The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Deficiencies in defence
Time to get serious about self-reliance

Defence Minister Arackaparmbil Kurien Antony recently exhorted the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to increase the country's self-reliance for weapon systems and platforms. Observing that although efforts were on to increase indigenisation, India continued to be over-dependent on imports to meet defence requirements and that there was no substitute to self-reliance.

Antony's statement to scientists of the DRDO is relevant keeping in view that it is the premier organisation entrusted with developing new weapon systems and platforms that are critical for modernising India's armed forces and keeping its defence preparedness contemporary. The DRDO's record, however, has been hardly exemplary. Other than doing fairly well in developing a series of missile systems, the DRDO's record of developing defence technology and weapon systems has mostly been dismal. For the last two and a half decades India has remained stuck at the 30-35 per cent mark when it comes to indigenous defence capability. Even this figure is suspect, considering that India mostly either assembles imported defence equipment or licence manufactures it. Successive parliamentary standing reports on defence have with monotonous regularity pointed to serious shortcomings in the DRDO's structure, functioning and capability. These shortcomings similarly extend to the eight defence public sector units and the state-owned 39 ordnance factories. As a result, most of India's defence equipment is imported, making India subsequently dependent on spares and servicing and, therefore, vulnerable to political and economic pressures from other countries.

Antony is not the first Defence Minister to exhort the DRDO; neither is he expected to be the last. The need for stepping up indigenous capability has been repeated by successive defence ministers cutting across political dispensations that have ruled the country in the last two and a half decades. A hundred percent self-reliance is not possible. The DRDO and all allied organisations should, therefore, focus on key technologies and weapon systems. For this India's military-industrial complex needs quality manpower, an efficient management system and better synergy with the private sector to develop high-end defence technology that is currently severely lacking.

Another murder
Delhi’s tryst with guns and contract killers

The killing of two prominent businessmen at their farmhouses on the outskirts of Delhi has brought into sharp focus the deteriorating law and order situation in the nation’s capital. Deepak Bhardwaj was shot dead on Tuesday. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader was killed by some unidentified men who came into his farmhouse and shot him. Mr Bhardwaj, 62, had emerged as the richest candidate when he contested the 2009 general election. Not too long ago, in another incident, a shootout at another farmhouse had resulted in the death of the controversial business baron Ponty Chadha and his brother. The people who died in the two incidents were BSP supporters who had amassed a remarkable amount of assets in a relatively short while. The real estate sector has thrown up many rags-to-riches stories, even as such stories have footnotes that speak of sharp practices and disgruntled people who could hold grudges. Thus a common practice among such people is to employ a large number of security guards, or to arrange them from friendly political leaders. The south Delhi police has come in for strong criticism because of its inability to prevent the murders. But it is a fact that both victims had a number of security guards who were ultimately ineffective in saving their lives.

The death of these businessmen raises many questions. These violent deaths are a highly visible reminder of the gun culture that has taken many lives in the past few years. The police needs to crack down on people in the illegal gun trade, and also on so-called contract killers who now seem to move with relative impunity even in the national capital. Even as the police traces the killers and brings them to justice, the society at large may do well to look at various factors that have gone into allowing such a culture of violence to flourish.

Thought for the Day

It is during our darkest moments we must focus to see the light. —Aristotle Onassis

ARTICLE

Making India truly incredible
Some scary happenings
by Inder Malhotra

INCREDIBLE India” is the Union Tourism Ministry’s sales pitch to attract more and more high-spending tourists from across the world. But is anyone in authority worrying about the hugely negative impact the gangrape of a Swiss woman in Madhya Pradesh and the plight of a younger British woman who fractured both her legs while jumping from the balcony of an Agra hotel to escape molestation, all within three days, are bound to have on the inflow of tourists?

This is disgraceful beyond words. However, there are tragedies of a different kind that should shake us no less. Indeed, these are making us a laughing stock. Only a few most recent examples should suffice. The first is the controversy, nay, blatant contradiction between the rival accounts of the same episode by the Delhi police, on the one hand, and both the government and the police of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, on the other.

On Friday, after arresting an alleged Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, Liyaquat Ali Shah, the Delhi police had patted itself on the back and claimed that it had averted a massive terrorist attack on the nation’s capital around Holi. It had also stated that it had recovered arms, including an AK-56 and grenades stored for Shah in a guesthouse close to Delhi’s Jama masjid. But Shah’s family in Kashmir, backed fully by the state police and the government, has declared this to be false. Shah, according to them, was a former militant who was returning home from Pakistan via Nepal, to partake in the state government’s policy to “rehabilitate” those militants that had gone to Pakistan or Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir for training but had later realised their mistake and were willing to surrender. The state authorities have also endorsed the Shah family’s assertion that it had already filed an application with the
Kupwara police to seek “benefits” under the “rehabilitation policy”. This is not all. Sections of the Indian media have also been punching holes in the claims of the capital’s cops who still stick to their version.

It was no surprise, therefore, that Kashmir’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah travelled to Delhi to parley with Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and the latter reportedly agreed to his demand for a “time-bound inquiry” by the National Intelligence Agency.

Since then both the warring sides have raised the ante. The official word from the Home Ministry is that it is examining whether the incident calls for a probe. Is this the measure of cooperation and coordination between the Centre and the government of a very sensitive state? What makes it even more disturbing is that the Congress that leads the ruling coalition at the Centre and the National Conference that heads the government in Kashmir are coalition partners in both New Delhi and Srinagar.

Worse, the squalid episode is not a stray one. It is part of a pattern that was not altogether absent in the past but has assumed more worrisome proportions since the hanging of Afzal Guru. The state government, the Opposition and the bulk of the Kashmiri political class are talking in roughly the same language, which is critical of the Centre. The death of a young man during a firing by a Central police organization stirred the pot even further. And what happened after the first Pakistan-backed terrorist attack on Srinagar after an interval of three years in which five jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force were shot in cold blood has made the situation even more alarming.

For, it was acknowledged only then that, under orders issued by Srinagar, the CRPF is no longer allowed to carry firearms and make do with lathis. The CRPF formation that came under the terrorist assualt had only one rifle and a lot of lathis. The question is whether New Delhi had accepted this incredible restriction. Naturally, Parliament was very critical of this state of affairs whereupon the latest inanity of Shinde was:“Sometimes one has to fight with lathis.”

Of several other recent events that do neither the country nor the polity any credit and sometimes ought to make us hang our heads in shame, let me mention just one more. It is the shocking and bizarre reaction to the Supreme Court’s judgment on the horrific 1993 serial bomb blasts in Bombay (now Mumbai) that killed 257 innocent people and wounded another 700. It is a perfectly legitimate comment on the Indian judicial and investigative systems that they have taken two long decades to bring this chilling case to a close. Indeed, come to think of it, the unspeakable outrage is not yet properly rounded off. For, the mastermind of the mass murder and his deputy, both Indian nationals – Bombay Mafia don, Dawood Ibrahim, and Yaqub Memon - have not yet been brought to justice. They are strutting around Pakistan, enjoying its hospitality and protection. They are Smart Alecs that demand that New Delhi must “intensify” its pressure on Pakistan to hand over Dawood and Menon who seem to be ignorant of Islamabad’s response to our repeated plea for appropriate action against the mastermind of 26/11, Hafiz Sayeed.

There were 100 accused before the apex court. Of them 98 have been punished. One is to be hanged, 10 will undergo life imprisonment and others varying terms behind bars. Nobody has commented on these men, largely poor and unknown individuals, or even about the two young Muslims who have been acquitted. But this country’s elite, especially the uppermost of the upper crust – including politicians, judges, actors, corporate honchos and, above all, movie moghuls of Bollywood — are renting the sky with their tearful pleas that poor, little Sanjay Dutt, sentenced to five years imprisonment, be pardoned without a minute’s delay. Why? Because he alone is “one of us”, and to hell with the hoi polloi. The lament of the rich and the powerful is: “Our poor Sanju” has already spent 18 months in jail and suffered for two decades. What about the two innocent souls that have been acquitted, not convicted, by the apex court. They spent nearly 20 years in the slammer.

In our country, the Constitution ensures equality of all before the law. Must it be converted into an Orwellian republic where all are equal but some always “more equal than the others”?

MIDDLE

Film actresses on a ship
by Trilochan Singh Trewn

During late fifties, I was serving on board INS Krishna as a young watch-keeping engineer, based in Mumbai. To socialise among the local film world brought me closer to film actresses like Nutan, Suraiya and Begum Para. Suraiya, who excelled in acting as well as singing, used to reside in Lonavala. I had occasions to witness their film shootings.

Later an opportunity came my way to invite them on board my ship when Suraiya happened to be in alongside a berth close to naval dockyard Lion Gate for an evening get-together. Their close ones were also invited. They wished that they should board the ship after a boat ride from the Gateway of India. This was arranged with a provision that they would leave via Lion Gate.

The artists enjoyed the boat ride. The sea water spray of a fast motor boat simply fascinated them. As we came alongside the ship, the accompanying officer in uniform landed on board first and saluted the empty quarter deck. Guests were amused to be told that navy personnel salute the quarter deck because centuries ago, Lord Nelson, British Commander-In-Chief, had died on a ship’s quarter deck.

During pre-dinner drinks, a steward brought a pair of sea gulls in his arm. Suraiya enquired whether we preferred seagulls to chicken. “No madam”, promptly came the reply from our captain. The marine fraternity loves and adores seagulls and vows to protect them from any harm as since eternity the sight of seagulls has been providing indications of approaching land to seafarers. Seafarers believed that if the seagulls came from front bows good weather was indicated, but if they approached from astern, stormy weather was expected. Several countries have protected seagulls by law.

The guests were presented an attractive model of a seagull in white porcelain with an inscription underneath, “Thou shall survive forever”.

The party ended at 11 pm and our three cars proceeded towards Lion Gate. Well before Lion Gate our vehicles were stopped by the police in naval uniform. They peeped inside and saluted the two officers. They pointed out to one of them to put back his bow tie that he had removed. This was done. The naval policeman saluted again and cars were waived to proceed. Our cars were stopped again within four meters by policemen in khaki uniform. They started checking inside the cars and opened up the rear “dickies” in a routine manner. We then drove towards Lion Gate to bid farewell to the guests.

Through Lion Gate Nutan came out of the car and asked us humorously the significance of having two types of policemen in the naval dockyard – in white uniform and the other in khaki uniform. I reflected and replied equally lightly that the policemen in white uniform were there to ensure that all servicemen were properly dressed and conducted themselves properly while the policemen in khaki uniform were responsible for ensuring that no duty-free items or government property were taken out in an unauthorised manner. To bring home the point further, I added that a policeman in khaki would not object to see a guest even in an underwear provided no unauthorised items were carried.

OPED WORLD

African growth story: What next?
After two decades of stagnation, Africa is widely believed to have turned the corner in the new millennium. Countries across the continent are witnessing significantly increased foreign investment, trade and feverish economic activity.
Rohit Negi

The changing skyline along the beach in Durban, South Africa. Five-star hotels and plush malls have sprung up across African cities. But it is unclear what the long-term developmental impact of this economic boom might be.

More than half the countries in Africa recorded GDP growth of over 5 per cent during the second half of the previous decade, while per capita incomes have increased alongside the proliferation of various consumables. Flights to Africa have risen by 85 per cent during 2005-2011 and more mobile subscribers are in Africa today than in Europe. But even as five-star hotels and plush malls spring up across African cities, it is unclear what the long-term developmental impact of this economic boom might be.

Impact of Asia’s rise

In large part, the African turnaround is linked to the stupendous rise of the so-called ‘emerging’ Asian economies, and the demand for various raw materials that fuel their growth. Price of commodities like gold, copper and iron ore spiked to record levels during the 2000s, a trend that was only temporarily disrupted by the global economic crisis of 2008. Copper price, for instance, which in the 1990s hovered between $1 and 1.5/lb has consistently stayed over $3.5/lb since 2006.

Home to hitherto untapped or under-exploited reserves of these and other resources, Africa has become the venue for an unprecedented scramble between transnational corporations on the one hand, and governments keen to project their energy and food security objectives towards Africa, on the other.

The strong economic performance of late has led to renewed expectations of an African ‘renaissance’ amongst several observers. To critics though, it is merely a repetition of the cycle of booms and busts, previously associated with Africa that leaves few positive legacies in the long run.

In fact, in today’s global scenario with geo-economics having supplanted geopolitics as the overarching state agenda, it is common to find parastatals engaged in competition or collaboration with private corporations over access to resources. Existing diplomatic channels of India, China, Russia and other countries are being reoriented to this end as we speak,and new ones are being created where they did not exist.

Even post-Apartheid South Africa has emerged as an important player in regional affairs, which among other things shows the tensions within BRICS, at least as far as individual geoeconomic objectives are concerned. The China-Africa and later, India-Africa Summits are now venues at which these Asian countries seek to create and guarantee conditions favouring trade with Africa, which has grown exponentially to over $160 billion and $70 billion a year respectively.

Accordingly, views on India’s strategic maneuvers vis-a-vis other states get adequate traction in foreign policy and academic circles these days, but this is ultimately an altogether narrow lens through which to view Africa. The varied implications of the recent events, and the ongoing political economic changes there should be of equal interest to us.

Extractive industries boom

Contemporarily, the resource sector remains the pivot of most, though not all, African economies. Indeed, according to a McKinsey report, about a third of the continent’s growth is specifically on account of extractive industries. This is most certainly a continuation of, and not a break from, forms of incorporation of the continent into the global economy that were the hallmark of colonialism.

Yet, much has changed in Africa since then. The immediate post-colonial period (1960s to 80s) was marked by attempts to forge a different route to development, and took shape as policies favouring import substitution, strategies for diversification, and agricultural intensification. Though success was patchy at best, a measure of political stability had been achieved in several countries, largely through the proliferation of single-party states either aligned to one of the Cold War blocs or constantly seeking to leverage both under the guise of non-alignment. Favourable commodity prices then had made it seem like Africa was about to zoom onto the developmental orbit.

This post-colonial compact and optimism soon collapsed under the strain of the global economic slump following the Oil Shock in the 1970s. Surpluses from extractive industries and export-oriented agriculture shrank dramatically, plunging economies into a downward spiral and contributing to the implosion of the state. What emerged were two drastically reshaped state-forms: countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Congo DR, and Somalia entered a phase of civil war and fractious struggles over resources, which continue unabated. Other states like Zambia, Ghana and Cameroon were subjected to wide-ranging structural adjustment programmes by international financial institutions.

Resources privatised

Here, multi-party electoral democracy was also initiated just as industries and resources were privatised during the 1990s. The immediate results were mostly disastrous, causing widespread unemployment, contraction of agriculture and inflation. Interestingly, early millennial trends showed that countries in the midst of civil wars were growing more rapidly than the latter grouping.

The picture has changed radically since then. The upshot of privatisation was that national assets had entered the market for throwaway prices, bringing back transnational capital. In Zambia, for instance, Vedanta bought the largest copper mine, Konkola, and Tata took over the erstwhile state-operated Pamodzi Hotel in capital Lusaka — both for a relative pittance.

It is in this precise context that the millennial commodity boom has unravelled. The crucial difference from the post-Independence expansion is that assets are no longer in public hands, which means there is less revenue for social expenditure. Still, the strong economic performance of late has led to renewed expectations of an African ‘renaissance’ amongst several observers. To critics though, it is merely a repetition of the cycle of booms and busts previously associated with Africa that leaves few positive legacies in the long run.

This argument draws on the notion of the ‘resource curse’, that is, the idea that extractive industries create conditions for under-development and/or state failure in the territories that house them. There are several aspects to this notion, ranging from the environmentally deleterious effects of extraction to its suppression of other domestic industries on account of an artificial inflation of exchange rates (the ‘Dutch Disease’).

The resource curse

These are undoubtedly valid concerns but the resource curse is ultimately a limiting frame of interpretation with little space for differences and particularities, or for national and local capacities to influence outcomes—it is as if the story of inevitable doom is already written. Instead, it is more productive to conceptualise the complex of forces underlying these issues as the canvas upon which actual transformations, debates and politics occur.

Moreover, it is not that African policymakers and thinkers are unaware of the debate on economic diversification and the need for the expansion of manufacturing. At issue is the fact that given the global free-trade regime and the low-cost production model already in place elsewhere (particularly China), it is extremely difficult for African countries to implement industrial strategies with any prospect of success. Regional blocs like the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) are only one part of the picture, and in any event, have contributed little of note.

In all of this, what is typically missed is that 60 per cent of Africans still live in rural areas, many of them tied to subsistence agriculture, often on communal lands. They have thus far benefitted only peripherally from the growth, mostly through the renewed emphasis on primary education and basic healthcare. In many places—Madagascar and Ethiopia are prime illustrations—rural citizens have in fact been dispossessed on account of large-scale enclosure by agriculture or plantation concessions; a process commonly termed land grabs. The vocal opposition to these public-private activities finds less mention in popular writing, however.

It is, therefore, crucial to reorient the discussion towards the manner in which Africans grasp, organise and seek change. Already, the relative political stability of the last ten years, increased capital flow due to the boom, debt-relief subsequent to the Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative, and the enhanced vibrancy of civil society following democratisation have together created new political spaces.

African governments are faced with increasingly forceful demands from diverse internal constituencies that are dissatisfied with the largely meager developmental and poverty reduction effects of the economic growth thus far. Having privatised resources from a position of weakness in the 1990s and implemented exceptionally low rates of royalties and taxes, states are today under pressure to revise these frameworks to plan out and embark on a refigured development agenda. In the last instance, these are the debates and politics—and less so, the supposed benevolence of China or India—that will shape the contours of African futures, and to which we must attend.

Excerpts from a speech Dr. Rohit Negi of Ambedkar University delivered recently on “An African Century: Politics, Geopolitics and Development in Contemporary Africa” at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Delhi. Email: rohit@aud.ac.in