Just four days before Myanmar's military strongman Senior General Than Shwe's visit to India, he had his relatively moderate prime minister Khin Nyunt sacked and replaced by a perceived hardliner from among his junta. There were doubts of whether the general would make his long awaited trip to India, the first by a head of state of either country in 24 years. But Than Shwe did come last week with his family in tow looking relaxed and in the words of a senior official, "paternal in his approach". It was a measure of just how solid his hold remains over the troubled nation.

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BIG GUN: Myanmar's Than Shwe in Delhi last week

For India to have provided the general a red carpet welcome may seem incongruous in the light of international criticism over the way his junta runs Myanmar and throttles democracy. But it was indicative of just how pragmatic Delhi's approach has been to the disturbing developments in Yangon. From being strident supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi's movement to restore democracy, India began shifting its stand in 1993 when it found that its hostile stance to the military junta was proving counter-productive. Insurgents in the country's Northeast used the deteriorating relations between the two countries to establish training camps and safe havens in the jungles of Myanmar. Meanwhile, China had established strong ties with the military rulers and the worry was that it was determined to use Myanmar to access and spread its influence over the Indian Ocean.

It was the previous NDA Government though that made bold to mend fences with Myanmar's key generals. The plan was essentially to give Yangon a much higher stake in the relationship and get them to act on the north-eastern militants inside their jungles. As the two countries, share a 1,400 km border there was a move to build greater connectivity between them in the north-eastern states both by road and by river. In 2001, India spent Rs 121 crore to build the 160 km Tamu-Kalemyo-Kalewa road that links Imphal with Mandalay. Other similar projects have since been kicked off, including the Kaladan river navigation project linking Mizoram with the port at Sittwe. Talks for a trilateral highway project joining India, Myanmar and Thailand had gained momentum just before Than Shwe's visit.

To keep Myanmar hooked, India is planning to make handsome investments in tapping the country's substantial energy resources. ONGC has already acquired a 20 per cent and Gail a 10 per cent stake in the A-1 block of Myanmar's Rakhine coast. More such areas are being prospected. During Than Shwe's visit an mou was signed between India and Myanmar for exploring the possibility of co-operating in the giant 1,200 mw Tamanthi Hydro-Electric Project on the Chindwin river. India has also been making a determined effort to improve trade relations between the two countries. It has now emerged as the largest export market for Myanmar goods, averaging $325 million (Rs 1,470 crore) annually and accounting for a fourth of its total exports. More hush-hush have been discussions on India supplying military equipment to help Myanmar combat its own terrorist groups.

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UP IN ARMS: Protesting against the general's visit	TRUST IN ME: Than Shwe and Manmohan Singh

So Than Shwe's visit was, as Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran told India Today, "a culmination of a process of strengthening and deepening relations between India and Myanmar". Saran, who had much to do with boosting bilateral relations when he was India's ambassador in Yangon three years ago, also sees the general's visit "as a new chapter". There was a major hiccup before the general's visit when former Union minister George Fernandes decided to go ahead with a convention calling for the restoration of democracy in Myanmar. When the Ministry of External Affairs failed to persuade Fernandes to postpone the convention, the Government refused to issue a visa to Sein Wein, a key leader of the democracy movement, who had been invited to speak.

WHY BY PALS

GATEWAY TO ASEAN: India regards Myanmar as a gateway to ASEAN. It is planning a major road link to Thailand via Yangon to improve connectivity and trade. NORTHEAST MILITANTS: With Northeast insurgents taking shelter in Myanmarese jungles, India wants the junta to flush them out. THE CHINA FACTOR: Concerned with China's friendship with Myanmar, India wants to act as a counterweight and regain the initiative.

After the Government distanced itself from the convention, Than Shwe landed in Delhi on October 24 with pro-democracy groups holding protest placards. That was the only minus sign for an otherwise positive visit. India pushed Myanmar to sign an MoU to co-operate on dealing with terrorists, arms smuggling and drug trafficking. India was delighted when the general, in his talks with both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, made an explicit commitment not to allow Indian insurgents to use Myanmar's territory and to take action against them. As important was the fact that in the past few weeks, the Myanmar Government has increased its deployment of troops on the Indian border to curb insurgent movement.

Having achieved its prime objective, India then, with diplomatic firmness, expressed its concerns over the need to restore the democratic process. In Manmohan's interaction with Than Shwe, the prime minister stressed that democracy was important for Myanmar's political stability and that there should be a national reconciliation. The general reportedly said that India needed to understand that it was a complex situation involving national unity and that he was committed to restoring democracy. Than Shwe also said Myanmar needed to learn from India's long experience in running a multi-ethnic democracy.

Having dealt with the delicate but critical subject of democracy, though not with the toughness that Fernandes would have liked India to do, the Government then went out of its way to make the general feel welcome. The general, who is a devout Buddhist, fulfilled his long-standing desire of paying homage at Bodh Gaya. Than Shwe went there with his retinue of daughters and other relatives. For India, the test is just how much the general delivers on his promises.

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