal attitude of Uttar Pradesh 33.81 41.29 30.26 1. Their participation in setting the agenda for majority of voting electorate would vote for a their own and others development rather than man rather than a woman. West Bengal 4.62 3.00 0.00 merely getting on such agenda. INDIA 40.10 33.75 32.28 4. In India, caste, religion, traditional patterns of 2. Their socio-political advancement. voting and personal strength of candidate are Source: Government of India important factors for selecting a candidate for 3. Increase in their number and participation in There have been several studies and • Lack of political experience and public skills elections. And women who are new entrants decision making positions and political roles. assessments of the impact of women’s entry into have fettered women’s potential. seldom find place in the overall matrix of these panchayats. The results seem mixed. A number 4. Combine multiple strategies that go beyond criteria. Women have to constantly struggle against of factors continue to constrain women’s • politics into social and psychological, cultural attempts at co-option by powerful men. and familial, economic and careerist and policy 5. Women have lack of finances and experience, participation in panchayati raj. and cannot finance their campaigns. Women’s participation is hampered by their making and implementing levels. • “No confidence” motions are being used to • dependence on their wages, and the fact that 5. Strategies should aim to reach beyond women 6. Political parties assume that women are overthrow women chairpersons who assert they have to carry the burden of household – to men. generally unaware of the happenings beyond their control over panchayats. The vice- work and survival tasks. their local areas, of their legal lights and chairperson, who is invariably a man, then 6. Ending their insulation by domestication. responsibilities and dynamics of the political takes over the chair. Claiming Political Space 7. Breaking their isolation imposed by social- process. • Women members are also vulnerable to cultural bass cades. It has taken time for women to translate 7. Women lack mobility and interaction with male violence, which is used as a means to restrict their numerical strength into active participation, 8. By unifying them though common interests. counterparts, since all economic, financial, their participation. but wherever this has happened, the results have

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been startling. Women have prioritized issues of administrative arrangements though a hierarchical The main concern of Municipal councils Gramedaya Mandalas for the development health, education and access to basic services, and system of local government structures, reaching and Urban Councils is public health, environmental of the area. have often been able to ensure a significant change down to the smallest unit of the village. There was sanitation, public works etc. A major criticism of the above system in living conditions for the entire community. The no system of representative government. Initially Pradeshiya Sabhas was the absence of government at the village all-women panchayats in Maharashtra, Gujarat and the colonial powers used the traditional local level i.e. absence of people’s participation West Bengal have been recognized and government structure as convenient administrative They play a catalytic role in the through their representatives in any assembly commended for their exemplary work. In many tool. But from 1965 onwards the British began to developmental strategies of the government below provincial level. areas, elected women have built strong networks set up local bodies, where the elective principle and it is responsible for formulating policy with women’s groups and have been able to was gradually introduced. and approving plans and programmes The above criticisms resulted in a four- spearhead significant changes in the functioning submitted by organizations such as the tiered structure of local government in 1981. At the time of Independence in 1948, they of panchayati raj institutions. bequeathed to Sri Lanka a system of local An increasing number of Indian women government consisting of 4 types of authorities i.e. are pushing against the “glass ceiling’ in the Municipal Councils, Urban councils, Town Councils corporate sector, challenging the norms and and Village Committees (later known as village procedures that perpetuate their exclusion from the council), based on the principle of elections. PARLIAMENT highest levels of decision-making. Universal adult franchise was known to Sri Lanka since 1931. In the sphere of governance, Karnataka has made a significant breakthrough with an all- In post colonial Sri Lanka, the successive PROVINCIAL COUNCIL women team at the top – the Governor, the Chief governments have been called upon to address the Secretary and the Mayor of Bangalore are all demands of ethnic minorities as well as to deal women. The recent appointment of a women with the task of raising the living standards of the Foreign Secretary is another welcome sign of people throughout the country. Provincial Councils change. were established in 1987, but elections held in 1989 MINISTRY OF LOCAL GOVT could not be conducted in the predominantly Tamil Women in Local Government Politics in Sri ethnic areas of the North and East. In 1993, Lanka elections were held in the Eastern Province of Sri The recognition of the right of every citizen Lanka but in the North it remains outside this DEPT. OF LOCAL GOVT to participate in public decision is a basic element framework. of democracy, which to being effective, requires The Municipal and urban councils have the needs and interests of all members of the society been allowed to continue but the Town and village are respected and represented. Women in South councils were brought under a common system of Asia are marginalized in decision making and Developmental councils in 1980. This scheme was leadership by a variety of processes that begin in specially faulted for its abolition of village councils, infancy. In contrast to boys, girls are encouraged often considered to have been the training ground MUNICIPAL COUNCILS URBAN COUNCILS PRADESHIYA SABHAS to play passive roles and given little opportunity to for future politicians of motional standing. Another make decision or develop leadership skills outside area of concern was the absence of an institutional the family context. framework for village- level mobilization for socio-

The early system of local government was economic development. District Development GRAMODAYA MANDALAS characterized by the delegation of authority to local Councils were critiqued for the lack of adequate political institutions and the decentralization of arrangements for the supply of Local utilities.

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Table 7: Status of Women’s Participation in Politics (India and Sri Lanka) In South Asia, Women participation in the public sphere of political leadership is very parliaments of South Asia is only 7%. pervasive. Women in politics are perceived as INDIA SRI LANKA deviant from cultural norms. Women form about 50% of Sri Lanka’s 1. Upper House was abolished in 1971 but 1. RAJYA SABHA (Upper House)-There has population and they are more disadvantaged than 3. One of the factors which deters women from there were only 6 women members in 25 been decline in percentage of women men. Sri Lanka was the first country to elect a facing the hosting is violence, this can be both years of its existence. members from 12% in 1980 to 10.3% in woman Prime Minister Bandaranaike, in 1960. physical and mental. Character assassination 2004. She was re-elected to the post in 1970 and later of the rival candidate has been part and parcel served the legislature as leader of the opposition. of the Sri Lanka election scene and very few 2. LOK SABHA (Lower house) - In 2004, 2. Women's representation in the lower house has declined from 5.5% in 1989 to 4.4% in Her daughter, Chandrika Bandaranaike women can withstand such pressure. women were 8.8% of the total number of 2004. Kumaratunga, who became PM in 1994 has set members. another record by making Sri Lanka the only 4. Patriarchal norms have socialized women to 3. From 1960 to 1994, there was consistently 3. CABINET – First women cabinet minister country which has elected two women Prime prioritize their domestic roles and most women only 1 woman in a Cabinet of more than 20 was Mrs. Indira Gandhi (as Minister for Ministers. place motherhood, wife-head & home-making men. In 1999, there were 4 women in the Information and Broadcasting). In 1966, above public office. There is a class factor when she became Prime M inister, no Cabinet, including the President and Prime These events may suggest that ‘Women that becomes evident in the combination of Minister. The other two female cabinet woman was appointed to her cabinet. In in Politics’ in Sri Lanka are safe and well. roles. The affluent in society have access to ministers had been given charge of the 1969, a woman was appointed to the However they are only symbolic of the potential domestic help and they are not burdened as Ministry of Women's Affairs and Ministry Ministry of social welfare. Since then, of Sri-Lanka Women-situation of the ground is much by multiple roles. women have been consistently presenting of social services. At the recent elections in somewhat depressing. April 2004, there were 337 women 5. The work of a politician can be very time themselves in the Cabinet thorough less candidates but only 9 were elected to the consuming, and multiple roles are a severe influential portfolio like social welfare and The Major Constraints to the Women’s Low Parliament. impediment to women & participation in have never been assigned important Participation in Politics politics. portfolios like finance. The barriers have largely to do with the 4. Women hold 2-3% seats in provincial 4. STATE LEGISLATURE/PROVINCIAL culture of politics in Sri Lanka which tend to 6. They have limited access to economic resou- LEVEL – Women representation in Kerala councils. Greater number. Of women are marginalize women. rces unlike the men who are familiar with the contesting now, 200 women contested in is 9.2%, in Delhi it is 13% and 5% in world of finance which they dominate. 1999 and 337 women in 2004. There was 1. Women have reached near parity in educatio- Himachal Pradesh (in 1999). So, female Political, social and professional networking also an independent group of women in nal attainment. However, there is a hidden representation is higher in these states than among them makes necessary for women to curriculum in schools where gender role at national level. In Gujarat, Bihar and 1999. depend on men for financial arrangements. stereotypes are inculcated. In vocational Orissa, women presentation is 2-3%. The cultural prejudice against women in politics education there is a gender differentiation of 5. Local Governance works at 3 levels limits their ability to raise funds. 5. LOCAL GOVERNANCE – 73rd and 74th ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ skills for the two (consist of three tiers) Municipal Councils, constitutional Acts were passed in 1992. Access to training and apprenticeship in Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas. sexes. As a result boys and girls grow up with 33% reservation of seats in local bodies politics is not available to those women who While total membership of these councils notions of separate spheres which do not (rural and urban) called SILENT operate outside powerful family networks. exceeds 3000, less than 3% are women. In augur well for participation in public affairs. REVOLUTION. the local bodies elections in 1997, only one Although women’s wings of political parties claim 2. The dominant ideology that prevails in society, to conduct training programs for would-be woman was elected Mayor of a Municipal dictated by the main religious traditions of the Council. Cabinet has approved in principle, politicians, they seem to get activated only on the country and its cultural ethos, supports the eve of an election. the reservation of 33% of seats in local subordinate status of women. The belief that authorities for women. women belong to the private sphere of the Let us consider the situation in other South home and family and that should operate in Asian countries:

International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 127 New Discourse in Gender and Local Governance: A Comparative Study on Sri Lanka and India D Parimala 128

Bangladesh Nepal Local government in Sri Lanka would • Inadequate powers for local bodies (for however appear to have been, in the post- example – a lack of involvement of local bodies Prior to 1975, there were 300 seats in the A democratic constitution was put in place independence period, to use a widely quoted in development planning for their areas of National Parliament out of which 15 were reserved in 1991 under which it is mandatory to nominate at observation, ‘in the doldrums’. The Central authority) for women. Post 1971, 30 seats out of 330 have been least 5% of women candidate for the House of Government has always operated its policies and reserved for women. The Pourshava and city Representatives, the lower House and at least 3 Reform of system of elections (there is very programmes through the administrative apparatus • corporation Ordinance (1998) reserves 1/3rd of the women in the upper House. In 2004, percentage broad agreement that the current proportional rather than the elected local bodies. The local total seats for women at the local level. National policy of women in lower House was 5.9% and 9 women representation (PR) system with the entire LG bodies have been restricted in their scope to the for advancement of women was adopted in 1997. (15%) in the Upper House. The Government of area considered as one common electorate provision of a few services and facilities only, and Nepal passed the local self-Governance Act in must be replaced with the wards system that In 2004, percentage of women in the are not empowered to undertake significant 1999 which foresees atlest 20% representation of existed before PR was introduced in the early Parliament was 2%. Every political party has a measures for the economic organization and women in local bodies. The Tenth Plan, 2002 1980s; more women representation in LG) women’s wing to encourage women to join politics upliftment of the areas with which they deal. envisages 20% of female participations in decision at the national and the local levels, NGO’s, Around two-thirds to three fourths of their • Achieving a much more satisfactory gender making at all levels. women’s organizations and civil society revenues are expanded on meeting administrative balance than what prevails at present in the organizations have been active in this regard. Gender Pakistan costs, leaving them dependent on grants from the representation on LG bodies. training is conducted in the National Institute for Central Government for development activity. Local Government for women commissioner, 33% of seats are reserved for women in • Administration-civil society-citizen interaction LG in Sri Lanka has been the subject of government officials etc. the National Assembly. (new mechanisms to give the civil society/citizen several official reviews. The structure has also a greater voice in the conduct of LG affairs) Bhutan 17 out of 100 seats are reserved for been reformed periodically, the latest being the women in the senate. The Devolution power plan abolition of village committees and town councils Functional Reform There has been an increase in the reserves 33% of seats for women at the local level. that were replaced with Pradesheeya Sabhas. percentage of women representatives. In 2003, 14 • Poor quality and inadequate urban services In the six provinces, 17% quota for women is However, many reforms suggested by successive of 99 selected representatives were women and applicable. Election law Quota was passed in 2002 investigative commissions have not been • Needs-based and resources-based planning one of the six advisory councilors was a woman. and Devolution power plan was adopted in March implemented. In order to understand the current and plan implementation capacity There is no quota for women candidates at the 2000. In 1990, women constituted 2% of the malaise in local government and the possibilities National level. There is no quota for women • Environmental issues in LG (Technical capa National Assembly, and this went up to 20.8% in of overcoming it, it would be necessary to candidates at the Local level. Women, children and city in Sri Lanka’s LG to tackle environmental 2004. understand the political and other resistance and gender constitute an important area in the 9th five problems is woefully inadequate) blocks to local government reform. Local Government Need Reform in Sri Lanka year plan, 2002-2007. Percentage of women in the • Administrative reform that would improve Parliament in 2004 was 9.3%. Following parameters should to be taken Local government (LG) is an important efficiency through use of e-government into consideration to make reforms: Maldives institution of governance in Sri Lanka. Perhaps Resources more than any other tier of government, it affects Women are eligible for candidature to all Political and Structural Reform the lives of people at a personal, day-to-day and • A variety of funding problems related to elected and public bodies except for the Head of grassroots level. Sri Lanka’s LG has a proud and • Pradesheeya Sabha/UC/ MC structure to be taxation powers; central and provincial grants, the state. Women are next represented in the long history. Some of the institutions of local replaced by City Corporations with enhanced examples of these problems include: poor cost Maldives Chamber of Commerce. There is no government such as the Colombo and Kandy powers. recovery; outdated property tax system, quota for women candidates at the national and Municipal Councils have histories that date back perverse incentive in scheme of grants from local levels. • Outdated boundaries (2001 Census can be to mid nineteenth century. They were the the Centre and the Province – current revenue used to redraw boundaries). Gender Management system was nurseries that nurtured incipient democracy and grants are linked to revenue gaps and not to introduced in 2001. Percentage of women in the self-government in Sri Lanka under British • The relationship between LG and the Central revenue performance; insufficient funding for Parliament in 2004 was 6%. colonial rule. Govt, and LG and Provincial Governments. infra-structure development.

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• Ineffective management. 3. Increase women’s engagement in non-formal education, child care and 6. National NGO’s should spread out more and developmental decisions and conflict general relaxation. more to the villages in order to engage women Human resource development (low level of • resolution. at the grassroots level in their activities. This b. Political literacy and Training manual – skills and training are considered major will motivate more women to take up decision- stumbling blocks to make better performance 4. Strengthen mechanisms for legal and political formations of grass-root level making roles and to contribute to the political in SL LG sector). literacy. organizations, NGO’s, govt. can play a processes at local level. role – to provide political education and 5. Encourage decentralization as gender sensitive. The Resources for Local Government and training. 7. Men and women should be sensitized regarding Devolution of Administrative Authority 6. Enabling women wherever they have been a more equitable distribution of work in the Recommendations For both men and women of the villages elected to perform their roles effectively as domestic sphere to free up time for women to participate in self-government, the requisites members/chairpersons etc at different levels. The broad principles on which state policy to have the option of engaging in public should be: should be formulated have been spelt out in the affairs. 7. Mobilizing rural women to participate in the above section of the Women’s Charter. o Local governments should be endowed with Panchayati Raj election in great numbers, as 8. Infrastructural arrangements which can ease sufficient political and administrative power, both candidates and as voters. 1. The state should introduce laws and regulatio the multiple burdens of women should be authority and scope. ns to make the principles of the Women’s augmented, i.e. creches day care for the very 8. Providing mechanisms like committees where Charter a reality. old and the very young and homes for the o Financial resources and areas of jurisdiction women can participate, not merely in matters elders. need to be widened and assured. relating to mother and child welfare, but also 2. The state should take affirmative action to in other developmental areas and decision make the nomination process at local 9. Rural hospitals should be upgraded and o Democratic decentralization in planning, making/management details. government elections more equitable by developed in order that women’s domestic administering, and monitoring devolution of stipulating at least 40% of the candidates to work will be reduced by the institutional care power and self-government. 9. Giving Political Education – be women. of the sick. o Local governments should not be merely a. Education on polities, legislation and the 3. Political parties need to be sensitized to train 10. Women should be provided with easy access reacting to the ways in which the programmes day to day procedures of the broader and nominate more candidates for local to fuel and water, the collection of which is are being currently implemented by the local political and panchayat system. government elections. NGO’s and the today the most time-consuming tasks for rural level bureaucrats, with orders/instructions Information about their constitutional rights Women’s Bureau should play an active part women. Rural electrification should receive coming from officials at district level and and duties, powers, developmental policies in such awareness raising programmes. speedy attention. above. and programmes. 4. School curricula and vocational education 11. The state should ensure that elections are held o Transfer of some of the development b. Specific orientation or training in carrying which bolster gender role stereotypes should in a non-violent and secure atmosphere. programmes that are being currently out their functions, particularly their be changed, so that girls can grow up with administered by the state though the block 12. Effective steps should be taken to minimize relationship with village, block and higher the necessary confidence to take up public level. i.e. Jawahar Rozgar YoJana (JRY) has alcoholism in the society. Both domestic level bureaucracy. roles. been transferred to the local governments with violence and election related violence stem 80% grants going to the local government. 10. Political Training 5. Attitudinal change has to be brought about from excessive consumption of intoxicants. among both men and women regarding the Strategies for Action 11. Providing support services like: 13. There should be controls in respect of election eligibility, capability and desirability of women expenditure so that women can compete on a. Resource centre. A common meeting in the political decision-making process. A 1. Creating awareness for their growth & equal terms with men for political office. ground whereas educative and informative long-term strategy should be worked out by development. material on various issues from one’s body the Committee on Women’s Affairs. Women’s 14. The Gramodaya Mandala system should be 2 Continue (or create) quotas at sub national to the body-politic are provided. It could organizations should play a major role in this revamped to make it more representative, and national levels. act as the resource center for skill training, endeavour. while retaining some of its healthy features

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such as formal association with local-level movements of different sections of the people have Sharada Utsav : A religious festival specially celebrated by women in rural areas. voluntary associations. They can be co-opted an important responsibility to ensure that women Huldi Kum Kum : A joyous get-together of women who greet one another by applying with voting rights. Local-level women leaders are able to participate in the arena of active politics. colored powder on each other’s foreheads as a sign of welcome. (kum can make a contribution to political decision- So without reservations no political party will kum means `Bindi’). making in this way. voluntarily make any substantial increase in the Bhajan : A religious song. number of women candidates. Since the major Conclusion Griha Kalyan Kendra : A welfare centre to promote activities among rural women. change has taken place at Panchayat level. There A nursery school. Since women’s wider participation in is a positive assessment of women’s role at ‘Ho manner bai’ : A phrase in Marathi meaning a ‘yes’ woman. politics is essential for the strengthening of panchayat level in spite of the tremendous barriers Shudra : A person belonging to a low caste. democratic processes and the polity, political which prevent their full participation. Swaraj : Hindi word for ‘self-government’.

Glossary for India References Kaushik Suheela (ed.) ((1993): Women’s Participation in Panchayati Raj (PR) : A three-tier system of local self-government in rural areas, where the Politics, Vikas Publication, New Delhi. lower tiers at the village and block levels are controlled by the upper Baig, Tara Ali, (1976): India’s Women Power, S.Chand Kaushik, Suheela (ed.) (1993): Women and Panchayat in tier at the district level. Publication, New Delhi. Politics, Har-Anand Publication, New Delhi. Gram Panchayat (GP) : Local government body of the PR system at the village level. ______, (ed.) (1958): Women in India, Publication Division, Kiran Saxenma (ed) (2000): Women and Politics, Gyan Panchayat Samiti (PS) : Local government body of the PR system at the block level (a block Ministry of Information Broadcasting, Govt of India. Publication, Delhi. comprises 60-100 villages). Bhasin, Kamala, (1972): The Position of women in India, Kiribamune, Sirima (ed) (1990): Reconciliation of Roles: Shakuntla, Bombay, 1972. Women, Work and Family in Sri Lanka, Navrang, New Zilla Parishad (ZP) : Local government body of the PR system at the district level holding Brush, Lisa D (2002): Gender and Governance, Rawat Delhi. control over the two lower bodies. Publication, Delhi. Leitan, Tressie (1979): Local Government and Decentralized Taluka : a sub-division of a district. Chakrabarthy, Manas and Agarwale Vidyawati (2006): Administration in Sri Lanka, Lake House, Colombo. Maratha : a dominant agricultural caste of Maharashtra. Among the sub-castes Women and Politics in India, The Associated Ministry of Women’s Affairs (1993): Women’s Charter (Sri are the Maratha Kashtriyas claiming association with the warrior group Publication, Delhi. Lanka), Colombo. e.g. Shivaji Maratha; Maratha Kunbi (agricultural landowners) and De Silva, Wimala (1993): Women and Political Participation Report of the Commissioner of Elections on the 9th those belonging to the artisan and service sectors, e.g. shepherds - the Current Scene Status of Women (Sri Lanka), Parliamentary Election of Sri Lanka held on gardeners, barbers, washermen. Ministry of Health and Women’s Affairs, Colombo. 15.2.89,Colombo 1991. Jagirdar, Izzar : Names denoting persons who were given possession of large portions De Souza Alfred (ed) (1975): Women in Contemporary India, Stromquist, Nelly.P. (ed.) (1998): Women in the Third World- Manohar Publication, Delhi. An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Issues, Garland of land. Desai, Neera, (1957): Women in Modern India, Vora Publishing, New York and London. Sabhapati : Chairman of the PS. Publication, Bombay. UNIFEM (2005), Accountability to the World’s Women: Upsabhapati : Vice-chairman of the PS. Haq. Mahbub-ul (1197): Human Development in South Asia, Progress of South Asian Women 2005: A Series for the Sarpanch : President of the GP. Oxford University Press, Karachi. fifth South Asia Regional Ministerial Conference, Celebrating Beijing Plus Ten, New Delhi. Upsarpanch : Vice-president of the GP. Jayaweera, Swarna (1988): A National Strategy for Women, A Mimeographed paper. Wiswa Warnapala, W.A (1993): Local Politics in Sri Lanka: Mahila Mtandal : A Women’s Association. Jayaweera, Swarna (1993): Women and Education - Status of An Analysis of Women’s Affairs, Colombo, The Local Shibir : A Camp Women (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Health and Women’s Government Election of May 1991. Beedi : A locally produced cigarette with tobacco roIled in a dry leaf. Affairs, Colombo. Gram Sevika : A village-level woman worker in charge of activities for woman and Kanesalingam, V (1971): A Hundred Years of Local children. Government in Ceylon, Colombo. Mukhya Sevika : A block-level woman officer in charge of activities for women and children, and for co-ordinating the work of gram sevikas.

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The Configuration of Masculinity in M. Mukundan’s ‘The Dance’ their genetic make-up; rather it is something into much in literature. Although feminism has enlarged which they are acculturated and which is and embedded to some extent the lives of women H Kalpana composed of social codes of behavior which they through literary discourses, masculinity as yet learn to reproduce in culturally appropriate ways.” seems to be more open to studies of culture and Abstract (2) According to Beynon, masculinity, moreover, living, and has not been part of literary studies. ‘The Dance’ utilizes the archival Indian response to aestheticism, and eroticism can differ based on field settings such as prisons, Besides, masculinity has been employed to study as well as issues of body, and gender. Classical Indian thought as depicted in the schools, etc. (2). One also needs to comprehend beliefs, representations of life or differences Indian temple architecture and display had always seen gender as a unified that the masculine need not always be associated between men and women or discussion of macho notion and had located its functionality only in terms of the work men and with only men and women too sometimes could personalities rather than for studies of literary women carried out. In erotic displays man and woman were not distinct and don the garb of the masculine based on the richness. revelled as equal sharers of pleasure. Similarly performance of any kind had no cultural/social/economic background that they may Masculinity studies, as most researchers, divisions or distinctions. In a way ‘The Dance’ configures not only this classical come from and vice-versa. androgynous Indian mind but also adopts the postmodern concept of body. know does not mean to state that patriarchy is One knows that gender studies has been correct nor that macho-ness is correct. What part of social science research and yet due to the masculinity studies tries is to rationalize and politics of both feminism and queer studies till legitimize the value of patriarchy. Secondly, Studies and theories of feminism and in structure of masculinity as explained in his seminal recently gender studies has found it difficult to masculinity studies have, like femininity, developed the recent past masculinity has highlighted the fact, text, Masculinities. accommodate such studies of men and women’s in various cultures due to diverse changes in time that in the past two decades, gender studies has relationships. Similarly, most social science and place. It is disturbing to note, that masculinity become an umbrella term to accommodate the 1 research one notices has a favorable position with too is normally shaped, in all developing nations studies in gender. Disappointingly, most of these regard to male values. In such a case, one of the based on the images percolated from the developed studies are from the Anglo-American perspective, Any study of masculinities leads to a queries is how can a researcher hope to study nations. Connell substantiates this, when he points and another frustrating issue is the location of number of questions with regard to not just the masculinity, which is already a part of the dominant out. masculinity itself from an Anglo-centric attitude. definition but also the derivations of masculinity. discourse. It is also to be noted that this sense of On a global scale, the most profound The need of the hour is to use this critical theoretical Masculinity is the key theory to read maleness in dominance is perceived as being homogenous for change is the export of the European/American tool to probe into a reading of Indian literatures the academic field and yet its abstractness and all masculinity is simply ascribed to the Anglo/ gender order to the colonized world. There is every and see how the foregrounding and arrangement diffuseness make it a problematic theory. The European American model. It is, hence, essential reason to think this trend is accelerating. As the of masculinity occurs in a fictional text. Of course, Routledge Companion to Feminism and Post- to understand that masculinities may have a greater world capitalist order becomes more complete, as time and space restraints may not allow one to do feminism points out that [m]asculinity, in its and broader scope as a system of scientific study more local production systems are linked in to global a full-fledged study but one hopes through this definition of what is characteristic of or peculiar or knowledge. This factor could also be the reason markets and local labour brought into wage essay to analyse and interpret the representation to men, has recourse to simple biological that a large body of work that focused on systems, local versions of Western patriarchal and the configuration of masculinity in M. determinism, essentialising biological distinction, masculinity, had titles such as theorizing, institutions are installed. (199) Mukundan’s short story, ‘The Dance’. The article between the sexes.” (270). In other words, the constructing, deconstructing, rethinking, unmasking is tripartite with section one introducing briefly the concept explains how dynamics of gender, etc (The Making of Masculinities; Constructing He furthers this premonition with the idea complexity of the masculinity theory, leading to a sexuality, social roles and identifications are Masculinity; Dislocating Masculinity; that, “there is a prospect of all indigenous gender critical analysis of Mukundan’s ‘The Dance’ in complex as well as the fact that though maleness Constructing and Deconstructing regimes foundering under this institutional and section two and concluding with a final section is biological, masculinity is cultural. Beynon argues Masculinities through Critical Literacy; cultural pressure”.(199) It is consequently which implements Connell’s theory of social that “men are not born with masculinity as part of Unmasking Masculinity: A Critical interesting and pertinent to deal with indigenous Autobiography; Rethinking Masculinity productions and view how masculinity is shaped Philosophical explorations in light of feminism). in the texts. Most often studies in Indian literature These titles interestingly reflect studies in may provide a notion of masculinity that is different Dr. H Kalpana is a Reader, Department of English, Pondicherry University, Puducherry - 605014. sociology, anthropology, philosophy etc and not so from the theoretical ideas put forth by Anglo-

InternationalIJSAS 2(1) Journal 2009, of South pp.133-140. Asian Studies IJSAS ISSN January 0974 - June- 2514 2008 International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 135 The Configuration of Masculinity in M. Mukundan’s ‘The Dance’ H Kalpana 136

American and European scholars. It is also true Despite Sreedharan’s attempt to place Agni in his and look at you! Not a single paisa for the family conversely, points out to him that he is teaching that ‘the category men’ in the rich countries is not repertoire of familiar names, he is unable to place yet. Will applying oil on the body and practicing him ideas of western dance and music and when a homogenous group capable of deliberating and him but due to the excitement of a new name, he in the kalari fill the bellies of your brothers and he is ready he can start dancing. (33) Sreedharan choosing a new historical direction. Definitely replies and eagerly awaits a response too. With sisters? (23) gets caught up in the lifestory of Agni and even differences exist and yet most theories do not the advent of the computer Sreedharan also reveals takes steps to find out on the net about Patrick He then narrates his depressed dismal life attempt to accommodate such differences. This to the readers that his life had now been totally Rudolf and his troupe. He also unconsciously in the village: “…I was already calling myself all definitely is recognized when Connell states “the enslaved by the computer, “Now it’s the computer begins to sympathize with Raji and empathizes with sorts of names for being such a good for nothing, meaning of masculinity, the variety of masculinities, even before he brushes his teeth, has his coffee. the various women that Agni describes now and when people at home and the village begin cursing the difficulties of reproducing masculinity, the nature Check inbox. Check yahoo news.”(17) then in his story. Sreedharan felt that “Agni was me. I felt like running away.” (23) Once while of gender and the extent of gender in equality” an expert storyteller. When he read what Agni had A fortnight later, Sreedharan gets a reply practising he had abandoned his body from all (202) are to be taken note of. written about Imelda, he felt that Imelda would from [email protected] who begins to narrate his shackles and had felt that his body “danced as if come running and sit on his lap.” (37) He also gets 2 story in fragments. As per the story, Agni @ mesmerized making circles and squares and to know of the homosexual relationship that Baleshan is a dancer who is an extremely dark rectangles.” (22) During this session of his dancing ‘The Dance’ is a postmodern narrative develops between Rudolf and Agni. Agni furthers man initiated by his father to the neighbouring he noticed that a foreigner was watching him. This highlighting the lives of three men, Sreedharan, his story by narrating through the serial email ‘kalari’ where he commences to learn was Patrick Rudolf who was visiting Kerala from Agni/Baleshan and Patrick Rudolf. Sreedharan, a various bits of his story, such as Rudolf’s attempt ‘kalaripayattu’. The ‘gurukkal’ who teaches Agni Europe. Later on, Agni forgets about this incident 48 year old man who has opened an email account, at an opera, the failure of the opera, the breaking is not only an expert ‘kalaripayattu’ expert but also but one day he receives a cheque with a note in it: on hotmail, narrates the story. As the story up of the dance troupe, Rudolf’s disappointment, an expert ‘Kathakali’ dancer, “The television people call me the fire of modern progresses, Sreedharan informs us that earlier in dance. Will you join me? I will make you a Rudolf’s and Agni’s trip to USA, their honeymoon the course of his work he had changed different …Without our knowing how or when, even Lightning of Dance-Patrick Rudolf.”(24). Agni in US, their travel back to Europe, the letter from places and occupied different addresses. However, as we learnt the flexibility of the body, concentrated decides to leave and his only feeling of misery is Raji, the ignoring of it and the resurgence of the this is the first time he has an address that is as on the adi and the tadavu, those techniques of the parting from Raji. She is, however, nonchalant dance troupe. Agni also reveals that inevitably as simple as this: “But this time the new address in a offense and defense, those navarasas, along with and simply states that she is going to anyway marry days progress he had begun to love, Theresa single line, [email protected] was the hand movements and mudras, the deeper someone who is far richer and better looking than Morena, a co-dancer. Agni in this new relationship special.” (16) Sreedharan also is not a great significance of mind-body passed from him to us. Baleshan. Thus Agni moves to Europe and wishes to move away from Rudolf and when communicator and had always neglected writing ‘Dance with your body as a whole,’ he’d say often, becomes a part of Rudolf’s dance team. Rudolf’s troupe is invited for a programme at the letters to his friends/relations but now that he has ‘not with your limbs alone.’ Was it surprising then Vienna dance festival, Agni who had always an email id he thinks things would be different: that we, the disciples, quite often felt the rhythm He learns in Europe that Patrick Rudolf’s shared Rudolf’s room desires to have a single room “Rather the Hotmail address would. After all, didn’t of the dance in our body. (21). dance troupe lived and existed as a community for himself. This is the first break in the relationship and resorted to a communal lifestyle: “The dance hot mails connect the White House and the of Agni and Rudolf and after this then their troupe spent its days and nights in a spacious flat Kremlin, when American warships set sail for Day by day, the young man begins to relationship takes a downward plunge steadily. It with a sitting room, a bedroom, eating, drinking, Cuba, didn’t Nikita Khrushchev use it to immobilize venerate his body but as he grows up into an adult, worsens when Agni’s photograph is published in a discussing, listening to music was done in that flat.” the Americans, long before Sabeer Bhatia he also realizes that he has no qualification to very renowned dance magazine: (30) The dancers discussed not just techniques of connected the whole world with his Hotmail?” (16) secure a job. Agni also mentions about his intimacy dancing but also scientifically analysed body Herbert Brosse’s Dance Magazine is an Sreedharan’s wishes are not fulfilled and he does with Raji and the kinship he has with her. He movements and its implications. Agni, gradually, authority on modern dance. It has shaped most of not get any email from his kith and kin but gets a becomes in the eyes of his father and the villagers begins to understand the meanings of words such the famous dancers of the day. Patrick Rudolf had lot of junk mails which he cherishes for he thinks a ‘good for nothing fellow.’ as tempo, choreography, etc. and thus establishes preserved all the issues of that magazine. In many that “someone in some part of the world has thought Why don’t you stay in the kalari itself, you himself amidst a new world of dancers and old issues of the magazine, there were studies of his about him.” (17). He receives one fine day a test wretch! Why do you come home? and what do choreographers. (32) In the beginning, Rudolf does art, interviews with him and his photographs. But his message from a person named ‘Agni’ and also you do except eat and fatten yourself? The food not allow him to participate in any of the programs, photographs had never appeared on the cover. (54) learns through this email that messages received of four people fills your stomach. Twenty five and he gets very upset with this seclusion. Rudolf, on the computer need not contain signatures. Knowing Rudolf’s state of mind, Agni accepts a position in America and

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contemplating on that momentous decision, he ‘The Dance’ is a male story-foregrounding may tend to change in other locations or The instruments used were African, made of relives his whole life and makes two profound continuously the male body at different spheres— geographical boundaries. human bones and animal horns. The rich flowing statements: “…In the kalari while sitting on the private and public as well as transgressing music remained in the baskground for the whole The story’s endeavor, to tell us the lives floor swabbed clean with cow dung, there was boundaries. To analyse the story, some of the key ten minutes that Rudolf danced. In his skin tint that the three men— Sreedharan, Agni and Patrick Raji’s body for company. After leaving home I concepts from Connell’s theory of social leotard Rudolf appeared to be naked. The dance Rudolf—subsist indicates the practices that they had Rudolf. Now Theresa. As I saw Raji, I organization of masculinity are utilised. The revealed the beauty and vitality of the male body. adopt to live their lives and effects of these see Rudolf and Theresa. As bodies.” (57) He definition of masculinity in the story is neither In the expression of the dance mind had been practices on their experiences, relationships and also mentions that it is only he who has changed essentialist nor positivist in nature. ‘The Dance’ discarded and Rudolf was nothing but the body. personalities. Sreedharan is an employed middle while the town into which he had entered was does not draw on Sreedharan’s/Agni’s/Rudolf’s The spectators watched spell bound. (44) aged man who is having a regular, possibly a still the same. Seeing the immigrants in the essential maleness and instead positions the plot transferable job and who in an attempt to kill his Gender, at least, in the case of Agni and street he makes his second philosophical into exploring the body as a mere representation. boredom gets hooked to the computer. On the statement: Similarly it defies the positivist definition, because Rudolf, is emphasized through the body, the body other hand, Baleshan/Agni starts his story by the story does not describe the pattern of men’s color, the movements of the body and the role of proclaiming that he is a name in the internet. He the bodies. The story illustrates this factor by using The only similarity between them and me lives in a given culture. It does not attempt to trace also subtly understates that the Internet provides was the colour of the body. They used their body any structure of masculinity either in India/Europe. words such as liberated body; free-flowing bodies; him invisibility. So one assumption that can be like a polythene bag to fill with food. I created ‘The Dance’ to some extent seems to adopt the and the black body. ‘The Dance’ also locates the made is that Agni may not even be a male. act of performance as an exploration: magic with mine. Perhaps it is my knowledge and normative definition of masculinity of what men capacity to convert similarities into differences might be. (70). Normative definition of masculinity My name’s Agni. You know that. Is it my Like Lucinda, Rudolf not only specialized and differences into similarities that helped me expects certain norms of masculinity and attempts real name? A pet name? Isn’t it complete?...After in a deliberate economy of expression and rise in life (58). to relate men with these patterns. This norm all, it is the Net that brings us together. One mistake, movement to fully explore what made dance, homogenizes Sreedharan and Agni as members be it in case, punctuation, spelling and the Net will dance, but like her, he was trying to create a kind Rudolf ultimately commits suicide, as he of society who can earn a living and thereby take clam up. Do cast off all doubts. What you see is learns that he has AIDS, and this affects Agni of geometrical architecture onstage. By exploring up the masculine power position of ‘bread what you get. Trust me I’m Agni. The truth of the movement and space, the duo had actually who realizes that he too may have contracted winners’. A good way to read the story is to utilize Internet (19). managed to bring to life the latent beauty of the same and he returns home. When he comes Connell’s description of the semiotic approach to back he finds that the space of the ‘kalari’ is diagonal movements (33). masculinity which renders the whole discourse Patrick Rudolf when located by now transformed into a multi-storeyed shopping exciting and challenging: “Semiotic approach Sreedharan on the Net is described as “The Fire- Sreedharan too discusses his aging body complex. He also meets Raji who is married to abandon the level of personality and define flame of Modern dance.” It furthermore explains at various times referring to the black patch beneath a businessman and has a daughter. Agni reveals masculinity through a system of symbolic that Patrick is the only son of a German father his eyes, his graying hair, etc. It must be noted at to Raji that he has been infected with AIDS and difference in which masculine and feminine places and an Austrian mother, who grew up in this juncture that Connell’s theory of social structure he also puns on the word, “…But the name has are contrasted. Masculinity is in effect defined as Montpelier, the Dance City and that he was the works only partially and when the story is analysed a beauty. Doesn’t aid mean help?” (72) Agni non-feminist.” (70) In ‘The Dance’ the masculine first European to perform at the Kennedy centre by his three fold model of structure of gender, also narrates to Sreedharan at the end of his is just a symbol and is not connected to the being. (23). In ‘The Dance’ the everyday conduct of life namely power, production and cathexis then there story that even after living abroad for a number As stated by Connell “The idea that one symbol atleast in the case of Agni, is organized and are problems. According to Connell, the axis of of years he is still not beautiful: “I’m still crow can only be understood within a connected system structured by the public stage where the bodies power is dominance and subordination. In the story black. Touch me and the finger will be of symbols applies equally well in other places” become symbols of an aesthetic environment: In although to some extent one can discuss this in the blackened,” (73) He then sends him a photo (71). Thus, Agni’s awareness of his male body is one of the emails written to Sreedharan, Agni descr relationship between Patrick, a European and Agni, which to Sreedharan’s disappointment turns out triggered by his performance, while Sreedharan’s ibes to Sreedharan about one such performance: an Indian the equality of colour in performance to be only an emoticon. Thus the story ends on male body is located in the space of a normal middle overcomes this. Actually, the story significantly a note of mockery. The next item was a solo dance by Rudolf aged officer. Both their masculinities are positioned highlights this aspect, “Amidst a swirl of dancer to music he had himself composed. He had not bodies, my body stood out clearly, the darkness 3 by the interlinked symbols of their locations and used a single violin or any electronic instrument. which no one wanted is now an asset. To

International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 139 The Configuration of Masculinity in M. Mukundan’s ‘The Dance’ H Kalpana 140

appropriate black, I had to borrow the eyes of white connect the name Agni with a face, name, or as depicted in the Indian temple architecture and configuration of what could be masculinity with men.” (44) identity. Moreover, Agni in the story adopts the display had always seen gender as a unified notion an Indian essence. role of a performer –a public performer enacting and had located its functionality only in terms of Once again adopting production relations roles for the aesthetic appeal of a western audience the work men and women carried out. In erotic References where gender divisions of labour plus economic as well as a private performer performing on the displays man and woman were not distinct and consequences of gender division are discussed the net- a story telling for the benefit of Sreedharan. revelled as equal sharers of pleasure. Similarly Berger, Maurice, Brain, Wallis & Simon, Watson (eds) (1995): Constructing Masculinity, Routledge, New York. story complicates the issue for production, labour Agni also shapes his masculinity as the story performance of any kind had no divisions or and economy in the fictional piece are aesthetic or proceeds. He reveals himself as a physically fit distinctions. In a way ‘The Dance’ configures not Beynon, John (2002): Masculinities, Open University Press. artistic values and statements like salaries/wages man gaining pleasure from both hetero- and homo- only this classical androgynous Indian mind but also Bekingham, Philadelphia. lose their meaning. Therefore, ‘The Dance’ sexual relationships. adopts the postmodern concept of body. The body Brod Harry (ed) (1987): The Making of Masculinities: The proclaims that Agni who is jobless and seen as a is no longer a puritanical being and is a place of The male body in ‘The Dance’ instead of New Men’s Studies. Allen and Unwin, Boston. Carson, burden suddenly becomes a man who is paid for liberation and freedom as revealed by Agni’s story. displaying macho-ness/sexual vigour, as depicted Fiona (2001): “Feminism and the Body” in The As Fiona Carson explains, the ideal body is sinewy, his body and the performance of the body but not in western academic studies reveals alternatively, Routledge Companion to Feminism and Post-feminism, in his country but across the border in other lands. a distancing from the corporeality of the body. The strong, androgynous and physically fit; conveying Routledge, UK and USA. ‘The Dance’ also repeatedly tells you that there is body, at no point in the story, is defined either by the hub of western cultural values such as Connell, R.W (1995): Masculinities, Polity Press, UK. no gender division of labour, in a dance troupe for acts of daily biological functions/sexual desires. independence, self-sufficiency, toughness, all the members of the troupe are important. Even What is depicted in western feminist studies as competitiveness, youth, and self-control. (127). Cornwall, Andrea & Nancy Lindisfarne (eds) (1993): a single dancer missing will not help the dance to objectification and possession, the gaze, the female Finally, however, ‘The Dance’ is able to configure Dislocating Masculinity: Comparative Ethnographies, go on. Similarly, together the troupe acts as a union, body and desire are all substituted here by using the complexity of the body but in the process it Routledge, London. but if it disintegrates then once again there is no maleness and masculine figures. In a way the story appropriates the Indian dark skin into the European Davies, Bronwyn (1997): “Constructing and Deconstructing union production. ‘The Dance’ points out, that the deconstructs the western feminist patterns. It also public space and renders magnificently not just a Masculinities through Critical Literacy” in Gender and dancers and other artists were unionized, and had deconstructs notions of hegemony and patriarchy postmodern fluidity but also a postcolonial metaphor. Education, pp. 9-20. fixed themselves a minimum salary (33). In addition by simply thrusting away hierarchal structures and Accordingly Mukundan’s story is able to transcend if one were to employ the notion of Connell’s reveals all relationships be it Agni and Raji, Agni boundaries and position the Indian male in an alien Gamble, Sarah (ed) (2001): The Routledge Companion to cathexis, ‘The Dance’ does discuss homosexuality and Rudolf, Agni and Theresa, Agni and Melissa, land and yet at the same time is able to recover Feminism and Post feminism, Routledge, UK and USA. but this is not discussed as an act of coerciveness. Agni and Sreedharan as horizontal and parallel masculinity through the dark skin. ‘The Dance’ The story, alternatively, implicates that Agni’s break relationships. Quoting John Berger’s Ways of also develops a sense of intrigue and mystery by Jackson David (1990): Unmasking Masculinity: A Critical from Raji is not melodramatic/sentimental and Seeing Fiona Carson in the section on having identities that are fluid and dynamic and Autobiography, Unwin Hyman, London. similarly Agni’s desire for Theresa is only for a ‘Objectification and Possession; mentions “A this diffuseness makes Agni invisible to us and May, Larry, Robert, Strikwerda & Patrick, D. Hopkins (eds) certain period of time. Similarly, Sreedharan’s own man’s presence was promise of power, whereas Sreedharan as the story teller could also become (1992): Rethinking Masculinity Philosophical infatuation of nude girls and soft porno on the net a woman’s presence implied self-conscious display, inauthentic. To conclude, ‘The Dance’ de-genders Explorations in Light of Feminism Rowman and is only a pastime. Thus the fiction proves that desire her sense of self split between the surveyor and notions of masculinity and recomposes it through Littlefield, Maryland. here is momentary and is based on the particular the surveyed.” (121) In ‘The Dance’ one notices a re-embodiment of newer subject positions for second. that in fact the man’s body is a sense of self- men. Thus, Mukundan ultimately leads us to a Mukundan, M. ‘The Dance’ in Getta Dharmarajan. Katha conscious display and yet the story also reveals complexity of masculinity and also to a new (ed) (2002): Katha Prize Stories 12, (translated by D. The story, thus, in a way overcomes that the body is no longer divided between the Krishna Ayyar and K.G. Ramakrishnan) western models of gender. In the western models surveyor and the surveyed and is part of the single of gender, the male is a voyeur of women but in body—be it Agni/Patrick. ‘The Dance’ the voyeur is Sreedharan, a male, who gets sucked into the lifestyle or living of a ‘The Dance’ utilizes the archival Indian AIDS victim. The autobiography of the AIDS response to aestheticism, and eroticism as well as victim is itself possibly an illusion as one cannot issues of body, and gender. Classical Indian thought

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Ramayana Story in Palm Leaf Pictures collection in Patna and Varanasi Bharat Ramayana. It is estimated that, the artist used Kalabhavan are also well known. There is no doubt Valmiki Ramayana for drawing 96 sequences and Lalu S Kurup that, these works took years for their completion. Adhyathma Ramayana for the remaining 222 pictures. With the financial support of the During the colonial rule in India, valuable Abstract Government of Kerala, in 1997, the publication illustrated manuscripts including Ramayana found The Sanskrit literature that flowered after the vedic age were classified in to division of the Oriental Research Institute and three major divisions - Ithihasa, Purana and Kavya. In ithihasas, Ramayana their way abroad and we were bereft of these Manuscripts Library published this work in printed belongs to Parikriya. Like writing, Ramayana is the major theme of drawing priceless treasures. Some of them are found in form. also. Large number of illustrated palm leaf manuscripts which holding the story the Freer Gallery, Washington and the British of Ramayana prove this. In Kerala, these valuable works were preserved in two Library. By applying modern preservation Author of Citraramayana techniques, IGNCA documented these major repositories - the Hill Palace, Ernakulam and the Oriental Research Institute It is very clear that, the author of this work and Manuscripts Library of the Kerala University, Thiruvananthapuram. The manuscripts in 1386 slides. In Kerala, these was a skilled artist and was also interested in epics. features of citraramayana, including author, date, content, style of drawing and valuable works are preserved in two major He does not mention his name in any portion of all other details were briefly discussed here. repositories - the Hill Palace, Ernakulam and the this work. There was a colophon at the end of this Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts work. It runs as follows: Library of the Kerala University, Introduction Thailand, China and Mangolia. Ramayana gave Thiruvananthapuram. The peculiarity of the palm “tasyaiva balakavi bimbali bhusurasya inspiration to the literary growth of India to a great leaf works in the Hill Palace is that, it only consists sishyo asti ko api charanayudha nasadesyah Sanskrit literature that flowered after the extent. The story of Ramayana was re-produced of the images of major characters in the Kayasthakanvayabhavassa edekhakari vedic age was classified into three major divisions in Mahakavyas, Attakkatha, Thullal, Kilippattu, Ramayana. The Citra Ramayana housed in the yasaiva pustakavarasya gurorniyogat.” – Ithihasa, Purana and Kavya. According to novels, short stories, dramas and screenplays. Like ORI and MSS Library of the Kerala University This states that, he is the disciple of a the process of writing, Ramayana is a creative differs from all the above palm leaf works. The “Itiha aste asminniti ithihasah Brahmin called Balakavi of Vadakkumkur, that he work involving drawing also. Large number of features of this work, including the author, date, purva vrttanto prachina kathayathoktam.”1 belongs to a Kayastha (scribe) family of illustrated palm leaf manuscripts that holds the story content, style of drawing and all other details are Kozhimukku, and that he did the work at the Ithihasa means the written story that of Ramayana proves this. briefly discussed here. direction of his preceptor. He does not reveal his happened in an early time, in a proper order. In Citraramayana The Telugu version of Ramayana of the personal name, but refers to himself as a native of ‘Amarakosa’, Prathama Kanda defined epic as, early 18th century is preserved in Hyderabad State Citraramayana is one of the rare palm Kozhimukku. This place is at Kuttanadu in “itihasah puravruttam”2 Museum. Figures, costumes and ornaments in the Alappuzha district of Kerala. We can assume that, manuscripts are adopted by the artist from the post leaf manuscript works which is shelved in codex From epics, the Indian concept of dharma, the artist also has drawn some other works. His Vijayanagara tradition. The Pahari Ramayana no. 12308 in the Oriental Research Institute and artha, kama and moksha were derived. The Indians style of drawing of Manthara and Hanuman in miniature series are less complex technically but Manuscripts Library of the Kerala University. This find the values and ethics in their daily life from invaluable work which consists of 98 folios and citraramayana were same in another pictorial work there is delicacy in the outline and scheme of 6 these poems. The definition of Tharantha each folio having a size of 34 cm in length and 5 Rupaprasna. colours used. The drawings of Udaypur Ramayana Bhattacharya justified the above statement.3 cm in breadth was added to the collection in 1934. believed to be drawn in the middle of 17th century The Date of Citraramayana Except the last folio in this work, all the others In ithihasas, Ramayana belongs to are preserved in Bombay Wales Museum and were drawn on one side. The edges of some folios Usually in palm leaf manuscripts work, Parikriya.4 Though Ramayana was created in Rajastan Oriental Research Centre. The illustrated were damaged due to climatic conditions and insect details including the name of author, year of writing India, the epic sails and reaches Java, Cambodia, Ramayana manuscripts shelved in Kanoria private attack. Some images were also damaged and lost and various statements are found in the last part. their clarity. Folio number 34, 61, 62, 63 and 95 Such colophon was also found in this work. But were some of the folios which were partially unfortunately, the upper portion including the date Mr. Lalu S Kurup is a Research Scholar, Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts Library, University of Kerala, deteriorated.5 For drawing these pictures, the artist was damaged. We can read the remaining part as Kariavattom Campus, Thiruvananthapuram depended both Adhyathma Ramayana and Valmiki ‘ezhutittirtha pustakamidam’, which means, ‘the

InternationalIJSAS 2(1) Journal 2009, of South pp.141-147. Asian Studies IJSAS ISSN January 0974 - June- 2514 2008 International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 143 Ramayana Story in Palm Leaf Pictures Lalu S Kurup 144

Figure 1: Jadayu Encounters Ravana Figure 3: Meghanada binds his enemies with Nagastra, the Coiling Serpent Missile

Figure 4: Sumitra bestows her blessings on Lakshmana

writing of this work was completed on ...... ‘. Someone had added a caption note that, Kollam (Malayalam Era) 629 Makaram 7 that is A.D. 1453 Figure 2: Sita in Fear and states that the information is gathered from the colophon of citraramayanam. Vasudevapothuval also agree with the year.7 Style of Drawing In Kerala, the tender leaves of palm tree are cooked in a mixture of water, milk and turmeric paste. Then dried in shade and the process is repeated until they attain the expected yellowish colour and flexibility. The leaves in this work also come under these processes. For scribing images, iron stylus was used. The speciality of scribing on palm leaf is that, there is no chance for rubbing off or altering a line once incised on a palm leaf. In Citraramayana, the artist beautifully Landscapes in Citraramayana The artists followed an out-line drawing pictorised the essence of Valmiki Ramayana, for the completion of the work which gives direct Without nature, man’s life becomes very appeal to the imagination of the viewers. The line “ramam dasaratham viddhi difficult. His life’s journey begins and ends in work is supposed to intensify the emotional appeal mam viddhi janakatmajam nature. Nature which became a part of happiness of each character in the story. We can see its ayodhyamadavim viddhi and sorrows of human life can be seen in extreme level in the portrait of the anger of gaccha tata yatha sukham” Ramayana, Sakunthalam and Mekhadutam. The Lakshmana, duel between Bali and Sugriva, war (Figure 4) artist of Citraramayana portrays the same nature between Ravana and Jadayu (Figure 1), Sita’s From this work, it is very clear that, the in the source text. We can see the beauty of nature bereavement, fear (Figure 2) and application of artist was greatly influenced by Kathakali and in more than 80 sequences of this work. The Nagastra (Figure 3). mural arts. scenery which depicts the journey of Rama to

International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 145 Ramayana Story in Palm Leaf Pictures Lalu S Kurup 146

Midhila and Dandakaranya were portrayed. The climbers in Citrakuda (Figure 6) were also Captions in Citraramayana of these captions were not the same person. The garden of Lanka (Figure 5) and the trees and beautifully pictured. writing style too clarify the above statement (Figure In Citraramayana, the author gave notes 7 & 8) The letters in the notes were more or less Figure 5: Hanuman destroys the garden of Ravana to 114 pictures. For writing these notes, Malayalam same to modern Malayalam script. It shows that, and Sanskrit were used. The first 22 notes were today’s concept of the origin of modern Malayalam written in Malayalam and the others were in simple script was not so correct. Dr. Vijayan in his article Sanskrit. From this, it is very clear that, the author also favours this statement.8

Figure 7: Writing Style-1

Figure 6: A scene of Mount Citrakuda

Figure 8: Writing Style-2

From Figures 7 & 8, the difference of writing styles is very clear.

International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 147 Ramayana Story in Palm Leaf Pictures

Kerala in Citraramayana codex no. 19946. This manuscript work is used to know Indo- Pak Relations; Post 9/11 Policy Alternatives for India fortune. Though Citraramayana followed the style Sudhir Kumar Singh and story of Adhyatmaramayana and Valmiki 7. Vasudeva Poduval (1994): Administrative Report of ramayana, a number of factors in the day to day the Archaeological Department 1118 ME, life of Kerala influenced this work. We can see Thiruvananthapuram. Abstract The post cold war equation has changed the very dynamics of the international locally used boats of Kerala, traditional ornament 8. Vijayan. K - Editor (1997): Citraramayana - Introduction, system. Although the US has sustained its uni-polar power status but there are box, drum and oil-lamps in this work. The work Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts Library, efforts to bring the international system into the multi-polar world. This scenario followed the hairstyle of women in Kerala. University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. has provided a new impetus to India to enhance its profile into the realm of Conclusion References international politics. Till very recently Indian foreign policy has been obsessed with Pakistan and China. Although they are our important neighbours and we Though the scholars have different opinion Acharya Lokamani Dahal (1973): Samskritha are simply unable to change the destiny of the geography. For the compliance of about the author and the date of Citraramayana, Sahithyathihasam, Krishnadas Academy, Varanasi. post cold war reality India needs to decentralize its attention towards all regions they unanimously admit its glory. This work is a of the world. Our vision must be guided by the Kautilayan view that national wonder in pictorial art and it opens up more than Amarasimhan (1970): Amarakosham, Chaukhamba Sanskrit interest is the basis of international system and we know that it keeps changing one new field of enquiry for scholars. Therefore, Series, Varanasi. frequently. Although since early 1990,s India has initiated this policy at several fronts but many still remains out. As far as Pakistan is concerned either military it is very clear that the Oriental Research Institute Tharanatha Bhattacharya (1967): Sabdastoma Mahanidhi, or democracy will be the mode of governance, adverse attitude of the ruling elite and Manuscripts Library of the Kerala University Chaukhamba Sanskrit Series, Varanasi. took a priceless effort for publishing Citraramayana would be sustainable phenomenon in foreseeable future. China has revised its Vasudeva Poduval (1994): Administrative Report of the India policy at some extent but they are also compelled to sustain its old policy. in printed form. Archaeological Department 1118 ME, The fact of the matter is that India has been successful to contain the nefarious Notes Thiruvananthapuram. design of both countries therefore India at least from its own should not initiate any adverse policy and must promote friendship. India must focus on certain Visalakshi. P (ed) (2008): Some Aspects on Manuscriptology, 1. Acharya Lokamani Dahal (1973): Samskritha neglected areas to cope with the demand of the hour. Energy security, Indian Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts Library, Sahithyathihasam, Krishnadas Academy, Varanasi, p.28. Diaspora, Maritime Security, Third World Unity, UN Reforms must be new focal University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. attention of Indian foreign policy. The article is intended to focus of this reality. 2. Amarasimhan (1970): Amarakosham, Sabdavargam, Vijayan. K - Editor (1997): Citraramayana, Oriental Research Chaukhamba Sanskrit Series, Varanasi, p. 84. Institute and Manuscripts Library, University of Kerala, 3. “dharmarttha kamamokshanamupadesa samanvitam Thiruvananthapuram. The international geo-political environment Ali Bhutto in July 1977. Again in September 2001 purva vrutta kathayuktamitihasam pracakshate.” Codex No. 12308, Citraramayana (Palm leaf manuscript), has always acted in Pakistan’s favor in a sense terror attack on New York and Washington and Tharanatha Bhattacharya (1967): Sabdastoma Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts Library, that whenever it comes under severe crisis some Pakistan’s support for the US led coalition war Mahanidhi, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Series, Varanasi, p.74. University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. thing happens globally and Pakistan corrects its against terror has poured huge largesse to Pakistan 4. Based on the Importance of hero in theme, ithihasa was system on the sole basis of external largesse. In which strengthened another military ruler General Codex No. 19946, Rupaprasna (Palm leaf manuscript), classified into two category - Parikriya and Purakalpa. 1979, Soviet Union’s intervention in Afghanistan Pervez Musharraf, who entered into power after Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts Library, If an ithihasa contain only one hero it belongs to Parikriya to consolidate the position of its puppet communist toppling another democratically elected Prime- University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. and more than one belongs to Purakalpam. regime, provided golden opportunity to General Zia minister, Nawaz Sharif in October 1999. http://www.namami.nic.in retrieved on 20-06-2008. ul Haq to legitimize his illegitimate regime after 5. The major sequence among these folios were the death It is pertinent to mention here that in 1979 overthrowing an elected government of one of the of Jadayu, Rama’s entry to Lanka and ordeal of Sita. http://orissagov.nic.in retrieved on 11-08-2008. the Soviet forces’ entry into Afghanistan was the most popular political leaders of Pakistan, Zulifikhar 6. In the Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts http:// ignca.nic.in retrieved on 15-08-2008. Library of Kerala University, Rupaprasna is shelved in

Dr. Sudhir Kumar Singh is teaching in Dyal Singh College, University of Delhi, New Delhi.

International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 IJSAS 2(1) 2009, pp.148-159. ISSN 0974 - 2514 149 Indo- Pak Relations; Post 9/11 Policy Alternatives for India Sudhir Kumar Singh 150

peak of Cold War and the US was hell bent to between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Virtually the struggle against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in accession by then Maharaja of Kashmir. Despite prevent the expansion of its rival [USSR] at any Taliban eliminated the boundary between both 1979, because the expanding Soviet influence had Pakistan knowing this fact, it is the compulsion for cost. That animosity of the US against the countries and instead strengthening the process of created havoc within Chinese corridor of power. the Pakistani ruling elite to keep the boggy of communism is called containment of communism. right of self-determination of the Pakhtun It is the classic example where commonality of Kashmir alive to sustain their power and privilege. To counter this aggression, the US sponsored community happened. They even united the ideology could not keep two ideological countries Another angle in Pakistan and India forces started their struggle against the invading community on the common bond of political Islam together and had put them against each other relationship has been lack of democratic culture in Red Army. They formed the Mujaheeden forces from across the Durand Line. This situation has merely because of their divergences of interests. Pakistan since inception. Due to sudden demise and recruited the fundamentalist’ youth right from taken an ugly violent trend and after 9/11, it has This incident vindicated the fact that only of both M.A.Jinnah and Liaqaut Ali Khan, Morocco to Indonesia. Through that process, they become a severe problem in Southwest Pakistan convergences of interests are the driving force in representative democracy could not prevail in have sowed the seed of present wave of in particular and in rest of Pakistan in general and the realm of foreign policy. Pakistan and turn cotters and all anti-democratic international terrorism, which remained one of the now entire Pakistan is in the grip of heroin and Since its inception, Pakistan has remained forces captured the corridor of power. Out of 60 core agenda of the international system even at Kalashnikov culture. Despite this harsh fact hostile to India. Just within a few months after years of the existence of Pakistan, army has ruled the outset of the 21st century. The Soviet President Musharraf declared in a press partition, Kashmir became an apple of discord for 33 years and the democratic forces have ruled intervention in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of conference in May 2000.1 the Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1990 has between two newly emerged countries and till now for 28 years only. Even democratic forces have it is one of the most contentious issues between remained failed to yield any result conducive to remained one of the important factors of the “He gave the clearest articulation to date both countries. In addition, there is plethora of other democratic values and they have also remained demise of the Soviet empire. After the withdrawal of the reasons for Pakistan’s continued backing of issues which kept bilateral relationship thorny unsuccessful to resolve conflicts with India. The of the Soviet forces, Afghanistan and Pakistan had the Taliban. He explained that in view of the between both countries like infiltration, terrorism, military or civilian rulers both have argued that emerged as the den of international terrorism, demographic and geographic pattern, Afghanistan’s Sir Kirk, Siachin, Tul-bul Navigation Project and Kashmir is an integral part of Pakistan therefore it which had been often categorized as the breeding minority ethnic Pathuns have to be on our side. other water disputes etc. Since the inception of could be merged with Pakistan. Whenever any grounds of the international terrorism too. This is our national interest. Pastuns are both countries both have fought three full [1948, regime either military or civilian comes under threat Afghanistan became an extended backyard for represented by the Taliban at the moment, and 1965 and 1971] and one half war [1999] but of losing power they have opened the front of Pakistan. It led to the emergence of the Taliban in Taliban cannot be alienated by Pakistan. He strangely India was not the initiator of any above Kashmir and that has proved the biggest stumbling Afghanistan in tacit understanding with Pakistan insisted that we have a national security interest mentioned war. Right from the days of partition, block into the bilateral relationship between both to sustain the leverage of the Doctrine of Strategic there.” Depth in Afghanistan against India. Pakistan Pakistan termed Kashmir as unfinished agenda countries. After the assassination of Benazir provided all round support to the Taliban to nurture One thing in international politics has of partition and there is hardly any international Bhutto in December 2007, elections took place and its interests. One of the core concerns of Pakistan remained stable right from the Kautilaya to platform where Pakistan forgets to chant the PPP led coalition has already ruling the country in Afghanistan has been the issue of Pakhtunistan. Morgenthau that foreign policy has been decided mantra of Kashmir. There is a question often asked after the gap of 8 years of the military regime. It When Pakistan emerged as an independent nation on the basis of convergences of interest and the in case of Indo - Pakistan relationship that after was the maiden coalition government where the and approached the UN for plebiscite in Kashmir, commonality of ideology and idealism bonds has the resolution of Kashmir issue, the bilateral PPP, its arch rival PML-N, ANP, MQM and some Afghanistan was the lone country to oppose this practically not remained relevant. This was relationship between both countries would be other small parties were allies. In 2006 when both demand on the plea that Pakistan has itself violated vindicated in Afghanistan war, in which, China normal. In a nutshell Pakistan claimed on Kashmir Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif were away from it in the case of Pakhtunistan therefore Pakistan came openly in favor of the US against the USSR merely because it is lone Muslim majority area of the country they agreed on some of the common has no locus standi to demand the plebiscite in because of the divergences of interests despite India and we are aware of the fact that almost agenda of democracy, which there regime if voted Kashmir. Since the inception of Pakistan every the fact that both had the same ideology. Thus, same number of entire population of Pakistan, to power would implement and that is often cited stable government of Afghanistan has kept the Pakistan has been one of the beneficiaries from Muslims are living in India. Therefore any probable as the Charter of Democracy [COD].2 Even this demand of Pakhtunistan alive. In the early 1990s, the largesse of the Chinese from one side and the sacrifices on Kashmir front by India will ensure COD has given prime importance to Kashmir issue Taliban came into being in tacit understanding with US from another side despite their ideological the process of balkanization of India and it is not , an issue that in the long term is bound to keep the the government of Pakistan. It is significant that differences on various aspects of international possible for any government in India to hand over military’s importance intact and therefore this even Taliban did not put the seal of its approval on politics. Although China has been anti-US almost Kashmir to Pakistan. India has acquired Kashmir democratic regime is not supposed to solve the Durand Line as the legitimate boundary since its inception, it cooperated with the US led after the acceptance of the instruments of Kashmir issue as PPP supreme Asif Ali Zardari

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has indicated just after February 2008 elections. Staff, General Pervez Musharraf was responsible coalition has already entered into the corridor of fact that Indian population is more than six rounds One must not forget that present wave of Kashmir for Kargil conflict and even he was not intimated power. Despite the departure of the military into larger than Pakistan.12 tango had started during the first regime of Benazir in advance about Kargil operation. Even after the their barracks it is certain that they will play an Bhutto in 1990. Significantly new Prime Minister electoral mandate of the February 2008 elections, important role at least in the realm of foreign policy Poverty is rampant in Pakistan and law Gillani has also retreated that there is no question he has repeated his demand that accountability of especially on India and Afghanistan front because and order machinery has hardly any respect as an of the compromise on Kashmir.3 Interestingly the the Kargil conflict must be fixed and Musharraf it is connected with their survival. Dr. Ayesha influential instrument of the government. The lack day when the new Prime –Minister got confidence must be hanged for treason.6 According to Bokhari, Siddika has argued in her famous book on of official educational infrastructure has propelled in the National Assembly, the leader of the former Naval Chief of Pakistan Army, “Musharraf Pakistans’ military 10 the Madrasa system, which has become opposition, Pervez Ellahi cautioned the Gillani decided to remove Sharif in 1999 because of the recruitment ground for the younger generation of government that any compromise on Kashmir front apprehension that the Prime-Minister would “Today, the military’s hegemony in terrorists. would not be tolerated.4 institute an enquiry into the Kargil issue.”7 This Pakistan is a reality. It is important to note that this Either democracy or military regime will would clearly have undermined the power of the hegemony is three dimensional; the military has prevail in Pakistan, in both version of governance In 1988, after the sudden demise of military army chief. penetrated into society, politics and the economy. it is ample clear that army will be one of the dictator General Zia, elections took place and Also it has grabbed the intellectual discourse and Since then Kashmir remains a hot spot in strongest institution. The very survival of the Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan People’s Party the imagination of the people through promoting terms of terror activities supported by cross border dominance of the Pakistan army is based on anti emerged victorious and formed democratic its own people or luring others to conform to a forces. Pakistan has already announced that it will India megalomania and it is going to be sustainable government. But before military allowed her to take classical realist paradigm in analyzing domestic or extend its moral support to the war of the in foreseeable future also. The Chinese have over as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, she gave external issues.” independence of the Kashmiri people, which India adopted the encirclement policy against India three assurances to the military and all three were termed as terrorism. An observation of the Since the inception of both countries, exclusively in South Asia since 1960s and its utility related overtly or covertly with India.5 The first Pakistani media vindicates the fact because despite three and a half year war, India never has accelerated into new international scenario assurance was that Benazir will not change Unique Pakistan termed the terrorists as freedom fighters. attacked Pakistan. In and around from any quarter especially after post 9/11. The growing Indo-US Afghan Policy, second was she will not change This rivalry has poisoned the development of South there is hardly any potential danger for Pakistan bonhomie has sent alarm bell within the Chinese Kashmir policy and third was that she will not Asia since last 6 decades. It has manifested itself than what is the relevance of a stronger army. ruling elite. Therefore, despite all tall claims of change Nuclear Policy. in 43 militarized confrontations, four of which has Pakistani army is not only a professional army but cordial relationship between India and China, China In February 1997, Nawaz Sharif came to escalated into war.8 largest commercial group in Pakistan. In addition, has accelerated its traditional policy of the power with two third majority. In his electoral Pakistani army has ruled more than the civilian encirclement of India within South Asia.13 Needless We were debating on the point that after manifesto he had promised that he would establish rule and even during civilian regime the army has to say that they have used Pakistan as a pawn to the resolution of the Kashmir issue, Indo –Pak cordial relationship with India. To ensure his played important cards however overtly. Pakistani fulfill this desired goal. The Chinese investment in relationship will be cordial. There are varieties of assurances get implemented he invited his Indian army has perpetuated the thesis that country is Gwador in Baluchistan for the development of port opinion about this situation. According to eminent counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Pakistan. under severe threat from India therefore the is an important step in this direction. Gwador is Pakistani strategic analyst, Dr. Ayesha Siddika, Prime Minister Vajpayee led a Bus trip to Lahore sustainability of Pakistan is only possible when army situated at the mouth of the Persian Sea and will even after the resolution of Kashmir issue the in February 1999 and inked the agreement shall remain as an important and intact institution. provide a watching post for the Chinese to keep relationship will not remain cordial between two popularly known as Lahore Declaration. Within Army has taken the maximum amount of budget surveillance on Indian naval movements as well traditional rivals.9 a few months after Lahore Declaration Pakistani for its maintenance and procures more as on US naval movements in the Gulf. This will army officially intruded into Kargil and that resulted On other fronts both countries have sophisticated weapons and this has reduced the also provide an important land route to Central into mini war between both countries. It was widely concluded a successful treaty on Indus water. possibility of the establishment of the concept of Asian Republics developed by Pakistan and China estimated throughout the world that both Nuclear Composite dialogues are going on variety of issues the welfare state in Pakistan.11 Just after through Afghanistan. Baluchistan’s strategically power could use nuclear arsenals during the war despite derailment efforts after Kargil independence in India literacy was 18 percent and located interface with sea has emerged as new and Kashmir could turn as the Nuclear Flashpoint misadventure and attack on Indian Parliament in it was 16 percent in Pakistan but today after 60 obsession for the Chinese to fulfill their vested of South Asia but it could not happen. Nawaz Sharif December 2001. After February 2008 general years of independence it is almost 73 percent in strategic interests particularly to ensure energy has openly alleged that the then Chief of the Army elections, a new democratic system as a mode of India but only 37 percent in Pakistan despite the security. Likewise Chinese have invested

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enormously in many other projects in Pakistan hard work into decentralization of our attention in 2007 is an ample proof of this Hobbesian state of power in the later part of first military dictator keeping this motto in mind. The Chinese have all the sectors of the globe. Till immediate past, affairs. The terror groups are without any work Mohammed Ayub Khan [1958-1967] according to already taken Koko Island from Burma to keep a our foreign policy has been obsessed with Pakistan after their elimination from Afghanistan and they eminent strategic thinker J.N. Dixit 17 vigil eye on Indian Navy movements in the Indian and China which needs to be decentralized to all have converted Pakistan as the new theater of “He kept writing secret memoranda to Ocean especially in the Andaman Island. The US important horizons to realize India as a global their nefarious activities. Since 1979, Pakistan has President Ayub Khan asking him to initiate military has been one of the important suppliers of weapons power. been sustainable in pursuing Unique Afghan Policy action to separate Assam and North East parts of and other logistic to the Pakistani army and despite to achieve Strategic Depth in Afghanistan against India from the rest of India by using East Pakistani bonhomie between India and the US in the name In this fast changing international system India but recent experience has proved that Taliban territory as a springboard for the military operations of war against terror, the US has provided huge how India should deal Pakistan (?). Since 1989 and other terror groups have achieved Strategic involved.” largesse to Pakistan. According to Hussian when present wave of terror had been perpetuated Depth against Pakistan within Pakistan. The ample Haqanni newly appointed Ambassador of Pakistan by the tacit understanding of Pakistan, India has proof of this argument is growing Taliban and Al- This attitude of Bhutto was due to the into the United States, this largesse was around lost enormous manpower as well as resources in Qaeda tentacles in Southern Afghanistan adjoin domestic compulsions to sustain the hatred 10 billion $.14 The US has also declared Pakistan counter terrorism. Recent terror related arrests to Pakistan border. They are eliminating Shias and generated by the March 1940 Muslim League as an important Non -NATO ally. [2007 to till August 2008] in many parts of India other sectarian minorities within Pakistan. Resolutions popularly known as Two Nation have revealed that Pakistan propelled terror groups According to General Tariq Majid, the Army Chief Theory. Subsequently these compulsions have In this prevailing scenario what are the are hell-bent to destabilize India. We have seen of general Staff [Pakistan] “we are not fighting been harnessed by all successive military as well alternative policy options for India to deal that our parliament has been attacked, which is America’s war in FATA. It is in our own interest. as democratic rulers for their parochial pursuits to effectively with Pakistan (?). Here it is pertinent the sacred temple of our democracy. There are We are fighting this war because, unfortunately, strengthen their hold over power by singling out to mention that the end of the cold war and again ample proof that Pakistan based terror groups are there have been fallout effects in Pakistan from India for gamut of misdeeds prevailing in Pakistan. post 9/11 scenario has changed the contours of trying their level best to spread the virus of hatred the instability in Afghanistan.”16 international system. In this fast changing and create communal frenzy across India to Again in February 1999, Indian Prime international system many foes have turned as In this severe adverse attitude of harness maximum benefits. From North to South Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee led a Bus Trip to friends and vice-versa. Since a long time it has Pakistan, one could hardly foresee any and East to West throughout India, Pakistan Lahore and visited Minar - a - Pakistan and thus been debated that India has the potential as an improvement in foreseeable future. At unilateral supported network is in existence. Various gave recognition to the formation of Pakistan. He emerging power. Now in contemporary world it level, India has already taken number of steps. In crackdown efforts of these networks have extended the hand of friendship on many fronts has been accepted at international level that India 1971 war, India had captured 90,000 troops and revealed that this network is indigenous and only but repulsed through Kargil operation in the middle is very close to being a global power. For this 90,000 square KM fertile lands of Pakistan and it taking necessary instructions from beyond the of the same year. After February 2008 general purpose, our energy appetite will increase in was the golden opportunity to settle the Kashmir border. They are hell bent to disturb the secular elections it has been revealed that Kargil operation foreseeable future. Presently India is the fifth tango forever but India did not exploit this fabric of India and create hurdles in India’s desired was already in operation much before the Vajpayee largest energy consumer after the US, China, Japan opportunity merely on the anticipation that it will goal of sustainable development. February 1999 visits to Lahore. The Pakistani army and Russia but according to gamut of opinion India weaken Pakistan and in due course of time through this operation demonstrated that it could will be number three energy consumer in 2020 Pakistan is already working as a tool of Pakistan will realize this generosity and extend not tolerate India as a friendly neighbor because it pushing Japan and Russia to fourth and fifth place wider Chinese design to encirclement of India the hands of friendship but instead of this Pakistan will erode its excuse to sustain traditional monopoly .15 Pakistan is situated at the round fare of all within South Asia. Even Pakistan is not cooperating has adopted the policy of bleed India at thousand over Pakistan. important energy routes traverses through properly into the reconstruction process of places to revenge Bangladesh defeat. India Southwest Asia. Therefore for the energy security Afghanistan despite the fact that it has radicalized conceded this generosity to Pakistan because On regional cooperation front within too, Pakistan is extremely important for us. Of the violence within Pakistan and in the year of democracy was strengthening its roots in the SAARC India has already unilaterally extended course, we have to do hard work for the realization 2007, probably first time Pakistan has surpassed leadership of Zulifikar Ali Bhutto. Bhutto was designation of most favored nation under the of India as a global power right from the out set of India in terms of causality in terror related violence. undoubtedly a towering democratic leader who provisions of SAFTA to Pakistan within the the present century. A sustainable effort is the Entire Pakistan is flooded by suicide attacks and propelled the slogan of Islamic Socialism. [Roti, framework of SAARC. But Pakistan has not only demand of the hour for this purpose. But in the not a single person is safe. The assassination of Kapra aur Makan] Even Bhutto was sustaining reciprocated it till now. These kind of lethargic reshaping of Indian foreign policy, we have to do former Prime Minster Benazir Bhutto in December anti-India front; when Bhutto was away from tendencies have pulled the leg of the progress of

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the SAARC and it is the basic reason which kept their focal attention towards all important regions corporate interests are huge and its corporate the Pakistani army therefore neither military nor SAARC under developed. It is vindicated with the of the globe. India being an emerging power of offshoots have the annual turn- over of over 20 democratically elected government is able to fact that within SAARC internal trade could not the international system and an engine of growth billion dollars.21 Additionally India bashing control the terror outfits because they gain cross the level of 4 percent and it is negligible 3.4% of Asia in 21st century with China needs to be approach of the army has enabled it to utilize legitimacy from each other activities. It is further despite the fact that potential is of many rounds. careful for all important stakes. It did not mean maximum amount of resources and therefore the vindicated with the statement of Hussain Haqaani, In ASEAN the volume of intra trade is 38%, in that India should forget Pakistan. India must sustain concept of welfare state has no resources to be who had been adviser of Benazir Bhutto during NAFTA it is 37.3% and within EU it is 63.4%.18 the composite dialogue process with Pakistan. It realized. It is the basic hurdle which did not allow her both stints as prime minister[ 1988-1990 and Needless to say that South Asian countries is also an open secret that after January 2004 any democratic regime to sustain its rule for its 1993-1996] and with the installation of the Gillani constitute over 40% of the global poverty and need Islamabad Summit there is almost peace across full term after Zullifikhar Ali Bhutto [1972-1977]. government he has become the Pakistan enormous resources to eliminate the menace of the border. Some positive signals have been given This anarchy in the governance of Pakistan is Ambassador to the United States. According to poverty but unprecedented defense expenditure has by the leader of Pakistan People’s Party, Asif Ali overtly related with its thorny relationship with him22 prevented both India and Pakistan to do that. Zardari after the formation of the democratically India. Despite all adverse role of the Pakistani state government after 8 years of the military dictatorship since last six decades, it is an open secret that a “During the decade following the However through diversification of in March 2008. stronger and vibrant Pakistan is in the larger American threat to declare Pakistan a economic relationship, India has done well in the interest of India therefore despite gamut of state sponsor of terrorism, Pakistan sector of economic development and since last one However, we are aware about the provocations India must try its level best to repeatedly promised to crackdown on decade Indian economy has sustained the annual sustainability and credentials of democratic sustained cordial relationship with Pakistan. It will Islamist militant groups operating from GDP growth rate of over 6% and since last few governments in Pakistan and the clout of the army also provide leverage to India at the international its territory. Each time some measures years over 8%. It is abnormal growth given the even during democratic rule. There is very little level and Indian image as a responsible global were taken to create the impression that fact that developed world is growing with much hope that military would allow the democratic power would be further highlighted. the task of uprooting the Jehadis was a slower annual rate. In comparison the economy of leaders to settle Kashmir with India in an amicable difficult one and that the Pakistani Pakistan which was considered till 1960s’ on par manner. According to Brig. [retd.] A. R. Siddiki As I have already mentioned earlier that government was struggling with the with South Korea has performed with the average [Pakistani army] Pakistani military will probably not agree for cordial problem… The official explanation also rate only. Between 1999 to 2005 annual GDP relation with India because of the simple fact that “that the use of tribals that had gone into featured the difficulty of the mountainous growth rate of Pakistans’ economy was 5.20%, it would jeopardize its dominance over the system. Kashmir to take control of the Kashmir terrain along Pakistan’s border with which was below Indian growth.19 Pakistani military has direct connections with the valley led to the first war between India Afghanistan … [and that US pressure] Jihadi groups and it is vindicated several times. As Concluding Remarks and Pakistan, thus sealing the fate of would throw Pakistan into the hands of far as war against terror is concerned the Pakistani Kashmir and turning Pakistan into a the mullahs. That argument was first In August 2008, President Musharraf has army is not going to surrender its bargaining chip military dominated state.”20 made in 1993 and continues to be made of foreign policy and that is terror and since last resigned from Presidency therefore it is a natural today.” apprehension that what will happen in post It is an issue which kept both traditional many years they have used it exclusively against Musharraf era. The exclusive answer is that during adversaries bitter against each other since last six India and to some extent against other countries. As Haqaani has mentioned that export of and after Musharraf one thing is candidly clear decades. Post cold war changes have even not It was vindicated with the fact that even seven hatred will remain as an instrument of Pakistan’s that non state actors are not going to stop their influenced this relationship as they have influenced years after this war, Taliban is resurging and posed covert official foreign policy therefore my argument agenda to destabilize India while using nefarious other parts of the globe. One of the basic reasons severe threat on the survival of the Karzai regime is that since India has sustained the onslaught of designs. Even in this different scenario what are behind the situation is promotion and protection of in Kabul. Pakistani army has used terror as an terror leashed out by the groups based on the the steps India must take to tackle Pakistan in the anti-India megalomania by the Pakistani army. instrument of foreign policy and since last few years Pakistani soil therefore India need not worry and prevailing international scenario. This is an They have mentioned their dominance over their there are frequent terror attacks across India and continue this business of pursuance of peace with important problem for the policy makers in the system and if cordial relation with India would be it is going to remain sustainable in foreseeable Pakistan despite periodic provocations. India must South Block. Given the prevailing scenario it would established the army would lose its power and future too. In this situation why they get rid of the strengthen its security apparatus in a better and be conducive to Indian interest not to allocate privileges. According to eminent Pakistani strategic terror network, which has provided them leverage comprehensive manner to deal with the situation. undue attention to Pakistan and must decentralize analyst Dr. Ayesha Siddika, Pakistani army’s against India and legitimacy to the supremacy of In the meanwhile India must do everything to

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ensure the normalization of bilateral relations. elaborated by eminent French scholar Oliver Roy. Clinton and President Bush visit to Indian sub- Former Prime-Minister and opposition leader Being an elder brother it is the duty of India too. As Roy has noted continent. Both spent few days in India but stayed Nawaz Sharif has termed this election as the India has to play an important role into the few hours in Pakistan. The US has also indicated “Triumph of Democracy” therefore if the PPP international level. Post cold war and 11th “Pakistan’s Afghan policy was absolutely Pakistan that they should not expect their support led government, which has both prime-minister and September changes have taken place but it must in line with its policy on Kashmir; first when they will fight against India. India needs to president, should have smooth future. This be realized within South Asia particularly between and foremost the use of international perceive indo –US relationship not from the prism government could be both positive and negative India and Pakistan for the elimination of poverty militias composed of Islamic volunteers; of Pakistan but in a different way. The post 11th for India given the future scenarios. Here it is of 40 percent poorest of the poor of the planet direct support for the Muhajeeden ; the September international system has pushed India pertinent to mention that either democracy or who lives in South Asia. At least India must continue same religious network to train and the United States in a different situation and military mode of governance the attitude of this agenda. volunteers , the same implacable denial at this stage they need each other bitterly therefore Pakistan as far as India is concerned is not going that they are interfering . These are often both the countries need to understand inherent to change. Of course the common Pakistani Afghanistan has also to play an important the very organizations that are found in mutual benefits of this special relationship. The masses wished an ideal bi-lateral relationship with role in India -Pakistan relationship. We are aware Kashmir helping the Taliban, such as Nuclear deal has additionally vindicated the India but the existing ruling elite is hell-bent not to about the fact that Pakistan- Afghanistan never Harkat-ul-Ansar. So it was indeed a bonhomie between India and the United States. allow any real reconciliation between India and had cordial relationship due to gamut of factors policy of aggression on all sides that This relationship has not been confined within Pakistan. It is due to very simple algebra that in but most important among them is the issue of Pakistan pursued.”23 strategic affairs but diverse areas of cooperation case of good relationship between both countries, Pakhtunistan. Since the inception of Pakistan, this both bilateral and multilateral levels are involved the traditional monopoly over the system will be has been an apple of discord between both Two external dominant actors are and could be rightly cited as comprehensive under threat. countries. The 1979 Soviet intervention into important in India –Pakistan relationship. One is relationship. Afghanistan provided an opportunity to Pakistan the US and another is China. The changing At this delicate stage of international to divert the attention of Pakhtu and Baluch dynamics of power equation in post 11th September politics where nations are redefining their policies. Of course, Pakistan has the nuisance nationalism. The Mujahedden movement which 2001 scenario has influenced the role of these It is in the larger Indian national interest to promote value but even it is decreasing day by day. In the coincided with Afghan war [1979] emboldened external powers. It is vindicated by changing peace and reconciliation process with Pakistan. important front of war against terror it has been Pakistan to divert these dissents as Islamic Chinese attitude towards India- Pakistan conflicts. Even if as estimated it may not be able to break established by the US agencies that the notorious harbingers of new brand of Jihad movement which Kargil episode is a watershed for this change. much of the ice despite of potential reality. It will ISI has passed the crucial information to the terror later culminated as the Taliban movement. This China has invested enormously in Pakistan and be an eye opener for all international power outfits on several occasions and therefore policy was embedded by the Doctrine of Strategic has been treated as an all weather friend of interested in South Asia and within South Asia it wakened the efforts against terror. This is Depth against India by dominating Afghanistan and Pakistan. During both 1965 and 1971 war, China will create new atmosphere of cooperation and vindicated that with adjoin to the Durand Line was not inseparable from the tacit understanding issued stern threats against India in favor of will serve wider interests of Indian foreign policy. terror is increasing very sharply in southern to undermine Pastun Nationalism by supporting Pakistan but during Kargil crisis [ 1999] despite Afghanistan since last few years. The increasing Notes Islamists. It remains a foundation of Pakistan’s the fact that both Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif causality of the US led NATO forces within foreign policy till today. Pakistan had used and COAS General Musharraf visited China to 1. Dawn , Karcahi, May 23, ,2000. Afghanistan since last two years vindicates this Afghanistan during the Taliban era as an extended garner Chinese support. The Chinese have not only argument. 2. Siddika, Ayesha (2007): Pakistan Military Inc, Inside arc of influence and this new leverage had been declined to extend support to Pakistan but advised Pakistan’s Military Economy, Pluto Press, London, P- widely used for the promotion and protection of Pakistan to settle all bilateral issues with India in Few experts of Indo-Pak relationship have 250. terrorism. The 1998 US attack on Khost an amicable manner.24 Another important factor been optimistic about the democratic regimes. [Afghanistan] first time revealed this nefarious has been the changing role of the US. We are Currently democratic regime is in power in 3. The Times of India, New Delhi, April 13, 2008. Pakistani design. Through this process Pakistan aware of the old popular fact that Pakistan is ruled Islamabad and Musharraf has already resigned 4. The Hindu, New Delhi, March 23, 2008. has used terror as an instrument of foreign policy. by the AAA. The meaning of this triple AAA is and Asif Ali Zardari has been elected as new This network has expanded the tentacles in Allah, Army and America. Since the Kargil war president of Pakistan. He urged all democratic 5. Hussain, Mushahid, Akmal Hussian (1993): Pakistan; Kashmir in particular and rest part of India in the US too has changed its traditional perception forces to come forward and support him in the Problem of Governance, Vanguard, Lahore, P- 39. 25 general. This nefarious policy of Pakistan has been about Pakistan. It is vindicated by both President mission to bring complete democracy in Pakistan. 6. The Hindu, New Delhi, June 5, 2008.

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7. Hale, William, (1994): Turkish Politics and the Military, 17. Dixit, J.N (1995): “Pakistan’s India Policies; Role of The Female World in R.K. Narayan’s The Guide: Rutledge, London, P-174. Domestic Politics Factors”, International Studies, 32.3, P-232. A Study of Ambivalent Gender Relations 8. Cappeli, Vanni (2007): “Containing Pakistan; Engaging the Raja Mandala in South-Central Asia”, Orbis. 18. Falerio, Eduardo (2007): South Asia & the Asian Romika Batra Sukhija Resurgence, World Affairs, winter Vol-11, No-4, P-16. 9. The Times of India, New Delhi, September 16, 2007. Abstract 19. Government of Pakistan, Statistical Appendix, 2006, P- 10. Op,Cit, No-2, P-250. One finds the divided self of a woman struggling to find fulfillment in a society 61. that attaches much importance to archetypes and women are expected to tread 11. Op,Cit, No-2, P-244. 20. Op, Cit, No-2,P-63. the beaten path. No doubt, her desires and the subsequent efforts she makes to satisfy them are consequential in demystifying all her sweet and rosy notions 12. Haqaani, Hussain (2007): Current History, April P-18. 21. Op,Cit, No-2,P-53. about this world. She finally comes to a realization that one has to face reality 13. Singh, Sudhir Kumar (2005): “Pakistan as a factor in the however unpleasant or painful it may seem to be. Yet the effort to question the 22. Haqqani, Hussain (2005): Pakistan; Between Mosque Trilateral relationship between India, China and Russia”, status quo and break the mould that society has set for her makes it creditworthy and Military, Washington, Carnegie Endowment for Contemporary India, October-December, P- 181. and is highly symptomatic of the women’s aspirations in our society. International Peace, P-297. 14. Haqqani, Hussain (2007): Current History, April, P-19. 23. Roy, Olivier (2004): “Islam and Foreign policy “ in 15. Tanvi, Madan (2006): The Brooking Foreign Policy Christopher Jafferelot, A History of Pakistan and its The last century has seen rapid and radical credit a sizeable body of work – more than a dozen Studies; Energy Security Series; India; Brooking Origins, Anthem Press, London, P-142. changes at virtually all the fronts – cultural, political, novels and short stories – which makes him one Institute, Washington, November , P-7. familial, sociological, economic and technological. of the most respected novelists of the British 24. Op,Cit,No-13, P-185. It witnessed a broadening of the horizons; a Commonwealth. He has left behind a devoted 16. Karniol, Rober (2006), “Plugging the Gaps,” Jane’s 25. The Hindu, New Delhi, September 7, 2008. blurring of the boundaries. Especially the second readership throughout the world. The location of Defense Weekly, March 22. half of the last century has seen an explosion and his novels is the South-Indian town Malgudi, an exposure to ideas, thanks principally to the role of imaginative version of Narayan’s home town – media – electronic as well as print. These changes Mysore. This fictional world of Malgudi is obviously had a direct bearing on the social psyche symbolically India in microcosm. of the nation. Individual is at the centre of all social Broadly speaking, Narayan’s fictional dynamics, as it is largely believed. These changes world is circumscribed by a traditional Hindu therefore made tough demands on the individual society where men rather than women hold a to revise and modify his lifestyle, to rebuild a more superior position. In his novels, Narayan’s suitable and functional set of standards and value immediate concern is with the oddities and systems and to frame a new and broader outlook. eccentricities of male characters. Women are Taking a cue from this scenario of reshuffling and generally confined to home and hearth. Accordingly, readjustments, of shifting values and patterns, in most of his novels, Narayan has presented a literature has not remained untouched either. It has nearly stereotyped and predictable image of taken a serious note of all the happenings and women. These women characters are not mirrored them faithfully in art form. ambitious and are wholeheartedly committed to R.K. Narayan, one of the finest and most domesticity. They strongly believe and follow the popular of Indian writers in English, has to his traditions as a way of life and come across as

Dr Romika Batra Sukhija is Head Department of English, M. D. University Post Graduate Regional Centre, Rewari, Haryana – 123 401.

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unimaginative in their outlook on life. In essence, responsible positions. Education played a key role mother… you know how our caste is marriage with Marco all her attention is drawn women are largely denied the real flesh and blood in bringing awareness amongst women. Equipped viewed? We are viewed as public towards dance which she feels is the only way to treatment. with a better knowledge and understanding of their women.1 realize herself as an individual. And herein lies the own selves and the world around them, they made crux of duality of her predicament. On the one However, in three of Narayan’s novels viz. But despite the fact that she has been born themselves pivotal to the growth syndrome through hand there stands a compelling need to join the The Dark Room (1938), The Guide (1958) and into the despised caste of dancers one can clearly their productive contribution to family and society. mainstream of society which can accomplish only The Painter of Signs (1976), the women see in her a strong urge for self-fulfillment and a Consequently, the recent times have seen them through marriage. On the other hand she is held a protagonists come alive vividly and each one of constant effort to seek her individuality. Against come to the forefront and hold responsible them represents a quest for identity in her very her social background of being a child deprived of captive to her inner urge for dance though knowing positions. All this could be made possible with one own way. father, Rosie endeavors to assert her individuality it fully well that she can not afford to be a dancer instrument of power i.e. education. It is education in her ambition to perfect her art of dance. She and a respectable wife at the same time. Out of the three novels which have woman that made them awakened to their individuality and inherited this liking for dance from her family. As characters holding the central stage, The Guide they strove hard to gain it within the society which This polarity is rendered very a young girl she used to dance in temples. The emerges as the most vibrating, authentic and real still upheld the age-old, orthodox approach credibly by the novelist. Her tragedy could have tradition runs in her veins. Her greatest ambition in the sense that it is only in this novel that the regarding the role and status of a woman. It is this been averted if she had made compromises and is to become a famous dancer, a dancer in a totally character of a woman protagonist –Rosie- comes duality that a woman has to face at every step of strangulated the human in herself for her husband’s different sense, not in the sense her mother was out to be a live character. In fact the character of her life. sake which perhaps would have led to equally Rosie though delineated in late 50s is as relevant the dancer. She wants to be a dancer on the drastic and unnatural consequences. The today in the context of Indian society as ever even Rosie in The Guide voices this polarity in grounds of aesthetics and the pursuit of art. But in comments of K R Srinivas Iyengar are quite though we have stepped into the next century. the most realistic manner. Rosie’s predicament in order to remove the stigma of her caste, she marries relevant in this context: the prevalent social set-up is a critical one. Rosie a gentleman scholar much higher in status, wealth, This paper discusses the polarity and in relation to this change in social attitude towards position and intellect. For unexplained reasons his She [Rosie] breaks the family tradition ambivalence in the two facets of Rosie’s women is the representative of a new class of real name is not mentioned in the novel. He is to earn the ideal status of a married personality symbolized by Rosie and Nalini. women who had the opportunity to be released referred to as Marco because of his appearance. woman, but marriage and its imperative bindings and discipline have been alien We are living in an age of multi from the conventional confinements to join college Rosie steps out of her family tradition to gain the to her family. Her subsequent life consciousness and the human values, standards and universities in order to acquire formal education. reputed position of a wife. For this she even and conventions are being redefined to suit the Rosie in The Guide is a master’s degree holder, decides to sacrifice her passion for dance. becomes a battle ground between her requirements of the changing lifestyles. The whole an acquisition which does not fail to impress even Moreover, she hopes that the status of a respectable divided selves. She fails to reconcile the 2 world is being reduced to one global village. The Raju’s mother who otherwise can’t bear her sight. wife will make her join the mainstream and enable two situations. her to channelise her individuality and self- blurring of the boundaries is phenomenal and India Rosie’s education has definitely enhanced in her Marco strongly disapproves of Rosie’s the awareness of her individuality. But on the other assertion. But being a child deprived either of too has joined the race by extending itself to many interest in dance. But Raju is shrewd enough to hand, it pits her against a society which is still very father or grand father, she is oblivious of the powerful nations of the world in all most all the notice the creative talent in Rosie. The moment orthodox and has certain well defined attitudes inherent responsibilities that marriage demands spheres – culture, trade, economy, science, she sets foot on the Malgudi Railway Station, she technology etc. Incumbent upon this multi towards women. On the top of all this, she belongs especially from women in our social set up. enquires of Raju if he could mange to show her dimensional growth, the definitions and concepts to a class which has traditionally been looked down Her peculiar passion for the perfection of the dance of king cobra. After much inquiry and regarding women have also undergone drastic upon as a low community – the community of dance as an art form, though temporarily dismissed, manipulation, he manages to get hold of a snake changes. And the correlation between this temple dancers and hence does not deserve equal reasserts itself when Rosie , much to her dismay charmer who could display the dance of king cobra multifaceted development scenario and that of the status with the higher caste despite everything else. finds that Marco is far from being what she strove to her. There, Rosie’s gesture of swaying her image and status of women is quite natural and In Rosie’s own words: conspicuous. to find in a husband. Contrary to her expectations, whole body to the tune of flute is enough for Raju I belong to a family traditionally dedicated Marco is a man of unusually dry and dull demeanor to see in her the germs of a great artist. Raju starts Women who were denied the right to to the temple as dancers; my mother, my whereas Rosie wanted a warm and caring taking interest in her field and they come closer to education not too long ago are today holding grandmother and before her, her husband. Failing to find self-fulfillment through each other.

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Raju becomes aware of the imbalance in his work. He seems to think of it as It is widely acknowledged that cordiality her. According to Marco: “If a man has to have a Rosie-Marco relationship. He therefore takes something too private and holy to be and equality, especially in marital relationships, rest peace of mind, it is best that he forgets the fair advantage of the rift in relationship between them allowed to appear publicly in art.3 mainly on understanding and respecting each sex” (p. 71). When he goes in the caves, he gets and makes a tactful endeavour to win the lady’s others’ feelings. It requires efforts from both sides. thoroughly engrossed in his study and completely Therefore it is fairly true that their favour by praising her art. He gives her assurances If the effort is missing on the part of one partner, it forgets the world outside and its inhabitants. relationship is far from being a simplistic sensuous and promises to make her the top most artist of becomes incumbent on the other to show extra union of two human beings in love with each other. Another pertinent question that strikes the the century. Rosie, already frustrated in her concern, patience and understanding in order to Rather it is a strange amalgam of varied reasons mind is why Marco marries a girl like Rosie who relationship with Marco and deprived of her most save the marriage from breaking. But if the and compulsions which pits them together. Later, belongs to the family of temple dancers whereas dear love of dance, tells Raju that a vacuum is spouses fail to make an earnest endeavour in he himself is an affluent academician enjoying a created in her life. Raju attempts to fills this vacuum Raju’s love for Rosie becomes calculative. It is building an emotional footing with each other, the respectable position in society. He could have easily in Rosie’s life. He takes her around the town, sits far from being pure and selfless. It is partially a marriage is bound to get shattered. This effort of married a girl from a high status family. It is and chats with her when Marco is busy in wall- strong desire to possess her and partially his understanding each other is grossly missing in obviously not a zealous social reformer in Marco gazing some 50 odd miles away in his cave study. infatuation towards her that drives him crazy. At Rosie-Marco relationship. Neither Rosie nor Marco that compels him to take such a drastic step. He gives her what she has been pining for. His the same time, somewhere at the back of his mind makes any earnest effort conducive towards Neither is he that much broadminded to have no hold on her affection is tightened. Both Raju and is the idea of monetary benefit that he can derive creating healthy marital environment. Narayan has itch in having a socially outcast woman as his wife. Rosie, being two of a kind, come closer to each through Rosie once she is established as a dancer. given many hints bringing to light Marco’s In fact, Marco needs someone who could look after other, though for mixed reasons. It shall be an Raju, though a romantic, is practical-minded impotence as a husband. In fact, the marriage of the daily chores of his personal life and decorate oversimplification of the fact to conclude that it is enough to utilize Rosie and her art to make money. Marco and Rosie is a marriage of convenience. If his house as a showpiece, as it happens in a typical only love that brings them together. A close He is aware of the lucrative aspect that Rosie’s Rosie marries Marco for gaining social bourgeois family. He wants someone as a wife dissection of Rosie-Raju relationship reveals many dancing can open before him. Therefore he tells respectability, Marco chooses Rosie, a girl of low who could enjoy all the physical comforts and complicated reverberations. It is not a simply Sait while asking for a fresh loan from him: caste, as a life partner “out of a desire to have luxuries supplied to her but won’t dare to make passionate love affair between the two individuals someone care for his practical life” (p. 113). Marco any further claim on it. Marco does not marry a though truly enough Raju is adequately enamoured ‘She is a gold-mine… If I had money to is an art historian and a critic who is all the time girl of equal status because he fears that such a by Rosie’s charm at the first sight and his interest start her with - Oh!’ My vision soared. I engrossed in studying Asian art, particularly girl won’t remain subservient to him. This aspect in Rosie is totally amorous. As for Rosie, she finds said to him ‘You know ‘Bharat Natyam’ painting. He is writing a book viz. The Cultural of Marco’s character becomes clear from the in Raju a patron, a friend, a companion. But on the is really the greatest art business today. History of South India which claims much of his dialogue between him and Rosie. Seeking Marco’s whole, there is love constituted on a practical There is such a craze for it that people time and attention. He has come to Malgudi permission to dance, she says: arrangement that caters to their respective will pay anything to see the best’ (p. 162). especially for collecting material for rewriting the psychological, existential and human requirements, As for Rosie, she confides in Raju mainly whole history of art. He is so much devoted to his ‘I think I’d be very happy if I could do if not in the beginning then surely enough in the because she finds in him all those characteristics intellectual pursuits that he ceases to be a practical that I have so many ideas. I’d like to try. later stages of development. It definitely shows an that are missing in Marco. Raju beams with life, man. In the words of Raju: Just as you are trying to—Oh! You want absence of the element of passion in it. Rightly vitality, enthusiasm unlike Marco who is thoroughly to rival me; is that it? (p.137) observes William Walsh in this context: dull and drab. Moreover, she finds in Raju an ardent ‘All practical affairs of life seemed impossible to him; such a simple matter This shows Marco’s acquisitiveness. Rosie Their relationship, both at the beginning admirer of her artistic talent. After being dismissed as finding food or shelter or buying a is undoubtedly exploited at the hands of Marco and later, when she breaks off with by Marco, she returns to Raju not because she is railway ticket seemed to him a who is totally unconcerned with the human being Marco and comes to live with Raju, physically attracted towards him, but simply in her. He takes her presence for granted. She is monumental job (p. 113). appears to be much more one of feeling because of the fact that he is the first man in her like one of the belongings for him who has no right than sensuality, a temperamental rather life who has complimented her on her talent as a Rosie, perhaps, would not have minded to think or aspire. Marco’s words uttered in praise than a passionate union. Sexual passion, dancer whereas her husband Marco is extremely his love for dull and dreary objects, had he of the cook Joseph mirror his expectations from in fact, is not a theme which Narayan put off by her dance and discourages her by calling responded to her with warm and throbbing heart. his wife. He finds Joseph as a wonderful man and anywhere develops very convincingly in it ‘street acrobatics’. His uncaring, unsympathetic attitude disappoints says about him:

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I don’t see him, I don’t hear him but he with Marco. This mutual trust that develops to draw monetary benefit out of her dance. for Madras. He buys only one ticket and goes alone does everything for me at the right time. between them allows Raju to come near her. To Weighed in this light, her involvement with Raju is leaving Rosie in lurch without any support. That’s how I want things to be (p.127). quote from the text: rendered in benevolent manner. Underneath all her Rosie, however, at no point of time shows apparently unethical acts, there lurks a certain Here too, Raju accurately observes about I placed my hand on her shoulder and a blatant disregard for the traditional role of a wife. essential naiveté which draws pity rather than Marco, when he says: “How happy he would have She is fairly aware of the responsibilities of a wife gently stroked it. ‘I am really unhappy harsh judgment. Musing on this particular aspect been, I ought to have had Joseph for a wife” in an Indian social set-up. Her statement at the to think of you, such a gem lost to the of Rosie’s character, Prof. C D Narsimhaiah Peak House Forest Bungalow at dinner, when (p.127). If Marco does not fit in Rosie’s image of world’. She did not push away my hand. remarks: a husband, Rosie too is far from being what Marco I let it travel and feel the softness of her Raju picks up a dish and tries to serve food, bears expected a wife to be. As Raju observers: ear and pushed my fingers through the …especially the way he takes care to testimony to this. She says: “No, no. Let me serve locks of her hair (p.86). preserve Rosie from inner taint, Narayan you both, and I will be the last to eat, like a good …unfortunately his choice was wrong- seems to be affirming what has been housewife.” (p.77) the girl herself was a dreamer if ever Narayan actually attaches great value to hailed in the Indian tradition as the On the whole, it is a strategy for survival, there was one. She would have greatly the basic humanness of his characters. They are Feminine Principle in life.5 benefited by a husband who could care not capable of great sacrifices or eloquent a mode of finding refuge from the painful and for her career (p.113). philosophizing. They are ordinary, down to earth Therefore, the account of Rosie-Raju irrevocable situation that life had ushered her into. human beings, prone to vices and incongruities of relationship and the pressures under which it finally She, therefore, is divided between her commitment There is no denying the fact that Rosie sundry sorts. They participate in the act of living breaks is objective and credible. to Marco as his wife and her responsibility towards has tremendous talent as a dancer which is craving with complete involvement and drifting through the herself as a human being. There is a constant tussle for expression and recognition. Not to speak of In fact, Rosie comes to Raju in an between her ambition and her husband. One can journey of life, they undergo the process of trial exercising her wish to give an outlet to her art, the extremely miserable and desperate condition. She not accommodate the other. At moments she and error and acquire a first hand experience of possibility of which is apparently remote, she even has no where to go and nobody to turn to after she realizes that Raju is trying to possess her and take life and eventually emerge as mature and wise has no one with whom she can share her feelings. is mercilessly thrown out by Marco from his life. advantage of her loneliness and depression. At human beings. This very fact about them makes This creates an emotional void that breeds When Marco comes to know about Rosie’s liaison such moments of realization she refers to Marco them the claimant of receiving sympathy both of monotony in her. She suffers from a feeling of with Raju his aristocratic morality doesn’t allow as: “After all he is my husband. I have to respect the writer and the reader. Some similar views are being cornered and neglected. In the light of this him to keep terms with his wife anymore. Rosie is him. I can not leave him there…” (p.119). During expressed by S K Girla who comments: argument, it can be derived that Rosie’s interest in ready to make the biggest sacrifice to ensure her such moments she opens up to the assets of Raju depends to a large extent, on human need for An analysis of Narayan’s characters place as a wife in Marco’s life. But Marco adopts Marco. Her desperate comments in this connection communication. She shares nothing in common with reveal a definite journey of the self from a stern and indifferent attitude towards her and reveal the crisis of consciousness she is undergoing. Marco and therefore there is no possibility of innocence to experience and then to neglects her presence. He would not eat the food She says: that is touched by Rosie. As she later tells Raju: communication with him. And sadly enough it is wisdom. There is a movement towards After all…After all…Is this right what only the subject of dance on which Rosie can talk ripeness and when this stage is reached, I followed him, day after day, like a dog, I am doing? After all, he has been so with authority. Rosie can not find peace unless the truth is realized and life again is waiting on his grace. He ignored me good to me, given me comfort and she is practicing dance and Marco can not be at reunited to its moorings.4 totally. I could never have imagined that freedom. What husband in the world peace unless she is silent over it. one human being could ignore the Seen from this perspective, Rosie’s would let his wife go and live in a hotel presence of another human being so Not getting the desired emotional response predicament arouses sympathy and compassion. room by herself a hundred miles completely. I followed him like a shadow from Marco makes Rosie turn to Raju for Hers is also a journey towards ripeness. She is away?... (p.120). leaving aside all my pride and self- emotional and moral support. Marco’s apathy actually exploited at the hands of two men – Marco respect (p.151). Thus Rosie, a modern, educated and towards her makes her feel subjugated. She sees and Raju. Marco takes her too much for granted, ambitious girl conforms to the Indian womanhood in Raju, a patient listener and a sympathizer and ignores her presence and tries to suffocate the But Marco puts on his helmet and and is aware of the respectful place of the husband. confides in him by revealing the past history of her individual in her. Raju, on the other hand, tries to spectacles and walks past Rosie as if she did not Though she has a fancy name, there is a streak of life as well as the intricacies of her relationship possess her and at the same time he manoeuvers exist. After the completion of his work he leaves traditionalism in her.

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However, after being forsaken by Marco, new name for her. Both of them work on a variety her as a commodity without caring for her her art. There is well defined oscillation between Rosie, immensely dejected with this sad and of names and after four days’ hard thinking, they earnestness of art while Raju also treats her as a Rosie’s sincerity towards her art and a feeling of unwanted development comes to see succour from decide for ‘Nalini’ which sounds to them more commodity by using her as a means to mint money. betrayal caused both to Marco and herself if she Raju who is surprised as well as delighted to see poetic and appealing: “This name had significance, His eyes are always on the cheques that Rosie indulges in it. And this very tussle is decidedly the her on her threshold. Till this juncture, Raju’s poetry and universality, and yet was short and easily brings and he scarcely cares for her personal gist of Rosie’s predicament in the novel. Rightly interest in Rosie is amorous and not affected by remembered”(p.176). With an attainment of a new feelings. He makes her work like a machine and observes William Walsh: monetary considerations. With the arrival of Rosie, name, Rosie too enters a new phase of life. Rosie’s allows her no time even for a little sight seeing. The complex association of sincerity and he gets peace of mind. He consoles her saying, professional life starts with her first dance He tries to possess Rosie. He wants to monopolise self-deception is indeed the organizing “you are in the right place. Forget all your past. performance in the annual function of the Albert her. According to his own confession: “She was theme of The Guide: how these We will teach that cad a lesson by and by…First I Mission School. Along with her career, Raju’s my property. This idea was beginning to take root conditions grow out of one another, how will make the world recognize you as the greatest status also changes and he becomes Rosie’s in my mind” (p.189). And then, “I liked her to be they co-exist, disagree, supplant and in artist of the age.” (p.153). impresario whose main interest is in occupying the happy but only in my company” (p.190). He does the long run re-attract one another.7 front seat in the hall and receiving a warm welcome not like to see her enjoy other peoples’ company. However, Rosie’s entry into Raju’s house at the performance. But the most eagerly awaited He wants to keep her in a citadel. Therefore, With her disillusionment with Raju after generates tension in the family. His mother doesn’t job at the end of every performance is “pocketing despite her taste of success, she feels cramped. the forgery incident, she decides to return to accept her. She calls Rosie a “real snake-woman”. the most important thing, the cheque” (p.193). As Madras, though she is starkly aware of the fact (p.154). The mother is a typical traditional Indian Due to this change in Raju’s outlook and William Walsh too opines: that life will be dull and boring there. Raju is woman who is obsessed with the thoughts of caste, partially the inevitable professionalism that creeps informed in jail that “She [Rosie] has settled down family, position and has blind faith in obedience to From being primarily personal it into her love for art makes her sad and unhappy. Weariness descends on her gradually and she wails: at Madras and was looking after herself quite well” husband. Rosie, who was unable to share her becomes primarily functional or official. (p.230). husband’s love for the archaeological ruins now Rosie has great talent as a dancer Do you know the bulls yoked to an oil- seeks fulfillment in the company of Raju. Raju and…as she succeeds…Raju’s status crusher – they keep going round and The moot question that knocks one’s mind provides Rosie the vitality which was missing in changes. He is less the lover and more round and round in a circle, without a over and over again is regarding the return of Rosie Marco and thus keeps her happy. Their the manager, trainer and agent. Rosie beginning or an end (p.202) to Madras bidding adieu to her life of a high-profile relationship, according to the yardstick of feudal or Nalini as she becomes in the professional dancer. She left at the point when her and bourgeois concepts of morality appears to be theatrical world – blooms into a great She realizes that she has become a career was at its peak. This can be viewed as the illicit. But the novelist’s point is to show a contrast artiste and Raju thrives as a successful prisoner of her own ambition. She laments: third turning point in her life – the first turning point between Marco’s cold intellectualism and Raju’s entrepreneur. They enjoy a period of I feel like one of those parrots in a cage was her marriage with Marco and the second one complete absorption in the world of dance and immense success, and the money, parties, taken around village fairs, or a is her coming to Raju after Marco leaves her and music that opens a new lease of life for both of drink and acclaim that go with it.6 performing monkey, as he used to the professional phase of her life thereafter. With them. Raju, formerly a tourist guide, now becomes say…(p.203) this third turning point she completes the circle and But the intoxication and the resultant a career guide for Rosie. He tells, “My guidance comes back from where she had started. enthusiasm generating from the unmitigated was enough. She accepted it in absolutely Thus, throughout her appearance in the success gradually starts wearing away. Rosie In Rosie, therefore, one finds the divided unquestioning faith and ignored everything else novel, there is a continuous polarity and conflict becomes painfully conscious of the fact that self of a woman struggling to find fulfillment in a completely” (p.167). Rosie also devotes herself within Rosie/ Nalini: the tension between the life despite her success she has not gained anything of passion and the need for respectability society that attaches much importance to wholeheartedly in acquiring perfection of her substantial. The truth seems gradually to dawn represented by her own family of dancers and her archetypes and women are expected to tread the artistic talent and she is altogether disinterested in upon her that even the realization of her ambition husband Marco respectively. And later the beaten path. No doubt, her desires and the her earlier romantic passion. was not all that her inner being craved for. Rosie ambivalence between her need to dance and the subsequent efforts she makes to satisfy them are After consistent hard work, Rosie is now now discovers that Raju was no better than Marco. inevitable commercialism of her performances consequential in demystifying all her sweet and well prepared to give a show of four hours. Raju He was rather another variation of Marco. The which make her repudiate the life of a dancer, the rosy notions about this world. She finally comes to decides to launch Rosie’s dancing career with a realization troubles her. Her husband used to treat pull between the need of her life and the call of a realization that one has to face reality however

International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 International Journal of South Asian Studies IJSAS January - June 2008 169 The Female World in R.K. Narayan’s The Guide: A Study of Ambivalent Gender Relations unpleasant or painful it may seem to be. Yet the Das, R.M (1993): Women in Manu’s Philosophy, ABS Imperial Hegemony and Subaltern Resistance in Mizoram effort to question the status quo and break the Publications, Jalandhar. K Robin mould that society has set for her makes it Dhawan, R.K (1991): Indian Women Novelists, Prestige creditworthy and is highly symptomatic of the Books, New Delhi. women’s aspirations in our society. Fuller, Marcus B (1984): The Wrongs of Indian Womanhood, Abstract Paucity of historical sources has made us oblivious with regards to the In fact the character of Rosie though Inter-India Publications, New Delhi. great historical events; the resistance movements which freedom fighters delineated in late 50s is as relevant today in the Gardiner, Judith Kegan (Winter 1981): “On Female Identity staged in Mizoram, the then Lushai Hills. It is in this context that this context of Indian society as ever even though we and Writing by Women”, Critical Enquiry, Vol.08, No. paper attempts to bring to light the role of Ropuiliani, a lone woman, have stepped into the next century. 02, December 16, pp.57-62. who participated so hard in the resistance movement against colonial th Notes Girla, S.K (1984): R. K. Narayan: His World and His Art, rule in the Lushai Hills (Mizoram) towards the close of the 19 Century. Saru Publishing House, Meerut. Ropuiliani was the architect of Mizo freedom movement and was the 1. R.K. Narayan (1958, rpt.1994): The Guide Indian daughter of the Northern Chief Vanhnuailiana and a wife of Vandula, Thought Publications, Mysore, p.84. All the subsequent Goyal, Bhagwan S (1993): R.K. Narayan’s India: Myth & Chief of South Mizoram. She had been known for taking active part references from the text are from the same edition Reality, Sarup and Sons, New Delhi. in the freedom movement against the British since 1872. She was hereafter denoted with page number in parentheses in Holmstorm, Lakshmi (1973): The Novels of R.K. Narayan, captured by Capt. Shakespeare along with her son Lalthuama in 1893 the text. Writers Workshop, Calcutta. and both were transported and imprisoned in the Chittagong jail. As an iron lady, she preferred at her old age to remain in prison till her 2. K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar (1973): Indian Writings in English, Iyengar, K.R Srinivasa (1973): Indian Writings in English, Asia Publishing House, Delhi, p.89. death than to serve alien master. She subscribed to an example of Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. the highest standard of patriotism in which the whole ‘mankind’ shared 3. William Walsh (1982): “Arrival,” R.K. Narayan: A Jain, Jasbir (1996): Women’s Writings: Text and Context, in history. That the colonial administrators did not spare her, and Critical Appreciation, Heinemann, London, p.123. Rawat Publications, Jaipur. this showed that she joined hands with other freedom fighters in 4. S.K. Girla (1984): “Narayan’s World,” R.K. Narayan: upsetting the Imperial designs in varied forms. It is therefore most Kaplan, Cora (1986): Sea Changes: Culture and Feminism, significant that a woman like Ropuiliani could curve out a name for His World and His Art, Saru Publishing House, Meerut, Verso, London. p.45. herself and stood her ground as a defiant leader burning the flame Krishnaswamy, Shantha (1975): The Women in Indian Fiction of patriotism, thereby becoming a symbol of defiance by a series of 5. C.D. Narasimhaih (1968): The Swan and the Eagle, in English, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi. actions against the British so much so by compelling the authorities Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Simla, p.153. to accord her the status of a State Prisoner till she breath her last in Mukherjee, Meenakshi (1971): The Twice Born Fiction: early January 1895. 6. William Walsh (1982): “Arrival,” R.K. Narayan: A Themes and Techniques of Indian Novels in English, Critical Appreciation, Heinemann, London, p.124. Heinemann Educational Books, New Delhi. Lack of historical sources has made us Lushai Hills (Mizoram) from about 1871 till she 7. Ibid., pp. 114-15. Narasimhiah, C.D (1969): The Swan and the Eagle, Indian sightless about the momentous historical episode; died in 1895. Inevitably, her social standings as References Institute of Advanced Studies, Simla. a subaltern confrontation against the Imperial well as circumstantial factors compelled her to play Asnani, Shyam M (1985): Critical Response to Indian English Ram, Susan and Ram, N (1996): R.K. Narayan: The Early authority, that shook the entire Mizoram, the then a forward role in the resistance movement against Fiction, Mittal Publications, New Delhi. Years 1906-1945, Viking, New Delhi. Lushai Hills. It is in this context that this paper the alien British regime. Despite the fact that all Biswal, Jayant K (1987): A Critical Study of the Novels of Sundaram, P.S (1973): R.K. Narayan, Arnold-Heinemann, attempts to bring to light the role of Ropuiliani, a possible pressures was brought to bear upon her, R.K. Narayan, Nirmal Publishers and Distributors, New New Delhi. lone woman who represented the subaltern Ropuiliani, due to her sheer will and determination Delhi. Walsh, William (1973): Commonwealth Literature, Oxford consciousness by staging obstinately a movement was able to maintain and burn the torches of Chandrashekharan, K.R (1974): Bhabani Bhattacharya, University Press, London. of total struggle against the colonial rule in the nationalism amidst colossal convolution. Arnold-Heinemann Pvt. Ltd., India. Walsh, William (1982): R.K. Narayan: A Critical Appreciation, Chattopadhayay, Kamala Devi (1983): Indian Women’s Battle Heinemann, London. for Freedom, Abhinav Publications, New Delhi. Dr. K Robin is a Lecturer, Department of History & Ethnography, Mizoram University.

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Evidently though the colonization of North valley was highly fertile, and it was capable of to avenge and punish these outrages, another The hostile attitude of the Mizos was East India was accomplished at a date much later generating huge supplies and yielding handsome expedition was launched and this time, Colonel indeed the main contentions of the British than other regions of India, ‘the colonial penetration revenue. These prospective commercial Lister, political Agent in the Khasia Hills Government, so much so that the Governor started as soon as the company secured the opportunities immensely thrilled the British authority was entrusted with the task and the thus his General of India, though seemed reluctant, was Diwani of Bengal in 1765’ (Bhatacharjee 1986:5). and thereby prompted quick annexation. Therefore, troops entered the hills and on the 14th January compelled to order an armed invasion by sending Apart from its strategic significance, the huge in the light of these developments, it became 1850, arrived at Moolla village followed by forces into the Hills (Lewin 1977:526). Accordingly resources and commercial prospects of North East imperative for the British to protect the valley, burning and destroying of properties the British Government launched a full scale attack region was ample to draw the attentions of the particularly, the mining areas and the plantations (Woodthorpe 1978:13). on the Mizos in two columns between 1871-1872. Europeans to the region. The British officials were from ‘marauding’ frontier tribes, and it is in this The first or the Chittagong column was placed clearly aware of the commercial prospects of the situation that the British came in contact with the The expedition of 1850 brought about under the direct command of General Brownlow North East and were very keen to explore the Mizos, formerly known as the Lushais, so-called significant changes in the policy of the British and Capt. Lewin, the Superintendent of the territories beyond the regions of the Bengal ‘marauders’. Administration. In this regard, Colonel Lister was Chittagong Hill Tract. The second column was led frontiers (Bhatacharjee 1986:5). clearly of the opinion that unless more practical by Brigadier General G.Bourchier and Mr. Edgar, Beginning from the early first half of the and more realistic approaches in their dealings with the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar. The “The British penetration into the North 19th century, particularly from around 1820’s, on the frontier tribes are made, then, the fate of their expedition rescued Mary Winchester and compelled East was basically guided by their interest to numerous occasions the Mizos made an inroad into subjects in Cachar and Sylhet would be very over 60 villages to surrender and about 20 villages promote trade and commerce. The economic the adjoining territories ‘plundering and raiding’ the precarious. “To make a permanent impression on were completely burnt down (Hluna 2005:35). In resources of Assam or the Ahom state, particularly, frontier areas. The British government in turn felt the tribes, Colonel Lister recommended the this way, the Lushai expedition and armed invasion tea, coal and oil had attracted the attention of the need to secure peace of the frontier to enable the obligation to have a force of not less than three of 1871-1872 brought about a situation where British. Moreover, the rapid advancement of the tea planters and their labourers to pursue their thousand men and also recommended the relative ‘peace’ ushered in the southern areas Burmese and their occupation of Manipur, Cachar occupation in safety (Woodthorpe 1978:6). formation of a Kookie levy to be employed as bordering Assam as well as the Chittagong Hill and Assam and a threatening attitude towards Therefore, in their bid to prevent the tribe from scouts in the jungles, to collect information Tracts for nearly a decade and half. Jaintia and Bengal had prompted the British to pouring in swarms plundering and looting their concerning the Lushais, and the events which were However, the prevailing peace and declare war against Burma in 1824. After the war, protected subjects and territories, messages, occurring on the other side of the frontier” normalcy ushered by the expedition of 1871-72 and by the treaty of Yandaboo, the British presents and annual payments were made to the (Woodthorpe 1978:14). Accordingly, the was upset in the 16th year when Hausata, the extended their sphere of influence in Manipur, chiefs, but this could not, in any case, prevent tribal Government approved his recommendations, and Southern Pawi chief killed Lt. J.F.Steward along Cachar and Jaintia, while the annexation of Assam raids. This compelled the British government to the Kookie levy was raised in June 1850. with his two English body-guards and one sepoy brought them in the heart of North East India. The change their attitudes by abandoning their policy At this point, the Mizo chiefs were now on the 3rd February 1888 at the Chittagong Hill hill areas bordering the valley of Brahmaputra were of conciliation and pacification and virtually a party convinced that the British were hell bent on Tracts (Hluna 2005:35). This incident compelled now exposed to the British penetration, and the of troops, under Captain Blackwood, proceeded meddling in their internal affairs so as to subdue the Government to undertake heavy retribution by routes to Bhutan, Tibet, China and Burma also on the 1st of December 1844, to avenge the raids and to occupy their only resources which was their sending an armed expedition comprising more than passed under their control” (Bhatacharjee (Woodthorpe 1978:4). When the British troops land. More so, the aggressive attitudes of the 4600 strong from three columns, viz, Bengal, 1986:49). arrived at the hills, they started burning houses and British forces now confirmed their skepticism Assam and Burma in 1889-90. This mass scale destroying grains, and ultimately, Chief In the meantime, the Assam valley towards them and therefore, the Mizos were expedition was called the Chin-Lushai Expedition. Lalchhokhla, head of the raiding party was appeared to be more and more attractive for equally determined to repel the rising tide of British The expedition succeeded its task of punishing the sentenced and transported for life imprisonment commercial exploitation because of its budding tea Imperialism. Thus, frontier raids became more ‘offenders’ and ultimately established the British (Woodthorpe 1978:12). industry, mineral resources and large variety of acute than ever. It appears that between 1854 - authority in the Mizo Hills. It was soon followed timbers. The foothills along the valley of the However, these actions of the British could 1862, the Mizos raided the plains 19 times in which by the imposition of House tax of Re 1/- and 10 Brahmaputra were also found to be rich not only not really quell and deter the Mizos from committing 107 persons were killed and about 186 persons seers of rice from every family. In addition, every in timber but also in rubber, ivory and other raw further raids. In 1849, there was report of new taken as captives including Mary Winchester, a household was forced to contribute 6 free labours materials. Moreover, the agricultural land in the raids made in Sylhet, Tipperah and Cachar. In order minor white girl (Hluna 2005:34). annually (Hluna 2005:35).

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The imposition of Tax and Forced Labour ruled as regent and as chieftainess. On assuming She charged all those chiefs that submitted influence of his mother…and she has was strongly opposed by the Mizo chiefs and it power, Ropuiliani encouraged all her sons, to the British as shameful act of cowardice and great influence over the rulers of her further escalated existing tensions and hostilities particularly the youngest and favorite Lalthuama, cried to them: other son’s Villages” (Lalsangzuali between the two camps. It was in these not to submit to the foreign invaders. Even though Sailo 2005:71). “Even if you all surrender, I am here backgrounds that Ropuiliani’s household also got the British exerted more and more pressure on the daughter of Lalsavunga, the What may be noted was the fact that caught up in a long-drawn-out struggle against the Ropuiliani and her folks, she stood her ground and brave ruler of the North who will never despite her repeated defiance, the British often superimposition of alien authority. even refused to talk with them. She followed the surrender to the foreign rulers. I will made friendly advances in order to pacify her. It policy adopted by her late husband and therefore Ropuiliani was the daughter of Lalsavunga, call the sons of my brothers from the appears that the British even sent her husband’s confrontation with the British became a foregone chief of Northern Mizoram, born in 1806, she was North, and will surely push back the brothers Seipuia and Lalluauva to persuade conclusion. married to Vandula, one of the popular chief of foreign invaders from our land and ropuiliani to come to terms with the authorities. southern Mizoram. As a result of the first military free our nation” (Hluna 2005:39). However, all these efforts proved to be futile as Ropuiliani considered the advent of the expedition of 1871-1872, the British resorted to she remained stubborn and defiant and repeatedly British into Mizoram as a calamity. Therefore, The above statements clearly exhibit her heavy punitive measures in the form of Tax and rejected their offer for truce. Therefore, the British under these circumstances, she was not willing to determination to upset the Imperial designs despite Forced Labour and also divided the territories into administrators were convinced that capturing tolerate the foreign intrusion. She accused the the fact that most of the Mizo chiefs by then had many petty areas with specific boundaries and Ropuiliani was the only option left so as to prevent British of trying to colonize Mizoram and hated submitted to the British authority. In such allocating them to chiefs loyal to the British. This imminent threat to their rule in the hills. their levying of taxes, demands of rice and forced circumstances, the British charged Ropuiliani and was bitterly resented by some of the chiefs of labours and therefore, rebuked all efforts of her son Lalthuama as conspirators and nerve Amidst the increasing hostility and tension, which Ropuiliani’s husband Vandula was no negotiations with the British. centre of estrangement and stimulating the the British demands for tributes from the chiefs exception. Northern chiefs for new insurrections continued unabated. They made regular demands When the Chin-Lushai expedition of 1889- In a bid to exercise their hegemony, the (Shakespeare 1977:104). of tributes in the form of labour, rice, fowls, guns 1890 established a military camp at Lungleh, and British tried hard to induce all the Mizo chiefs to etc. On one occasion the British demanded tributes Darzo in the vicinity of her son Lalthuama’s village, their side by making them collaborators and loyal In the summer of 1889, when the British to Ropuiliani’s village through an interpreter or Ropuiliani reacted sharply by instigating her allies allies. In this regard, they were quite successful Political officer Mr. Lyall convened chief’s Durbar Rashi by the name of Satinkhara. This action of Zakapa and Dokapa to confront the British, leading and many chiefs including Seipuia, the brother of at Lungleh, all the chiefs of Southern Mizoram the British greatly enraged her and voiced her to the murder of C.S. Murray, a British Political Vandula, began to submit themselves to the dictum except Ropuiliani and Lalthuama attended the anger wishing that somebody would just get rid of Officer and his companion Mr. Taylor. The British of the new authority. Meanwhile, the British also Durbar. When the chiefs were summoned for the the interpreter. One of the village warriors also suspected Ropuiliani and her son Lalthuama tried hard in persuading chief Vandula, husband of second time in January 1892, again Ropuiliani Hnawncheuva immediately acted in response to of having a hand in the killing of Lt. Stewart in Ropuiliani, to give in as well. Despite all odds, defied the British and instead sent a village elder the call of her highness Ropuiliania and ultimately 1888. Vandula defied the alien rule and chose to remain to represent her. Between 24-26 December, a executed the Rashi/ interpreter. This added more independent and thus the British considered him All along Ropuiliani and her son lalthuama chief Durbar for the third time was again convened fuel to the fire and the ongoing tensions between as their grave enemy. Throughout his reign, defied the British and refused to comply with their at Lungleh where 32 chiefs attended. This time the two parties was escalated yet to another higher Vandula opposed the British and never succumbed terms of dictations. She would yell from her heart also Ropuiliani and her son refused to attend the level. to their pressures (Reid 1976:57). However, that: same. The continued defiance of the British In early August 1893, the British towards the evenings of his life, he decided to divide authority by Ropuiliani and her son had greatly “We are chiefs from ages, paid taxes administration decided to carry out raids on his villages among his sons- Sangliana, Thahulha, annoyed the British and Capt. John Shakespeare to nobody; no nation had ever Ropuiliani’s village. The raid was led by Dotawna, Lalthuama, Savuta and Hrangphunga, reported that: imposed on us forced labours, our Capt.J.Shakespeare, R.H.S.Hutchinson, and and ultimately died in 1889 defying the British till citizens would never contribute any “Her influence is distinctly hostile to Mr.Pugh along with 80 riflemen and ascended upon his last breath (Reid 1976:57). labour or tax to foreign people, we us…it is clear to me that all and taking Denlung village by surprise When the eldest son Dotawna died leaving will drive the foreigners from our Lalthuama’s obstinacy and (Shakespeare 1977:104). On entering the village, behind his minor sons, his aged mother Ropuiliani land” (Hluna 2005:38). troublesomeness has been due to the the British announced the terms of fines to the

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chieftainess and her son Lalthuama. Their fines in the chittagong jail for the royal prisoners and form in the month of August. This background, Ropuiliani’s role became even more consisted of 30 guns, 10 pigs, 20 fowls, and 100 they should be: weakened her very much and no significant and formed a part and parcel of the mounds of rice, which was to be delivered at their doubt tended to fasten her end, freedom movement and hence belonged to the “Warders and not of police camp in Lungleh (Reid 1976:193). It was with great although she had quite recovered galaxy of freedom fighters. constables, on a salary of Rs.7 difficulty and after stubborn resistance, however, from the actual attack” (Lalsangzuali debitable to the Imperial Grant for As an iron lady, she preferred at her old that the party captured both the mother and son Sailo 2005:79). Refugees and State Prisoners under age to remain in prison till her death than to serve and their subjects virtually disarmed (Shakespeare the Head 25. Political.” (Lalsangzuali It is very difficult to accept that she died alien master. She subscribed to an example of the 1977:104). Thus, with the capture of Ropuiliani and Sailo 2005:76). of ‘sheer old age’ as alleged by the administration. highest standard of patriotism. That the colonial her right-hand man and son Lalthuama, the people It is more logical that her health succumb to administrators did not spare her, all showed that were virtually left without a leader. In prison, Ropuiliani’s health started to overwhelming pressures imposed upon her by the she joined hands with other freedom fighters in deteriorate following an attack with dysentery, her British and that she had to deal with wearisome upsetting the Imperial designs in varied forms. The raiding party soon returned along appetite began to drop resulting to immense lost of invaders with their ceaseless demands and forcing with their captives to Lungleh, but what may be weight. On seeing her condition and fearing The remarkability of Chieftainess her people to servitude. The trauma she suffered noted was the fact that Ropuiliani refused to walk embarrassment for Ropuiliani being a State Ropuiliani was her unshakeable ambitions, her incessantly took a mighty toll on her mentally and on foot and urged her captors to make alternative Prisoner, the Chittagong jail Superintendent wrote dignity and principles, unassailable and physically leading to her demise while fighting for arrangements. Accordingly, she was carried on a letter to the Commissioner advising her release: charismatic authority which made even her her honour, land and people till her last stand. a palanquin in majestic style and with her front contemporary Mizo chiefs considered her a facing towards her village compelling “She is very old and feeble. It is What seemed to be evident was the fact symbol and leader in the resistance movement considerable adjustment for the tired carriers evident that she is slowly dying in the that with her death, the general movement against against the foreign rule. Though deeply grief- (Kyndiah 1994:110). On reaching Lungleh on 12th jail. In consultation with Capt. John the British rule also collapsed. It now became stricken and yearning for her homeland and her August 1893, they were locked in a Guard Room. Shakespeare I now recommend that easier for the British to subdue other Mizo chiefs. people, she refused to surrender to the British till Ropuiliani was offered peace to return to her she be released from detention under Now that their leader was no more, the people in the end. Her character indeed showed a rare kind village if she submit to the British power and Regulation III of 1818. On her release general also discarded the idea of resistance. of exceptional qualities and hence proved to be remain loyal ally of the British. Time and again, she would be conveyed back to Messages were sent to the villages informing truly a ‘Queen’. It may have been perhaps for Ropuiliani was adamant and refused the offer. Lungleh and detained there in as people to surrender their guns, and from these reasons that even her captors look upon Instead of yielding to their continued demand and much comfort and freedom as is Ropuiliani’s village alone 100 guns were extorted her with great regard and respect that instead of pressures, Ropuiliani preferred to remain possible. Her age and infirmity and the entire collection amounted to as many as putting her with other inmates like a scandalous rebellious and even persuaded her visitors in preclude all ideas of her escaping” 500 guns (Sangkima 2005:122). criminal, she was accommodated in the European prison to rise against the alien rulers. (Lalsangzuali Sailo 2005:78). ward of Chittagong Jail so much so that even the From all these accounts it became status of a ‘State Prisoner’ was accorded to her. In view of her stubbornness, and repeated However, before she was released, apparent that Ropuiliani was the architect of Mizo For her alone the post of four personal guards defiance of the administration, the British authority Ropuiliani’s health gave away and she breathe her resistance to colonial rule. Her character exhibits was temporarily created and all these clearly considered it unsafe to confine her within Mizoram last in early January 1895 laying on a prison bed. the greatness of mind for she could wield strong were manifestations of respect, admiration and and therefore decided to deport her away as her Three days after Ropuiliani’s death on 6th January influences upon other Mizo chiefs, more so esteem held by her captors. presence could disturb the alleged ‘peace’ in 1895, R.W. Murray, Jail Superintendent, wrote to because the period coincide when Mizo chiefs Mizoram as Capt. John Shakespeare puts it, “…the the Chittagong Magistrate J.D. Anderson reporting fought their alien enemies alone as inter-clan feud To conclude, Ropuiliani’s heroism and her presence of these two persons in the hills is the Queen’s death: in the form of war was very common which struggles against the empire is still alive in the mischievous even in confinement” (Lalsangzuali resulted in impracticability to stage joint memories of the Mizos. It inspired one of the “…State Prisoner Ropui Lieni, Lushai Sailo 2005:75). Finally, they were deported to the confrontation against the British. It was also a greatest female singers to compose a song in her Chieftainess died on 3rd sustain of Chittagong Jail (Bangladesh) as state prisoners on time when the chiefs were not accustomed to the memory, thereby forging a subaltern solidarity, sheer old age. She was attacked with 8th April 1894. As per the instructions of the idea of making common and formidable alliance that is, a woman highlighting the role of another dysentery for a few days in a mild Lt.Governor, four additional staffs were employed with their neighbouring chiefs. Therefore, in this woman.

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References Lewin, T.H (1977): A Fly on the Wheel, Firma KLM Pvt. Ltd, Calcutta. A.R. Letter No. 1049 P. Dated Culcutta, 16th march 1891. From the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bengal Reid, A.S (1976): Chin-Lushai Land, Tribal Research to the Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Institute, Aizawl. Department. Report concerning Ropuiliani by John Shakespeare, Bhatacharjee, J.B (2000): Trade and Colony: The British Superintendent of South Lushai Hills, in his diary dated Colonization of North East India, Shillong. 26.12.1893.

Hluna, J.V (2005): Ropuiliani: The Mizo Lady freedom fighter Sailo, Lalsangzuali (2005): “The Indomitable Chieftainess in Lalneihzovi (ed.,) Role of Ropuiliani in the Freedom Ropuiliani” in Lalneihzovi (ed.), Role of Ropuiliani in Struggle, Gilzom Offset Press, Aizawl. the Freedom Struggle, Gilzom Offset Press, Aizawl.

John Shakespeare : “Note on the Lushai Hills” in Census of Sangkima (2005): “Ropuiliani: Her role in the Struggle against India, 1901, Vol IV, Assam, Part I, Government of the British in Mizoram”, in Lalneihzovi, (ed.), Role of Assam. Ropuiliani in the Freedom Struggle, Gilzom Offset Press, Aizawl. Kyndiah, P.R (1994): Mizo Freedom Fighters, Sanchar Publishing House, New Delhi. Shakespeare, L.W (1977): History of Assam Rifles, Tribal Research Institute, Aizawl. Letter from the Under Secretary, Govt. of Bengal to IGP dated 10.12.1894. (No.3061 Pol. Dept. A. Pol Branch) Woodthorpe, R.G (1978): The Lushai Expedition: 1871-1872, Tribal Research Institute, Aizawl. Letter to the Commissioner of Chittagong from E.V.Levinge Esquire, Under Secretary to the Govt. of Bengal, Dated Calcutta, the 15th November, 1894.

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