Rise of India and implications for Pakistan and the Muslim world.

The rise of China has forced the West to devise strategies to retain world leadership, or at least be major players in the future. West feels that a democratic, capitalist and economically resurgent India is their natural ally in this struggle against communist China. Therefore, despite its massive human rights violations, the West continues to support India. A strong India not only helps in containment of China but also possible de-nuclearization of Pakistan, the only Muslim nuclear country, through its balkanization. Therefore, the West and its allies are fully supporting India to become an economic and military regional power.

How would a strong India treat its neighbouring region, specially Pakistan, the Middle East and the Central Asian Republics (CARs)? India has the World's third largest armed fForces. The bulk of these are deployed against Pakistan. None of India's large mechanized forces can be used against China due to the Himalayas. Indian future behaviour can be predicted from its emerging military capabilities and past employment of its armed forces against its neighbours. India militarily invaded Kashmir in October 1947 and since then is in perpetual occupation against multiple UN resolutions. It militarily annexed Junagadh and Hyderabad (Deccan) in November 1947 and September 1948 respectively, followed by Goa in 1961.

Through employment of its armed forces it captured erstwhile East Pakistan in 1971 and annexed Sikkim in 1975. It intervened militarily in Sri Lanka from 1987-90 and in the Maldives in 1988. The rise of India and its track record of using military instruments to further its policies does not augur well for the regional countries. When Indians look at the Middle East and the CARs, they see oil-rich, sparsely populated and militarily weak countries. History has many examples where strong countries always found reasons to occupy or dominate economically prosperous, resource-rich but militarily weak neighbours. Indian interests in the region are not hidden. Th3n Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while addressing senior military officers in 2004, said, 'Our strategic footprint covers the region bounded by the Horn of Africa, West Asia (Middle East), CARs, Afghanistan and South Asia, and beyond to the far reaches of the Indian Ocean.'

Pakistan is the only hurdle to these aggressive Indian designs. Pakistan is like a dam, holding back a billion -plus Indians from coercing the /middle East and CARs into subjugation...