Burma comes out of its shell Burma comes out of its shell By: Sridhar Kumaraswami With India no longer uncomfortable about an ndemocratic Myanmar as a neighbour, New Delhi's relations with Yangon is growing. It's now time for no-holds-barred realpolitik. 'I Wish to reassure my Myanmar friends that while India is proud to be a democracy, we are not in the business of exporting it.' These words of the Indian ambassador to Myanmar, R.K.Bhatia, to a group of visiting Indian and Myanmar journalists sum up India's foreign policy with regard to that country. It's no wonder then that relations between the two countries have improved considerably in the past five years. Myanmar now backs India's bid for permanent membership of the UN Security Council. Ties between the two nations had soured on the Nineties over the detention of National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Given that the Burmese Tatmadaw (army) is comfortably ensconced in power with no real threat to it, India has chosen to adopt a more pragmatic approach while dealing with its north-eastern neighbour. Contrast this with India-Nepal ties where India has chosen to insist on Kathmandu's immediate return to democracy after the recent palace coup. India has chosen, instead, to focous on several other factors in its ties with Yangon. Myanmar is one of two neighbours that isn't part of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc). It is instead part of the vibrant Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) that includes some of Asia's rapidly growing tiger economies. India, currently a dialogue partner with Asean, hopes to further economic ties with Asean nations, including mineral-rich Myanmar. Myanmar is also in the process of opening itself to the world. After the cocial upgeaval of 1988 ­ following 26 years of failed socialism under General Ne Win ­ the Tatmadaw rulers adopted free-market policies aimed at strengthening the economy. Joining Asean in 1997 was another step in this direction. Cultural and historical ties, too, have assumed a major role. "Senior General Than Shwe ( Myanmar's head of State ) himself has pointed out on numerous occasions that India is the land of the Buddha and that Buddhism reached Myanmar from India," points out Bhatia. As far as official figures go, Myanmar's population is nearly 90 per cent Buddhist and Buddhism is an important part of national life. The majesty of Yangon's magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda attests to this. There are also historical ties that are more recent. A proud kingdom, Myanmar was annexed by the British in three stages in the 19th century and made part of India. The two neighbours secured independence within a year of each other. Over the years, India has realized the immense benefits of a cordial relationship with Yangon. Even geo-politically, Myanmar is no pushover. In Bhatia's words, "It's one fourth the size of India with just one-twentieth its population". Both countries are also battling insurgencies. Myanmar is combating an insurgency in its Shan state. A bomb explosion in Yangon in May this year killed several people, shaking the peace and tranquility of the city. Myanmar also borders several of India's volatile insurgency-ridden north-eastern states. When it comes to democracy, the Myanmar government has expressed the desire to usher in a discipline-flourishing' democratic system in future. Yangon's position is that this will happen after a 'national convention'finalises a new constitution. India's understanding of the situation in Myanmar is also based on ground realities. The New Light of Myanmar, a State-owned English newspaper, in an article on March 29 this year, made it clear that "the Tatmadaw (army) will always stand as a national political force to serve and protect the national interest". It added that the "Tatmadaw will also shoulder its future national responsibilities above and beyond the call of duty". The military government in Myanmar has also taken the position that it is "impossible for the nation to copy western democracy directly". The 1990 elections that resultesd in an overwhelming victory for Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD has been dismissed by the government "as an election merely for the framing of the State constitution for which the nation was desperate". The NLD recently observed the 15th anniversary of the ill-fated 1990 elections and it's clear that the party stands no chance of coming to power in Yangon. "Relations between the two countries are good, now that India has ceased to put any pressure on the democracy issue, "confided a Myanmar official. It's realpolitik practiced by New Delhi in the true sense of the word. Source - Hindustan Times, New Delhi, Friday, June 3, 2005 ~