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Supreme snub
Solving Telangana tangle |
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Admission of guilt
Breaking news: Political capers
On frugality of experience
Checkmating the Dragon’s growing influence
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Supreme snub THE Supreme Court’s decision to take over the charge of investigations into the black money issue is a virtual vote of no-confidence in the government’s capacity and willingness to track unaccounted wealth. Not only that, the apex court has taken the unusual step of appointing a special investigation team under a retired Supreme Court judge, which will report exclusively to the Supreme Court. Ironically, the first time the court had taken such an extreme decision was also in a case of mega-corruption, the notorious 2G scam. The step amounts to the judiciary arrogating the responsibility of the executive but the credibility of the government is at such a low that it may not even be able to oppose the step forcefully. In good measure, the Supreme Court has also pulled up the Union Government in no uncertain terms for not “showing seriousness” in bringing back black money stashed away abroad. It has condemned the “inertia” of the “soft state” due to which the unholy nexus between law makers, law keepers and law breakers is not being broken. These are extremely harsh words and will come in handy to the critics of the government in slamming it. Naming the chairman and vice-chairman of the special investigation team should have been the prerogative of the government, but it has been appropriated by the court, which has handed over these responsibilities to retired Supreme Court judges B. P. Jeevan Reddy and M.B. Shah. That not only shows the government in a poor light but should be also highly embarrassing for the 10-member high-powered committee set up by it investigate the black money cases, which has now been converted into a SIT with the addition of the two judges and the RAW chief. While any action to speed up investigations into black money is welcome, care should be taken not to impair the delicate balance between the judiciary and the executive and the respective roles they play in a democracy.
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Solving Telangana tangle ANDHRA Pradesh is tending to go on the boil again over the Telangana issue. The fact that 10 Congress members of Parliament and 78 legislators belonging to that region drawn from various parties have submitted their resignations to press for statehood for Telangana is an index of nervousness among representatives from the region that the electorate would take them to task for not doing enough to espouse the demand. Yet, there is an element of optimism in the Centre as reflected by Union Home Minister Chidambaram’s statement that some solution would be worked out so that the political crisis is resolved for now. It is indeed typical of our politicians to drag their feet over such demands till the clamour reaches a crescendo. It was Chidambaram who had given a new lease of life to the long-festering demand when he indicated back in 2009-end that the Centre was inclined towards accepting the demand for statehood. That led to sharp divisions and the politics of procrastination again. This time around, as the situation escalates again, it would be interesting to see how the day of reckoning is pushed further. The Centre knows only too well that the grant of statehood to Telangana would give new impetus to demands for Gorkhaland, Vidarbha, Harit Pradesh or Bundelkhand, carved out of other states.The Telangana demand cannot therefore be seen in isolation. The formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956 (by merging Andhra and Hyderabad state) had been followed by reorganisation of states across the country. Is the government then prepared for a second reorganisation of states? To stave this off, a proposal mooted is that of creation of a regional autonomous council for Telangana as also such councils for Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra within the State of Andhra Pradesh. Instead of postponing a solution and thereby keeping the pot boiling, it would indeed be prudent to work out a solution around this at the earliest to meet the pulls and counter-pulls half-way.
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Admission of guilt
Karnataka
Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa is a very compassionate man. But his compassion, unfortunately, is limited to his family members and relatives only. On Monday the BJP leader candidly admitted that he had allotted residential sites from his discretionary quota in Mysore to his needy relatives. The admission came after the Janata Dal (Secular) alleged the wrongdoing a day before. This must be a rare moment of weakness for Yeddyurappa. Otherwise, whenever driven to a corner by a belligerent Opposition with allegations of nepotism and land grabbing, Yeddyruppa strikes back with a blitzkrieg of counter-allegations to bury the whole issue. Since assuming office on May 30, 2008, the Yeddurappa government has faced a series of charges: nepotism, land de-notification, preferential allotment of land and plots, cheating, forgery and a criminal breach of trust. His family members, including son B.Y. Ragavendra, MP, were forced to surrender prime plots grabbed in Bangalore. Then there are two Reddy brothers, who are ministers and mining magnates but notorious for illegal mining and were disowned recently by top BJP leader Sushma Swaraj. Governor H.R. Bhardwaj has pursued some of the cases, including illegal mining, but without result. Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde, who is probing the mining scam, has observed: “Low-level politics is on in Karnataka…. Allegations are countered with ‘have you not done the same’ and not clarifications”. Watching quietly this sordid state of affairs is the national opposition party, the BJP, whose double standards are self-evident. At the national level BJP leaders do not miss a chance to hold forth on the 2-G spectrum, CWG or Adarsh Society scandals, but turn a blind eye to the dirty spot in their southern backyard. If Ashok Chavan of the Congress had to quit as Chief Minister of Maharashtra just because three of his relatives were members of the Adarsh housing society, should Yeddyurappa not resign after his admission of favouritism to his relatives, leave aside the allegations of other scandals?
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The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature. — Joseph Campbell
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Breaking news: Political capers THE Prime Minister has spoken belatedly and, rather than address a televised Press conference, done so through a select group of print editors. This admittedly was not the ideal choice but it was a genuine effort at communication by an essentially reserved and soft-spoken leader. The outcome has been greeted with dismay by critics. But, despite the reservations expressed, it would be fatuous to dismiss Dr Manmohan Singh’s remarks. He warned against creating a climate of cynicism and despair, amplified by a media often prone to playing God’s magistrate. He cautioned against ex-post facto judgements on decisions taken much earlier in a world of uncertainty and a tendency to equate what might turn out in hindsight to have been erroneous judgment with wilful corruption. While the corrupt must be brought to justice, India should not become a police state or return to permit-licence raj. Nor should it be seen as investor-unfriendly when 10-12 million new jobs must be created annually and high growth sustained to eliminate stark poverty. The government, he said, was sincere about legislating an effective Lokpal Bill. Here, if some political parties disdain prior consultation on the draft Bill, so be it. And if both Anna Hazare and Ramdev insist on continuing on what increasingly seems an ego trip, let them do so and not expect to be bailed out from much tom-tommed fasts. They sound like the White Knight who, responding to Alice’s query about the nature of a fine pudding he had lost, sadly replied: “I don’t know if the pudding ever was cooked. I don’t know if the pudding will ever be cooked. But it was a very clever pudding to invent”. The BJP Parivar is, in the meantime, preparing to take power from what it believes is a tottering Congress. The battleground of choice is to be Uttar Pradesh, which goes to the polls early next year. Uniquely, the Parivar-BJP seems to believe that retreat is the best form of advance. Hence, back to Hindutva en route post haste to Nirvana. Hindutva has little to do with Hinduism, being a doctrine of narrow, exclusive “cultural nationalism”, far removed from faith, which it distorts. It is a political doctrine, imitative of fascism, espoused by Savarkar and Golwalkar in “We, or our Nation Defined”. That such a negative and discredited doctrine has been resurrected is disquieting in this day and age. But this is the plain meaning of Uma Bharati’s reinduction into the BJP to carry the flag in UP and her proclamation nailing “Hindutva and Ram (Mandir)” to her mast. The Ayodhya issue is under appeal from a High Court order that seemed to open the door to a fresh, forward-looking solution to a well-worn legal wrangle. Rather than move forward, it would be a pity to move back to square one. This can only stir acrimony and divide communities who need and mostly wish to live and work together for the common good. The charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency against Swami Aseemanand and his co-conspirators in the Samjhauta Express, Malegaon, Ajmer, Hyderabad and other terror bombings, allegedly in revenge for attacks on Hindus and Hindu shrines, is something the Parivar should ponder. Nothing is as yet conclusively proven but the net is closing in on a group of people and a philosophy that are both distasteful and dangerous. Meanwhile, even as the BJP is busy scoring brownie points against the government, sometimes stooping low to conquer, the Modi administration has again put its credibility and bona fides on the line by claiming — yet disclaiming – that it has shredded many of the vital documents and dossiers connected with the Sabarmati Express-Gujarat pogrom of 2002 even while the Nanavati Commission and the Supreme Court are seized of the matter. If true, this would be an unpardonable offence and a deliberate effort to thwart independent investigation and justice. As it is, the record of the Modi administration in prevaricating and obstructing the 2002 inquiry is disgraceful. As worrying is a recent report, only one among many that disfigure news reports from time to time, that three young girls in Orissa were barred from entering a village temple as they were Dalits. This is clearly an offence under the Prevention of Atrocities Act and flies in the face of constitutional guarantees. Yet, as all too often, fatuous inquiries are made and no action follows against the offenders. An FIR had not been filed for days. Some Dalit leaders believe that the episode shows that the Dalits have stood up and will no longer brook gratuitous insults to their citizenship. This is welcome and true up to a point. But millions of Dalits face daily indignities and are blatantly denied their rights of access, livelihood and enjoyment of statutory guarantees such as minimum wages. Some of these are feudal manifestations but caste status — or the lack of it — is equally evident. The Parivar and other self-appointed custodians of Hindu rights and culture like sundry Sants and Swamis, the Sadhu samaj and other bodies seem disinterested, helpless and complicit through silence on such cruel conduct that is a dark blot on India. The Church too has not covered itself with glory by insisting on Dalit Christian reservation — surely a contradiction in terms! Social reform takes time. But it has been late and little. There is a limit to what the state can do. Much depends on society and social reformers, of whom, alas, there are all too few these days. A much-needed uniform civil code (UCC) has been very long pending on totally false grounds. A UCC could do more for women’s rights than the will-o’-the-wisp women’s reservation Bill, a good cause but sought to be clumsily legislated and subject to an OBC reservation veto. Returning to the BJP, regression on its part shows its lack of policy and programme and reflects the on-going inner-party struggle for supremacy between the modernists and locked-in-the-past conservatives. A split is likely sooner or later, and Gopinath Munde’s tantrums show that self-aggrandisement is the driving force behind many so-called leaders. That the Congress should be wooing him is shameful and
unprincipled.
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On frugality of experience
I
am thankful to friends who continue to show confidence in my (lack of) patriotic assertion. They still take the trouble of forwarding text messages on my cell, despite never receiving a response, on appeals to join a national- awakening fast on August 16. In fact, these texts are exhortations to provoke and evoke what they perceive as my dormant national pride. In my opinion, patriotism too is a package deal. I love my country but I can’t go hungry to prove this love. Secondly, I am not sure what kind of fragile patriotism is it which can lose its sanctity by eating meals on time? I refuse to enlist for this new brand of patriotism. The enemy is not at our borders, no natural calamity is afflicting us, and, above all, there is no food shortage! So, why fast? My grandmother never ate on Mondays. She developed the habit in response to a call given by Lal Bahadur Shastri , who had asked the nation to forego one meal a week, after the 1962 Chinese aggression. Like millions, she too followed suit. But, that was in response to a national calamity. For centuries my foremothers were made to believe that by fasting they could ensure long life of their husbands, repeat the same husband for seven lives ( how horrifying!) and could be sure of their sons outliving them. They were cheated in their faith for the power of fasting, but they never saw it. Despite their mass fasting on Karwa Chauths and Ahoi Ashtamis, the laws of nature did not alter. The numbers of widows swell despite Karwa Chauth day, and sons die despite any number of Ahoi Ashtami fasting. People are lured by this funny mix of denial (fasting) and hope carried on from the past traditions which uses fasting as a kind of blackmailing for a gainful pact with the supernatural (God). I wonder, by what logic corruption could come to an end in this massive, complex democracy of ours by mere fasting? Is this not cheating of the cashless kind? So, I refuse to join this new patriotic brigade. My grandmother used to talk of stree hath (obstinacy of a woman). Women, because of their weak social standing used fasting as a tool to assert obstinacy, in order to gain sympathy from the family members who had the power to take decisions. And, then, there was baal hath (obstinacy of a child), which refuses to see any logic. I find some shades of the two, here, in this new brand of patriotism. To the frugality of experience that our Third World existence offers us, why add depravity? I know for sure, I am not Gandhi. If I fast, I will think of nothing but food, which otherwise remains towards the end on my priority
list.
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Checkmating the Dragon’s growing influence
POST 1949, China’s external and domestic policies were based on the ideology of “socialism with Chinese characteristics”. This kept it out of crucial multi-lateral platforms of global politics. It was the second revolution orchestrated under Deng Xiaoping that brought about a paradigm change, with public policy coming in the ambit of mainstream Chinese politics. Today, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) perceives itself as an ascendant power while America is seen on the decline. The main objective of China’s policy is to shape a unipolar Asia by preventing the emergence of rival powers. Its policies are driven by long-term strategic concerns and actions guided by national goals. China has always considered Asia-Pacific as its area of influence. It has redefined its earlier “Periphery” policy by encompassing the concept of an “extended neighbourhood”. There is marked increase in Chinese presence in the region. The PRC has made concerted efforts to marginalise India in south and southeast Asia. PRC’s Grand Vision Traditionally, the Chinese have countervailed adversaries through alliances to avoid direct confrontations. Mao’s era, due to domestic compulsions, saw China allied with the Soviets. Post 1978, Deng pursued an “open-door foreign policy”. Continuing this policy, Jiang Zemin ensured external interface through an “independent foreign policy for peace”. His successor, Hu Jintao, has adopted a “balanced development” approach instead of a “GDP-centric growth model”, to create a harmonious society. Hence, ensuring peaceful rise by maintaining a conducive periphery is the cornerstone of China’s current foreign policy. In the prevailing environment, China’s external interest are threefold -- Ensure a secure periphery, sustain regional stability along with economic vibrancy and maintain territorial integrity. With the exception of Taiwan and Sparatly islands, China has by and large realised its primary objectives during the last decade. This is in consonance with its strategic vision of a “peaceful rise”. Throughout history, China was the pre-eminent political and military power in east Asia. Therefore, the PRC leadership is keen to change the international status quo by replacing the US as the hegemonic power in the Asia-Pacific region. Over the past decade Chinese leaders have adopted an increasingly moderate and flexible approach vis-a-vis its strategic neighbourhood, resulting in remarkable expansion of Chinese influence. The salient facets of Beijing’s strategy are proactive initiatives at the political, economic and diplomatic levels to develop a common ground by putting aside differences and fostering closer bilateral/multilateral arrangements Chinese Inroads Into Asia China has traditionally wielded significant influence in southeast Asia, which constitutes a fluid turf due to the power game dynamics and often referred to by Chinese scholars as a soft underbelly. PRC has pursued its designs through skilled diplomacy, binding the region to China politically, economically and militarily. China’s broad objectives in the region are:
China’s policy towards south east Asia is marked by soft paddling outstanding regional disputes and willingness to engage in multilateral dialogue while projecting an attitude of good neighbourliness. Chinese inroads into south Asia region have been primary economics centric. Conscious that its rise manifests concern among its neighbours, PRC has tried to dispel fears of a “China threat” and demonstrated its desire to behave as a responsible power. However, China is wary of Japan, which has refused to exclude Taiwan Strait from its security agreement with the US. Beijing also knows it has limited influence in the Korean Peninsula. China’s activism in southeast Asia, therefore, is an important element of its response against potential containment. Southeast Asian nations have responded rather favourably to Chinese regional activism. Due to historical and geopolitical realities, these nations have reconciled to the inevitability of living in China’s shadow. Countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are able to leverage their positions optimally by exploiting the resources of both China and the US. Even Myanmar, due to its political isolation, has been a major beneficiary of China’s assistance as reciprocation for its favourable policies towards China. Despite growing Chinese influence, the US continues to retain a dominating position in southeast Asia. The US–ASEAN Enhanced Partnership Agreement of 2005 seeking closer cooperation in trade, investment and security is a step towards ensuring greater involvement in the region. ASEAN too seeks enhanced US cooperation to obviate overdependence on China The choices before Washington are either to maintain status quo by following the current policy through bilateral alliances, or assign Beijing participatory role in the region. The way Obama administration is courting Beijing indicates that US’ Asia policy is no more driven by an overarching geopolitical framework. PRC’s Growing Influence
in South Asia South Asia, due to its strategic importance, is considered by China as part of its extended periphery. PRC perceives India as a rival and views the latter’s strategic posturing directed towards seeking hegemony in the region, exercising control in the Indian Ocean and containing China, while striving to emerge as a military power. China’s strategic interests in south Asia are largely economic. In consonance with the expansion of its strategic space, China has deepened its influence in India’s neighbourhood. China’s march into south Asia gained momentum when it went for market economy in the 1980s, opening new vistas beyond Pakistan. Salient facets that merit attention are:
Appraisal In orchestration of its “peaceful rise”, the Chinese leadership is convinced that sustained economic development has to be accorded the highest priority. In the Chinese concept of Comprehensive National Power (CNP), both soft and hard power are equally relevant. For enhancing CNP and emerging as a global player, China requires strategic space and enlarged area of influence. Its continuing march into south and southeast Asia is part of a well-calibrated Asia policy in consonance with the overall grand design. China has used its strategic advantage to leverage and consolidate its standing in the region. PRC has specially developed close relations and partnerships with India’s neighbours. Today, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka affirm to “One China” policy and unequivocally support China on the sensitive Tibet issue. They speak one voice with regards to China’s entry into SAARC, disregarding Delhi’s discomfort. Whereas PRC professes a policy of peace and friendliness, its strategic aim remains marginalising India through overt engagement and covert containment. However, PRC does make efforts to keep India from making strategic alliances with the US. It is imperative that India crafts a deliberate and effective strategy to ensure its rightful status as a regional power. This implies seriously contending the growing Chinese influence around its periphery and simultaneously striving to enlarge its footprint particularly in southeast and central Asia. The approach has to be multi- pronged, a combination of soft and hard power. India’s relations with southeast Asia should have three fold objectives: Strengthen bilateral relations, institutionalise political and economic mechanism and mutually address regional security concerns. India has to play a more proactive role in the region. Even President Obama, while addressing the Parliament during his visit here, stated that India should upgrade its relations from “looking East” to “engaging East”. India’s emergence is seen as positive development by Asia-Pacific nations. They now see India as a power that could play a balancing role in the region. ASEAN accounts for 9.42 per cent of the global trade and is India’s fourth largest trading partner with bilateral trade of over $50 billion. As India is not a direct competitor for ASEAN export-led economies, the opportunities for mutual gains are considerable. In defence cooperation, there is vast scope in areas like combating terrorism, maritime security, sharing intelligence, capacity building and training. To ensure a favourable neighbourhood, India needs to take fresh initiatives that combine good economics and astute diplomacy. A shortsighted approach vacillating between appeasement and coercion has not yielded the desired results. In the prevailing environment, smaller neighbours are not averse to India playing a lead role as long as their interests are well served. Politically, India must treat China on equal footing and not give in to its coercive diplomacy. Underplaying the Dragon’s growing capability would be a serious strategic blunder. India ought to improve its potential in the application of combat power on its northern borders and enhance force projection capability in the region. China’s inroads into the strategic neighbourhood are in sync with its grand design, as it prepares to take its rightful place in the new world order. In a systematic manner, Beijing has made long term investments in the region to gain a strategic foothold, while dispelling concerns about a “China Threat’. Favourable response from majority of the nations in the region implies a major diplomatic triumph for Beijing. Expanding influence of China in the Asia-Pacific region is a reality. To cope with the live challenge, India needs to formulate a pragmatic national security policy after undertaking a holistic strategic review in the long term global perspective. Keeping in view the magnitude and complexities of the security spectrum, bold reforms would be required to be put in place to institute a dynamic mechanism to ensure seamless coordination and synergy that are the inescapable prerequisites for effective
implementation. The writer is a former Assistant Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, served as the Defence Attaché in China
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