West Asian Development
India shares the Islamic philosophy and thought with many west Asian nations. Are we much closer to west Asia now than 30 years ago? Do secular ideas or secular thought impinge on our relations?
A.
I would say that our relations with the Muslim world in west Asia are much closer than they were thirty years ago. Our position on Palestine is a heritage of our freedom struggle which has brought us both politically and emotionally together. With the pioneering role Nehru and Nasser played in the non-aligned movement the relationships with many leading Arab nations improved and later on most of the Arab nations joined the nonaligned movement. Our relations with Iran had also improved and I hope it will stay that way despite the present ferment there.
Q.
The conflicting points in west Asia are Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. What are your views on the west Asian situation?
A.
There are many difficult issues in that part of the world. The basic one is the question of Palestine. The heart of the problem is the demand of the Palestine people to have their own national state recognised and evacuation of the occupied territories by Israel. These are two fundamental things. I think India should stand on principles on these issues. For that matter, India has to work for unity amongst the Arab countries themselves. Anything that disunites the Arabs is not only against the interests of the Arabs but also against the interests of all developing countries in Africa and Asia.
Q.
There is an on-going revolution in Iran. What are your views on the new shape of things in Iran?
A.
I think things seem to be going on in an inevitable way because historical forces are at work. I do not want to express any view about the internal situation of any country. But taking a general view, authoritarian regimes or monarchies seem to be incompatible with the new trends. Iran was swaying with the upsurge of modernisation, and it could not go well with the old style of authoritarian regime. It looks as though the change was inevitable, though we do not know what precisely is going to be the shape of things in Iran.
Authoritarian regimes must learn their own lessons from these developments. Any kind of autocratic or absolute monarchical system is an anachronism today. I would like to emphasize that the enlargement of individual liberty in these countries will be to their advantage. I think the time has come for the new Iran to join the non-aligned movement and take the enlightened position of a sovereign country.