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Images of Kashmir don't match the reality, says Naresh Chandra

Vaishali Honawar in Washington DC

Images of Kashmir raised in the international media have nothing to do with the reality there, according to Indian ambassador in the United States, Naresh Chandra.

"People in Kashmir play golf, (go) boating," he said during an interview this week in Washington, DC. Also, he said, the Indian army was exercising maximum restraint at the Line of Control.

Chandra came down hard on "the attempt to tie the Indian nuclear tests with Kashmir, Pakistan and China", calling it "an artificial connection that does not exist".

What really lay behind the Indian tests, said Chandra, was a genuine concern for Indian security and that had nothing to do with any one neighbour in particular. A country of a billion people needed to strengthen its defence, he said, adding: "What do France and the UK have to fear? Why do they have nuclear deterrents?"

Reiterating time and again that the Indian nuclear programme had nothing to do with Pakistan, Chandra said, "We don't look at Pakistan at all as a military threat."

"The entire picture is reduced to India versus Pakistan. We don't mean Pakistan any harm. This whole security issue is not a match. We want a peaceful environment with our neighbours."

He added that India had always supported Pakistan at the IMF and the World Bank "because we want them to be developed."

He also criticised the international media for exaggerating details of the 14 per cent hike in India's defence budget. "Seven per cent of the hike is due to the exchange rate of the rupee having fallen," he said. "Also, a 40 per cent pay hike (for defence personnel) has taken place. The 14 per cent hike in reality is no more than a few percentage points."

"India spends the least on defence" in comparison with other countries -- just 2.6 per cent of the GDP, he said. "An Indian spends just about 90 cents a month on defence."

Chandra also pointed out that India had never wanted to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and was not yet ready to make a firm commitment on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

About the P-5's refusal to admit India into the nuclear club, he said: "Who asked for NPT status? We are not in favour of a club approach." About the conflicting reports made by Indian leaders on the NPT, he said, "It's an evolving issue. All kinds of images are being raised in the press. A cogent set of data is slowly emerging."

About the CTBT, he said there were several points in the treaty that required a different approach. "We have made that point."

India, he said, was also not working for the lifting of the sanctions as "enhancements to our weapons programme were legitimate," he said, pointing out that "India had broken no laws through its tests."

As for lobbying for favour in the US senate, "I don't think we play that game. We are neither applicants nor supplicants," he said.

He dismissed a recent show of support for Pakistan by 25 American senators and representatives and their plans to introduce a resolution seeking UN intervention in Kashmir. "In the senate people hold many views. No serious majority holds views one way or the other."

However, he pointed out, "I am quite sure very positive and diplomatic results are on the cards. India has made many moves by statements and actions to dispel exaggerated reports of the fallouts of the nuclear tests."

Chandra also dismissed reports that foreign investors were withdrawing from India. He said he had spoken with a member of the US-India Business Council recently who had assured him that there had not been a single withdrawal.

He held on firmly to the Indian stand that there should be no international interference in Kashmir and that the issue should be settled bilaterally. "Mediation takes place only when both the concerned parties agree," he said.

He also ruled out any chance of India participating in a discussion on Kashmir with the G-8 or the P-5, if invited. "The P-5 and G-8 meetings in May made it clear that all powers are agreed that it will be negative to interfere in Kashmir. The issue has to be settled bilaterally. The P-5 and G-8 are not courts to act as arbiters or referees."

Asked about reports that India was acting difficult over a meeting with Pakistan to start a dialogue over Kashmir, Chandra said that "petty details were clouding the whole issue" and were being sorted out. The heads of the two countries will meet in July at the SAARC summit in Colombo, he said, when they hope to discuss Kashmir.

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