September 09,2017

NEW DELHI: Unlike the Hindu Brahminical oral tradition where one does not know where myth ends and history begins, thanks to the Buddhist Pali tradition of reducing everything to writing, the Burmese have a more realistic appreciation of themselves on the difficult terrain of being where Indian and Chinese aspirations meet.

The Qing invasions of Burma while not forgotten are behind them. Modern China has found that power flows through cheque book diplomacy.

The Burmese have a better measure of New Delhi. They are aware that they almost made Assam part of Burma in 1819. If it was not for British intervention, the Indian map of the Northeast would have looked very different.

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The Poverty of Imagination- Indian Foreign Policy in MyanmarRead More »

September 7, 2017

It is clear that the Chinese have a better appreciation of what the ground situation is in Myanmar. The difference is in long term policy formulated by sagacious mandarins in Beijing and the establishment in New Delhi

The Ministry of External Affairs statement of August 26, titled ‘Situation in Rakhine State of Myanmar’ gave the plot away prior to the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Myanmar from September 5-7, 2017. “India is seriously concerned by reports of renewed violence and attacks by terrorists in northern Rakhine State Myanmar. We are deeply saddened at the loss of lives among members of the Myanmar security forces…..” the statement said.

In the joint statement issued by India and Myanmar on September 6, the previous formulation is repeated. “India condemned the recent terrorist attacks in northern Rakhine State, wherein several members of the Myanmar security forces lost their lives.”

Nothing about the enormity of the humanitarian crisis, nothing about the continuing refugee flow into Bangladesh and the miniscule earlier spillover into India.

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India adrift on its Myanmar PolicyRead More »