Category Archives: Politics

Get Out Of That Vicious Circle

Following yesterday’s cabinet reshuffle in the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, Twitter and other social networks witnessed one more of those innumerable jokesplosions. The stand out attempt at humor seemed to be ‘Why a reshuffle? They are all jokers in the pack, anyway’. Hmmm. Funny. So what’s wrong?

There’s an extremely serious underlying matter that goes unnoticed.

Freedom of speech and fun not withstanding, the spectre of political apathy runs deep in Indian civil society. Following any important/unimportant political event, it jumps out and makes it’s presence felt. This is not a defence of our politicians, who have much to do and make up for. But right there, it’s worth understanding that it’s the politicians, and nobody else, who have much to do. Hence, stemming political apathy and awakening political interest is necessary. Because politics matters. Dirty, ugly, whatever. It matters.

People, in a democracy, elect their representatives who must serve them. It doesn’t matter what you personally perceive of the person in power, but he/she holds a position that is of consequence to you. Mind you, political apathy could actually be one of the root causes behind terrorism or unemployment. Or any other malaise affecting Indian society. These very people elected to the top are meant to serve a purpose. And if the people in the republic sit back and never empathize, it offers no incentives whatsoever to the duty-bound. Not that it depends on incentives. But, still. So do that. Demand service and development in return for electing them to where they are.

Or else, we are all jokers in the pack anyway.

The Narendra Modi Conundrum

Two sides to a coin.

Narendra Modi – chief minister of a state that has recorded economic growth far greater than so many parts of the country, voted to office across successive terms, effective administrator, investment magnet, rose the ranks through a difficult system primarily on the basis of merit and genuinely works for the benefit of Gujarat.

Narendra Modi – alleged architect of the post-Godhra riots that killed hundreds of innocents, communalist, propagandist, pretends to be moderate center-of-right in politics and policies but isn’t.

Clearly, there may have never been so concrete ‘two sides of a coin’ than there are in the case of BJP leader Narendra Modi. He has firm admirers and staunch opponents. He has wild fanboys and blood-thirsty critics. None of the people in all these categories are ever likely to lower their stands, and will continue to create a lot of noise (a lot on Twitter, these days) when a Modi issue becomes a headline event.

Inherently, it can be very easily observed that fundamentalism prevails in their minds. Pro-Modi folks won’t glance an eye over any writing/commentary that attempts a critique of the CM, while anti-Modi folks continue to believe that he is a major threat to Indian polity and there is no second way about this. Once in a while, if these people read/understood opposing views, we might have a moderate and more composed (but unchanged) understanding of the Modi ‘situation’ rather than just wild rhetoric from either side.

Now, the point I’m trying to make from my writing here is the ‘price’ of delayed justice. India, clearly, has failed its people when it comes to delivering justice. The problem is that it takes so much time to deliver justice that enough rhetoric has been generated, resources lost and new topics born to take light away from the initial issue of concern.

Imagine this. The post-Godhra riots are avoided. Narendra Modi ends up being the man to deliver effective policing in areas which noted violence. He lives up to his constitutional obligations and morals. People don’t die. The perpetrators of the Godhra train burning are brought to book. Modi continues to administer the state effectively. Nope. Didn’t happen.

Imagine this. The Gujarat riots happen (as they did). Narendra Modi is proven to be involved. The court says, with ample evidence, that he played a direct role in whatever carnage occurred and pronounce him guilty on various counts. If this doesn’t amount to a serious sentence, he is freed after serving whatever sentence he was charged with. Nope. Hasn’t happened.

Imagine this. If he is proven to be innocent, he gets a clean chit and goes back to doing what he does best – politics/administration/governance. Nope. Hasn’t happened.

But he is still accountable for 2002, as any CM would be when in command during a major crisis and holding all constitutional powers to administer control and simply prevent loss of lives. He is still responsible for effective governance. He is still administering a state that is making India proud, in most ways. So, we are in a permanent fix with solutions to problems both happening and not happening. It becomes difficult to make any sense of the Modi ‘problem’ and one is merely left to endure two conflicting sides clash in the extreme of terms when the spotlight hovers over Modi.

The only sense I could make out of all of this – Whatever you think of Narendra Modi, it doesn’t change what he once did and it doesn’t change what he is doing today.

The rest, as they say, is history’s undoing.

Politics isn’t People

The funny story with many Indians is that some believe everything, and some don’t believe anything. So when you tend to stay away from an Indian state because of what political party is in running or what ‘kind’ of people live there, you are clearly in a demented state of mind and way more influenced by national media, conspiracy theorists and blood-hungry intellectuals than you ideally should be.

So, if you decide to stay away from a state because your mind perceives it to be ‘like something’, then you miss out on the fun. And pretty much, everything else. To make myself further clear, every Indian state has it’s people. And not every citizen is political, control-obsessed, killing, murdering, raping, corrupt etc. Many (or most) are kind and welcoming. More importantly, they have a culture to present to you. A culture that they are proud of, a culture that exists minus the politics of the state.

That said, yes, there are problems. No state is crime-free. There have been riots and people have died. It is such instances that we must have zero tolerance for, while actively considering all states as an integral part of the same country. For such instances, the state machinery must be empowered while preserving the connect that the state must have with all others of the country.

In short, politics doesn’t define people. People move on. People adopt the ideals of the Constitution far better than the power brokers do. And keeping that in mind, we must open ourselves up to visiting any state of India, and revelling in what it has to offer. And like most things in life, there’s always something good on offer.

If you can see it.

Maintaining An Edge

india-china6
When I read editorials detailing China’s power indicators with respect to India, I tend to appreciate the fact that our eastern neighbours are indeed way ahead of us in terms of infrastructure, growth and in providing basic hygiene and a higher standard of living to her citizens.

But the attempt made by some commentators to establish Chinese authority (just because of those factors) doesn’t really appeal to me. Obviously, actually. Similarly, jingoistic pieces from India (or Indians abroad) that turn a blind eye to China’s genuine rise are a turn-off too. The faster we accept this fact, the better it could turn out and eventually benefit us.

All emotions aside, India must maintain the edge that it holds in various sectors vis-a-vis China. The Chinese are quick learners and will certainly will have marked out areas where Indians are ahead. I have visited China in the recent past, and here is what I made of the Chinese (a very informal piece, that one).

However, there are certain areas where India clearly holds the edge. The fact that Indian outsourcing giants like TCS are looking towards China as a market [Link] suggests that the Chinese market is rather fragmented. India’s firms, on the other hand, have been posting consistent profits and rise in growth. TCS, themselves, have grown by 8-10 pc this year. It could take China a while to even contemplate capturing the IT services sector. And there is a second factor that comes into play – the English language.

India has the largest number of English speakers in the world, outside the United States. China, as of now, does not even appear in the Top 7. But it is an advantage that could possibly end (considering China’s dedication to increasing the versatility of her workforce) and India must hold on to it, at any cost. English speaking directly increases employability and plays a huge role in attaining professional success in various streams. Add to that, the opportunities Indians get to work and live abroad.

India offers protection to intellectual property, that is way better than China. Although the Chinese are working hard to end their piracy issues, the CEO of Microsoft himself has stated that it is India, and not China, that attracts software companies. [Link] There was also the recent censorship issue between Google and China, that hasn’t worked in Chinese favour.

Finally, we have our principles. Yes, India is more principled than China (democracy, rule of Law, transparency) and there is not a shadow of doubt about that fact. But India must not use that as an excuse to garner international opinion in support of it’s potential superpowerdom and must focus on giving her people a life that is worth living.

There is no ‘greater greatness’ than ensuring the prosperity and well-being of Indians in India and all over the world. And that is what India’s leaders and policy-makers must aspire to do.

Always.