The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : AN EPIC REMEMBERED

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Monday, May 10, 2004

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AN EPIC REMEMBERED

A HALF CENTURY ago western imperialism suffered a most humiliating defeat in a small river valley in north-western Vietnam. The people of colonised countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America had struggled to achieve liberty for decades before that seminal event took place. Some, such as the peoples of India and China, had succeeded in throwing off the colonial or semi-colonial yoke a few years before May 7, 1954 while others continue their fight to this day. Even the heroic Vietnamese had to wait another 21 years before they could see the last of their oppressors. Innovative strategies for mass mobilisation were developed in the course of these struggles. Mahatma Gandhi demonstrated that mass civil disobedience could be a very effective weapon when used against a world power that was trapped between its democratic traditions and its drive for imperium. The Communist Party of China under Mao Zedong's leadership repeatedly conjured up huge peasant armies to fight indigenous warlords (supported by a motley of colonial powers) and a rapacious Japan. In countries ranging from Algeria to Zimbabwe the liberation movements refined the manuals of guerilla warfare as they invented tactics suited to their particular conditions. Given this litany of heroic struggles in different parts of the world, it might appear surprising that one battle among the many waged by the Vietnamese should be taken as the high watermark of anti-imperialism. For all that, those who campaigned for this noble cause and the generations that benefited from their efforts cannot forget a battle named for the valley in which it was fought — Dien Bien Phu.

The Vietminh, as the freedom fighters were then called, won a clash of ideas as well as a test of arms when they defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu. A peasant society was taught and inspired by Ho Chi Minh to take on the might of a western power that was unjustly allowed to reclaim its colonial possessions at the end of the Second World War. `Uncle Ho' had so successfully revolutionised the Vietnamese that they had pushed the French forces on to the defensive. In fortifying Dien Bien Phu and cutting the routes of supply for the guerillas, the French relied on the conventional wisdom that the Vietminh would be crushed in a set-piece battle with an enemy that possessed air power and heavy artillery. To the surprise of the entire world, the Vietminh not only fought a pitched battle but dragged artillery up steep slopes and used it to such good effect that the guns and the war planes of their opponents were neutralised. They also demonstrated amazing tactical expertise in overwhelming one position after another until the French finally surrendered. In winning a battle that was fought on the enemy's terms, the Vietnamese helped strengthen the self-belief of liberation movements in other parts of the world.

Dien Bien Phu continues to be a source of inspiration at a time when the forces of neo-colonialism are once again rampant. Freedom fighters in Iraq are well aware that the Vietnamese went on to engage and ultimately defeat another enemy, the United States, after this epic victory. While Washington denies it is trapped in a quagmire in West Asia, the situation in Iraq evokes memories of the Vietnam era. Once again American soldiers are shown committing atrocities, body bags are being flown home, and the echoes of the anti-war movement are sounding all the louder. The words of the legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap that a nation determined to stand up will become very strong appear as true of Iraq today as they did of Vietnam 50 years ago when he led his people to a glorious triumph at Dien Bien Phu.

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