In moments of turmoil, history reminds us of its rhymes. The chaotic scenes that unfolded in the streets of Dhaka have a deeper resonance. They resemble echoes of the past, reinventing themselves in the uncertainties of today. For example, in his new book India’s Near East: A New History, Avinash Paliwal hints that some reasons behind Sheikh Hasina’s father’s political decline, and later tragic demise, have a similarity with contemporary events. “Keen to preserve an ally, India overlooked Mujib’s authoritarianism, inability to contain corruption...”. Replace “Mujib” with “Sheikh Hasina” and you know what I mean.
Protesters celebrate in front of Parliament House in Dhaka, following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. | Photo Credit: AP
Paliwal dives into the myriad interconnections that shape India’s eastern periphery to decipher the tumult in Bangladesh. However, reducing the volume to a Bangladesh primer would be a grave disservice. The author has thoughtfully composed a chronicle that carefully weaves the histories of India’s northeast with Bangladesh and Myanmar with the regular appearance of China. Narco-crime, long-standing insurgencies, political ambitions and interpersonal rivalry mix with religious nationalisms of different hues. Overall, the book is a product of laborious research, unflinching analysis and precise prose.
Rohingya Muslims, who spent four days in the open after crossing over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, carry their belongings after they were allowed to proceed towards a refugee camp, at Palong Khali, Bangladesh, in October 2017. | Photo Credit: AP
The author argues that “India’s domestic state-building and international diplomacy are inextricably interconnected in the near east”. This history shows us that structural forces like identity politics, official contradictions, cross-border migration and interdependent political economies have shaped the region since colonial times.
Backstories of movements
The narrative string of the volume fleshes the backstory of pivotal moments and personalities, from pre-independence days, that mould political dynamics from Guwahati to Naypyidaw. For example, the seismic waves of the partition of Burma from British India in 1937 still reverberate in regional developments and permeate crucial questions of minority rights in the subcontinent.
Then Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru greets Thakin Nu, Burmese Prime Minister, on the latter’s arrival in Delhi, in 1949. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
The myth of India’s servile impotence in strategic motivations in the republic’s early days is also countered. Military assistance to Burma in 1949, to counter Burmese communists, an act of projecting power and India resorting to “colonial counter-insurgency methods” to quell regional insurgencies is unpacked in detail. The book is also garnished with little-known snippets that make for fascinating reading. One includes Ayub Khan’s offer to India to jointly counter China in 1959. Irrespective of the offer’s seriousness, this was the time when even Pakistan was co-sponsoring UN resolutions on Tibet.
Intelligence network
One aspect of the book that leaves a deep impression is the author’s portrayal of the direct involvement of intelligence agencies in day-to-day diplomacy. The author, through archival research and numerous interviews, brilliantly captures the tenacious work done by the Research and Analysis Wing in the neighbourhood.
Paliwal is critical of Delhi’s failure to connect with the broader region sustainably. In his own words, Delhi’s record in the region is “suboptimal”.
Having said that, the enduring contribution of the book might be the debate it seeks to ignite around India’s strategic outlook towards its eastern neighbours. The consequences of such an outlook have direct implications for India’s northeast, along with its connectivity ambitions that stretch to Southeast Asia. India’s “near east” is a region that is largely overlooked in public imagination apart from recurring issues of migration and other upheavals. The author shifts the debate around India’s eastern periphery from academic seminars to the public glare.
India’s Near East: A New History; Avinash Paliwal, India Penguin, ₹799.
The reviewer is a researcher and an incoming MPhil scholar at the University of Cambridge.
Published - September 10, 2024 12:01 pm IST
