By
IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, February 4 (IslamOnline) - The majority of Indians are opposed
to a military attack on Iraq under any circumstances, a survey
conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres Mode has concluded.
The
opinion poll, part of a larger international survey for Gallup, also
found that nearly half the Indians contacted believe U.S. foreign
policy has "a negative effect" on the country, Times of
India reported on its website Tuesday, February 4.
The
survey was conducted across the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata
and Chennai, among 1,048 randomly selected respondents.
Asked
whether they were in favor of military action against Iraq, 59 per
cent stressed they would support war "under no
circumstances" and 29.1 per cent said "only if sanctioned by
the United Nations".
In
the event of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, 62.4 per cent of Indians
surveyed said India should not support the military action.
The
survey also found that most Indians are pessimistic about the
prospects for peace.
About
65.5 per cent of those surveyed thought it was likely that war would
be launched against Iraq "in the next few months".
Only
7.7 per cent of the respondents were in favor of a unilateral attack
by the U.S. and its allies on the Arab country.
The
Gallup poll has found that 60 per cent in Pakistan, 83 per cent in
Argentina, 63 per cent in South Africa, 59 per cent in Russia and 60
per cent in France oppose war even if authorized by the U.N.
Twenty-one
per cent of U.S. citizens are also opposed to war under any
circumstances, according to the Gallup survey.
Taking
into account those who would back war only if mandated by the U.N.,
the worldwide opposition to a unilateral U.S.-led military offensive
seems to be running at well over 80 per cent, the survey found out.
In
a related development, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Tuesday reiterated his opposition to an attack on Iraq and hoped
"good sense" would prevail.
"We
do not favor an attack on Iraq. We still hope there will be no such
move," he told reporters after addressing a gathering of social
workers from across the country at his residence in Delhi.
"We
hope good sense prevails on them," Vajpayee said without
elaborating.
Film
Director Spurns Invitation to Breakfast with Bush Over War Plans
 |
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If
Iraq has any weapons of mass destruction it "will be peanuts
compared to the stuff Israel or America could hurl at them at five
minutes notice," said Bhatt
|
Speaking
the same anti-war language, renowned Indian film director Mahesh Bhatt
has refused an invitation to attend the 51st National Prayer Breakfast
meeting with U.S. President George Bush in Washington Thursday,
February 6.
"It
occurs to me that participating in such sessions with the [U.S.]
President is to condone born-again Christian Bush's terrorism of
demonic proportions around the globe," Bhatt said in a letter to
a friend in Washington, according to Indian media reports.
America's
"bullying ways" must come to an end, said Bhatt, noting that
"America has entered one of its worst periods of historical
madness."
"Bush
and his junta have succeeded in deflecting America's anger from Bin
Laden to Saddam Hussein.
"It
is perhaps one of the most clever eye-wash exercises that the [U.S.]
government has achieved to date with the help of their awesome
propaganda machinery," he wrote in the letter.
"What
is at stake here is not an Axis of Evil, but oil, money and people's
lives," said Bhatt, observing that "the comparison between
Saddam and U.S. or Britain is like that of an ant to an
elephant."
Saddam's
alleged weapons of mass destruction, "if he has still got them,
will be peanuts compared to the stuff Israel or America could hurl at
them at five minutes notice. And the effect could be beginning of the
end of the world," warned Bhatt.
