E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

India's score at G-15
The two-day G-15 meeting at Cairo that ended early this week had special significance as the G-8 of the industrialised nations is going to hold its annual conference very soon---next month.

 

EDIT PAGE ARTICLE

India-Pakistan nuclear balance
Tilted diplomacy at play
by O. P. Sabherwal
THERE are no smiles in Pakistan over an American television — NBC News — report that its nuclear arsenal is superior to that of India with perhaps five times the nuclear warheads. Rather, the Pakistani military rulers wear a grim look. And the flamboyant Dr Khan of Kahuta fame is mum. Is that baffling? Not quite.

MIDDLE

Deep inside the pista bags
TIME: Two months before the abdication of His Majesty the Shah of Iran.
PLACE: Bandar Shahpur — Northern Persian Gulf.
My ship arrived from the Brazilian port of Recife with a cargo of bulk sugar to be discharged at Bandar Shahpur. As we could not get a berth, we were put up alongside an Iranian freighter, which had come just one day before us from Bandar Abbas. Our aftdeck was close enough to facilitate easy access to the jetty.

ON THE SPOT

When will privatisation finally come?
Tavleen Singh
ONCE more last week India was declared amongst the most corrupt countries in the world. We follow closely behind countries like Nigeria and Cameroon who get first prize in the corruption stakes. This year, according to Transparency International’s Perception Index, we rank above only six countries who are more corrupt than us: Russia, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Cameroon.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

Purulia revisited 

The Purulia arms-drop case has a way of bobbing up every time an Indian or a Russian leader goes visiting the other country. And that is what is hampering the style of functioning of External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh in Moscow for the past four days. In his talks with leading Russians one topic that comes up at the very outset is the demand for the immediate release of the five pilots from that country who are serving life imprisonment in Calcutta. They were sentenced in February last after being undertrials for five long years. The CBI had charged them with waging war against the state and that automatically led to the stiff sentence. Since then Russian leaders have openly expressed their anger and anguish at the way the pilots and crew members were tried for a highly inappropriate offence. They argue that they were misled into believing that they were being hired to ferry innocent cargo; anyway they were unemployed at that time and financially miserable. The punishment is highly disproportionate to their role in gun-running (and not waging war against the state). Two of them are sick, one is a diabetic and the other a heart patient being treated at a Calcutta hospital. And, three, although they are being treated well, the fact remains that the prospect of spending another 10 years in jail casts a shadow on the excellent bilateral relations. This irritant must be removed, runs the general argument. Newspapers frequently write about the case, often in an accusatory tone and style. They point out that except for Peter Bleach, an ambitious but amateurish Briton, no one who organised the operation has been arrested, much less tried and jailed. There were tall claims about extraditing and prosecuting Kim Davy, said to be the real man behind the arms dropping but who walked out of the Mumbai airport in 1995. There was also talk of an Anand Margi, Daya Anand, with him; nothing is known of him except a stray speculation that “he is distributing relief material in a war-torn country”.

The Russians are angry because of two reasons. They hark back to their super power status when fellow citizens were treated with utmost consideration. The life term for the five guilty men in the Purulia arms dropping case is a painful reminder of the loss of diplomatic clout. Two, India is a close friend and should hence walk the extra mile to soothe the frayed temper. Emotions are running so high that State Duma (lower House of Parliament) speaker Gennady Seleznya and National Security Adviser Sergei Ivanov took up the issue of the early release of the convicted men during their recent visit to India. Earlier chief of the Russian Orthodox church Alexei II had written a letter to Prime Minister Vajpayee which has remained unacknowledged until today. They prefer a presidential pardon or bail, which this country’s legal system does not allow. In the name of autonomy of the investigative authority, the CBI was allowed to conduct the inquiry and file the charge sheet in its own way and it bungled as it normally does. In its frustration in not finding the main criminals, it bracketed the Russian pilots with Bleach and slapped the very serious charge. It has no evidence against them barring their presence in the AN-26 which transported the guns. Of course they formed the crew, that the manifest says. The CBI should have prosecuted the five for being accessories to a crime, in which case they could have earned the court’s leniency. But the agency’s real blunder was to think them to be Ukranians or Latvians, until Moscow let out a frightening growl. Russian President Vladimir Putin will be in India in the first half of October and New Delhi should find a way out before that to ensure that visit goes without a glitch. 

India's score at G-15

The two-day G-15 meeting at Cairo that ended early this week had special significance as the G-8 of the industrialised nations is going to hold its annual conference very soon---next month. All that has been deliberated by the developing countries in the Egyptian capital is expected to have a bearing on the formulation of the collective strategy of the rich and influential nations. It must be appreciated that India was successful in carrying with it all the 17 members of G-15 while projecting the two issues — terrorism and globalisation without caring for the problems of the economically weak---it has been consistently highlighting at world forums. The Indian team deserves full marks. The communiqué issued at the end of the Cairo gathering clearly reflects the concerns expressed by Vice-President Krishan Kant, who headed the Indian delegation. Among those who went along with India were three key members of the Organisation of Islamic Conference despite the fact that Pakistan has been poisoning their mind off and on. If Mr Krishan Kant came down heavily on those sponsoring and supporting terrorism in the guise of jehad, etc, the communiqué released by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, the outgoing chief of G-15, did not spare the evil forces represented by Pakistan and Afghanistan. The gathering upheld India's belief that this global problem could be eliminated root and branch only if there was a serious and concerted drive against it at the world level. The world community must realise that, if unchecked, terrorism can retard economic growth in the areas where it has been able to strike roots. Thus India's call to launch a powerful campaign against terrorism is in the interest of world peace and progress. Another factor which may emerge as a serious threat to peace is the "inequitable and discriminatory" multilateral trading system sought to be imposed on the world by the privileged few through the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and on instructions from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund remote-controlled by the rich West. Thus what we know as globalisation is working against the interests of the poor, promoting the marginalisation of the developing countries. Their economies are faced with a serious threat from the protectionist policies of the rich under different pretexts. The concerns of the disadvantaged, as voiced by India, must be attended to by the developed world to allow them to progress without fetters, visible or invisible. There was encouraging support for India's stand that those who are not yet prepared to go in for economic reforms at great speed, as desired by the World Bank and the IMF, must not be forced to do so as this might lead to disastrous consequences. We have to learn from the recent East Asian currency crisis that crippled the powerful Tiger economies. One hopes the G-15 warning — as reflected in Mr Krishan Kant's speech — that the international monetary and financial system must be reviewed at the earliest to prevent the recurrence of another crisis will not be ignored by the developed nations when they meet in the coming few days. 

Protecting tourists

There are several reasons why India is not among the top destinations for foreign visitors. One reason is the harassment they invariably face at the hands of unscrupulous tour operators and tourist guides. Who would want to come to India after reading the account of the plight of the women who were sexually and emotionally exploited by members of a "gang", ostensibly in the hospitality trade, in Delhi recently? The six young men arrested by the police may have continued to trick unsuspecting female visitors into parting with their cash and honour had two gutsy Japanese girls not returned to India with the specific objective of exposing the racket. The crooks specialised in gaining the confidence of unmarried female visitors. The operators used to get the women sufficiently interested into marrying them. They would, thereafter, mention the "ancient Indian custom" of the girl's side offering a substantial amount of money to the groom's family before marriage. The two Japanese women were made to part with Ra 12 lakh, plus have add-on credit cards issued in the names of their future "husbands", before the actual "wedding". However, once the racketeers were able to get every single penny out of them, the Japanese were threatened with dire consequences if they did not leave the country. Like the countless other victims of the apparently sweet-talking gang of six the Japanese visitors too returned home with emotional and physical scars to remind them of their ordeal in India - the country where it was customary to see even in unannounced guests the image of god. Little did the so-called tourist guides realise that the two Japanese would literally prove to be their Nemesis. But will the arrests help the authorities plug the loopholes and offer a "new deal" of security and sight-seeing to future foreign visitors?

For every crime against tourists which is reported there are countless similar tales of torture and exploitation of visitors which never get to see the light. Every year the Union Ministry of Tourism announces grand projects for attracting more visitors to India. But it has failed to address the problems most foreign tourists face when they decide to see India on their own and not as members of "package tours". Their harassment begins at the airport where greedy customs officials start the process of "squeezing the lemon". The moment they come out of the airport they are surrounded by an army of touts offering them better value for their dollars or pounds, unscrupulous taxi drivers and agents of sleazy and seedy boarding and lodging joints. In Delhi Paharganj is notorious for running shady establishments where foreign men are deprived of their belongings and women are often forced into prostitution. Yet, no one in authority seems to be interested in cleaning up the tourism act. All that needs to be done is to introduce simple common sense measures for providing adequate protection from touts to foreign visitors. For instance, why have the authorities not decided to force the closure of all the sleazy joints in the Paharganj area of Delhi? The authorities should lay down stricter rules for issuing licences for operating travel agencies. A tourist police force should be set up with financial assistance from reputed travel agencies and chains of hotels and reaction centres. Tourist police squads should be posted at all international airports, seaports and at special counters for foreign travellers at railway stations and bus stands. It is evident that unless the authorities concerned get serious about marketing India as an attractive tourist destination, the country's vast potential to get visitors sufficiently interested in its architectural marvels and places of breath-taking natural beauty would remain untapped. It would not be a bad idea to seek greater involvement of the big players in the hospitality industry for formulating a comprehensive tourist-friendly policy. The dream of welcoming a visitor and sending back a friend cannot be fulfilled so long as Paharganj remains a destination on the tourist map of India.

India-Pakistan nuclear balance
Tilted diplomacy at play
by O. P. Sabherwal

THERE are no smiles in Pakistan over an American television — NBC News — report that its nuclear arsenal is superior to that of India with perhaps five times the nuclear warheads. Rather, the Pakistani military rulers wear a grim look. And the flamboyant Dr Khan of Kahuta fame is mum. Is that baffling? Not quite.

Pakistani fears are that the American report will nudge India towards gearing up its nuclear weapon program, the fallout of which could be terribly costly for them. A nuclear arms competition with India revives prospects in Pakistan of much dreaded financial bankruptcy.

But indeed there are some baffling points about the American news report. Adopting a posture of superior western know-how, the report just turns known parameters upside down.

Till as recently as the fall of 1997, dependable western nuclear intelligence such as Sweden’s SIPRI had put India’s plutonium fissile pool capable of producing 80 to 100 Nagasaki-type weapons. American Congressional intelligence had placed Indian nuclear weapon capacity as of then close to 100.

And after the Pokhran II tests, the very same NBC began putting out alarmist reports about India’s nuclear weapon standing. One Western report noted that India could produce over 300 nuclear bombs if it diverts plutonium processed from its chain of power reactors towards weapon making.

That obviously was meant to depict India as a nation committed towards a big nuclear weapon build-up, slamming India’s declared nuclear deterrent status to be a deception. In contrast, Pakistan’s nuclear weapon capacity was pushed down to about a 12 to 20 crude atomic bombs. We are now witnessing an about-turn in the American tilt. Why so?

Has there since been a dramatic turn in Pakistan to bring about a major upswing? Hardly plausible. It would be stupid to expect such a happening since atom bombs do not grow like apples on trees, much less does nuclear technology or infrastructure, which fructifies after years of dedicated application and development.

It is being said that there has been a “reassessment” by American official sources after the 1998 test series by India and Pakistan. That looks rather topsy turvy, for, Pakistan’s tests in the Chagai hills that followed the Indian series at Pokhran evoked disappointment among Western monitoring agencies, which gave a near unanimous verdict that only one, and possibly two, of the claimed six Pakistani tests yielded successful atomic explosions. The others flopped.

On the contrary, the Indian tests — to recall the 1998 post-Pokhran fall-out — according to competent Western monitoring agencies, revealed a high level of nuclear technological capability. One Western nuclear specialist noted that Indian nuclear establishment had exceptional self-confidence in giving out data of their five tests immediately, total explosive yield of the Pokhran II tests being 60 kilotons, divided between the four fission tests (15 kilotons) and one thermonuclear test (45 kilotons). Even the Americans and the former Soviet Union had not given out data of their first tests, it was noted.

True, there has been controversy over the claimed Indian thermonuclear test. But much of it is motivated. A survey by Microsoft Observer following the Indian test series gave conclusive evidence that the Indian thermonuclear test showed complete harmony between the complex physics-chemistry and engineering components involved in the thermonuclear weapon design and testing. A noted Western specialist quoted by Microsoft Observer held Indian scientists conducting the thermonuclear test in high esteem.

A year after the tests, Dr R. Chidambaram, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, made the following significant observations in an interview to this writer: “The other question you asked about the nature of the thermonuclear device. This was a two stage device, the first stage is always fission device — a fission trigger, and in advanced thermonuclear devices, it is a boosted fission device. And in our case, the boosted fission device was the first stage of the thermonuclear device. Otherwise it was a standard two-stage nuclear device.”

What then is the genesis of the new American thinking quoted by the NBC News report which places Pakistan much ahead of India in nuclear weapon capability as well as in their means of delivery. Quite simply, this is a piece of tilted nuclear diplomacy at play which welds nuclear facts and fiction with politics and diplomacy.

The report says that American sources now feel that Pakistan has a bigger weapon strength than India — close to 80 to 100 earlier attributed to India. And the strength of nuclear weapons with India could be what was earlier credited to Pakistan — approximately 20. Unfortunately for the NBC, the Pakistani generals have not been boosted by this report but are mighty afraid that in both technology and economics, they are hardly in a position to match India. They are afraid such posing could mean unbearable strain on Pakistan’s slender reserves.

Yet it would be useful to verify the facts on the ground.

These facts show that the only known source of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons is the Kahuta uranium enrichment plant. Its capacity? Enriched uranium core that could sustain three small atomic weapon devices every two years. Even this arithmetic may prove to be overrated for according to competent scientific sources, the Kahuta uranium enrichment does not always live up to its target of 90 per cent uranium enrichment. Which means that the fissile core provided by Kahuta could be undependable for atomic explosive devices resting on it.

The known Indian sources of weapon grade plutonium — for India has no major uranium enrichment facility — are the Dhruva and Cirus reactors. It is largely on the reprocessed spent fuel from these reactors that India’s weapons standing has been assessed hitherto.

And the weapon grade plutonium obtained has been tested. There is no reason to downgrade assessment of this capability which has been in full play for a decade and a half (Cirus has been under renovation since 1998). But what may be news for the India-bashers is that an important new weapon grade plutonium source is at hand at Kalpakkam, which could meet any contingency needs for India’s nuclear deterrence.

The new atomic safety regulation which has come into place, separating the civilian regulatory authority from the BARC’s atomic weapon research and development should gear up and streamline India’s weapon capability.

Does this mean that the NBC News report is a pure science fiction piece? Not at all. Wrapped up in the report is an important news — confirmation of intelligence stories piling up over the years. That a major source of Pakistan’s fissile weapon pool is smuggled uranium, bought from the thriving European/CIS black market. And herein lies the rub.

The nuclear diplomacy at play seeks to divert attention from the source of Pakistan’s smuggled enriched uranium, by focusing it on China. The timing gives away the motivation. The fact is that the culprit is the half a dozen western intelligence agencies which have been winking at Pakistan’s nuclear-related smuggling operations for over a decade.

China is unlikely to be the source of enriched uranium for Pakistan — and for cogent reasons. Beijing takes such decisions shrewdly. It would not risk its basic concerns — five years in the future the same religious fundamentalists could pose a threat to it no less.

All this of course should not engender complacency in India. There may be some truth in Indian quibble over deployment. For Indian decision-makers are not the ideal ones in sensitive operational matters. And the unpardonable fact that there is lack of synergy between the nuclear scientific establishment and the political leadership darkens the Indian horizon. As against this, Pakistan’s military establishment is efficient and decisive in such matters.

As for Pakistan’s declared superiority in delivery systems, one should understand the difference between India’s indigenous development and the source of Pakistan’s much vaunted Ghauri missile. It is the Washington Post which gave away the story two years ago. “With check book in hand” Pakistani negotiators stuck the deal in 1997 for acquiring North Korea’s best missile, not yet inducted into its own army. A cash-strapped Pyongyang informed Washington about the deal but the latter turned its face away. How many Ghauris did Pakistan acquire? The figure could be counted on finger tips said the Washington Post. No more than 10 or 12 Ghauri is capable of carrying nuclear warheads. But the indigenously built Indian missiles, Agni and Prithvi, are more dependable. They fit in well in India’s strategy of deterrence.

The writer is a specialist on nuclear issues.

Deep inside the pista bags

TIME: Two months before the abdication of His Majesty the Shah of Iran.

Place: Bandar Shahpur — Northern Persian Gulf.

My ship arrived from the Brazilian port of Recife with a cargo of bulk sugar to be discharged at Bandar Shahpur. As we could not get a berth, we were put up alongside an Iranian freighter, which had come just one day before us from Bandar Abbas. Our aftdeck was close enough to facilitate easy access to the jetty.

The Iranian pilot who navigated our ship from outer harbour had brought with him a 12 inch x 18 inch coloured photograph of His Majesty and his family, including the sons, Prince Raza Ali and Ali Raza in regal uniforms. It was mandatory to display the photograph in a prominent place in our ship. The captain was informed that every shop, office and factory or establishment in Iran was having such photographs prominently displayed by order of the administration.

Bandar Shahpur was generally known as a pistachio port. In the afternoon truckloads of pistachio nuts started arriving, stitched in brown gunny bags for the Iranian ship. Every bag was marked both in English and Persian scripts. Earlier, the Chief Engineer of the Iranian ship had approached me to let them have electric supply from our diesel generator as their generator was defective. I had reacted favourably and the atmosphere was quite congenial. At about 7 the Sarang (in charge of lower deck crew) of the Iranian ship brought four gunny bags full of unsalted pistachio nuts as a gift for our ship’s crew. As part of compulsive gossip the sarang revealed that an Imam based at a town of Qum and known as Ayatollah Khomeini was leading a rebellious movement in Iran.

At about 8.30 one of our crew members whispered that the unsalted pista gifted to us was perhaps not the best one from the bags being loaded in the hold. In this connection it was discreetly pointed out that eight specially marked bags were separated from the remaining stock in the hold and stowed close to the ship’s gangway for their own consumption. These bags might be containing super salted pistachio nuts! Our crew members were advised that it was a trivial matter and we should be thankful for their good gesture. However, one inquisitive crew member close to casually investigate further. At about 9.30 pm, he, taking advantage of the halt in loading operations, tried to open one of the eight bags lying near the gangway. In doing so he felt some hard object protruding from these bags. His greed and curiosity made him rip open the top of the bag and push his deft hand right through the nuts till he reached a metallic object of the shape of a sub machine gun. He pushed his hand further. He found a tin can of gun pellets. He felt alarmed but rewarded. He concluded about the destructive contents of the remaining seven bags and informed our sarang.

The sarang spoke to me and the captain. However, the captain told the sarang that, in view of the grave and sensitive nature of the finding, no more mention of this incident was to be made by the Indian crew members and no further interest was to be shown in this matter. All crew members were to be instructed accordingly. Later, myself and the captain went across the gangway for a long stroll up to the dock entrance gate and had a good glance at the eight bags containing sophisticated sub machineguns lying near the gangway. These were very much, as reported, away from the other thousands of bags lying inside the hold, beyond the gaze of the busy crew members. When we returned at 11 we could notice that the bags were being dragged ashore to a waiting jeep. Inference was obvious and disturbing.

Next day I had to visit the branch of the Bank Mill Iran located in the main square. The manager, Mr Wahid Kababi, mentioned to me about the looting of a bank in Isfahan by armed men of Ayatollah Khomeini. Majority of the bank employees were followers of this Imam and believed in “valayate faaqi” (Rule of the Clergy). He then related some chilling incidents of attacks on the Shah’s loyalists in several places in Iran spontaneously. He took me outside the bank premises and showed me a bicyclist carrying khabooz (eliptical naans) at the back of his bike being searched by the police for weapons.

We were much relieved to leave Bandar Shahpur on unloading our cargo of sugar after a week. After some weeks the world heard unbelievable stories of hundreds of senior military officers, including Generals and Air Marshals, being arrested and executed. The establishment, which was strong, westernised and well armed, crumbled like a house of cards in weeks. On our arrival in Mumbai we found that political and military analysts were still busy in analysing as to how a group of simple clergymen with flowing robes could vanquish and subdue a modern standing army, well equipped navy and air force without a fight. We knew the truth!

When will privatisation finally come?
Tavleen Singh

ONCE more last week India was declared amongst the most corrupt countries in the world. We follow closely behind countries like Nigeria and Cameroon who get first prize in the corruption stakes. This year, according to Transparency International’s Perception Index, we rank above only six countries who are more corrupt than us: Russia, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Cameroon. Commenting on the index the Central Vigilance Commissioner, N. Vittal, is reported to have said that there were four key players in the corruption game. He lists them, in this order, as the politician, the bureaucrat, the businessman and the criminal. There is little that can be done about the criminal but there is much that can be done to control the other three and the way to do it is through privatisation. So, can we all please start listening carefully to what Arun Jaitley is saying over and over and over again?

Last week, I interviewed him for a television programme and no sooner did I mention the magic word disinvestment (our euphemism for privatisation) than he went into instant over-drive. Interviewing Jaitley, arguably Mr Vajpayee’s best, young Minister, is at the best of times a difficult task because interrupting him when he is in full flow is like interrupting a stream of consciousness, but when it comes to disinvestment he is unstoppable. He tells you that privatisation is not just necessary but vital unless we want to sit back and watch the gradual collapse of the public sector companies we have spent hundreds of thousands of crores. He goes on to tell you that this is the first government that has come up with a proper road map for how we should go about the business of privatisation and then points out that unless we move fast we could find the value of public sector companies going down dramatically so that they might one day have to be sold for less than they are worth.

So what is stopping him? Why has he managed so far to privatise only Modern Foods? The answer, alas, is that even if the government is fully committed to privatisation it appears to face a variety of roadblocks put up by politicians, bureaucrats and the mighty, supposedly cultural organisation, called the RSS. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh’s opposition is, perhaps, the most absurd of the lot since it is based not on vested interest or economic consideration but on the spurious contention that privatisation is against the national interest.

For a while now the RSS, whose power over the BJP needs no reiteration, has brought economics into the realm of its supposedly cultural activities. Under its auspices we saw the rise of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch whose specific objective was to keep foreign investment out of India. Now, no country seeks foreign investment if it has enough money available locally but since economics has never been an RSS speciality this little detail appears to have escaped the notice of the men who lead the organisation. It appears to have similarly escaped their attention that privatisation of public sector companies will enable us to spend our money better. Instead of pouring crores of rupees annually into companies that rarely make a profit we could be spending it on schools, rural roads, hospitals and all the other things we so desperately need if we are to stop being one of the 21st century’s poorest (and most corrupt) countries. The only way to stop the RSS is for the Prime Minister to have the political will to tell them where to get off.

He can then use the same political will to deal with those who have a vested interest in ensuring that disinvestment remains only an idea in Arun Jaitley’s head. Heading the list of these vested interests are the two categories of corruption players that the CVC points out: Politicians and bureaucrats. These gentlemen have discovered over the years that even if socialism has not been good for the Indian economy it has been very good for them personally.

It is because of socialism that they are able to run vast corporations that may not make any money for the country but provide them with enormous possibilities to get rich. Even one small, itsy-bitsy deal can bring in a few crore rupees and if you are lucky enough to hit upon a big one then you could make enough money to last a couple of generations. To give you only one small illustration allow me to tell you the story of a former Minister of Civil Aviation who came from humble background but hit upon one big deal which transformed his life. Suddenly, he was able to afford several cars, properties in posh Delhi colonies, expensive jewellery for the wife and even to send his son to one of the most expensive schools in the world. He was later investigated by the CBI for corruption but since the wheels of justice in India move with notorious slowness he has been able to carry on with his political career much as if nothing happened.

The potential to make this kind of money would be considerably lessened if the government gave up its business activities and concentrated on its real job which is governance. But, without the public sector our ministers and high officials would lose the other perks that running big corporations bring. Company aeroplanes would become unavailable for quick trips to the constituency, company guest houses would become unavailable for putting up friends and relatives and many of those lovely summer holidays abroad would cease. Is it any wonder that any talk of privatisation meets with instant opposition from politicians and bureaucrats?

According to Arun Jaitley he has the solid support of the Prime Minister’s office in his efforts to privatise but there is the fact that the BJP is not the only party in power. And, there are constituents of the National Democratic Alliance for whom the very word privatisation is an ideological affront.

So, what should the Prime Minister do? He needs, for a start, to lead from the front like Mohammed Mahatir did in Malaysia and Margaret Thatcher did in Britain.

He needs to appear regularly on television, along with his Finance Minister, and explain why things like privatisation have become necessary. He needs to hammer home the point that because we spend hundreds of thousands of crores on unprofitable public sector enterprises we are forced to spend more than 70 per cent of our budget on paying off interest every year. Imagine how many villages would get clean drinking water, roads, schools and healthcare if this money were made available?

He also needs to point out that by privatising we would end up killing more than one bird since it would hugely reduce the opportunities for corruption. Arun Jaitley puts the case articulately enough but he is, in the end, only a junior Minister and what is needed is real leadership from the leader.

• Yield not, O Partha, to feebleness. It does not befit you. Cast off this petty faint-heartedness. Wake up, O vanquisher of foes!

— A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, The Science of Self Realisation, chapter VIII.1