Religious fanaticism is a very
dangerous trend
T.N. KAUL needs no introduction. As
Indias best known foreign policy expert, he has had
long innings with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur
Shastri, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. As a member of
the UNESCO Executive Board for five years, he has been a
past-master at espousing Indias cause in the world
forum.
A widely travelled man,
Kaul has served as Indias ambassador in countries
like Britain, China, USA, the erstwhile Soviet Union and
Iran. He was the Chairperson of International Commission
in Vietnam and also the Indian representative to Mongolia
and the Bahamas. He was also the Foreign Secretary for
over four years and in that capacity he came in touch
with world leaders and participated in international hub
centres.
An honorary fellow
of Kings College, London, where he did his masters in
law, Kaul has written almost a dozen books on the
erstwhile Soviet Union, USA, China, Britain, the
Non-Aligned Movement and more. He is an honorary
professor of Kashmir University and also takes an active
interest in public and social activities. Despite his
advancing age, he is the Chairman of the HRCF and Man and
Development and also President of the World Affairs
Foundation.
Active as ever,
Kaul is constantly on the move whether attending a
conference or addressing a seminar or chairing an
international meeting overseas. Just back from a trip to
London, Kaul took time out to talk to Sharad K. Soni
about his reflections of the century.
"I have no doubt in
my mind that the 20th century has been one of the worst
centuries in the history of mankind. There were two World
Wars and a Cold War which lasted till almost the early
nineties. And the latter was, to my mind, the most
diabolic version of a war.
People say that the Cold
War ended with the disintegration of the Soviet Union but
I am not too sure of that. I feel it has started all over
again but this time against countries which defy the
established nuclear powers. The so-called Super Five led
by the USA have enough nuclear arsenal to destroy the
whole world. These five nations are now trying their
hardest to maintain their monopoly over nuclear weapons.
Not just that, they dont even want to share their
knowledge of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
And those, like India, who dont toe their line have
to bear the brunt of their wrath and are subjected to
economic and other sanctions.
The CTBT is another
gimmick which forbids future nuclear tests except in the
laboratory and only the USA can carry out these tests to
refine its existing weaponry. Now my fear is that if we
do not have a universal nuclear disarmament agreement in
the coming millennium, we are going to face the threat of
a nuclear holocaust which will wreak complete devastation
wherever the wind takes it.
India must take the lead
in using its nuclear capability as a deterrent against
violence. In fact both India and Pakistan should sign a
treaty of no-first use against each other and utilise
their influence and nuclear capability for total nuclear
disarmament. Otherwise the next century could be worse
than the current one and even be the last one for the
mankind.
Another negative point
of the twentieth century has been the increased drug
trafficking and the making use of the huge amounts of
money earned thereby for supporting terrorism and
violence.
Religious
fanaticism
Equally dangerous has
been the exploitation of religion by fanatics. The
results are now being manifested in Afghanistan and
Pakistan. What such states have failed to realise
throughout their existence is that danger from
fundamentalism can be immense. For example, it can
further dismember Pakistan and can lead to ethnic
cleansing as has been witnessed in Sindh, Baluchistan and
the NWFP.
But let me not be so
pessimistic about the century I have lived in. Despite
its flaws there is no denying that it also saw a number
of very positive developments. For instance, the process
of decolonisation started after World War II and India
was one of the first countries to attain freedom in 1947
from the British rule after almost two centuries. In the
sixties and seventies more and more countries,
particularly in Asia and Africa, attained independence
from colonial rule.
Another positive aspect
of this century was the setting up of the United Nations
which has to a certain extent guaranteed peace,
development and progress without impinging on the
sovereignty or territorial integrity of member countries.
The fact that the number of members in the UNOhas
increased from 50 in 1945 to over 140 shows the universal
acceptability of this concept.
The only worrying
feature about the United Nations is that the Security
Council is still a body of the Super Five which have the
right to veto decisions of even the permanent members.
This is very discriminatory and the UN needs to reflect
the realities of the present-day world much more
adequately and expand the Security Council for a wider
participation of nations. This right of veto must be
abolished in the new millennium.
Communication
explosion
Apart from the setting
up of the United Nations, one of the biggest
contributions of the 20th century has been the
communication explosion which has made the world more
interdependent and also brought people and countries
closer to one another.
Unfortunately in the
coming millennium, I can foresee it being used not just
positively but negatively as well. The positive aspect is
that communications will lead to a better understanding
and more peaceful, friendly relations between various
countries, regions and people. But if facilities like the
Internet are exploited for wrong purposes in the next
millennium, they can generate conflict and war.
The coming generations
would have to be more judicious in making proper use of
facilities and amenities which science and technology has
been providing us in this century and will continue
providing us in the next. These benefits should be made
available to all countries and people, especially those
in poor countries.
Priorities
for the millennium
In the new millennium
the world must also work towards the creation and
establishment of a new international economic, political
and cultural order. If this is not done, there will be
great danger of an explosion of widespread violence and
possibly the third world war.
The other priority of
world leaders should be to resolve disputes peacefully
and bilaterally and improve the lot of mankind through
constructive use of science and technology in the fields
of agriculture, industry, health, hygiene and education.
The third priority
should be to create a one world where no single country
or a combination of countries can dominate the rest,
where each individual has the opportunity to make his or
her contribution for peace and progress of the whole
world. In this cooperative venture, India can play a very
constructive role because of its policy of non-alignment.
These are some of the
most important priorities for a world on the threshold of
the new millennium. Most intellectuals know whats
gone wrong in the new century and how these wrongs can be
rectified. What the world now needs is a strong political
will to put these into action. More than that it needs
one mass leader who would work for the good of mankind.
To put it very bluntly I
dont think the world can continue the way it has in
this outgoing century where more than three-quarters of
the population lives below the minimum human standards
while the rest live in luxury. In the next century the
world must come together and find quick solutions to
issues like universal nuclear disarmament, greater
economic cooperation, pooling in of the resources of
science and technology and reaching the benefits to the
poorest of the poor of the world.
Mankind does not have
any more choices. In the new millennium it will
collectively have to work for a better and a happier
world where people have equal opportunities and there is
an equitable treatment particularly for the poorer
sections of society in each and every country.
Besides, leaders of the
world would have to rectify the widening gulf between the
haves and the have-nots for a better quality of life. I
fervently hope the new millennium brings about these
positive changes. NF 
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