Geopolitics of religions in South Asia and role of Ambedkarite Social movement: Adding China to the geopolitical equation in South Asia

South Asia has a common political history before it was divided into different nation states. The politics of the region was rooted in the administration of the British that governed the present day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. Though Nepal did not have the Raj, it was like the protectorate of the British and similar was the case with Bhutan. The Maldives remained a fringe player in this region. After the formation of nation-states, the politics in the region began to veer towards religious nationalism and away from the civic nationalism.

The major player in the region based on population and geography is India and thanks to Babasaheb Ambedkar, India adopted human rights-based secular civic nationalism that put the individuals and their human rights at the centre of governance through the constitution of India. The political framework of India is secular and democratic at least constitutionality if not in practice. The neighbouring states of India charted out different paths. For example, Pakistan becomes the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Bangladesh turned towards becoming a Muslim majoritarian state sending the Non-Muslim tribes out of Bangladesh. Sri Lanka became a constitutional democracy but became dominantly Sinhalese speaking Buddhist majoritarian state.

Nepal officially became a Hindu state till it was challenged and changed by the incumbent Communist-Maoist movement. Bhutan similarly became a Buddhist state and threw Nepalese out of its boundaries in the 1990s. Myanmar also followed the similar path when 1% Rohingyas were described as a threat to Burmese nation and what followed was a communal riot.

Coming to India, it has become a hotbed of communal politics to the extent that contemporary India is veering farther away from the constitutional democracy and more towards the communal majoritarian state.

There are basically three religions entangled in the geopolitics of South Asia: Islam, Buddhism, and Brahminical Hinduism.

Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Maldives remain dominantly Islamic nations and two giant Islamic dominant states have a communal history of treating others as the threat to their nations. Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Bhutan are dominantly Buddhist nations and they have their own history of treating others as a threat to their nations. Nepal is no more a Hindu state, though it is dominated by the Hindutva forces. India is perhaps the most diverse of the countries compared with the other countries in South Asia.

And hence India is important and social movements, particularly the Ambedkarite movement is very important from the geopolitical point of view. The Ambedkarite movement challenges the majoritarian view of Hinduism imposed by the Brahminical deep state by exposing the exploitative nature of Brahmins through various agencies. While challenging this view, it also offers a democratic alternative that takes into consideration the proportionate representation of all the communities. It offers a vision of social justice for all and hence the Indian Islam which has 80 percent of the backward classes is now commonly included in the social justice movement.

Indian Islam, unlike the Islam in other parts of South Asia, is not influenced yet by the fundamentalism that is rising due to its connections with Sufism and inclusiveness. The Indian Islam is also the majority backward classes who are similarly fooled and ruled by the dominant castes. Hence the social justice movement that is developing among the Muslims in India is a great hope for the region. The Buddhism in India is growing by many folds as the movement inspired by Babasaheb Ambedkar is growing and hence Buddhism is bound to become a dominant strand of thought that will change the course of political history in the region.

The sense of social justice and the ability to advance social justice through peace and negotiation has been the hallmark of the Ambedkarite movement and this is what is needed in the region at this moment. The class of people which constitute 20 percent of Indian population and are becoming active in the other countries of South Asia have a tremendous power to bring peace in this region. The once exploited and violated people in the region are advancing their claim to the lead the peaceful transformation in the region through their rising social movement backed by the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity with the vision of social, economic, and political justice is the only way that will keep this region and safe and peaceful.

But, the reality of the region is not only confined to what was structured as SAARC: South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation. It is more or less a dead body now and nothing exciting is happening in this body. However, China is claiming that it is an important part of South Asia. The emergence of China changed the equation in South Asia dramatically and it seems that it is going to play an important role in the region. Let us look at the political history of China to get an idea of its political situation. Mao united China in much bigger proportion and hence the extensive landmass was brought under one political regime after the Chinese-style communist revolution that ended in 1949. The Republic of China was founded at the same time the countries in South Asia got power transferred to locals, but because of its culture, history, population dividend, landmass and unity of the political system, China attained remarkable progress in terms of economic development and to a greater extent political system under the strict regime of the Communist Party of China. The colour of the cat does not matter to Chinese Government till it catches the mice. The present system with its incorporation of capitalism has worked very well for China.

However, in the next phase of its geopolitical power, the Chinese are seeking soft power which comes from the culture and hence cultural power is important for China, besides economic power. The Chinese culture is dominated by three great systems of thoughts: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Buddhism has been a part and parcel of Chinese culture since a long time, but the Chinese Buddhism is very pragmatic and while Buddhism died in India after an attack of Brahminism, Buddhism continued to survive after violent attacks in China. Buddhism is growing in India and China is asserting its Buddhist culture through forums like World Buddhist Forum and other new forums. At the same time, Muslims in China are also become the part of the Chinese society except that they practice in their personal lives.

China changes the geopolitics of South Asia with two interventions: Economic and Cultural. The Chinese political intervention in India in terms of Naxalism could not be sustained due to its very violent nature, but the Chinese will seek softer cultural interventions in India in the future and the route through which they can intervene is rising Buddhist movement in India. Economically, the Chinese have already intertwined the economies of the South Asian countries with their larger interests. India is not immune from the Chinese influence. The Chinese investment is increasing in every field. How India stops or controls the growing Chinese economic intervention is the point to watch.

India is trying to take a far-fetched route to counter China in the region by becoming part of what is called “Democracy Diamond” aligning with USA, Japan, and Australia. However, they are geographically distant nations and their involvement in the region is a separate topic. It is in the interest of both India and China to find the workable basis of relating with each other based on economics, politics, and culture. Bringing in religions in the picture, Japan, Australia, and the USA will have a little role to play in the equation of the religions in the region.

Author – Mangesh Dahiwale, Human Rights Activist

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