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A nuclear Iran in perspective
By M. V. Kamath
. If the hypocritical western world is against Islamic Iran going in for nuclear bombs, why was the United States silent when Pakistan was accumulating them openly? If Pakistan can have nuclear bombs, why can't Iran?
In regard to the current US- Israel tussle under the patronage of the US, there are some things that both the countries and Jews everywhere should know. One: India, primarily a Hindu country has never been against Jews. On the contrary, down the centuries India has provided security and stability to them in plenty as it did to Parsis and, in the last few decades, to Tibetans. We are a civilized nation.
Two: It was Christian Europe that prosecuted Jews and forced them to stay in ghettos. The history of Christian- Jewish relations has to be read to be believed.
Jews were heavily persecuted in Christian Europe after 1300 A. D. The persecution hit its first peak during the Crusades ( 1096).
Massacre of Jews was frequent. England banned all Jews in 1290. In 1396, one lakh Jews were expelled from France. In 1421, according to reports, " thousands" were expelled from Austria. Following the Spanish Inquisition, the entire population of 2 lakh Saphardic Jews were expelled from Spain. In the 17th century almost no Jew lived in western Europe.
Following the Second World War, according to reports, six million Jews were murdered methodically and with horrifying cruelty in what came to be known as holocaust. In Poland, more than one million Jews were murdered in gas chambers at the Auschwitz concentration camp alone. It is the European Christian world alone that was responsible for the creation of Israel. Does anybody remember Adolf Hitler? India had nothing to do with Jewish persecution. It is purely a barbaric European invention. It is the Christian world that is responsible for the clash between Jewish Israel and the Islamic world. India has nothing to do with it.
Three: If the hypocritical western world is against Islamic Iran going in for nuclear bombs, why was the United States silent when Pakistan was accumulating them openly ( it now apparently has about ninety bombs) all these years? Because it paid Washington to look the other way, even if India was to be Pakistans target? Why did the US support Pakistan in all its anti- Indian activities, giving it billions of dollars in aid which were used against India by a vicious Islamabad? So, if Pakistan can have nuclear bombs, why can't Iran?
Four: Iran reportedly has terrorist gangs actively working against many countries, including India. India, surely, will warn Iran against such criminal activities but that would be in an entirely different context. Doesn't Pakistan use terrorists against India? What have the US and Israel done to stop that? Five: India does not want to get involved in any anti- Iran activities just to please the US and let it be known that if India buys oil from Iran, it also simultaneously buys defence equipment from Israel. Washington would do well not to bully India which has its own national interests to protect.
Six: If the US wants to stop Iran from making nuclear bombs, the right approach is first to de- nuclearize Pakistans nuclear weaponry.
Seven: Furthermore, if the US wants to prove its concerns over nuclear proliferation, it must first tell Britain and France to get rid of their nuclear weapons and, at the same time get rid of its own stock of over 10,000 nuclear bombs. Then Iran will have no reason to go for nuclear weaponry. And let that be a for all nuclear states to follow, including Israel, Russia, China and India. There can't be one law for the US and its allies and another for its opponents.
Eight: India does not want to antagonise the US, let alone any other nation in the world. It wants to live in peace with every country, including China and Pakistan for mutual benefit. But it would fight to the finish any effort by any power, western or eastern, to limit its freedom and endanger its security. Its message to all UN members is: 'Don't fool around with us. It would be an unwise thing to do'.
Nine: Is there any way to peacefully resolve the current conflict that could end up with Israel going in for a unilateral attack on Iran? Can one find a way to bring Iran into the international mainstream? If there is any one who can help, it is surely India. Approach India positively, not antagonistically. Think it over, Mr. Obama.
Ten: It is not in Indias interests to have a fundamentalist Islamic state become nuclear- armed. It is bad enough to have an immediate neighbour as a nuclear state. It would be worse to have another Muslim state go nuclear. To bring stability, one must find suitable ways to improve interstate relations and India has a role in pursuing this. In the circumstances, the West, especially the US, must think twice before hurting Indias feelings and worse still to force India into taking what will ultimately turn out to be an anti- Islamic stand. It is not in Indias interests to let itself be pushed to the wall.
Eleven: We are dealing with historical antagonisms that cannot be resolved overnight. Wars do not help. Israel would be wise in not taking a unilateral decision to hit out at Iran. India can never be a party to such action and this must be clearly understood. To say that in supporting Iran, India is supporting terrorism is to befool oneself. Let it be remembered that terrorism was encouraged first in South Asia by the US itself to get rid of Russia from Afghanistan. It is the United States that is the father of terrorism and it is India that has also suffered as much, thanks to American thoughtlessness. India has suffered silently. The greatest Axis of Evil is one between Washington and Islamabad. What is worse is that the United States continues to finance Pakistan to the tune of $ 2 billion every year, knowing fully well that this amount is used by the ISI for its own sinister anti- Indian activities.
And finally, Twelve: Don't make an enemy of India because it refuses to play the western game. If there is one country in the world which can hopefully act as a moderator between Christian West and Islamic Middle East, it is India. Iran has been indulging in sabre- rattling, obviously in retaliation to American provocations.
- India
- Mar 22, 2012
. If the hypocritical western world is against Islamic Iran going in for nuclear bombs, why was the United States silent when Pakistan was accumulating them openly? If Pakistan can have nuclear bombs, why can't Iran?
In regard to the current US- Israel tussle under the patronage of the US, there are some things that both the countries and Jews everywhere should know. One: India, primarily a Hindu country has never been against Jews. On the contrary, down the centuries India has provided security and stability to them in plenty as it did to Parsis and, in the last few decades, to Tibetans. We are a civilized nation.
Two: It was Christian Europe that prosecuted Jews and forced them to stay in ghettos. The history of Christian- Jewish relations has to be read to be believed.
Jews were heavily persecuted in Christian Europe after 1300 A. D. The persecution hit its first peak during the Crusades ( 1096).
Massacre of Jews was frequent. England banned all Jews in 1290. In 1396, one lakh Jews were expelled from France. In 1421, according to reports, " thousands" were expelled from Austria. Following the Spanish Inquisition, the entire population of 2 lakh Saphardic Jews were expelled from Spain. In the 17th century almost no Jew lived in western Europe.
Following the Second World War, according to reports, six million Jews were murdered methodically and with horrifying cruelty in what came to be known as holocaust. In Poland, more than one million Jews were murdered in gas chambers at the Auschwitz concentration camp alone. It is the European Christian world alone that was responsible for the creation of Israel. Does anybody remember Adolf Hitler? India had nothing to do with Jewish persecution. It is purely a barbaric European invention. It is the Christian world that is responsible for the clash between Jewish Israel and the Islamic world. India has nothing to do with it.
Three: If the hypocritical western world is against Islamic Iran going in for nuclear bombs, why was the United States silent when Pakistan was accumulating them openly ( it now apparently has about ninety bombs) all these years? Because it paid Washington to look the other way, even if India was to be Pakistans target? Why did the US support Pakistan in all its anti- Indian activities, giving it billions of dollars in aid which were used against India by a vicious Islamabad? So, if Pakistan can have nuclear bombs, why can't Iran?
Four: Iran reportedly has terrorist gangs actively working against many countries, including India. India, surely, will warn Iran against such criminal activities but that would be in an entirely different context. Doesn't Pakistan use terrorists against India? What have the US and Israel done to stop that? Five: India does not want to get involved in any anti- Iran activities just to please the US and let it be known that if India buys oil from Iran, it also simultaneously buys defence equipment from Israel. Washington would do well not to bully India which has its own national interests to protect.
Six: If the US wants to stop Iran from making nuclear bombs, the right approach is first to de- nuclearize Pakistans nuclear weaponry.
Seven: Furthermore, if the US wants to prove its concerns over nuclear proliferation, it must first tell Britain and France to get rid of their nuclear weapons and, at the same time get rid of its own stock of over 10,000 nuclear bombs. Then Iran will have no reason to go for nuclear weaponry. And let that be a for all nuclear states to follow, including Israel, Russia, China and India. There can't be one law for the US and its allies and another for its opponents.
Eight: India does not want to antagonise the US, let alone any other nation in the world. It wants to live in peace with every country, including China and Pakistan for mutual benefit. But it would fight to the finish any effort by any power, western or eastern, to limit its freedom and endanger its security. Its message to all UN members is: 'Don't fool around with us. It would be an unwise thing to do'.
Nine: Is there any way to peacefully resolve the current conflict that could end up with Israel going in for a unilateral attack on Iran? Can one find a way to bring Iran into the international mainstream? If there is any one who can help, it is surely India. Approach India positively, not antagonistically. Think it over, Mr. Obama.
Ten: It is not in Indias interests to have a fundamentalist Islamic state become nuclear- armed. It is bad enough to have an immediate neighbour as a nuclear state. It would be worse to have another Muslim state go nuclear. To bring stability, one must find suitable ways to improve interstate relations and India has a role in pursuing this. In the circumstances, the West, especially the US, must think twice before hurting Indias feelings and worse still to force India into taking what will ultimately turn out to be an anti- Islamic stand. It is not in Indias interests to let itself be pushed to the wall.
Eleven: We are dealing with historical antagonisms that cannot be resolved overnight. Wars do not help. Israel would be wise in not taking a unilateral decision to hit out at Iran. India can never be a party to such action and this must be clearly understood. To say that in supporting Iran, India is supporting terrorism is to befool oneself. Let it be remembered that terrorism was encouraged first in South Asia by the US itself to get rid of Russia from Afghanistan. It is the United States that is the father of terrorism and it is India that has also suffered as much, thanks to American thoughtlessness. India has suffered silently. The greatest Axis of Evil is one between Washington and Islamabad. What is worse is that the United States continues to finance Pakistan to the tune of $ 2 billion every year, knowing fully well that this amount is used by the ISI for its own sinister anti- Indian activities.
And finally, Twelve: Don't make an enemy of India because it refuses to play the western game. If there is one country in the world which can hopefully act as a moderator between Christian West and Islamic Middle East, it is India. Iran has been indulging in sabre- rattling, obviously in retaliation to American provocations.
Media reports indicate that an anti- India campaign is gaining ground in the US for the US to foster it from behind the scene, it must be warned, would not be in its own interests. The West supports Israel out of a guilt complex arising from past sins and present security concerns. India has no desire to become part of western machinations, in its own interests which would be in the interests of peace in a strife- torn region, as well.
