The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EDITORIALS

PIO politics and economics

THE BJP-led NDA government has fielded its A team to impress upon the people of Indian origin abroad that the country they had left years ago is proud of them. Most of these enterprising men and women have done excellently well wherever they are. So, they are being reminded that now is the time for them to contribute to the economic growth of the land of their forefathers. The apparent idea behind the three-day celebrations to mark Bharatiya Pravasi Divas is to woo the 20-million-strong Indian diaspora to invest extensively in the country of their origin. Already, the NRIs (nor-resident Indians) and the PIOs (persons of Indian origin) are playing a major role in the FDI (foreign direct investment) flow to India. That is why they are accorded a different kind of treatment when they are here, better than that given to the local investors. Yet their vast investment potential has not been exploited to the extent possible. India has to learn from China where over 70 per cent of the total FDI comes from the non-resident Chinese. While it is too early to say that India too can benefit in adequate measure like its communist neighbour, the efforts being made by the NDA government deserve appreciation. The decision to grant dual citizenship with limited rights to the people of Indian origin abroad, though with certain exceptions, may recharge the feeling of Indianness among them. This will enable them not only to visit India more frequently, but also to invest in various areas, including real estate, liberally. These people may now get tempted to spend at least some time every year in this country like the former maharajas, quite possible with the kind of riches most of them have acquired. So, immediately the real estate business may get a big boost as a result of the government’s decision.

But it is not merely a matter of economics. The NRIs’ primary interest is in the culture of the country of their forefathers. They have strong nationalistic feelings as expressed by them on various occasions wherever they are. Having risen to great heights in the countries of their adoption, these people will prove to be an asset in selling India’s foreign policy initiatives in influential world capitals. They openly supported India’s ruling dispensation when the country was faced with serious difficulties after the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests. But the story does not end there. It was not without reason that the Prime Minister recalled their help on occasions of great crises. They find themselves nearer his party—the BJP—and more so now when it is stressing on aggressive cultural nationalism to discredit the others in the political arena, mainly the Congress. With their enormous financial clout, the Pravasis may try to influence the course of national politics with greater involvement now when they will be armed with a dual citizenship status. Henceforth politics in India may get a significantly visible international colour, which is not possible in the case of China because of its having a non-democratic system. While the NRIs have been finding the laws of the land quite discouraging so far as their interest in the economy is concerned even in this changed climate, they may have an entirely different experience in politics. They must have realised it with their interaction with the government’s A team.

Pak nuclear scientists

GIVEN the scale of corruption in the civil and military bureaucracy in Pakistan, the possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of the fundamentalists were always high. Therefore, the report that at least nine Pakistani nuclear scientists have gone missing should set alarm bells ringing across the globe. The USA as the sole super power has a special responsibility to ensure that its campaign against global terrorism is not put into jeopardy because of developments involving Pakistan, North Korea and China. The CIA has confirmed that Chinese entities played a key role in developing Pakistan’s nuclear capability. Most of its missiles, including the Shaheen II medium range ballistic missile, were developed with Chinese assistance. The technical and scientific assistance was extended to Pakistan in spite of a commitment to America not to help any country acquire or improve its nuclear capability. Pakistan seems to have now evolved a policy under which it receives clandestine nuclear technology and allows its scientists to thereafter sell it equally clandestinely to rogue states, for “recovering the cost” of its nuclear weapons programme. Pakistani sources have privately accepted the role of some of their scientists in helping the countries listed as the “axis of evil” by the USA. The chief villain in the unfolding James Bond-like story of nuclear weapons technology being sold to the enemy appears to be the notorious Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan. That the scientist who as head of his country’s nuclear programme was stealing and buying technology and material from illegal sources for building nuclear weapons is now in the business of selling them to other nations was known to Washington. A pamphlet giving the details of the services being offered by his firm is currently in circulation in countries that are known to be building clandestine nuclear arsenals.

If the USA is serious about stamping out terrorism from the world it should recognise the existence of another “axis of evil” comprising China, Pakistan and North Korea. Among all the nations with nuclear capability, outside the nuclear club, only India has a safe control and command structure. The same cannot be said about North Korea and Pakistan, with whom the USA does not intend to go beyond seeking diplomatic solutions to the disquieting nuclear weapons-related developments. The disappearance of as many as nine scientists from Pakistan has added a diabolical dimension to the threat of nuclear weapons falling in irresponsible hands. American intelligence agencies have warned that both the Taliban and Al-Qaida networks are keen to seek the assistance of the missing Pakistani nuclear scientists for making at least a crude radioactive weapon. Two scientists have reportedly confessed having been approached by them somewhere in Afghanistan. Pakistan is resisting pressure from the USA for a more thorough investigation of the role of its absconding scientists in providing technical help to terrorist organisations. Why is the US Administration reluctant to crack the whip on its South Asian ally in spite of reliable inputs from its own intelligence agencies about Pakistan becoming the site of a “furtive struggle between those trying to keep nuclear technology secure and those looking to export it for profit or spreading terrorism”? And why has there been no official reaction to the disquieting development in its backyard from India?

FRANKLY SPEAKING

The Modi effect on Indian polity
Confused Congress and politics of masks
HARI JAISINGH

GUJARAT has become a watershed in Indian politics for all practical purposes. It has upset routine assessments and calculations even of the country’s known political pundits and strategists. They are not sure which brand of Hindutva the BJP represents at a given time in a given situation since its leaders speak in different voices, often cancelling one another’s position.

As it is, the party is under tremendous pressure of radical postures emanating from the outer ring of its parivar, the VHP in particular. It is all part of power play. Everything else is either a marginal issue or a matter of adjustment.

Even the Prime Minister’s musings from Goa may not find echo at the party’s different public fora. Herein probably lies the strength of the BJP both as a major ruling partner in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) establishment as well as outside of it.

In today’s Theatre of the Absurd, it is virtually a game of masks. Every political party, whether the BJP or its partners in power, or the confused or perplexed Congress, is flaunting one mask or the other to entertain and woo the viewers and take them to the garden path of tomorrow, away from harsh ground realities.

Power is indeed not only a great healer and silencer but also a terrific unifier, Mr Narendra Modi or no Mr Narendra Modi.

The most pathetic fallout of Gujarat events could be seen within the Congress Party. It is unable to grasp the Modi effect on the polity and, therefore, seems to be groping in the dark for possible responses and options it could exercise in the forthcoming crucial elections to the seven state assemblies this year.

The problem of the Congress is that Mrs Sonia Gandhi is not Indira Gandhi. Her understanding of swadeshi grassroots is both limited and selective as the party continues to be in the grip of sycophants and time-servers. Moreover, the deserving and talented lot among Congress leaders constantly find themselves marginalised by the blessed operators and manipulators.

Looking beyond the narrow political canvas, it has to be graciously acknowledged that Mr Narendra Modi today is a new star of Indian politics. That is the reason why he is the most sought-after leader within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) these days.

The fact that his services are being requisitioned as a star campaigner for the forthcoming election to the Himachal Pradesh Assembly is a clear indicator of his importance and the value the BJP leaders attach to his presence whatever might be their personal reservations with regard to his style of functioning and aggressive postures and rhetoric.

It is, of course, true that after his party’s impressive victory in Gujarat Mr Modi has sobered down considerably from earlier radical Hindutva postures he displayed during the poll campaign in his state. A shrewd politician, this might be part of Mr Modi’s new tactical approach to complex Indian politics.

It is quite possible that the Gujarat Chief Minister realises that extreme postures do not provide long-lasting solutions to problems. Only a mature and positive approach to issues can make a difference to the quality of thinking and responses in the long run.

I always thought of Mr Modi to be a sober and pragmatic person. He met me at The Tribune office on a few occasions before he was entrusted with governance in Gujarat. He gave me an impression that he wished to understand ground realities and seek suitable responses in areas of his interest. His new “avatar” in Gujarat was probably part of his understanding of grassroot realities there which he utilised selectively, keeping in view the policies, postures and the agenda of the party he represents.

How Mr Modi conducts himself in the crucial months ahead remains to be seen. “Nothing succeeds like success”, as they say. As a successful politician, he will be under close observation and scrutiny. Opinions will continue to be divided on Mr Modi, depending on individual convictions and beliefs.

It is also a fact that Mr Modi has not endeared himself to the Muslim community in the wake of a series of unfortunate events in Gujarat. Perhaps, his whole approach to Gujarat politics and gaurav yatra was part of his well-thought-out strategy.

Mr Modi apparently wanted to send the message that the majority community’s interests could not be undermined or overlooked in the name of secularism. How and why such thinking has cropped up requires a detailed study.

Equally important is to go into the roots of the Hindu-Muslim divide right from the gory days of Partition and the emergence of Pakistan as a saboteur-nation in the name of Islam. It is a poor commentary on the Indian leadership since Independence that it has failed to live up to the challenges of times. I have discussed certain aspects of the Hindu-Muslim problem in my article in the magazine section of The Sunday Tribune “Turbulent decades of post-Partition India” (December 15, 2002).

Indian politics is a complex phenomenon. It never moves in a straight direction. Even Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister and Congress leader in the ‘70s knew this fact very well. She never hesitated to play the Hindu card if it suited her party’s political prospects. She did so successfully in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections after the Emergency. Interestingly, during that time people used to talk about Indira Gandhi’s secret understanding with the then RSS leadership!

Be that as it may, but the truth is that after Godhra and post-Godhra Indian politics is unlikely to be the same again. It requires a major overhaul both in feeling and approach. This is mainly because of the thinking in a large section of the educated middle class that the Hindus as a community are at a disadvantage in crude votebank politics pursued by the likes of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and several Muslim leaders.

This reminds me of the observation of a senior Congress leader from Punjab who had gone to Gujarat to campaign for his party. During his tour he was invited by a group of top executives and entrepreneurs for tea. At the end, he expressed the satisfaction of meeting them and hoped that they would vote for the Congress. Sharp came the retort of the executives present there along with their wives: “We shall be voting for the BJP.”

These persons were definitely not part of the BJP vote bank. They were probably traditional Congress supporters. But in the changing political atmosphere, they appeared to entertain certain reservations on what they dubbed as the policy of appeasement pursued by different political parties in favour of one community or the other. They were possibly looking for an alternative outlet, which they thought was being provided by the BJP. It is, therefore, not without reason that several BJP leaders have been decrying pseudo-secularism and have virtually put the proponents of secularism on the defensive.

In this new complex setting, the most pitiable situation is of the Congress. Mrs Sonia Gandhi does not seem to have any viable answer to counter the Modi effect. She has not been able to evolve a credible strategy to meet the challenges thrown up by the BJP. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) deliberations the other day were a clear indicator to that effect. In fact, the party seems to be in a state of disarray. The Modi factor appears to have put the Congress out of gear.

It is, of course, for the Congress to revitalise itself and find new answers to survive in today’s competitive politics. But for the present, it does not seem to have fully grasped the changing ground realities and shifting public responses and perceptions after the recent Gujarat poll verdict.

In any case, nothing can be taken for granted in the Indian polity. The people have come to enjoy their voting power. They know how and when to fix up the crook, the corrupt and the perverted, notwithstanding their mukhautas (masks)!

OPINION

NRIs — need for a pro-active policy
M.S.N. Menon

TO be or not to be? — this is the question before the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). Not to be an NRI is easy. All that one has to do is to marry a local girl. This will snap one’s bloodline with India. But to be an NRI, now and forever, is not within the grasp of an NRI. It will depend on his children and their children. Any generation can out off the cord that ties its line with the mother country.

But is it all that uncertain? It is not. First, the NRIs are far too many today. A few of them marrying local girls will not make a difference. In America alone there are 1.8 million NRIs. In all, there are 25 million of Indian origin. Their number is growing rapidly.

This process can be disrupted only if India puts a ban on migration. Or, if the host countries block the entry of Indians. But India has no plan to ban the migrations. In fact, India wants the right to migration recognised by all advanced countries. Advanced countries, who insist on the free movement of goods, services and finance, cannot block free movement of labour for ever.

Today about 15 million people are on the move each year, looking for new roots. This trend will continue and grow. Earlier, immigrants tried to get themselves assimilated with the natives. But this has not worked of late. The ‘melting pot’ has failed to produce a pure American breed because America could not assimilate the black African. As time passed by even Europeans refused to give up their roots.

Similarly, the idea of assimilation and integration failed to work in Britain. Today multi-culturalism has come to stay in most of the advanced countries. In other words, a migrant need not give up the main elements of his identity. He can be an American patriot and an Indian nationalist at the same time. Be foreign, think Indian — this has been suggested as the new mantra.

This is why there is the growing practice of granting dual citizenship rights. India has done well in recognising its need. But it should not be a hereditary right. Each NRI must apply for it and get it on merit.

But what about dual loyalty? Is this possible? I think a man can be a patriot and a nationalist. Thus an Indian can be a patriotic American-Indian and enjoy political rights. He is expected to lay down his life in defence of America. But he can also be an Indian nationalist because of his roots in India. But these are cultural roots. He will enjoy no political rights. Nor can he fight for India in the defence forces. For instance, the Chinese living overseas enjoy political rights wherever they live. But they also maintain their roots in China.

Earlier, “brain drain” was looked down upon. True, Swaraj Paul made a series of false moves. He wanted to take over the family businesses of some Indian tycoons. And he asked the NRIs to invest wherever they found better opportunities. Naturally, the Government of India was not ready to help such NRIs.

All that changed with the oil boom of the seventies and the migration of millions of Indian workers to the Gulf, who sent back regular remittances to their families. But NRIs in affluent countries refused to invest in India even when the Western countries were ready to take the risk. And whatever they invested in India, they pulled out in the early nineties when India was facing the worst financial crisis.

I recall these unpleasant memories because there is need for a proper leadership among the NRIs and in the Government of India to guide the destiny of this growing body of overseas Indians.

Times have changed for the better. The present government at the Centre is highly receptive to the NRIs, because, I must emphasise this, the very circumstances of the NRIs make them nationalists. They love their country more.

The growing influence of the NRIs in America has been in evidence for a decade now. Of the 435 legislators in the US Congress, about 120 are in the India Caucus. The NRIs take active part in the American politics, making contributions to the two major political parties.

No doubt, the NRIs in the major countries exert a powerful influence today on the host countries. A Rand Corporation (a Pentagon think-tank) study noted the growing influence of the Indian diaspora in North America and Europe. It is said that these NRI groups can become strategic assets to India to gain its politico-military objectives. There is some truth in this, for the NRIs prevented the delivery of AWACS by USA to Pakistan at a critical time.

But the NRIs can do more on the economic front. As it is, the NRI remittances and their deposits in Indian banks go a long way to meet India’s foreign exchange needs. But it is true that NRI investment in India is not in commensurate with what they can do. According to Mr S.P. Hinduja, NRIs can invest 40-50 billion dollars in two to three years. Part of the blame for this state of affairs should go to the Government of India, which has failed to create the necessary infrastructure.

It is said that overseas Chinese are doing more for the mother country. But, then, the Chinese are businessmen, whereas the NRIs are professionals who prefer to bank their saving instead of investing. Hence the need for India to mobilise these savings for investment.

The government has created a department within the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to deal with NRIs. It has set out to create a data base on the NRIs. That this job has not been done in the last half a century shows the extent of the neglect.

The government has done well in asking Dr L.M. Singhvi to do a study on the NRIs — on what they expect from India and what India expects from them. He has already submitted the report. Two of his recommendations are vital: to set up a “Pravasi Bharatiya Bhavan” to house a complex of offices to deal with NRIs, and to set up a special zone for NRI investment. The recommendation to celebrate December 9 (associated with the Mahatma) as “Pravasi day” is a highly imaginative step.

The government has already agreed to grant dual citizenship to all overseas Indians. This has been a standing demand of the Indians. Indian NRIs have a great reputation for their enterprise and intelligence. Bill Clinton recognised this when he said that NRIs have done far more for America than what America has done for India. Indeed, a great compliment!

Indians are to be found today in almost all major countries. Their presence has improved the image of India. They are truly ambassadors of a greater India in the making.

No doubt, there are many issues which call for attention and resolution. But the goodwill has been created on both sides. This has been achieved in the last two to three years. One can build on this edifice. In this connection, we cannot but welcome the appointment of Dr Bhishma K. Agnihotri as an ambassador for the NRIs.

Indians in Fiji, Malaysia and East Africa suffer from various disabilities. There is need for a pro-active policy. And the global organisation of overseas Indians can help.

MIDDLE

Little fugitives
D.R. Sharma

THEY say one mellows with age and starts treating people with a lot of compassion. Unfortunately this seems to be no longer true about some of the senior citizens in Panchkula who look upon youngsters as moral pollutants. The moment they spot young boys and girls sitting or walking in the parks they immediately inform the cops to haul them up. And when these subversives confront their guardians at the police station the scene is not very edifying.

Why do these oldies — I’m one of them — find the sight of young couples so outrageous? They probably resent that the benches meant for them are occupied by the love-birds. If this be the basis of their grouse it is fair. In the case they could straight walk up to the babes and ask them to learn etiquettes. Where is the need to call the police?

I thought the generation gap between the squares and the hipsters didn’t exist in this little town at the Shivalik foothills. When I read the media reports I discover that the gap has grown wider between those who know things and those who don’t. Those who know are the ones who believe that it is socially and morally unacceptable that boys and girls should be seen like this — in the open, away from home, away from school, away from the coaching academy. What will Mrs Grundy say? This Grundyism leads them to scowl at the innocents.

In my essential academic temper I’m anti-tuition. After reading that most of the girls told their moms that they were going out for tuition, I’m fast turning into an apologist for tuition. Children should tell no lies, but when the elders pontificate all the time, then a lie of this nature is pardonable. Will an Indian mom or dad ever like to hear that the young soul is going out to meet her date? Once in Stockton, California, one American matriarch asked me why the Indians were a nation of hypocrites. When Indian boys dated American girls, it was hunky-dory, but when American boys wanted to date Indian girls, it was indecent.

I don’t think that hypocrisy has any geography, though I do realise that most of us tend to be sanctimonious when asked to define our moral premise. If I were to address this issue of social and moral import, I would simply plead with the fellow senior citizens to pay more attention to stray cattle in the town than to the stray kids in the parks. Where else could they sit and chat fantasise? They need their own space, and if that space in any away rattles the seniors then the latter forgive the youngsters and ask them to dream within the bounds of decency. “Alas, alas, who’s injured by my love?” asks the lover in a poem by John Donne.

Instead of adopting a holier than thou attitude the senior party poopers should rather bless these youngsters who are trying to muddle through life. Why drive them away from the green patches where they can breathe better? Let the cops worry more about the traffic lights violations than about the innocents in the HUDA parks. Both the cops and the hypersensitive citizens must remember what G.B. Shaw says: if you don’t fall in love by the age of 30 you have no heart; but if you keep falling in love after 30 you surely have no head.