THE ‘GREAT GAME’ THROUGH THE
PRISM OF
‘BRAHMAND’ & ‘AKHAND BHARAT’
“The terrestrial geopolitical ‘Great Game’
is modelled on the duality inherent in the ‘Brahmand’; wherein random redistribution
of mass is epidemic, yet the centre of gravity is constant; there are rules alongside
inbuilt streaks of chaos; and despite this orderly disorder the overall balance
is retained.” – Col RS Sidhu
Backdrop
The evocative phrase ‘The Great
Game’ was coined in the first half of the 19th century CE by the
British adventurer and intelligence operative Captain Arthur Conolly, a captain from the 6th Bengal Light
Cavalry, in the service of the British East India Company. The phrase was articulated with reference to
the geopolitical power play in the vast voids extending from the endless steppes
of Central Asia to the frozen heights of the remote Himalayas. This rivalry was
played out between two of the world’s great colonial powers of their time,
Great Britain and Czarist Russia, with colonial India as the key prize. The
phrase got further romanticised by the famous British author Rudyard Kipling in
his spy novel ‘Kim’, set in the late 1890s.
The dynamics of the ‘Great Game’ are
best perceived in relation to the centrality of Afghanistan from the 19th
century to the present times, in this global power play.
Direct Russian, then USSR, intervention lasted
in Afghanistan for nearly a decade from 1979 to 1989, fighting the collective
of Afghan and foreign Mujahideen, fully supported by the US led Western bloc,
before being forced out. This retreat resulted in the formation of an Afghan
Taliban government.
Almost a decade from the retreat of Russia
from Afghanistan, the US intervened militarily in Afghanistan for two decades,
2001 – 2021, before being forced into a disorderly withdrawal.
The wheel has now turned full circle with the
ten words global news datelined 4th of July 2025, “Russia becomes
the first country to recognise Taliban ruled Afghanistan.”
The ‘Great Game’ of the
‘Brahmand’
The
rise and fall of nations and human empires on earth mimics the cosmic ‘chaos’
and the expansion and implosion of the
stars. The stars expand to a supernova till they collapse into a dark
star. Similarly all expanding empires are destined to geopolitical
overreach and resultant implosion.
The ‘Brahmand’
is in perennial motion, simultaneously expanding, rotating, revolving, and
pulsating. Effervescent energy currents are constantly streaking through the ‘Brahmand’,
cosmic dust is being compressed into new stars every instance, old stars are
continuously disintegrating into an unseen void, to be reborn as new cosmic
entities at a much later date in time.
It is not enough that there is order,
precision, and balance in the ‘Brahmand’, as may be surmised from the most
intricate synchronous dance of the interstellar bodies that comprise it. The ‘Brahmand’
is also the creator of the original ‘Great Game’, by introducing the
factor of random ‘chaos’ in this intricate functioning. This is factored
through random exploding supernovas; dark stars consuming neighbouring
interstellar bodies; free trajectory asteroids/comets/quasars striking into
planetary bodies and throwing them off course; and on a larger but less infrequent
scale, the galaxies spiral into a collision course resulting in the larger
galaxy subsuming the smaller one.
This constant redistribution of matter results
in the culling of the imperfect and the weak entities that could infect the precision
and balance of the larger entity that they are part of. This continuous sifting
ensures optimum efficiency of the whole scheme at large.
The ‘Brahmand’ thus personifies the
symbiotic relationship between the weak and the strong forces, where both need
the other to survive. Constructed on a hierarchy of power, it recognises the functional
relationship between order and chaos, so necessary to harmonise the needs of
both the predator and prey.
This ‘principle of duality’ is central
to maintain equilibrium in the ‘Brahmand’,
and also its microcosm, the earth. It is reflected in the way nature on earth maintains
‘balance’; the weak ensure own survival through proliferation, while the strong
prey on the weak to ensure own existence.
It is also discerned in the international
order of governance, which in most case is premised on an ideal ‘rule
based order’ in theory, which in reality is interpreted differently for
the strong and the weak nations.
The Rule Based Order and the ‘Great Game’
The same ‘principle of duality’
is also the guiding force behind the terrestrial ‘Great Game’ being played
in the comity of nations. This ‘Game’ is all about accumulating geoeconomic
and geopolitical mass, under the facade of a ‘rule based order’. The ‘Crusades’ to save Christianity from Islam during the
medieval era, the ‘White Man’s Civilisation Burden’ to colonise half the
world from 18th to beginning of the 20th century, the
recent past era of ‘Ideological Conflict’ to make the world safe for
democracy from communism, and in the 21st century saving the world
from rogue nuclear states and those promoting international terror, are all
examples of this duality.
This duality
is also institutionalised into the charter of the United Nations Organisation
(UNO), the very body responsible to ensure, a ‘rule based international
order’. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) – US,
Russia, China, UK, and France – exercise veto powers over the decisions arrived
at in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The Great Powers, have informally carved major
part of the world into their respective spheres of geopolitical influence, as
exemplified by the ‘Monroe Doctrine’ of the US, the ‘Brezhnev
Doctrine’ and the’ Primakov Doctrine’ of the USSR/Russia, and
the arbitrary ‘9 Dash Line’ of China in the South China Sea.
First basic,
tread the path alone, pick/discard allies as per the need of the hour.
Second basic, seed chaos in area of
interest, and seize emerging opportunities.
Third basic, destroy rather than
relinquish, if you can’t possess it the adversary must not.
Fourth basic,
be ruthless in execution, but maintain a fig leaf of morality.
Fifth basic,
brazenly vilify the adversary, by employing all means fair and
foul.
This is the primary reason
that irrespective of established world governance structures, the dance of
birth and disintegration of countries continues unabated, with 34 countries securing the status of independent states in
the 20th century. Already in the first two decades of the 21st century
five independent nations of South Sudan, Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, and East
Timor have gained status as independent states. Ukraine, Syria, Ethiopia,
Yemen, Palestine, Afghanistan, and even Taiwan are facing existential crises.
India’s near abroad too
reflects this geopolitical reality. To the north, Buddhist Tibet lost its
independence to iconoclastic China in 1951. India itself faced partition on
religious lines in 1947, leading to the birth of a new nation, Pakistan.
Bangladesh separated itself from Pakistan in 1971. Today Pakistan is rife with
centrifugal movements, that may lead to yet another partition.
India in the ‘Great Game’
India is not new to the ‘Great Game’. The
earliest form of this game, the ‘Ashvamedh Yagya’ was practiced here
during the ‘Ramayan’ era, which can be conservatively dated back to
around 7000 century BCE. Shri Ram, the king of Ayodhya during the ‘Ramayan’
era, hailed as ‘Maryada Purushottam’ (epitome of righteousness), and widely
revered as an ‘Avatar’ (Incarnation) of the God Vishnu, is also recorded
to have conducted ‘Ashvamedh Yagya’. The ‘Great
Game’ in India carried the sanction of religious scriptures!
In the second half of the 20th
century CE, India has undertaken its fair share of external interventions,
post-independence, to knit the various provinces into its fold, Hyderabad in
1948, Goa in 1961, and Sikkim in 1976. East Pakistan in 1971, Sri Lanka in
1987, and Maldives in 1988 are substantial military interventions undertaken by
India in its near abroad. Except the strategic intervention in Sri Lanka in
1987-90, which too is questionably dubbed as a failure, it has been remarkably
successful in all its other external interventions, an unmatched record
globally.
India has to just relearn
the old moves of the Game.
A resurgent India has once again thrown its
hat into the arena of the ‘Great Game’. It’s presence in the QUAD
and BRICS, mutually antagonistic groupings; strong linkages with both
Israel and Iran, two sworn enemies; strong ties with US and Russia,
geopolitical adversaries; participation in China sponsored SCO while
boycotting BRI, China being its strongest adversary; all indicate to
India’s presence in the ‘Great Game’!
India is currently engaged in digging up the
very roots of US global supremacy, through long term actions of BRICS; and striking
the core of China’s goal of global dominance, through QUAD. These actions are
bound to invite US and China meddling in India’s near abroad.
At the current stage, the entry by India in
the ‘Great Game’ does seem premature, as it lacks the strategic weight
to enforce its interests beyond its near abroad. It’s inability to influence
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal from pursuing policies inimical to its interests
lend credence to this observation. To
coin a phrase, the coming years shall be a Time of Turbulence (TOT) for
India!
That India is in the nascent stage of relearning
this Game, can be deduced from its employing soft phrases such as ‘Vasudev Kutumbakam’, and ‘Vishwaguru’, to promote its interests on the world stage. The learning curve for
Indian leadership shall be complete the day it understands that a reactive
strategy in the ‘Great Game’ is counter-productive, as it disrupts national wealth generating
enterprise.
Pure
brawn is not adequate to ward off predatory attacks. A streak of devilishness,
and the will to proactively employ the full might at the disposal of the state
is essential to triumph the adversary; it pre-empts offensive maneuvers by the
adversary, and results in a favourable cost-benefit ratio in the long run.
But currently India’s march to regain its due place in the world comity of
nations is blocked by the pre-requisite to counter duplicitous maneuverings' of the
US led West bloc, and the offensive posturing by China.
India – US led West Bloc Equation
India’s relationship with the West,
termed as natural allies by the idealists, is a mere ideological dogma
unsupported by the harsh facts of realpolitik. The West has gained geopolitical
dominance on riches expropriated by it during its nearly two centuries of
colonial exploitation of the countries in Asia and Africa. Now with two Asian countries vying for a seat
under the sun in world forums, the US led West bloc is unlikely to voluntarily
relinquish its privileges and be an uninterested bystander. US overt and covert
dalliance with Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar are case in point.
India China Reckoning
Like our own ‘Akash Ganga’
(Milky Way) and ‘Vaikunth’ (Andromeda) galaxies, India and China are on
a natural collusion path for geopolitical eminence on the world stage. This rationale is understood and factored by
China’s leadership in its dealings with India since the coming to power of the
Communist Party of China (CPC) in 1948, in a near simultaneous timeframe to
India gaining independence. Whereas India’s leadership is only now coming to terms
with this nuance. This outlook is central to the adversarial relationship
between the two nations.
Most of the known galaxies in the ‘Brahmand’
have an ’Adrashya Graha’ (Black Hole) at their centre of gravity, that
devours adjoining galactic entities. Much similarly, China is the dark star
that has been gaining geopolitical and economic mass by forceful amalgamation
of adjoining nationalities and territories. China’s
growing geographical mass has to a large extent been inadvertently aided and
abetted in the initial stages by the naivete of India’s then national leadership.
This default now looms large over India’s path to gain world geopolitical
stature.
It is, therefore, an imperative for India to
add requisite geopolitical and geoeconomic mass to not only resist the fatal
pull from China, but also to realise its own geopolitical and concomitant
geoeconomic aspirations. India’s
governing leadership should look to its pre-historic past, by conceptualising
an ‘Akhand Bharat’, as the way out to gain the requisite mass necessary
to break through the stranglehold of China.
The
Context of ‘Akhand Bharat’
Interestingly, the Constitution of India obliquely underpins the idea of
an ‘Akhand Bharat’. The leanings
of majority of the learned founding fathers of the Indian constitution may
be surmised from the way the name and territory of India has been recorded in
this document; excerpt as under…
“PART I
THE UNION AND ITS TERRITORY
1.(1) India,
that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.
1 [(2)
The States and the territories thereof shall be as specified in the First
Schedule.]
(3)
The territory of India shall comprise—
(a) the territories of the States;
[(b) the Union territories specified in the First
Schedule; and]
(c) such other territories as may be acquired…”
To the discerning mind, the Para 1 (1) read in
conjunction with Para 1(3) (c) showcases the belief of an earlier existent
Bharat, conjointly with the desire to see an expanded India, an ‘Akhand
Bharat’! The embellishment of the Constitution of India with image
illustrations from the civilisational past of the land from Ramayan,
Mahabharat, and Vedic times, also records for posterity a latent faith in, and
embracing, the glorious pre-historic past of the land of Bharat.
At the
present there is a lack of ideological clarity, at least in the public domain,
on the political shape and character of this ‘Akhand Bharat’. The more
hardcore ideologues of an ‘Akhand Bharat’ illustrate as one entity a
geographical mass twice the current size of sovereign India, from Afghanistan
in the West to Myanmar in the East, and from Tibet in the North to the near
island territories of the Indian Ocean to the South.
Road
Blocks to ‘Akhand
Bharat’
The
key factor that complicates the envisioned path to an ‘Akhand Bharat’ is
the incongruity of aligning the aspirations of its ideologues with the
geopolitical divisions in its near abroad. It’s unrealistic to expect that
these sovereign countries, some of whom are in mutually adversarial
relationship, will acquiesce in forming part of a broader sovereign entity led
by India, which just does not possess the necessary geopolitical clout and
strategic might to bring into being the desired ‘Akhand Bharat’ through
force.
An equally
critical factor is the lack of political consensus within the domestic polity
in India on the adoption of the ideology of ‘Akhand Bharat’. In fact, it
is a deeply contested territory. At some point of time the current phase of a
deeply divided society, rife with deep fissures of all hues, has to be replaced
by a society with one vision and one goal.
The
cultural and religious factors of bonding with an Indian union too has its plus
and minus aspects. While there is some affinity in the home grown religions and
culture, the Abrahamic religions and culture have an established presence in
the region, which cannot be wished away.
These
aspects merit strong remedial action by the state while ensuring that all
sections of the citizens are carried along for the economic upliftment. These
are also steps which are likely to be closely monitored by India’s near abroad
and perhaps influence the affected regions in their viewpoint to merge with an
‘Akhand Bharat’.
The
Way Forward to ‘Akhand
Bharat’
“Achieving
‘Akhand Bharat’ in a realistic timeframe will be more feasible through our
vision rather than my vision.”
In the very least, a seamless
economic trading sphere, that looks at shared prosperity of the South Asian
sub-continent, is critical to the realisation of this ideological vision.
Conversely, an economically
expansionist India is bound to draw hostile reaction from the dominant
geopolitical forces in its near abroad. This will mandate it to be prepared for
Out of Area (OOA) military operations to secure its economic and geopolitical
interests. But currently there is a big question mark on India acquiring this
capability in the foreseeable future.
Perforce, the economic entities
leading and gaining from India’s push to expand its access to mineral resources
and economic markets should themselves be capable of securing their economic
interests in territories not within current effective strategic reach of India.
Of necessity, the Indian state needs to take a serious look at enabling the coming
up of Indian ‘private military contractors’ (PMCs). Fortuitously,
the push within the country for defense and space privatisation is coming at
the right time, and coincides with the coming release of the military trained ‘Agniveers’
effective 2027 onwards.
Achieving a broad but seamless
economic union shall be the best first step to an ‘Akhand Bharat’ in an
acceptable timeframe. Mutual economic upliftment is after all the best
known bond.
But achieving it in a realistic
timeframe would need…
Visionary ideologues, who
are able to articulate this vision without arousing the deep rooted
psychological apprehensions of existing cultures, religions, languages, and
customs being subsumed into a monolithic whole.
A responsive and pluralistic
governance structure conducive to industrial enterprise and trade, with a
responsive policing structure that enforces compliance to enacted laws, a just
and speedy judicial system that upholds the majesty of the law even to the
mightiest in the land, and a robust revenue system that instils confidence in
the industry to engage in trade and enterprise.
All
backed by a professionally led military, capable of exerting national
will in pursuit of national interests in near abroad, in conjunction with
Indian PMCs. The new
trend of outsourcing combat military interventions to PMCs is emerging as the
option of choice of powerful countries and the next world-wise big business
opportunity.
Here, India
needs to look at an ‘Akhand Bharat’ beyond terrestrial space. New scientific and technological advancements
are enabling practical visions of exploiting the extra-terrestrial space.
Towards that end, India needs to invest heavily in the invisible wave
spectrum energies, which shall form the core for future dominance in the
geopolitical and deep space.
The privatisation of the ‘race to colonise
extra-terrestrial space’ industry must inevitably be followed by the coming
of age of its ‘PMCs’, to enable creation of Indian supranational
corporations that colonise and safeguard the future ‘space adjunct of
Bharat’.
Comments
Post a Comment