Deep Intrigue on the Subcontinent

This post could also have been called 'Israel further endangers the world,' which would have been entirely fitting, except it doesn't grab one's imagination in quite the same way that 'intrigue' does. And this stuff is very intriguing, albeit scary and even a bit bizarre. What i'm referring to is Israel's relationship with right-wing Hindus and its increasing influence (read: profiteering) in India's 'security operations'. Came across this story in the UAE press about a 'radical Hindu group', Abhinav Bharat, best known for conducting a series of bombings last year in Maharashtra. The report claims that this relatively small group of fascists - let's be honest here - has been preparing to set up a shadow government based - you guessed it - in Tel Aviv. Helping a group that uses extreme violence to cleanse India of its muslims seems like an obvious step for Isreal. They could surficially justify it as the best way to assist Washington in rounding up all the genetically bad guys, since Israelis in military uniform io Pakistani soil would definitely not go over very well; on the periphery of the al-Qaeda-Taliban Wilderness Reserve, build up a strong Hindu buffer and make it that much harder for India and Iran to sustain progressive relations. Makes perfect sense, right? Israel aids fascist terrorists who have as their objective the elimination of supposedly fascist terrorists.

A couple of years ago, i came across mention of how Israelis had sold India on the need to construct a barrier between Jammu and Kashmir. Not only did they generously promote the idea (using their monstrosity in the Palestinian Territories as a model for what's possible), they also offered to help them build it, which was oh so kind and of course, very, very profitable. Researching this again, i learn that in fact, India followed Isreal's lead in unilaterally deciding where the border lies; in both cases, doing this violates international law but as we have learned, when it comes to fighting terrorism the law gets pretty simple, i.e. 'whatever we decide'. The law of the jungle has become the law of the desert; be careful what you wish for, chides a grinning Osama bin Laden. And this isn't the only thing that's familiar. According to a NY Times story from 2004:

In places, the fence has created divisions within a division. Some farmers have been separated from their grazing lands, and a few houses and hamlets that have been in Indian-held Kashmir since 1947 are now outside it because the fence could not be built around them without crossing into Pakistani territory. There are gates for cattle and people, with proper identification, to cross back into India.

It's easy to toss out cynical rhetoric about this, but what it means in very real terms is that Israel has set up yet another system in which people are daily subjected to humiliation and true hardship in the interests of financial and political greed. This is not occurring in an otherwise peaceful, idyllic setting. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Kashmir in the past decade or so, there's been a huge amount of suffering and now there is a wall. Indian commanders claim that successful attacks have decreased, but it's understood there still need to be some attacks, otherwise people will start to question whether the fence is really needed and maybe the time is right to make a political settlement.

People who want to come and are determined to come, they will come," said Umar Farooq, a political leader in Indian-held Kashmir who opposes Indian rule. "They have routes and maps, and they will use them." "It's a waste of money,'' he said, adding that it was better to pursue a political settlement. With the fence, he said, the Indians are "trying to sort of legitimize their claim day by day" to Kashmir.

This sure sounds like a day in the West Bank to me. Now here's where it gets both familiar and creepy. The NY Times story about Abhinav Bharat, which details the history of their prosecution for the Maharashta attacks, includes this update on the status of the case against them:

The investigations into the blasts were dealt a blow after the death in the Mumbai terrorist attacks in November of Hemant Karkare, who was head of Mumbai’s antiterrorist squad. Many people, including a federal minority affairs minister, demanded an inquiry in to the circumstances that led to Karkare’s death, alleging a right-wing Hindu group might have been behind it.

The last time the head of a terrorist unit was killed, it happened in NYC on 'that date' - you, know, the one that will be carved into Rudolph Giuliani's tombstone. But think about it, ok? India is now Israel's third largest customer in the arms market, with a growing Hindu nationalist movement that Israeli commandos work with as partners in the war on terror [sic]. A series of terrorist attacks is carried out by a group which at the very least, has been getting moral support from Israel as part of the latter's intensifying partnership with the politically-based Hindu nationalist movement - the one holding political power - and then the chief anti-terror investigator is killed in another attack, carried out by people whose identities and allegiances are not entirely clear. Dr. Vijay Prashad, in an excellent analysis of this relationship, makes a very good case that India is foolish employing Israel to advise them on security, since the Israeli record of success actually stinks. But my guess is that it's all much more diabolically orchestrated than what's been muckraked to date, and that Israel is influencing the political machinations in New Delhi in just as reprehensible ways as they've been doing for years in Washington. That Jews were killed in Mumbia now makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? We shouldn't ever believe for a minute that the State of Israel is unwilling to sacrifice the people it claims it exists to protect, in the interests of a higher goal. Back home, these deaths feed the monster, who in turn feeds on Muslim blood. The Hindu right loves Netanyahu; Netanyahu would just as soon nuke Gaza, and on and on and on.

To my mind, these are all very, very high stakes. Consider the decoupling of India and PakGhanistan in Richard Holbooke's mission statement. Evidently the Indian government had a very effective lobbying operation which succeeded in getting Obama (and presumably, Killary) to agree to keeping India out of the operations profile. India, perhaps under Israeli guidance, wants to remain an independent partner, a rogue operator, if you will, carrying out its own anti-terror (read: anti-muslim) agenda, which apparently is all about provocation but that is, after all, what fascists have always done best. What i find truly mind-boggling is why huge contries like the US and India are organizing their agendas according to what one of the smallest, most racist, countries ever tells them to prioritize. Whether Obama at some point takes the leap and says 'enough' remains to be seen, but this much is certain: Israel's agenda is totally corrupt and is magnifying conflicts which could otherwise be headed towards some measurable resolution. Intrigue can be a positive rush, but not this kind, if i choose to be honest about it.