Malaysian minister Nazri Aziz lashed out at Karunanidhi, asking him to "lay off". He said: "Worry about your own state, not about Malaysia!" Meanwhile, other parties in India got into the act. The BJP criticised Malaysia for mistreating Hindus and their temples. An anonymous US state department official expressed sympathy for the Malaysian Indians. Poor Karunanidhi! The issue had taken a new turn. Unlike Sri Lanka, Malaysia is a Muslim-majority state. How would the DMK’s Muslim votebank react? Karunanidhi’s sharp criticism changed into a whine. He said he was merely doing his duty as chief minister and he did not criticise the Malaysian government.
But the dispute had already reached a higher level. Malaysian PM A.A. Badawi sharply criticised Malaysian Indians for spreading lies. Indian PM Dr Manmohan Singh sympathised with the Malaysian Indians. Why did Dr Singh intervene? The human rights violation in Malaysia was by no means as serious as punishment of a gangraped woman in Saudi Arabia. That had provoked worldwide protests. The Saudi authorities themselves decided to revise judgment. One hopes the PM was not settling scores with Malaysia for complicating India’s attempt to clinch free trade with ASEAN? The Malaysian delegate had ridiculed India for seeking free trade by protecting Indian items like toilet seats and chewing gum while levying unacceptable tariffs on Malaysia’s crucial export item, palm oil. Adding insult to injury, this year Malaysia signed a free trade agreement with Pakistan.
This crisis highlights problems of a shrinking world. People have multiple identities based on citizenship, culture, ethnicity, religion and language. Which should prevail when two identities clash? By criticising Malaysia, India seems to consider ethnicity more important than citizenship. But has the mode of Indian intervention helped or harmed the plight of Malaysian Indians? And, if this mode of intervention is acceptable, should Indians protest when Muslim nations meddle in Kashmir? These are new choices in a globalised system. They merit new norms.
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)
