“OBOR – China’s spiritual project in Asia”
This experience made me recall a conversation with a former Ambassador and senior col-league at IDSA, P. Stobdan. He has often articulated the idea that China is “rapidly developing a plan for a ‘Buddhist globalisation’ with its financial, political and marketing clout”. He has argued that President Xi has been instrumental in putting Chinese Buddhism on the global stage since 2005 even before ascending to the apex of the Chinese leadership. Stating that China controls the World Buddhist Sangha Council founded in Sri Lanka in 1966, Stobdan explains that the Chinese are helping to repair, renovate and resurrect Buddhist institutions across Asia. “Buddhist globalisation helps Beijing push its economic projects – religious diplomacy makes it easier for China to win economic and infrastructural projects in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal and elsewhere.” He has provoked a debate in New Delhi by describing the OBOR as nothing but the ‘political geography of Buddhism’ and spoken open-ly of how “China’s ability to edge in on India’s cultural influence has geopolitical benefits for Beijing.”
This is reinforced by the fact that China’s $3 billion investment in Nepal is aimed at linking OBOR with Buddha’s birthplace in Lumbini. Further, the Chinese hand in Pakistan’s attempts to revive the ‘Gandhara trail’ by linking Lahore, Taxila and Peshawar as Buddhist pilgrimage routes cannot be missed. In fact, it has been speculated that it is on Beijing’s insistence that, Islamabad sent sacredTaxila relics to Sri Lanka for a public exposition during Vesak day (day of enlightenment of Buddha) and even received a delegation of 40 high ranking Sri Lankan Buddhist monks scholars, led by Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, earlier this year.
India being the land of the Buddha, has never had to lay claims to its spiritual heritage, yet it certainly has felt the need to do more to reclaim its legacy. In 2011, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government hosted the first Global Buddhist Congregation and then joined hands with Myanmar in 2012 to convene a conference of Buddhist scholars in Yangon. From the beginning of his term in 2014, Prime Minister Modi has often evoked Buddhism in his diplomacy and outreach to leaders in the neighbourhood in Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka and in building bridges with countries like Myanmar, Japan and Korea. However, as 2017 has proved, Modi’s hopeful idea that “shared heritage” could smoothen tensions between Delhi and Beijing has not fructified.
The “CPEC Biryani”: A case for building cultural consensus in Pakistan
If India needed more examples of China’s attempts at cultural appropriation in South Asia, it need look no further than across the border. The Pakistani media was abuzz with comments and even criticism of what they labelled as the “CPEC Biryani ad” showcasing the all-weather Pakistan China Friendship. The roll out of the $ 42-62 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor has seen a an influx of Chinese companies and expats into the country, making sceptics fear that apart from issues of economic viability, Pakistan will soon become a Chinese colony.
The advertisement for a biryani masala, so carefully choreographed, seems to have all the answers for the critics of the CPEC. It opens in a wealthy neighbourhood in Lahore, with women going about their routine, as a Chinese expatriate observes them from her home. When her husband expresses concern and asks the wife if she has tried to make new friends in the city, she reminds him of the striking cultural differences as they dig their chopsticks into bowls of noodle soup. They continue to eat in silence when the wife has an idea. The following 45 seconds show the Chinese woman first shopping at the supermarket and then bustling in the kitchen as she follows a Biryani recipe translated to Mandarin. The advertisement cuts to the now headscarf-wearing Chinese protagonist carrying biryani in a bam-boo steamer basket and crossing over to her neighbours. At the doorstep, she mumbles a soft “assalamu alaikum” leaving her Pakistani neighbour pleasantly surprised. The ladies of the house welcome her with quintessential warmth and cheek-pulling hospitality while praising the biryani made by their “Chini padosan” (Chinese neighbour). Wiping her tears away, the family matriarch soothes the overwhelmed protagonist by telling her that she is always welcome in their home.” The timing of this advertisement was crucial, as Pakistani economists point out that both Islamabad and Beijing are trying to ensure that ‘burgeoning resistance’, especially from the poor , who fear that CPEC is another attempt at land grabbing, does not flare up.
Sustaining Indian activism in South Asia
While it would be premature to look at the competition for influence in South Asia as a zero sum game, Beijing’s intervention in India’s neighbourhood in 2017 has set off alarm bells. Nepal elected a “China-friendly government”, which has promised to use Chinese investments to build up infrastructure including links across the Tibet-Nepal border. The signing over of Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port to China and Maldives finalising a free trade agreement with Beijing are all parts of China’s bullish embrace of the region. Ex Maldivian President Nasheed, visiting India in August, had warned of the presence of Chinese warships in Male, while saying that Doklam had put smaller countries in the region in an uncomfortable spot, with most not wanting to pick sides.
Talking about China’s support to Myanmar on the Rohingya issue, the head of a visiting delegation from Bangladesh told scholars in IDSA:
“The common man in Bangladesh has no expectations from China on the Rohingya issue but much disappointment from the Indian side. In fact Bangladesh is enthusiastic about the BRI and is looking at an increased Chinese footprint in the country. Beijing’s social investments, with the jump in the number of language centres, large exchange of students and rapid expansion of soft power are being welcomed by Dhaka. China is looking at an entry into the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean Region through deep sea port facilities and hence has made commercial, strategic and social inroads into Bangladesh.”
This is the harsh reality in South Asia today that India has to contend with. India’s recent activismwith partner countries in South Asia bilaterally and through regional groupings like BIMSTEC is a step in the right direction and needs to be sustained. In a majority of conferences in New Delhi, the most common refrain heard from South Asian experts (except Pakistan), is that “India needs to do more”. This is positive news for India. Despite China’s strategic push, economic dole outs and attempts at cultural appropriation, it is India which South Asian countries have expectations of and feel comfortable enough to complain to. The relationship goes beyond the transactional. Yet, India would do itself no good if it took these expectations for granted.
As we head into 2018, a former Foreign Secretary’s words after the de-escalation in Doklam carry an important lesson. She said: “if there’s a clear winner, it must be Bhutan, for it won peace.” The Doklam template was one of mutual respect between Bhutan and India and that needs emulation in all aspects of India’s dealings with the countries in the region. It is clear that the Chinese military is not the only threat India needs to watch out for in South Asia. China’s meticulous and bullish economic and cultural embrace will have long term implications for the region.
Courtesy: With permission reproduced from www.idsa.in
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