THE Indian High Commissioner to South Africa and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, Gopal Krishna Gandhi, described it as the "pilgrimage of bilateralism". And quite appropriately, I.K. Gujral—on the first-ever visit to South Africa by an Indian prime minister—did not tire of invoking the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
Though the mood was predictably steeped in the historic relationship between the two countries, its real significance will surface in the manner in which they support each other in international fora or movements. Naturally, on top of Gujral's agenda were issues like securing support for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, increasing ties in the fields of defence, trade and culture and enhancing South-South cooperation.
Gujral hit it off extremely well with President Nelson Mandela, whom he described as "one of the greatest human beings in the annals of mankind". That apart, addressing a joint session of the South African Parliament, Gujral repeatedly referred to the "strategic partnership" between the two nations. "Both our countries have declared ourselves to be strategic partners. That South Africa is the only country with whom India has sanctified such a communion is testimony to the uniqueness of our ties." In fact, it was a subject first broached by South African deputy president Thabo Mbeki when he visited India last year. It had enthused Indian policy-makers and the academia, but only a few had an idea of its implications.
But despite the historic bonding, Gujral failed to evoke a categorical response from South African leaders on India's determined pitch for a permanent seat on the Security Council. Gujral said both India and South Africa have an important responsibility to ensure that the "democratisation of the UN, and in particular, of the Security Council, was fair and equitable, and on the basis of global, non-discriminatory and objective criteria". After an hour-long meeting with Gujral, Mandela was noncommittal about supporting India's bid for the Security Council and simply said: "We will discuss it at an appropriate time."
The two countries also failed to narrow their differences on CTBT, which South Africa has supported, India has not. South Africa has gone along with the West on disarmament issues, much to India's chagrin. When the subject was raised at a press meet, Mandela and Gujral skirted the issue.
And isn't there a contradiction in South Africa establishing a strategic relationship with India while maintaining its strong ties with the West, particularly the US? No, says R.W. Johnstone of the University of Natal, Durban—"Today, relations between the US and India are not as pointedly antagonistic as during the Cold War, when there were close relations between the then Soviet Union and India on the one hand and strong ties between the US and Pakistan."
Johnstone points out that South African foreign policy documents clearly show how difficult it is to pursue South-South networking while concomitantly drawing on North-South relations. Pretoria's greatest challenge is to "develop the ability to straddle different worlds". A key component of Gujral's visit, he argues, was to further South-South ties, an issue quite central to India's foreign policy.
Peter Vale of the Centre for Southern African Studies at the University of the Western Cape is somewhat more blunt. He feels that once the sentimental component of the visit is bypassed, there remain serious dichotomies in Pretoria's foreign policy. "There's a contradiction between South Africa's relationship with the US and its desire to establish strategic relations with strong, leading countries of the South. The US sees South Africa as a pivotal player, but the problem is that India is not pivotal in its approach."
Examples of potential conflict include the pharmaceutical and satellite industries in South Africa—in both the US is a dominant player and India wants to get a foothold. South African health minister Nkosazana Zuma's proposed programme of purchasing generic medicines from India had drawn the wrath of US officials.
In Cape Town, after a meeting between Gujral and South African defence minister J. Modise, it was announced that the two nations would "enhance and intensify" defence cooperation, with South Africa offering a whole range of military hardware to India, but without "injecting an arms race in their regions." South Africa offered to provide ammunition for the 155-mm Bofors guns as well as avionics and night vision equipment.
But how do South Africans view India's role in world affairs? Says Sanushu Naidu, teaching international relations at the University of Durban-Westville: "South Africa can learn from India's formidable experience of 50 years of Independence, its position as the world's largest democracy and the third most technologically advanced nation to assist in steering South Africa on the road to democracy. India in turn sees us as a viable partner in terms of export and imports."
On the key issue of restructuring the UN, South Africa sees itself playing a key role, says Naidu. "Gujral has said in no uncertain terms that India will support to the fullest South Africa's claim to a seat on the Council, and it will be very interesting to see whether South Africa returns this gesture".
Gujral kept a busy schedule in South Africa: he addressed the South African Parliament; paid whistlestop visits to several places in Kwazulu-Natal, the country's eastern-most province, that are associated with Mahatma Gandhi's life in South Africa, and to Robben Island where Mandela spent over two decades. At the Phoenix Settlement, founded by Gandhi, Gujral announced that this was where the Mahatma's "political birth took place." Addressing a huge crowd at the settlement—which was destroyed in riots in 1985—Gujral said India was committed to help in rebuilding the complex into a "living monument to the life and work of Gandhi, serving ordinary people as he would have wanted it to." The prime minister pledged $100,000 for the project.
Earlier, in Uganda, Gujral tried to push the bitter memories of the Idi Amin era into the past as he promised to plough $33 million in Ugandan debt back into the country. He hailed Uganda's invitation to the thousands of Indians who had fled during Amin's reign to return home. But it is his South African sojourn that will give Gujral-watchers an area fit for analysis: the zone between style and promised content.
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