CHALLENGES

May 21st, 2009 was a day of contradictory events for the country and its polity. On a day when the Gandhi family (there is only one Gandhi family in the country after the results of the recent elections) paid its homage to the late Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary, the Congress party took a pledge to counter terrorism, the Naxals killed 16 policemen in Congress ruled Maharashtra and in the U.S. a key Congressional committee approved a law tripling U.S. non-military aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion annually.

The events of the day indicate some of the challenges being faced by the government and should be used as a barometer for the performance of the government after it is sworn in, after the swearing for grab of plum ministerial posts is over. A news report has suggested that there are hardly any takers for the social sector ministries, for instance none of our ‘public servants’ and ‘dedicated for the social upliftment’ leaders would like to become the rural development or agriculture minister, given an option. But then that is another story! Let us stay focused at some of the challenges which require immediate attention.

The Pakistan Enduring assistance and Co-operation Enhancement act 2009, ironically referred to as the (PEACE) Act, enhances the U.S. non military aid to Pakistan to $ 1.5 billion per year which is a three fold increase over the previous aid, comes within less than a year of the Indo-US Nuclear energy Deal for which the venerable Manmohan Singh staked his political career, the Communists walked out of the Govt. and M.P’s displayed wads of currency notes in the Parliament, notes which ostensibly were paid as bribes to bail out the Govt. Those were the days when the establishment went to town about the ‘special’ Indo-U.S relationship.

So what has changed within a year that the Obama administration agreed to a change in the original proposal, which linked aid to Pakistan on it not letting its territory to be used for launching terror attacks against India and that it would also not support any group that indulged in terrorist activities against India. The modified act now talks about stopping cross border attacks into neighbouring countries, only, and the India specific references have been dropped.

Semantics has a strong role to play in international relations, my dear friends!

Although both the proposal would appear to mean the same thing, but in reality the U.S has again made it amply clear that it would not let its interest be superseded by any ‘special relationship’, as the P.M called Indo-U.S relations at the time of the Indo-U.S nuclear deal. For them, U.S interests come before anything.

Terrorism which confronts India like the veritable Demon has to be tackled alone and tackled fast. Although the Indian establishment is acting smug and as is its wont, patting itself on the back with no major terror strikes after 26/11, it is time we realized that it is in no way related to any proactive Indian policy, but the simple fact that the ‘hand which rocked the cradle’ i.e. the ISI, has been twisted by the ‘hand that fed the baby’ i.e. the U.S.A, for the simple reason that the Obama administration was concentrating on its new Af-Pak policy, and Pakistani military establishment needed to act like a good baby. But now with the policy back to its old surge in Afghanistan phase, which is not much different from the much reviled George Bush’s policy in Iraq, and with the pressure off the Pakistani back , we can safely expect the ISI to resort to its policy of ‘bleeding India through a thousand cuts’. Afterall, they have blackmailed the Americans into looking the other way.

But is the Indian system any more ready than it was on 26/11?

Look around and we can see that the guard has already been dropped. Even private security in hotels and malls which had reached paranoid levels immediately after 26/11 has slackened, the Government was not interested in protecting its citizens anyway. Furthermore, with the message that the voter is not concerned with the issue of terrorism and is much more concerned about voting for his/her own caste, why should the politician bother!

Poor Shivraj Patil must be ruing his luck! He could have still been the Home Minister, if……..

The hippies who came out with candles after 26/11, did not take the pain to vote. Only Shivraj Patil and VilasRao lost their jobs!!

The trial of Kasab is an indicator of the deficiency in Indian laws while confronting a state of War. Kasab had to be booked under 11 different acts of the IPC, ostensibly because he could not be kept behind bars for the sufficient period of time under any one act of the IPC.

So much so for fighting terror.

The way Kasab and his lawyer are taking the court for a ride is a reminder of the fact that we as a nation are indeed a ‘soft state’. Someday the lawyer wants to have a look at the MV Kuber( the boat which brought the terrorists to Mumbai), someday Kasab becomes a juvenile and therefore the request to try him under the juvenile act. Kasab then desires to have a look at the daily newspapers. And all this after he individually committed WAR on the country, which was well documented.

Since the repeal of POTA,which apparently was anti-minority (why and how? Well don’t ask!). The country does not have a proper anti terror law, and we are making do with IPC or the NSA. This after the fact that we are the second most terror hit country after probably Iraq. We come back to the argument of the apologists that POTA did not prevent terror attacks, with the logic that no law on the face of the earth prevents crime, but then it does deter some from venturing into this profession. Furthermore, with a firm law in place we are saved from the mockery of a terrorist who was caught in action from feigning ignorance and his lawyer taking advantage of the loopholes which normal law possesses.

And please do not forget nor let the government forget that Afzal Guru still awaits his punishment.

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

The challenges thrown up by the Naxals in various parts of the country also portend a very serious threat for the unity and integrity of the country. The attack in Maharashtra on the 21st of May, which killed 16 policemen including 4 female police personnel, can only be taken lightly at our own peril. But then the Indian establishment’s attitude of ‘chalta hai’ has serious repercussions. The mindless attacks by the naxals on the days of polling in the recent elections has thrown up a challenge which needs to be countered on an immediate basis. The audacity of these attacks can be judged from the fact that perhaps for the first time the BSF personnel were targeted, while earlier it was the hapless Police which remained the targets.

The Naxals have grown into a threat whose importance is in no way less than the friends from across the border, because they are utilising the anger against the inequitable Indian economic system which lets wealth and prosperity remain in the hands of the select few, while the rest wallow in poverty and lack of fair opportunity. The anger in the tribal and rural India against an urban and elitist India is being exploited to the hilt, with the Christian missionaries playing their part in fanning the fire. The foreign policy bungling in Nepal which has further exacerbated the situation with India letting the Maoists take control without as much as a whimper needs to reversed. We simply cannot permit an hostile ideology to rule in our backyard, can we?

National interests should supersede any hollow moral or ethical questions. Realpolitik has no scope for platitudes or homilies, which are best suited to text-books, class rooms and inane TV discussions.

But it is high time the government stops treating the naxal threat as a law and order problem only. The indifference of the Indian state towards the agricultural sector is also one of the problems which lies at the root of this sudden growth in the cadre of the naxals. After the Ist Green revolution in the late 60’s no government of the day has really cared to look beyond the cities. Agriculture in India is still dependent on the Monsoon as it was hundreds of years ago, agricultural growth has stagnated, no new technology has been implemented for decades now, the rural poor are neck deep in debt and migrating in hordes towards the cities, which with its problems of infrastructure treats them like dirt. Schemes like the Kisan Credit card and the NREGA, though well intentioned are still way short of the requirement. Last but not the least, the farce played out by the Finance Minister in the 2008 budget, with his so called loan waiver has acted as the straw that broke the camel’s back. Although the spin doctors of the Fin. Min.still potray the loan waiver as a gift from God, the fact remains that it was targeted for the agriculturists in the constituency of the Agriculture Minister only.

Vidarbha continues to burn, both literally and figuratively, Telanganga, Rayalseema are no better. The worst news comes from Punjab, the so called agriculture heaven, where only the large land owners flourish, by resorting to commercial farming. The divide between the urban and the rural and more so between the rural poor and the rural rich, is only increasing the cadre strength of the Naxals, as the resentment is spilling out onto the streets.

But does New Delhi really care????

Perhaps the real challenge for this government at this moment lies in the fact as to whether we will finally have a P.M who will stand up and be counted and not let his ministers like Veerapa Moily state publicly that “Mrs. Sonia Gandhi will decide on the allocation of the portfolios”.

Will this country see the so called young man stand up and take responsibility rather than stay in the background and enjoy power without responsibility. Let us judge people by their actions rather than their lineage, shall we?

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."
ABRAHAM LINCOLN