Sixty Years On ...

What Are We

India, China and Pakistan are nuclear powers, all. Between our three countries, lives half of humanity. The poorest half of humanity. At one time the richest half of humanity.

Our three countries are blessed with adequate natural resources - and between us three, we will hardly need anyone else in the world. The rest of the world cannot say that about itself - or for us. Remember, the world still ‘orients’ itself.

Between us we are three, of the seven nuclear powers of the world.

Position In The Global Economy

Between our three countries, we have a foreign exchange currency reserve of more than US$2.5 trillion - equal to the one third the global forex reserves. Each year, we subsidize the West to the tune of US$250 billion in currency depreciation. It is this subsidy that enables the West to continue exploiting us. Between our three countries, we have one third of the world’s old reserves.

The subsidy by the three of us to the West increases, when we use the PPP matrix. Based on PPP, Western currencies are overvalued by 30%-50%. Combine the fact, that the current system allows the West to maintain no foreign exchange reserves and to use their own over valued currencies for trade, means that they pay us a lot less - and we pay them a lot more.

Prove To The World

Sixty years earlier, 80% of the world’s poorest lived in our countries . For many decades now, peoples in our country have been patient in their suffering. T

here has been progress. These poorest of the world, living in our countries, deserve a better deal. A much better deal.

They deserve peace, security, progress. We have 5000 years of history to show that we can do it. We have done it many times before. We can do it again. That is all our poorest ask and need. History shows that our three countries have accounted for 50%-65% of the world’s economic output. In my mind these are conservative figures.

I am sure that if our three countries can work together, like they have in the past, we will be able to account for more than 50% of the world’s economic output. History shows that when we three live in peace, there is peace in the world. When there is war, in our countries, the whole world is at war. Peace in our countries will usher peace in the world.

What Have We Achieved

60 years on, there is nothing to show for these border disputes. Dutifully, the Indians, Pakistanis and the Chinese glare at each other - over colonial border issues. These border issues are less than peripheral to our nations. We have allowed the past to hold our future as a hostage.

The past is extracting a ransom that we cannot afford to pay. Let us recognize our past for what it is - empty ballast that is dragging us down. Having achieved nothing on this front for the last 60 years, why do we wish to continue down that path? We need to see that going downhill is always easier than climbing the Himalayas.

The Detritus

As various colonial powers were forced out of various colonies, left behind was the garbage of colonialism. This post-colonial debris has become the ballast, that is dragging down many newly de-colonized countries.

Vietnam suffered from a prolonged war (1956-1976) - and finally peace had a chance after 20 years of war. Korea remains divided. The Cyprus problem between Turkey, Greece and the Cypriots has been simmering for nearly 100 years. The role of the Anglo Saxon Bloc, in Indonesia, the overthrow of Sukarno, installation of Suharto and finally the secession of East Timor is another excellent example. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict (1935 onwards) will soon enter its 75th year. The entire Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a creation of the Anglo-French-American axis. The many other issues in the West Asia and Africa are living testimony of the Western gift to the modern world.

Closer home is the Kashmir problem. After 60 years of negotiations, India-Pakistan relations have remained hostage to the Kashmir issue. Similarly, between China and India, the border issues remain 60 years after the eviction of Britain from India.

We Hereby Resolve

Let us decide that for the next 60 years, these legacy border issues will remain in cold storage! There are far more pressing issues that need our attention. Let us focus on those issues. We have a lot of catching up to do.