INDIA'S MAIN PHILOSOPHY

For many people India is associated with aromatic teas, tragi-comical film musicals [Bollywood film] and the remarkable story of "Mowgli" by the English writer Rudyard Kipling. But this country is one of the cradles of civilisation which has given the world a particular culture. At the present time, India is a highly developed country boasting great technological and scientific potential, as well as possessing nuclear weapons. On the one hand, official documents show that there are a great many poor people living there; the population of 1.2bn inhabitants, which is divided up by a caste system, is only second to China in size. India's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Azerbaijan, Dr. B. M. Vinod Kumar, spoke to Regionplus about some features of the Indians' way of life which are not so visible from afar, about the country's economic potential and India's relations with official Baku.

- After being ruled by Great Britain for 200 years, India managed to put an end to British rule after a lengthy struggle. On 26 January 1950 the Indian Constitution came into force and since then Republic Day has been marked. What do these historic events mean to the Indians?

- Before India became independent no-one was free. People were ruled by the empire in all spheres, political, economic and so forth. Now India is a democratic state, a parliamentiary republic with 1.2bn inhabitants. These inhabitants are able to vote in elections even in the most remote villages. India is among the most economically developed countries, especially in agriculture. This country, which previously received aid from the USA and Europe, now exports its produce such as tea, rice and coffee. India is a recognised producer of goods in other areas. Our country occupies one of the top places in the world in information technology.

At the present time, you will definitely find "Indian intellectuals" in IT companies throughout the world. The achievements of Indian medicine are no secret. If you visit any hospital in the USA, you will be able to see that most of the doctors are Indians. As a surgeon myself, I can say that people go to India from America, Europe and other parts of the world to get their operations done. People also go there from Azerbaijan. Today India is one of the most powerful countries in the world, capable of having its say in international relations and exercising its influence on them

- Why do you think Azerbaijan has such close ties with India?

- I would like to note that India has long had ties with Azerbaijan. Our relations go back centuries. One obvious example of this is the temple of the fire-worshippers in Baku. During the period of Soviet rule Moscow was the mediator in our relations. Once Azerbaijan had become independent, we forged our own direct and very close ties. In 2012 our trade turnover with Azerbaijan was 2bn dollars and at the present time we occupy 5th or 6th place among Azerbaijan's trade partners. Incidentally, Azerbaijan's minister of industry and energy, Natiq Aliyev, is to visit India where he will take part in a major exhibition. We enjoy sufficiently high-level political ties too. In May last year Azerbaijan's foreign minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, visited our country and had meetings with the justice and finance ministers. The Indian firm ONGC [Oil and Natural Gas Corporation ] has obtained a share in the project to develop the "Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli" [Azari-Ciraq-Gunasli] oil field complex and opened its own office in Azerbaijan last year

- India is in a position to exercise its influence on what is happening in the world. Azerbaijan is always in need of friendly support when it comes to the fateful Nagornyy Karabakh issue. What assistance could India provide with regard to this issue which is so important to Azerbaijan?

- We believe that both sides, Armenia and Azerbaijan, are capable of resolving this problem by peaceful means through face-to-face talks. We were very pleased to see that the presidents of these countries met recently. We regard such meetings in a positive light and hope that they will be continued. India has always backed the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Today we are behind you in supporting this matter. Our diplomats have confirmed this repeatedly at various international meetings and events, conferences and discussions. We offer support to Azerbaijan at the UN and at other international events. We are hoping that Azerbaijan will soon become a member of the WTO and we are conducting fresh discussions on this.

- Medicine in India has its origins in ancient times, and today even Americans and Europeans choose to get their medical treatment there. However, Azeris prefer to go to Iran and not India for treatment.  Why is this? Is cost the main factor or is it something else?

- It's not just a matter of cost. The main problem is that many people don't know how developed India is today. Another problem is the absence of direct air links between our countries. We discussed this at an intergovernmental commission session last year. Yet another factor is that Azerbaijan previously imported many medical preparations from India, but then some problems arose. I met Azerbaijan's minister of health and told him that India exports medical preparations to the countries of Europe. I myself spent 10 years working in Germany and witnessed how medicaments purchased in India were repackaged and then resold to other countries at a price four to five times higher. When people buy them, they think that they are acquiring medicines produced in Europe.

I would note that Iran is a more popular because it is quite cheap to go to there from Azerbaijan. What is more, Iran is Azerbaijan's closest neighbour, so the Azeris know much more about it than they do about India. But I note that, in issuing visas, we are increasingly seeing that well-healed Azeris are often going to India for surgery and treatment. We also supply many medical preparations to Iran just as we do to Europe.

- What is the present situation with regard to Kashmir in the light of Pakistan-India relations?

- This is a problem that we inherited from the British. Everyone knows why it has occurred and the reasons for it. Talks are being conducted between Pakistan and India, but the problem is that terrorists, who are attempting to sabotage the process no matter what, are ultimately having a direct impact on the talks. At the present time, our main aim is the fight against terrorism. The terrorists are killing civilians, threatening them with weapons, forcing them to comply with their demands. Our self-defence forces are compelled to intervene since these problems are being artificially whipped up by external forces.

- India is regarded as one of the few world space powers boasting satellites. This is a fairly expensive project, although the majority of the population in India are living in extremely difficult material conditions…

- Before we launched the satellite we had numerous discussions on whether we could afford it. We came to the conclusion that we needed to do it, since this is highly advantageous, both for the rich and the poor. Now we can obtain weather forecasts more quickly and precisely. People can make 5-10-minute phone calls abroad for next to nothing, and a billion people use the phone in India. Two months ago we got a 24-hour warning of an imminent tsunami and managed to evacuate 74,000 people. The fishermen gain from this too. There are many lakes and rivers in our country, so the fishermen wait for the weather forecast before setting out on a fishing trip.

- What does Mahatma Gandhi mean to India?

Mahatma Gandhi is the father of the Indian nation. During the colonialist era he visited South Africa where he witnessed how the British treat people. I think that that emboldened him to fight for independence. Instead of armed struggle, he chose a peaceful campaign and was able to convey his ideas and thoughts to people and managed to attain independence in this manner. For us he is a great man. He also created the school of his way of thinking and way of life in India. His battle for India's independence encouraged other countries to take up the fight for independence too. For us Mahatma Gandhi was a leader like Nelson Mandela. We are following in his footsteps. The UN has adopted a decision to mark his date of birth throughout the world.

- My last question is about Indian philosophy. When will that philosophy be revealed completely to the whole world? Could gaining knowledge of this philosophy open up a new world to people?

- From ancient times, I would even go so far as to say that from the moment that India came into being, it has been regarded as a religious power. There are several religions in India. Islam, Christianity, fire-worshippers and other religions co-exist here. In India it is not important what your faith is. Indians take what is best      from each faith and make use of it in everyday life. India's main philosophy is also based on peace, which makes people happy. We have people who are happy to exist on just a few bread rolls every day. They feel quite contented.

Throughout the world the population of occupied countries adopted the religion of those who occupied them, but in India there are representatives of all religions. I will take yoga as an example. Yoga originated in India and has spread throughout the world. I also practice yoga every day. Yoga makes people calm and contented. When people are doing yoga, they feel happy and healthy and do not suffer pain. I will note yet again that people only borrow what is positive from each religion, applying it to everyday life. The Bible tells us that "you shall love your neighbour as yourself" [Mark 12:31]. Everyone is the same. The Creator may take many forms. We are also created in his image and worship him.