Monday, June 15, 2020

INDOCRACY: INAUGURAL EDITION


This is first in the series of talks on Indocracy. Indocracy is not about going back to past but a futuristic vision of of a political governance system. There are  lot of details about the context as I am hardly known among people. None of my accomplishments are in public domain. Hence, some effort has been made to connect with people by explaining who I am and where from I come from to talk about Indocracy.

Historical perspective is very essential but I am also not an admirer of the ideology of 'Hindutva'. Detailed and specific analysis of each and every dimension of Indocracy shall follow in subsequent editions. The talk is in Hindi. Effort is to reach out to most of Indians. But in future, I propose to upload a video every week in both languages. Duration of each shall be around 7-10 minutes.   




https://youtu.be/KknHF8JF9Bc

Saturday, May 23, 2020

BORDER STAND-OFF: HANDLE THE CRISES BUT BUILD A STRATEGIC CAPACITY

[Crises like the ongoing stand-off on the border must be handled with all our existing resources. But we would peril security of India as a state and civilisation, if we fail to learn lessons from the past. We need to bolster our national security capacity to handle uniquely formidable challenges imposed on us by  the sheer geopolitics of this region.]


ESCALATION OF TENSION ON BORDER

        Sino-Indian border has once again seen escalation of tension. Chinese troops have transgressed into Indian side of the 'Line of Actual Control'. Displaying quintessential Chinese duality, its media has been using a belligerent language despite words of sanity by the top political leadership. Indian government has approached the issue calmly.  Indian Army Chief has visited his troops on the ground and sent additional reinforcements. Indians have made it clear that such transgression shall be rebuffed and status quo shall be maintained.    

   Over the last few decades, Indian state has handled such conflicts deftly but has avoided strategic preparation to deal with recurrent aggression,  brinkmanship and sustained territorial expansion by China in the region. India's northern neighbour's internal governance accomplishments, especially its economic transformation as well as advances in scientific and technological innovation, are worthy of emulation. But its aspirations for unrestrained territorial expansion and global domination threatens not only India but also others in the region and even the entire world beyond a certain point.

    What is worrying for India is the manner in which the Nepali Prime Minister K P Oli has raked up a fictitious border dispute. He has jeopardised a relationship of mutual trust as well as a longstanding social, cultural, ethnic,  and linguistic  bond. Citing 1815 Sugauli treaty, Oli has suddenly claimed an area that was never shown as Nepali territory even in Nepal's own map. He has not only pushed a legislation through parliament changing the map of the country but also whipped up nationalist passion by several strident anti-India statements.    

      Intriguingly, Kalapani area, on the West side of Kali river, which Nepal has claimed, is located at a height of approximately 20,000  feet close to the tri-junction with the Chinese border. It carries huge strategic importance in eventuality of a conventional Sino-India conflict. Though the Chinese Foreign Ministry has distanced itself from strident anti-Indianism of Oli but the plot is crystal clear to any impartial observer. Other smaller South Asian states have so far remained committed to the India's concerns but the Indian Government has to be cognisant of the fact they are vulnerable to Chinese coercion and enticement.   

      China's has generated border dispute with virtually each of its neighbours as a part of a well-crafted Geo-strategic design, which appears continuation of the policy of territorial expansion of Imperial China.  It entrenches an oppressive regime internally and enhances clout of its incumbents globally. The brazenness with which China has captured the South China Sea and converted it into its own backyard is one of the multiple examples in this direction. As per most estimates, South China sea accounts for nearly 12 to 20 trillion dollar worth of marine resources besides being the second busiest sea lane, accounting for nearly  50% of the world's commodity transportation in terms of tonnage. Simultaneously, China's ambitious belt and road initiative is nothing but yet another aggressive assertion of its global aspirations.

BACKGROUND OF SINO-INDIAN BORDER

    Communist China has perennially criticized the West for imposing a series of unequal and humiliating treaties on them for 100 years  since 1842. But interestingly, it was Great Britain that was complicit to large-scale Chinese territorial expansion for nearly a century from the beginning of 1800s.  It was imperial British that facilitated Chinese entrenchment in both Tibet and Xinjiang or Eastern Turkistan, the two independent civilizations and states that were culturally closer to India than Han China. Tibetans used Dvenagri script and  Hindustani was a popular language even in Kashgar. The British were keen to keep the Russians at bay over their ongoing rivalry with them in Europe and West Asia.

   By 1840, the entire undivided state of Jammu and Kashmir, including areas held by China and Pakistan was already  part of Sikh empire under autonomous rule of Dogras. In 1841 Dogra troops led by Zorawar Singh had initially captured most of West Tibet up to Mayum pass, garrisoned local forts and set up its own administration. It were British who started complaining to Sikh emperor in Lahore against Zorawar Singh, accusing the legendary General of exacting taxes from British suzerains. There are unconfirmed inputs suggesting that some British officers were eyeing share of lucrative Pashmina trade between Tibet and Laddakh, which was disrupted by the new arrangement. Meanwhile, Tibetans marshalled fresh reinforcements and counter attacked Zorawar Singh's troops, taking them by surprise and killing the General, taking advantage of the inclement weather. They re-captured some of the areas and marched up to Leh only to be comprehensively beaten and chased back. It was under these circumstances that the two sides signed the Treaty of Chushul (1842), which acknowledged Dogra-Sikh sovereignty up to Xydullah and East of Mansarovar Lake, way beyond the undivided territory of Jammu and Kashmir shown in map of 1947.  

     In 1865, when surveyor William Johnson demarcated Kashmir-Tibet boundary, he ceded significant territory back to the Tibetans on map citing inaccessibility from Laddakh and hence difficulty to govern it effectively. Later this became Ardagh-Johnson line when British Chief Military Intelligence officer Maj Gen John Ardagh  proposed (1897) it as formal boundary between British India and Tibet. As per this line, entire Karaksh valley and eastern side of Chang Chenmo valley were part of Kashmir. What really transpired subsequently is still not known, as there was no protest either from Tibetans or from nominees of Qing ruler. But in 1899, a section of British officers cited Chinese reluctance to accept the proposed line  claiming that the Chinese had suddenly developed interest in Aksai Chin at the Russian instigation.  Others suggest that the British kept hedging their position on Sino-Indian border depending on their equations with the Russians in other theatres. Further, there was a change in status of Tibet in 1912, when it signed a treaty with Qings to inherit all its territories in Tibet and became an independent country once again.  

      Intriguingly, amidst Anglo-Russian rivalry, British objectives were dictated by its own larger strategic calculations outside the region. Interests and aspiration of indigenous people of Tibet and India were certainly not a priority. Hence, when they brokered a deal during the famous Shimla convention (1913-14), where McMahon line had emerged as the boundary between India and Tibet, they still acceded nominal suzerainty over inner areas of Tibet, only in deference to Anglo-Russian convention of 1907 which had demarcated the respective spheres of influences of the two sides in Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet. As per provisions of this agreement, the British were obliged to enter into any negotiation with Tibet only in consultation with China. Logically, this clause should have become defunct after independence of Tibet in 1912.  

    This was the time, when China was used both by the British and the Russians to offset each other. Hence, even after Tibet had renounced its 192 years of nominal suzerainty to the Chinese, and that too with the concurrence of Qing regime, the British still invited representatives of the Chinese government to Shimla convention in 1914, to demarcate boundaries among British India, Tibet and China only in deference to Anglo-Russian convention of 1907.  Shimla convention acknowledged complete freedom of Lhasa regime in outer Tibet, that shared a boundary with India, but nominal suzerainty to China in the inner Tibet. Even such suzerainty barred any interference by the Peking or Beijing government in day-to-day  affairs of the Tibetan Government in Lhasa. 

     Though Chinese Government is believed to have reneged on the agreement reached out in Shimla, largely at the instigation of Russians, it still had no locus-standi to talk about the border between Tibet and British India, over which it had lost even nominal sovereignty.  However, there was no confusion even on the Chinese side about the exact border dividing India and Tibet. A map published by Peking University in 1928 had acknowledged Aksai-Chin and large parts of other territories currently disputed by the China, as part of India.     

        It is interesting that in 1950s, even Maoist China did not change imperial outlook notwithstanding its proclamation of communism as state ideology. It not merely captured Tibet but also denounced Shimla convention on the plea that Tibet was not an independent country in 1913-14 and hence had no right to negotiate the boundary. Independent India's first generation of leaders being freedom fighters, lacking any strategic exposure, acquiesced to the Chinese position, in deference to neighbourly bonhomie,ignoring Tibet's longstanding social and cultural linkages with India as well as India's own strategic interests. 

     In 1950s, Chinese quietly built a road through Aksai Chin, nearly 100 kms inside the Indian territory because that was the only route through which an all-weather road could connect Tibet and Xinjiang.  China went to war in 1962 with an an unprepared India that failed to acknowledge the Guerrilla Commander in Mao, who had deftly secured his victories through an element of surprise and deception, catching the adversary unguarded. Chinese occupied nearly 39,000 sq km (approx) of territory and subsequently in 1963 Pakistan ceded another 15000 sqkm (approx). Diplomat magazine reported in 2019 that China had managed to acquire another 640 sq km of Indian territory by constantly pushing the line of actual control. None of the two sides have confirmed it though.

AN INSIGHT INTO CHINESE BRINKMANSHIP

It is well known that the China has been disputing the entire McMahon line, claiming large parts of Indian territory - where people speak Indian languages and follow Buddhist practices and have nothing common with Han China- as their own. Such an approach of China is not restricted to India alone. It has been expanding its territory and domain of influence in all directions. It is nearly impossible, in the prevailing context, for the Chinese political leadership to appreciate Indian perspective, or respect any other power or civilization. This is especially given their habit of enjoying unrestrained access to absolute power and belief in infallibility  of their own wisdom and innate superiority of Han race.

 Even the Confucian morality, or the Confucian concept of harmony, that has become the guiding principle of Chinese state philosophy envisages eternal superiority and authority of the more powerful entity and obedience of the rest to it. The superior power, which in this case being the Chinese state, is restrained only by the moral principles, whereas the rest are expected to obey or at least not defy. 

Communist China has consistently played up the gross historical wrongs inflicted by the Western powers on Han people. They also seem to perceive communist China's spectacular  success as vindication of such a belief. While, they have been dealing with the west but their distrust towards the West and the Western ways has been more than obvious. India's perceived proximity to the West or its adoption of the so-called Western democratic model of governance has remained a permanent cause of their annoyance with India. They have also been discomforted with efforts to put India and China in the same bracket and have made conscious efforts to equate India with other minor powers in the region.           

On the other hand, India has ignored the growing asymmetry of all round power with China for far too long. With five times economic strength and significant edge in technological excellence and innovation, Chinese state may find it more tempting to exert pressure on India in retaliation to growing world-wide pressure over their concealment of Covid-19 spread.

ROAD TO FUTURE

While  India should be able to ward off such brinkmanship for the time being but there is no confusion that the world’s biggest democracy requires serious restructuring of its governance institutions. India shall have to find an endurable solution to the irregular and diffused war with Pakistan.  Conventional military techniques and surgical strikes may provide limited and temporary deterrents but these have appeared inadequate towards finding a permanent solution or obtaining a comprehensive victory. 

Smart diplomacy and deft geopolitical manoeuvrings cannot substitute strong national security architecture with equally powerful strategies that need stronger comprehensive national power to sustain. We have to appreciate that only an economically powerful state, and not a large number of billionaires amidst an ocean of poverty, with high quality human resource, strong technological capacity, robust governance institutions and high level of social cohesion can sustain a powerful national security architecture. 

Ironically, over the past few decades, far too many self-seeking cartels have become so powerful in India that they would be the first to obstruct, or even crush, any idea or initiative towards optimising the collective strengths and capacities of the country. All key stakeholders of India shall have to realise that the unique geopolitics of South Asia has saddled us with formidable national security challenges. As a large state,  we have no liberty to comfortably ignore these to psychologically nestle under perceived protective ambit of some invisible or divine force.

 Exigencies like the ongoing stand-off on the border must be handled with all our existing resources. But we would once again peril security of India as a state and civilisation, if we fail to learn lessons from the past. A strong national security capacity needs a powerful and yet a dynamic vision with a clear road map and commensurate efforts to pursue these. National Security in today's world cannot be a stand alone and isolated proposition. Institution of governance and society need to be increasingly harmonised, and not oppressed, for optimising their output and level of excellence.    

  


Tuesday, March 3, 2020

औपनिवेशिक मानस से बाहर निकलने का समय


2018 अक्टूबर में, मैं नेशनल लिबरल क्लब, लंदन में ग्लोबल स्ट्रेटेजी फोरम की एक साप्ताहिक वार्ता में भाग ले रहा था। हाउस ऑफ लॉर्ड्स के ब्रिटिश सदस्य माइकल एंकरम वर्षों इसका आयोजन कर रहे हैं और नियमित रूप से मुझे आमंत्रित करते रहे हैं, इस तथ्य के बावजूद कि मैं ब्रिटेन में हूं या नहीं। उस सप्ताह इस वार्ता के मुख्य वक्ता पोलैंड के पूर्व रक्षा और  विदेश मंत्री श्री राडोसलाव सिकोरस्की थे। सर मालकॉम रिफ़किंड , जो खुद ब्रिटेन के पूर्व विदेश और गृह सचिव रह चुके थे, इस विशेष सत्र की अध्यक्षता कर रहे थे और मैं पिछले कुछ हफ्तों से उनके संपर्क में था। बात शुरू होने से पहले उन्होंने मुझे आने वाले स्पीकर से मिलवाया। हम तीनों ने कुछ शब्दों का आदान-प्रदान किया और भारत और दक्षिण एशिया पर एक अच्छा सा चैट किया।

सिकोरस्की ने अपनी बात में बताया कि एक बार एक बड़ी सभ्यता जब युद्ध में मात खा जाती है तो उसका पूरा राष्ट्रीय मानस बदल जाता है। वह यूरोपीय संघ के नियमों की अवहेलना  करने के लिए औसत ब्रिटिशर या यहां तक ​​कि बड़ी संख्या में ब्रिटिश अभिजात्य  वर्ग के संदर्भ में बोल रहे थे और बोनापार्ट के बाद वाले फ्रांस के शांतिवादी दृष्टिकोण पर कटाक्ष कर रहे थे जो कि पूरे यूरोपीय संघ को चलाने का दिखावा करता था, लेकिन वास्तव में अपने राष्ट्रीय मानस के चोट को छुपाने का प्रयास कर रहा था। 

घटना का उनका वर्णन बहुत दिलचस्प था जिसे मैं  आज तक सोचता हूँ । कभी कभी विचार आता है की  बाहरी और औपनिवेशिक शासकों के  लगभग एक  हजार वर्ष के लूट पात से  हमारे व्यवहार में क्या परिवर्तन आया होगा ।

मैं अक्सर अपने छोटे दक्षिण एशियाई राज्यों से मित्रों  से सुनता आया हूं कि भारत में हममें से ज्यादातर लोग या तो बहुत घमंडी हैं या अति भीरू हैँ।   यह इस पर निर्भर करता है जिन से हम बात करते हैं वह कितने प्रभावशाली है ।  उनकी धारणा में, हम या तो धमकाने  या डरने वाली भाषा का उपयोग करते  हैं और ईमानदारी के साथ स्पष्ट रूप से एक दुसरे का सम्मान करते हुए बातचीत करने से कतराते हैं। 

मुझे याद है कि कुछ साल पहले एक अनौपचारिक सामाजिक घटना में, एक भारतीय मूल के अरबपति ने सरकारी नीतियों की या ये कहें की भारतीय राजनेताओं की घोर निंदा कर रहे थे । सारे लोग आनंद ले रहे थे. यकायक एक वरिष्ठ केंद्रीय कैबिनेट मंत्री वहां पहुँच गए।  उद्योगपति महोदय ने  तुरंत अपने शब्दों को चीनी और शहद के रंग में ढाल कर ताना बाना बुना की माहौल बदल गया।  वे  उसी सरकार की प्रशंसा करते हुए बाकी लोगों के मनोरंजन के पात्र भी बन गए । लेकिन जबरदस्त खाल पहने हुए थे जिस पर ऐसी बातों का कोई असर  नहीं होना था. मैं अपने तथाकथित कॉरपोरेट नेताओं के ऐसे मानसकि सतहीपन पर न हंसने के लिए संघर्ष करता हूं।

ऐसी मानसिकता भारत तक ही सीमित नहीं है। उपनिवेशवाद की विरासत ने उपनिवेशवाद से ग्रसित  दुनिया के अधिकांश हिस्सों में लोगों की सोच को लचीला बना दिया है, ख़ास कर उन देशों में जहाँ न्याय और कानून व्यवस्था कमजोर  और नरम है। ऐसे देशों में शासन व्यवस्थाएं या प्रजातान्त्रिक शासक भी कुछ हद तक दमनकारी और निरंकुश हैं। सत्ता की पूजा समृद्धि का एक महत्वपूर्ण घटक रहा है जिसे अक्सर क्रोनी पूंजीवाद के रूप में वर्णित किया गया है।

अधिकांश औपनिवेशिक ताक़तों ने समाजों में शासन के प्राथमिक उपकरण के रूप में भय और धमकी का इस्तेमाल किया था। इसने स्थानीय राष्ट्र की लूट पाट  में मदद मिली।  कठोर शक्ति से 
समाजों से  किसी भी प्रतिरोध को शांत करा दिया जाता था ।

विडंबना यह है कि ज्यादातर पोस्ट औपनिवेशिक समाज ने औपनिवेशिक अधीनता की ऐसी विकृत और विकृत विरासत को खत्म करने के लिए पुरजोर संघर्ष  नहीं किया है। इसने पूरे समाज के व्यावहारिक मानदंडों को इस हद तक बदल दिया है कि सत्ता के शासक अपने आप को ईश्वरीय शक्तियों का अवतार या सुपर  ह्यूमन से कमतर नहीं समझते हैं।  बड़ी संख्या में उनके अनुयायी इस तरह की आत्म-धारणा को मजबूत करने के लिए उनके आसपास आ जाते हैं। इसी मानसिता की वजह से व्यवसाय और राजनीति दोनों में नेतृत्व की भूमिकाओं के लिए वंशवादी उत्तराधिकार की परंपरा बन गयी है। 

लेकिन क्या इस तरह का डर, डराना, चाटुकारिता या यहां तक ​​कि विरोधियों का अपमान हमें एक बेहतर समाज या व्यक्ति या राष्ट्र बना सकता है? क्या यह समाज या संस्थान या एक परिवार में भी समरसता को नष्ट नहीं करेगा? 

लोकतंत्र, विचारों के प्रबुद्ध और विनम्र आदान प्रदान से सशक्त होता है।  क्या हमारे पास कभी सही नेता, मार्ग दर्शक  और रोल मॉडल हो सकते हैं जो न केवल ऐसी बातें उपदेश में कहें बल्कि इसे अपने दिन-प्रतिदिन के जीवन में बनाए रखने की कोशिश कर के हमें प्रेरित करें? 

एक समाज, राज्य और सभ्यता की ताकत लोगों के परस्पर  विश्वास, सद्भाव और आपसी सहयोग और प्रतिस्पर्धा की एक बड़ी संस्कृति पर निर्भर करता है। संघर्ष कुछ हद तक अपरिहार्य है, लेकिन वही समाज और सभ्यताएं सशक्त होती हैं जो लोगों के बीच सहयोग और सद्भावना की उच्च गुणवत्ता को बढ़ावा देकर ऐसे संघर्षों को बेहतर तरीके से रोकती हैं।  भय, धोखा  और अपराधी तरीकों से  कुछ लोगों को चुप  कराया जा  सकता  है लेकिन मजबूत समाज या राज्य की नींव कभी नहीं डाला जा  सकता ।
उम्मीद करता हूँ की मानव शरीर में जो ईश्वरीय अवतार हमारे समाज में विचरण कर रहे हैं वो कुछ समय के लिए भारतीय की तरह सोचने का प्रयास करेंगे।  भारत जयकारा से नहीं बल्कि एक सुदृढ़ समाज और चुस्त प्रशासन और न्याय व्यवस्था से मजबूत होगा।  

Monday, March 2, 2020

TIME FOR DEMOCRATIC INDIA TO SHUN COLONIAL PSYCHE?


In 2018 October, I was attending a weekly talk of Global Strategy Forum at National Liberal Club, London. British member of House of Lords Michael Anchram has been organising it for years and has been kind enough to send invite to me regularly, irrespective of the fact whether I am in UK or not. Speaker at this talks was former Defence and Foreign Minister of Poland Mr. Radosław Sikorski. Sir Malcom Riffkind, who himself had been a former Foreign and Home Secretary of UK was chairing this particular session and I had been in touch with him over the previous few weeks. He introduced me to the visiting speaker before the talk commenced. We all three exchanged few words and had a nice little chat on India and South Asia.
Sikorski conveyed in his talk that once a major civilisation is humbled in war, its entire national psyche changes. He was speaking in the context of reluctance of average Britisher or even large number of British elite to submit to EU rules and overly pacifist approach of post Bonaparte France, that pretended to run the whole of EU, in what appeared an apologetic approach in substance, to cover up injury to its national psyche.
His narration of the phenomenon was far too interesting that has kept me thinking till date. I wonder how has sustained plunder and pillage of India by external aggressors and colonial rulers, over nearly a millennium, impacted behavioural pattern of our people. .
I have often been coming across observation from my friends from smaller South Asian states that most of us in India are either too arrogant or too subservient in our dealings with people. It depended on influence or clout of the latter. In their perception, we either bully or fear and refuse to have honest and forthright interaction with integrity. I remember a few years back at an informal social event, an Indian origin billionaire regaled others through most forthright condemnation of the government policies. But the moment a senior union cabinet minister walked into the gathering, he immediately changed course coating his words with sugar and honey and praising the same government to amusement of the rest. I struggle not to laugh at such superficiality of our so-called corporate leaders.
Such phenomenon is not confined to India. Legacy of colonialism has impacted psyche of people in most parts of the post-colonial world, where rule of law remains fragile. Authority structures have remained oppressive and somewhat despotic. Servility to power has been a critical ingredient to success and prosperity in a phenomenon that has often been described as crony capitalism.
Most colonial and occupying forces had used fear and intimidation as the primary tool of governance in these societies. It helped the agenda of plunder and pillage of local
Societies and silenced any resistance.
Ironically, most post colonial societies have struggled to eliminate such distorted and perverse legacy of colonial subjugation. It has altered behaviour pattern of entire society to such an extent that incumbents in authority struggle to consider themselves anything less than Super human or divine. A large number of followers rally around them to reinforce such narcissistic self perception. This is what explains the phenomenon of dynastic succession to leadership roles in both politics and business.
But can such fear, intimidation, sycophancy or even outright resistance and abuse of opponents bring the best out of individuals and societies? Will it not destroy harmony in society or institution or even in a family, leading to all round under-performance?
Democracy, Rule of law or a humane society require enlightened and courteous discourse based on mutual respect. Can we ever have right leaders and role models who not merely preach it but try to uphold it in their day to day life?
Strength of a society, state and civilisation depends upon the ability of people to build a larger culture of trust, harmony and mutual collaboration and competition. Some degree of conflict is inevitable but societies and civilisations that have done better than the rest are those who have prevented such conflicts better by fostering higher quality of collaboration among people. Fear, deception and criminality can silence and deter few but can never be the foundation for a strong society or state.





Friday, February 28, 2020

Ethical Dissidence Strengthens, and Not Threatens, National Security

I feel saddened as an Indian to read media reports about the questionable and controversial circumstances of transfer of Justice S Murlidhar from Delhi High Court. I have had a very little exposure to judiciary but what I have come to know over the last one year during my several visits to Delhi High Court, as well as interactions with a larger number of lawyers, that he stood out, at least in the public perception, as a beacon of  “Dharma” and “Justice”, as enshrined in the Kautilyan principles of governance, among his peers. 

 This is not the first case where an upright public functionary has been humiliated under this government for standing up to values of professional ethic and integrity. There are many who have bitten the dust and paid a price for their unfailing commitment to integrity and the country. Some of these actions may appear legally justifiable but these will eventually contribute to our downward spiral both as a nation and civilisation. This has already impaired our collective capacity in a competitive word but it could soon become irreversible if we do not act fast.  

A country of India’s size can never be governed by brilliance of a few, howsoever well intentioned or virtuous they may claim to be. Integrity and efficiency of institutions is critical if we are genuinely serious about channelling collective energies of our people towards our great power aspiration both as a state and civilisation. The follies of such self styled brilliants, have gone on unprotested for far too long. If it is allowed a free run, it is certain to doom Prime Minister’s grand vision of resurrecting the great civilisational state of India. 

All is certainly not well with most of our governance institutions. This is particularly so with our Judiciary, which has remained trapped in the colonial aura and arrogance while dealing with ordinary citizens. It must  probably be the most dysfunctional institution of its kind in the entire democratic world, fairing at times worse than even a few autocracies or authoritarian states. Abnormal delays and routine miscarriages of justice, notwithstanding brilliance of a few judges and quality of some of their verdicts, have crippled the credibility and capacity of our criminal justice system to contain conflict, leading to a larger under-performance of our society and state. 

The entire issue of deep-rooted malaise  in judiciary needs to be examined and redressed. It would be outright disaster to crush few dissenting voices of sanity on advice of a class of professional cronies, who  have  flourished in this country for far too long. They have been selling their services to every incumbent in power- from Moguls to Congress and may be even this government. Such flawed advises to top incumbents in power has been nothing but an attempt to camouflage their own individual or collective aspirations. These include perpetuation of their own indispensability in the larger power equilibrium by causing artificial affront to authority of their masters. 

Such phenomenon has always brought disaster for every society and state afflicted by it. I am confident that Honourable Prime Minister will take note of it, and make serious endeavour to not merely make amends in such obvious cases but also root out the entire culture of cronyism and middlemen, which has turned out to be the biggest bane of India over centuries and not decades. It is this culture that induced our decadence and degeneration from pinnacles of prosperity, scientific knowledge and cultural advancement, much before the dark ages of medieval era, when we were trampled upon by a few herds of barbaric savages, who had no exposure to anything called civility. 

 It was culture of cronies and “Charans”, besides debauchery and decadence of most contemporary rulers, that had decayed our civilisational strengths and its eternal values much before the barbarics and even some of their slaves could pretend to rule India by virtue of their capture of Delhi. Of course, significant exceptions like Rana Pratap and Shivaji to several others, avoided our complete annihilation as a civilisation, giving us this day when we can still dream and aspire to not merely revive our ancient glory but also contribute to a better world through strength of our ancient civilisational virtues. 

Strength and glory of ancient India stemmed not from some brute and savage force of destruction but from our larger values and principles of governance where political power remained subservient to sagacity, wisdom and ethic. Net result was advancement of science, knowledge, industry and culture under the protective cover of a robust framework of governance including security of state and society. Much before the West could discover and build on the idea of reasonable restraint on arbitrary authority of the ruler, Kautilyan principles of governance had envisaged complete absence of any discretionary or despotic power for the ruler. 

Kautilyan King had no authority to force his decision on the council of Ministers, who were always the wisest and the most ethical men of their time. King could merely express his opinion in the council of |Ministers, and often the Kings were elected by an electoral college of wise. Members of the council of Ministers were expected to have sufficient integrity to arrive at a mature consensus, and not a majority vote over minority, through deliberation of issues with an open mind - in spirit of "Vaad" and "Samvad"- rather than prejudiced "Vivad". 

Of course we cannot and must never go back to the past. Scientific innovations and advancements in people-centric governance ushered in by the West and practised by independent India  have become part of our larger political and cultural strengths. These need to be refined, and not reversed, by incorporating some of our civilisational values in our governance principles. It is strength of our ancient civilisational values that have differentiated us from our rogue neighbour that emerged on the basis of a perverted version of Islam that was exploited and abused by a modern day monster called Jinnah who did the bidding at the behest of a receding colonial power. In the process, a set of philosophical teaching that were certainly more humanist in their context, but had been distorted soon after the death of Holy prophet of Islam, were further defiled.

It will be pity if a secular Hindu India tries to ape medieval Mughal or Turkic Values, where justice, including life,liberty and dignity of citizens or even state functionaries, depended on individual mercy or whim of rulers and their chosen cronies. It was hoped that decimation of certain political formations, that had been reduced to a facade for underhand and illicit brokerage syndicates, would usher in original "Indocracy" based on our eternal principles of “Dharma” based governance. This could have liberated us  from the shopkeepers model of superficial Western democracy that has been built on the miseries of colonised people from Asia to Africa and even original Americas but were further distorted in most developing nations. Sadly, such dreams and hopes appear to be on the verge of being of shattered. 

We have a long and uphill task to cover if we are serious about resurrection of glorious civilisational state of India as an inspiring pillar and beacon of hope for a more stable, secure and civilised world. Ethical dissidence, aimed at larger public good and collective well-being, would not merely be desirable but should rather be respected in the key institutions. This could be the most critical tool of transformation towards enlightened and efficient governance. Ethical dissidents can never bring down a righteous government and induce instability. But they can certainly usher in some sanity and discipline in the malfunctioning institutions of the country. Incompetent cronies, indulging in dirty machinations, criminal conspiracies and unspeakable forgeries, on the pretext of pleasing political masters, can only bring all round disaster for both society and their own masters. This class has perennially profiteered out of bad governance and it shall always have a vested interest in perpetuating the same to the detriment of  agenda of nation building. 

It is indeed high time that the government embarks upon a drive for major and sustainable restructuring of all institutions in public domain. A greater integrity, higher efficiency and larger internal and external synergy among governance institutions would be the sole bedrock of a powerful state and society that can unleash collective energies of our people in pursuit of the vision of India that Prime Minister spelled out soon after 2019 poll results.

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

INDIA’S POOR NEED DIGNITY and NOT CHARITY

            (This post too was written on Facebook when my blog was inaccessible)


Competition among major political parties to promise regularisation of unauthorised colonies in Delhi may appear very laudable. Of course, all INDIAN citizens must have a decent roof on their head, along with access to nutrition, sanitation, healthcare, education and employment that guarantee both economic security and legitimate opportunities to better their plight.
These must not be treated as acts of charity or altruism but fundamental necessities for a stronger India. Only healthy and happy people can make a state, society and civilisation great. They can produce more wealth, generate powerful ideas and collaborate better among themselves.
We need a pool of physically healthy, mentally strong and intelligent, technically skilled and professionally honest citizens for making good soldiers, good industrial workers or corporate leaders or Journalists or civil servants or Politicians or even Farmers out of them. A good state and civilisation cannot leave its people on mercy of invisible forces. A welfare state with sturdy governance has been the foundation for a strong state and vibrant society through out human history. We need it all the more in the current world, which is far more complex.
A small section of genuine politicians across party line have contributed to some advancement in this direction in post-colonial India. But the colonial mindset of most post colonial rulers has always been visible.
Regularising unauthorised colonies is neither appropriate nor a sufficient solution to the problems. It amounts to mocking miseries of not merely few poor but that of the entire society. Our political class appears as a vulture thriving on insecurities, anxieties and vulnerabilities of people. They also seem determined to make dishonest people out of our citizenry in pursuit of their partisan ambitions.
Such moves have also been used in the past to grab some of the prime land in the heart of national capital by land sharks masquerading as Politicians. Help to poor has only been a pretext. Sadly, poor have been made partners in such crime.
People must get their rights through proper and transparent means. We need a suitable governance vision and mechanism to address these issues. These must not be matters of discretion or desire of political class.
Supreme Court must ban such poll promises and direct state to provide both suitable housing and job to every INDIAN, along with access to healthcare and education within the next 2-3 or 5 years like a fundamental right. Ironically, our governance structures and political system, in the current form, are incapable of addressing such governance needs.
But the current political, corporate and even bureaucratic class of leaders, like our colonial masters, seem to be so blinded by their own lust for their privileged position that they do not mind pulverising and decimating India as a civilisation and state. We must not invoke our ancient values for partisan political gains only.
Ironically, both Confucius and Kautilya had emphasised that the primary responsibility of a ruler is to build virtues (through observance of Svadharma as outlined by the latter) among citizenry. Such governance principles had provided a sturdier foundation for
material prosperity and scientific advancement of these two great civilisations. They were not perfect but certainly better than their contemporaries.
People in leadership roles in every sector need to be role models for the masses. Laws and courts can tackle a few deviants but these
Institutions too would be helpless if the onslaught on wider social values are so rampant.
Neither the hungry, unhealthy, insecure and anxious nor the greedy and arrogant can ever be virtuous. They can never form healthy and harmonious society. And the people centric governance has to address these twin challenges.
A little bit of land grabbing and evasion of real governance issues may appear innocuous to some. But it reflects a larger bankruptcy of the existing political system and outlook. Hope some sanity dawns and our so-called leaders seek to find a solution and not exploit problems for partisan gains.

DEFICIENT SOCIAL TRUST: PITFALL OF A CLOSED SYSTEM?

(This is yet another post written on Facebook on same day when Dr Wenliang died)


Chinese social media has been witnessing unprecedented levels of grief and anger over death of a young Chinese Doctor Li Wenliang early this morning. Wenliang had been arrested on charges of spreading rumour over his sincere efforts to warn about impending corona virus pandemic as early as on December 30th. He had apparently contacted the virus while attending an infected patient who was unaware of it. People believe that timely action on warnings of the deceased Doctor could have contained the corona outbreak much better. But he was humiliated and eventually paid with his life for his integrity and sincerity.
Many Chinese people have commented in various words that ‘liars and cronies were hailed as hero whereas an honest Good Samaritan was persecuted’. Does it happen only in totalitarian systems? Probably, declining and degenerating democracies could be similar or even worse.
The issue highlights how even a mighty state like China and its people are vulnerable in absence of a trust based society and transparent governance. One innocuous repression of intelligence and integrity can invite large scale disaster for all.
Of course, people need to be responsible in their utterances. But genuine mistakes in any sincere expression of opinion or facts must not invite retribution.
A democracy like India has been routinely witnessing repression of merit and verbal wars in the name of public discourses with lavish use of lies, deception and hateful propaganda. These are assault on Indian state, society and civilisation as these impede ability of people to excel and foster collaboration to optimise their collective strength. Democracy sounds hollow and hypocritical in absence of individual integrity and social harmony.
INDIAN society and civilisation had thrived in the past by its ability to create a trust based society where individual integrity fostered both excellence and stronger social bonds. It was decadence and decay, though not complete, that led to their ruination and pulverisation at the hands of barbaric savages during medieval era, which has been universally described as the dark age on the subcontinent. It had failed to promote science, knowledge and rationality as well as larger social harmony and dignity of individuals that India as a civilisation had boasted of, much before the rest of the world. When Europe witnessed Renaissance, we were plummeting to depths of perversion at the altar of debauchery, repression and eventually colonial plunder, with of course energised resistances from several quarters.
We need to learn lessons from the past but not get trapped into it. It can only take us down. It is not the identity but the values that matter. It is irrelevant whether overwhelming majority of people on the subcontinent converted to Islam out of fear or on volition. It is also a fact that invaders did not bring great civilisational virtues or stronger scientific values. It was purely failure of an inward looking, stratified and decaying India to civilise, and not convert, areas beyond the subcontinent that sent marauder and barbaric to plunder and pillage. We need to learn lessons in security and governance and not politically encash it.
None of the oppressive or even the so-called hardline protagonists of Islam on the subcontinent have adhered to the Humanist and egalitarian values that the Holy Prophet of Islam had tried to preach in his context. His values and ideals were decimated and hijacked soon after his death, which was manifest in killing and humiliation of his own descendants, including many women and children at Karbala. Islam became a pretext for loot, murder, plunder, pillage and rape, something that the Holy prophet of Islam had tried to resist and eliminate. And surprisingly in India, Islam discovered a humanist strand of Sufism and sought to discover and revive some of the real teachings of Holy prophet, which are more in sync with Upanishadic teachings that were reiterated by Lord Buddha.
Oppression, fear and hatred can never get the best out of any people and society, especially in a heterogeneous India. For the sake of rise of India, our democracy must avoid a return to medieval era mindset. Social harmony and social trust as manifest in some of the eternal values of pre-caste era of the ancient civilisation of the subcontinent are critical for a stronger India. These alone can contribute to a more harmonious world and not the “shop keepers model of representative government” founded on colonial plunder and pillage of the entire world, despite some brilliant innovations and practices perfected in recent centuries.
The entire integrated, interconnected and a somewhat leaderless world needs original INDIAN values more badly at this juncture. We cannot and must not go back in time. But fusion of modern Democracy with Kautilyan principles of governance, Buddhist notion of Dharma and Confucian principles of harmony can enrich and secure the world beyond all expectations and imaginations.
At the same time our alternative to extremism must not be corruption, perversion and yet another form of decadence or perversion symbolised by dynastic political syndicates. Sadly, they have been masquerading as political entities and thriving on subversion of governance, society and state. Probably Indians and the world need resurgence of civilisational values of original India and not the resurrection of decadent identity clashes of the medieval era.

Reform in Political Parties and Private Sector Would Be Critical for a Stronger India

     
 On January 19, I had the privilege of being part of discussion/talks at my alma mater JNU along with two very distinguished fellow alumni: Maj Gen (Rtd) GC Dwivedi, a 71 war veteran and now a highly accomplished academic, and an equally eminent and accomplished veteran journalist Shri Ajit Jha. Details were shared on Facebook by my friend Rajesh Kumar. 

   We discussed inherent strengths of civilisational values of India that have helped sustain democracy even amidst all forms of adversity and constraints. These values were revived by Mahatma Gandhi, who was probably the greatest mobilizer of people as well as an original humanist thinker after Lord Buddha on this subcontinent. We thoroughly discussed some of the key strengths and vulnerabilities of current Indian state and society. We also attempted to identify governance-security challenges and priorities of India in the contemporary era in presence of an enlightened audience. It was an extremely stimulating and vibrant session.

I had maintained that a country of India's size cannot afford to depend upon individual brilliance of a few.  We needed serious and sustained institutional reforms to not only synergise individual and institutional values, goals, orientation and interests in every sector but also among the institutions as well as between them and the larger society. The principles of fairer and healthy competition were critical for promoting individual initiative, industry and enterprise, which formed the core of democratic freedom at one hand and accelerated advancement of people on the other. 
I emphasized that we needed to overhaul entire criminal justice system, healthcare, education, R&D capacity along with civil service to make these competitive and professional, but the most critical area in which Indian democracy needed to take initiative were reform in political parties, corporate sector and media. These cannot afford to be controlled by self-seeking cliques. Political parties needed to be cohesive platforms  with appropriate structures for debate, discussion and avenues for entry and exit at different leadership roles. Political parties cannot afford to act as brokerage syndicates that had to subvert rule of law and integrity of governance for their sheer survival. 
Similarly, our corporate sector, notwithstanding all their virtues and some of the outstanding visionary leaders it had produced, needed come out of Sukhi Lala mode as portrayed in iconic Mother India movie of 1950s. They needed assert their credentials as legitimate stakeholders in governance rather being at the mercy of profit driven mercenaries lacking any sense of larger social commitment. There was certainly need to beyond emotions in pursuit of nationalism and national security.

Of course the other two speakers are very well known and they have been in public domain for too long and their views are very well known. 

 I am sharing some photographs for my friends.

ALLUREMENT OF QUOTAS: A SMOKESCREEN TO DENY DIGNITY AND ECONOMIC SECURITY TO ALL?

(Following is a post that I had written on Facebook. I was struggling to access my own blog due to suspected malice of some powerful cyber criminals) 

            Supreme Court’s recent observation that quotas are not part of fundamental rights deserves commendation. But the court should have gone on to declare that the access to high quality education along with jobs that provide basic level of economic security and dignity must be made fundamental rights. These have been part of directive principles for too Long.
        Caste based employment reservations must have been a necessity as an interim measure when the country gained independence. But their continuation even after seven decades has only perpetuated divides and fractured our social cohesion.
      It is not about government jobs but the negative impact on governance capacity of our democracy. It has encouraged political elite to abdicate their responsibilities towards universal access to education, health-care and employment. These are most critical vehicles for securing collective empowerment of India.
      It suits our rogue elite if people remain vulnerable in absence of rule of law. A hostile and corrupt government system will push them to caste based cliques even for defence of their basic rights. On the other hand, mighty and powerful can exploit bad governance to escape the clutches of law. Emotional identity divide can be a smart tool to destroy governance and popular accountability.
      Such phenomenon has encouraged rogues and crook to hijack our democracy. They can plunder and pillage the country being fully assured that a divided people shall struggle to demand transparency and integrity in governance. Their mind can be numbed by emotive identity divide. They would lose capacity to think rationally or judge and evaluate their representatives on the basis of their performance.
     A divided society and a divided house are certain to decay and degenerate. These can vitiate the larger ecosystem, obstructing merit and talent from flourishing. Under such conditions, people can never excel collectively or live in harmony.
      Sadly, we refuse to take lesson from our under performance as a society and state. We are no longer shaken by the expanding all round asymmetry (five times and growing) with our northern neighbour China that was equal to us until four decades back. It has nothing to do with the so called inferiority of democracy. It is more an outcome of subversion of governance systems.
      It has been scientifically established that Caste in India was originally not a hereditary phenomenon. It were greedy and dishonest elite that made it hereditary, oppressive and discriminatory. Once a society decays, degenerates and gets enslaved, it’s elite further lose their moral compass. Many become self seeking compradores to any power or authority that can protect their privileges. They do so at the cost of their own society. They oppress their own people and especially the down trodden. It was irrationality of a decadent elite of a Subjugated India that made the caste system so oppressive and cruel.
But it is time to move forward and do away with the very phenomenon of the Caste. It has to be abolished forever and not exploited for political rent. Following are some of the pertinent questions that every Indian must pose to himself or herself: 

Why, and how long, should an independent India remain shackled in a subservient mindset? 
Shouldn’t we move towards universal and equitable access to security and dignity?
 Why should some of us be hoodwinked in the name of quota and made collaborators in denigration of India? 
How long can we afford to fall prey to divide and rule trick of rulers? 
Why should housing, Jobs, healthcare, education and employment not be made accessible to all? 
Why should a bunch of parasitic forces relish mass anxieties and insecurities to exploit and thrive on these? 
Why should we be divided as a people and our civilization destroyed at the altar of political opportunism?
Doesn’t patriotism warrant the country getting precedence over politics?
Without solidarity and larger harmony among people as well as larger integrity, how can we work collectively? 

Monday, December 30, 2019

An Impartial and Apolitical Perspective on CAA

Yesterday, a journalist friend caught me virtually unguarded with a few questions. So far, I had avoided speaking anything on CAA and NRC. But journalists are smart people. They know how to draw you into an area of their own interest.
As a life long student and former practitioner of national security, I look at issues differently. I believe that on key issues of national security, the Government and the opposition, as well as civil society and even media, should be on same page.
Sustained protests and violence are doing a lot of harm to the country. These should have been avoided and everything should be done even now to stop these. Protests are part of democracy, but those destroying public property, deserve severest punishment. Those police personnel, abusing their power to torment innocent citizens should get rather more stringent punishment as they are expected to protect people and uphold law.
Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists etc have faced the most brutal and inhuman persecution in 3 countries listed in the CAA. Their women have been regularly raped and violated, their properties are captured. their places of worship are desecrated and many of them are regularly framed in fake cases. Human Rights groups headed by Muslims in those countries have highlighted these.
No influential Indian has earlier paid serious attention to plight of these people. They have been strategically irrelevant for the West. Hence, it has been unfashionable for a large section of Indian elite to talk about them. These persecuted people certainly deserve all out and long over due support of Indians. It is extremely important for secular Muslim personalities of India to support persecuted non-Muslims of the subcontinent. Their brand of secularism is often construed as disguised mild Islamism.
Nevertheless, I still believe that persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries must get only temporary shelter and protection in India. In long run, they should go back to their own countries. Even in 1947, in lieu of nearly 3 lakh people who left India for Pakistan, we received 1.5 crore plus non-Muslims from the erstwhile undivided Pakistan. My scientifically worked out guesstimate suggests that nearly 5 to 7 crore people, with all their natural increases, have further sneaked into India since then. This has aggravated pressure on our own lands. Some of the illegal immigrants have always aided and abetted the threat of radicalism.
India must use its influence, goodwill and power and everything at its disposal to persuade international community to create conditions in these neighbouring countries that safeguard life, liberty, dignity and all round security of all their citizens, and especially those from local minority communities, so that we do not face a refugee influx from there.
Similarly, with a friendly country like Bangladesh, Indian government must work together to rehabilitate and support all Hindu immigrants from there. We must also attempt to amicably return a larger number of non-Hindus too. It is more important to fight Islamic radicalism to safeguard all people of the subcontinent.
I am one of the strongest admirers of Bangladesh PM. I believe that besides Nelson Mandela, any other foreign leader who deserves to be awarded Bharat Ratna, it must be Banga Bandhu and his daughter and the current PM of Bangladesh.
I have spoken my mind out in the following interview purely in the national interest, with the sole objective of giving an impartial and an apolitical perspective.



GANDHI: AN ICON OF PEACE & YET AN OBJECT OF HATE?

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