by Stephen Greco

Created on: June 29, 2009   Last Updated: July 11, 2009

India today faces four major threats. It must deal with Muslim radicals, Naxalite-Maoist insurgents, and Kashmir separatists. India has blundered and stumbled through each crisis with definite consequences.

On May 31st two women were raped and murdered in Kashmir, sparking dangerous and crippling protest all over the region. On June 23rd the Taliban carried out a deadly bombing in Kashmir. Now, India is at the crossroads. It can relinquish Kashmir and encourage all of its terrorist enemies, or it can take a more aggressive stance. It must invite NATO into Kashmir to help fight Islamic terrorist and take a much more aggressive stance towards terrorist, or it will be overwhelmed. Force alone won't solve India's problems in Kashmir though. India must seek diplomatic solutions to the situation and provide financial aid to those willing to accept Indian rule of the region. The resolution of the Kashmir conflict is critical to the security of the country should war with Pakistan brake out.

Muslim radicals inside and outside India are a constant threat to India, but the most dangerous of all of them is the Pakistan government itself. Some people today are starting to believe war between Pakistan and India is unthinkable. This feeling arises because many people are getting cozy with the idea that modern war is all about governments vs. terrorists, not nations vs. nations. The threat can't be ruled out so easily though. Relations between the two countries are still extremely tense. Pakistan has a nuclear arsenal of its own and any war between the two countries has the potential to become the greatest crisis in the world.

Naxalite-Maoist insurgency has not been so threatening in the past, but India recently made a mistake that could cause renewed insurgency. On June 23rd the Indian government banned the Communist Party of India, and communists in India are furious. The move, intended to help combat communist insurgents, is exactly the kind of move that creates more insurgents, and more dangerous ones.

India faces those three basic threats, but in the future its rival China could become a threat. India is a shining example of democracy surrounded by Communist regimes and dangerous Islamic governments. As such, it is being constantly threatened. The United States and NATO must strongly support this benevolent and democratic government, and they must denounce Pakistani aggression, if they want to see peace in Asia.

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