India-Europe Dialogue on Democracy and Swaraj
Helsinki & Tampere 12th to 14th October 2006

INDO-EUROPEAN DIALOGUE NEEDS LONG-TERM AMBITION

In the post WW II period some European countries, especially in the Nordic region, transformed their inegalitarian governance systems into caring states; states in which not only basic rights but also real possibilities of participation in social, political and cultural life were granted to all. This civilisational achievement was based on vibrant democratic participation and made possible through progressive taxation and active implementation of the social welfare state idea.

In the dialogue between civilizations the “Nordic model” has been a shining light that has inspired people on all continents searching for “modernisation with a human face”. In the same dialogue India is known and respected because its progeny has included people like Buddha, Mahavir and Gandhi. This year itself is the hundredth year of use of the novel tool of satyagraha, truth force and non-violent struggle, first developed by Gandhi and his team in South Africa and later used creatively on all continents by large movements and inspiring leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Jayaprakash Narayan, Victor Jara and Martin Luther King. Drawing on its plural cultural heritage India has also after independence frequently shown inspiring moral leadership among the non-aligned nations, in the UN and in other international for a such as the World Trade Organisation.

While both Europe and India have much to cherish about the democratic traditions and achievements, the present trends are not at all favourable to deepening and expanding democratic ideas and practices. The dominance of short-sighted economic objectives and submission to corporate power in political life are serious concerns all over. People are keen to contribute and participate, but the the commercialised media and “there is no alternative” mentality present major obstacles for genuine participation.

On 13th October Finland hosts the summit between EU and India. The summit provides opportunities for reflection and allows a space when new, long-term initiatives drawing on what is very best in the European and South Asian tradition can be placed on the agenda in the dialogue between the two regions.

We wish to contribute the following suggestions to the debate:

First, nuclear weapons remain a long-term threat to the survival of the planet. Should India and E.U. not be trying for a global movement to persuade all the nuclear bomb holding states to revise their nuclear doctrine in a manner that global nuclear disarmament could become a realistic idea? The present nuclear doctrine especially of the current White House regime is the main source of anxieties and clandestine proliferation all across the world. EU and India together are strong enough and their interests diverse enough so that they would together be well placed to play a realistic role in building a world that would, ultimately, be freed from the threat of planetary disaster.

Second, the Huntingtonian vision of a clash between civilizations has rapidly emerged as a real threat to peaceful coexistence and conviviality in and between countries and regions. India, that hosts the second largest Muslim population in the world, and Europe, with its diverse streams of Christian and other faith traditions, both have long, albeit vulnerable, experiences of successful and creative efforts in the building of plural, secular and peaceful societies in which equal respect is granted to people of all religions and of all ethnic origins. They could get together to set an example of concerted inter-civilisational effort to enhance institutional, intellectual, economic and social resources that secure the dignity and provide for the flowering of all their citizens and residents without any threat to their identity. Their dialogue could start as of today by addressing the question of secularism. Considering recent tragic events in some EU member states, such as France and Germany, and in some Indian states, including Gujarata and Mahararshtra, EU and India should together work to define, consolidate and develop models of state action and protection that have, under diverse and changing conditions been most successful in preventing inter-faith and inter-race violence and oppression.

Third, we wish to draw attention to the need to address the underlying dreams and aspirations that seem to propel short-term political effort globally today, including Europe and South Asia. Article I-3.1 of the Draft Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe states that “the Union shall work for … sustainable development … based on balanced economic growth”. With similar neglect of the long-term limits to economic expansion the Prime-Minister from the land of Gandhi is still chasing the mirage of the Northern consumer paradise. We do not here wish to enter at all into the debate about models of sustainability and shifts from quantitative to qualitative growth, nor even into the debates about ecological and inter-continental justice and democracy. These are all mandatory topics for further elaboration, but leadership is needed globally at a more fundamental level.

Fourth, the efforts for environmental sustainability need to be stepped up if the dangerous climate change or irreversible loss of biological diversity is to be avoided. In this, the millennium long traditions of the indigenous people of India (adivasi) can be a major inspiration. The cultures and livelihoods of adivasis, rural workers, peasants, artisans, fisher folks and other sustainable communities need to be appreciated and protected from the onslaught caused by the expansion of modern consumerist culture.

With all due respect for the democratic legitimacy of current growth regimes and for technological inventiveness, in which Europe and India both remain at the forefront, it must be made clear to the world that no lasting peace, no dignity for all and not even survival in the long term can come to all peoples unless limits to powers of humans are acknowledged.

The crux in all serious search for ways out of the one-way road to disaster that the presently dominant civilisational model offers is a critical, in-depth engagement with the universalist ethics, the vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam ---the whole earth as one family --- that lies at the heart of the moral aspirations of all great cultures since times immemorial. Whether we turn to the Qu’ran, the Sermon of the Mount, the Baghavad Gita or other foundational roots of our cultures we found in them a common ground for the values expressed also in the UN charters of human rights. The core of this common ground is the dignity and equal value of all human beings and the inherent worth of all living beings. A common denominator is also a warning against turning cultural means into ends in themselves.

In their common search for new, morally sustainable political visions India and Europe could do well in raising to the underlying civilisational needs of the day. Significant progress e.g. in terms of recreating and reshaping the vision for economic progress can be found be starting ambitious experiments with economic design and monitoring that takes the well-being of what Gandhiji referred to as dharidnarayan and Jesus of Nazareth referred to as the Last Person as its ultimate criterion of success.

In practical terms India and Europe could start their work towards this end immediately by agreeing to set up by 2008 a democratic, participatory, high-level Last-Person-First-monitoring mechanism for reporting on the effects of the agreements and practices in the Indo-European trade and investment relations and for providing policy recommendations on this basis. EU and India should not start negotiating new trade nor investment agreement from the viewpoint of liberation. Instead they should look into the effects liberation has had on those in the weakest position in the society and the more and more unequal status of the poor majority and commit to a program designed to correct this situation. This small, first step would be sure to meet with great interest in our regions and across the world and could inspire us and others to further, more ambitious work along these lines.

Delhi and Helsinki, 11th October 2006

Written by Vijay Pratap and Thomas Wallgren consulted by Rakesh Bhatt, Anastasia Laitila, Harsh Mander, Ritu Priya and Marko Ulvila.