Mandate for a Strong PM

I would like to reproduce the following words of my blog dated 5 July, 2008:

It is heartening to see our government hanging on to the US nuclear deal. It is not very common to see national governments finding a mission and leaving no stone unturned to achieve it. These are the qualities we usually identify with private sector. Isn't it an example of management by objectives?

Yes, Manmohan Singh's UPA government saw the deal through in a manner one usually associates with the fabled efficient functioning of private sector. I know N-deal is too intellectually hefty an issue to influence results of a General Election in a country like India. But N-deal certainly stands as a metaphor of efficiency, integrity and purposefulness of the UPA government which came to power in 2004. The mandate won today by the Congress led political formation brings the issue of 'performance' to the fore.

Sonia Gandhi did a brilliant job of putting together a team of extra-ordinary gentlemen tasked with executing the liberal socialist political programme laid down in NCMP. Dr Manmohan Singh's role was largely technocratic. May be he was not a heavy-weight political leader but he handled the implementation of the UPA agenda well and at times saw through the difficult decisions in the teeth of fierce opposition. And average Indian anyway hates politics. So we did not mind having a political lightweight but an intelligent, knowledgeable and honest economist as our PM. Also, Sonia Gandhi was never seen throwing her weight around. The Gandhi family, on the whole, has astutely supported the PM during the five year term. This may be the reason the UPA is being voted back to power despite several shortcomings of the previous UPA government. With much political experience gained during the first term of UPA government, we can look forward to seeing a more confident and resurgent Dr Manmohan Singh in the next five years! As someone who lies behind the victory of 2009, as someone who does not just understand economics but also the business of governance.

The Verdict of 2009 should be remembered as a victory of the leadership model Sonia Gandhi has experimented, as a personal victory of a good politician and human being who is not a rabble rouser but an honest and clear- headed leader. He is not and has never been a weak Prime Minister...!!

REALITY CHECK

India is in a state of frenzy. Fumbling to respond to the global meltdown (not knowing fully how much the country is affected by it), India is gearing up for yet another phase of chaos called General Elections. The policy measures are culled from the economic textbooks and thrust upon the bemused public. As the anxious policy makers wait for the results to seep down the various segments of life, problems continue to spring up from various directions and plague the Asian 'superpower'. In the last few years, we had got used to calling ourselves a superpower. The only cues available were a near double digit economic growth and the youthful and brash IT sector which had started putting India on the global map. Acquisitions of foreign firms by Indian corporates only added to make our pride swell. A confident and resurgent India, with its army of savvy and English speaking techies, waited in the wings to dislodge the incumbent superpowers and transform the strategic equations across the continents.


Though the high flying India which ruled the world for the first eight years of this decade was not a flash in the pan, the so called success story had been stretched too far by the cheerleaders. The story fled the realm of reality. It crocked and floundered only to seek refuge in the dazzling and magical world of fiction. Who would not remember the days when the financial papers would headline, in mega bold fonts, the rise and rise of the fabled Sensex? As if there is no life beyond Sensex. And a five figure Sensex meant India's nirvana, a panacea of the all the problems the Indians faced. We were living in a world of inflated expectations and oversimplified postulates. We had started judging ourselves by the yardstick of the salaries IIMA or B graduates would be offered in campus placements. By the unprecedented revenue figures our finance ministers projected in every Budget. By the ultra mega projects the Cabinets or the 'empowered groups' of our arthritis-ridden, hypertensive or diabetic ministers would clear with an unfailing regularity and unflagging pomp. But, for a man on the street, has India really changed? Are we really not a Third World country any more?

Here is the reality check!

1) Governance (Satyam): The fraud revealed once again the gap between 'prescription' and 'description' which is one of main defining characteristics of a developing society. A maze of laws and regulations overseen by an equally complex maze of 'ministries/departments' and 'regulators' is no deterrent at all. One can coolly bypass them and make the agencies look like buffoons.

2) Quality of Life: Just hit a road every evening in a city like Mumbai. There are highways, expressways, sea links and flyovers in the city but streets in a suburb leading to or fanning out of a station make mockery of our tall claims about improvement in infrastructure. You will be enveloped by clouds of smoke and the noise of lound restless honks of the vehicles trapped in traffic hold ups. It's a mayhem one comes across as one steps out of his or her home or office. People are seen standing crammed in crowded buses (which appear not be advancing even an inch) and sitting huddled in rickety auto-rickshaws, groping for a semblance of life which their political leaders promise them every election year. They have a capsulated existence which starts everyday with newspapers and end with saas-bahu serials with a few songs on FM radio or MP3, a couple of hurried meals, a few hours of half baked discussions on cricket, stock market and politics and a few tiffs with bosses and colleagues and neighbours and fellow commuters stuffed in between.
Life on streets is a potentially carcinogenic, high decibel chaos.

3) India is still known for corruption and bureaucratic red tape. The bright and incorruptible social activists manage to influence policies (UPA deserves some credit for this) but we are yet to see them taking the helm at our ministries. The sane, sensible and liberal voice still remains at the margins.

4) Farmers commit suicides in this country. Skilled workers of diamond industry are slogging under the scorching sun on road construction sites. We do not have a policy and action plan in place to address the social security issues of the informal and unorganized sectors of our economy. We are more concerned about pink slips that dread our BPO and IT workers who throng swanky office buildings in Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon or Noida everyday.

5) Internal Security: There isn't any area which has been more mismanaged than this since our independence. There is no federal level, pan India strategy or will to combat this menace. The debate still remains lost in 'State List' and 'Union List' inspite of 26/11. A homeland is a homeland. Chandigarh is no different from Chhatisgarh when it comes to dealing with national security.

Can we still say we have left our THIRD WORLD status far behind? There is a long way to go. Is it not?

Save SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan appears to be beyond salvage: A sordid saga of a promising nation going down the path of self destruction it appears to have unfolded now. Pakistan is a nation state whose fanaticism-soaked genesis could not be mellowed out even by the mighty forces of Time. The age old practice of the Western world of turning a Nelson’s eye to the threat Pakistan posed to the entire subcontinent has aggravated the geo-political complications and the subcontinent now stands at the brink of a new and seemingly unending era of instability. It’s not about attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers or 26/11 also for that matter. It is about how the south Asia’s rich history and heritage of values and philosophies that guided the civilizations of the world like a beacon through ages has quietly taken a back seat and made way for the forces of unreason and inhumanity. The world awaits the results of Obama’s Af-Pak magic pill. Countries like India who have been blowing whistles since all these years and continue to face the brunt of having the volatile and hostile pseudo-democracy in the neighbourhood stand at the margin, beleaguered and lonely. India watches helplessly from the sidelines as Pakistan’s creative and imaginative political elite continue to beguile the international community with all sorts of ‘theories’ about 26/11. Our throats have gone hoarse. The gravity and gruffness of our stance has barely made any difference to the way the world looks at Pakistan.

Leave alone a Pakistani, even an Indian may not like this. But one can help drawing this sad and worrying conclusion: Pakistan is in ruins. Before it drags down south Asia, the world has to act. The western powers like US will have to repair the wrongs done.

Just try to deconstruct the whole damn thing called terrorism. There are terrorists who are enemies of civil societies and governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan and neither of the two wants them. Another bunch has these guys who are zealously supported and trained by the Pakistan government to bleed countries like India. And this tribe of terrorists is very much in demand by the Pakistan government and the so called other state and non-state actors in tow. And somewhere in between lies the twilight zone of the ruthless terror machine. Pakistan is the victim as well as the perpetrator. But its fate as a victim does not outweigh its self-appointed role of perpetrator, the one that does not hesitate in using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

‘What would happen if you try to ride a tiger…?’, says P Chidambaram, India’s Home Minister, very rightly.

The Heroes of Bombay

It has been two long months since 26/11. India’s own 9/11, played out in the heart of the commercial capital for about 60 hours, started on that fateful November night. It was India’s longest nightmare in recent history. The generation that throng swanky glass and steel towers every day for work in suburbs of our cities have barely experienced what it means to be a nation at war. For them, 26/11 was a war. The carnage took place at places where these suave youngsters would hang out on holidays, slushed in the prosperity brought by the booming new economy. The Taj and Trident were not alien to the underclass of the city either. South Mumbai has always been a place to visit for work and a place to leave when the sun begins to sink into the sober waves of the Arabian Sea, lashing gently at the Marine Drive tetrapods. This part of the city belonged to all. It has always been a ‘comfort zone’ for millions who are desperate to snatch their own slice of high life from the jaws of the colourless and exasperating routine their train commute inflict on them.

But 26/11 did not strike Bombay. It assaulted Mumbai. Bombay had long ceased to exist.

The things had already begun to turn sour a few years ago. The city of Bombay lost its identity and this vibrant and free space of human ingenuity and creativity was soon hijacked by irrational and cynical politics. Cosmopolitanism came to be eclipsed by chauvinism. Bombay became Mumbai. And VT became CST. The city did grow physically, adding flyovers, expressways and sea links, but the soul and the spirit remained muffled. As Shashi Tharoor writes somewhere- a story of Bombay is the story of decline. But this was not enough.

When Kasab and his team swooped down on Mumbai on that fateful day, they did not have an inkling that the city would turn out to be such a sitting duck. The city was already battle weary. It proved to be perhaps the easiest prey of the jihadi gunmen.

The city with its hollow core and rusted frame did fight back. It took the entire might of the Indian state to neutralize the terrorists in a long drawn operation. Before India came to rescue, the Bombay had to hold them off. And what the whole world witnessed during those 60 hours were the tales of extraordinary courage and heroism of the ordinary folks and the cops: Call them Mumbaikars or Bombayites. People fought and went down on the streets which until a few moments ago were looking so safe, familiar and bustling. 26/11 is as much a story of terrorism as extraordinary heroism. 26/11 threw up city’s own heroes, those who now can be our new icons and can be remembered in our campaign to reinvigorate the decaying dream of India. Wasn’t it reassuring to learn that heroes are found not only on the rarefied heights of Kargil mountains or jungles of the Naxalite strongholds but also in the ‘comfort zones’ of the new urban India priding itself on IT, BPO and a double digit growth rate?

The dawn of 27/11 restored some semblance of the lost Bombay. The fight was on. The fight is still on.

INDIA: Bruised & Wounded

The current India-Pakistan stand-off is being viewed through the prism of war. But as India has made it abundantly clear, war is not the solution to the problem. India wants to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai 26/11 carnage to justice and seeks Pakistan's co-operation in this regard. This is, in my opinion, still a soft stance on the issue of India's victimhood of cross border terrorism. Why should India consider the terrorist strikes only a handiwork of a bunch of LeT masterminds? If one can ever distinguish between the acts of state and non-state actors, the onus of proof as to state actors' innocence in this episode should rest with Pakistan government. The scale and intensity of the attacks leaves barely anything to imagination. How can such a ruthlessly and accurately planned massacre be executed without state support? India is talking tough. But tough talk or plainspeak would lead us nowhere. The need of the hour is a concrete action which can be regarded as a deterrent to any future adventurism staged against India from Pakistani soil. Even Pakistan's handing over of the terrorists accused in 26/11 would not solve this conundrum. The menace of terrorism is very political in nature and 26/11 is just another sophisticated and brutal version of manifestation of the historical animosity of the two South Asian neighbours.

The Road Ahead:

1. Capitalize on India's clean record in complying with security related international conventions/laws/treaties/regimes

2. Put a stress on the right of self-defence to justify any war-like action/hot pursuit of the terrorists

3. Communicate to the international community that carnages like 26/11 has nothing to do with the Kashmir issue. Publicize India's victimhood widely and use this to get away with a bit of roguishness. Tell the world you are tired of being a nice guy. That the world has paid a lip service to India's cause. That Pakistan is at war with you and you need to act now.

4. Responsibility for terror acts lie not only with a few rogue elements of militant groups in Pakistan but also with the Pakistani establishment that support these operatives or turn a Nelson's eyes to their activities, to say the least.

5. Chalk out a schedule of actions and strategies with clear timelines. Show it to the world powers and the UN. And go ahead. Ignore the noises and murmurs of those who advise restraint. Tell them to assure safety and protection of your citizens or just shut up. India cannot wait indefinitely for the world powers to discipline Pakistan.

A Wednesday

A month has passed since Mumbai faced one of the most devastating terrorist strikes on 26 November, 2008, the date which has gone down in the annals of history as 26/11. The memory has not yet faded. The feelings of trauma, shock and anguish are still green in our hearts and minds. The event is sinking in the collective psyche of our nation. We do not want to forget it. The gun battles played out at some of the icons of the city of Mumbai reminded us of what it means to be a nation under siege.

There are people out there, across the borders, who are hell bent on harming India, bleeding civil society of India. The birth and rise of the Indian nation has not gone down well with these people. Call them anything: state actors or non-state actors. They have a single point agenda. They are terrorists.

You are not a hawk, you are not a maverick, if you are advocating to have them stamped out. You are just a sensible and sensitive human being, who is sincere about saving the humanity from the scourge of terrorism.

Now we get down to pick up the pieces and try to make some sense of how this might have happened notwithstanding our mighty and many-splendoured state security apparatus: the IB, RAW, the Police, the Army, the Navy, the Cost Guard and last but not the least our ever articulate and preachy political leaders occupying the top rungs of governments. One certainly should not tarnish the administrative agencies and the political executive with the same brush. But it is hard to look at the accountability issue in a fragmented manner. For us, the citizens of India, the Indian state (comprising both administrative and political ruling class) has failed miserably to secure safety for us and it definitely was found wanting when a few jihadi youths ran amok on the night of 26/11 and took the southern and the most iconic part of India's commerical hub by a ghastly surprise. The most tragic revelation of this episode is how we have not learnt the lessons and were caught off guard again in spite of being a victim of terrorist acts since so many years. Terrorism is not alien to us.

That said, we must recognize that the challenges to internal security are also formidable. After all, India has banned at least 34 organizations/groups and we can say at any given time India is at war with 34 internal enemies, not to mention Pakistan and other sovereign state actors and non-state actors (if one can ever distinguish between the two) active in our neighbourhoods.

This question sends chill down our spine. But we now cannot avoid posing it.

ARE WE PREPARED? CAN WE EVER SAY THE WAR AGAINST TERRORISM IS WON?

Celebrating Change

Barack Obama is now a phenomenon. The President-elect of the world's mightiest nation is not merely a political leader who belongs only to his party and people.

The beginning is somewhat flashy and swashbuckling. But one thing is clear: the Obama-Biden administration means business. There is so much to do and there is no time to lose. A four year term is woefully inadequate to usher in the change Obama stands for and envisages. We can expect the new administration to be packed with change agents and innovators. One hopes the President-elect knows that innovation, if not guided properly, can also wreak havoc with one's plans. You cannot set out to renovate everything around you. Nor is the Presidency a hollywood blockbuster, full of twists, thrills and breathtaking experiments. But it is too naive to tell this to Mr Obama. He has dreamt this dream for many years and he surely knows the best how to put the dream into action and make the world a little bit better than what it is today.

The victory of Barack Obama has overwhelmed the world. Even the frigid Europe (the so called 'old Europe', the continent) has warmed up to the news of his victory. We better refrain from analysing him now. We better refrain from questioning him now. Let him just perform. It may be a great delight to see him perform and deliver. In his success lies the success of everything a liberal global society has alwasys stood for and yearned for.

Let us not be skeptical of this great American moment.

Best wishes, Mr Obama...