Documents / FOIA release
This Central Intelligence Agency conference report, dated October 1995, contains the proceedings of a conference on ethnic conflict held 30 September to 1 October 1993. The CIA's Geographic Resources Division sponsored it. Academic geographers, anthropologists and US Government officials presented papers on ethnic and territorial conflict in Eastern Europe, Western Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and South Asia. They also discussed what these conflicts mean for US policy. The document contains no UFO material.
“Terry”12 pages
C00123268 - Some Muslim leaders, insisting that Muslims belong and has accommodated differences through the ages. to a separate nation, carved Pakistan from a "part of The eclectic and nonideological nature of Hinduism India." and the other indigenous religions of South Asia cer- tainly provides a deeply ingrained cultural propensity - The Indian Muslim population is large enough to for the acceptance of differences. It is true that make a significant difference. throughout most of history the people of the subconti- nent did not live in a single political unit and that the If the BJP were to gain national power, it is difficult to various regional states did engage in fighting, but predict whether stability would be restored to the most conflicts did not result from the kind of major nation. But we can predict that, if the right wing of the ideological crusade that separates people for centuries Hindu nationalists should gain power, there would and produces long-lasting hatreds. most likely be mass, even widespread, conflicts in areas where significant Muslim populations now live. Certainly it is in the best interest of the United States, A plausible scenario would be massive outmigrations as the leader of the democratic world, to support the similar to those that occurred during partition. A worst forces of pluralism in South Asia. case scenario would be another war between India and Pakistan-this time with nuclear weapons. General Discussion In spite of several conditions that can lead to conflict, there are strong reasons for believing that India will DR. GLADNEY: I am always, and I think everybody not erupt into major ethnic wars, with the possible is, amazed that India is still together. You mentioned exception of Kashmir. Other than Kashmir, there is the term success in that regard. I wonder if you could strong evidence that India is not as ethnically volatile talk a little bit more about why this is a success, par- as many other regions in the world. First, note that the ticularly considering the poverty of India, the civil population of India exceeds all of Africa, all of Latin strife, the Hindu-Muslim clashes, and the separatists America, or all of Europe, none of which is in a single like the Kashmiris. Why is it that keeping the country nation-state or single country. All these other regions together is successful? are splintered into many states, and the people within each show little evidence of uniting politically. In con- DR. STODDARD: Maybe the term "success" is a lit- trast, even with all the diversity among the people of tle bit strong, especially if we define a successful state India, the nation has remained together for almost half as one that eliminates poverty, as well as reducing a century. Furthermore, this has been accomplished civil strife. And, I do not deny that the Hindu-Muslim within a mostly democratic environment again, some- clashes are just as worrisome in India as religious con- thing that has not been achieved in Third World coun- flicts in Northern Ireland, in the Caucasus, or in Leba- tries in Africa or in Latin America. It also contrasts non. Furthermore, half a century may be too short a with the situation in Eastern Europe and the former time to declare full success. Moreover, the durability Soviet Union, where ethnic feelings were suppressed of India as a state may partly reflect the lack of a by dictatorial governments. That success provides a highly politicized populace. After all, the 67 percent basis for predicting that ethnic conflicts will not be of the population that resides in rural areas live a life more severe in India than elsewhere. that is pretty much circumscribed by their local envi- ronment. Although there is a rising politicization, as A second reason for predicting fewer ethnic conflicts expressed by the percentage of people who have votedwithin India than in many other major world regions is in the recent elections, the stability of a peasant agrar- based on the Indic culture. Maybe India's success is ian economy or agrarian society probably goes a longjust a happenstance of outstanding secular leadership way toward explaining the relative success. at the time of, and immediately after, independence and, therefore, will dissipate with time. Yet, secular nationalism does seem to have a firm foundation, namely the Indic culture, which has nurtured tolerance 148
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 205 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.