Any current academic discussion on India Myanmar relation is phrased with words like ‘India’s renewed engagement with Myanmar’ or ‘India’s changed stance’ etc. However, India’s continued interest in Myanmar is guided by a couple of reasons apart from the fact that it shares more than 1600 km of border length with Myanmar and thus most wisely can never choose to ignore it. First among them is to counter the influence of China and second is the socio economic development of North East and the insurgency factor. Currently there is an added reason after the discovery of natural gas in the country which makes it sought after among the world communities despite the continued presence of the military junta, which had earlier prompted the world community to disown the country. India has termed its current engagement as ‘velvet glove’ which simultaneously has the privilege to constructively engage as well as wield influence for substantive political reforms. This may be attributed more to the manipulation of policy jargon than a definite shift in policy decisions. The paper seeks to argue that India has always maintained, if not a close relation, but definitely, a working relation with Myanmar despite the ideological racism between the two neighbours.
The background:
During the late 1980’s when democratic movements led by Aung San Suu Kyi, was at its full swing India provided all the necessary support to the democratic rebels. Be it the Indian Embassy in Myanmar or the borders in the north east- the democratic supporters had easy access. The election results which gave Aung San Suu Kyi a thumping majority were denied by the military rulers. They had refused to transfer power democratically. This was in the year 1988. 1989 witnessed yet another eastern neighbour, China swept by democratic upheavals. The notorious crackdown at Tiananmen Square attracted world criticism and isolation. These two separate incidents brought the two neighbours close to each other. One was supported by the other in need. India abandoned or at least proclaimed so, Myanmar at this critical juncture on the pretext of standing upright for democracy. Thus despite historical and cultural connection India’s relation with Myanmar suffered a major jolt. China filled the vacuum. It has taken over the market, has a huge stake in the natural gas sector, is in a position to influence political decision making and control the insurgency related troubles along its border states. The excessive interference could be one of the many possible reasons behind the recent decision of the Myanmar military junta to open up its economy for other international players.
India’s case:
The decade of 1990’s witnessed economic reforms in India with the introduction of Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation (LPG) and the opening up of the economy for the private sector. India could no longer remain aloof from its neighbours. It advocated its policy of ‘Look East’ which opened India’s eastern flank to members of the Association for South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)- Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and in this Myanmar became the gateway and also the bridge between the two South Asian associations- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and ASEAN. In 1998 India’s testing of nuclear weapons in 1998 brought some serious sanctions from the international fraternity. This is yet another reason for India to look east and search for newer opportunities.
A ‘working’ relation:
However, it would be wrong to claim that India has renewed its interest in Myanmar. India has maintained sufficiently close relation with successive regimes of the Myanmar government. U Nu, the first prime minister of Myanmar maintained personal relation with the Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. This helped resolve some of the critical problems. For example two of the Acts which had major impact on the Indians are the Land Alienation Act, 1948 and Burma Land Nationalisation Bill, 1949. While the first prevents the sale of land to non Burmese the second forbade the possession of more than 50 acres of land by the non cultivators. Indians by then had acquired land and other properties. This particular legislation robbed the Indians of their wealth overnight. However, Nehru considered them non discriminatory. It was during this time that the Treaty of Friendship was signed between the two countries on 7th July, 1951 promising “everlasting peace and unalterable friendship” between the two states. End of the decade witnessed U Nu being removed from power by a military coup which he once again managed to regain in 1960 following winning in the elections. However, his second stint as the Prime Minister was short lived and this time the military commander not only did remove U Nu from power but also send him to solitary confinement from 1962-1966. After being released he plunged into political activity and continued so until he feared for his life. Thereafter he and his family sought political asylum in India which was unhesitatingly granted owing to his close relation with the Nehru family.
During Ne Win’s period there were two specific issues which affected the relation between the two neighbours. In 1962 when Indo-China war took place Myanmar chose to remain neutral which India interpreted as siding with China. Secondly, nationalist policies followed by him had its impact on the small shop owners and traders unlike U Nu’s policies which affected the rich landlords and the Chettiyars. Thus most Indians were pauperised without being adequately compensated by the Burma government. Despite this Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri paid a visit to Myanmar in 1965 and the Border Agreement was signed in 1967. After two years the next Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi visited Myanmar. During this period Ne Win paid three visits to India. Another point of contact between the two countries was their membership in Non Aligned Movement (NAM). This brought the two countries ideologically close to each other. During the critical decades of Cold War Myanmar stayed aloof from the politics of joining the blocs. However, in 1979 it walked out of NAM accusing its members of shifting its stance towards Socialism. Despite these troubles exchange of High level visits continued with two External Affairs Ministers, Mr. Swaran Singh and Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee visiting Burma in 1973 and 1977 respectively. In the mean time the Kuomintang forces had taken shelter within the heartland of Burma and engaged in anti-China activities. This did not go down well with the Chinese authorities. They started providing support to the insurgents along the China–Burma border. This provided yet another opportunity to India to constructively engage with Burma without arousing the debate of conflict with China in Burma. Next decade witnessed the visit of yet another Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi in 1987.
Throughout the period of 1990’s beginning with the adoption of Look East Policy India found itself actively involved in Myanmar. An eight member Burmese delegation led by U Aye, Director General of the Political Affairs visited India on 11-14 August 1992. Then it was in 1993 that the Foreign Secretary, J.N. Dixit visited Rangoon. In January 1994 Burma Deputy Foreign Minister U Nyunt Swe visited India. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed to increase cooperation between the civilian border authorities and to prevent “illegal and insurgent activities”. This relation proved beneficial for India though not without hiccups. India and Myanmar jointly launched “Golden Bird” operation in 1995 to squeeze the insurgents hidden in the North-East region. However, India’s announcement of Aung San Suu Kyi as the recipient of the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding disappointed the Burmese military and they withdrew from the operation.
After a gap of twenty five years, since the visit of Rajiv Gandhi in 1987, Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, visited the country in 2012. By this time India’s foreign policy and outlook has changed and is no longer bounded by idealism. Keeping China’s tremendous presence and influence in Myanmar in mind India started paying serious attention to its eastern neighbour which it considered as the gateway to other South-East Asian countries. India at that time faced sanctions from world communities, specially its western partner due to the nuclear test it conducted in 1998. India needed to look for newer avenues of economy which is yet another reason to engage with Myanmar.
Things have dramatically improved with the coming to power of the Narendra Modi government and India’s official involvement in the peace process of the country.
Conclusion:
Thus it would be wrong to suggest that India has regained its interest in the country only in the 1990’s. India’s interest in the country was persistent. However, one may definitely argue that India has understood the special importance of the country after years of hiatus in foreign policy analysis towards it. For India, Myanmar could never be a pariah state despite the cries of democracy. For reasons wisely categorised India has always maintained a working relation with its closest eastern neighbour. However, the problem with Indian foreign policy making is not as much as its lack of understanding as its absence of implementation on that understanding.
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