Book Review-3
The
Afghanistan Crisis, Issues and Perspectives
K.Warikoo
(ed.), New Delhi: Bhavana Books and Prints, 2002.
Pages 523. Price. $50.
Editor of the book The
Afghanistan Crisis, Issues and Perspectives
Professor K.Warikoo is the Chairperson of Center for South and Central and
South East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi. His major publications include Central
Asia and Kashmir: A study in the Context of Anglo-Russian Rivalry (New
Delhi: 1989); Ethnicity and Politics in Central Asia (Co-editor)
(New Delhi: 1992) Central Asia: Emerging New Order (Editor) (New
Delhi: 1995), Society and Culture in the Himalayas (Editor) (New
Delhi: 1995), Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh: Linguistic Predicament
(Co-editor) (New Delhi: 1996)), Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir
(Editor) (Bhopal: 2001) and Bamiyan: Challenge to World Heritage
(New Delhi: 2002).
The book under review presents various perspectives on the
Afghanistan crisis ranging from ethno-politics, access to Central Asian
oil and gas, human rights, refugee situation, position of women, role and
response of regional and extra-regional powers and the rise of Taliban.
Basically the editor tries to cover the social, political, and strategic
dimensions of the Afghan crisis. The authors also try to go beyond the
consequences of the conflict and give a futuristic view to highlight the
gravity of the problem. The articles are generally of good quality, but at
places they lack objectivity.
Scholars from India, Australia, Central Asian Republics,
Pakistan and United States have contributed to this volume which provides
information about the situation in Afghanistan under the Taliban and its
implications for peace and security in Central and South Asia. Located at
the crossroads of Central, South and West Asia and sharing its borders
with Central Asia on the north, Chinese province of Xinjiang in the east,
Iran on the west and southwest and Pakistan on the south and southeast,
Afghanistan occupies a unique geostrategic position in the region. In the
Post-Cold War period, which witnessed the demise of USSR, establishment of
an Islamic state and the rise of Taliban, Afghanistan remained at the
centre stage of regional and international politics.
The articles on the impacts of Afghan war on the
neighbouring states are quite thought provoking. They cover relations of
Afghanistan with the United States, Pakistan, Central Asia, Iran, Russia,
India and China and the role played by these powers in contributing to
turmoil in Afghanistan and their convergences and divergences on the issue
of Afghanistan.
Sultan Shahin in “The Taliban view of Jihad and the Islamic
Precepts” admits that fighting is only permitted in a particular situation
according to Islamic values. He quotes many Islamic scholars to
substantiate his arguments while terming the jihadi elements in
contemporary politics as “rhetoric.” He argues that these elements are
detrimental to the image of Muslims following a peace loving religion,
‘Islam’, which literally means peace.
Afsir Karim in “Taliban Phenomenon and the Security
Environment” seems irrelevant to the current situation and many of the
predictions have proved to be wrong. He has claimed that Taliban-Pakistan
together represent a dangerous strategic alliance between two forces of
radical Islam. The author has a view that Pakistani intelligence trained
and motivated the Taliban.
‘The Role of Outside Actors in Afghanistan’ has written by
Amin Saikal raises many queries which need to be verified on the
parameters of history. For example he writes that Pakistan’s former
military ruler General Zia-ul-Haq promoted the political supremacy of the
Pashtuns as a historically dominant force in Afghanistan. He also points
that a shift in US policy for close ties with India has already gained
momentum. He accuses US for its myopic policies. The author believes
Vladimir Putin has actively sought to coordinate efforts to increase
international pressure on the Taliban.
“Confronting Creeping Invasions: Afghanistan, the UN and the
World Community”, by William Maley is divided into five sections. The
first section is about use of surrogates by states in modern conflicts.
The second gives a brief background of the Afghan conflict and mentions
about the international involvement. The third section is about Pakistan’s
involvement in the conflict. The fourth-controversial section is the
comparison and contrast of Pakistani backing for Taliban and its alleged
support for freedom movement in Kashmir. In the last section, the author
discusses the few specific challenges which the ‘creeping invasion’ poses
for a unipolar international order and for the UN and offers some
remedies.
The article written by S.D Muni on “India’s Afghan Policy:
Emerging from the Cold” contains some interesting details about India’s
foreign policy towards the former Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan
was driven by its domestic and internal political situation. India’s
pro-Soviet foreign policy prevented India from adopting any anti-Soviet
stance on the issue of Afghanistan. He also highlights that the Soviet
presence in Afghanistan provided justification to USA and Pakistan for
their presence in Afghanistan.
K.Warikoo, the editor of the book has written a chapter on
“Shadow of Afghanistan over Kashmir”. The article starts with the
historical background of Kashmir issue. He also mentions how Islam has
been radicalised in this troubled region. According to him the Iranian
revolution played a significant role. The Post-Soviet Afghanistan emerged
as an inspiration for the Islamic extremists in Kashmir and they also
extended the concept of Jihad into Kashmir. The author feels that Islam
and Pakistan are the basic factor behind the Kashmir freedom movement
while he ignored the rest of the important events and factors. He has not
mentioned that the end of Cold War was the era of sea change all over the
world and almost all the developing world rose against US “imperialism.”
UN resolution on Kashmir and India’s acceptance of these resolutions have
not been adequately dealt with.
The book does not comprehend the issues about Durand Line
and status of tribal areas of Pakistan. Any future historian can focus on
the changed political and strategic dimensions of the region while
analysing the US war against terrorism. The book provides a different view
for those scholars who work on Afghanistan and South Asia but may not
merit a major academic contribution on Afghanistan. On the whole, the
book is somewhat short on objective analysis, making unsubstantiated
statements and heavily relying on Indian version of Afghan affairs.
Unverified and sometimes distorted facts and events distract from the
academic worth of the book. However despite its limitation, the book is
recommended for readers who want to know the Indian perspective.
Asma Shakir Khawaja
Assistant
Research Officer, IPRI
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