The Unfinished War in Afghanistan
Author : Vishal Chandra
Publisher : Pentagon Press,Rs1,495
Afghanistan's problem is not limited to the country. It has a larger regional and global implication for India as well. This book by Vishal Chandra — one of the finest scholars on the subject — is rich in rigour of research, and yet lucid and absorbingly readable, says RUP NARAYAN DAS
In the introduction to the book The Unfinished War in Afghanistan, the author, arguably one of the finest Indian scholars on Afghanistan, working with the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, submits that his book is a modest effort to contribute to the ongoing debate on the likely future of Afghanistan as the largest ever coalition of Western forces prepare to retreat. He further observes that at the largest geo-political level, more than the Taliban and its various foreign affiliates, it is the Pakistan military and Intelligence which has been positioning for a grand bargain in anticipation of a supposedly post-West scenario in Afghanistan. India has to contend with this dynamics.
Afghanistan’s problem is not its alone. It has a larger regional and global implication, as the terrorist attack of 9/11 resoundingly demonstrated. But it is an irony that the US had to wait for a crisis like 9/11 to happen to recognise the menace of terrorist violence, to which India had been subjected to for all these years. The author rightfully bemoans the paradox in the approach of US on issue of war against terrorism that had remained singularly obsessed with al Qaeda, and the centrality of Pakistan in its regional calculus, marginalising India and other regional countries. Making a realistic assessment of the current scenario, he is of the views that as the West retreats and a range of Afghan and Pakistani militant groups threaten Kabul, India’s security concerns are bound to grow.
India cannot just be a mute spectator to the developments in Afghanistan. India’s role in Afghanistan has been more in the nature of ‘development partner’, rather than negotiator in the strategic logjam considering the ethnic divide in the strife torn country. India’s developmental assistance in Afghanistan includes a line of credit of US 100 million and a promise to provide one million ton of wheat for the displaced Afghan people, medical assistance, construction of 218-Km long Zaranj-Delaram Road linking Afghanistan’s national highway to the Iranian border, and thereafter to the Iranian port of Chabahar, rebuilding of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, Habibia School in Kabul, construction of new parliament building, Salma Dam hydro-electric project, a power station in the Heart province, a power station at Chimtala, a 5,000 ton capacity cold storage in Kandahar, and also the proposed Agricultural University there, not to mention the construction of the Parliament building in Kabul.
While all these are useful information, it would have been illuminating if the current status of the projects would have been given in terms of their achievements and hurdles in their implementations. One also expected the author to have thrown light on the prospect of Indian investment in the mining sector, in which the Chinese are very active in Afghanistan. It may be mentioned in this connection that some time back there was the proposal to raise a consortium of steel companies under the aegis of steel major SAIl to invest in the mining sector in Afghanistan.
While the author mentions about India’s role in the capacity development of Afghan people through the flagship programme of the Indian Technical and Economic Assistance (ITEC), very little is known about India’s role in providing capsule programmes for both Parliamentarians and parliamentary officials from Afghanistan. It is not out of place to mention in this context that a parliamentary delegation of 94 out of 102 MPS from the Upper House (Meshrano Jigra) of the Afghan Parliament visited India in February 2013. The delegation shared their legislative experiences as well as underwent familiarisation with the Indian parliamentary procedures at the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training. At a time when Afghanistan is passing through democratic transition, the need for institution building can hardly be over emphasised. Political order in changing society is of critical importance. Although India does not subscribe to the idea of exporting democracy, India’s expertise in running democratic institutions have resonance for nascent democracies, including Afghanistan.
The author pleads that besides India’s developmental approach, New Delhi needs to further engage an inclusive spectrum of Afghan leadership comprising all the major ethnic groups and factions of Afghanistan at a much broader level. This would require a differentiated approach as relations with various groups have its own dynamics. He further argues any over-identification with a particular Afghan group is to be avoided to the extent possible in view of the intensely factionalised and polarised Afghan polity. Elsewhere, he also argues that India should especially try to rebuild its traditional ties with the Pashtuns, for without their support it would not be possible for India to achieve any of its objectives. However, at the same time, it is important for India to retain and reinforce its traditional ties with the non-Pashtun faction as well.
As regards the Chinese engagement in Afghanistan, the author writes that the Chinese concerns mainly stems from the rising Uighur secessionism in its western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region bordering Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Afghanistan, its increased stakes in the Afghan mining sector, its expanding investments in the Central Asian energy resources, and the possibility of a prolonged US presence in Afghanistan.
The book is rich in rigour of research, and yet lucid and absorbingly readable. The author’s deep and insightful understanding of the complex political and strategic dynamics of the Afghan imbroglio can be attributed to his unbiased mind, his innumerable field visits to Afghanistan and his privileged interaction with interlocutors, diplomats, scholars of various hues. Unlike most western scholars, he has no agenda or no brief to uphold. The book is a must for a proper understanding of the Afghanistan.
The reviewer is a director in the research and information division of lok Sabha Secreteriat. Views are reviewer’s alone