Congressional Statements

Sen. Joseph Biden on US-India Relationship

Text of a speech delivered at Joint Conference on "Indo-US Synergy: Future of our Economic and Political Partnership"

Organized by FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and the Indo-US Parliamentary Forum, Washington, DC
June 18, 2002

As a Senator from Delaware, I have seen the number of Indian Americans in my state grow from a tiny group of no more than a few families into a truly vital sector of our business community. As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, I have seen relations between the United States and India grow into a close friendship. It's my firm conviction, and one happily held, that both trends will continue in the years to come.

It's not much of a stretch to say that the ever-deepening ties between our nations have been forged and strengthened by the people right here.

But, while there is every reason to be optimistic about the larger geopolitical issue -- relations between India and the United States -- recent events in the region are worrisome. To put it in business terms, the fundamentals are sound. I am bullish on the long-term prospects -- but the entire sector could be facing a few very rough quarters.

There was a very strong possibility that India and Pakistan would be in the midst of a full-blown war. It looks like we have dodged a bullet for now. But unless we use this time of crisis to address some root causes of the conflict between India and Pakistan, we will have to confront the very same dangers over and over again.

As my father says, the only war worse than one that's intended is one that is unintended. The first World War was started by accident. Anyone who pays heed to history knows: beware of unintended consequences. What are the fundamental issues? Well, the most immediate one is terrorism and violent insurgency that continue in Kashmir. The bombing outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi reminded Americans how far the poison flows -- from Afghanistan to the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea. But Indians needed no such reminder. The citizens of India are all too familiar with the pain, the anger and the frustration of trying to combat terrorism while maintaining a commitment to democratic norms. Indians know how hard it is to uphold basic human decency while fighting terrorists who are neither decent nor humane.

Indians remember the video images of women and children killed in Jammu a month ago. They remember the daylight raid on the legislature in Srinagar last Fall. They remember the tragic sights of countless other attacks over the past thirteen years. Indians remember the terrible shock of a brazen suicide assault on Parliament House, in the heart of New Delhi, back in December.

We Americans know the sense of national violation caused by an attack on our seat of government. I understand the desire to strike back -- strike hard, strike fast, hurt them so badly they don't ever dare do something like this again. That was my initial feeling last Fall. But what Americans and Indians have learnt in the past year is that we can't just strike hard, we have to strike smart. A reflexive retaliation, fueling yet another cycle of attack and counterattack, is precisely what the terrorists want.

I applaud India for refraining from any action across the Line of Control -- and in light of the enormous stakes, I think India's restraint was very wise and seems to have borne fruit; for the moment, at least. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf seems to have turned off the spigot of infiltration. But there are many extremists already operating in Kashmir, and elsewhere, who would like nothing better than to bring India and Pakistan back to the brink of war.

I also applaud India for taking concrete steps to de-escalate tensions. They have withdrawn the Indian fleet from forward deployment in the Arabian Sea. They have granted overflight rights to Pakistani civil aviation in Indian air space. And they are preparing to send a new High Commissioner to Islamabad. Pakistan has belittled these steps, but I think they are significant. The world applauds Indian leadership and judgment. I know it's hard.

General Musharraf can greatly decrease tensions if he would merely fulfill the promises he made on January 12. When he made that speech, I was in Kabul, and the text of it was relayed to me by staff who had received it via telephone, you may be interested to know, not from Islamabad, but from Delhi!

I was very encouraged by Musharraf's speech because he said the right things, for the right reasons. He promised to root out the violent extremist groups that had dug themselves into Pakistani society -- to root them out not for the sake of America, or of India, but for the sake of Pakistan itself. And this is important: the speech was received with joy by the people of Pakistan [not to mention the folks in the Kabul Embassy] because it seemed as if General Musharraf finally got it: if you play with fire, you are going to get burned. And Musharraf has been playing with fire.

Musharraf promised that Pakistani soil would never again be used as a launching ground for terrorism in Kashmir. He promised he would break the back of the violent extremist groups undermining the stability of Pakistan. He immediately arrested 2,000 members of the worst groups. But what happened then? After gently inviting the leaders of these groups in for a cozy period of house arrest, he let them go. After briefly detaining hundreds of the worst sort of thugs, he let them go. Virtually everyone arrested in January is now back on the streets.

Now Musharraf has got to keep his promise. He has got to shut down infiltration, not for a few weeks, not for a few months, but forever. He has got to cut off Interservices Intelligence's support for violent extremist groups like the ones that perpetuated the attacks in Karachi and Jammu.

He has got to shut down the camps where the terrorists are trained. If he doesn't, even the most sincere effort to end infiltration won't succeed. If he doesn't, terrorists who don't find a way into Kashmir will certainly find other targets in Pakistan. In short, what Musharraf has to do is simply keep his promise to the people of Pakistan.

He promised to crack down on terrorism, in Pakistan and in Kashmir. And as far as I'm concerned, if Musharraf truly were to crack down on the terrorists, that would be a good start. After that my hope is that he puts the terrorists out of business and keeps them out of business ... that he will make good on the promise of January 12 -- it's the right thing for India, and the right thing for Pakistan.

In the medium term, he should restore the political, economic and diplomatic relationship with India to the level attained during the Lahore Summit. That won't be easy for Musharraf. I think he wants to make peace with India -- or, at least, he knows he has to make peace with India.

He's a military man, so he knows that in any conventional war the Indian Army could rout the Pakistanis. Let's face it, Pakistan's record against India over the past five decades has not been one of military success. In the long term, Pakistan has to be more realistic about Kashmir's future. If India is willing to make substantive changes in its policy towards Kashmir, Pakistan must be willing to accept the Line of Control as a border and end its support for insurgency. And what should India do? India, as the aggrieved party, has responded appropriately during the current crisis. It was wise to show restraint.

There is one short-term issue, however, on which I must voice a strong note of friendly caution -- Gujarat. As a friend of India, I cannot look at what has happened in Gujarat over the past few months and remain silent. About 2,000 people have been slaughtered in mob violence there, often -- whether you like to here it or not -- with the collusion of local officials. Well over a hundred thousand victims have been driven from their homes, seen their businesses destroyed. Whole communities have been decimated, the bonds between Hindu and Muslim torn apart.

As Prime Minister Vajpayee and others have noted, this is an absolutely unacceptable blight on India's good character.

Some point to the horrific killing of dozens of Hindus by Muslims as an excuse for the subsequent killing of many hundreds of Muslims by Hindus. That's just plain wrong. That is just plain wrong.

No matter what the provocation, nothing justifies the slaughter of innocent women and children. That's certainly not the legacy of that most famous son of Gujarat, Mahatma Gandhi.

Gujarat can be a beacon for the future. As you know, its people are superb businessmen -- and business thrives most in a time of peace. It is manifestly in the interests of India and Pakistan to find a pathway to peace.

In the medium and the long term, India will have to find a way to regain the true allegiance of the people of Kashmir. Eventually India must seek a creative approach -- perhaps a return to some form of autonomy of the 1950s. Perhaps it will be something wholly new.

The United States won't try to impose a solution ... we will facilitate discussions, if we are asked by both sides. But any solution will have to be hammered out by the parties themselves.

So why, in the light of all this, do I remain optimistic? I am optimistic because of the vibrancy of the Indian economy. I am optimistic because of the booming information technology sector -- an area of virtually limitless potential for Indo-US cooperation in the years to come. And because of the incredible vitality and entrepreneurial spirit of Indian Americans. The cross-fertilization of ideas, technologies and business partnerships between the two countries will continue to grow -- and Indian Americans will be the gardeners who make this relationship blossom.

The Indian American business community is, in a very real sense, a building block for regional peace.

The leaders of the Indian American business community are doing something very brave. You are investing your time, your energy -- and, yes, your money -- in a part of the world many other businessmen haven't got the guts to explore.

If peace is to come to South Asia, it won't be forged solely by diplomats or politicians. It will be built up job by job, plant by plant, person by person. And in that battle for peace, you, my friends, are troops on the front line. And as that day approaches, Americans and Indians alike look to you with gratitude.

As reported in India Abroad, June 28, 2002.