END CASTE; DEFEND NATION

Thousands of young, and some not so young, people have once again assembled at Jantar Mantar, in national capital of India for yet another protest. This group is calling for elimination of caste-based reservations in institutions of higher learning and employments under state. Given the dominance of caste arithmetic in electoral calculus of India, emotive appeal of identity, and inbuilt parochialism fostered in India over centuries and reinforced by political class after independence, failure of this agitation is a foregone conclusion, unless there is a miracle.

That miracle could be psychological revolt of Indian youth against the shackles of caste identity. This has fractured our cohesion as a society and nation; dented our collective capacity as citizens to hold our representatives accountable over governance failures. Caste divide has allowed a culture of entitlement and unrestrained all-out corruption in our entire political -bureaucratic space. Self-seeking private agenda of powerful cliques and cartels gets priority over governance goals of the nation, and our long-term security and destiny as a state.  Rule of law and integrity of institutions are a casualty in the process.

Yet I would say that the very nomenclature of the current movement, anti-reservation, appears poorly thought out. The agitators appear to be calling for withdrawal of such entitlements and privileges of a powerful majority of electorate, to which the latter has got accustomed. Beneficiary castes of reservation are least likely to accept withdrawal of this entitlement. Numerically they are so strong that no political force in this country can ever afford to antagonise them for its own survival. 

As a former practitioner and teacher of national security, I believe India badly needs a mass movement for national cohesion as well as accountability, efficiency and transparency in governance. That alone can ensure universal access to security, dignity and justice for all citizens, which in turn can help optimize our comprehensive strength as a nation. End of caste and communal politics is a pre-condition for the same.

Muted Media Coverage and Higher Police Repression

Media coverage of this agitation has been fairly muted because the group is politically not consequential. Simultaneously, police have resorted to much higher level of violence and repression than what was witnessed during Cockroach Janata Party agitation. There are clips on social media platforms showing pro-reservation groups violently assaulting peaceful protestors, and particularly targeting young women, in clear police presence. In one case, young doctors are in tears alleging that violent cops were physically standing on chest of a man with broken ribs. Unfortunately, a number of cops have also been seen unleashing violence and intimidation in total violation of law of the land. The entire episode manifests expanding caste divide.  

Discrimination on Basis of Identity: Undermining Democracy and National Cohesion

Protestors contend that they are facing brazen discrimination in a free society over their sheer identity. Despite doing significantly better on parameters of merit, their comparative access to opportunities for higher learning and employment with state and overall economic security has been unfairly curtailed. Whereas, a small minority of richer members of SC, ST and Other Backward Communities, who collectively constitute nearly 75 percent of total population of the country, are getting overly preferential treatment ignoring merit, skill and even threshold level of institutional efficiency. This elite has built vested interest in keeping their entire communities perpetually backward.   

They maintain that issue is not about employment and education alone. The entire process is undermining spirit of democracy, national cohesion and optimal national progress. Caste politics has eliminated space for political accountability and efficiency in governance. Even corruption appears justifiable for promotion of caste solidarity. The deepening caste divide has substantially hollowed out our critical institutions. 

Oppression of Dalits A Historical Reality: But it is OBCs and Not Brahmins 

Caste divide and caste-based discriminations have been a longstanding reality. Members of Dalit community have faced brazen discrimination until recently.  Many among them continue to face inhuman and brutal treatment even now. But strikingly in most cases, the perpetrators have been intermediary and OBC Castes and not Brahmins, Thakurs and Vaishyas. Ranvir Sena of Bihar, who are again not a super wealthy elite, may be only exception.

Chart of Major Dalit Massacres and Perpetrator Castes

 

Sl No	Incident	Year	Location	Perpetrator Caste/Group	Total casualties
1	Keezhvenmani Massacre	1968	Tamil Nadu	Vanniyars & Thevars (Most Backward Communities agrarian land holders)	44 Dalits burnt alive
2	Belchhi Kand	1977	Bihar	Kurmis, Dominant OBC land owning group;	10 Dalits burnt alive
3	Karamchedu Massacre	1985	Andhra Pradesh	Reddys, Land owning dominant OBCs	6 Dalits killed, Scores of Dalit women raped
4	Golana Massacre	1986	Gujarat s	Patels, Dominant OBC agrarian caste	4 Dalits murdered, houses torched
5	Laxmanpur Bathe Massacre	1997	Bihar	Ranvir Sena (A militia of land owning but non-Brahmin and non-Rajput upper caste Bhumihar community)	58 Dalits massacred in cold blood (In fact Ranvir Sena in Bihar came up to fight Naxal groups that had waged violent attacks for empowerment of all poor, of which  the Dalits constituted the largest group.  Naxals in 1970s/80s were led by a Brahmin named Vinod Mishra who was practically fighting on behalf of Dalits against other upper castes)
6.	Kambalpalli Massacre	2000	Karnataka	Dominant OBC community, Karnataka Reddys	7 Dalits burnt alive
7.	Jhajjar Lynching	2002	Haryana	Jats (dominant OBC agrarian caste)	5 Dalits lynched over cow-slaughter rumors
8.	Bathani Tola Massacre	1996	Bihar	Ranvir Sena (Bhumihar militia)	21 Dalits killed, incl. women & children
9.	Khairlanji Massacre	2006	Maharashtra	Dominant OBC villagers (Kunbis)	Dalit family (4 members) murdered

It is clear that Brahmins have rarely been direct perpetrators of violence against Dalits. This was precisely due to the fact that barring few odd pockets, Brahmins were largely ritual elites and not agricultural landlords. Similarly, Kshatriyas or Rajputs are also a small minority, who derived their strengths from land that they owned. Oppression by them appears plausible more on account of power, extreme economic deprivation of Dalits, who were mostly landless, and absence of rule of law. Besides, there is enough evidence to suggest that any community that managed to acquire big land assumed Kshatriya or Rajput surnames or identity and some turned even royals. Landowning Rajputs or Thakurs are known to have committed atrocities against Dalits in the past. Wherever possible, Dalits have also retaliated. Phoolan Devi’s revenge killing of 22 Thakurs in Uttar Pradesh in 1980s is a stark reminder of this phenomenon.

Hindu Vaishyas are probably the most pacifist and largely vegetarian community who are traditional traders and businessmen. Many of them may be often involved in breaching norms of propriety in business but their direct involvement in caste violence appears highly remote, if not an improbable, possibility. 

 Despite involvement of Brahmins as a community in Dalit violence being rare, there are instances of landowning Brahmins in Southern state like Kerala imposing many oppressive and exploitative norms against poor Dalits. Besides, moral responsibility of ritual class in endorsing perpetuation of untouchability and discrimination cannot entirely be ignored. But ritual community within Brahmins is very small. Ritual community has its own strengths and pitfalls and there can be no generalisation. If sections among them are considered truthful and honest, there is no dearth of parasitical and vulturous elements in this community who had captured temples and fleeced average and poor in name of rituals. But with large-scale economic and otherwise transformation, most appear as good or bad and the poor among them are indeed vulnerable. 

There is a long list of enlightened members of this community who had pioneered empowerment and education of Dalits. Swami Vivekananda, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Madan Mohan Malviya, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Vinoba Bhave are some of the notable examples. Each of them had criticized and opposed untouchability, supported education for Dalits and vociferously supported Temple entry for Dalits. Dayanand Saraswati had opened his Gurukuls for members of Dalit community in mid 19th century whereas Vinoba Bhave distributed a lot of land to landless Dalits in post-independence India. Bal Gangadhar Tilak too was strictly opposed to untouchability, but he had prioritized independence and considered untouchability an internal matter and outcome of prolonged foreign occupation, which he had wanted to address after independence.   

Sustained Political Mobilisation in Name of Caste

Sustained political mobilisation in name of caste, over the last several decades, has vitiated entire social environment to an extent that emotional and psychological cohesion of India as a state and society has come under threat. I recall my interaction, a few months back, with an illustrious former civil servant who was also a parliamentarian and Minister. He had cautioned me that even word against reservation could invite most brutal mob lynching. 

Numerical arithmetic of caste politics has made opposition to caste-based reservations a political suicide. Simultaneously, there has been large-scale articulation of hate on social media against financially poorer members, especially Brahmins. Some of the majoritarian caste groups have threatened to expel them from India or enslave them and violate their women or even frame them up in fake cases over "sins" committed by the latter's forefathers. Such hate helps mobilise significant sections of Hindu population and entire Muslim population who otherwise account for over 90% of Indias against 10 percent of the so-called "Savarna" population.

National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity and Fairness

     The current discourse over reservation has perverted into clash of sub-Hindu identities at the cost of national cohesion, efficient governance and rule of law. In eight decades of independence, massive social engineering and re-engineering has taken place. Many members of OBC, ST and SC have become financially and politically powerful.  At the same time, a significant section from majority castes who have been uplifted, continue to corner most benefits in name of caste disadvantage.  But several members of Dalit community and even OBC continue to live in abject poverty. But so is the case with many so-called Brahmins. The issue requires an innovative solution.  

     Indiscriminate and sustained use of reservations no longer helps uplift the disadvantaged. It has rather turned into a fortress for vested interests. This suits geopolitical agenda of global deep states seeking to crush optimal progress of India. External adversaries of India need not wage a military war to eliminate competition from India. Their objective shall be achieved if they can foist mediocrity and entitlements at cost of excellence, innovation and integrity. 

    Genesis of Reservation: From Interim measure in 1950 to Mandal Commission:

Reservations were brought in Indian constitution, initially for 15 years only as an interim measure to ensure representation for the most impoverished and deprived castes and tribes in govt services as well as institutions of higher learning. Simultaneously, it was expected that rule of law, universal access to quality education and creation of dignified employment opportunities for all shall eliminate the need for reservations. However, the reverse has happened. 

Successive regimes found reservation as a convenient tool for political mobilisation and ignore the core responsibility of governance. No one dared touching reservations. The same has become a permanent feature of life. In fact, hundreds of newer communities have been added in the list of Scheduled caste and Scheduled Tribe with suspected agenda of placating them as support base. 

    Amidst all these, Mandal Commission recommendations were implemented sometime in 1990. The background of the decision was interesting.  Vishwanath Pratap Singh, the then Prime Minister who had formed a government following 1989 polls suddenly found himself in precarious position following withdrawal of support by his associate Chaudhary Devi Lal, a political strong man from Haryana. It is believed that it was out of panic that Singh had implemented these recommendations that were lying in cold storage for long. His objective was to surge mass support in his own favour by stoking caste identity. His decision had invited nation-wide protests, including suicides among students. A large number of youth and leaders from even OBC communities had opposed Mandal Commission and voiced their apprehension that the move would fracture in India’s social fabric and national cohesion.

 It was remarkable that in 2014, the current ruling dispensation was able to substantially bridge the caste divide by securing landslide victory in name of Hindu unity. This was the era when UPA regime had appeared too meek to resist sustained Islamic terror attacks and was overly placating Muslim hardline groups by going soft on Islamic terrorism.

The Enormity of the Problem

    The issue of reservation appears to have assumed monstrous proposition since then. There have been instances where people with minus or big negative markings have secured seats in specialist branches of medical and engineering colleges. Simultaneously, the so-called general category candidates, with much higher positive marks were excluded. India’s premier medical and engineering institutions, such as AIIMS and IITs, have witnessed repeated controversies where merit-based seats have shrunk and reserved seats have expanded disproportionately. The net consequence is serious decline in institutional excellence. When doctors, engineers and scientists are recruited not over competence but over caste, the sanctity of healthcare delivery to national infrastructure and scientific progress of the nation appear compromised, sub-optimal and under attack. 

    Similar is the plight of civil service. Leadership level roles in bureaucracy are not meant for employment generation. While I have always questioned the very colonial structure of Indian civil service, including its recruitment and promotion norms, this additional dilution severely undermines it ability to provide high quality regulatory and enforcement services that can drive excellence in overall governance and national productivity. Even corruption and non-performance become tolerable in the name of caste solidarity. 

Identity Obscures Performance in Governance

 Governance parameters—efficiency, innovation, accountability—appear to have become irrelevant in Indian democracy as caste loyalty supersedes competence. Many key incumbents in Ministries, Universities, and public institutions owe their position less to excellence and more to entitlement. It is not that all beneficiaries owe their pre-eminence to caste alone. Even within the so-called members of upper caste, people owe critical positions due to loyalty rather than merit. The idea of merit itself has been almost permanently discarded. Simultaneously, rule of law also appears increasingly unsustainable amidst rising levels of corruption, caste and personal loyalty. 

    The net outcome is institutionalization of mediocrity and total cap on innovation. Individuals even within the backward and scheduled communities lack motivation and urge to optimize their full potential and excel to the best of their capacity. This is what explains an entire ecosystem, characteriszd by corruption, entitlement and reservation, where Indians living inside India are rarely known for excellence and innovation whereas same Indians do so very well once they migrate to advanced economies and societies, governed by higher quality of rule of law and meritocracy.

    Elites from SC/ST and OBC communities have become disproportionately powerful in politics, bureaucracy and business. Even Prime Minister of India has repeatedly claimed that he belongs to one of the most "backward" communities. This is a clear indicator that meaning of backwardness has nothing to do with deprivation or absence of opportunities. 

 Need for A Deep and Long View on Caste discriminations.

    Indians, especially their elite, need to extricate themselves from self-seeking parochialism and mutual hate. Contrary to some of the Bollywood and foreign funded NGO propaganda castigating chronic caste exploitation over millennia, huge academic evidence suggests that oppressive caste hierarchy may have originated largely during medieval era when India itself was under foreign rule. The poorest among the local population were more oppressed than the rest.   

    There are many credible case studies by eminent sociologists like M N Srinivas, Yogendra Singh, Ghurye, Andre Beteille etc who have demonstrated that castes or Varnas were never closed groups. Even royalties, after defeat in wars were condemned to status of outcastes or Dalits whereas leather workers became Brahmins and tribals and Shudras became Kshatriyas and even royalty once they gained money and power. Mobility was limited but not entirely absent. 

    Further, contrary to opinion of certain historians seeking to project that India also practiced organised slavery, Kautilyan work or for that matter its predecessors like Parashara, Bharadvaja, Vaisalksha, Vatavyadhi, Pisuna etc, referred in this work, have also not been quoted about existence of organised slavery. The word Dasa and Dasyu has been intermittently used in Vedic texts appears more in context of tamed communities who might have been violent and aggressive otherwise and robbing or attacking the dominant tribes.

 One of the primary reasons that ancient India lacked impressive monuments like palaces of Kings or private tomb of royals and elite was due to absence of organised slavery. Later on, it were temples that came up as mega structures. Temple builders were largely respected artists and not slave labour. On the other hand, all mega structures all over the world – varying from Egypt, Rome, West Asia and China etc had been built by slave labour. Whole of West continued to trade in slave labour until the end of 19^th Century. Slavery and large-scale Harem culture was again a West Asian Hittite, Mongol and Arab phenomenon that crept into Islam. 

On the other hand, even Oxford and Cambridge history of India written in 19th Century by the Western experts have maintained that children from same family were assigned different Varnas depending upon their aptitude and ability. It is wider intellectual and societal decay in course of time that made these divisions hereditary, deeply hierarchical and oppressive. Even Shudras appear more like manual workers and not slaves in Kautilyan Arthashastra, which is a much later era work.     

    Things could never have been ideal in an externally subjugated prosperous society.  It is time that Indians appreciate their real governance challenges and priorities and attempt to build a robust and progressive society instead of reverting back to perverse parochialism. Brahminical ritualism deserves serious review on parameters of national productivity and there is need for serious refinement.

    Despite all these pitfalls, the so-called Brahmin community has produced many individuals who can be considered conscience keeper of India as a civilization. Yet it does not mean that brilliant, educated, skilled individuals with higher integrity quotient did not emerge in other communities. In due course, all such individuals and their clans were co-opted in the Brahmin community through phenomenon of Sanskritization. There is a famous Yog Guru who has popularised Yog and Ayurved in India. Though he was born in an OBC family but he declares that he is a Brahmin by his deeds and outlook and the world must recognise him as one as per Vedic texts.

    Early childhood exposures and indoctrination in scriptures, which essentially have humanist ethos, may have played a role in building relatively higher integrity quotient and instinct towards academic learning among sections of Brahmins. Yet there are several significant and serious aberrations and exceptions as well. Because those early traditions have been disrupted and genes alone never determine personal qualities of individuals. 

    I have had detailed discussion and evaluation of raw data of a very eminent sociologist of current era who cited how most of upwardly mobile communities have adopted Kshatriya or Rajput surnames. Whereas a disproportionately large percentage of Brahmins in rural areas have seen negligible or negative financial upward mobility except where they have benefited through modern education. In this context, recent projections of Brahmins as violent, unethical and debauched community by several Bollywood movies appears nothing but unrestricted all out civilisational warfare against India. 

Meritocracy Alone Sustains Excellence

    A vibrant society thrives on meritocracy and fair competition.  We have seen how societies like Singapore have risen from poverty to prosperity by institutionalizing meritocracy and eliminating entitlements. Competence, innovation, and integrity propelled round excellence of that small island nation. Similarly, South Korea’s investment in universal education and competition transformed it into a technological powerhouse. Norway or model democracies of Scandinavia have institutionalized fairness and equal opportunity in all dimensions of life to outperform even giant states on parameters of public infrastructure and efficiency of governance institutions. 

    Even China’s sustained surge is driven by exceptional level of meritocracy and performance driven specialist leadership in civil service. India has enormous potential and strengths. Reservations is not the sole form of entitlement that is plaguing society. But it would be seen that the biggest votaries of reservations are all entitlement driven dynasts, who lack any other quality, vision or capacity to transform India. They are thriving personally at cost of the nation rather than demonstrating any ability and commitment to transform India through abilities on parameters of statecraft, vision or leadership. 

 Towards Future

India needs to restructure its entire governance apparatus, including bureaucracy, judiciary and legislature to ensure:

1. Universal Access to Quality Education: investments in schools, universities, and vocational training as well personal values and character building can enhance productive capacities of our entire population. Instead of disproportionately rewarding few jobs, for which there is unreasonable heavy competition, every job should offer a degree of dignity and level of economic security. 

2. Creation of a culture of genuine leadership at district level: The district level administration in India constitutes the fulcrum of governance at grassroots level. Many districts in India have more population than several smaller members of the United Nations. A serious change at this level can bring about genuine transformation of society. It is high time we dispensed colonial relic of "collector Raj" on whose mercy and discretion most of average Indians survive, and they, in turn, thrive at mercy and discretion of political masters rather than contribution to nation building and society. 

    I have recommended creation of an apparatus of effective democracy at district level that is party-less. Experienced and mature incumbents from bureaucracy can act as CEOs but the district set up must led by people's representative.  Govt at this level must plan and build capacities in healthcare, education, municipal governance etc in collaboration with all concerned within the state and central govts to ensure gainful employability of entire population and universal access to education. Details in this direction are available in my interviews and other papers.

3. Universities, civil services, judiciary and defence forces must strictly be kept away from caste politics.  These must induct and reward incumbents on basis of performance and excellence. The advanced world and our neighbours like China are moving on accelerated high end technological innovation whereas we are being pushed under the weight of identity conflicts. Such relative backwardness is nothing but an open invitation to disaster.  

     My paper on Indocracy and other write ups on this blog and outside offer further details. 

Conclusion: A Cohesive India is Critical for a Safer World 

    We must appreciate that we are living in a highly competitive and yet a trust deficit volatile world. Internal discords and divides had cost us very heavily as a state and civilisation in past. If we fall back in trap of entitlement, dishonesty and identity driven discords that fractures our national cohesion, we shall jeopardise our security and sovereignty once again. This is what explains our relative under-performance on all parameters of governance compared to our northern neighbour. Such sub-optimal performance on governance parameters threatens our long-term security as a nation.

    Reservation in jobs and higher education was conceived as an interim corrective. It has turned into the biggest instrument of societal divide as well as assault on integrity of governance.  Caste-based discrimination was an abhorrent practice that had survived in this country for centuries. But it clearly stemmed more from extreme poverty and deprivations that rendered a community vulnerable and helpless in absence of rule of law. This may later have turned into societal and cultural practice, influencing our psyche. There is no space for caste based entitlement or discrimination in a modern and progressive state. We do not need to waste time in looking for evidences of involvement of global deep states in exacerbating caste divides and undermining our progress. The net outcome of caste divide suits their agenda and hence, as a nation, we must remedy the situation.   

    Our fight for national cohesion must not restrict to bridging caste divide alone. We must address communal divide as well.  I have consistently maintained that we must fight and crush radicalism, terrorism and organised crime in name of Islam. But any attempt to demonise our entire Muslim population is not merely abhorrent and unethical but goes against the very spirit of our civilsational ethos. Cultured, sophisticated, ethical and deeply Indianised and patriotic Muslims may be in minority. But they are a reality within India and outside. This group in India not merely strengthens and enriches our social and cultural mosaic and spiritual nationalism but has enormously contributed to national power in every sphere of human existence. 

    West has consistently tried to denigrate us and bring us at par with Pakistan, painting us as Hindus and Pakistan as Muslim. Compromised Pakistani military-Mullah complex has been doing the bidding on their behalf by attacking us in a variety of ways. We must fight this irregular warfare smartly and crush them at minimal costs but ensure our optimal all-round progress but also retain our identity as composite humanist state and civilisation. Caste and communal divide are the worst possible traps and instruments of warfare that undermine our collective and comprehensive progress not merely in moral terms but in practical terms.  

     It was poverty of integrity, courage, foresight and genuine statesmanship in successive generations of elite of a prosperous pre-medieval India that may have led to loss of our sovereignty and sustained mauling of our civilisation. We need something far more formidable to reverse the course to forge a genuinely strong national and societal cohesion.   

    Hence, it is time we transcended from caste and communal divide to national cohesion.  We must remember that a stronger India is not only crucial for destiny of one and half billions Indians living in India and tens of millions of Indians living overseas. It is also critical for larger strategic equilibrium of the global order. Hence, every Indian needs to act with a degree of responsibility and dignity that makes them honourable. Let us hope that Indian youth demonstrate courage and conviction to rise above self-seeking opportunism and petty parochialism. They think and act like Indians and global humans or part of a larger cosmic entity, as enshrined in our civilisational ethos, that defines the whole of universe. That will be the true liberation of soul of India and resurrection of its dignity as a great civilisation.    

                                    ******************************************

WHY MUST INDIA SPEARHEAD REFORM IN POLITICAL PARTIES

 

A New Low In Electoral Battles

    

 Controversy over credibility of electoral results in democracies touched a new low in November 2020. Incumbent President of the most powerful democracy in the world has continued to dispute an electoral verdict that has gone against him. He and his associates have alleged large-scale voter fraud in the recent Presidential polls in the United States, denting the moral superiority of Western democracies who have prided in smooth and peaceful transfer of political power in their political systems. Such transitions have been messy in most, but not all, post-colonial democracies. Probably the issue at stake is not the formal procedures and provisions but the underlying social and political discords that are getting increasingly unmanageable even in the rich Western democracies. But the controversy in the United States, if not resolved smoothly, can bolster pretensions of superiority of the Chinese authoritarianism that Xi Jin Ping has been boasting for quite sometime.

Simultaneously, the politically significant state of Bihar in India witnessed opposition parties boycotting the swearing in ceremony of the re-elected Chief Minister for the fourth consecutive term.  They too alleged poll irregularities, again without any tangible evidence. What has been really worrying is the quality of choices that the poll process offered in the state. An inefficient governance was challenged by a political formation that has been identified with criminality and rampant nepotism in the past. It was believed to have perfected a smart caste calculation to win elections without caring for plight of the people or efficient governance. Rather its top leaders  were charged with abusing state powers to enrich their personal coffers and torment political opponents.  

Divisive Impact of Polls and Their Inability To Reflect True Will of The People

Divisive impact of electoral processes, and their inability to decisively reflect popular will, has been universally acknowledged. United States witnessed an extremely narrow margin of poll victory for Jo Biden following a bitterly contested campaign. In a recent YouTube Video, associates of President Trump came out with elaborate stories of voter fraud perpetrated by external enemies of the country. Though President elect Biden has been measured and graceful in his public utterances but the both sides have demonstrated their deep-rooted distrust and mutual hostility. It had earlier seen President Trump reversing some of the major policy decisions of his predecessor -President Obama. These included not merely key domestic policies like healthcare but also withdrawal from a series of major global treaty obligations on issues varying from Paris climate peace to Iran and Trans-Pacific Partnership to quote a few. Hence, the current controversy over transition has the potential to exacerbate global anxiety amidst sustained ascendance of an authoritarian China. It could also undermine popular trust in the ability of most powerful democracy to effectively manage its own affairs.

Bihar too witnessed decline in the actual number of seats won by the sitting Chief Minister led political formation. Many consider it manifestation of popular disenchantment with governance records of the regime that lacked any serious innovation and energy. An overwhelming majority of the people have perennially endured poverty, malnutrition and joblessness, with appallingly poor state of public infrastructure and public services. Successive governments have done very little to change these conditions. 

Recently, large swathes of people of the state, who had been working on subsistence wages in different parts of the country, to escape crushing poverty at home, were forced to return to the state walking back hundreds and even thousands of Kilometers during national lock down after losing their livelihood and shelter. This was the most demonstrative spectacle of bad governance that the state of Bihar has suffered over decades. A large percentage of local population continues to struggle for a decent livelihood, healthcare, education and access to clean drinking water and 24 hour electric supply. However, poll winners have been hailing the electoral verdict in the state as endorsement of their "outstanding" record on governance.

The present regime had replaced a government led by a mercurial leader with earthy wit and rustic humor, who had "conned" Bihar into an abyss of lawlessness and corruption. Even though he is cooling his heels in prison, following indictment in one of the multiple corruption charges that he faces, his progenies spearheaded the challenge on behalf of political opposition. They came quite close to upstaging the sitting Chief Minister but its very prospects had shuddered those who had experienced the tyranny of their jailed father. 

 Constraints of Democracy in India

Democracy in India, despite being sturdy and stable, especially compared to its fragile counterparts in most parts of Afro-Asia, has always had its own constraints. But the phenomenon like Bihar lends credence to charges of cartelization of political space, denying people legitimate choices for better governance. The alternative to a lackadaisical governance was a family-controlled political formation, with an ignominious legacy of "criminality" and "corruption."

Like the jailed supremo of this family controlled political party, who had ruled the state for fifteen years riding on the populist support of two dominant communities- Muslims and Yadavs, his sons too sought to exploit the same caste arithmetic. They probably succeeded in swaying some impartial voters too who craved for change. But their calculations were upset with the entry of a Hyderabad based rabid Islamist party in the fray, which swayed substantial Muslim votes. Many have alleged, since then, a clandestine pact between so-called Hindu nationalists and Islamists. While, reality may never be known in this respect, but such a phenomenon threatens both long-term social cohesion as well as governance capacity of  the state.

Electoral experience in Bihar also questions the very ability of democracy to provide high quality governance. Poll outcomes in  the state have continued to depend more on arithmetic of identities rather than issues of governance. This has been somewhat a near national phenomenon in India, except in 2014 and 2019 national elections, when people overwhelmingly voted for a change besides reasserting their Hindu nationalist identity, which was alleged to be openly denigrated by the then government with the bogey of “Hindu Terrorism”. 

There are multiple parallels of identity driven political mobilization in both developing and the developed world. Sri Lanka, a small island neighbour of India, had experienced highly devastating consequences of identity-driven politics that had inflicted heavy material and human cost on its people. Probably all post-colonial democracies continue to face somewhat similar predicament. However, in recent years, even the most established democracies have struggled to escape the  trap of identity driven fissures. President Trump had crafted his entire political strategy by exploiting identity-based anxieties of white voters. Europe has been experiencing its own share of parochial ultra-nationalism.  Such sentiments may have subsided temporarily but not entirely eliminated from democratic political space. 

 

Pitfalls of Invoking Identity For Political Mobilisation

Under these circumstances, there is genuine apprehension that elections would be increasingly reduced into war through ballots among competing identities, with governance and genuine plight of the people taking a back seat. This can result in general decline in the economic and security capacities of democracies, giving greater space to efficient authoritarian states. It can also encourage some of them to manipulate internal dynamics within democracies by exploiting such discords and  openness of their institutions. Political mobilization in the name of identity, instead of governance, especially in the context of fragile criminal justice system,   can breed unmanageable levels of conflict, impede governance and make the entire political structure vulnerable to subversion by authoritarian cliques.

 Probably under-performance of a democratic India, compared to an opaque and authoritarian China, has its roots in political exploitation of identities. This has not only obstructed a concerted focus on governance but also created bigger space for subversion of institutions, including rule of law. When two or more identities are at war with each other, rationality and integrity lose their relevance. Otherwise, it is highly improbable for a merit based competitive society - the core premise of democracy- to lag behind a similarly sized authoritarian state, where a regime normally perpetuates itself through loyalty and coercion.

 Opaque political funding, badly regulated political and electoral battles and dilution of some of the core democratic principles- like fairness and integrity in political and economic competition- have obstructed rise of high quality leaders in nearly all sectors in India. This is notwithstanding few notable exceptions that include current Prime Minister of the country. Even such outstanding leaders appear helpless in face of a larger culture of entitlement and political rent.  They too struggle to make a difference beyond a point, especially compared to the potential that India continues to display. Persistence of some of the medieval era values like hero worship and  loyalty to caste and religious identities, amidst a fragile and sluggish criminal justice system, has built a vicious cycle of bad governance. Despite few enclaves of excellence -that independent India has built- the impact of such distorted values on the larger ecosystem of the country has been quite negative. These have  crippled optimal efficiency, integrity and potential of all institutions of state and society, resulting in abnormal asymmetry of power in favour of our similarly sized neighbour. 

In Bihar, crushing poverty of masses and  large-scale  unemployment among youth failed to deter massive splurge of funds on poll campaign. There were over 50 political parties in the fray and large number of them were using private jets and choppers to facilitate their leaders reach multiple venues of public meetings. Nearly all of them had hired paid armies of campaign workers. Many experienced poll-watchers were alarmed at such extravagance at a time when ordinary people were indeed suffering. Marketisation of electoral processes and cartelization of political space, through sheer financial and organisational muscle, seemed to have commercialised the entire democratic poll process. These not only reflected lack of genuine empathy for the people but even credibility or caliber of candidates seemed irrelevant in larger desperation for political power. Overwhelming  majority of people appeared hapless passive participants in the electoral battles, compelled to side with the one or the other warring side. They had no real choice to select their representatives through a free and fair process. Sadly, even in media, there has been virtually no public debate on detrimental consequences of identity driven electoral mobilisation on long-term  governance and national security of the country. 

 

Need To Overcome Strategic Myopia

Strategic myopia of the ruling establishments of India is not new. Many describe the phenomenon as outcome of decaying Indian values of pre-Mamluk era, which had nearly paralysed the security capacity of the Indian subcontinent, notwithstanding its phenomenal prosperity. Hence, a highly advanced but a decaying civilisation had easily succumbed to bands of hardy marauders, lacking any vision or exposure to governance, civility or societal harmony. Under their oppressive and discriminatory occupation, driven by instincts of individual and racial  supremacy, Indian state and society touched its nadir to come under colonial occupation of a spice company. It was pitiful and ironical for a state and civilization that had produced, and practiced, the most advanced principles of governance, warfare and national security, as enshrined in the  brilliant treatise on the subject produced way back in the 4^th Century BC in the form of Kautilyan Arthashastra. 

However, India, as a civilisation, has been losing its vigour and direction for a very long time, especially compared to its true potential. This is notwithstanding intermittent but recurrent phases of reforms and  rejuvenation. There is merit in the argument that it was sheer strategic myopia or inability of India's ruling classes to synergise  the subcontinent’s internal social and institutional capacities to contain domestic discords, which was critical for repelling and deterring external invasion from Mamluk-Mongol forces. These had nearly  pulverised entire Indo-Asia region. But as a state and civilisation, India has avoided serious strategic lesson from the past, notwithstanding recent assertions of ancient glory of the Hindu India, which sounds quite anachronistic as the phrase Hindu is medieval in origin and used only by the Arabs to describe India. 

Despite centuries of oppressive alien rule including colonial plunder, many of the original humanist-inclusive values and orientations of India and Indo-Asia could not be entirely wiped out.  This is what explains sustenance of democracy in India even under most adverse circumstances. Somewhat similar, but not identical, is the plight of South East Asian nations that have guarded against hard-line medieval tribal practices in the name of Islam, while retaining these original Indo-Asian values and legacies. At the same time, it would be incorrect to blame external forces alone for degeneration of India as the decay had started with onset of hereditary privileges much before the external aggression. 

Indispensability of  Reform in Political Parties:

Today, democracy is at a more serious crossroads than ever in the post second world-war  era. Its eventual fate would shape the quality of security and dignity accessible to people across all divides. But initiatives of Indian democracy to refine itself would impact the evolutionary course of representative governments from this point onwards to a large extent. India’s significance lays not merely in containing China or inspiring post-colonial democracies through excellence of its institutions. Rise of a heterogeneous gigantic democracy as a major global power shall infuse the requisite stability to the global order and major push towards transparency.

For any meaningful breakthrough in this direction,  serious reforms in political parties would be critical. Parties must re-emerge as credible platforms of people, instead of privately controlled syndicates, sharing similar but not necessarily exact vision and views on governance. Such platforms must be capable of generating high-quality discourses on political-governance issues as well as throw up genuine leaders with integrity, vision and ability to inspire trust and confidence of people. It appears impossible given the prevailing dynamics, structures and processes of nearly all political parties as well as the very contours of electoral processes. 

Serious and pragmatic innovations for stricter and impartial regulation of political competition to maintain their focus on governance, instead of identity divides, would be a necessity. Simultaneously, India will have to spearhead an agenda of internal reforms within political parties to curb number of tenures or nepotism, favoritism and backdoor influence through any means. Control of all political  parties need to be wrested from self-seeking cliques and cartels profiteering at the cost of society and state. This is not a moral issue but a fundamental necessity for long-term security and stability of open societies and their people, including elite in these states. 

Conclusion:

Rejuvenation of Indian democracy with fusion of original humanist-inclusive values of  ancient Indian subcontinent, through appropriate democratic governance structures and practices, is critical for plight of not merely 1.3 billion Indians but security and well-being of entire people in this region and beyond. Ascendance of an authoritarian China with an opaque power structure, amidst a general decline of democracy in the West and serious fragility of institutions and distortion of values in most parts of the developing world,  threatens mankind's quest for universal access to security, dignity and rule of law. Democratic India, as a major and older civilization than China, with far more profound humanist values at its roots, has both the capacity and the potential to set an example to inspire popular confidence in humanist ideals and values. It needs a robust but not oppressive governance at home, resting on better synergy between state and society.  An effective external strategic- security capacity requires a host of ingredients of state power but efficiency of governance institutions constitutes its bedrock. India will have to be innovative to address expanding asymmetry of power with China and neuter the threat of Islamic radicalism, terrorism  subversion and organised crime from Pakistan.  These objectives are unlikely to be addressed without serious reorientation and restructuring of internal institutions. 

 Progress in this direction is not going to be easy. But the world's largest democracy has enough resilience and potential to succeed. It needs both powerful ideas and equally determined initiatives by a decisive and powerful political leadership,  that it currently has at the helm. 

INDOCRACY: THE INITIAL VISION DOCUMENT

 

[Following is the vision document on Indocracy that has been mentioned  in the earlier writings of this blog. Indocracy was envisioned not as a piece of lofty philosophical idealism but a concrete course of persuasive reforms. It still retains such potential.  A friend had observed that only a genuine and unadulterated Hindu Brahminical mind, committed to  universal good, could visualise something like this. This paper is of 2012 vintage, prepared completely on the basis of my own ideas and imaginations. I also believed that India needed to set an example for the rest of the world by innovating upon its existing governance institutions to steer democracy to the next higher stage. Since then my views have remained consistent that the world's biggest democracy needed a major restructuring of its institutions. A copy of this paper was given to some of the most eminent Indians in 2012 . They all appreciated and offered moral support but I had to step out of civil service to pursue this. It did not work out. I believe that even such a harmless and general idea disturbed some of the powerful crime networks who worked overtime to sabotage it and break my resolve to pursue it. Still, it is not too late. We need sincere and committed Indians to come together. It is time to usher in democracy with stronger governance capacity and original Indian values.]  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- proposal to float a credible international entity with eminent global personalities as its face to: a) generate ideas for better governance in democracies; and b) undertake capacity building and consultancy projects for improving quality and output of institutions of  the governments, civil society, private and corporate sector, academic and research institutions among others.       AN INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE FOR BETTER GOVERNANCE IN DEMOCRACIES WITH A STRONG CONSULTANCY ARM

 

 

 

Technology has made the whole process of globalisation with the current degree of economic integration quite irreversible. This has generated unprecedented interface among people across barriers of nation, culture, civilisation and geography. Resultant exposure to newer ideas, experiences and values have opened up phenomenal opportunities for almost entire humanity to gainfully cooperate, collaborate and compete with each other. This can potentially drive the world to a much higher trajectory of material and even moral progress with an implicit synergy between the two. However, states, societies and regions have also become far more vulnerable to subversion, plunder, pillage and destruction. We no longer require violent conventional wars for this purpose. Unregulated and unfair economic competition, technology, trade and ideology can be lethal tools of subversion, depredation and even destruction. States lacking adequate institutional capacity shall not only fail to optimise their own strengths or succumb more easily to possible tools of predation and subversion or collapse under the weight of its own internal or external contradictions. They can leave holes in the entire international order and be cause for global or regional instability depending upon their size and importance in global order. It is possible to generate powerful ideas and follow up their implementation through consultancy and training services to boost enabling and regulatory capacity of institutions of governance at grassroots level. The whole world needs a powerful idea at this juncture that can enhance stability, security and governance. 

 

 

 

 

 ......................................................................................................................................................................

 

Executive Summary

 

The Idea:

Set up an India-centric International Think Tank (with a global consultancy service ) that will attempt to generate a scientific, viable and comprehensive Vision for governance on the basis of ideas and inputs from individuals who have made notable contribution in politics, civil service, corporate sector, civil society activism, media and academic and research institutions. Subsequently it shall engage eminent actors in all these fields to generate a broad based consensus on new Vision for Democratic Governance.

 

Background:

The current interconnected, inter-dependent and technology driven world has unleashed phenomenal knowledge, information and opportunity for creativity, innovation, cooperation and collaboration in the most spheres of human endeavours. It is post-industrial and knowledge oriented world where we need to consolidate upon the gains of industrial age of 20^th century but capitalise upon the opportunities thrown up by connectivity and super-technology and amalgamation and comparison of multiple ideas. It is possible to expand all round opportunities for the large mass of people who had hitherto remained on the fringes of economic, political and social power equations. While they have better access to nutrition, healthcare, education as well as upward social and economic mobility but still the whole world is under-performing and breeding far too much of conflict due to poor capacity of institutions, poverty of smart ideas  and stranglehold of vested interests on power-structures. A new paradigm shift in ideas of governance and interaction among various components of state and society alone can address governance gaps and multiple forms of complex and highly diffused conflicts all over the world. 

Aims and Objectives:

(a)   Throw up new ideas for structures and processes of political parties to facilitate smoother and qualitatively superior ideas and incumbents in political, administrative, judicial and police institutions, corporate sector, media, civil society groups, elementary education sector and higher institutions of academic and scientific research on the basis of a sustainable synergy among all of them; (b) Build consensus on these ideas through seminars, discussions, debates, public meetings and media as well as consultancy for capacity building projects; and (c) Act as a platform to bring together eminent bodies in all areas to develop a National and Global Vision for Democracy and Governance.

 

The People:

 The Proposed Think-Tank shall consist of individuals with exceptional experience in politics, corporate sector, academic and research institutions, civil society groups, civil administration, diplomacy and defence/security establishments.  The proposed body shall co-opt eminent individuals who have earned distinction in various fields to lend credibility or weight to the proposed body. Eminent individuals shall be supported by a small core group of relatively youngish professional who shall work as permanent researchers and act as secretariat of the proposed Think Tank.

 

The Process:

The proposed body would engage and assist incumbents in Governments, corporate sector, civil society, media and others to build a consensus cum partnership among all of them. This may start with meetings, seminars and discussions based on research but would be followed by concrete and specific capacity building projects sponsored by the beneficiaries or a consortium of corporate entities.

(Details are being held back)