The blame game is on and various parties are trying hard to indict each other for the INR 11000 crore fraud. If there is something totally nonsensical in the aftermath of the unearthing of the scam, it is blaming either of the two major political parties, BJP and Congress for what has happened. While the BJP says that irregularities started when INC was in power, INC says Modi-led government deliberately allowed the main accused to flee the country.

I ask, was the nation’s second largest bank run by Congress party members from 2011 till 2014, or was it run by bank’s own management? On the same lines, even if the main accused was present in Davos during Mr. Modi’s recent visit, was the PM not accompanied by other businessmen? After all he was there for World Economic Forum plenary session and the presence of representatives of largebusiness houses (main accused’s diamond business is the largest jewelry brand to have emerged out of Asia in past decade) was indispensable?

Now, it is high time that we look at the financial fraud without any reference or linkage to political landscape of the country. Indian banking space, especially public sector banks, is in the midst of an existential crises and if no corrective actions are taken on an urgent basis, this crucial pillar is set to emerge as the biggest financial and economic burden – and it is a now or never situation for those who formulate policy at the highest levels. Swift policy action, not politicisation, is the way out.

Let me also first bring to everyone’s notice that RBI in its many directives to Scheduled Commercial Banks has warned them on ‘Precautions to be taken in case of Letter of Credit (LC)’ where it has said that even discounting banks must take due precautions. A fragment of RBI’s directive,dated July 1, 2015,is reproduced here.

2.7 Precautions to be taken in the case of Letter of Credit

2.7.1 Banks should not extend any non-fund based facilities or additional/ad-hoc credit facilities to parties who are not their regular constituents, nor should they discount bills drawn under LCs, or otherwise, for beneficiaries who are not their regular clients. In the case of LCs for import of goods, banks should be very vigilant while making payment to the overseas suppliers on the basis of shipping documents. They should exercise precaution and care in comparing the clients. The payments should be released to the foreign parties only after ensuing that the documents are strictly in conformity with the terms of the LCs. There have been many irregularities in the conduct of LC business, such as the LC transactions not being recorded in the books of the branch by officials issuing them, the amount of LCs being much in excess of the powers vested in the officials, fraudulent issue of LCs involving a conspiracy/collusion between the beneficiary and the constituent. In such cases, the banks should take action against the concerned officials as well as the constituent on whose behalf the LCs were opened and the beneficiary of LCs, if a criminal conspiracy is involved.

Did any bank read this directive, let alone implement it in letter and spirit?

PNB, in its letter to peers that has warned them of the fraudulent modus operandi of the accused officials and companies, has clearly stated how transactions through SWIFT, the international payment system, bypassed CBS of the bank and thus allowed the scam to run for years without being detected.

Now that everyone knows that without the connivance of bank’s officials, the incident would not have happened, we need to introspect. Letter of Undertakings were issued illegally and this word ‘illegally’ indicates a lot. First, this had been happening for at least past 6-7 years or even beyond. Should those participating in bank’s internal audit, statutory audit, concurrent audit and RBI’s audit during all these years not be investigated? Even if they weren’t complicit, they failed in their respective jobs.

Second, if the so-called SWIFT system is so opaque, why was this not checked and corrected, the Board should have been made aware of this vulnerability. The staffer in-charge of the SWIFT system must have reported to higher management the risks posed by it. There exists a special risk management team with a designated head and it was the duty of this team to check if there was any such loophole that could cost the bank a third of its market value from a single branch.

The most crucial point, however, is that not only PNB, but almost every PSB is riddled with lack of sense of duty in the staffers. I would say the problem with public sector banks is that they are ‘public sector banks’.

Events like SBI posting its first ever quarterly loss in 17 years and the central bank reprimanding banks to give clear picture of their books will only see an upward trend in coming days. When did you last see the stocks of PSBs gaining? It was when the government announced a INR 2.11 lakh crore recapitalisation package in the month of October 2017 to help stimulate credit growth; thus it was no operational feat on the part of banks, it was the exercise to save them from being totally crippled with respect to extending loans that lifted confidence of investors in their stocks.

Is there any long-term solution?

When divestment is talked, we only recognize sick companies as eligible for this exercise. But if any prudent corrective measure has to be taken when it comes to PSBs, it is considering divesting government stake in PSBs and pushing them toward good corporate governance. Yes, neither any political party nor a few officials at the PNB Mumbai branch are responsible for the sick banking sector of India; it is the lack of good governance that is squarely blame.

Moreover, what purpose is this stake in PSBs serving? PSBs rarely pay dividends to government; on the contrary they seek recapitalisation that comes out of budgetary resources, an area where government is already struggling with missing the fiscal consolidation target. I would only blame lack of or even absence of good governance in PSBs for all the negative news emerging out of banking space.

And here is thefeasible solution. If government thinks divesting stake in PSBs is too bold a step, form a government trust free from interference of bureaucrats and ministers. Just like Tata Trusts. This may need a few tweaks in some laws since trusts are now not allowed to hold equity. Divest shareholding in PSBs and place it in this trust with members who must be experts and must come from private sector. Let bankers handle the banking business, and handle it in accordance with globally accepted norms for good governance.

Give a mandate to this trust to initiate much needed reforms in governance in PSBs. Bad loans, frauds, scams running into billions of dollars are all products of bad governance and flouting of even basic governance norms by banks staffers at all levels. Bring governance, only then you can expect banking sector to come out of this seemingly near-irreparable mess. Else, wait and watch the downfall.

(The article published in daily newspaper “The Statesman” on 18th February 2018)

Who is To Blame For PNB Fraud?

While presenting his last full budget ahead of the general elections due next year, the Finance Minister would certainly have thought over whether to appease the mass or global credit agencies and investors that have bet big on the reformist stance of the present administration. It appears he has preferred a balanced approach, more importantly a realistic one, which we can term as implementable as well as aligned with the aspirations of Indian economy as a whole.

In the very beginning let us also admit that union budget, presented every year by the Finance Minister in the Parliament, is not the only driving force or a manifestation of how the economy and its various sectors will perform in the short-term. Budget statements, allocations and targets are mostly ‘estimates’ and they are subsequently ‘revised’, similar to how the Finance Minister this year revised the fiscal deficit target from previously stated 3.2 percent to 3.5 percent of the GDP for FY 2017-18.

Hence, any statement on how the future will unfold cannot completely rely on the speech of the Finance Minister; yet it can be indicative and the same is being attempted in this article.

The reason why we have termed the Budget 2018 as balanced is because the Finance Minister has yet again reiterated the government’s commitment to fiscal prudence by setting an ambitious target of containing fiscal deficit to 3.3 percent of the GDP for the FY 2018-19. The question is will he be able to achieve this, more in light of reduced government revenues on account of introduction of new indirect taxation regime, GST, which we cannot expect to achieve optimum goalsin the short run.

Another reason why the budget is being looked upon as balanced is the Finance Minister did not try much to appease the substantial voter base comprising of middle class section by tweaking the income tax exemption rates for individual taxpayers.

Although this is only anassumption, but we do believe that any other government presenting its last full budget prior to general elections would have surely tried to increase the exemption limit for taxpayers in expectations of a favorable stance from this section of voters. In contrast to this, the Budget 2018 has come up with a rationalized approach where the FM admitted that salaried taxpayers are burdened more as compared to non-salaried counterparts owing to the transparency of tax incidence in case of salaried taxpayers; hence standard deduction of upto INR 40,000 has been wisely allowed that should benefit as many as 2.5 crore taxpayers.

There may be voices raised against less than expected increase in budget allocation for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes; while for SCs the allocation to schemes directed at their welfare has been increased marginally from last year to INR 56,000 crore, for STs the same is INR 39,000 crore. Let’s find out if this is actually less.

A former Indian Prime Minister openly admitted that only a small percentage of money allocated for the vulnerable classes reach the intended beneficiary owing to extensive corruption and lack of transparency. Imagine then that out of the entire money allocated to the vulnerable classes, how much is actually spent on their progress at the ground level. This brings up another argument of increasing transparency.

The Finance Minister has emphasized on the digitization of more than 1 lakh gram panchayats in his speech and has committed allocation for expanding this programme. Direct Benefit Transfer has already saved thousands of crores of government’s money hence the part of revenues spent by the government on digital infrastructure development would more than make up for the less than expected increase in allocation to SCs and STs.

Not to miss is the budget declaration of setting up of Eklavaya Vidyalas in areas where scheduled tribes account for more than 50 percent of the population. In his speech, the FM indicated that the focus in these educational institutions will be on tribal art as well as on skills training.

Now let’s dwell on the most impactful announcement made. Up until now, the poor were covered for upto INR 30,000 under the National Health Insurance Scheme. In an unprecedented move, the government has increased this cover to a whopping INR 5 lakh for every poor household, a commitment that will touch and better the lives of more than 50 crore Indians. And at the same time, this never appears unrealistic. In various studies, the negative impact of lack of access to healthcare on the overall economic growth has been well established.

While the overall allocation for health and education has not increased sharply, the impact of announcements such as establishment of 24 new government medical colleges and hospitals with a view that every state should have at least 1 government medical college, allocation of INR 600 crore to Tuberculosis-affected individuals for fulfilment of their nutritional needs, INR 1,200 crore for health and wellness centers across the country, absorption of 1,000 B.Tech pass outs from premier institutions as PM Research Fellows and the admission by the FM that ‘quality of education in India is a cause of concern’ will be substantial.

The analysis of the results of Gujarat state polls shows how the rural parts of the state drifted away from the ruling BJP. This can be the reason why the Finance Minister in his budget speech spoke about reforms in farm sector prior to any othersector of economy.

But ahead of counting the announcements made in favour of the farming community, let us not miss that in his speech the FM expressly counted farmers as vulnerable, he could be heard saying – “farmers, poor and other vulnerable sections” –and this in itself is an indicative of sufferings of our farming community. If at all there is anything that can be termed unrealistic, over-ambitious, it is the declaration of doubling the farmer income by 2022. This can be observed in the backdrop of the economic survey that indicated the negative impact of climate change on agriculture.

Still, the FM had a lot in his kitty for farmers. The most laudable of these measures was the allocation of INR 2,000 crore for development of local agro market so that farmers can sell their produce directly to consumers and bulk purchasers without having to rely on APMCs or even the lately implemented eNAM.

Similar to how cluster based approach aidedthe manufacturing sector, the FM has stressed upon sameapproach for the farming sector. Clusters will be developed based on which area specializes in which kind of produce. As far as allocations are concerned, INR 1,400 crore is allocated to the crucial food processing sector (2 times the allocation last year), INR 1,290 crore to the bamboo sector and another INR 10,000 crore for fisheries and animal husbandry sector combined. The key announcement was the government’s commitment to provide at least 150 percent return on cost of production to farmers by adjusting the minimum support prices (MSP) accordingly.

The Finance Minister did not miss to talk about the air pollution that gripped the national capital and judiciously committed to provide subsidiary to states of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi for the procurement of machinery to deal with stubble burning – a laudable initiative.

Policy initiatives of the present government that have been well received by the general populace saw special stress on widening their fold. For example, the much appreciated Ujjawala Scheme under which free LPG connections are being given to poor households has been expanded so as to cover 3 crore more households. 2 crore more toilets are to be built under the Swachh Bharat Mission and the target for lending under the MUDRA scheme is INR 3 lakh crore for FY 2018-19.

To bridge the gap between formal and informal sector job creation, the FM has announced that the government will contribute 12 percent of wages for employee provident fund for all sectors for next 3 years. This initiative would encourage more employment creation in the formal sector where employees enjoykey social security welfares. The textile sector, animportant employment intensive sector has been allocated INR 7,148 crore.

In his speech, the Finance Minister acknowledgedcontraction in sources that generate revenue for the government. Hence, special mention of an alternate source of revenue, disinvestment in public sector undertakings was indispensable. The FM has said the government would raise INR 80,000 crore in the FY 18-19 from strategic disinvestments.

Also reiterating his commitment to lowering the corporate tax rate from 30 percent to 25 percent, the Finance Minister has now extended the benefit of reduced 25 percent tax rate to companies with turnover upto 250 crore(erstwhile 50 crore). The single move is set to benefit almost 99 percent of companies that are under the tax net. On account of the same, the government is set to lose revenue of approximately INR 7000 crore in 2018-19.

A prudent decision can be said to have been taken with respect to tax on long term capital gains on securities that until now was nil. From now on, any long term capital gain in excess of INR 1 lakh in a single year will attract a 10 percent tax. This as well as the declaration to increase the education cess by 1 percentage point can be seen as measures of the government to make for the revenue foregone by providing rebates in corporate tax rate and to senior citizens (interest upto INR 50,000 on deposit in banks and post offices is now exempt from tax).

The above mentioned declarations are some of the key highlights of the Budget 2018. But what about the unspoken aspects, let’s then read between the lines.

Although the budget does seem to be realistic and balanced, there are a few points where the Finance Minister owes justification. How will the government defend breaching the target for fiscal deficit for current financial year? Not only could this impact India’s sovereign rating, combined with tax on long term capital gains, this could discourage foreign investors from the Indian market.

Also, the FM has proudly declared a departure from the embedded policy of decreasing custom duties in a liberalized and globalized Indian economy. But isn’t the decision to increase custom duty on certain goods adivergencefrom PM Modi’s criticism of protectionism by major world economies in his World Economic Forum speech?

Strategic disinvestment was a focus in the budget but will the government wait until the public sector undertaking turns sick, just as in the case of Air India, the national carrier, before thinking of selling its stake, or will the bureaucracy now be proactive enough to even contemplate selling government’s stake in presently profit-making enterprises, for instance oil companies.

As we mentioned in the beginning, the budget document or speech can never solely shape how the future will unfold. All rests on whether or not the allocations reach the intended beneficiaries and how the government keeps its promise of fiscal prudence.

PS: The government has now expressly stated its intent to adopt the blockchain technology; and at the same time has also clearly stated that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender.

(The article originally published on “www.udayindia.in” on 1st February 2018)

Budget 2018 – Realistic and Balanced

At a time when Bitcoin has captured the wider imagination in the international scene, India’s most talked-about affair is the impeding Gujarat state polls. Indeed, Gujarat is India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, a region where the BJP has been in power since time immemorial (voters of contemporary India tend to pick the defeated party of former polls to rule; howeverwhen BJP first outshined Congress in 8^th legislative assembly polls in 1990 by winning almost double the seats won by the latter, it only tightened its grip over the state’s political scene in all future elections; the first BJP CM was sworn in in 1995).

Even if there were some other topics in news apart from Gujarat polls – slowing GDP growth rate, impact of GST and demonetisation on commerce and the war of words between BJP and Congress leadership or even the leaked tape of leader of Patidar agitation – they will all, in some manner,shape the outcomes ofGujarat’s 14^th assembly elections.

Gujarat is being termed as the ‘litmus test’ for the BJP. It can be felt that the media is overly obsessed with Indian electoral scene and most other problems have taken a backseat. When the BJP lost to Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi state polls, analysts said it indicated an end of the much talked about Modi-wave. In Bihar elections the BJP tasted defeat at the hands of RJD-JDU led front.

And then were the polls in Uttar Pradesh and other crucial states where BJP Chief Ministers formed the state governments with unprecedented backing from the electorate. From north-east India to right in the south (where the BJP played a key role in Tamil Nadu political crisis after the death of CM Jayalalithaa) to eastern parts (where JDU is back in the NDA fold), the BJP hasbeen outperforming its rivals. We can thus say that winning/ losing a state legislative poll is no deciding factor on the national leadership since state elections are fought more in the light of local issues and leaders than on national-level policy actions like introduction of new indirect tax regime (GST) or demonetisation or even India’s sovereign rating upgrade.

But even then one cannot utterly reject that Gujarat polls are much more than other state polls and there exist a few rationales to back this point. One, PM Modi rose to fame in national politics owing to his visible and effective delivery and good governance when he served the state as its CM for 4 uninterrupted terms. ‘Gujarat Model’ was the most convincing electoral issue put forward by the BJP when the party chose Narendra Modi as its candidate for Prime Minister over others including the one-time party favorite Lal Krishna Advani.

It is then not wrong to conclude that if there were no ‘Gujarat governance miracles’ there wouldn’t be a so-called ‘tea-vendor’ as India’s PM.

Two, Gujarat is one of the most prosperous and business-friendly states. Multinationals wrestle with one another to get a place to set up a factory in this western state of India, the GDP growth rate and other economic and social indicators are also among the best. But what do these mean in state elections?The key poll issue of the opposition in upcoming polls is the alleged hindrance to economic growth and commercial well-being of Gujarat and its business fraternity due to the combined effect of demonetisation and GST. Rahul Gandhi termed GST the ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’ and has time and again reiterated that demonetisation was nothing but an exercise to help the corrupt convert their black money into white.

Although the opposition has fallen short of providing the electorate any reliable data to back its theory of the combined ill-effects of demonetisation and GST, it cannot be overlooked that businesses in Gujarat had to suffer a short-term dent on their profitability due to cash crunch and the arduous new tax regime where confusion prevailed over enthusiasm.

Modi regime that has lately seen many triumphs – the rating upgrade by international credit rating agency, Moody’s; a belated uptick in GDP growth rate after quarters of dip;election of Indian judge in the International Court of Justice that saw British judge lose in diplomatically sensitive battle;America calling upon India, Japan and Australia to push the ‘Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’ –is thus wary of losing the critical Gujarat battle. PM Modi has been fiercely campaigning in the state and other prominent faces like Yogi Adityanath have been imported to not leave any stone unturned.

Even the arch-rival Congress has noted the significance of Gujarat polls.

Rahul Gandhi not only addressed public gatherings with his barbs and sarcastic take on BJP’s policy actions, he also visited temples with a view to not allowing the BJP win on the issue of minority appeasement by almost all non-BJP led governments. He seems to have taken a leaf out of UP polls book where the seemingly-formidable regional parties, Akhilesh-led SP and Mayawati-led BSP, were left biting the dust owing to their long neglect of majority Hindus and politics based on polarization and caste and religion mathematics.

But what does the electorate, the ultimate decider, think? Yes, even the analysts and critics who dislike Modi have boiled down to the fact that India does not have a politician who can challenge Modi’s clout, at least for the time being (a survey by Pew Research validates this). So does it mean that Gujarat voters will not think twice prior to picking a BJP candidate on the polling day? No.

As we duly discussed in the beginning, state elections are more of a locally-focusedcombat, although national level policy actions and political happenings will remain in the backdrop. Voters very well know certain facts – PM Modi cannot be CM Modi again, the post-Modi governance model of Gujarat doesn’t have anything extraordinary to boast of, successors of Modi couldn’t achieve the same cultstatus, and a change in government may mean renewed focus on issues facing the local populace and which may have been ignoreddue to the uninterrupted winning-streak of the BJP.

Anti-incumbency isn’t just a word in the discipline of political science, it can trigger a chain of events that can ultimately lead to change of office. For BJP, Gujarat isn’t a win-lose game alone, this ‘karma-bhoomi’ of PM Modi can signal setbackeven in a scenario wherethe BJP wins majority but the number of seats or voting share of the partysees a sizable decline.

For any nation to thrive and prosper, it has to have a profound sense of nationalism and intense patriotism, supported by a formidable military. To be able to provide a conducive environment for the sprouting of such worthy sentiments, India has to cultivate and nurture strong patriotic fervour among its population. And that, in turn, has to be aided and abetted by the government and its leadership.

A sense of pride and esteem in the military muscle of the country is an integral part towards fostering a national self-worth. Simultaneously, the military personnel should be made to feel that they are important. For that, they have to be treated with respect, courtesy, love, and esteem by the civilians. All these are imperative to make the forces effective.

Our Army is Fighting a Selfless War

Unfortunately, in India, it has become fashionable for certain sections of the population to take potshots at our national institutions like the Army. They keep criticising the armed forces for their strategies aimed at containing the spiralling internal troubles or for combating the cruelty of the professional stone-throwers or for gunning down armed terrorists in some parts of the country as part of their duty.

In fact, the Indian Army needs to be treated with admiration because they fight at some of the toughest theatres of war while living in exceptionally harsh and treacherous climatic conditions and near extremely hostile borders anywhere in the world.

We also need to revere our Army because they are fighting a selfless war. For the sake of our country, they have to forego many simple comforts of life that many of us take for granted. Currently, India has the third largest Army in the world, and its men have acquitted themselves admirably well over the years.

Despite rendering such honourable service to the nation, some sections of the people and media tend to cast aspersions on the service personnel. It is not at all cool to malign our own forces. Now, here the question is should there be a law to prevent people from taking potshots at the Army?

Should be Commended for Unsung Struggles

The answer should be an emphatic YES even though it might sound like an infringement on the fundamental right to freedom of speech. Imagine this: on any given holiday, many of us wake up late, and lazily sip hot coffee, sitting comfortably in our lounge chair. Or, we watch from our balcony the world go by and probably later in the afternoon we go for a film and eat out.

On the other hand, many of our Army personnel may be biding their time in some dugout in the middle of nowhere. All around, there is white snow, as deep as their knee. The temperature ranges from a minus 10 degrees Celsius to bone-numbing minus 50 degrees. The glare from the snow is blinding. If they step out, a barrage of enemy bullets could pound them to pieces. And their ration is running out, and they never know when they might get their supplies.

This is a routine scenario for our soldiers, and they go through such ordeals on a daily basis for our sake. As such should we not be grateful to them for their sacrifices? It is common sense that there is nothing like absolute freedom. Any right to freedom comes with a set of responsibilities. A person’s right to “free movement” does not entitle him or her to walk over the head of another person.

Here, we should remember that if the civilians level accusations of improper action against our men in uniform, however absurd those charges might sound, the service rules do not permit them to refute the allegations or explain the situation to defend their actions.

Anti-India Tirade is Full-time Profession

The civilians who shout from the rooftops about alleged human right abuses have no clue as to under what conditions our Army personnel operate. It is all very easy to give long lectures from the safety of a comfortable chair in your living room or give sermons from the comfort of a TV studio. But it is an entirely different matter to actually face hostile missiles and projectiles from an unruly, aggressive mob.

What these critics conveniently forget is that they can sleep peacefully in their homes at night because of the agonies suffered by our Armymen. Some of our civilians, who profess to be the keepers of human rights, left-liberal intellectuals or whatever, have taken up anti-India tirade as a profession. They seem to think that it is trendy to criticise every government establishment. They believe it is okay to spit and run, and to hell with ethics and morality.

How moral is it to level unfounded and baseless accusations at the Army sitting comfortably in an insulated place knowing fully well that they cannot defend themselves? Maybe, that is how these “chatterati” thrive! Anyone with a modicum of common sense can understand that our soldiers, who keep a constant vigil 24X7X365 at the borders, deserve our utmost respect.

Those at the border posts and hostile territories stay away from their families, family events and festivals to make sure that the rest of us within the country celebrate our special days with our loved ones, without sparing a single thought to the skirmishes along the border.

Soldiers Face a War Every Day

If you look at it, our soldiers pay a huge price for keeping us safe and for ensuring our peaceful existence. They enjoy no holidays, no weekends and no bonuses. They don’t see their children grow up nor do they know how they have fared in the academic exams. These Armymen spend their youth at the altar of the nation’s safety.

What do they get back for their sacrifices? Abuses, insults, brickbats, and infamy! And for what? Just for discharging their honourable duty? For taking action against stone throwers, who, by the way, are driven not by any ideology but by their greed for money and money alone!

Is it fair? No, not at all. This is more so because they are given no options. They cannot choose whether to stay at a border post or to come back or to give up. Like Field Marshal, Sam Manekshaw had once told them that they are required to fight, and they should fight to win. “There is no roof for the losers. If you lose, don’t come back. You will have disgraced the country, and the country won’t accept you,” he had then emphasized.

The soldiers fight not to protect their family or their property. They face bullets for the sake of us – the civilians, including those who sit at the TV studios with their big mouths, bigger ignorance, and gigantic egos. In fact, the soldiers cherish peace more than anyone else. As the celebrated and much decorated American Field Marshal Douglas MacArthur tells us, “The soldier, above all others, prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”

Soldiers face a war every day in order to hold the peace. It is a tough job. In insurgent areas, there is only one law: kill or get killed. In a way, unrest within the country is harder to deal with than border skirmishes. On the border, the enemy is in uniform. Between two professional soldiers, there is no quarter asked or given.

But, domestically, the enemy is faceless and nameless. He does not wear a uniform that would distinguish him as a friend or enemy. When stones and grenades come flying, when bombs go off anywhere anytime, soldiers do need to initiate counteraction. Because they also have a right to protect themselves. In the process, some collateral damage is but inevitable.

Laws Needed to Ensure Army is Respected

Our Army and other branches of the military are national symbols, and represent the best of all our government institutions. It’s our country’s pride. It’s like our national flag. There is a protocol on how the nation’s flag should be treated. A similar protocol on dealing with the military is the need of the hour.

We need such a regulation because many of us tend to misuse or abuse our liberties. Many of us, particularly the youngsters, don’t respect authority and resort to vandalizing public property at the slightest provocation.

When our flag or national institutions are allowed to be trampled upon, the future generations will stop appreciating us as a nation. We will then become weak as a country. Even before we realise it, India may get disintegrated. No doubt, any such development will be grabbed with glee by our enemies, internally and externally.

Hundreds of thousands of men and women of integrity have given their sweat and blood and laid down their lives to make us what we are today. We cannot squander it away in the name of liberty for the sake of some misguided, anti-national elements or ill-informed politicians. Ignorant and fading politicians and out-of-work journalists take potshots at our national institutions like the Army to stay relevant and to remain in the public eye. Such things should not be allowed to happen if we want India to remain strong and united.

Any such possibility, even if remote, must be nipped in the bud. If left unchecked it could assume dangerous proportions. Containing it then could have serious consequences. The nation may have to pay a big price for it by then.

Given that India’s neighbours include a restless and unstable Pakistan on the west and an assertive and aggressive China on the north, India’s defences should remain battle-ready at all times. We need a motivated and robust Army to safeguard our freedom. We cannot let some pseudo-liberals and ignorant politicians to mar the high reputation of our Army and affect their morale.

So, if we need new regulations to prevent mischief-mongers from taking potshots at our national and patriotic institutions, so be it. Any curb on our freedom of speech is a small price to pay for keeping our defence forces highly motivated and battle-ready.

Unfettered freedom is a myth. It is an illusion created by vested interests for their own selfish gains. It cannot sustain, as unregulated freedom is a recipe for total disaster. Those who demand it are either totally ignorant or have hidden motives. There is no absolute freedom of expression anywhere in the world. Even animals do follow unwritten rules in the jungles, which govern their code of conduct.

Freedom of expression is one of the crucial elements of democracy and civil liberties. In India, we have reached this enviable position after lots of struggles, conflicts, trials, and tribulations. So, naturally, we value our freedom of expression and democracy very much. We cannot afford to lose it in the hands of a few miscreants who misguide a small section of the population to tarnish the image of the country.

It is a fact that freedom and democracy must be safeguarded at any cost. The public knows that nothing comes for free. If we value our independence, and if we want to sustain it, then surely there is a price to pay. So, if some necessary code of conduct has to be introduced, we the public are sensible enough to understand that it is for the good of the country and to keep our freedom intact. They will be happy to pay that small price to protect the big prize, which is democratic freedom.

Expression of Patriotism

Patriotism has a vital role in democracy and nation-building. Any love, including the love for one’s mother, has to be demonstrated adequately. Otherwise, it will not reap the desired results. Parents have to convince their children that they are precious and loved. Lovers have to mutually tell how much they value each other’s companionship and proximity. The degrees could vary, but it is necessary to display your emotions for proper nourishment and growth. Similarly, if you love your country, you need to express it openly. Else, those sentiments wither away gradually, leading to the disintegration of the nation.

If citizens receive the protection of the state, and if they value the security that comes with the idea of a strong and powerful nation, then they are duty-bound to reciprocate. They need to exhibit their patriotism and salute the concept of nationhood in order to make it stronger. Those who are patriotic will never ask for any unfettered freedom of expression.

Patriotism versus Nationalism

When we talk about patriotism, it is imperative to understand that there is a difference between patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism is the love of a country and solidarity with fellow nationals. But nationalism assumes a more rigid stance. It is uncritical and blind acceptance of state and political authorities, and rejection of dissent and all forms of criticisms.

There is a school of thought that patriotism can exist without nationalism. For instance, a patriot does not think twice about showing his respect towards the country’s flag, national anthem and other national symbols like our armed forces. But a nationalist will seek to go further and will insist that no one should criticize anything that comes from the authorities.

Dissent in Democracy

Sensible criticism is necessary for a healthy democracy to survive and disagreement is an essential element of democracy. Currently, there are certain segments of the society which seem to think that countering anything and everything that comes from the government is a necessary requisite to establish their own credentials. They do not care about the subject matter. What matters to them is who said it. If the comment happens to come from the BJP, they will like to oppose it irrespective of whether it is valid or not. That attitude seems to be their notion of freedom.

The current generation has the liberty to do anything, say anything, go anywhere, to be with anyone. The problem is that when one has all the freedoms, one does not know what to choose. And their right to choose does not give them any satisfaction. They take it for granted, and they need more to find fulfillment. In their quest to be different and relevant, they seek to enter uncharted territories. For them, compliance is uncool, and dissent is the fashion. Inadequate intelligence and lack of wisdom prevent them from finding sensible areas of activities, and they turn to easy targets to get noticed.

To feel important, they choose names such as “liberals,” “intelligentsia” or “leftists.” As they cannot think of any real issues, and out of the craving for public attention, they pick up some silly cause. They decry our age-old practices like pujas at temples. They pour out venom on our Gods. They attack our national symbols like the flag and disrespect our national anthem. Such misguided people support the freedom of murderers, terrorists, and separatists. They seek the breakup of India and ignore the agony and misery of the victims of extremism and separatism.

Limits to Freedom

Freedom without bounds could lead to anarchy. Article 19 (1) of the Indian Constitution provides citizens with the right to free movement anywhere in the country. But no sensible person will argue that they can drive anywhere and stop anywhere. Just imagine what could happen if, in the name of freedom of movement, all motorists decide to drive in whatever direction they choose and park their vehicles wherever they want especially in the middle of the road.  It will be total chaos. There will be anarchy, violence and finally an absolute standstill. There will be a complete breakdown of law and order, and people will get killed.

Hence, our freedom is subject to certain restrictions to ensure that our “rights” do not lead to “denial of rights” to some others. Statesmen have always argued that the State can impose “reasonable restrictions” on the freedom of movement “in the interest of the general public”. Freedom of speech also comes in the same domain and need certain restrictive clauses. Right to free speech does not give a person the power to hurt someone else’s sentiments. Fundamental rights do not mean the right to disrespect or insult everything, including the national flag or the national anthem.

The so-called leftists use their freedom to hurt the sentiments of the majority community, by cooking and distributing beef. However, they ensure that the beef is slaughtered the “halal” way to make sure that they do not lose the support of certain minorities. These protagonists of total freedom are very selective in exercising their “freedom.” Will they dare to slaughter a pig and distribute its meat in Muslim majority areas of Old Delhi or Hyderabad? The examples of ‘discriminative freedom practices’ by our “left liberals” are too many to be listed here.

Too much Freedom

Freedom and democracy need certain prerequisites to be successful. Too much freedom too early can be catastrophic. There are many examples in the world, mainly in Africa, to show that. Closer home, Pakistan is one such example. It got freedom, but its people were not ready for that or didn’t deserve that kind of freedom. So, within no time the power was appropriated by the armed forces. In subsequent years, the baton was switched between the military and the civilians frequently. India has so far managed to stay away from instability or autocracy except for a brief period of emergency by Indira Gandhi during 1975-77, spanning 21 months.

We know that opportunities and obligations are two sides of the same coin. Plainly stated, people can and should have only as much personal freedom as they are willing to take responsibility for. One should exercise one’s liberties only to the extent that they do not hinder someone else’s sentiments or freedom. Just like we manage and safeguard our house and properties, we can, and we should be able to handle our mind and tongue to make sure that they cause no harm to others. Whenever that doesn’t happen, the state and the law of the land will have to step in. The law is forced to intervene only when individuals are unmindful of hurting others, and they tend to misuse their freedom through words or deeds.

In such cases, it is evident that an attempt to control or regulate something is not equivalent to curbing personal freedom. For instance, current Vice President of India and the then Union Minister, Venkaiah Naidu, said in March this year that the government cannot accept chants like “Bastar mange aazadi” or “Kashmir mange aazadi”. He was referring to sloganeering in certain educational institutions including the Jawaharlal Nehru University and Ramjas College in Delhi. He implied that it is the responsibility of the state to see that unlimited freedom doesn’t lead the nation to anarchy.

Here, it needs to be reiterated that every freedom carries with it a corresponding responsibility and can never be distanced from liabilities. Regulations, including guidelines on how to salute our country’s flag and respect our national symbols, are necessary to ensure that we continue to enjoy the freedom we currently take for granted. Undoubtedly, freedom is a fundamental right to have, and must be safeguarded. Yet, some curbs can be put in practice when it is a choice between individual freedom and the wellbeing of the nation. Unfettered freedom of expression is not an alternative to patriotism. We need to control the former to sustain the latter.

What’s good for one group can be bad for another; this is how we can summarize politics in one sentence. The lately held Catalan Independence Referendum or the Brexit event or how we remember the 100 years of Bolshevik Revolution of Russia or the 160 years of undivided India’s first uprising against the colonial rule havesomething in common – people on both sides have their own set of arguments in favour of a particular setup; those who voted out of the EU in the Brexit poll considered their view as the rightful one, so were the supporters of Lenin in the Russian revolution against the Tsarist autocracy in 1917.

We remember the actions of politicians and political groups based on our own understanding and liking. One who has thrived under China’s one-party communist setup will hail the Communist Party of China while the detractors (proponents of democracy) wouldn’t. Same is the case with Indian political landscape where a good leader for someone is an autocrat, a dictator, a tyrant for the other. Rarely do we discuss the impact one has had on the country’s politics based on rationales and with a non-partisan view.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of today is a powerful entity. The leaders of this party are serving as Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and in other crucial roles all across the country. The Congress has now been termed as ‘the grand old party’, which in the eyes of many political thinkers needs a thorough reformation to stay relevant. But was this the story a few decades back? Have we forgotten how Jan Sangh was only an alliance partner in the Janata Party government that dethroned the then dominant Indian National Congress in 1977, and that it wasn’t until the late 90s that the rechristened Jan Sangh as BJP could give India stable government?

Neither wasthen a wave like it is today for a single face, nor were there such high anti-incumbency sentiments. These are all the combined effects of the penetration of news and social media in the lives of the common people of today. How could then BJP emerge as the sole reliable opposition group to the Congress monopoly on the national level?

It is a well-documented fact that with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as president, whose approach to religion is regarded as ‘moderate’, BJP couldn’t gain the support it needed to challenge the clout of Congress and other regional parties. Had it not been the smart political campaign led by L K Advani in the 1980s, the BJP even today couldnot have emerged assuch a formidable political force. Many analysts and historians may have categorized hismethod as hardline Hindutva and undermined the contributions of Mr. Advani, but to him that piece of land in Ayodhya belonged to the Hindu God and asserting this in a peaceful manner through his Rathyatras was no unlawful act.

Here is the rationale the pseudo-seculars may need. The Uttar Pradesh government failed to add the iconic Taj Mahal to its tourism book for 2017 and the uproar that followed generated headlines. Would you then classify these faultfinders as hardline Islamists?The teachings of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) may have shaped his views on faith, but linking this association with what many term as ‘hardline Hindutva’ is deplorable, something that isn’t backed by rationales but by a veiled attempt to portray any non-Congress entity as an enemy of India’s secular and tolerant fabric.

Even the defeat of the BJP in 2009 cannot be directly attributed to its then Prime Ministerial candidate. The organization wasn’t as strong as it is today and the widespread denunciation of Congress and other regional parties that exists today wasn’t of same weight at that time. The media wanted sensational stories ahead of the 2014 general elections; hence the rise of Narendra Modi was termed as forced sidelining of Mr. Advani. Any political party needs to win the votes at the end of the day and if that had to come with a face that could connect well with the youth and discontented voters, the choice of Modi in 2014 was justifiable.

As he turns 90, L K Advani needs more of appreciation than sensationalism of what he could not achieve. As a matter of fact, occupying the office of Prime Minister of India isn’t as big an achievement as is establishing a political party against seemingly unassailable behemoth of those times, the Congress. It is an acceptable fact that had BJP chosen him to serve as the 14^th President of the Republic of India, it would have been a much appreciated act. Sadly, the prevailing circumstances could not allow the same; however, confining L K Advani’s stature to only these offices would be similar to asserting that the World War II and not Gandhiji’s prolonged struggle brought India independence from British rule.

As a non-partisan countryman, it is time to accept what Mr. Advani, a true statesman, gave to the Indian polity – a party that stands taller than any other today, a party that is redefining good governance and could rid us from dynasty politics. It’s time we collectively hail him.

The role and contributions of micro, small and medium enterprises in the Indian economy can never be played down.The supply chain in the production of any commodity is incomplete without these entities and so is the task of job creation where MSMEs deliver more than the much-appreciated stock exchange-listed corporate houses. Every discussion, however, about MSMEs is centered ontheir vulnerability to factors like credit unavailability and threats emerging out of cheap imports. Indeed, these Indian gems crave for a revamp but the idea of finding solutions from outside can be both misplaced as well as deteriorating.

So is there a ray of hope from within? Rather than finding means to handhold these entities by way of establishing frameworks like Priority Sector Lending (PSL) or special sops, how about refashioning them as flagbearers of corporate governance and making themas strong from within that lending institutions look upon them as fair contenders for credit?

Corporate governance is a set of regulations that are intended to inject transparency and value creation in the functioning of a body corporate. From setting up of committees of the Board to having compulsory independent directors, these standards tend to make businesses more accountable toward stakeholders. An audit of financial statements by independent agency, a meeting of independent directors without inclusion of executive director and strict provisions to be followed with respect to meetings of the Board or appointment and remuneration of managerial staff are all elements that lend a sense of credibility to the entity.

The scene, however, excludes MSMEs from adhering to these guidelines, which are not any sort of penalty but apparatus for good governance that ultimately makes the company more resilient to shocks and failures, and this is where we need to concentrate while debating the future of our small scale businesses.

Here we list some corporate governance standards and the gains that can easily be earned by encouraging our MSMEs to adopt these in their functioning.

1. A well-defined business

Small businesses often succumb to the challenge posed by better placed entities that have an unambiguous constitution which they follow to avoid anomalies. Documents such as Articles of Association and Memorandum of Association did not come up from nowhere; there was a specific intent behind introducing them- infusingclarity and vision. From KRAs of senior management to the framework for functioning of the Board, well-defined set of rules act as agents of growth.

Small businesses quite often fail to explain their operations and ultimate vision to probable financial backers and this turns out to be a reason for their failure ingarnering interest of creditors. Detailed Project Reports make it to meeting rooms of financing agencies and vague applications are elbowed out. AoAs and MoAs can be the first step forward for small entities.

2. Transparency in operations

Non-executive directors on the Boards of listed companies serve the purpose of bringing accountability to the decision making process. Any individual can be tempted to divert funds of business for own use, which we generally call ‘siphoning off’ and this eventually leads to a financially sick enterprise. Small businesses are riddled with opaque financial accountability, a factor that does not allow the entity to grow. The need here is to have a clearstructure for financial reporting, besides audit of financial statements by an independent agency.

On the face of it, this may appear somewhat unmanageable for small businesses. The answer however has its unique set of advantages. The government is reeling under the pressure to create jobs, so how about skilling fresh graduates on auditing financial documents?

3. Remunerative job positions

Quite well-known is the prevalence of underpayments in unorganized sector. Businesses look for human resource that is least expensive with a view to cut expense. Statutory deductions and benefits – provident fund, bonus and gratuity – remain almost unheard of in small scale organizations. Same is the case with appraisal and incentives for good performers.

While clever thinking may suggest minimum expense on wages, rationalthinking reflects the drawbacks of such policies. Anuncommitted worker hired to just perform his duty with no encouragement for incentives creates anentity which is sooner or later struck out by better performing organizations which regard human resource management as a key function.

4. Risk management

Large companies have fair chances to sustain risk posed either by changes in demand forces or technological advancements since they deploy a specialized team in the job of risk mitigation. Risk management does not mean that a certain event which will affect the normal functioning of organization be averted, it means factoring in every such event in the planning process so as to allow the happeninginflict minimum possible damage.

MSMEs face a tough situation when market forces like cheap Chinese imports or disruptions in the supply chain due to events like implementation of new tax regime, GST, upset usual operations. In this globalized world where capital, goods and humans are moving freely from one country to the other, small businesses cannot manage to steer clear of hostile conditions unless risk management is made the part and parcel of overall planning and decision-making process.

5. Value Creation

The stakeholders in any business want value addition. Shareholders, creditors, suppliers and workers, all want an upsurge in their respective stake holdings. The Board must not only devote labors to the planning process but shall also meet at regular intervals to assess that the business is on the track that leads to value addition. In order to achieve this, skilling and re-skilling of all functionaries, from the worker operating the machine to mid-level manager to the member of the Board, is a pre-requisite.

Small businesses operate with short-term goals of making money solely for promoters. This aspect is to be replaced with long-term sustainability and financial viability of the enterprise. Value creation and enhancement add perpetuity to the business, without whichthe chances of survival in this throat-cut competition are nil. Companies of today have definite ‘Vision’ and ‘Mission’ as part of their incorporation documents, MSMEs need a similar approach.

Conclusion

MSMEs on their own cannot be expected by the government or regulatory agency to work on this ambitious model. Corporate governance is a demanding exercise whichneeds a cautious implementation; else the outcomes can be even more damaging. An advisory agency can be set up with former independent directors as consultantsfor productive adoption of good governance norms by MSMEs. What is sure is emergence of small businesses as a capable class of enterprises, able to withstand odds like low-priced imports and disruptions like GST and demonetisation.

It is common knowledge that Pakistan practises terrorism as a state policy. It foments violence and nurtures extremists to carry out its illegal activities against its neighbours and others. It’s a playground for extremist elements and exports fully trained terrorists to wreak havoc across the world.

It is not an accusation levelled only by its neighbours Afghanistan and India. Western nations, including Britain and the United States, too have spoken about the rogue state’s involvement in promoting extremist activities not only in neighbouring Kashmir, Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh but also within its own territory of Baluchistan.

For instance, very recently a top American lawmaker said on the floor of the US House of Representatives that the Trump administration should designate Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism. Emphasizing that there is a laundry list of evidence of Pakistan’s support for terrorist groups, Congressman Ted Poe from Texas said in June this year that America should cut off military aid and stop giving this rogue Islamic nation any money and remove Pakistan’s status as a major non-NATO ally to the US.

Furthermore, the Western media has often said that Pakistan’s tribal area, bordering Afghanistan, which is largely inaccessible to the outside world, has been a “haven for terrorists”. The Saban Center for Middle East Policy, in its analysis in 2008, had revealed that Pakistan is one of the most active sponsors of terrorist groups across the globe.

Though many countries are aware that Pakistan is a sponsor of Islamic terrorism and have been repeatedly aiding and abetting extremist groups, they have not taken the crucial step of declaring it as a terror-sponsoring nation purely due to diplomatic exigencies. For instance, though Pakistan-based Al-Qaeda blew up the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001, the US has refrained from declaring Pakistan as a terrorist state because it wants to use the territory of Pakistan to fight against the many extremist groups, which are holed up in that country.

Furthermore, the US has so far believed that it can more effectively deter Pakistan from aiding and abetting terrorists by offering some kind of financial support. Nevertheless, the audacious and incredible attack on the iconic twin towers was a wake-up call for the US. It pitted the “world’s most powerful country” against the reality of a fanatical Islamist entity, Al-Qaeda, which pledged to destroy everything that the West stood for – its institutions, its culture and its civilisation.

The threat was crystal clear to the US from an Al-Qaeda manifesto titled, ‘Why We Fight America’. Vowing to continue the fight against “the infidels”, the document described the 9/11 tragedy as “something natural, an expected event for a country that uses terror, arrogant policy, and suppression against the nations and the peoples…. America is the head of heresy in our modern world, and it leads an infidel democratic regime that is based on separation of religion and state and on ruling the people by laws that contradict the way of Allah…. [Therefore], we have the right to kill 4 million Americans – 2 million of them children – and to exile twice as many and wound and cripple hundreds of thousands. Furthermore, it is our right to fight them with chemical and biological weapons.”

The chilling declaration was too alarming and too close to home for the US to ignore. To fight the Al-Qaeda and similar organisations like the Taliban, the US put together like-minded countries in a coalition. As a frontline country, Pakistan’s active support was crucial in fighting those dreaded terrorists, who were based on the badlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Taliban, raised and nurtured by Pakistan ostensibly to fight the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan since 1979, was already a strong force to be reckoned with. It is another matter that the US had covertly supported the Taliban, the so-called freedom-fighters in Afghanistan.

The 9/11 attacks changed America’s world view. The US could no longer ignore the threat from terrorist groups such as the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. For lending its key support to the US, Pakistan slyly extracted its price. Besides pumping in millions of the badly needed dollars, the US had to rope in Pakistan as an ally of the US in its “war on terror”.

However, the above developments did not alter the ground realities. Pakistan started a dangerous double game. On the one hand, it pretended to be aiding the US war on terror, while on the other it stoked extremism within the country. Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid and author Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow for Defence and Foreign Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, have accused Pakistan’s spy network, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), of helping the Taliban and rebels in Kashmir.

Author Gordon Thomas has written that even while aiding the US in capturing Al Qaeda members, Pakistan “still sponsored terrorist groups in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, funding, training and arming them in their war of attrition against India.” Similarly, Journalist Stephen Schwartz has highlighted in his published articles that several criminal and terrorist groups are “backed by senior officers in the Pakistani army, the country’s ISI intelligence establishment and other armed bodies of the state”.

According to Carpenter, the Taliban could not have come to power in Afghanistan without receiving direct support from the government in Islamabad. Pakistani authorities had not only helped fund the militia, but they had also equipped it with military hardware in the mid-1990s. In those days, the Taliban was just one out of the many competing factions involved in Afghanistan’s civil war.

Pakistan does not limit its sponsored terrorism to Afghanistan alone. It has actively supported, politically, financially and with arms, terror outfits in Kashmir calling the turmoil in the northernmost Indian state a “struggle for independence”. As funds from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries poured in, a number of extremist madrassas mushroomed in various parts of Pakistan, including the occupied Kashmir. They brainwash young Muslims to fight against India, the West and anything that does not conform to their narrow religious doctrines. Many training camps that impart training in guerrilla warfare, usage of arms and making of bombs operate freely on Pakistani soil. These camps enjoy the active connivance of such state agencies as the Pakistani Army and the ISI.

Pointing out that Pakistan is probably today’s most active sponsor of terrorism, Daniel Byman, who has authored many books on terrorism, wrote in The Australian newspaper that after the terror massacres in Mumbai, Pakistan can be rated as the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism, much ahead of Iran, though it has never been listed by the US State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Former military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, had conceded that Pakistan had trained militants on its soil. He defended it by saying that the intention was to force India into negotiations with Pakistan to determine Kashmir’s future. He also admitted that the ISI promoted the Taliban after 2001 to counter Hamid Karzai’s popularly elected government in Afghanistan, which Pakistan felt was dominated by non-Pashtuns. The fact that Karzai maintained good relations with Delhi did not help the matters either.

Maintaining hostility with India is probably Pakistan’s raison d’etre to survive. The country was born out of its hatred and resentment against India. By retaining the same animosity, the leadership could easily hoodwink its gullible population and divert their attention from the widespread poverty and backwardness of the country.

With this intention, the country has staged frequent terrorist attacks in India. It has been proved time and again that Islamabad was behind the several terrorist attacks over the years. They included the attacks and explosions in Kashmir as well as the Pathankot and Uri attacks on army camps last year, the Indian Parliament assault in 2001, the devastating series of train blasts in Mumbai in July 2006, the Varanasi bombings in the same year, the Hyderabad explosions, and the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. In fact, the instances of Pakistani-inspired and sponsored attacks on India are too many to mention.

From intercepted communication, the US too has found out that ISI-trained Mujahideen and Taliban are behind several explosions in Afghanistan. These terror bodies perceive as their enemies many countries including India, Russia, China, Israel, the US, Britain and other members of NATO. Satellite imagery available with the FBI bears ample proof of the existence of several terror camps in Pakistan.

There are supposed to be more than 30 terrorist outfits in Pakistan solely intended to cause chaos outside the country. They include the al-Qaeda affiliate Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA), also known as Harkat-ul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Al Badr, Jamait-ul-Mujahideen (JuM), Lashkar-e-Jabbar (LeJ), Muttahida Jehad Council (MJC), Tehrik-ul-Mujahideen, Jammu and Kashmir National Liberation Army, Al Jehad, Jammu and Kashmir Students Liberation Front, Tehrik-e-Jehad-e-Islami, Tehrik-e-Jehad and Islami Inquilabi Mahaz, just to name a few.

Several detainees at the Guantanamo Bay facility have admitted to their US interrogators that the ISI had aided and guided them in organizing terror attacks in Indian Kashmir. The US has ample evidence to prove that ISI chief, Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, knew well about Osama Bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Meanwhile, author and activist Pervez Hoodhboy has revealed that Bin Laden was the ‘Golden Goose’ that the Pak army had kept under its watch. However, to its chagrin, the Goose was stolen from under its nose. Until then, the plan was to trade in the Goose at the appropriate time for the right price, which could have been in the form of dollars or as political concessions.

The world now understands Pakistan’s double game. In September 2016, Ted Poe, Chairman of the US House Subcommittee on Terrorism, along with Congressman Dana Rohrabacher from California, had introduced a bill in the House of Representatives, which called for declaring Pakistan, a “state sponsor of terrorism.”

In July 2010, then British Prime Minister David Cameron had also accused the Pakistani government of sponsoring terrorism: “We cannot tolerate in any sense the idea that this country is allowed to look both ways and is able, in any way, to promote the export of terror, whether to India, whether to Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world.”

Western intelligence services had also pointed out that the Indian embassy bombing in Kabul in 2008 was sponsored by the ISI and carried out by Jalaluddin Haqqani, founder of the insurgent group Haqqani network, which was then fighting the Afghan government. Meanwhile, Pakistani High Commission officials in Dhaka were said to have funded the terrorist activities of the banned organization called Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

That Pakistan is a failed state which is engaged in promoting terrorism is clear to people across the world. Nearly 700,000 people signed a White House petition in October 2016 seeking to designate Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism. “We the people ask the administration to declare Pakistan, State Sponsor of Terrorism,” said the petition, believed to be the most popular White House petition so far.

Furthermore, on October 4, 2017, a top US General charged Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, of having connections with terrorist groups and running its own foreign policy. While responding to Senator Joe Donnelly’s question, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, told the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee that it is clear to him that the ISI has connections with terrorist groups and runs its own foreign policy.

Thus, the Americans are convinced, and the international society is certain about Pakistan’s complicity in fostering extremists and wreaking havoc everywhere. Now the crucial question is: When will the United Nations wake up to this dangerous reality and declare Pakistan a terrorism-sponsoring nation?  The sooner it is done, the better it is for the entire world.

Naxals and Maoists are but “Gandhians with guns” (apostles of peace with a gun!). So says writer and columnist Arundhati Roy, who further claims that the Indian state has ever since Independence been fighting native minority groups of people in different parts of the country, who have been trying to assert their own “independence”. If these statements and claims sound outrageous, how about the proclamation by a reigning Chief Minister from a public platform that he is an anarchist? Downright unbelievable! And yet true! Never mind if this man (aka Arvind Kejriwal) who startled the nation with such cheap gimmickry in a bid to show off his supposedly out-of-the-box thinking and non-conventional methodology, was democratically elected by the people of his state for serving them and not for spreading deleterious views.

Vituperative Outpourings

Not to forget the Azadi brigade, a bunch of young people, apparently with misplaced political ambitions and the support of some frustrated and failed Opposition parties, foaming and frothing at the mouth from the portals of prestigious academic institutions, about their right to ‘Azadi’. These rabid youngsters proudly support the stone-pelters in Kashmir and also a hardcore terrorist who was handed out the death sentence by the highest court of the land for trying to subvert the system and launching armed attacks on its democratic institutions.

Their insidious speeches in support of the banned militant outfits and mercenaries of India’s enemy countries are diligently reported verbatim, and their scurrilous writings are readily published by the mainstream media. The MSM also goes gaga over the purported emergence of youth power demanding its own space in national debates over any and every issue that captures their imagination, with no red lines whatsoever! No issue is too sacrosanct nor any institution too big for their attacks!

Complicity of the Press

None of such vituperative outpourings is possible or sustainable without the tacit support of sections of the MSM, which attributes the diatribes to a citizen’s fundamental right to freedom of expression enshrined in the Constitution of our country, the very concept of which is in peril, thanks to such reprehensible acts!

Allegations against Army

Nor is the Army spared venomous attacks by its detractors. A student leader who shot to dizzying heights of infamy overnight on account of his ‘Azadi’ diatribe, thanks to the wide media coverage he received, went on record to state that members of the Armed Forces who are deified by the Society are but school dropouts. According to him, the latter have joined the uniformed services merely for the sake of a salary and are, therefore, no real heroes. Recently, Communist Party of India (Marxist) Kerala unit secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan made outrageous allegations and accused the Indian Armed forces of kidnapping and raping women. Despite the Indian Army conducting many successful operations within our country, the media, NGOs, human rights groups and some politicians have often accused the Army personnel of violation of human rights or excessive and disproportionate use of force. It must be extremely frustrating indeed for the Army to operate in trying circumstances under the public glare and scrutiny by the MSM, which lacks the professional acumen or field experience to assess the judiciousness of the tactics or force used by the Army.

For instance, recently a Major of the Indian Army ingeniously made use a troublemaker, who was instigating a big group of stone-pelters to burn down a polling booth in the Kashmir valley, as a human shield. He did it solely to protect the precious lives of several civilians and men on government duty without any harm coming to that rabble-rouser. Instead of praising the Major, the media criticised him harshly and dubbed him as a violator of human rights.

Isn’t it ridiculous to talk about protecting human rights of a scoundrel caught red-handed for instigating a big group of murderous fanatical elements out to attack civilians and men on government duty? While the whole nation feted Major Leetul Gogoi as a hero and the Chief of the Army Staff honoured him with an award, disgruntled elements have been striving to malign him and besmirch the reputation of the Army. Sections of the mainstream media are more than willing to provide a platform for the bleeding hearts to air their poisonous views. When will they stop saying and doing things just for the sake of boosting TRP ratings and circulation numbers, and that too at the cost of our nation’s interests and citizens’ well-being?

Sensationalism

The more vicious and audacious the attack on the nation’s territorial integrity and its sacrosanct symbols such as the national flag and national anthem and hallowed concepts of nationalism and patriotism, the more extensive is the MSM coverage and publicity! Yet another development of considerable intrigue is an Opposition leader’s recent meeting with some secessionist leaders in the troubled area of Kashmir that are under house arrest, over high tea. The meeting was held purportedly for discussing the road ahead in the matter of the resolution of the Kashmir imbroglio. The government has already declared that it would not talk to these secessionist leaders, but there is apparently no stopping maverick Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar from gallivanting in the treacherous waters of anti-national sentiments and separatist tendencies. The meeting, highly dubious in nature, was given the widest possible coverage by the MSM, and the participants were given undeserved publicity.

High Table for Anti-Socials

The long and short of the distressing sequence of events is that on the one hand errant individuals with ulterior motives and frustrated Opposition parties deliver anti-national and highly inflammatory speeches. They indulge in such highly reprehensible acts without any restraint because they do not otherwise see for themselves any future ahead. On the other hand, the mainstream media goes the whole hog to project them as little Davids trying to take on the mighty Goliath, the State.

Unfortunately, the dissenters are not alone in their target practice at the State symbols. There is no dearth of academics, artists and intelligentsia waiting to come out in the open not only to defend the dissenters who go over the bend but also in support of their hate speeches. The nationalist forces, which are aghast by the distressing situation and condemn it as anti-national, are dubbed regressive and anti-democratic! Thus, the anti-national elements are determined to twist the traditional interpretation of the concepts of nationalism and patriotism beyond recognition to suit their nefarious purposes. Evidently, this is a case of the devil quoting from the scriptures!

Flagrantly Irresponsible Behaviour

Last year, the mainstream television channel NDTV India managed to get away from being shut down for helping out the enemy country. Its anchors and reporters were charged with highly objectionable reportage that put our Armed Forces in a precarious situation that could have turned perilous, by giving away their whereabouts and the locations of their installations. The channel had also been found guilty of leaking out the details of the manoeuvres of the security agencies trying to thwart the Mumbai massacre of November 2008 carried out by Pakistani terrorists who had infiltrated into India, with its blow by blow account.

Barkha Dutt, one of the anchors associated with this channel, does not hide her sympathy for the terrorists in Kashmir and their paymasters across the border. After Jamaat-ud Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed effusively praised her last year, some people have even started suspecting that she has some kind of links with this Pakistani terrorist and Mumbai terror attack mastermind.

Now, the million-dollar question is: How far can the freedom of expression be stretched without harming or hurting our nation’s territorial integrity or wounding the national pride? Should the journalist’s licence to function in an atmosphere of fearlessness be allowed to entail the luxury of the mainstream media being accountable to no authority, while the same degree of freedom to function is denied to the Indian Army, which is trying hard to keep intact our nation’s territorial integrity? Granted that the pen is mightier than the sword, but non-accountability should not be used as a fig leaf to cover the honour of the MSM that is bent upon doing a full Monty!

Accountability

In short, the mainstream media should most definitely be made accountable for its unrestrained conduct and licentious behaviour in the interests of the nation and for keeping up the morale of its various agencies and organs that are often given a short shrift by the MSM. Else the intended purpose of the founding fathers of our nation in allowing the Media to function unhindered and unhampered by restrictions and curbs imposed by a totalitarian State would be lost. So would be the territorial integrity of the nation and its ability to curb the fissiparous tendencies let loose by anti-national forces through the tacit support of sections of the mainstream media, trying to cash in on their unbridled freedom of expression.

Working it Out

While it may help to carry out a comparative study of the freedom enjoyed by the MSM in other democratic countries, no useful purpose would be served by trying to ape the system of any country that provides its mainstream media blanket freedom. In this age and times of international terrorism and proxy war, a review of the situation concerning the Media is very much in the fitness of things. The government, both at the Centre and in the states, major political parties recognised by the Election Commission, the Press Council, representatives of different components of the Media, academics, intelligentsia, legal experts and all other stakeholders should be involved in the review exercise.

Without letting the exercise to be bogged down by the nitty gritty or time consuming and meandering procedures, a consensus should be allowed to evolve. The MSM should ideally come up with self imposed restrictions to complement the outcome of the review. Great care would be required to ensure that the spirit and purpose of the controls should not be lost in their details or non-viability. While aiming for a perfect regime of controls, we should be prepared to be contended with near perfection. The bottom line should, in any case, be that the Media is neither placed under the state control nor allowed to stray into the stratosphere of total non-accountability.

There is no simple answer to the above question about a lasting solution to the Kashmir problem, which has been a festering wound on our nation since 1947. First of all, there are four major stakeholders in this issue. They are India, to which the beautiful Himalayan state legitimately belongs to, Pakistan which falsely stakes its claim to the province and forcefully occupies part of it, and Kashmiris – both residents and displaced. Over the past few decades, they have pushed themselves into various positions from where it is not easy to wriggle out.

Secondly, the problem has many layers to it. There is terrorism that is funded and fomented by Pakistan, counter-terrorism measures initiated by India, one-upmanship by political leaders and fringe groups within and outside the state, and scepticism about India’s intentions among some of the local residents. Furthermore, Pakistan, which, as a state policy, seeks to inflict a “thousand cuts to bleed India” into submission, has been fuelling civil unrest and terrorist activities in the state for several decades now. In fact, it started its nefarious anti-India games in Kashmir as soon as it gained independence.

Genesis of the Problem

Before discussing the possibility of a solution, it is necessary to revisit the genesis of the problem. We can probably blame the British for the bad handling of the Partition, but we are still left holding the baby. The dispute started as soon as the two countries – India and Pakistan – were born in 1947. Pakistan was formed as an Islamic state while India adopted “secularism” as its state policy. The more than 650 princely states had three options – to join either of the two countries or to stay independent.

The “freedom to choose by the princes” was largely in theory only. The agitated population of each province, already up in arms against Britain, tilted the decision to their chosen side. Kashmir, wedged between the two countries, had a Hindu ruler while the population was mostly Muslims. At that time Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of the state, decided to stay neutral, without joining either India or Pakistan.

It would have remained that way, and there would not have been any problem at all. But, Pakistan was not willing to accept that. It sent in Muslim tribesmen to conquer Kashmir. As they almost reached Srinagar, Hari Singh sought India’s military help to thwart Pakistani invasion. And then he fled Kashmir and signed the Instrument of Accession with Delhi, making Kashmir an integral part of India. Meanwhile, the Pakistani tribesmen had managed to occupy a quarter of Kashmir while the remaining three-fourths of the state remained under Indian control.

Ever since 1947, the two countries have been waging small or big wars over Kashmir. But the problem changed its dimension in 1989 when pro-Pakistan militants started the insurgency in the state. They unleashed a reign of terror and selectively massacred Hindu Pundits in the valley and forced them to flee to other parts of India.

LoC – the Volatile de-facto Border

The Line of Control (LoC), which was formed after the 1947 skirmishes, has become a de-facto border, but both the countries do not accept it openly for fear of public outrage. War cannot solve the problem as has been proved a few times in the past. Now, any full-scale conflict can potentially have untold consequences since both the countries are equipped with the nuclear arsenal. It can be mutually destructive.

However, neither of the countries is willing to give up their claim on the entire state. For both the nations, it has become a prestige issue. The leaders on both sides have brainwashed their citizens so much that it is almost impossible to move away from their stated rigid positions. Any leader, whether in India or Pakistan, agreeing to a settlement by making any concession to the other, will be committing a political hara-kiri.

For instance, in Pakistan, if the political leadership in Islamabad agrees to a settlement, its military establishment in Rawalpindi is sure to scuttle it. Also, the non-state players, clandestinely bankrolled by some West Asian countries, will not sit idle. We have seen ample examples of this Pakistani ineptitude many times in the past.

In 1999, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Lahore by bus, opening a regular bus service between Delhi and Lahore. Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif then signed the famous Lahore Declaration. Everyone felt things were looking up and there could be good neighbourly relations between the two squabbling countries.

However, all hopes of a peaceful border were dashed when so-called Mujahedeen guerrillas occupied the Kargil heights, an Indian territory in the Ladakh region. It was later established that the occupiers were not independent insurgents but regular Pakistani troops and paramilitary forces. The plot to occupy the strategic heights was hatched on the directives of Parvez Musharraf, who was then Chief of Army Staff in Pakistan. He later assumed power by deposing Nawaz Sharif through a military coup.

A bloody war ensued and, according to reports, more than 30,000 people, both soldiers and civilians, lost their lives. One major issue between the two countries is a mutual distrust. That’s why whenever India has extended an olive branch to Pakistan, its Army has responded with covert aggressions like the ones against the Indian Parliament in 2001, the Pathankot aggression in 2006, the Uri strikes and the most horrific 2008 Mumbai serial attacks.

Any rapprochement between the two countries is not easy given the extreme positions the two have taken. As the Brookings Institute quoted an Indian strategist as saying, “What standing does Pakistan have in this dispute? What is their legal standing? Pakistan is not a party to the dispute; let’s get our facts right, then we can discuss it!”

This was countered by a Pakistani foreign policy official, as quoted by Brookings. He had said, “My view is that if India continues on its present course, then consequences cannot be foreseen. I cannot say where boundaries will be drawn, but certainly, the present boundaries will be changed. India must be prepared to make a reasonable agreement; then the process of partition begun in 1947 will be completed.”

Despite the improbabilities, if a solution to the lingering Kashmir question is at all possible, this is the time for it. India is on a strong wicket right now. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi the country is making rapid strides. It’s growing strongly as an economic power. Internationally, its stature is at an all-time peak. Currently, India is considered the best destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). A permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council is just a matter of time.

With such growth, India will soon be prosperous. At the same time, Pakistan is on a downward spiral on all fronts. Consequentially, ordinary Pakistanis who see the widening differences in the living standards of the people of the two countries are bound to ask some tough questions to their leadership. Fed up with the economic backwardness and pariah status of their country, Pakistanis could revolt against their political and military establishments.

If that happens, it will obviously force the country’s leadership to reach a settlement with India on Kashmir so that they too can enjoy the spill-over fruits of India’s prosperity and development. Another development that could lead to a resolution of the border problem is the disintegration or balkanization of Pakistan, which cannot be ruled out because the Islamic country is now marred by some ongoing ethnic disharmony within itself.

As such, Baluchistan may go its separate way, with or without outside support. The Punjabis currently dominate the political establishment and the Army. They keep the union together. Once they realise that they are paying too high a price for keeping the country together, they might look for other options. The price they are paying for the sake of the country’s integrity includes the slow murder of the Punjabi language and Punjabi culture.

However, even an organic Balkanisation will be stoutly resisted not by Pakistanis but by an outsider: China. Currently, Beijing has a huge stake in Pakistan, including Baluchistan. A compliant Pakistan is integral to its hugely ambitious and highly strategic ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) project as it will give China free access to Gwadar, a warm water port on the Arabian Sea. Balkanisation of Pakistan could shatter Chinese designs and strategic plans vis-à-vis India and other countries. Considering its immense importance, China will do all it can to prevent its strongest ally from disintegrating.

Time Ripe to Seek Permanent Solution

It needs to be reiterated here that if a solution to Kashmir is possible at all, it is now. And the man who can find that solution is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The advantage with Modi is that he can sell almost any idea to the Indians. If India has to prosper rapidly, it cannot afford to have a troublesome neighbour. And our Prime Minister has the capacity and willingness to take strong decisions and implement them. If Pakistan too can have a similar leader who can carry its people along, a negotiated settlement is a definite possibility.

Furthermore, there is a growing disenchantment among the Kashmiri youth who are forced by the militants to be at the forefront of their agitation. They have started realising that their so-called leaders are using them for their personal gains. These youngsters have been putting their lives and future at stake in the name of “Azadi”. They get killed or are maimed, or the least, they spend terms in jails while the leaders live in the midst of luxury and their children are sent abroad for further studies to ensure for themselves a secure future.

Meanwhile, a major crackdown on terror funding in July 2017 conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has found that besides getting funds from Pakistan, leaders of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) also received funds from outfits in London and Dubai. Following this development, the NIA on July 24 arrested seven Kashmiri separatists from Srinagar and Delhi on charges of receiving funds from across the border to sponsor terror activities and stone attacks as well as to fuel unrest in Kashmir. The NIA has also prepared a dossier that establishes a direct link between Lashkar-e Taiba and Hurriyat leaders and has booked those arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy and waging war against India. One of the accused Altaf Ahmad Shah is the son-in-law of hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who has been supporting Jammu and Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan, while another one named Shahid-ul-Islam is a close aide of Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Another accused, Ayaz Akbar Khandey, happens to be the spokesperson for the Geelani-led Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.

The Kashmiri youth have now begun to understand the fact that the self-proclaimed leaders or their families never lose anything. Be it Hurriyat, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen group or their variants; they are all the same. Lately, more and more Kashmiris have started to speak up against these insurgent groups. As we know, one reason for the failure of the Khalistani movement was the corruption and selfishness of its leaders. The police too had acted tough. In Kashmir too, there are indications that the movement is going the same way.

History has shown us that any intractable dispute can get solved with the passage of time. The Irish problem, the LTTE issue and even the Khalistani movement are some such instances. So, we have solid reasons to be hopeful that better sense will prevail and peace will return to what was once known as the ‘Paradise on Earth’. Now, the million dollar question is: How soon it can happen?

The Supreme Court’s judgment on triple talaq or instant divorce will end the pain inflicted on many Indian women in the garb of faith.

The practice has been held unconstitutional by a majority vote of 3:2. The court also ruled that this is not an integral part of Islam. Fortunately, there were plenty of signals to indicate that a large cross-section of people across the country wanted this primitive and medieval practice to be quashed as early as possible.

The five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court, which delivered its historic verdict on triple talaq (talaq-e-bidat), polygamy and nikahhalala, was headed by Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar. Justices Kurian Joseph, Rohinton Fali Nariman, Uday Umesh Lalit and S Abdul Nazeer made up the bench.

After hearing prolonged arguments, the bench had reserved its verdict on a clutch of petitions, including the one by Shayara Banu, who challenged the Muslim Personal Law and its retrograde practices.

The court had already indicated that the fundamental rights, as well as human rights of an individual, cannot be exploited in the name of religion or on the basis of gender. Last December, the Allahabad High Court had ruled that the right of Muslim women, or anyone for that matter, could not be infringed upon even if it is dictated by personal law.

Asserting that divorcing a woman by merely uttering the word talaq three times in quick succession is unconstitutional, the High Court observed that no Muslim husband should give divorce in a manner that would put a question mark on equal rights. The case in the Supreme Court and the arguments put forth increased awareness among Muslim women about their rights. These arguments also exposed the hollowness of the stand taken by the Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) that triple talaq was sanctioned by the Quran, the holy book of Muslims.

Most Muslim women had thus far kept quiet assuming it was a religious obligation, as prescribed in their holy book. But it can unequivocally be said that they must have breathed a sigh of relief with the practice having been held contrary to the Indian Constitution.

Over six days during the summer vacation, the Supreme Court heard arguments by several parties, which included the Centre, the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and various others. During the hearing, the bench asked “how can a sinful practice be said to be a matter of faith”? They also noted that the “system itself says it is horrendous and bad” and that other Islamic countries have abandoned the practice of triple talaq.

Asserting that if it is bad in theology, it cannot be accepted in law, the bench observed, “What is morally wrong cannot be legally right. What is not fully moral, cannot be legal.” Arguing that triple talaq cannot be integral to Islam, Shayara Banu’s advocate Amit Chadha said many schools of thought do not recognize the patriarchal practice of triple talaq in a male-dominated community.

It is an undesirable, bad, and sinful practice and violates constitutional guarantees of Muslim women, he added. According to senior lawyer Anand Grover, who was appearing for an organization opposing triple talaq, most Sunni Muslim women were not only against this practice, but the AIMPLB was not giving a correct perception to the Supreme Court.

Arguing for the All India Women Personal Law Board, Islamic scholar and lawyer Arif Mohammad Khan, who is also a former Union minister, strongly objected to the submissions of the AIMPLB. He said that Islam cannot have any room to dictate to any person and the Quran says that killing an innocent person was like killing the entire humanity.

Khan, who had resigned from the Rajiv Gandhi cabinet over differences in handling the Shah Bano case, further said that Shariat law had been distorted. Stating that Shariat is the holy Quran and not the opinion of clerics, he said since the Quran considers the importance of family, it prescribes four steps before pronouncement of divorce.

The bench after hearing the arguments said it would examine whether the practice of triple talaq is fundamental to Islam. It had also said it would not consider polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ for the time being but would take them up at a later stage.

The Supreme Court had taken suo moto cognizance of the question whether Muslim women faced gender discrimination in the matter of divorce or due to polygamy. The Centre had earlier said that triple talaq is neither integral to Islam nor a “majority versus minority” issue, but it is rather an “intra-community tussle” between Muslim men and deprived women.

“It is not only not an essential part of the Muslim religion,” lawyer Chadha said, “it is not a part of religion at all. On the contrary, it is deprecated by Islam”. He was responding to AIMPLB’s assertion that triple talaq, though sinful was a matter of faith for the Muslims.

The court had also taken note of repeated submissions by the AIMPLB and former Union Minister and senior lawyer Salman Khurshid, who was assisting it in his personal capacity, that triple talaq is not mentioned in the Quran and is “sinful”, “irregular”, “patriarchal”, “bad in theology” and “undesirable”. But he argued that court should not examine it. Citing the current scenario where Muslim women are protesting against instant triple talaq, Grover, who was appearing for Zakia Suman, cofounder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, questioned the AIMPLB’s claim that they were discouraging the practice of triple talaq among Muslims. Grover also contested AIMPLB’s claim that its voice was representative of the Muslim community.

Pointing out that talaq-i-bidat is not an essential part of the Sunni Muslim faith, he emphasized that it had been changed in several Sunni-majority countries. It is apparent that even AIMPLB realizes that triple talaq cannot be continued as it is being practised today.

That is the reason why it told the court on the last day of arguments that it had decided to issue an advisory to qazis (Islamic judges) to give an option to all Muslim women to opt out of instant triple talaq before giving their consent for marriage.

The clerics’ body was well aware of the mass petition by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) demanding a ban on triple talaq. It was signed by more than 50,000 Muslim women and men. The petition also sought the National Commission for Women’s intervention to end this “un-Quranic practice”.

The Mahila Andolan collected signatures from across the country, including in such states as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, MP, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh. According to the Association, 92 per cent of Muslim women want an end to instant divorce.

The court was aware of the fact that Muslim women are subjected to unjust, unilateral divorces. Often, talaq is pronounced over the phone, through text messages, over social media or via email. In such circumstances, women have no recourse to justice. The divorced women have no legal rights, and the qazis always support the men. This formed the very basis of the landmark judgment. In September 2016, the clerics’ body argued that the provision of triple talaq actually protected women since it removed the need for husbands to kill their wives.

“If there develops serious discord between the couple, and the husband does not want to live with her, legal compulsions of time-consuming separation proceedings and expenses may dissuade him from taking the legal course. In such cases, he may resort to illegal, criminal ways of murdering or burning her alive,” it said in an affidavit. In Pakistan, for a man to obtain a divorce, he has to send a notice in writing to the chairman of the local council with a copy to his wife.

He has to wait for 90 days during which time an arbitration committee tries to bring about reconciliation between the parties. Turkey, another Muslim-majority country, abolished triple talaq in 1926.

The island country of Cyprus too followed suit. In Egypt too triple talaq is illegal. Since all this information is in the public domain, Muslim women in India are aware.

So they chose not to sit quietly and fought to free themselves from this oppressive and retrograde tradition which is being perpetrated by the Orthodox clergy.

The key takeaway of the judgment is that even the judges in a minority wanted the practice to be banned for six months till the government passes new legislation while keeping in mind the demands of all stakeholders.

The judgment also comes as a major win for the ruling BJP which stood firm in its stand to back Muslim women in a backdrop where many political parties chose not to publicly oppose this tyrannical practice inflicted in the garb of faith.

(The article published in daily newspaper “The Statesman” on 23rd August 2017)

A blessing for Muslim women

PM Modi’s speech this Independence Day will be long remembered for the vision of a ‘New India’ in the 21^st century. In his short and crisp address from the ramparts of Red Fort, the Prime Minister exhorted the 125-crore strong “Team India” to build a just strong and prosperous country. And to make sure that this is not just a slogan, he laid out a detailed blueprint of what needs to be done to achieve that goal in a timely manner.

He set his priorities straight. He wants an India where youth and women have enough opportunities to fulfill their dreams. Where farmers earn well and sleep without a worry and where even the poor have a home, electricity and water. He wants an India free of terrorism, corruption, casteism, communalism and nepotism. These are the benchmarks by which the success of our republic should be measured and judged.

Anyone would think that this is a tall order. But that is the challenge PM Modi has set for himself. And he is known to be a tireless campaigner. How much of this we shall achieve by 2022 is difficult to say. But going by the tenor of his speech one can assume that the PM would give everything he has in order to achieve his dream.

In the past 70 years, India has evolved as an economic powerhouse. At the birth of our nation many skeptics expected it to collapse owing to caste and class diversities, but we proved them wrong. However many deficiencies remain. The PM’s speech acknowledged this but also held hope that we will win over these in near future.

The Prime Minister did not call for the betterment of a particular caste or religion. There was an explicit mention of peace, unity and harmony in his address, a clear indication to fringe elements that law is supreme and act of defiance will be brought to justice. There was also a resolve to oppose the brutal practice of Triple Talaq. This is particularly notable as politicians usually steer clear of social reforms that can affect their electorate. But PM Modi is made of sterner stuff.

The ‘Bharat Jodo’ call is yet-another aspect that will resonate in our memories for long. The Quit India movement, whose 75^th anniversary we celebrate this year, has been brilliantly morphed into the ‘Unite India’ call. Many critics have held the belief that the NDAgovernment is furthering the cause of a Hindu-supremist society.Calling for unity, the PM demolished such notions from the ramparts of no less a place than the historic Red Fort.

One of the reasons why India did not realise the dream of an inclusive society even after 7 decades of freedom, and under the shadow of a wisely-drafted Indian Constitution,was the approach of the common man who learnt to make compromises on everything.

We have remainedmere spectators to corruption, appeasement politics and prejudiced policies. This was the reason behind the call for ‘BadalSakta Hai’ in PM’s address. A shift from ‘Chalta Hai’ approach is much-needed to achieve true development. Even seemingly trivial problems like potholes in roads and seeking of illicit money by an official to grant a death certificate should invite wide condemnation.

To the international community, particularly those who believe that our sovereignty and territorial integrity can be undermined, there was a tough message that India has the will and capability to safeguard its borders, whether in the Himalayas or in the waters.

Terrorism, extremism and infiltrationon Indian soil will face retaliation from a strong and united India. A special reference was made to the Kashmir issue that has reignited in the recent past in the backdrop of intensified military action and neutralizing of terrorists in the region. “Neither gaali, nor goli” was the solution the PM offered.

By calling youth as job creators and not job seekers, the PM offered his pragmatism in dealing with the concern of low employment creation in recent years. It is now upto the millennials to create, innovate and invent.

For stable economic growth it is time that we file more patents and trademarks rather than filling just job applications. Government schemes and programmes also found a place as mentions of the electrification drive, the Fasal Bima Yojana and collateral-free loans. Although these are almost trademarks of any address from Red Fort, it is important to underline rights of people by the highest in the land.

Good and inclusive governance can’t be attained merelyby a public address. It is hence incumbent upon the PM’s ministers and his officersto play their roles in attaining all that has been said by their leader.

A special mention of his one liner ‘Tantra se Loknahi, Lok se Tantra Chalega’ (establishment will not drive people but the vice-versa) is a must.

The Prime Minister realizes the fundamental rule of democracy, that it is the people for whom the establishment works, that the establishment derives its power and authority from the people. India today is cheered in the global arena as the world’s largest democracy, as a country that has preserved its unity in such a diverse society. The rhetoric of power in public’s hand, however, has often been misused by our politicians for their own good; the PM, if he can stop this trend, will go down in India’s political history as one of the most capable leaders.

In the end, let us also not forget that the Indian nationalists who laid their lives for a better future expected each of us to play our parts in making adeveloped and inclusive India. We must then pledge our support to this movement for a ‘New India’.

(The article published in daily newspaper “The Statesman” on 18th August 2017)

Blueprint for a new India

No nation can achieve military hegemony without success on the economic front. Same is the case with China, the world’s largest merchandise exporter, a nation that within a few decades, and on the back of flooding world markets with low-priced goods, has shifted the balance of power so authoritatively that any Chinese belligerence today can only invite wide condemnation and outcry but not direct warning or a full-blown assault.

In part, India has also fueled this domination of China by allowing the neighbor to export goods in such a manner that our local industry suffered unprecedented, irreparable damages. A lot has been talked about why our trade deficit with China is a cause of worry, a ‘matter of concern’ as termed by the Commerce Minister. While bilateral trade stood at USD 71 billion in FY 2016-17, the deficit (owing to fewer exports from India) was at staggering USD 51 billion.

The question is how deficit figures became a persistent trend and discussions in Parliament or assurances from government, in the form of encouraging exports and halting the dumping of Chinese goods did not fetch desired results. It is certain that by the end of the present FY the trade deficit will remain where it is; woes of local industry will remain unresolved and India, yet again, will only supplement the so-called Chinese hegemony.

The initiatives by the Indian government aimed at narrowing the gap between exports and imports – the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme and its services sector counterpart, SEIS, the Niryat Bandhu Scheme exclusively for new export import entrepreneurs, single window clearance for facilitation of trade – have all fallen short of expectations and needs of local producers who have been elbowed out by low-cost imports from China.

What then needs to be done? In his Mann Ki Baat address to the nation, PM Narendra Modi has stressed upon the need to purchase goods produced locally. Had the issue not been so grave, it would not have been explicitly cited in a public address by the Prime Minister. The economy, especially industries like consumer electronics, toys, tyres, leather, solar energy equipment, machine tools, textiles, mobile phones and even cottage industry goods, has been severely damaged, all thanks to the free flow of Chinese goods into India.

Let us move beyond patriotic fervor and examine the possibilities of India preventing any China-made articles of trade from entering the country. Practically this seems unmanageable, for India is not only a signatory to various multilateral and inter-governmental trade pacts but also because India cannot afford to symbolize ultra-protectionism in this era of free trade. When Chinese goods are available to bona fide buyer at cheap rates, any shallow appeal by any authority or politician asking people to refrain from buying Made in China product does not hold promise.

But there’s another angle to this Sino-India story – the recurring border incursions by Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control and McMahon Line. These border standoffs, which usually occur at key junctures such as a state visit of the Indian PM to the United States or an official visit of Chinese President to India, offer to India a chance to use hitherto unused ammunition – imposing sanctions on a belligerent, unaccommodating party.

A brief look at the past shows that this option has been exercised by China. It used this soft-power deterrent on Mongolia in retaliation for the latter’s invitation to the Dalai Lama in 2016. While China unilaterally went ahead with punishing the already ailing Mongolian economy, there have been numerous other instances such as the recent US sanctions on Russia. The US-Russia on-off rivalry is well-known but the India-China tiff has not achieved the same status because of India’s ever-easy stance on its ever-hostile neighbor.

But it is time the current dispensation, well-known for its reformist stance, its will as well as capability in taking bold decisions like demonetisation, mulls the idea of imposing economic sanctions on China, the country that is yielding high premiums on exports to India and is yet not supportive of its neighbor on key issues like counter-terrorism, her bid to join the Nuclear Supplier Group and become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

By not responding authoritatively to Chinese belligerence, apart from the recent challenge we have thrown in the Doklam Plateau, India has only indirectly supported the downfall of its local manufacturing sector that could not sustain the tsunami of deliberately low-priced Chinese goods flowing unchecked.

It can easily be noted that under the garb of free bilateral trade China has undermined India’s economic, social, even political, growth. The impairment is not caused to industry alone, the unemployed youth and rising non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks also are a direct outcome of ever-rising consumption of Chinese goods by Indians. From LEDs to plastic toys, solar panels to smartphones, China planned and successfully implemented its agenda of usurping the Indian market.

A superpower has recently raised the slogan of ‘buy and hire’ local in the backdrop of the dent that Chinese goods have made on its economy. On the other hand, India has responded with a much softer pitch of ‘Make in India’, which after almost 3 years of its unveiling hasn’t brought any real benefits to local producers, employment seekers or other key participants of  the economy including banks.

China has steered clear of repercussions even when they defied our territorial integrity, not just once in a full-blown war in 1962 but also by intermittently entering the Indian side of the border unlawfully with the intent to change the already settled boundaries. China has done the same in the South China Sea by way of building military installations; but matters are vastly different there because no country in that region can stand upto the might of China.

This, however, does not hold true in the India-China case owing to our possession of nuclear arms, our widely acknowledged stature as a strategic power in the region, our celebrated democratic credentials, our GDP growth rate that has outpaced all others, and above all, our diplomatic weight under Prime Minister Modi.

Enough reasons call for India’s sanctions on China – its support for ‘natural ally’ Pakistan, a safe haven for terrorists, its building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that passes through areas India claims exclusive rights over (in itself a single compelling reason to cut off any economic and diplomatic ties with China), its opposing India’s bid to become a member of key inter-governmental agencies, and its employing state-backed media outlets to defame and intimidate Indian polity and armed forces.

It is high time now that the country resorts to exceptional yet necessary actions with a multi-pronged strategy that not only makes the world understand the will and ability of India in safeguarding its territorial integrity but also reverses the trend of downfall of local manufacturing industry. Given that countries across Asia, barring Pakistan and North Korea, are reeling under Chinese belligerence and hostile approach, placing economic sanctions will be much welcomed than denounced, it may alter the balance of power.

(The article published in daily newspaper “The Statesman” on 3rd August 2017)

Should India Mull Sanctions on China?

Over the last 2-3 decades, politics in Tamil Nadu has plummeted to its nadir in terms of ideological bereftness of the parties and the distancing of successive governments from the launching of developmental schemes in preference to populist measures and freebies. Furthermore, the political parties ride to electoral victory on the wings of sheer demagoguery. Unfortunately, the political class in the state has been monopolized by film stars, junior artistes, script writers and sundry other categories of people associated with the tinsel town. Catchy slogans and alluring promises for freebies have enabled them to conveniently sideline the need for a vision to develop the state on the lines of economic progress and social development. Time and again, the electorate has, on their part, fallen hook, line and sinker, for bogus political manifestos, promising the ushering in of an era of clean governance and corruption-free administration for the evolution of a truly egalitarian society.

All they got in return for their votes have been freebies and empty pre-poll promises besides, of course, a few bobs generously doled out by cash-rich political parties. After winning elections, these parties have been quick on the rise to make money during their stints in power by flagrantly resorting to corrupt practices and entering into all kinds of dubious methods and murky deals, with nary a care for the welfare of the state or high standards expected in public life. The descent of the state to political ignominy has, however, been anything but sudden. Surprisingly, it has not come as a shocker to either the right thinking people within the state or the political observers across the nation. The nosedive started as long ago as 1969 and has since continued unabated.

Eclipsing of INC

The year 1969 marked the downshifting of electoral politics in Tamil Nadu, which had till then been cruising at a sedate pace since Independence. That year, the Indian National Congress (INC), which had come to be identified by the common man as the rightful inheritor of political power from the outgoing British colonial masters, received a jolt at the Assembly elections from a grand coalition, cobbled up by the Machiavellian master politician C Rajagopalachari (popularly known as Rajaji) with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) at the vanguard. Rajaji had sworn to rid the state of INC, which had become the groundswell of corruption, nepotism and pseudo secularism. This came as a shot in the arm for the DMK, which had been a secessionist party not long ago. It had been demanding a separate sovereign state called Dravida Nadu and had given up on its demand only as late as 1962 in the face of stringent anti-secession laws enacted by the Centre at the time of the India-China war.

The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back and tilted the balance against INC at the state general elections was, however, the successful manipulation of the Centre’s official language policy by the DMK along the lines of its extremely narrow regional stance. The party launched a massive people’s movement, with the participation of the student community, against the Centre’s move to introduce Hindi as the sole official language of the nation. The movement, marred by incidents of violence, turned out to be hugely successful in whipping up popular sentiments against the Central Government. Goaded by the bogey of Hindi, which was projected by the DMK as a Trojan horse meant to subvert self-rule by the Tamils and obliteration of their interests in favour of a fictitious North Indian ruling class and Rajaji’s clarion call for a Congress-free state, the electorate heavily voted in favour of the DMK and its allies. The DMK completely overshadowed its electoral allies and formed the government.

Emergence of Dravidian Politics

Here, a brief introduction to the growth of DMK on the political horizon would be in order. Its forerunner, Dravida Kazhagam (DK), was founded by E V Ramaswamy Naicker (EVR), referred to as Periyar by his followers. He was a one-time Congress loyalist and political comrade and good friend of Rajaji. Along the lines of the now-defunct Justice Party that wholeheartedly supported the British rule in India, DK too stoutly defended the British rule and was vehemently against India being granted Independence. On the eve of Independence, EVR went on to write to the British government in London, fervently pleading its continuance in India or, at least in the then Madras Presidency. Those days the Madras Presidency comprised today’s entire Tamil Nadu and swathes of territories of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, which, along with Karnataka, were termed by him as constituents of Dravida Nadu. The British, however, acted entirely in their self interest and walked out of India, leaving behind a great country in fragments. Consequently, EVR became a bitter man and turned hostile against the INC, which he feared would take over the reins of power to become the new political masters.

EVR identified INC with Brahmins and other upper caste Hindus of North India and called them the descendants of the Aryan hordes from Central Asia that had purportedly invaded India thousands of years ago and subjugated Dravidians, the native people of the southern part of the country. On the eclipse of the British Empire in India, he feared that the Brahmins of the north would once again capture the reins of power and subjugate the Dravidians. He insisted that the goblin of Brahmanism was out to gobble the Shudras, the sons of the soil. With the planting by EVR of the insidious seeds of hatred against the North Indian centrifugal forces of the national politics that were bound to suck in and subsume their helpless South Indian adversaries, the state gave birth to a monstrous child in the shape of the great North-South divide and anti-Brahmin sentiments. Sadly, the monstrosity has survived till date despite the turbulent times and political vicissitudes that the state has undergone and it still continues to cast its dark shadow on the political scene.

How the Wheels Turn

Although Dravida Kazhagam has always remained an ideological umbrella organization and spoken about social reforms and the need to fight social evils of casteism and archaic practices and never directly contested elections, a host of its offshoots like the DMK, the AIDMK (which later on splintered into at least two major factions), MDMK, etc swearing allegiance to the parental organization, have been in the political fray with various degrees of success. The glaringly striking array of political parties of various shades and hues of the Dravida ideology have either as its leading lights or star campaigners, popular film stars and an assorted category of personalities of the filmdom. In these parties, which have no clear delineation and takers outside the boundaries of Tamil Nadu, the reigning film stars bring up the lead whereas the faded or fading ones bring up the rear, and the moneybags and power brokers provide the packing material. Furthermore, dynastic politics and parochialism are accepted norms, in the Dravidian political war game.

The entire cavalcade of merriment runs, however, on the steam of a frenzied mob of fan clubs, fuelled into frenetic political activity at the mere nod by the stars. Political campaigns are quite a spectacle. Campaigning centres on character assassination of the opponents, full of vituperative and vile language. The party leaders, however, graciously dismiss such crude depictions of their opponents (for whom they claim to have “highest” regards), which are downright vulgar or obscene, as unfortunate incidents of the well meaning cadre getting emotional and carried away by popular sentiments, and not to be taken too seriously. The more colourful the language, the more popular the campaigners who conduct roadshows of mirth and merriment where characters of the high and mighty are ruthlessly trodden on and the personal life of the hapless rivals besmirched, with nary a thought for their personal life or social standing.

Notwithstanding its claim to stand for secularism, social reforms and political justice, all the sound and fury emitted by DK thus far have remained focused on the denigration of Hindu gods and Hindu religious practices and customs as well as trivializing of the Hindu festivals. The central government and the Brahmin community are targeted for the evils of the society and the RSS and the BJP are branded communal. The other religions and minority political organizations are conveniently overlooked and spared. Pseudo-secularism and vote bank politics are at play, with all the Dravidian parties throwing their hats in the ring with glee, for the top slot. Thrown in are freebies and cash for votes. In the ensuing melee, substantive issues like harnessing of river waters, woes of the farming community, industrial development, etc have been eclipsed by trivial issues like Jallikattu, opposition to Hindi in the schools, etc. Some fringe parties and NGOs with ulterior motives and funding from dubious foreign sources have been trying to fish in the murky political waters by whipping up Tamil sentiments against nationalism and extending support to anti-national forces such as the Azadi brigade, stone pelters in Kashmir, human rights for Naxals and Maoists, etc.

Ramblings in the Edifice

Such is the dubious state of Tamil Nadu politics, which has shown little signs of willingness to pull itself up by its bootstraps out of the inglorious depths of corruption and regionalism seldom matched elsewhere in the country. There have, however, been ramblings in the yonder and seismic fissures in the decaying political organism of the Dravidian politics. The high and mighty have fallen with the disappearance of J Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi from the scene, and their citadels have developed cracks, which are beyond wall papering. Several scams and scandals ranging from amassing of wealth disproportionate to known sources of income, land grabbing, hawala transactions, money laundering, and sand mining to cash for vote have been unearthed. The consequences have been cataclysmic. A reigning Chief Minister and her close aides and associates were indicted by the highest court of the land and several lynch pins of corruption, including a serving Chief Secretary, have landed in the jail.

Flashes of Hope

However, lately there have been flashes of hope with the Bharatiya Janata Party, the only party in the state with strong ideological moorings, pitching for the coming together of progressive forces to rally round the strong and stable leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Despite BJP’s failure to make its presence felt in the state legislature thus far, its appeal for the people to get out of the rut of regionalism in favour of the mainstream politics of nationalism has found traction among all the right thinking men and women of the state. Superstar Rajinikanth, an actor with a difference and untainted past, who has given indications in the last few days to venture into politics to fight for restoration of the system that has not been working could, perhaps, act as a catalyst in bringing about a much-desired transformation in the state politics. Rajni, who with only a few words of criticism for Jayalalithaa cost her 1996 state elections, is the best possible face for the BJP. He, however, needs to be convinced that the role he envisages to play in socio-economic betterment of the state will be well-served only when he becomes a part of the political landscape from within. PM Modi’s overall national charisma and Rajni’s God-like standing in the southern parts of India will tilt the mood in BJP’s favour with this single stroke.

Though it is too early to foresee whether the BJP can win some seats or hope to come to power in Tamil Nadu, here it needs to be emphasized that to make inroads into the state any political party will need to keep the following points in mind. Since the Tamilians are very proud of their language and culture, any political party that meddles with their language and culture has no chance to come to power in the state. As such, the BJP should not only refrain from imposing Hindi, but also nurture Tamil language in the state and learn to appreciate the culture of Tamilians. Here, it needs to be reiterated that because the then Congress Party had tried to impose Hindi in Tamil Nadu in 1965, even a tall leader like K Kamaraj could not avert the collapse of the party in the state and till date the Congress has not been able to capture power again. Furthermore, to make the BJP appealing to the voters of Tamil Nadu, BJP leaders would have to learn to connect with the masses, which is possible only if it overcomes the language disconnect disadvantage and communicate with the common man in Tamil. So the party needs to rope in a strong and visionary leader who can appreciate the people’s mentality, connect well with them and respond rightly to their sentiments. If Rajinikanth joins the BJP before the next Assembly elections, this problem will get sorted out automatically. However, if Rajini is unwilling to take the plunge, the BJP must act fast and rope in a charismatic and popular personality with great oratorical skills as a potential face to lead the party in Tamil Nadu in the coming years. In all cases, the bottom line is to better the lives of people in the state with focus on inclusive development and zero tolerance on corruption.

The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 is backed by a rationale that no person has any right to insult the Indian National Flag and National Anthem. It is sad, however, to notice that while these representatives of our sovereign pride are duly protected by central legislation, the armed forces, comprising of the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force are left vulnerable to hateful/ derogatory remarks by our political elites.

No other job in the country involves such harsh duty in extreme conditions on land, water, air, even underneath seas. Away from their families and devoid of privileges such as leave on festivals and weekends to convenientwork timings and work-leisure balance as enjoyed by civilians, armed forces personnel undeniably deserve at least a sense of respect for their tireless duty towards the service of the country and its citizens.

And yes, the makers of independent India and of its supreme law of the land, the Constitution, factored in these elements; sadly, the political class,slowly and progressively, overruled these and in want of electoral support has insulted the armed forces time and again. It is to be noted that the same part of the Indian Constitution that bestows upon people fundamental rights has under Article 33 made an exception, which reads as:

“Parliament may, by law, determine to what extent any of the rights conferred by this Part shall, in their application to –

(a) the members of the Armed Forces; or

(b) the members of the Forces charged with the maintenance of public order; or

(c) persons employed in any bureau or other organisation established by the State for purposes of intelligence or counter intelligence; or

(d) persons employed in, or in connection with, the telecommunication systems set up for the purposes of any Force, bureau or organisation referred to in clauses (a) to (c)

be restricted or abrogated so as to ensure the proper discharge of their duties and the maintenance of discipline among them.”

The intent of the makers of the Constitution was clear, armed forces and such organizations discharge special duties and hence they cannot have absolute and unrestricted access to fundamental rights.

Again, under Article 136, the Constitution says:

“(1) Notwithstanding anything in this Chapter, the Supreme Court may, in its discretion, grant special leave to appeal from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence or order in any cause or matter passed or made by any court or tribunal in the territory of India.

(2) Nothing in clause (1) shall apply to any judgment, determination, sentence or order passed or made by any court or tribunal constituted by or under any law relating to the Armed Forces.”

The above Article restricts the powers and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in matters related to armed forces of the country, a clear indication of the fact that the internal security of country and also its safety from external threat are special functions that should be differentiated from the civilian judicial apparatus.

It is nothing but a perfect rejection and insult of these principles that the political elites of today never refrain from defaming the armed forces in public. Such denouncements are widely covered by the media and are debated in prime time slots, all to play with nationalistic sentiments of the general public. Politicians, cutting across political parties and ideologies, have resorted to bad mouthing the actions of armed forces to fetch petty political gains.

While freedom of expression has explicitly been concluded as a basic right, it must be remembered in light of Article 33 of the Indian Constitution that the armed forces are a special service and they need differentiated treatment. This very article that takes away the basic right from armed forces implicitly expects safeguard of at least the honour of forces. Those safeguarding the country cannot be exposed to hate speeches and defamatory comments of politicians.

It is thus hereby suggested that the armed forces of this country be included in the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, alongside the Indian National Flag and National Anthem. The government should place the bill, The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2017, in Parliament, which shall make such necessary amendments as are required to thwart any ill-intended attack on the honour of the armed forces. By declaring defamation of armed forces as an offence in the amended act, we shall be better placed in terms of protecting our men in uniform from verbalabuse and dishonor.

Pending such legislation, it is also expected from the Hon’ble Supreme Court, which placed a ban on coverage of news related to a recently convicted High Court Judge in view of protection of honour of the highest court of justice in India, that it takes suo-moto action in interpreting the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Actin a manner that armed forces areconstrued as part of national honour.

(The article published in daily newspaper “The Statesman” on 2nd July 2017)

Protect Honour of the Armed Forces

With the Karnataka Assembly elections hovering around the corner early next year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a Congress-mukt Bharat does not seem to be too far away. In fact, if BJP’s recent historic win in UP is any indication of Congress going into a coma, there are strong reasons to believe that a repeat performance by the former in Karnataka, would sound the death knell of the country’s oldest political party. The failure of the Congress to evolve with the changing political scenario in the country in keeping with the aspirations of the people, its outdated and lacklustre leadership and a clueless cadre have all had the combined effect of sending the party into a tizzy. Besides the failing and faltering on the part of the Congress, the buoyancy of its main adversary, namely the BJP, riding the crest of a winning spree all over the Hindi heartland and the inroads it has successfully made in the northeastern parts of the country, which had thus far remained a Congress stronghold, coupled with the skyrocketing of the popularity and the towering image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the architect of a modern India through an ongoing series of reformation measures, has made the wilting of the Congress under pressure, inevitable and unavoidable.

Why BJP?

So much depends on the ability of the BJP to do a UP in Karnataka. Besides sending Congress into political oblivion, a pro-BJP outcome would mark the single-most transformation witnessed in post-Independence India, namely, an absolute rejection of pseudo-secularism as a primary political issue, let alone poll plank, by the people. No more elbowing out of the economic development of the nation and social progress of the people by appeasement of minorities and the bogey of communalism. The victory of the BJP would truly mark the purging of the imaginary and falsely projected ghosts of communalism of the past and the coming of age of developmental politics in the country. To this end, the BJP should continue to project its policy of the all inclusive development of the nation with the participation of all sections of our society, as its main poll plank. The party must convince the voters that their long wait for a smooth and uninterrupted economic development, the benefits of which would percolate down to the last man in the country, is over and a viable alternative to the corrupt Congress ideology is at hand. It must also allay the baseless and unfounded fears of persecution instilled in the psyche of the minorities and the marginalized sections of society during all these years since Independence by the Opposition. The electorate must be weaned away at all costs from the bogey of Communalism and pseudo secularism. This would be the single-most prominently striking takeaway from the elections.

Economic Accomplishments

The BJP should recount its successful demonetization program and the blitzkrieg conducted by the governmental agencies to unearth black money and bring the economic offenders to account. How the Prime Minister’s pro-poor economic measures helped shore up his stock among the poor and the middle-class which helped the government in successfully implementing the demonetization is the kind of stuff that should prominently figure in the party’s campaign. The electorate should be assured as to how the high and mighty have fallen from their high horses, being unable to escape the clutches of law for the economic offences flagrantly committed by them with impunity in connivance with the corrupt elements in the government and establishment in the past. That the rule of law reigns supreme in the country under the BJP rule is what would win over to it the electorate in the state disenchanted with the evils of corruption and nepotism prevailing in Karnataka. An alternative government capable of providing clean governance, responsible for its actions and answerable to the people is what the people of the state are yearning for in place of the current Congress dispensation under an opaque state leadership. How the BJP would provide a viable and effective alternative, on the lines of the popular government at the Centre is a key factor that would determine its success.

It must also be noted that although the central government funds a long list of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (where a part of the budget is contributed by states) and Central Sector Schemes (wholly funded by the centre and related mainly with scholarships to backwards), many such programmes fail to reach the intended beneficiaries owing to their lack of knowledge of such schemes and the lackluster approach of local administration in implementing these social sector initiatives with dedication and effectiveness. For BJP to let people of southern states realise the works done by present NDA government, promoting these centrally funded schemes, both for ultimate welfare of the needy and for winning the electorate’s support, is warranted.

Social Development

Of equal importance are NaMo-led government’s social welfare measures that are aimed at empowerment of women (PM Ujjwala Yojana), prevention of foeticide and infanticide, encouragement for educating the girl child (Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Scheme), etc. How the effective implementation of such schemes and measures helps identify the most vulnerable link in the chain of women development, namely women in rural areas, and strengthen them for their individual and collective development, would be of special interest to the female segment of the electorate. All these will contribute towards making them proud and equal partners in development.

Triple Talaq and Polygamy

It is an established fact that the BJP’s determination to do away with outdated and undesirable practices of triple talaq and polygamy and the steps the government at the Centre has already taken on this count resonate well with the female population and all right-thinking men among the Muslim community nationwide. The Muslim women and the right-thinking Muslim men of Karnataka would be no less enthusiastic about the introduction of a Uniform Civil Code in these matters. A guarded and appropriately orchestrated publicity campaign to enlist the support of the people coming under the ambit of the Muslim Personal Law would be in keeping with the BJP’s stance on the equal treatment of all the people, irrespective of their religion, caste or creed.

The BJP would do well to keep track of the fact that whereas the government is Constitutionally bound to be fair and unbiased in its treatment of the people in all matters of state, wherever the party is in power either on its own or in coalition with the other members of the NDA, it still remains a Hindu national party. The mainstay of the party is the groundswell of support it receives from the Hindu community, which has squarely and unequivocally reposed its faith in the BJP in preference to the other parties. The party could, therefore, ill afford to press ahead with its efforts to win the support of the minority communities by any move or measure, which is perceived inimical to the interests of the Hindu community. The Congress government of Karnataka had been insensitive enough to commemorate Tipu Sultan’s Jayanthi last year in complete disregard of the sentiments of and protests by sections of the Hindu community who were descendants of the victims of the controversial ruler’s excesses.

This was obviously a part of the Congress party’s age-old practice of appeasement of the minorities in keeping with its pseudo secularist policy. The BJP should take care to put an end to such uncalled for and unjustifiable practices and win over the trust of the majority community. A clear message has to be sent across to convey that the emotional wounds of people who have suffered historical blunders and injustices would not be allowed to be reopened and the underlying feelings of bitterness and hatred between different communities exacerbated. Then, cow slaughter is another emotive issue that has to be tactfully addressed during the campaign. It should also be made clear that a BJP government in the state would be governed by the party’s national policy in the matter; however, while doing so, the sentiments of Karnataka’s majority community would definitely be taken into account. The government would work for the progress and development of all the people with no appeasement gimmick to mar the government’s resolve to do justice to every community strictly in accordance with their legitimate interests and bonafide religious concerns.

Law and Order

Growing incidents of violence and crimes against women, children and people from northeastern states are a matter of great concern in Bengaluru. A police force, free from political interference, with zero tolerance towards such crimes, is the need of the hour. Furthermore, the overall security of the state vis-a-vis the scourge of domestic and international terrorism has to be the top priority of the state government. Only a BJP government is capable of ensuring that the state’s interests are in alignment with the Central government’s stance on the matter.

Anti-encroachment Drive

Another issue that the BJP election campaign should vigorously highlight is the rampant land grabbing cases that have plagued Bengaluru and other districts of Karnataka. A detailed report titled ‘Greed and Connivance’ prepared by V Balasubramanian, Chairman of the Task Force for Recovery of Public Land and its Protection, states that 12 lakh acres of government and public land have been encroached upon in the state by influential builders and land mafia with active involvement of persons in power, out of which 33,878 acres of land belongs to the Revenue Department in Bengaluru alone.  The Bengaluru district administration has managed to dispose of only 13 land grabbing cases out of the total 6,000 cases that it has been dealing with for some years now. It is an open fact that land was illegally acquired even during past Congress-led governments of Karnataka through co-operative societies, and subsequent quashing of such land allotments by Hon’ble courts substantiates this. 

An anti-land grabbing special court set up in Bengaluru for speedy trial of cases pertaining to land encroachments, which became functional on August 31, 2016, has seen the registration of 348 land grabbing cases by March 31, 2017. Furthermore, an additional 243 suo motu cases were registered by the special court itself. In an order in April 2017, while quashing the acquisition of 189 acres of land for a cooperative society, the Karnataka High Court held that a middleman (now a minister in the Congress-led government) used his political influence and that ‘the land acquisition was opposed to public policy’. The BJP should assure the voters that if it wins the 2018 Assembly elections and comes to power, the state government will take up the disposal of all these pending land grabbing cases on priority basis and also initiate tough action against the land grabbers as soon as encroachment has been proved. The state voters should also be assured that stringent measures to curb organized attempts to grab lands belonging to the government, local authorities or other statutory or non-statutory bodies owned, controlled or managed by the government, will also be strictly implemented under the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act.

Widespread Corruption, Appeasement

Although the coal and 2G spectrum scams, besides other illicit paybacks received by ministers of Congress-led governments in many states, made national headlines and have established that the Congress is the second name for corruption, it is the recent findings by the Centre for Media Studies that are illustrative of wide-ranging corruption in the state of Karnataka. It must not be shocking that the state, which is presently being led by ministers already under investigating agencies scanner, ranked at the top in corruption perception in the survey carried out by CMS. Along with Karnataka, all other Southern states have come out to be homes of corrupt government services; states like Bihar and Chhattisgarh, however, have shown improvements as compared to their past rankings. Good news for the BJP is that the same survey concluded that people could feel that corruption level went significantly down during and after the demonetization of higher currency notes; hence the public opinion is now tilted heavily toward the BJP.

This is also a time when the Modi-led central government has completed three-years of ruling and it is a notable achievement that not even a single evidence-backed corruption charge has come up against any minister. The changes in the ministries were backed by performances and rationales and not by the obligation to remove any tainted minister. On the other hand, it is being felt that Muslim women are rethinking their stance and are now backing the pragmatic approach of the government in dealing with issues like Triple Talaq and Halala. The Congress-led Karnataka government could only appease the Muslim community by offering them sops; the BJP however is working for holistic development of the community and the same message must be spread by ground level workers of the party so that appeasement does not become a deciding factor in the upcoming state polls. Tepid police action against offenders from Muslim community, along with biased chargesheets to prevent convictions, has been a policy of the Congress government. The community, however, has realized that they can only grow by way of education and empowerment of women, not through government-backed impunity and pity sops.

Nationalism

There are Naxals, Maoists and other such anti-national forces in the form of the Azaadi brigade among the students, academia, multimedia, religious institutions and political parties, which are inimical to the interests of nationalism and territorial integrity of our country. They are out to destroy the very concept of India that is Bharat. Today, the BJP is the only national party that is capable of unifying all the patriotic elements around the pivotal force of devotion to the task of nation building. The corrupt form of secularism currently rampant in the body politic has to be replaced with a strong sense of pride for the country, its flag, national anthem and other icons and legends that constitute the strands of patriotism. Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign for Karnataka has to be imbued with this message for striking an empathic chord to the cause of clean governance and the cause of nationalism. The BJP should not shy away from propounding its case, which is in the best interests of the nation as well as the party and, needless to say, the people and the state of Karnataka. The party owes to itself the clinching of the campaign for Karnataka, which could become its gateway to greater victories in the remaining southern states.

The leftist media and analysts have all negatives; on the contrary, the rightist proponents are all-praise for the three years of Narender Modi-led union government. The environment prevailing today in the largest democracy on earth is of either outright submission or absolute condemnation. No one seems to be willing to judge without bias the outcomes of the actions of a government that saw unprecedented support from the electorate in 2014. In the subsequent paragraphs, let’s dig out some real facts, forget false allegations, and assess whether the country did gain under the ‘Modi-raj’ and if yes, then are there still any areas that need the PM’s attention.

One change in the political scene of country that cannot escape the attention of any prudent analyst is the popular nomenclature of the present administration. Past governments were rarely termed as Manmohan-led or Vajpayee-led; the present setup however steers clear of being referred to as BJP-led or NDA-led. National and foreign media have been using the term Modi-led, to showcase the hold of one person over the political, social and economic landscapes of India. Then it becomes obvious that the report card is issued in the name of the Prime Minister, not for his cabinet or MPs.

Without doubt, it can be said that the government has been in action mode ever since it won the mandate. Crucial bills like Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Goods and Service Tax Act, Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act and many others are and should be hailed for their passage was necessary to uplift the economy, improve India’s standing in the financial and business landscape and to infuse inclusiveness and equity in the entire arrangement. But let us exercise some restraint while terming these actions as extraordinary, for a government of any country is expected to function in a manner that wealth is enhanced and distributed equitably among all citizens. The Modi-led government has been doing the same.

In this sense, the government seems to have just fulfilled its commitment. Instances when the administration thought out of the box and brought some unexpected reforms provoke at least a humble pat on the back of the present cabinet. Demonetisation of higher currency notes was the most decisive among these measures, a non-populist choice that was welcomed by the public at large despite the condemnation by opposition and media. With a single stroke the government not only unearthed some illicit cash hoarded by individuals and corporates alike, it also boosted the CASA deposits of Indian banks, thus bringing down the rate of interest on credit, along with making credit accessible to the until-now deprived.

On the other fronts, there were policy initiatives like the PM Ujjwala Yojana, a scheme under which LPG gas connections are bring given free of cost to poor households; the MUDRA Yojana, a flagship scheme with a motive to ‘fund the unfunded’ by extending formal credit to micro and small enterprises; the Startup India Programme, aimed at building an ecosystem where innovation is nurtured by facilitation through loans from the formal sector; and the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, a scheme that replaced ineffective National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and modified NAIS so that yield loss as well as post-harvest losses of farmers are covered with lowest possible premium.

The list is long enough and can be accessed from the websites of various government ministries. When we talk about achievements and setbacks of any government, formulation of policies and schemes is a significant but not the overriding part. Hence, it is vital to note the overall impact of government actions by not only highlighting the liberalisation of FDI regime and the record foreign direct investment received in past couple of years but also measuring micro indicators that are a true representative of nation’s progress.

In this respect, the high unemployment rate is the weightiest challenge. The world may be discussing our demographic dividend, the so-called youth power, but the harsh reality is that this dividend cannot be reaped unless the youth is put to work. IT giants have been laying off employees at the highest rates ever seen, industrial output has not been such that it could match the needs of job-seekers and the infrastructure push by the government, which involves ports and coastal development under Sagarmala and building of houses under Housing for All, cannot absorb all. The government has to tap new avenues, including food processing and bring more and more global companies to manufacture in India. But the pace of building food processing infrastructure and easing regulations under Make in India are vital.

The government can be praised for realizing the stressed condition of Indian banks. Prudent measures like phased infusion of capital and an ordinance giving powers to RBI to resolve non-performing assets crisis are likely to ease some pressure. Viability in the long-run, however, can only be guaranteed when functioning of banks is looked at afresh, expenses are rationalised and profitability is targeted through far-sighted business activities and not by resorting to transaction charges and other fee from customers who have no other option than to pay these predatory imposts.

Having talked about commerce and economy, let us now move to domains that are a part and parcel of every citizen yet are overshadowed by discussions and debates over GDP growth rate and widening or easing of fiscal deficit. The most relevant among these is the safety and well-being of all irrespective of faith, caste, colour or culture. India conducted surgical strikes on terrorist outposts in PoK and has also lately fired punitive assault on posts which aid infiltration into Indian Territory. These actions elevated the morale of army men and civilians alike; still there is a long path to tread. Acquiring defense machinery to empower our forces with latest weaponry and condemning Pakistan at international forums are crucial for long-term safety of the country.

The China issue, which involves its resolve to not let India enter the Nuclear Supplier Group, along with its construction of roads and other infrastructure on the disputed territory currently in Pakistan’s control under its much-hyped One Belt One Road initiative, demand dedicated deliberation and an effective strategy to undermine the growing stature of China as a country that can replace the US hegemony, at least in Asia. By not sending an official representative to the recently held OBOR Summit, we may have shown our dissent, it needs acts of commission and not omission to deal with China effectively. Same is the case with the internal issue pertaining to Kashmir where school and college students have resorted to stone pelting on Indian forces.

It must be remembered that after his stint as the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi will be assessed on macro issues more than on matters like economic growth rate or inflation. China and Kashmir are two such issues; while the former needs continuing strategy building, the latter awaits urgent actions by a leader who not only is the highest decision making body at the Centre but also has a say in the J&K state government. To make sure that he is remembered as a game changer in the political history of India, PM Modi must integrate Kashmir with the rest of India in such a manner that every Kashmiri thinks of being an Indian first and a Kashmiri later.

In the end, let us return to where we started. Modi alone cannot be the Messiah of Indian political scene, for the Prime Minister of India is the first among equals(his council of ministers). People may have voted for their local representatives fielded by the BJP in the name of Narendra Modi, every single MP, MLA or Councilor has to be made result-driven and honest enough for the sake of taking India to new heights, to a place from where we only grow, not dip. And this task involves revolutionising politics and political leaders so that all representatives of people aim for collective benefits, not personal. Introducing electoral bonds in political funding is just the beginning, police reforms, decriminalisation of politics and producing a new line of leadership for future should be the aim of Modi-Shah duo for the next 2 years, or even 7 years if we judge the leaning of the electorate toward PM Modi.

(The article published in daily newspaper “The Statesman” on 27th May 2017)

What Modi Has Done And Need To Do

With a 100% literacy rate to its credit, how could the backwaters of Kerala be any less congenial for the lotus to bloom than places loosely termed to constitute the cow belt? With the saffron upsurge recently witnessed in the Hindi heartland, and the inroads made in the northeastern states, the BJP has its sights set on making forays into the anti-BJP citadels in the southern part of the country, like Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, to establish its pan-India appeal and reach. As of now, while the party has a modicum of respectability with a seat share of 44 in a House of 225 in Karnataka, its headcount in the assemblies of the other two states reads a dismal one in Kerala and a disastrous nil in Tamil Nadu. This notwithstanding the traditional sway that the party’s ideological forerunner the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has among chunks of the right thinking men and women, especially in Kerala, with fastidious nationalist moorings and commitment and total disregard for regionalism, and the immense popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The task needs to be addressed by the BJP in right earnestness, not only to consolidate its position as the largest and most successful political force in the future rounds of elections among the wide spectrum of national parties, most of which are currently in a state of disarray and bedlam consequent upon the crushing defeats handed out to them during the last three years, but also to sustain its own winning streak. A clinching victory in Kerala in the next Assembly elections would undoubtedly pitchfork the party to a vantage position of strength and stability by throwing open a breach in the wall of resistance in state politics. Such a victory would also create a stronghold in the forefront of the party’s nationwide electoral strategy. A thumping victory in Kerala would truly herald BJP arrival in style in the south of the Vindhyas and mark the emergence of the party over the murky swirls of regionalism and fractious communalism as well as the corrupt ideological spins being infused into moribund political ideologies like Communism, Marxism and Naxalism in the state.

What needs to be done?

The BJP in Kerala has the unenviable disadvantage of having to fight an opportunistic alliance between leftist and communal forces. The overall political atmosphere in the state is surcharged with violence, which has already taken a heavy toll on the BJP workers. The BJP and the RSS cadres have been finding it increasingly difficult to resist the urge to retaliate, in the absence of a ray of hope for an early end to the relentless political violence spiralling out of control under the benign watch of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front coalition. The party’s central leadership needs to find a quick solution to the problem of unabating violence to keep the morale of its state cadre intact and to convince the electorate about the party’s commitment to upholding democratic values in the face of extreme provocation. To this end, it has to send, in tandem with the Union Home Ministry, a strong message across that it would brook no more systematic perpetration of attacks on its human resources and assets in the state. While doing so, it must ensure that the local leadership of the party is sufficiently strengthened and empowered with adequate resources and wherewithal to enable it to keep its flock together under its wings, given the ground realities.

This is imperative to boost up the strong Keralite pride in the local leadership in its equation with the central leadership. The party would do well to persuade the Union Home Ministry to bring the state government around to realise that there indeed are red lines, which should not be crossed by the ruling coalition as well as the state machinery while tackling the rising political violence. The state government should be gently but firmly reminded by Delhi that the state would, under no circumstances, be permitted to degenerate into a lawless political wilderness in the absence of firm and timely action by the state machinery. Again, this exercise needs to be carried out with alacrity and without engaging disproportionate use of authority lest the state government should cry foul and try to present itself, in the eyes of the people, as a victim or martyr to a perceived case of the Centre trying to usurp the state’s prerogative to maintain law and order, a state subject under the Constitution. A series of well-orchestrated moves by the local and central leadership of the BJP with the support of the Home Ministry to achieve the goal is the need of the hour.

Terrorism

Furthermore, the state has been witness to the recent phenomenon of the rearing of their ugly heads by international terrorist organisations like the Islamic State and the Al Qaeda and other home-grown jehadi outfits. Of late, there has been a series of incidents of individuals, and even families sneaking out of India en masse to distant lands like Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, to join banned terrorist organisations and fight insidious religious wars against their perceived international enemies, including India. The state has earned the dubious distinction of having become a breeding ground for international terrorism. Evidently, the terrorists-in-the-making are indoctrinated, radicalised and brainwashed beforehand to make the vulnerable targets to become thoroughly dissatisfied with the democratic institutions and concepts such as secularism, nationalism, India’s cultural ethos, communal harmony, etc. The disgruntled elements try to subvert the system and pose a grave threat to peace, development and harmony in the multicultural, egalitarian society that India has been home to.

What has been happening in trickles so far should not be allowed to turn into a tidal wave. Indoctrination centres, training grounds, sources of funds, etc have to be identified and nixed. Evidently, given its ideological handicap and appeasement policy towards minority communities, the Marxist government in the state cannot be expected to put an end to this menace. The Centre must step in and convert the state into a strong bulwark against the rising spectre of terrorism. A BJP government in the state would ideally complement the Centre’s moves in this regard. This fact should be projected as an intricate part of the party’s program of awareness of the dangers of terrorism during its election campaign. That a BJP government in the state would be the one most capable of taking suitable measures on the ground in sync with the Centre’s efforts and initiatives aimed at wiping out terrorism should be an inherent part of the party’s roadmap to success. No stone should be left unturned to convince the people of Kerala that the state needs to be reconverted into a safe haven for the peace-loving citizens like in the past as against the hotbed of terrorism and mindless political violence that it has been reduced to over a period of time.

Living Testimony

The NRI community abroad is a living testimony to the promptness and diligence with which the BJP government at the Centre has successfully diffused countless numbers of crisis situations in which the former had found itself in during the last three years. This segment of the community has immensely benefited from the Central government’s service-to-the-people policy both from Delhi as well as through the Indian diplomatic missions abroad. A large number of Keralites working abroad have been successfully repatriated during wars and warlike situations and also relocated during times of peace. No case was too big or too small for the Union government. The affected people of Kerala living abroad or currently at home could collectively form a notional goodwill Ambassador for carrying out BJP’s people-oriented policies more effectively. Meanwhile, the party should also think of a way to achieving this end. For example, the BJP national leadership can consider appointing or deputing K J Alphons (Alphons Kannanthanam), a bureaucrat-turned-politician from Kerala, as Special Advisor or Poll Strategist or Campaign Chief with the aim of winning the next Assembly polls in the state. A 1979 batch IAS officer, Kannanthanam had quit the bureaucracy in 2006 and got elected as an independent Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Kanjirappally in Kottayam district of Kerala, with a huge majority. He had joined the BJP in 2011. In 1989, as the District Collector of Kottayam, Alphons had pioneered the literacy movement and made Kottayam the first 100% literate town in India. Kottayam had also achieved a quality health index better than the United States of America, when he was the District Collector.

We Have Been There and Done It Before

The post-poll developments in Uttar Pradesh, which has turned out to be BJP’s biggest electoral success yet, have accentuated the truth that a strict implementation of preventive laws and wholehearted acceptance of people welfare programs are capable of catapulting an already popular government to dizzying heights. This is arguably the most singular lesson from the party’s strategy that saw it romp home at the end of a tortuous journey in UP. The people of Kerala have to be convinced that the BJP government in the offing in the state is one that would care and dare; the government would care for people’s welfare and the state’s development and dare to do the right thing, with nary a thought of appeasement to any community, no matter how minority or majority in terms of its numerical strength. The government would function strictly in conformity with the constitutional provisions and strive to enact laws in terms of the Directive Principles of State Policy for improving the quality of life and not for curtailing people’s freedom. The rule of law would be upheld ever and anon. The minority communities would be equal partners in development.

These are the messages that have to be carried across the length and breadth of the state. The needs and requirements of the constituents must be ascertained and stitched into a garb of glory in the form of the party’s program of action. People understand the strengths and constraints of every party and welcome their candid admission of what is likely to pan out once the die is cast. The people of Kerala are not wired any differently from the people of states that have returned BJP governments, except that they have thus far been supporting the parties, flogging dead ideologies like Communism to bring them back to life. With a candid presentation by the BJP of how precisely they propose to transform Kerala into a dynamic state, there is no reason why the people would not deem it fit to give a decent burial to the ideologies long dead and say goodbye to the fractious communal elements, always on the double to fish in the murky political waters. There is no shying away for the BJP from identifying itself as a party for Hindutva. Now, Hindutva is no more a bad word, not even in Kerala. Results are all that people are interested in. If a party that espouses Hindutva could deliver, as it has already demonstrated elsewhere, give them a break. It is a real time tie in Kerala between pragmatism and ideology. With conviction and diligence in its arsenal, the BJP has every reason to feel upbeat about its ability to hard sell pragmatism in God’s Own Country as it has done elsewhere, time and again.

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is one of the most contentious issues staring the Indian polity in the eye. Although Article 44 of the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution speaks of a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens, it has remained a distant dream, with no government thus far addressing the issue with seriousness.

This has been primarily on account of the fear of a possible backlash at elections from sections of voters. The present government’s attempt to implement UCC has been vehemently resisted by large sections of the Muslims led by clerics and their ilk. Endless debates and discussions between stakeholders have not succeeded in carrying the issue to fructification. Religious sentiments have prevailed over aspirations of all the right-thinking men and women of the nation for a level playing field.

A Uniform Civil Code for all the citizens is in agreement with the secular ethos of the nation. Unlike in the West, where secularism is a mere act of the State distancing itself from the Church, the concept means in the Indian context, equal treatment of people of all religions – a proactive stance on the part of the State.

This calls for respect from the government for the sentiments of the people of different religions, without leaving any room for favour or prejudice. While the endeavour to treat all citizens alike before law is in keeping with the exhortation of the relevant Article of the Directive Principles of State Policy as well, the State is hard put to carry out the implementation without its action being perceived by the people of the minority communities as an attempt to trample upon their sentiments or to curtail their freedom to live in terms of their religious beliefs.

At the same time, people of any religion cannot be viewed or treated as clones cast in the same mould and should not be expected to unquestioningly fall in line with the provisions of the personal law applicable to their community. That is because such personal laws were fashioned and designed on the basis of religious tenets and cultural mores, dating back to medieval times to primarily suit the people living in a distant land in harsh conditions, fighting for the perceived supremacy of their religion.

In the Indian context, a community is made up of individuals with their own views, beliefs and opinions in their vital personal matters and private lives in changed circumstances and conditions prevailing in the country. They may not be faulted for seeking redressal for a grievance in terms of natural justice, just like any other citizen, without prejudice to their religious standing or beliefs.

In the matter of personal law, interpretation of its provisions is heavily loaded in favour of the clerics and other religious entities and agencies. An individual’s inalienable right to natural justice is stifled by his or her religious identity, in matters such as marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoption, inheritance, etc.

The issue of triple talaq is a case in point. The fundamentality of a divorced woman’s right to alimony is at stake. The self-esteem of a woman to live a life of gender equality is in question. This is the kind of a helpless situation in which a large number of persons, mostly women, of the minority communities find themselves in.

The question of such men and women being able to contribute their optimal share to the nation’s and society’s development in accordance with the evolved social situation is a matter of equal concern to the majority community.

When aggrieved individuals find their voice to protest against the provisions of the personal law and choose to step out of the line and try to seek justice in a court of law, the State cannot afford to stand on the wings as a mute spectator and do nothing to ameliorate the situation.

Judiciary, on its part, finds hardly any maneuverability in the present system to address the situation, leaving the aggrieved person to fall back into the mires of the personal law. Lack of conviction on the part of politicians or their obstinacy to take any measure for social welfare that would impinge on their vote bank politics prevail over the concern of Judiciary for fair play and natural justice for all the citizens, as was witnessed in the Shah Bano case during the Congress rule.

The individual liberty of members of a community which is governed by personal law thus falls prey to the stubborn attitude of the community elders and their insistence on the freedom to have their own personal civil code. The government cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the travails of the forlorn individuals on account of their vulnerability against the personal law.

The resulting situation is a simmering discontent among individuals, particularly women, in minority communities, who find themselves victims of a lacuna in the system. In a society such as the one in India where people of diverging religious beliefs have been living in harmony despite grave instigations and provocations, for the State to continue to allow this kind of despair among vast numbers of its citizens does not augur well.

It is not only the various religious groups in the country but also the faceless individuals who form these groupings and yet feel left out, who have to be carried along by the State in the interests of fair play and its own survival lest discontent have a detrimental effect. Failure on the part of the government to be proactive in such a crucial matter would not only reflect poorly on its efficacy but also be a sad commentary on the poor shape of democracy in the country.

Speaking at the Jaipur Literature Festival on January 23 this year, Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin, who is well-known for slamming misogynistic ideas in Islam, rightly asserted that India urgently needs the UCC to protect the democratic rights of Muslim women as well as to stop the issue of fatwas by some religious clerics. To cut a long story short, the UCC is long overdue. To further delay its implementation would be tantamount to the State abandoning a section of its own people, no matter how small or large their number, purportedly on account of lack of a consensus, while, in reality, on account of lack of political conviction.

The returning of the Law Commission’s questionnaire on the UCC by the Chief Minister of Bihar purportedly because “the questions have been framed in such a manner so as to force the respondent (Bihar government) to reply in a specific way” is a classic attempt on the part of the naysayers of Indian politics to tactfully avoid taking the bull by its horns.

As the first step in the long way to be traversed, the people of our country need to be educated by the government about the issues involved. How several countries around the world, including a fair number of Islamic ones, have opted for UCC in the interests of their own social and overall development needs to be projected.

The people of the minority communities should be spurred on to realize that the time for self-introspection and rejection of complacency in matters vital to their interests is well at hand. The foremost task at hand is for the government is to convince the people to stir out of their comfort zone and help themselves.

(The article published in daily newspaper “The Statesman” on 23rd March 2017)

Making The Case For A Uniform Civil Code

This would have been termed a rhetorical question, outlandish, or even blasphemous if it had been asked a decade or two ago. But today, the question no more sounds unrealistic, improbable, or farfetched.

The true secularists as well as nationalists, not the pseudo variety, who luckily still make up the majority in this southern Indian state, had so far been living in a state of denial with the aim of safeguarding their public image of a liberal. But lately, even those who have put political correctness above common sense have begun to talk privately about their fear of having to live in a Muslim-majority state in the future. Some Keralites, who in their ignorance nurture false pride in their secular credentials, might still dismiss it as a “non-issue” while talking in public.

However, the danger signs of upsetting the age-old demographic pattern are there for everyone to see. The population in Kerala, when the last full census was taken in 2011, was 3.34 crore, out of which Hindus comprised 1.83 crore. The Muslims at second place totalled 88.7 lakh, while the Christians numbered 61.4 lakh. The fourth category was not Buddhists or Sikhs but ‘Religion Not Stated’. They accounted for 88,000 in 2011, growing from a mere 25,000 in 2001.

As per the latest figures available, Hindus in the state, which likes to call itself as ‘God’s Own Country’, are still in the majority at 54.72%. Islam comes second at 26.56%, followed by Christianity at 18.38%. The other groups like the Buddhists, Jains and Jews are insignificant at a total of 0.34%. But this was not the case a few decades ago.

At the beginning of the last century, in 1901 to be more precise, Hindus, numbering 43.78 lakh, constituted a high of 68.5%. The Muslims, who numbered 11.2 lakh, were second at 17.5% while the third dominant community, the Christians, made up 14% of almost 9 lakh believers. In the subsequent decades, the growth rates among Christians and Muslims were much higher than that of the Hindus.

In fact, until 1961, the Christian growth rate outpaced that of the Muslims even as the share of Hindu population showed a constant decline. By 1961, the Hindu population in Kerala had dropped to 60.9%. The Muslim growth was moderate, and their percentage of the total population remained at 17.9%, as compared to 17.5% six decades ago. In the process, they became the third largest community in the state. But, the Christians swelled at a fast pace and constituted 21.2% of the total population, shooting up from 14% in 1901. They displaced Muslims from the second position in terms of total population.

However, after 1961, the pattern has changed again, making Islam the fastest growing religion in the state. Coincidentally, those were the years when the Gulf boom began. In the ensuing years, hundreds of thousands of Malayali youth went to the Gulf countries in search of greener pastures. Needless to say, most of the migrants were Muslims.

It is not clear whether the Gulf boom and the resulting affluence, which was witnessed more among the Muslims than the others, has been in any way responsible for the population explosion among the Muslims of the state. The decades since 1961 have favoured the Muslims in Kerala, and they have become the fastest growing religious community in this coastal state.

In 1961-71, while the Hindu population grew at 23.35% and the Christians at 25.28%, the Muslims multiplied at a rate of 37.49%. In 1971-81, the Hindu population grew at 16.7% while the growth of Muslims was at 29.96%, a difference of nearly 14 percentage points.

The Hindu growth rate continued to fall and stood at a mere 2.29% during the 2001-11 period, falling from 7.28 in 1991-2001. At the same time, Muslims continued to multiply themselves at a fast pace of 12.84% during 2001-11. The Hindu growth of 2.29% is marginally below the 2.3% required to sustain the population.

As such, the demography of Kerala is definitely changing. The share of Indian religionists (Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, etc) in 1901 was 68.91% compared to 17.28% of Muslims. The Indian religionists dropped from 56.28% in 2001 to 55.05% in 2011.  At the same time, the Muslim share grew from 17.28% in 1901 to 24.7% in 2001 and 26.56% in 2011. The latest trends are as unmistakable as day and night.

In the 11 decades since 1901, Indian religionists in Kerala, which are almost entirely Hindus, have lost 14 percentage points in the share of the population as opposed to Islam and Christianity. Of this 14 percentage points, 9.6% has gone to Islam. The growth gap is widening with each passing decade. During the 2001-11 decade, Islam surged 12.8% while the Hindu population grew 2.2% and Christians increased by 1.4%.

Here, the self-proclaimed liberals might argue that the growth of population is inversely proportional to the level of literacy and affluence. It may be true in certain other societies but definitely not in Kerala. In this southern coastal state, which prides in calling itself as the most literate state in India, all the communities are almost at par with the others in terms of their education, social status and affluence.

According to the 2011 figures, the literacy rate among the Hindus was 93.49%, while that of Muslims was 93.29%. The Christians were ahead at 96.49%. Similarly, in urbanisation, which is a reflector of affluence, the Hindus registered an urban ratio (UR) of 48.54% (the number of urban people per 100). The Muslims were ahead with a UR rate of 52.08%. This clearly proves that high literacy, modernity and prosperity haven’t in any way inhibited the libido of Muslims in the state.

At the current rate, the Hindu population will stop growing even as the Muslim inhabitants will keep surging ahead in numerical strength. How things can develop from here can be gauged from what has happened in Malappuram, a Muslim majority district of Kerala. Malappuram was formed as a separate district in 1969 by taking away some portions of Kozhikode and Palakkad districts as well as some parts of Thrissur.

The census of 1971 gave the religious breakup of the population of the new districts from 1911-1961. From that, one can see that the Muslim proportion of the population has grown spectacularly after Independence, and particularly after 1961. For instance, they had a share of 54.3% in this region in 1951, which was only two percentage points above their share of 52.3% in 1911. In 2011, the share of Muslims in this district stood at 70.2%!

Along with the rising population, the Muslims have also been growing politically, economically and socially in the state. Politically, the Muslim League has been in the ruling coalition of the state for the maximum period. Economically too, the Muslims have become extremely powerful as they have set up a large number of super-speciality hospitals, five-star hotels, self-financed educational institutions, malls and modern townships across the state.

With the Muslims accounting for 70% of the total population in Malappuram, the district has undergone a massive change in every way. The most worrisome development probably is the fast pace of Arabisation of the district. Now, most Muslim women here wear head-to-toe black burqa and men sport long beards and a skull cap, traits which were rare in Kerala just a few decades ago. Many men have switched over from the traditional dhoti and shirt to a single piece gown like attire, as worn by the Arabs. Now, many business establishments have Arabic names and many others write their signboards identical to Arabic calligraphy.

During Ramzan, the Islamic holy month when eating and drinking is totally forbidden between the sunrise and sunset, Malappuram is like a ghost city during day time. It resembles a Gulf city with all eateries closed and life moving at a very slow pace. The neighbourhoods come alive after the evening prayers and stay on until dawn, just like in the far-away Gulf countries.

The Arab influence has spread far beyond the borders of Malappuram. Emotionally, Dubai is probably much closer to most Malayalis than say Delhi or Kolkata. Moreover, the newspapers allot more column inches to the developments taking place in the Gulf countries than other parts of India. Arabic cuisine is currently on the menu cards of restaurants even in small towns across the state.

The surge in the Muslim population of Kerala is in tune with the community’s growth across the world. According to a Pew Research Center study, the global Muslim population is estimated to grow at 73% against the overall increase of 35% in the world population in the coming decades. World-wide, Muslims are expected to increase from 1,600 crore to 2,800 crore in the next four decades. By then, there will be one Muslim for every three people. The main reason for this is the relatively high fertility among their community members.

The high fertility may be attributed to the religious pronouncements given out by the likes of hate preacher Zakir Naik who enjoin his followers not to go for birth control. Another preacher, Mufti Ibn Adam al-Kauthari, as quoted by Al-Balagh website, has said that “one of the main aims of marriage in Islam is procreation. Islam encourages its followers to reproduce in large numbers in order to increase the size of the Ummah”.

In addition to the fast growth of Muslim population in Kerala, migrants from other countries like Bangladesh, Maldives and Myanmar too add to the numbers here. In fact, the Union government recently asked the Kerala government to be wary of the Rohingya migrants from Myanmar, who have lately found their way into various states across India. The Rohingya Muslims first came to Kerala in August 2015 in a 19-member batch. Currently, their strength in Kerala is supposed to be around 26.

The demographic balance in the state could get upset further with the outward migration of Hindus and Christians to the US as well as to other first world countries. Those who go in search of a job to those countries prefer to settle down there. In contrast, Muslims mostly go to the West Asian countries, and they always come back to Kerala after several years. So, Muslims gaining a majority in Kerala in the coming decades is a real probability.

It has been long since Indian universities ceased to be cloisters of higher learning where scholars and the faculty were far too preoccupied solely with their academic engagements to stray into discourses on other areas of social and national significance during peace time. Of late, the situation has taken an intriguing turn with the left-leaning students becoming vociferous and assertive in their demand for space and freedom in the sanctity of their universities to express their views on practically any and every issue, such as nationalism, patriotism and the political cross-currents afflicting the country. They have also started protesting against situations arising from the government’s handling of the divisive, communal and fundamentalist forces in the frontline states of the country such as Jammu and Kashmir.

Evidently, these are issues that have nothing to do with their principal vocation of learning. What makes this development particularly jarring, and even alarming is the involvement of some anti-national elements, charged by the police with cases of sedition, in the exercise of their democratic rights by the student community and the uncalled for support readily extended to them by the Communists and other leftist political parties. Sloganeering of and plastering of the varsity premises with posters, screaming anti-national barbs like freedom for Kashmir (Azadi), dismemberment of the nation, and glowing tributes to the enemies of the State who have been found guilty and punished by the judiciary or neutralized by the armed forces, as well as targeting of the territorial integrity of the nation, have become a worrisome matter of concern both for the university authorities and the lawenforcing agencies.

Battle Lines Drawn

Unpleasant situations arise when warring factions of students, drawn along the lines of student associations with conflicting political orientations, are egged on by selfish politicians, and confront each other, with the wary law enforcing agencies keeping a benign eye on the disturbing events and occasionally stepping in to bring ugly brawls and downright showdowns under control. Despite all the watchfulness and preparedness on the part of the authorities, explosive situations do crop up with alarming regularity, resulting in mindless violence and furious nationwide debates in which the mainstream media, closely followed by the social media, exuberantly throw their hats in the ring, vying for a piece of action to improve their TRP ratings. Students who cannot be bothered to commit support to either faction get caught in the crossfire.

Furthermore, the student community as a whole, and the faculty, get embroiled in the vicious maelstrom of endless debates and sticky situations, reeking of political malodour, sooner than they realize and are hardly able to extricate themselves from the embroilment to retreat to their former state of quiet and peaceful seclusion from thehumdrum prevalent outside the precincts of their universities, in the pursuit of learning. Despite being among the principal victims of the clamour and wrangling affecting their wards, parents are left with hardly any say in the matter and remain mute witnesses to the seemingly endless rounds of shadow boxing and having nothing else to do apart from wringing their hands in despair. All these, when the nation as a whole, is in a dilemma, being hardly in a position to focus on resolving matters of extreme urgency and importance like cross-border terrorism, elections to state assemblies, and raging controversial issues like the Uniform Civil Code, demonetization, etc. The ruckus created compels the Central government to put all other important matters on the backburner so that it canredress the imaginary grievances and baseless misgivings of the studentcommunity.

Media in the Fray

The fetid state of affairs in the universities is further compounded by the trigger-happy media, which loses no time in rendering the unhealthy student-politician cocktail a vigorous stir, by granting extensive coverage and playing up the grievances of the student community, sidelining reports of more important incidents like the brave acts of our soldiers at the border who do not shy away from sacrificing their lives while encountering treacherous enemy soldiers and terrorists. Such a lopsided attitude and approach on the part of the media could be termed nothing short of an exercise inirresponsibility as it gives a misleading and very unreal halo to the recalcitrant elements among the student community protesting over issues, with barely any bearing on their interests in the first place. Egged on by the left-leaning political parties and goaded by a gleeful media, the student community gets carried away by the momentum and swiftness with which their rallies and demonstrations degenerate into sorry spectacles of infructuous student energy.

Enters Martyr’s Daughter

The recent incident of a 20-year old student of the Delhi University, whose father, a soldier in the Army, had become a martyr in an ambush by a bunch of terrorists, is an avoidable case of the flexing of muscles by the student community. Following an ugly fracas between two factions in the college campus, which got physical over an invite extended by a prestigious college of the Delhi University to a student leader, who is already facing legal action on charges of sedition, to be a guest speaker at an event organized by the college, the martyr’s daughter was shown in the media supporting the group that was gung-ho about the controversial student leader being allowed to have his freedom of expression. This was to the chagrin of the opposing group that was upbeat about nationalist sentiments and the unsuitability of the invited guest speaker under a shadow of sedition to be a speaker.

The martyr’s daughter was first shown holding a placard claiming that her father had been killed by war and not by the Pakistanis, and then holding another placard, screaming that she was not afraid of the student union that vehemently opposed participation by the detested guest speaker at the college event. Her act of dragging the name of her late father who had given up his life for the nation in Army action against a group of terrorists, trained and armed by an enemy country, to stand by someone who had already been caught up in the eye of a massive political storm which had barely blown over, albeit on the pretext of demanding freedom of expression, was both uncalled for and unfortunate. Her actions predictably provoked a backlash from the group of students who were determined that no quarter be given to the controversial student leader, charged with fanning anti-national sentiments, whose loyalty was suspected to lie not for the unity of the nation but elsewhere – withseparatists and divisive forces bent upon the disintegration of the Indian nation, in short, with the enemies of the State.

Retreat by Martyr’s Daughter

The far left political elements, who do not shy away from resorting to violent means to thwart the political system in the country and the stability of the nation, seized this opportunity to exploit the potentially explosive situation, by hurling invectives and throwing threats of bodily harm including rape and murder, at the young girl student who had stepped out of the line to make a point in support of the freedom of expression. The reflex action on the part of practically everyone involved in or monitoring the events was to suspect the students association against the misuse of the varsity precincts for the espousal of inflammatory and anti-national speeches. The affected girl student took up the matter with the Delhi Commission for Women, which provided her security in the form of two Home Guards.

Delhi Police have, on their part, filed a case against the miscreants. Meanwhile, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the association that was suspected of threatening the martyr’s daughter, alleged the involvement of elements of rival factions bent upon besmirching its name in the crime. It has also filed a case with Delhi Police against the real culprits. According to the preliminary investigation reports by the Police, the real culprits were not from the ABVP but from a left-wing student organization – namely the All India Students’ Association (AISA). Following the distressing developments, the martyr’s daughter kept a low profile and declared that her 20-year old self cannot take it anymore; and now she wanted to focus on her studies and keep away from further field action by the student groups. However, she hastened to exhort her friends and well-wishers to continue supporting the protesting student groups!

Faculty Flounders

Meanwhile, the faculty at the department of English where the martyr’s daughter is studying have extended their unequivocal support to her. They have, in fact, gone ahead and issued a signed statement stating that it was the bounden duty of educational institutions to nurture responsible, sensitive, and critical thinking students without the fear of violent reaction. However, without meaning to cast aspersions on the young girl student who sidled in and sidled out of the controversy, the most bemusing feature of her brief you-blink-and-you-miss-her role in the sordid drama was not the ease of conscience with which she vindicated the Pakistanis of killing her father and not even the adroitness with which she excused herself from any further part in the protest movement albeit for the purpose of focusing on her studies, but the naivety displayed by her when she exhorted her friends to join and keep the protests going! Would it be too much to expect the young girl student and the faculty, to extend to the other protesting students, who could not be much older than her, a much-needed break for focusing on their own academic career rather than fritter their focus and energy on bogus protests?

Freedom No Licence to Subvert

Another amusing thing that the students’ day away from classes has thrown up is a quote by former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram who said, “I think we’re confusing universities with monasteries. A university is a place where I have the right to be wrong.” Undoubtedly, students could afford to be wrong, not deliberately or wantonly, but owing to lack of maturity and experience with the worldly ways of politics where the stakes are high and gullible students are easy prey to self-serving politicians. That was precisely what Minister of State for Home Affairs KirenRijiju meant when he said that the Leftists were polluting the mind of the martyr’s daughter. Needless to say, what Rijiju said about the girl in the eye of the storm applies to other students as well. Besides, the protesting students who are entitled, by all means, to freedom of expression vested in them by the Constitution, erred in lending support to anti-nationals and separatists who had flagrantly glorified terrorists, traitors and mercenaries of an enemy country. They cannot complain against the State for not being lenient on them after doing their bit of treading on the toes of national interests like by supporting stone-pelters in Kashmir and glorifying traitors and enemies of the State by calling them, heroes and martyrs.

Not Too Much, Not Too Little

Samuel Johnson had famously said, “Every man has a right to utter what he thinkstruth, and every other man has a right to knock him down for it. Martyrdom is the test.” That happens to be the stance of the government, which cannot be faulted for practising what is in the national interests. Taking into account the seemingly endless rounds of acrimonious debates on intolerance happening nationwide, PresidentPranab Mukherjeeslammed the ‘Azadi league’. Asking the students to abstain from “propagating a culture of unrest”,he reminded them that the nation always comes first and it is high time the people embarked on a rediscovery of a national purpose and patriotism. Before asserting their right to freedom of expression, the student community would do well to exercise the privilege of listening to their elders. If that is too much to ask of them, they should realize that what they are asking for is not too little either.

The despicable attack on the Indian Army camp in Uri by the Pakistani infiltrators last September and the incident’s precursor at the Air Force base at Pathankot led to a rather piquant situation in the world of art and culture in India. Whether you call it a storm in a teacup or an issue of great import and appeal to a proud Indian’s nationalist sentiments and his Bharatiya identity, far from being tempted to go for the easy option of trashing it and moving on, every well-informed Indian chose to own up to a view, one way or the other. Notwithstanding the ease with which Pakistani artistes had always had access to an Indian visa either for sashaying a grand entry into the hallowed chamber of fame and success – our own tinsel town of Bollywood – and becoming a familiar face in every nook and cranny of the country and wherever the global Indian resided, or for the purpose of performing ghazals for the elite and discerning music lovers of the great Indian metropolis, the recalcitrant behaviour of India’s north-western neighbour turned the tide of goodwill for the visiting artistes prevalent at the best of times among the Indian audience into hostility.

Why the Protest?

Ghastly reports about the torturing of the Indian soldiers at the border and the horrendous mutilations of their dead bodies by the enemy soldiers shook the collective conscience of Indians as a whole. Meanwhile, some ultra-nationalist political outfits as well as strongly opinionated individuals among us who genuinely felt averse to the idea of the Pakistani artistes having the time of their life and fortune made on the Indian soil while their own country was flagrantly pursuing its policy of trying to bleed India by a thousand cuts, stood up and protested. In such circumstances, how anyone could allow the Pakistani male actors serenade the Indian dream girls albeit on the screen, and the female Pak starlets reap the “oohs” and “aahs” of the Indian audience in adulation, they asked.

Moreover, they stressed that no one should dream of allowing the “soul-stirring ghazal renditions by the Pakistani ustads” lead the unsuspecting Indian audience to a stupor of indifference to the fate of the families of our soldiers who had become martyrs to the cause of defending the country’s territorial integrity. Enough was enough; there was no way the cultural ambassadors of the enemy country would be allowed any further to camouflage and overwhelm the evil designs of their political masters. They further demanded that Pakistani artistes who were already in India should leave the country immediately, the films in which they had worked be banned, and no artiste from across the border be allowed to visit India in the future. In the event of these demands not being met, there would be trouble ahead, they warned.

Bollywood Nonplussed

With the protestors trying to stall the release of at least one mammoth production, which had Pakistani actors on board, Bollywood filmmakers bemoaned the bleak prospects of recovery of the hundreds of crores invested in their projects. Although they reserved their inalienable right to defend their artistic freedom to work with the actors of their choice regardless of their national identity, they lamented that their filmmaking prowess and familiarity with the ways of the film world, fraught with its own professional and occupational hazards, had not empowered them to study the undercurrents of geopolitics. How were they to know at the time of launching their productions and hiring the Pakistani actors, which were all done when relative normalcy prevailed, that there would soon be turbulence in the bilateral relations, they asked. All that they could do now was to be more circumspect in hiring the actors for their future ventures.

Cacophony of Protests

Soon, every Indian cultural aficionado jumped into the fray and bandied about his two-cents worth opinion. Not to be left far behind, his Pakistani counterpart joined the chorus, nay, cacophony and questioned the audacity of politicking in matters of culture. Those who jumped to the defence of the Pakistani artistes included quite a few stalwarts from Bollywood. Artistes were sensitive people whose performances in Indian films contributed to the strengthening of the cultural bonds between the two countries and, as such, should not be treated as lumpen elements who had no empathy for the sensibilities of the Indian soldiers’ family, they averred. Besides, hadn’t they come to our country with valid visas to work in Indian films? So, why pull out the plug on them? How could the artistes, as private individuals be charged with a feigned anti-Indian stance and penalized for their government’s activities, they argued.

Emphasizing that the demand by the “self-styled guardians and champions of nationalism to boycott the Pakistani artistes was both unjust and unfair”, they said “such loose cannons needed to be reined in” by the state and Central governments. Aside from the hundreds of crores that had gone into the making of the film, would it not be a shame if the labour of love of scores of Indian artistes, technicians, et al associated with the movie be lost if it were banned or blocked, thus argued the affected filmmakers. They also first tried to reason out with the unobliging political forces, which had a limited reach among the audience and then sought intervention by the Central and state governments.

State to the Rescue

The state and Central governments, which did not want to get embroiled in the brouhaha, soft-pedalled the issue and were quick to assure the film fraternity of protection and full cooperation in averting any untoward incident. With the idea of diffusing the tension, a tripartite talk between the movie makers, protestors and the State government was facilitated, at the end of which it was agreed that the screening of the film would be allowed with some conditions met. It was also alleged that the makers of the film would make a compulsory contribution from box office collections to army welfare fund; however the state CM clarified that this was voluntary and no such covenant was part of the deal. In the meanwhile, the targeted Pakistani actors had returned to their country. Their sound bytes were, as expected, in tune with the official line and popular local sentiments. This was construed by the cynics in India as enough proof for the complicity of the Pakistani actors in the evil designs of their State against India and, in turn, with their own position. To make matters murkier, the Pakistani authorities banned any further telecast or broadcast of Indian programs in their country.

Media to the Fore

Meanwhile, the mainstream media (MSM) was not to be outdone by individual voices raised for and against the issue. Furious panel discussions, spirited op-eds and critical blogs on the burning issue became the topic of the day. The Social Media was rife with seemingly endless rounds of debates. Nobody liked the idea of the society being vertically split into two, with the self-styled guardians of nationalism on the one side and those who questioned them on the other, although something close on such lines was already happening.

Questions and Counter-questions

Although the controversy over the Pakistani actors has blown over, the wisdom of sterilizing the rich talent pool of the world of culture on the basis of national identity still goes on like a subterranean current of a dried up river. Aren’t actors free birds averse to being caged? Aren’t they like river waters which know no national boundaries? Haven’t the people of the two nations lived together in peace and amity for centuries before the partition? Having partitioned the landmass, how do you partition the thought processes of the artiste fraternity of the subcontinent, intertwined by the umbilical cord of a common culture? Why not allow the audiences of the two nations enjoy the best of both the worlds? These and countless more are the questions of those who dare defy the restrictions sought to be imposed on the flow of artistic geniuses.

The questions are answered by counter-questions by the defenders of the nationalist sentiments. Isn’t talent available in plenty in our country? Why make out a case as if the cultural scene in India is parched for talent in the absence of concerts by musicians from across the border or that filmmaking would be rendered incomplete without the Pakistani stars coming to the rescue?  Why hanker after the artistes from a recalcitrant and cantankerous country who need us more than we need them? Are they not morally and ethically bound to repay the Indian hospitality (read fabulous amounts of remuneration) in terms of empathy for the victims of brutalities committed by their army and raise their voice to condemn the barbarity? How could Indians be expected to turn a blind eye to the plight of the families of soldiers and civilians killed by Pakistani terrorists during peace time?

At the end of the day, it is for every Indian to individually answer the questions and independently take a call on the issue. Either we live by our nationalist sentiments or junk the mushy pop-patriotism depicted in our Bollywood tearjerkers. For Art tends to imitate Life.

(The article published in daily newspaper “The Statesman” on 20th February 2017)

Cultural Diplomacy or Nationalist Sentiment?

Though there are many kinds of terrorist activities across the globe and their root causes are as varied, without beating around the bush it can be said that the kind of terrorism that most affects India is Jihadi terrorism backed by radical Islamic thought. This is the terrorism sponsored by a series of radical Islamist death cults like the Al-Qaeda, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Indian Mujahideen, Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or others that draw their inspiration from extreme interpretations of Islam, and make use of religious and sectarian differences to breed hatred.

Most of these terrorists are believers in the Salafi Jihadist movement within Sunni Islam, and they are out to kill followers of other religions, though groups like the ISIS are as keen to kill other Sunnis who do not follow their specific group beliefs as they are eager to kill anyone else. Also, without much ado it can be said that the biggest sponsors of terrorism in India can be found on the soil of Pakistan, under whatever name, be it the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), or some terrorist organizations, or bureaucratic and political oligarchies in that notorious enemy country who have vested interest in taking control of certain areas for drug trade, arms trade, giving release to their base animal instincts, or just to hurt India and its citizens, under one or the other pretext, be it the Kashmir issue, or the building of an Islamic Caliphate.

In a bid to nurse their recruitment pool, sponsors of terrorism across India strive to divide the country and its people along communal lines, and club religious followings into polarized umbrella heads such as the Hindus and Muslims, Dalits, Communists, etc. Bridging the sectarian divide and negating the ideological challenges of terrorism by raising awareness is the first step that should be undertaken by the Union government if we are to shrink the recruitment and support pool of terrorists in India. Here, it needs to be emphasized that the most fertile recruitment and support pool for terrorists in India lies within pockets of Sunni Muslims wherein the fundamentalists use all possible means, from radicalizing education to provoking youths to leave the mainstream Indian society in a bid to create and fan a feeling of heightened inequity in a communal context and encourage them to view India from the point of an antagonist. So, if a well-though-out, extensively-researched and elaborate strategy is formulated to nip Islamic radicalism in the bud among Indian Muslims, then half the work will get over because prevention is better than cure.

Furthermore, since the most important instrument of the government to combat terrorism is the police force, the role of the local police can never be overemphasized. As a transparent police force engaged in doing their duty will naturally have a greater penetration into the civic society, and would have greater access to information related to any untoward activities and their proponents, the police leadership should be given all the legal and magisterial powers as well as the freedom, support and infrastructural facilities to enable them to fight the battle against terrorism most effectively. However, here it is worth recalling that though the role of the police has undergone significant changes since independence, it still continues to function according to the 1861 Police Act. As such, currently, our police forces are ill-equipped to deliver efficient policing due to a number of reasons. Hence, there is an urgent need to implement police reforms in a time-bound manner. In this context, some of the measures that should be immediately undertaken to make effective policing possible are enumerated below:

i)    Since currently, the police force is grossly inadequate in numbers to discharge its numerous duties, the police-population ratio has to be improved in right earnest.

ii)    Police constables and officers should be specifically trained and equipped to perform counter-terrorism roles while doing community-oriented policing. Special attention should be paid to sensitizing them with regard to human rights.

iii)   Service conditions of the police officials, as well as the lower ranking constabulary should be improved drastically as soon as possible.

iv)   To enable them to face modern-day challenges, police forces should be rapidly modernized and strengthened.

v)    Poor intelligence being a major cause of police failure, exceptional emphasis must be laid on capacity building and intelligence management to prevent or deal with terrorism, insurgency, communal riots, organized crime, mass migrations and other non-traditional security threats.

Besides implementing the recommendations mentioned above, there is also an urgent need to increase and strengthen border surveillance and intelligence, uproot terror funding and sleeper cells, and immobilize the drug trade and arms supply routes, and counterfeit currency rackets used by terrorists. All these will help in preventing external pressure and infiltration. Furthermore, our Central government needs to take the following measures with strong political resolve and centre-state coordination to effectively combat terrorism:

1. Develop a solid counter-terrorism policy which is well understood and supported by all stakeholders including all Indian states and international polity.
2. Regular crackdown on corruption and black money to remove funding and support for terrorists.
3. Make security of the homeland the priority on which counter-terrorism strategy is based.
4. Make better efforts for prevention including better coordination between security and intelligence agencies. Moreover, seamless working of the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) should be ensured.
5. Pursue successful investigation and prosecution that builds and boosts morale all around.
6. Strengthen borders with equal focus on land, air and coastal security.
7. Upgrade cyber crime-fighting capacity.
8. Build better and stronger ties between local police, security agencies and civic society.
9. Always strive to engage in fruitful diplomacy.
10. Drastically increase video surveillance in public places.
11. Continuously monitor the internet and social media and track IP addresses of suspects.
12. Empower the National Investigation Agency (NIA) with more and better staff and resources.
13. Empower the National Security Guard (NSG) and modernize it along with ensuring its critical coordination with intelligence agencies.
14. Modernize the Army, Navy, Air Force and security services like the RAW, IB, CBI, etc.
15. Resort to punitive cross-border surgical strikes as a matter of continued policy.
16. Create a dedicated cadre for intelligence analysis – currently, we have many for collecting the required data, but very few to connect the dots and draw reliable conclusions and judgments.
17. Empower the Intelligence Bureau (IB) further – much beyond just handing over the terrorists to other agencies.
18. Appropriately empower agencies investigating terror, so that they do not keep tripping on legal loopholes.
19. Change laws in the border states and other terrorist-infested areas to strengthen anti-terror infrastructure and law enforcement.
20. Create a dedicated agency for crisis readiness, management and response to terror attacks.
21. Enforce biometric recognition systems at mass transport points including railway stations and airports.
22. Create actual separate fast-track courts for handling terrorism-related cases, instead of just having session courts burdened with more cases and designated as fast-track courts.
23. Fully upgrade the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and ensure its efficient functioning in all the states.
24. Resolve border disputes with finality and international agreement rather than allow them to keep festering.
25. Give a major boost to good, efficient and people-friendly governance.
26. Increase anti-terror movements and surveillance in border areas with the participation of local communities and community heads.

The good news is that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government is already working on many of these points though the hiccups are expected when trying to battle 21^st century terrorism with 19^th century institutions. Addressing terrorism starts with reducing cash and increasing good governance, both of which are currently on the top priority list of our Union government’s agenda.

Once cash is reduced in the economy, the counterfeit currency becomes easier to track, and funding of terrorism through crimes like the drug trade becomes readily detectable and manageable. Once the sources of financing and mobility are cut off, terrorists have little ground to play around, except near the border, where active support from our enemy country Pakistan provides them sustenance. Good governance helps to remove inequity and also restores the faith of the citizenry in the government. As long as people of India are convinced that the government does not lack integrity, and is doing its best for the citizens, terrorists and radical Islamists will have no takers.

Last, but not the least, terrorism cannot be eradicated without the full involvement of the local community and their participation in anti-terror activities. They should be persuaded and motivated to shed the role of mute bystanders or victims. Wherever possible, they should be legally equipped with the requisite infrastructure and weaponry to counter terrorist activities. And for this to happen, a corruption-free environment where people have absolute faith in the government, as well as easy access to justice, is more important than anything else. This is what the Union government is striving to establish right now. We hope when it comes to anti-terror activities, politicians across the aisle will join hands for the betterment of our nation, rather than making hearsay and unsubstantiated allegations against the security apparatus, which would only demoralize it.

Reams of newsprint and thousands of web pages have recently devoted themselves to scrutinizing the importance, execution and the long-term impact of the latest large-scale intervention introduced by the NDA government through the sudden demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes. However, amidst all the hype and hoopla that demonetization has brought with it, a more pertinent concern has managed to skip the limelight over the past year. This is an issue which could impact the Indian economy far more significantly than even this groundbreaking change in monetary policy, something that will be responsible not just for the stable economic growth of this country but also the welfare of our future generations. That issue is of job creation, or more specifically, India’s urgent need to tackle jobless growth and create large-scale employment opportunities.

India’s Unemployment Problem

In the current scenario, the problem of unemployment exists as an entirely different demon, completely unrelated to India’s fairytale growth story. More than a million Indians become eligible to join the workforce every month. Unexpectedly, for an economy considered to be one of the fastest growing ones on the world stage, most seekers have to be turned away. So, though the country’s GDP growth continues to be healthy, the bad news on the jobs’ front warrants the Union government’s immediate attention as jobless growth does not help anyone. According to the Labour Bureau, India’s main agency for collecting statistics related to the creation of jobs in labour-intensive sectors, no new jobs were created, but there was actually a fall of 20,000 jobs across eight labour intensive sectors in the December quarter of 2015.

It would be naïve to argue that the government should be able to employ all the new or displaced job seekers, despite the existing paucity of qualified people to take up so many vacant posts in the public sector. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to make the bureaucracy a lean, mean and efficient administrative machine are laudable, what it also means is that the public sector will have to inevitably shrink. Compared to 1996-97, when more than 19 million people were employed in government jobs, 2016 saw the occupation of such positions reduce to 17 million, despite the massive rise in population.

India’s Employability Problem

If the public sector is unable to hire, then jobseekers will automatically turn to the private sector. This is where India’s broader employability problem comes into the picture. However, this has to be seen in the light of one contradictory report that says that occupation under the government’s flagship rural employment program, MGNREGA, saw more than 200% hike in November and December 2016. While MGNREGA workers were not more than 35 lakh in months preceding demonetization, the post-demonetization period saw this figure touching 80 lakh.

This trend is worrying as it could mean that the number of jobs contracted in MSME sector after trade and commerce got hit due to the cash crunch in the months following demonetization. Is there a way out? Even when we remove demonetization from the backdrop, job growth figures have always been a painful area for the present government. Add to it the growing number of job-seekers and the looming threat of automation and 3D printing that will replace humans like never before.

Here it needs to be emphasized that agriculture, manufacturing, and services by themselves cannot fully meet the employment needs of the Indian workforce. There has to be a way out to prevent the migration of labourers from asset-building jobs to MGNREGA jobs that are nothing but a sops scheme. Let us now see how this can be achieved. To generate more asset-building jobs across the country, Indian industry should be able to look towards cost-effective inputs with abundant and cheap raw materials to get its mojo back.

Job Opportunities in Construction & Infrastructure Sector

In the current scenario, the labour-intensive construction industry and the infrastructure sector have tremendous potential to generate a substantial number of jobs. Since the Union Budget 2017-18 will be presented within the next few weeks, the Union government can ensure a boom in this sector by addressing some long-pending issues faced by the stakeholders. Cement and steel being key construction inputs, it is time for our government to resolve the major pain areas of the cement and steel producers of our country.

Talking about the cement sector, the industry is currently burdened with high excise duty and the demand has not been as promising as was anticipated after the Finance Minister presented the 2016-17 General Budget, where the Urban Rejuvenation Mission, Gram Sadak Yojana and Housing for All schemes were expected to bring a boom for the cement industry.

It is to be noted that the prevailing excise duty framework for cement sector is a vague combination of specific and ad valorem rates, which, as per analysts is a reason why duty incident on cement remains on the higher side. Another point to be noted is that cement industry provides substantial tax revenue to the government (annual tax revenue from the cement sector is about Rs 35,000 crore), next only to tobacco, liquor, and petroleum. Hence this critical sector cannot be allowed to suffer the adverse impact of the irrational tax structure and rates.

Coming to the steel industry, high import duty on nickel and coking coal, which are vital components of steel-making, has added to the cost of manufacturing, thus making the industry uncompetitive when compared to steel imported from China. There is no doubt that the domestic industry has been hit hard by a surge in below-cost import of steel. Add to it the excise duty pain and stagnant demand. Although the government has been imposing anti-dumping duty on imported steel products, this sector will not witness the desired growth unless domestic taxes are rationalized. Presently, the annual excise duty collection from iron and steel sector is about Rs 20,000 crore.

While the profit margins of the big players in the steel industry are declining, the performance of the small and medium units in the sector is assuming alarming proportions. From H1 2013–14 to H1 2014–15, the net profit margin for small producers has become negative to the extent of about 40%, and for medium producers it is about 4%. Meanwhile, the capacity utilization of many small and medium producers has gone well below 50% (Source: RBI Bulletin and NCAER Report).

Budget 2017-18: Need to Rationalize Taxes

In view of the above, it is suggested that in the upcoming budget for FY 2017-18, our Finance Minister must rationalize excise duty on both steel and cement, along with other duties on products that are used in their manufacturing. To ease the pain of demonetization and also to kick start infrastructure growth and job creation, the Union government needs to give a significant boost to the critically important steel and cement industry by levying lower or near-zero or even nil excise duty on these products for the next 2-3 years.

Infrastructure growth can receive a major boost if steel and cement providers are given benefits that will enable them to stay competitive in the race. If the government takes this step, it will automatically push demand for steel and cement. Then both 100% capacity utilization and economies of scale can be achieved. Needless to say, job growth will see the kind of rise that the government and job-seekers really want.

With infrastructure development, workers will be absorbed in both constructions of roads and buildings and also in steel and cement manufacturing. As far as government budgetary revenue is concerned, according to financial experts and government estimates, direct tax growth owing to demonetization, where the tax on higher than justifiable scrapped currency notes deposited and transparency in profit reporting of businesses, plus some dividend income from RBI, have the potential to compensate for the losses.

The BJP-led NDA government may be expecting an uptick in its support from the general public owing to the patriotic fervor involved, which did not let demonetization spark any wide public unrest. However, the underlying truth is that the public will judge the Union government and policymakers from the many impacts that demonetization will bring in the short, medium and long term. If contracted job growth and lessened trade and commerce will be the only outcomes, then the BJP-led Central government cannot expect voters’ support in the upcoming elections.

Thus, by rationalizing and easing taxes on crucial sectors of steel and cement in the upcoming Budget, the Union government will not only give a major impetus to these labour-intensive and high employment generating sectors, but the infrastructure sector will also witness unprecedented growth in the coming years. This will indirectly result in domestic as well as international image improvement of India, while also ensuring widespread and substantial absorption of the workforce across the country.

Here, it needs to be emphasized that India currently has an enormous appetite for infrastructure development, not to mention the critical need for this infrastructure creation. In the present scenario, rationalization of the duty structure of cement and steel industry can give a significant boost to infrastructure development. Job creation and rise in consumption and spending, coupled with an overall upsurge in macro and micro economic indicators, will be other added advantages.

(The article published in daily newspaper “The Statesman” on 30th January 2017)

Cement And Steel Need a Hand to Create Jobs

Despite its good intentions and many bold and positive decisions, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by Narendra Modi has been in the eye of a storm during the past several months. To a casual observer, it is clear that the government has not got its due credit even though it has initiated a number of welfare and forward-looking measures.

The Opposition parties have been vociferous in opposing each and every reform measure undertaken by the Modi government. One may probably argue that it is the job of the Opposition to make life difficult for the ruling party.

According to New Zealand’s DecisionMaker Guide to Parliament and Government, it is the role of the Opposition “to question the government of the day and hold them accountable to the public.” In a way, as Dr Don Brash of the National Party of New Zealand says: “The Opposition represents an alternative government” but at the same time, it is responsible for “producing different policies where appropriate.”

In the case of India, though the political Opposition keeps questioning the Union government on each and every issue, it does not ever offer a different perspective on any policy proposed by the government. Oftentimes, we see that they oppose just for the sake of opposing.

Of course, it is an accepted political strategy to change positions. As Nelson Mandela famously said, “Where you stand depends on where you sit.” In India, we can say that all Opposition parties, including the BJP and the Congress, are guilty of shifting their political stands depending on whether they sit on the Treasury benches or in the Opposition.

For instance, over the last few years, both the Congress and the BJP have changed their respective stands with regard to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) issue. When the Congress-led UPA government had introduced it in Parliament in 2011, the BJP had opposed it tooth and nail and the Congress, later, as the Opposition, stalled the same when the ruling BJP was pushing to get it passed by the Parliament. Thus, all parties have habitually changed their positions for political reasons.

Wholly Opportunistic Opposition

A healthy political rivalry is fine, but lately, it has been observed that the entirely opportunistic Congress-led Opposition has taken it to the extreme and it has now degenerated into a kind of enmity with the ruling NDA government. It is not difficult to understand why the Opposition parties have been crying themselves hoarse on anything and everything. That is because for them now it has almost become a question of their survival.

When the current Union government assumed charge on May 26, 2014, it was for the first time that the BJP was coming to power with an absolute majority. Furthermore, the Congress, which is the oldest political party in India and had ruled the country for most of its independent history, was reduced to a ridiculously low 44 seats. Both aspects were absolutely indigestible to the “grand old party,” particularly at a time when Crown Prince Rahul Gandhi, was looking for an opportune moment to take over the party.

Initially, the Congress waited to see how the government was performing. What it saw was not to its liking as the Central government was walking away with the applause. The NDA government first formed a committee to trace out the estimated Rs 15,00,000 crore of unaccounted money, thought to be stashed away in tax havens abroad. Then it tried to cut the red tape by scrapping the practice of setting up Groups of Ministers (GoMs) and Empowered Groups of Ministers (EGoMs), which perennially debated but was unable to take any major decisions. The previous government had 62 such panels!

The Planning Commission, existing since Jawaharlal Nehru’s time, was done away with. Instead, Modi set up Niti Ayog, to speed up decision-making. Besides, the Prime Minister also initiated several financial inclusive schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, aimed at bringing the poorest of poor into the banking stream. He also set up the National Food Grid, aimed at food security across the country.

With such welfare schemes and other positive initiatives, the people began to feel that there was indeed an efficient and result-oriented government at the centre, which seeks to make life comfortable for the common man. But this was discomforting for the Opposition. They realized that the ground was fast slipping from under their feet. If Modi was allowed to continue in the same vein, the Congress knew that it would soon be wiped out totally.

Undeterred, the government went ahead with many welfare schemes and other path-breaking projects including the Swachh Bharat Mission, Digital India, Make in India, and Namami Gange, a five-year project with a Rs 20,000 crore budget. At the same time, the country was making rapid strides in fast-tracking infrastructure development, including new roads and bridges, bullet trains, telecommunication, and railways.

Opposition Fears Becoming Irrelevant

The Union government also set into motion such other schemes as crop insurance, Atal Pension Yojana for the benefit of people in the unorganized sector, inexpensive health insurance, and making available generic medicines at affordable prices under the Jan Aushadhi Yojana. In addition, Modi also introduced several other schemes to help the girl child, pregnant women and others.

Simultaneously, Modi was making friends abroad, thus raising the profile of the country internationally. However commendable and necessary this might be, the Opposition parties in India, opportunistic as they are, have been giving a torrid time to the ruling NDA.

However, that is to be expected. As the great scientist Albert Einstein once said, “Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly.”

The desirability apart, the fact of the matter is that the current Opposition parties and their leadership in India are devoid of any concrete plan or strategy. They are below mediocre. Hence they keep throwing tantrums at all times because they fear that they may otherwise become irrelevant. And unfortunately, they are not capable of doing anything better!

Even though the quality of the Opposition is abysmal, the government cannot ignore them. It has to deal with them and do it diplomatically and effectively. In life, you can probably choose your friends, but there is no choice when it comes to choosing your enemies.

Tackling the Cantankerous Opposition

Luckily for the ruling front, India’s Opposition is made of countless parties with diverse constituencies. It is very important to note that barring the Congress most others are just state or regional parties ruling in one state or another. They have their own constraints, concerns, and requirements. The BJP could address their concerns and try to meet their needs and thereby befriend them.

It helps those parties to have a friendly government at the Centre. The NDA government could reach out to the state government, one by one. If a state party declines the overtures by the Centre and thus deprives the people of that state from getting a major project or some other bounty because of its hostile attitude, this fact can be exposed and highlighted.

If the state parties yield to the overtures, it will split the Opposition rank. Also, the NDA can score brownie points with the state’s voters by favouring that state in certain areas. This tactic if tried in one state after the other will enable the BJP-led NDA government to wean away the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, the BJD in Orissa, the CPM in Kerala, etc from the Opposition ranks. If the parties spurn the Centre’s proposals, then the NDA may not only expose the anti-people stance of the state’s ruling party but win over the public too by directly communicating with them.

For the state satraps, it may become a catch-22 situation. If they accept the hand of friendship and get projects, it will drive a wedge in the Opposition alliance. If they decline, the public will turn against the state ruling party. This is something the latter cannot allow to happen under any circumstances.

Important to Communicate Directly with Citizens

Direct communication with the people is very critical. Over and above the central council of ministers, each Member of Parliament (MP) of NDA must be asked to communicate directly and regularly with the population in their respective constituencies. While highlighting the actual policies of the Modi government, they should steer clear of all the controversial issues. For this, the government should disassociate itself from the extreme right wing votaries and fringe elements.

Democracy and freedom of speech are deeply ingrained in the Indian psyche. Over the past decades, the Congress and the left-leaning academics and historians, have perpetrated a particular mental conditioning, and a weird view of secularism. According to this view, it is progressive and acceptable to promote minority politics and identify with them. But, when someone talks about Hinduism, he is promptly stamped as a communalist.

Since this has got deeply embedded in the Indian psyche, it will take a few years of gradual and progressive education to cleanse the minds of the citizens. Any attempt to bring in sudden changes may prove futile or even lead to a negative backlash.

The NDA could also identify friendly journalists and publications of repute and communicate with them directly. Rather than confrontation, a conciliatory and placating approach and attitude would help in the current situation.

The most important way to deal with the cantankerous Opposition is to win over the voters. How does the Union government do this? It is simple. The government should come out with people-friendly measures and rein in prices of commodities and services. Any tough decisions, which could hurt the people, must be convincingly explained to the public.

For instance, demonetization was absolutely necessary to fight the menace of black money, corruption, and counterfeit currency notes; and the subsequent inconveniences were probably inevitable. In such situations, the Union government should reach out to the public and show empathy with them. The public will understand and respond positively. And when the citizens are on your side, the Opposition will have no other option but to fall in line.

(The article published in daily newspaper “The Statesman” on 25th January 2017)

How Government Should Tackle its Opponents

India’s current financial year (April-March) is a British legacy. It was introduced in 1867, following the adaptation of the Gregorian system of accounting. The primary reason for the identification of this period by the British was the crop pattern, with the revenues flowing from taxes levied mostly on agricultural products. Furthermore, December was not considered an appropriate month for the closure of accounts as it was a festive season when retail traders were busy with their Christmas celebrations, holidays and related activities.

Why the Change of Period

Undoubtedly now there are sound reasons for the proposal to switchover from the April-March period to January-December for India’s financial year. India being a predominantly agricultural country, the agriculture sector is a major contributor to the health of the nation’s economy. The agriculture sector contributes more than 15% to our country’s GDP. Over 85% of rural households depend on farm yields. The switch to January-December would afford the Union Government adequate time to assess the effects of the southwest and northeast monsoons on the agricultural sector, including crop production, food supply chain, retail grain trade, industrial demand, the collection of related statistics and data, etc before undertaking the preparation of the Union Budget.

Another factor that goes in favour of the January-December cycle is the working season. After the Budget is passed, it typically takes three months for financial allocations to reach the field and another three months for the work to start. In the case of the April-March fiscal year, by the time the work is about to begin in September, rains would have started, causing a delay in the work. However, in the case of the January-December cycle, the six months hiatus would be over by June which leaves a longer time span for the work.

Moreover, the shifting would enable the synchronisation of India’s financial year with that of more than 156 countries and several multinational companies, which open their financial accounts in an ebullient mood on January 1 alongside the ushering in of a new calendar year after a joyous holiday season. As such, it makes abundant sense to adopt the January-December period as the financial year, if only to keep in sync with the comity of a large number of nations. On a lesser note, the Delhi winter provides a very welcome period to the legislators to take up the Budget proposal for serious discussion rather than during the sweltering heat of a harsh summer.

Shankar Acharya Committee

Against the above backdrop, following two successive droughts, the Narendra Modi Government, known for breaking the mould with traditions, constituted a committee headed by Dr Shankar Acharya, formerly Chief Economic Advisor, to study the merits of a recommendation made by Niti Ayog, to align the financial year with the calendar year. The Committee submitted its report in December 2016, supporting the proposal. The Rabi and Kharif summer and winter crop periods and the monsoon cycle were the primary factors for the Niti Ayog’s recommendation to be backed by the Shankar Acharya Committee. While endorsing the move for changing the accounting period, the Committee asserted that the change would align the fiscal with the country’s agricultural harvests and the monsoon cycle. Here, it needs to be stated that if the Union Government decides to shift the financial year, it would also have to change the date when the Union Budget will be presented.

While the Budget will have to be presented in November, Parliament sessions will also have to be reworked, along with changes in data collection and working of the state governments. If the latest move to advance the date for the presentation of the Budget for 2017-18 to February 1 from February 28 is any indication, then it seems that the NDA Government has already decided to change the financial year to the January-December period sometime in future. It is likely that the proposal will take one or two years to materialise as the Opposition political parties have already orchestrated a campaign to oppose the Centre’s initiative to advance the presentation date of the forthcoming Budget by one month.

Opposition up in Arms

The Opposition parties, in disarray and already flustered and flummoxed by the surge in the goodwill among the people for the BJP, following the surgical strike successfully dealt across the border and the equally effective measures on the home front to curb terrorism and unearth black money, are currently clueless as to how to restore even a modicum of the people’s faith and trust in them. Consequently, they have seized upon the Centre’s initiative to advance the presentation date of the Union Budget by one month. The Election Commission’s announcement of the general elections to the state assemblies in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, to begin barely three days after the proposed date of presentation of the Budget, has given the Opposition a shot in the arm. The united Opposition has taken up the issue with the Election Commission, arguing that the Union Government would likely announce populist programs and measures in Budget 2017-18 with an eye on the state elections to be held between February 4 and March 8.

This would, according to them, give the BJP an undue advantage over the Opposition parties at the polls. They have, therefore, demanded that the upcoming Budget be presented only after March 8 by which date the elections would be over. They have also sought the intervention of the President of India in the matter. In response to their plea, the Election Commission has sought the Central Government’s views on the issue. The President has, however, given his assent to the commencement of the Budget session of the Parliament on January 31 in deference to the Government’s proposal. The BJP, on its part, has refuted the Opposition’s charge and claimed that the General Budget is for the entire nation and not state-specific. It has called the Opposition’s stance anti-poor and anti-farmer.

Hackneyed Proposal

Meanwhile, here it is worth recalling that there is nothing new about the plan to realign the financial year to sync with the calendar year. It has been a much-debated issue, taken up in a fresh round of discussions from time to time over the years, only to be eventually kept on the backburner. It was as early as in 1984 that a committee – L K Jha Committee – was constituted by the then Congress Government to examine the proposed shifting of the financial year. The Committee unequivocally recommended the proposal on the ground that this would soften the impact of the southwest monsoon on the Union Budget.

Though the Jha Committee’s recommendation had received the support of several state governments and parliamentarians, the then ruling Congress Government did not accept it on the grounds that the benefits that were likely to accrue from the shifting were too marginal and not worth the extra efforts needed to be put in to collect the required data from the market and the long time that the exercise was expected to take. Notwithstanding these reasons, it was obvious that the Government could not be bothered to stir out of its comfort zone to be innovative. Nor was it prepared to introduce the required amendments to tax laws, prevailing systems, etc.

Objection Facile

The Opposition’s point of objection to the advancing of the presentation of Budget from February 28 to February 1 is superficial, if not facetious. To claim that the Central Government would entice the voter with an announcement of sops, freebies and populist schemes, to be made only a few days before the polls, is an expression of contempt and cynicism for the voter. The Indian voter has, time and again, demonstrated in the past that his political maturity and sagacity are beyond the pale of a doubt by any political pundit. He is not easily swayed by the lure of pre-poll promises. In short, his voting pattern is based on the track record of the parties and candidates contesting the elections. Hence, there is no reason or pretext to surmise that he would act any differently this time around. The apprehension, real or feigned, of the Opposition parties, is, therefore, baseless and unfounded. That is the reason why the BJP termed the Opposition’s demand for delaying the Budget presentation anti-people.

Government’s Call

Notwithstanding the important reasons for the switchover of the financial year to align with the calendar year, owing to the objection raised by the Opposition that has vociferously protested the government move, the question now arises as to whether the Central Government has the prerogative to choose the timing of the presentation of the Budget. Let us not overlook the fact that there is nothing sacrosanct about maintaining the April-March period for this purpose. The flimsy reasoning that the Budget proposed to be presented on February 1 this year will be followed in just three days time by general elections to the legislative assemblies in five states stands no scrutiny on pragmatic grounds from a long-term perspective.

This is on account of the fact that practically every year there are elections in some states or the other, which might hinder presentation of the Budget and delay the onerous task of the Union Government merely because the timing is found inconvenient by some or all of the Opposition parties. To present the General Budget in different months, year after year in a bid to accommodate the exigencies of elections to states would, by no stretch of the imagination, be a healthy democratic practice. Elections are conducted by the Election Commission, which as an autonomous institution, decides on the time schedules irrespective of the convenience of any political party whether it is in the ruling or opposition ranks.

It would be only fair to expect the Union Government, which enjoys the mandate of the people of the nation as a whole, to enjoy the prerogative on the same lines as the Election Commission to choose the timing of the Budget in terms of the administrative exigencies and convenience to implement the budgetary provisions with prudence and pragmatism for optimal effect.

The recent paradigm shift in the Indo-Pak relations may, on the face of it, seem just another phase in the rivalry between two countries born from the partition of a greater whole. However, the latest round of bitterness, terrorist attacks, surgical strikes, Kashmir valley unrest and the mutual attempts to expose spies do not seem so much a result of age-old rivalry as they are a result of China stoking and provoking pre-existing bad blood between the two South Asian rivals for its own gain, as well as to corner India.

Here it is worth recalling that the latest round of Indo-Pak bitterness really took off on the day China declared diplomatic war against India, undermining India’s sovereignty, and hooting out its claims to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan, by signing the agreement for China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with Islamabad, and without even asking for India’s opinion.

After this sly act, China sat back and began to dangle the carrot of the CPEC before the world as well as to the populace of the affected territories, including PoK, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan. The Communist nation seems to be trying to convey to the people of these regions that the CPEC has the potential to boost prosperity and economic avenues after it becomes operational. Thus, China is probably trying to instigate the natives of these regions to protest against India so that the latter gives up its claims and objections, and accepts the illegal secession of these areas without any protest.

What Pakistan couldn’t do through half-a-century of nursing terrorism, China is trying to achieve in a few years using its Machiavellian diplomatic and economic aggression. Likewise, it is taking the same approach in Bangladesh by pitching in to build road connectivity from Kunming to Chittagong via Myanmar and Cox’s Bazar. This highway will be separate from the proposed Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor, the talks for which are underway.

The underlying note of these efforts appears to be isolating and hurting India. The outcome of the Bangladesh move, expectedly, would be greater unrest in India’s Northeast region, some parts of which China has long craved to own. This attitude of China becomes very apparent when one analyses its comments, both after India objected to CPEC, and after China signed the treaties with Bangladesh.

“It is regrettable to see CPEC become another unharmonious factor in Sino-India ties, but China is unlikely to give up on the idea of CPEC because of India’s protest,” an article in Global Times, which is China’s state-run publication, said when our External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, voiced India’s concerns over the corridor, which passes through PoK, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Furthermore, in October, a few days before the BRICS summit, the same Global Times, de facto controlled by People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, emphasized in an article, “it would not necessarily be a bad thing if an increasingly close relationship between China and Bangladesh puts some pressure on New Delhi to rethink its strategy in this region and encourages it to put more effort into improving relations with China ….” In the same article, via the following paragraph, GT tried to hoodwink those who can see through China’s ambitions.

“There is a popular view that China is trying to carve out for itself a pre-eminent role in South Asian affairs and that it intends to contain India’s rise by seeking closer cooperation with countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar,” adding later, “In this regard, some people believe China’s One Belt and One Road initiative has been used as a political tool to achieve Beijing’s goals.”

The view is not new, nor unfounded. It was on November 7, 1950, that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel wrote to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru with respect to China’s aggression and designs on India: “The Chinese Government has tried to delude us by professions of peaceful intention. My own feeling is that at a crucial period they managed to instill into our Ambassador a false sense of confidence in their so-called desire to settle the (Tibetan) problem by peaceful means. There can be no doubt that during the period covered by this correspondence, the Chinese must have been concentrating for an onslaught (on Tibet). The final action of the Chinese, in my judgment, is little short of perfidy.”

This time, it is the CPEC around which China is professing peaceful intentions, but its aim is to demolish India’s claims and objections to Pakistan occupying part of Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan being occupied through deceit. China is professing that its intentions are economic, but it is not only economic, as the country’s continued support to Pakistan, its joint military exercises with Pakistan, and its aggressive tendencies on Ladakh border amply indicate. And, of course, Aksai Chin, occupied by China since the 1962 war continues to be seceded from India, torn from India by China’s military might.

The CPEC, when completed, would put Chinese military within a few hours’ distance from New Delhi backed by infrastructure and establishment of Pakistan. So, while the recent paradigm shift in the Indo-Pak relationship (seemingly built around speeches and signals sent by both countries before, after and on their respective Independence Days) seems impulsive on the surface, for India, it has deeper roots and stakes than just the fate of Kashmir or the fate of Gilgit-Baltistan.

The CPEC is not an additional context in the paradigm shift in the Indo-Pak relationship. The disputes between India and Pakistan, over a myriad of issues ranging from trade to terrorism, have been going on since the two countries became independent identities. The CPEC acts as the catalyst for escalation of issues, including that of Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, which have so far remained undecided and unresolved.

It explains why now, of all times, India and Pakistan moved into strategic positions of no retreat with no way left for reconciliation. It is probably because the CPEC is scheduled to be completed by December 2016 and it may upset all political balance in the region – permanently. So, it’s never, if not now, as far as both countries are concerned.

Understand this, CPEC runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan. Once completed, it would directly link China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to Gwadar Port in southwestern Pakistan. It may also enmesh Pakistan’s economy inextricably into that of China’s. This has the potential to end all hopes of India with regard to asserting its claims or maintaining its role in the precarious political balance over the disputed territories.

Besides the obvious economic benefits of moving goods, with the CPEC in place Chinese troops would be able to move unimpeded through land up to the Arabian Sea at short notice, affecting and upsetting the entire economic and political balance in the region – which may gradually expand also to include Africa.

Forget that the CPEC is currently being projected as a US$46 billion project that would apparently and magically turn Pakistan into a world economic hub while giving short shrift to India. The Army generals in Rawalpindi know well enough that as long as disputes over the sovereignty of the regions through which the CPEC runs remain undecided, it provides China the rationale and excuse to deploy troops all along the corridor ostensibly to “protect investments and economic interests”.

China, however, would not be interested in manning the corridor’s security round the year, because it would be expensive and pointless without immediate political exigency. Once enabled, the CPEC’s military use would always remain open to China. So, it may also try to see that Pakistan’s claim over the disputed territories gets recognized and asserted before the international forums and polity.

This may be one of the real reasons behind Pakistan trying to escalate its rhetoric and action on the Kashmir, Baloch, and Gilgit-Baltistan issues. Furthermore, there seem to be other factors involved that are conducive to the conflict and diplomatic locking of horns. The last time India and Pakistan made a major change to their international status and positioning, there was a BJP-led government in India, and Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister of Pakistan.

On May 11, 1998, India catapulted itself into the club of nuclear powers by successfully detonating three nuclear bombs and adding two more on the next day. Not to be outdone, on May 28, Pakistan, under Nawaz Sharif, detonated five nuclear bombs against India’s five asserting itself as a nuclear power. For good measure, Pakistan detonated a sixth atomic bomb on May 30 in a bid to stay one up on India.

Ten days before Pakistan conducted its nuclear tests, the Pakistani foreign minister travelled to China for ‘consultations’. Since the 1980s, China has supplied Pakistan with military tools and technology and is its major arms supplier. China continues in its occupation of areas (Aksai Chin), which it had usurped during the Indo-China war of 1962.  And now it sees Pakistan as its strongest ally in Asia.

Currently, Nawaz Sharif is the prime minister of Pakistan, and there is a BJP-led government in India. China started taking an interest in Gwadar port in 2002 when US forces entered Afghanistan and Central Asia. But they lost interest after Islamist violence against China in 2007 and in the face of Baloch opposition. China renewed its interest in gaining access to Gwadar port in 2015 through the CPEC, only when it found a familiar setting – Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan and BJP in India – back in the region.

The Communist country also pushed up its schedule and said the route needs to be completed by December 2016, though the entire project execution may take a few years. Lately, Sharif has now started rallying his cronies. In view of the above developments, the India government must remain extremely cautious and chalk out an appropriate strategy for the CPEC is no tool of peace, but a tool of China’s imperialist ambitions.

Corruption in India is a multi-headed monster, which has been shored up as much by greed and dishonesty as it is by illiteracy and lack of awareness. Making India a corruption-free country is no overnight project, because it has to be a war fought on many fronts and battlegrounds. However, it is undoubtedly a war that we need to win, because corruption distorts resource allocation and makes a mockery of India’s democracy and independence by denying equal rights to all and by diverting taxpayers’ money from public use into private pockets.

From increasing deterrence and cures for this malady by escalating transparency in transactions, to effecting social change through awareness campaigns and gradual social engineering, the war against corruption in India would be time-consuming and messy. But to enable the Indian citizens to truly claim their rights and make them feel inclined to carry out their duties, the disease of corruption has to be eliminated.

Corruption in its most pervasive form destroys the faith of citizens in the institutions of state and democracy and alienates them from the government. On the flip side, a government alienated from the grassroots becomes vulnerable to forces of corruption. Thus, corruption establishes a self-sustaining system, a Gordian knot, which is difficult to untangle and requires to be slashed through by drastic measures like demonetization.

Transparency International, the global anti-corruption coalition, defines corruption as “the misuse of public office for private gain.” In India, corruption flourishes via two routes – bribery, wherein private entities willingly make payments to derive unfair advantages and benefits; and extortion, wherein citizens do not get access to rights unless they pay up.

Again, corruption in India is most noticeable at three levels – petty, systemic and grand. At the level of petty corruption, we find government employees and public servants who depend on small bribes to supplement their income – for instance, a traffic police pulling up a truck for no reason.

Similarly, at the level of systemic corruption, we find petty corruption converging to create established channels that extend upwards from the bribe collection points – from check-posts to ministers and from liquor dens to police commissioners, with middlemen structured across a hierarchy. These are the cartels that back, propagate, and perpetuate the hafta system and the kind of corruption that attracts anti-social elements and worshippers of violence.

Then there’s the grand corruption where politicians and top administrative cadre take decisions involving large public contracts or projects with money or assets meant for development channeled to individual pockets – these range from municipal road contracts to helicopter scams.

There’s more, like passing rules or ordinances, or even laws to make it difficult for a targeted section to earn a livelihood or continue in their way of life or doing things – done in the name of public good – but actually to create opportunities for further systemic corruption. This is grand systemic corruption, a hallmark of corrupted political parties.

So, how to take care of all these? Thankfully, technological innovations provide us with some measures that may act together to form the sword to cut the Gordian knot of corruption in India. The current NDA government at the Centre is already acting, and opponents are foaming at the mouth. What is now needed is public support for the Centre’s demonetization move and other such initiatives, which may not be perfect in themselves, but will go a long way in slowly throttling corruption in the country.

Some more steps that India needs to take to emerge as a corruption-free country include the following:

1. Ensuring universal literacy, without which citizens will never understand their rights or be able to assert them by making informed choices – for instance, booth captures and vote banks will continue and the corrupt will continue to rule and flourish in India unless voters assert their rights. Furthermore, as long as illiteracy plagues the country, digitization will also fail with middlemen assuming charge.
2. Creating anti-corruption awareness and educating people about how corruption works, and what they should do when faced with instances of corruption. These must also be taken to classroom textbooks so that even children know when wrongs are being committed.
3. Eradicating licence raj, and providing speedy alternatives to entrepreneurs so that the corrupted become unable to block honest growth. This calls for transparency in system that can be infused only through digitization of all processes.
4. Continuously monitor efforts of foreign countries trying to export their corruption to India, like setting up chemical units here, which they are not allowed in their countries, or while making arms deals, etc. Indian laws, especially those that have become obsolete and do not match with present needs, must be amended/ repealed.
5. Extensive use of digital technology to ensure transparency – the Centre is already on the right track, by trying to reduce the share of cash in the country’s pool of liquid capital (M1). Infrastructure for this digitization needs to be robust and capable to withstand hacking and other malicious attacks.
6. Installation of CCTV in all police stations as well as at check-posts, banks, public offices as well as courts of law. Although at many places they are in place, there is no accountability of those responsible for their round-the-clock functioning and scrutiny of data captured.
7. Creating a National Integrity Plan or Anti-Corruption Plan that is transparent and its speedy implementation. Public officials are to be sensitized and fear instilled in them so that they do not fall prey to bribes and kickbacks in kind.
8. Increasing the number of judges and courts and strengthening judiciary to expedite access to justice, reduce delays happening in trial procedures, and cut down time for undertrials lodged in prison based on unproven suspicions. This will help in eliminating the pall of fear that the corrupt people capitalize on to extract bribes from honest citizens.
9. Overhaul the corrupted police force, increase the number of personnel and police stations in proportion to the number of people so that the laws can be strictly enforced, and powers of individual police officers diluted without affecting the efficacy or power of the force. States need to be a part in this exercise, and effective implementation of centre’s Modernisation of State Police Forces Scheme is called for. Police reforms and true execution of Supreme Court’s judgment of 2006 on setting up of three institutions for police at state level are pending.
10. Create strong punitive measures for corruption – Denmark, which is the least corrupt country today, had prescribed the death penalty for taking bribes way back in 1676. In 1690, Denmark had passed a law where civil servants embezzling state funds were punished with life imprisonment and hard labour. Though these harsh penalties have been relaxed or done away with, they successfully paved Denmark’s path to becoming the world’s least corrupt country. Not to forget, corruption is the genesis of all evils we face, from poverty to malnutrition, hence penalties deserve to be harsh.
11. Create high incentives and high reward systems, including promotions and salaries for honest public officials and whistleblowers, along with adequate measures to safeguard them from wreath of influential people.
12. Overhaul British-era laws to reduce loopholes and increase transparency and promote conformity with the Indian conditions. India’s criminal law and penal code needs extensive overhaul, something that has been overlooked for long.
13. Remove superfluous laws and regulations that set unrealistic targets for common people and burden them with compliance requirements that the honest majority wouldn’t be able to meet. This includes simplified tax laws and their bare acts drafted in a manner that common man can easily understand all provisions of law.
14. Donations to political parties is so opaque that any registered party that doesn’t even field contestants in polls can accept any amount of money and prevent any repercussions by declaring same as receipt from anonymous sources in less than Rs. 20,000 denomination, thus steering clear of need to declare details of donor. The Election Commission has advocated reducing this threshold to Rs. 2,000 so as to infuse transparency but political will is lacking. Amend the law with immediate effect so that political parties are ceased from being partner in income tax evasion and laundering.
15. Automate taxation, do away with the filing of income tax returns for low-income groups, eliminate unnecessary compliance burdens on individuals, and reduce the army of corrupt income-tax officials. In this context, it is also to be noted that many income tax officials recruited through civil service exams are so clueless that powers in their hands to adjudicate tax cases means a mockery of system.
16. Make taxation laws and rates as well as poverty level indices more realistic. Bring more and more people under tax net while rationalizing tax rates at the same time.
17. Strictly monitor development efforts and keep a constant watch on authorities and bodies associated with them to ensure that funds are not diverted to corrupt elements. Monitoring by drones and satellites like in case of PM Fasal Bima Yojana is to be made a reality.
18. Create mechanisms to eliminate corruption in private entities and non-government sector. This includes bringing private executives under the purview of Prevention of Corruption Act, at least in case of listed companies.
19. Digitize public services and address roots of corruption in local government, urban municipal bodies, corporations, and panchayats, as well as local police stations as these are places having maximum interaction with the public. The wrong behavior of officials there may strengthen perceptions of corruption and loss of democratic rights much more than what a helicopter scam does.
20. Enforce Aadhaar and link it with more benefits. Create Central lockers for holding digital data of citizens so that they do not have to submit them time and again to different officials. Biometric identification is the way to go and not signatures, which may vary with time, or may become difficult in arthritic hands. Furthermore, biometric identification used at all levels significantly reduces chances of fraud and forgeries.

Such a list of measures can be endless because the corrupt will always strive to find a way around. But the measures and principles mentioned here, if they can be implemented would significantly reduce corruption. The good news is that the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre is already working on some of these fronts. The bad news is of inept people opposing their implementation and a corrupt Opposition trying to block every positive move that can reduce burdens of multiple compliances and neutralized corruption across a broad swath.

Before ending this article, I would like to emphasize that every corrupt transaction requires a ‘buyer’ and a ‘seller’. Furthermore, it might be the responsibility of the government to deal with corrupt civil servants, but we as individuals and businesspersons have the responsibility to expose such corrupt officials.

Furthermore, we should all strive to ensure that we don’t participate or promote corruption willingly or unwillingly, directly or indirectly. While such a statement may seem too lofty and idealistic, the fact is that only social peer pressure can help to change things. The power of social media cannot be underrated and the way stings have exposed the guilty is something unprecedented in the country.

As long as communities, villages, towns and cities bestow respect on those wallowing in ill-gotten wealth, no changes in law or system can make India a corruption-free country. Mind you, involvement of voters is essential, because, despite effective measures put in place to battle corruption, the lack of political commitment and resources, whether of a ruling party or its Opposition can seriously undermine all anti-corruption efforts.

When a move or measure is clearly against corruption and for the common good, political parties need to set aside their differences and join hands – or be exposed, and the electorate needs to take away the power of political miscreants. People are to shed their lust for pity perks offered by corrupt politicians during elections as they cripple the society and economy in the long-run. Finally, the corrupt have to be voted out from all levels, because without the electorate’s mandate against pro-corruption forces, removal of corruption will always remain beyond our reach.

After the positive response to demonetisation of high currency notes, backed by a thought that the PM is out to eradicate corruption and black money no matter how influential may be the person at the receiving end of this move, the public awaits amendment to law that allows anonymous donations to political parties if the amount is more than Rs. 20,000. Once debated, the opposition will have no other option than to clear this amendment since public sentiments are highly in favour of measures that cleanse the economy.

Finally, we should always remember that no party in power or no individual in authority can fight corruption without the help and support of the citizenry. To contain, curb, or eradicate corruption, we Indians should assert our rights. We should neither keep ourselves aloof nor fear the powers of systemic corruption. Furthermore, we should never assume the role of a neutral party in any fight against corruption as that would only empower the corrupt elements and may help corruption win the day.

This is the ‘question of the year’, something that has left politicians assuming the role of economists, economists assuming the role of panelists. What after 85 percent of currency in circulation being stripped of its legal tender status, what after liquidity being sucked from market, what after record fall in commerce, and the most crucial of all- Will India’s parallel economy breakdown?

Many experts, politicians-turned economists, even self-styled financial analysts have given their verdicts; the common man, however, is puzzled, the size of queues hasn’t yet reduced. What about a breather from prime time discussions and diverse commentary on the subject and talk some basics.

The demonetization endeavor is done and it is time to look ahead, to think of prevalent and upcoming threats and opportunities.

The general public is at unease and this is undeniable. Hence, the government has to undertake steps to ease this pain and prevent seepages through measures that are feasible yet are being unheeded. Placing restrictions on bank holidays for a month or two and increasing working hours (something that has to come proactively from banks) is warranted.

Normal banking functions like clearance of cheques and deposition of life certificates by pensioners have been left hampered and overdue due to increased stress on cash deposit and withdrawals and owing to limited hours of work. Although the delivery of bankers in past one month is appreciable, there is a valid reason to seek their extra labours at this crucial time of need.

While the general public is ending up unserved/ underserved in queues, there are heaps of new currency notes being unearthed by authorities. Chief Vigilance Officers of banks and related staff are out of picture at a time when banks are abetting money laundering.

As per latest reports, old currency notes valuing approx. INR 12.44 lakh crore have been deposited by the public. Also, more than INR 4.6 lakh crore is the value of new currency issued by RBI for enabling withdrawals by public. Of the total amount deposited in old currency a large component comprises of idle cash lying with households.

Not all the remaining balance of INR 7.8 lakh crore will hence be demanded as not everyone will feel the need to pull out entire sum of money deposited. Moreover, if all INR 7.8 lakh crore will be withdrawn, there lies no logic in hailing high bank deposits that will be used by banks to extend credit in upcoming days.

The question is ‘Why are still such large crowd outside banks and ATMs?’

There is a clear cut indication that bank and post office officials, if not all, some are involved in providing a backdoor channel. This is to be checked via audits of branches, clear indications to branches to display amount of new currency received and withdrawal requests honoured on a particular day, placement of in-house vigilance teams and unexpected raids to check disbursement records.

Also, bank branches are implementing self-created rules like allowing only home branch customers to deposit/ withdraw cash, which has augmented the pain of migrant workers. Strict guidelines should flow from RBI to curb such practices.

When this demonetization drive is so crucial and has a bearing on lives of all Indians, there is ample reason to set accountability of those not accomplishing their jobs and to book corrupt officials under treason.

A control room with easily accessible phone number and email id, similar to in cases of disasters, is to be made available sooner than later to let people raise concerns and report any wrong-doing in banks and post offices. Banks and post offices alleging false cash unavailability/ shortage must be booked.

Also, when shortage of new currency is a known fact, any stockpiling beyond a particular amount, say INR 10 lakh, in new notes must be made unlawful, with clause of imprisonment and stringent penalties.

To tackle queues, ATM withdrawals must be rationed with one withdrawal allowed in a week, and weekly withdrawal at branches limited to INR 10,000 till adequate new notes are available.

In the wake of recession and declined job growth due to cash crunch, the government should not only probe ways to increase public spending but also extend a helping hand to businesses in their repayment of interest on loans, besides coming up with pragmatic income tax rates, for say not exceeding 20 percent.

When the economy is moving toward transparency in transactions, income tax net is bound to increase, hence lowering tax burden, thus discouraging people from using unfair means to evade taxes, seems a viable and profitable option.

A banking transaction tax of 2 percent can be an answer to the complex structure in country, something that will serve multiple outcomes in a single measure. While the dream to make the country cash independent and generate trail of all transactions through digitization of payments will be sure products, tax incident will be both broader and reasonable.

It cannot be ignored that while a cashless Indian economy is being foreseen and has become the most talked about topic, the execution is both time-consuming and to be made a success, it has to be wisely explored, and made sustainable.

ATMs deployed by banks at an unprecedented scale in past one decade are an apt model of fiasco and a reason to be cautious. Half of them are dysfunctional at any given time; core banking has always been a failure with banks returning unserved customers every now and then alleging breakdown of servers.

The infrastructure of cashless India, thus, has to be made foolproof, leakages of sensitive account details has to be made a thing of past. Otherwise, it can be similar to running a bullet train on same worn-out tracks and broken down signaling system.

Financial literacy of Indians is to be amplified, and ways and means to promote cashless transactions have to be located with farsightedness. When government talks of waiver of Merchant Discount Rate, any loss incurring to banks must be compensated from PM Garib Kalyan Yojna accruals.

On a separate note, it is beyond understating that while a platform like Paytm increased users and transactions manifold since November 8, UPI, promoted by NPCI, failed to attract users. Also, lack of enthusiasm in promoting banks’ own e-wallet must also be probed.

Tasks are many and recalling of currency may be hailed as bold, it cannot be termed as the final nail in the coffin. PM Modi has two more years to deliver his part; in 2019, he will be assessed on pragmatism by the public he is educating, not on rhetoric.

The recent State Assembly dramas in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh as well as the open hostilities between the Arvind Kejriwal government and the Delhi governor have swung public focus on the role of governors of states in India, their need, and efficacy in a free country, as well as on the powers and immunities they enjoy. And to be succinct, in today’s digital age, these legacy figures of the British Raj, firmly ensconced in Raj Bhavans in each state of the country, are a terrible drain on the public exchequer ad infinitum, with nothing positive to contribute. In other words, it’s time for them to go.

By saying this, the intention is not to argue that the functions of a governor, which are indeed essential for any democracy to succeed, need to be done away with. But that given the development of digital communications, and in an age where criminals depose in court through video conference, or our Prime Minister addresses crowds in New York while sitting in New Delhi, the need to have Raj Bhavans in every state and Rajyapals with their group of cronies and attaches, only to represent the hand of the President, is unnecessary, and exorbitant.

It is better to centralize gubernatorial functions in the President’s office, with departments added for every state in New Delhi, and whittle down the powers and duties (or meddling in elected state governments) to bare essentials, like the need for President’s Rule, or caretaker functions during a change in government in states.

If the millions of poor, illiterate people in India can be urged towards internet banking and cashless transactions and the use of e-wallets overnight, there is no reason why swearing in of state cabinets cannot be done through video conference directly by the President of India. It will create less hassle, more prestige, and symbolic involvement of the entire nation in ceremonial functions of a state.

There is also no reason to maintain plush old-age homes for questionable characters, providing them immunity from prosecution, and allowing them to directly meddle in movements of elected state governments, thus slowing the speed of policy execution and helping to hold democracy to ransom. Fusing the powers and roles of individual governors into the President’s office will provide more centralization as far as the Union executive is concerned, and at the same time provide more decentralization and greater freedom to state governments. This will be a win-win situation for both the Centre and the states.

Every state has their painful history of bills pending for years before governors and being unable to exercise the will of the people, frustrating the will of elected representatives of the people residing in a legislative assembly, and of witnessing democracy demolished on the altar of the Raj of a Rajyapal. In an observation by the Supreme Court on 14 December 2016 in Delhi CM-LG feud, it has been explicitly accepted that elected governments should have power to run the state.

Governors are not elected but selected. They do not represent the unnamed multitudes of India, the sons of the soil who toil to make India what it is. They are not chosen by the people, but represent the baggage of vested interests of those who want to ensure their Raj remains on democratically elected state governments. And for this unwholesome service, these governors not only draw fat salaries, but pensions also extend to their spouses, and even after retirement from their posts the poor of India have to bear salaries of their attaches, costs for setting up of their post-retirement offices and keep on feeding the “millionaire paupers” until their deaths.

The people of this country can impeach the President of India, however difficult that process might be, but they cannot impeach the governor of a state. There’s no legal provision for that. Only the President of India can sack a governor, a rare occasion, and that takes place only when the entire nation cries out in shame, and there is no room left to brush their misdeeds or mistakes under the rug.

Understand this, the post of a governor of a state stands outside time and the democratic framework. Constitutional functionaries like the President, the Chief Justice of India or the Comptroller & Auditor General can be impeached or removed by the will of the electorate so exercised because they are constitutional functionaries. But not a state governor. However, if a governor were truly a constitutional functionary in the sense of those mentioned above, then he or she would have been subject to impeachment like the President. He or she should have been accountable to the people of the states affected by their decisions. This is not so. Governors can play the President’s role at the state-level, but with unfettered impunity.

In other words, though a governor’s actions directly affect the present and future of the people of a state, the electorate of that state – who are impacted by the governor’s actions, have no way to directly remove their headache and have to suffer in silence. This is a situation in line with interests held by the erstwhile British Raj, who needed representatives to hold enough power to subjugate the Indian masses across the country. But in a free country, this is a travesty of natural justice and democratic principles.

Nothing in the Constitution can be cited to glorify this, for the creators of our Constitution, by themselves, have given provisions for the Constitution to be amended – thereby declaring that the document is neither final nor immutable. Don’t turn our Constitution into a Holy Book to support the Raj of Rajyapals, for more have been slaughtered in the names of Holy Books in human history, more mass atrocities committed, than in the name of anything else. Here, it needs to be emphasized that flexibility is a sign of life, and rigidity that of death.

When creating the structure of a new nation, the creators of our Constitution followed some templates, much of it borrowed from the British Raj, and the Viceroy became the President, with provincial governors becoming Rajyapals. In fact, the makers of our Constitution were experimenting. And it seems they were also being cautious with the aim of ensuring that they do not upset a functioning administration and bureaucracy handed down by the British. But over the decades this experimentation has proved that coupled with progress in technological civilization the vestiges of the Raj, the Rajyapals, can be safely done away with.

The role of the current governors of states in India is not in line with the thoughts of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, who, while speaking on the role of a state governor in the Constituent Assembly, said, “If the Constitution remains in principle the same as we intend that it should be, that the Governor should be a purely constitutional Governor, with no power of interference in the administration of the province.” But that intervention comes indirectly in many forms. If you can’t pass bills, can’t appoint top functionaries without the assent of the governor, interference is implied.

The role of current governors of states is not also in line with the thoughts of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who had said in the Constituent Assembly that in the case of governors it would be desirable to have people, “who have not taken too great a part in politics.”

If one looks at the governors who came after Independence, from Surjit Singh Barnala to Sheila Dixit, from Banwarlilal Purohit to Vajubhai Vala, a majority of them are veteran politicians. The rest are drawn from the ranks of civil servants, police officers, and Armymen. Someone like President Abdul Kalam is a real rarity amongst these top executive positions – that of the President and governors – and one will have to search via satellites to find a genuinely qualified person for this post, like Kiran Bedi, who is not a diehard partisan of some party or the other.

In fact, the post of a governor has become reward postings for politicians in a bid to provide them with privileges and pensions at the cost of the taxpayers, and for mocking democracy through some prevailing loopholes in the Indian Constitution. Those loopholes might have seeped in just because the executive had to be fashioned on the pattern of the bureaucracy that was being inherited from the British Raj, along with Rajyapals.

However, since then everything has changed drastically. Furthermore, we do not want the inept handling of the democracy like that happened in Arunachal Pradesh in August this year, leading to the suicide of someone of the stature and integrity of immediate past Chief Minister Kalikho Pul. As such, it’s time to do away with the governors, because despite their actions being held as ultra vires, mala fide and unconstitutional by courts in many cases – till date, no governor has resigned nor has any criminal proceedings ever been initiated for abuse of power against any governor.

Hence, it is high time to eliminate the loopholes that slow down democracy in India. These dignitaries who have no accountability to the electorate but yet determine the fate of the people, need to go, and it is time to rename Raj Bhavans, and turn them into museums or public utilities, rather than spending crores to stroke egos of some who believe themselves to be above and beyond the people of this country.

Either build sufficient accountability to the electorate whose lives are affected by the actions of governors, or centralize functions of all governors and vest them with the office of the President. The governors, anyway, do not have the duty of heading the military, as the President has. Furthermore, splurging crores of rupees on Rajyapals and Raj Bhavans is hardly something a country like ours can continue to be burdened with.

To a dyed-in-the-wool Communist, any suggestion that Kerala’s Marxist Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is emulating Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be nothing short of blasphemy. For them, who draw their political sustenance tonic from their vehement anti-BJP stance, drawing such parallels between the two is political hara-kiri.

However, instances of Pinarayi imitating Modi are legion, starting right from the pre-election days. Just like our Prime Minister did, Vijayan too hired an image-management team before the elections. Moreover, the Chief Minister managed to outwit his senior colleague and nonagenarian VS Achuthanandan in the struggle for leadership with some adroit political manoeuvring. Even as he spoke highly of the former Chief Minister, Vijayan stealthily outflanked him with some covert moves. It was reminiscent of NaMo’s skillful handling of the senior BJP leader and elderly statesman LK Advani and successfully sidestepping him for the top job.

After becoming the PM, NaMo had famously announced a series of development programs with apt and appealing names such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Beti–Bachao Beti–Padhao Scheme, Namami Gange program, Make in India campaign and Skill India mission. Apparently, taking a leaf out of Modi’s book, Pinarayi has launched four major pro-poor initiatives and have given them catchy names. For instance, he has called a waste management and organic farming project as ‘Harita Keralam’ (Green Kerala). Another project to make government hospitals people-friendly is termed as ‘Ardram Health Mission’. Similarly, an ambitious scheme to offer houses to the homeless is named ‘Home for All’, while an education modernization and empowerment program has been titled ‘Pothu Vidhyabhyasa Samrakshana Yajnam’.

Similarly, when the Pinarayi government completed 100 days in office, the Chief Minister addressed the people of the state through a radio broadcast. There, we got to see a copycat effort of the regular ‘Man Ki Baat’ by our Prime Minister. However, Vijayan denied any such connection when asked by journalists. “I was not emulating Modi. I delivered the speech on being requested by Akashvani,” Vijayan had said.

These were not the only imitations of Modi by the comrade. Just like the Prime Minister, the Communist leader avoids talking to the media on most occasions. In fact, he has even asserted that it was not his job to brief the media after every Cabinet meeting. “The Chief Minister need not take up the role of a Public Relations Officer. It is a bad practice to brief the press after each cabinet meeting. It is the work of the Public Relations Department,” he elaborated.

Like Modi, the Chief Minister too likes to have a tight control over the party and the government. He also ensures the final say in important matters. Both have excellent work ethics and both show decisiveness in taking decisions. The similarities don’t end there. There are too many to be missed.

Both Modi and Pinarayi are very conscious of their own images and astutely try to protect them. After being designated as Chief Minister, Vijayan has been consistently striving to enhance his image by staying away from all kinds of controversies. As part of this, he has also made a few symbolic gestures, which has enabled him to project an image of being a man of consensus and reconciliation.

Furthermore, his own party comrades privately say that the Chief Minister swiftly sacked the Sports and Industries Minister EP Jayarajan mainly to safeguard the no-nonsense image he has meticulously created among the masses. Though Jayarajan is very close to the Chief Minister, Pinarayi had to let him go on charges of nepotism, particularly since the government and the party’s image had suffered a setback on account of Jayarajan’s misdemeanours.

Beyond all these, just like the Central leader, Pinarayi does not let ideological matters interfere with his state’s developmental agenda. A case in point is Pinarayi’s close co-operation with the Centre and the excellent rapport he is striving to have with the Prime Minister. In the past, whenever opposing parties ruled at the Centre and the state capital, allegations of “negligence” and “step-motherly treatment” flew thick and fast. Instead, Pinarayi has publically complimented the NaMo-led NDA government for its “creative response” and support for Kerala’s development.

Admitting that “we definitely have political differences,” the Chief Minister said the truth is that such differences had never come in the way whenever “we have raised the general issues concerning the state.” The responses by the Prime Minister and other Central ministers to the development needs of Kerala have been very positive so far, he added.

Whether Vijayan is aping NaMo or if the similarities in the Chief Minister’s actions are accidental is debatable. Asserting that Vijayan is indeed trying to imitate the Prime Minister in a bid to become more popular, BJP Kerala chief Kummanam Rajasekharan said the problem is Vijayan is not an honest politician like Modi. Meanwhile, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala too thinks Vijayan is trying to copy the Prime Minister. He said this while referring to Pinarayi’s decision not to brief the media every week.

However, CPI (M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan stoutly refuted any move by the Chief Minister to ape Modi and stressed that such discussions are unwarranted. But no one seems to be complaining as the actions by the Kerala Chief Minister have been positive so far.

There are lot many ‘may’ doing rounds in media, rarely is anyone certain about how the Indian economy will respond to government’s move of stripping INR 500 and 1000 notes of their legal tender status. This is why we do not have ‘will’ in any opinions and forecasts. Consumption ‘may’ be hit, GDP growth ‘may’ plunge, inflation ‘may’ ease and unorganized sector ‘may’ be the casualty, are a few estimates by financial and political pundits.

Another glance takes us to gold ‘may’ lose its sheen, real estate ‘may’ plummet further and the likes. Nobody’s convinced of his own theory and conclusion; no one is daring to say that the economy ‘will’ see variations in a particular way.

Agreed, it is not the cup of tea of self-styled economists and of politicians unacquainted with even basic economic concepts like demand-supply correlation to predict the exact footprint this denotification of currency notes move will leave on the economic landscape of our country, on various sectors of economy, on job creation, consumption and inflation.

Then should we stop venturing into the field of how the economy would respond to the present drive of unearthing black money and resultant cash crunch, or isn’t it a better idea to be a bit pragmatic while analyzing. Here, we shall go with the second option.

Can news be believed?

You can if you want to, but then the risk will be all yours. And with the multiplicity of news channels and plethora of experts assessing the impact, you may boil down to gaining nothing, albeit losing even your own astuteness to judge events like this. Moreover, these experts aren’t real economists, they are politically inclined either to left, right or center; they will paint the picture as it suits their respective political ideologies.

In the news, the length of queues outside banks and ATMs can be correctly pictured, but all else, even the emotion of general public are played with, distorted.

You can end up watching totally frustrated public on one news channel, while on the other you will find people chanting the PM’s name with heightened vigor and ever-high dedication. In some reports, people would be seen overwhelmingly backing Modi government’s decision; on the other, distressed men and women are ready to recall their Prime Minister, had they been empowered as such under the law.

Is there a way out, a rational view?

Rarely can anyone be so smart and precisely practical to forecast GDP growth rate, job creation, inflation figures and bank rates after unexpected events like the one that saw Donald Trump winning the presidential race in the US or the UK voting out of European Union.

The dust only settles when all facets of economy adjust to the event, and this adjustment can only be a matter of guesses and estimates, not codified judgments.

But when such events and adjustments have a bearing on the lives of all citizens of a country, it becomes imperative to prepare oneself for upcoming changes; forecasting, extrapolating and speculating then become a need, not just an exercise in vain. Hereunder we shall discuss the impact of currency denotification on sectors of Indian economy in a way that is pragmatic and real, not illusionary.

Banking Sector of India

Banks have been reeling under capital deficit that has impacted credit growth. The central government made budgetary provisions to infuse capital in banks; this however is a long-term scenario. On the contrary, banks have seen windfall of deposits in the post-November 8 scene, even Jan Dhan accounts, infamous for being a zero-deposit liability, have received more than INR 50 thousand crores as credit.

With banks’ accounts improved and lending capacity increased, economy can expect revival in loaning activity, from businesses to small farmers, beneficiaries will be all. Also in the offing are reduced lending rates and loans for those who couldn’t get institutional credit owing to lack of banking transactional histories as they now have active bank accounts.

Banks, however, will have to be vigilant in their credit extending activity since uncalculated risk will only intensify their NPA woes further. Also, co-operative banks will need to add transparency in their operations; scheduled banks must reach rural and untapped markets.

Job Creation in the country

In the short-run, this can be an area of pain for the government and society as a whole. Last couple of years, when GDP growth rates were the best in the world, job growth did not match even modest expectations. And in the period after bank notes recall, when economic activity and consumption has taken a hard hit, this segment will only contribute to additional agony.

In the long-term however and when economy adjusts to new currency and rekindled spending, hope does exist. The government will tax deposits that do not match with legal source of income, and the RBI will also decrease its liability to the extent old currency notes do not reach bank vaults, thus dividend to government will be hiked.

All this will enhance the capability of government to allocate more funds to infrastructure spending (if they choose this over the populist subsidy regime), which can become the major sector to generate jobs, thus add to consumption and spending, and thereafter begin the cycle of further job creation, then spending, then more job creation and so on.

Real Estate and Gold Market

There is a widespread fear of dip in property prices, which is backed by solid reasons like the rigged property market where purchases have substantial cash involved, and slow economic growth. To an extent, this picture looks real, but add to it the passing of Real Estate Regulatory Act, cuts in key repo rate by RBI since the beginning of 2015, schemes like Housing for All and there comes a ray of hope.

The currency recall move strikes the right chord. With an increase in assets of banks over liability, interests on term deposits is anticipated to reduce, which in turn will pave way for home loans at more attractive rates.

Even in a scenario where we consider prices at same levels, property will become a preferred investment option for buyers as they will now not seek paltry interest on deposits offered by banks. Rather, investing in property will enable buyers own an asset, besides earning better returns by renting the property and availing tax benefits on repayment of home loans.

The point to notice about yellow metal market in India is that gold is a safe haven for many investors, including the retail investor who doesn’t go for stock market, rather keeps gold as asset. While cash is the new unfavorable stock in post-demonetization period, people would park their money in other places, preferably gold.

The yellow metal market of India is to see its golden period in the near future and in long run. This also reflects in record high import of gold after November 8.

Retail Market and Other Crucial Industries

For sectors ranging from hospitality to automobiles and metals to consumer durables, the November 8 announcement has brought negative repercussions. There is not a single industry that did not see a slowdown in sales in the backdrop of cash shortage in the market.

Does that turn into a bigger chaos in the long-run? It is to be noticed that cash in hand was not the lone stimulator of consumption. Agreed, lessened liquidity has invited slump, this is only for the duration when newer currency isn’t made adequately available and it won’t be a month or two from today’s date that normalcy will return.

What will then decide growth in retail and other sectors will be credit growth, job creation, public and private investment and most importantly, transparency in functioning of economy and financial markets.

Digitization of transactions will not only expedite exchange of money, it will also produce a trail of all transactions, thus a balance sheet of the entire economy. Debit card payments and e-wallets are witnessing their best-ever period, and the government will have to work further for a smooth transition from cash based economy (more than 98 percent transactions are in cash today) to a cashless, transparent and swiftly transacting economy.

Conclusion

Panelists on news channels will predict a future of their liking; they may not come with statutory warning, paying heed to such verdicts, however, will be a loss to the astuteness of common man. You know that with reduction in the level of parallel economy of India, inclusive and sustainable growth will be the outcomes.

It can be accepted that the GDP growth rate may take a hit in the short-run, but that doesn’t mean that Indians are losing. Even with world’s best growth figures, we have faced agrarian crisis, high unemployment, disparity in income distribution, malnutrition among children. Thus a lesser than expected GDP growth figure will be no conclusive evidence of Indian economy moving into the red.

Long-term forecast does appear promising; the government and key functionaries in the economy, ranging from banks to public sector undertakings and privately held enterprises to autonomous institutions, will have to play their respective roles attentively and prudently.

Government has been tweaking guidelines for currency exchange and deposit/ withdrawal every passing day, and this can be indicative of its receptive approach than its unpreparedness (a call this hard had come unanticipated, thus unready). And so, the opposition that is unitedly creating ruckus in Parliament – alleging that the step has hit the country and its economy hard– must read between the lines and acknowledge that currency recall can be an enduring win.

The November 8 announcement can be the most productive step of the present government. The unintended beneficiaries post-announcement were state electricity boards where people thronged to clear dues; if one looks at such patterns, future seems to hold the key to a better India.

The real estate sector in our country is passing through troubled times, beleaguered by a slump in the sales and, consequently, the slowing down of the construction activities. The currency recall move by the government is also being predicted as a precursor to stagnant growth in this very crucial sector that is the second largest employer after agriculture and is the very pulse of allied industries ranging from steel to bamboo. This disturbing development does not augur well for the economic activities in associated industries like cement, steel, home furnishings, interior décor, etc. The slowing down had, however, been neither sudden nor unexpected. There had already been a major concern for quite some time, even without taking currency recall move into notice, about the stability of the sector. Real estate in India is overpriced, and its market rigged. That there is a huge pile up of unsold properties despite there being millions of people in the country without a house of their own is quite ironical and reflects a depressing scenario.

As high rentals have been out of the reach for the middle-class households and heavy investments in the real estate not commensurate with returns, the bubble had to burst, resulting in an inevitable slowdown in further growth. Besides, delays in the securing of necessary governmental approvals for construction projects and high interests on bank loans adversely affected the sector. Some relief can be expected after bank assets will see a phenomenal increase in assets, backed by deposits of older bank notes, resulting into credit growth and interest rate cuts. In any case, notwithstanding the reasons for the slowing down, there could be no two opinions about the need to resuscitate the flailing industry as it is a crucial contributor to the financial growth and economic development of the country. Hence, it is imperative that the afflicted segment is put back on the rails with corrective steps and suitable measures. Also, let not give opposition parties an additional theme to target the BJP-led government on currency recall move in a case where due to further slowing of this sector, the already ailing workforce may face negative job creation.

What Ails the Realty Sector?

The principal reason for the sluggishness in the real estate sector is the dynamics of the industry not being in sync with the constraints and limitations of the consumers whose numbers are ironically on the rise. The awareness of the middle class in general and the salaried class in particular, of the need for ownership of apartments, has been growing. Home ownership ranks quite high among the priorities of the city dwellers.

Housing for All by 2022

The government, on its part, is committed to make affordable housing for all a possible and viable reality. Its ‘Housing for All by 2022’ mission is meant to enable the rehabilitation of slum-dwellers and the promotion of affordable housing for the urban poor. The target is to provide nearly 20 million houses over seven years. The program aims to make urban slums a thing of the past by replacing them with eco-friendly dwelling units. The mission’s outreach would additionally complement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

The Union Government has announced that an average Central Government grant of Rs 1,00,000 would be available for the construction of a house under the slum rehabilitation program. The State governments could, however, exercise flexibility and spend the grant for any slum rehabilitation project by using land as a resource for providing houses to slum-dwellers. The Central government has also stated that the task at hand is to build an estimated two crore houses. However, the exact number would depend on a demand assessment to be carried out by all the states or cities by integrating Jan Dhan Yojana account numbers, Aadhaar numbers, or any such identification of intended beneficiaries. The government’s ambitious program has come as a shot in the arm for the construction industry.

Further Steps

The Central government’s mission of ‘Housing for All’ is in response to the huge demand for houses in the country. The government would, in furtherance of this program, do well to take crucial steps to make the entire process of its implementation swift and fruitful. For this purpose, the interests of all the stakeholders like the developers, banks, and the buyers need to be factored in. The problem areas in the ambitious housing program have to be identified and resolved. For instance, the huge time lapse between the announcement of a housing project and the completion of that project has to be significantly reduced. Governmental approvals for the acquisition and development of land, construction plans and necessary clearances have to be speeded up. To this end, multiplicity and overlapping of authorities should be done away with and approvals accorded in a time bound manner.

For this purpose, necessary cooperation between different agencies and authorities should be ensured using a swift coordination process. As bank loans are secured by the developer for the implementation of the projects, add-on payments flowing from infructuous expenditures on account of inordinate delays should be ruled out. Timely deliverance of governmental approvals would enable the developer to complete the project as per the original timeline and payment schedule and avoid frustrating and time-consuming litigations. Single-window clearances for projects, digitization of records and grading of developers are measures that would help create a systemic change in the prevailing bureaucratic culture of corruption and confusion in the sector.

Credit Growth

There has already been a growth in bank credit to the developers as well as in home loans to buyers of residential units, which signals a healthy credit situation. Furthermore, the Reserve Bank of India has chopped 175 bps from its key repo rate since the start of 2015. There is a need to further revise home loan interest rates, premiums and taxes applicable to residential properties to make them more appealing. This step, coupled with a spurt in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment scenario, would contribute to the revival of the construction activity.

A crash in property prices resulting from a lack of demand and overall stagnation over a prolonged period is likely to result in the prices and incomes of buyers becoming better aligned. As of now, property prices are not sustainable, and real estate is not a worthwhile sector for investment. Revealing that there used to be a trend of buying second homes a few years ago, Manavjeet Singh, CEO & Founder of Rubique said slow growth and the high-interest rate had ended this trend as the returns are not good enough. Furthermore, lately real estate as an investment option has been put on the back burner because of the poor returns, he added.

The currency recall move strikes the right chord here. With an increase in the assets of banks over liability, interests on term deposits is anticipated to reduce, which in turn will pave way for home loans at more attractive rates. Even in a scenario where we consider prices at same levels, property will become a preferred investment option for buyers as they will now not seek paltry interest on deposits offered by banks. Rather, investing in property will enable buyers own an asset, besides earning better returns by renting the property and availing tax benefits on interest and principal repayment of home loans.

Nightmare of Logistics

While promptly according clearances for construction projects, the responsibility of the Central and State governments to factor in the mandatory infrastructure requirements and safety norms cannot be overemphasized. Recent floods in Chennai and Bengaluru and the havoc that ensued resulting in tremendous human tragedy and hardships for the inhabitants of these cities have borne evidence to the callous disregard for the basic requirements of logistics, safety standards and, above all, the utter failure of the disaster management system, if any. It was a shocking revelation to know that residential properties had come up on marshlands and lake beds in total disregard of the norms of city development plans.

The state governments must ensure that such lapses and breaches do not recur in the future and the lacunae are rectified. The laws and bylaws of urban development must be scrupulously followed while processing plans of construction projects for clearances. Incentives for officials deployed at places where construction conforms to the laid down norms and disincentives for ones under whose control builders mock regulations will ensure proper supervision and better law enforcement. Roads, bridges, flyovers, hospitals, parks, schools, network of public transport, fire safety measures, car parks, garbage disposal and other basic facilities and amenities should be mandatory norms for every residential area. It should be equally binding on the developers and the government to ensure the existence and availability of these facilities and amenities, without any kind of compromise.

Thanks to the slowdown in the sales of residential properties, there was an accumulated stock of 6,90,000 unsold residential units across the country at the end of 2015, according to one estimate. The developers would be keen on liquidating the pile up before announcing new launches though the consumer confidence is quite high. This is all the more so in view of the fact that construction costs and statutory dues have gone up. In such a scenario, prospects of new launches do not appear to be much too bright. All the same, the developers may take heart from the fact that with only less than 40% of the Indian population currently living in cities, more migration from the rural to urban areas is likely in the future. Such a trend, coupled with a steady 7% to 8% annual growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) makes the picture in the real estate sector rosy – as rosy as it can get under the prevailing conditions. Not to mention the long-term impact of currency recall that shall boost buyers’ confidence as well as capacity to purchase with loans that are lighter on pockets.

Statutory Measure

In the meanwhile, the government has come up with the Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA), duly passed by both the Houses of Parliament. The bill focuses both on residential and commercial real estate. It aims at streamlining the process of developing and buying a house while keeping in mind the interests of both the buyer and the seller. It calls for the establishment of a Real Estate Regulatory Authority in every State or Union Territory to regulate real estate transactions. It also tries to make the sector more conducive to investments, something that is currently lacking in the sector. The implementation of the bill will likely raise the trust of investors in the market, encouraging them to invest more. The builders are mandated to put 70% of all funds in an escrow account. Another salient feature of the bill is to bring in the foreign direct investment (FDA) into the market, which could go a long way in curbing the circulation of black money. Most importantly, for the buyers the bill lays down a series of strict guidelines, making it incumbent upon the developers to deliver on time. The bill constitutes yet another important measure by the government to put the real estate sector on the right track.

However, rating agency ICRA says though RERA will benefit the buyers and investors because it has provisions to ensure timely and orderly delivery of projects, some of the problems faced by the developers continue to remain unaddressed in the Act. As such, the Union and State governments should look into and address the pending issues such as the multiplicity of approvals required and lack of adequate funding avenues. In the post-currency recall scenario, with improved asset-liability conditions of banks, instructions must flow to the heads of state-run and private banks to amplify lending to real estate developers and allied industries so that lack of capital doesn’t become an originator of delayed deliveries and cost overruns. This, in turn, will enable the developers to expedite the project execution process.

Taking into account the bottlenecks and the hardships that the real estate sector has been facing for quite some time now, the following steps need to be urgently taken by the government to salvage the sector from the current turmoil:

• More and more states must be brought into the ambit of amending their respective land acquisition laws by diluting some strict provisions and borrowing business-friendly covenants (relaxation of social impact assessment and land leasing) from model land acquisition bill promulgated by the centre, however dropped due to fierce disapproval by opposition political parties. Lately, states like Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh have amended their acts in accordance.
• The government must ensure the passage of a single window clearance system so as to allow the sector to work in a more systematic and organized manner. This requirement assumes urgency especially in view of the court strictures against delays by some real estate developers.
• Digitization of records and grading of developers would further enhance transparency and accountability.
• The sector needs recognition for being the biggest segment of contribution to the nation’s GDP and accorded the industry status. This would systematize and regulate the activities of over 30 industries, which come under the umbrella of the real estate sector.
• Although the government has given green signal to RERA, the effect of the functioning of the Act on the ground is yet to be felt by the stakeholders. Implementation of the Act needs to be speeded up so as to eliminate the apprehensions of the developers.
• Development of the basic infrastructure for amenities and facilities required in the residential areas to make the quality of living better in keeping with the standards of an advanced nation, which India is hoping to be in a few years’ time, should be jointly ensured by the developer and the government. This would make the properties really worth the price in the eyes of the buyer who finances the purchase with his lifetime savings and home loans. Entering into agreements with countries that have established themselves as pioneers in urban designing and development and roping in their expertise is an answer.
• Millions of Indians in the urban areas without a house of their own find the acquisition of a house a scary prospect as the process involves repayment of home loans by EMIs at elevated interest rates. Neatly dovetailing into this sad scenario is the fact that a city dweller ends up paying about 30-35% of his salary as house rent month after month, year after year, with his dream of owning a house receding into the distant horizon. Further reductions by RBI in the interest rates on home loans would serve as a soothing balm for the frayed nerves of the hapless buyer, which in turn would also benefit the developer. Now that the RBI has a new monetary policy committee with say of government in decision over interest rates, this is a time to ease some pressure over home buyers burdened under high EMIs.

The action points encapsulated above for the government’s consideration are the primary ones urgently needed to haul the real estate sector from the mire of sluggishness it is currently steeped in. More ingenuity and out-of-the-box thinking would be called for as the dismal situation afflicting the sector becomes clearer and the overall economy of the country gets better. In the present drive against black money where high denomination notes have been recalled, government’s coffers would see a bonanza coming from tax on deposits that are superfluous and do not match with returns filed; not to forget the increased dividend from RBI to the government with its liability extinguished to some extent due to non-deposit of notes by black money hoarders. It is the apt time to invest in urban infrastructure development programs Smart City Mission, Swachh Bharat and Housing for All, which will drive the cycle of growth for the real estate sector.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even after the so-called honeymoon period, continues to be very popular in India as well as abroad. According to a recent survey by Pew Research Center and published by Forbes in September this year, Modi’s popularity, even more than two years after he was swept to power in 2014, is pretty high at 81%. Despite his sustaining approval among the public, he has created extremely powerful and very vocal enemies too.

The Plight of Hawala Operations

Here, we are not referring to the legitimate political parties who think it is their duty to badmouth whatever is done by Modi and his government. The Prime Minister has antagonized certain segments such as the tax evaders, real estate mafias, those who fund terror activities within India and abroad, as well as those who have hoarded up huge sums of unaccounted money (referred to as black money in India), including the Hawala operators.

Hawala, which is also termed as Hundi, refers to a traditional yet illegal system of transferring money through unofficial channels via a network of people in various countries. An agent collects money from the sender in the source country and his contacts in the other country pay to the final recipient in local currency. Besides India and South Asia, the system is prevalent in West Asia, North Africa, and some other African countries.

How PM pre-announced Move Against Ill-Money Hoarders

The NaMo government’s surprise move on November 8 this year to demonetise high-denomination bank notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 has shocked these anti-social elements. Though it looked like a swift surgical strike, in hindsight we realize that the Union government had been doing the relevant groundwork for the past several months. If you recall, the NDA government had urged everyone to get an Aadhar card without fail. It had also facilitated its acquisition by making the entire enrolment process easy and hassle-free for everyone. Then, it had directed banks to let everyone open zero-balance accounts. The government also gave an opportunity to tax evaders to declare their unaccounted wealth and come clean by paying proportionate income tax but without any penalty.

However, as usual, some sections of the people ignored all such advice and directives issued by the NDA government because they had become accustomed to finding a way out of any problem by resorting to some clandestine tactics. They thought they could manipulate the system and get out of any spot as they used to do in the past. But this time, they overlooked the fact that Narendra Modi, who is currently at the helm of affairs, is absolutely incorruptible and he means business.

The Dilemma of Corrupts, Keep It or Burn It

Since these unscrupulous elements have now realized that they can no longer manipulate the system to their advantage, they hate Modi vehemently. For instance, a large section of the real estate mafias, who used to collect insane amounts of black money without having to issue any official receipts now find that the sackful of high-denomination currency notes they have accumulated unofficially have lost their value overnight as currently, they are not even worth the paper they are printed on.

Furthermore, they fear that if they try to officially exchange the demonetized currency notes at banks or other authorized centres, they may come under government scrutiny and the Income Tax department may initiate punitive action against them for evading taxes in the previous years. Real estate developers also realize that they won’t be in a position to collect black or unaccounted money from any of their customers in future.

The hawala trade has also suffered an unprecedented blow, and it has come to a grinding halt because of the currency purge. Stockpiles of high-value currency notes worth billions of rupees held by the hawala operators have suddenly become worthless. According to media reports, some hawala operators have panicked and destroyed currency notes worth over Rs 500 crore. At any given moment, Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 crore worth of Indian rupees are supposed to have been collected from senders overseas and are in the pipeline for delivery. As the entire system works on trust, if the operators don’t make the payment, the whole system will permanently collapse.

Yet Another Surgical Strike on Pak Terror Funding

Similarly, anti-national elements based overseas and organizations like Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), have been financing terrorist groups for launching terror attacks and suicide bombings in India. Such terror funding is tough to catch. Such organizations based across the border also use massive amounts of fake currency, primarily printed in Pakistan’s government presses. They employ similar paper and ink as used by India for its currency printing.

According to some estimates, ISI pushes at least Rs 70 crore worth fake Indian currency notes (FICN) into the Indian economy to be distributed to home-grown radicals and other terrorists for anti-India operations. It has been eating into the vitals of the Indian economy and proving hard to catch. Modi’s surgical strike on black money has dealt a severe body blow to those fake currency notes and Pakistan’s diabolical operations. Because of this development, their pathological hatred for Modi now knows no bounds.

Why Opposition Can Never Milk the Currency Ban Cow

The Prime Minister’s bold action has also rendered the majority of the money launderers jobless at least for the time being. All these elements have climbed onto the hate-Modi bandwagon, which until now had been occupied by political opportunists who have now amplified their political rants by several notches. The Arvind Kejriwals, Mayawatis, Rahul Gandhis, Mulayam Singhs and Asaduddin Owaisis of the country know that their political future is under threat if the resulting benefits of all the developmental steps being taken by the Prime Minister reach the people of the country. However, they don’t seem to realize that people in our country are now becoming clever and can see through their machinations.

Likewise, immoral politicians, corrupt officials, and shady businesspersons, who have hoarded up black money through deceitful means, are also finding themselves in a similar predicament. Thus, all those unscrupulous elements that have accumulated ill-gotten wealth over the years and have stored them in the form of high-denomination notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 have started hating Narendra Modi and begun to spread calumnies against him.

(The article published in daily newspaper “The Statesman” on 18th November 2016)

http://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/why-some-people-hate-modi-so-much-1479425472.html

On November 8, 2016, Indian Prime Minister made a sudden (and so-called ‘shocking’ by Indian Press) announcement about stripping the INR 500 and INR 1000 currency notes of their legal tender status. Within minutes, every stakeholder, from common man to politicians, was on the move, some inundating bank ATMs, others criticizing the move in their news studios and yet others finding loopholes to save their stashed unaccounted money/ counterfeit notes. In the entire ruckus that followed the announcement, one party that gained the most was news channels, people tuned into news taking TRPs to skyrocketed levels.

Then was the discussion of how, when, where will this move make an impact, newspapers the next morning too were flooded with opinions and calculations. In the unsure atmosphere where no one had ample know-how to judge the influence of PM’s announcement, the irony was that everyone turned into an analyst, many economists invented new theories, politicians had their own reservations and the common man was on streets gossiping the aftereffects.

This is what that made this move a superhot topic on social media. The new currency note of 2000 denomination was modified impeccably to inject in it a Nano chip and to circulate messages that future hoarding will be caught via GPS! Until today, this milieu of uncertainty prevails; analysts are high on tone while trying to picture their theory as the most accurate, really?

In ensuing write-up, let’s take a little break from this sensational background and understand the basics of this move. I can guarantee that the real consequences of denotification of currency will be felt in an altogether different manner as explained by our wise journalists and panelists. Here are all questions answered.

Did the November 8 Announcement Amount to Demonetization?

In the curiosity to know, I looked for dictionary meaning of this word and I could notice that the Prime Minister’s decision was quasi-demonetization, not the kind of DEMONITIZATION as we find in newspapers and in prime time debates.

Demonetization saw the light of day when European countries adopted Euro as their currency and pulled back currencies of their respective economies. On the contrary, the Indian Rupee retains its legality, it is just that bill of denomination INR 500 and of INR 1000 is no longer valid to make transactions and they are to be replaced with newer versions.

There have been instances in the past when older versions of bank notes are replaced with newer versions with more security features added, hence using the term ‘demonetization’ in such wide and loud parlance doesn’t make much sense.

Why Did the Government Take This Decision, All of a Sudden?

Let me tell you that all those experts on televised debates are just producing conspiracy theories as were created after 9/11 or the disappearance of MH370. You can google ‘MH370 conspiracy theories’ or ‘9/11 conspiracy theories’, can feel embellished and bite your nails, but they won’t serve any productive purpose. Similar is the story when you listen to an economist or an eminent professor on prime time debate which ends in same unconvincing manner as did the coverage of 2008 Noida murder mystery.

Then should I serve you with some more spices? Rather, let us talk fundamentals and real. The government’s decision has come in the backdrop of excessive counterfeit Indian currency notes printed in Pakistan and their use in funding terror activities and unrest in Kashmir and other parts of India. It will also act as a blow on those who have stashed hard currency in their secret vaults as much of it will become nothing but useless pieces of paper. Third, idle assets will now turn into productive ones allowing banks to raise credit flow at lesser interest rates.

I can speak endlessly on this question, anyone can, but let’s just keep it simple yet authentic.

Is This a Blow to Common Citizens?

Queues outside bank branches and cash dispensing machines may have created new records; news channels term them ‘serpentine’, type serpentine on google, then click on news tab, and you will see amazing results. True, spending capacity of all has plummeted and commerce has seen a fall. Almost everyone is trying to rid herself of old currency notes and feel rich again by acquiring the new legal tender. Isn’t this a race, a self-created urgency? And who should be blamed? – The government for not preparing in advance, or we, who are limitlessly anxious, or banks’ managerial staff who weren’t ever equipped to cope with such occasions.

Accept it, even when a busy road is planned to be freed of traffic chaos by building a flyover, people are inconvenienced for a year or two. And after all, this is the nation in making; can’t we cooperate for some weeks? Is it the government that should have arranged for separate queues for senior citizens and disabled? Do we act in the same manner when an ambulance asks way on a busy road? Why can’t we allow genuine money seekers reach counters in lesser time?

Moreover, banks operate under leadership of their Boards which have distinguished personnel as directors. Did they not know that almost half of their ATMs are always out of order? What if there was a sudden rush of people seeking their money on a rumor that Indian banking system is about to collapse? Indeed, it is the top echelon at fault if branches and ATMs aren’t available to their customers in near vicinity, this is what they are paid for, planning.

How Would the Indian Economy React to This?

I find this question the most challenging to answer. Had anyone been so brainy in predicting economic downtrends and uptrends, we would never have faced depressions and recessions. The same media that could not even say that Donald Trump ‘may win’, could even judge a Brexit vote, is yet again arguing the impact of denotification of currency notes on the overall economy. The irony is that these panelists and journalists are pro-something and anti-something, hence their arguments are framed likewise.

What I can say is that the economy will see a move toward a time where banks will have their pockets filled to extend credit to businesses on lesser rates. Once you deposit that cash in bank, no one would withdraw the 100 percent of it. Basel-III norms for capital adequacy and recapitalization of banks with weak balance sheets may also find answers in this. Second, with tax on higher-than-legitimate deposits, government’s purse to finance schemes of social importance and infrastructure development will see a new dawn. Government’s tax collection never belongs to MPs or MLAs, it is used to build the nation, do not forget this rudimentary fact.

Another myth created by media and self-styled experts on social media platforms is that any currency that does not see a bank vault since it was unaccounted and stashed illegally will wipe off wealth from the economy. I ask, is the Indian central bank unaware of the total amount in circulation in form of 500 and 1000 bills? Any currency note is the ultimate liability of RBI, with reduced liability, they will offer more dividend to the central government; reprinting of the amount of money that won’t make it to banks’ strong rooms is a simple way to bring back money in economy; this is done through Open Market Operations by buying government bonds, did you hear of this in any news channel debate?

Let us talk some more fundamentals. Inflation is backed by rise in demand and stagnation in supply. Inflation is directly related to demand this is basic economics and true. Now take an example. One of my friends’ wife is a yoga instructor and earns fee in cash for which she has never made any declaration to authorities. Now with that cash in hand, she plans vacations, gifts, high-end consumption and above all, wastage. This is just like a rich man, who has surplus cash in hand and he buys fruits for family consumption thus increasing their demand, hence prices and leaving few for lower middle class and poor, that too at unaffordable prices.

Such instances are quite common and they drive demand not proportionate to real and legitimate wages of common people who pay both direct and indirect taxes. With a decrease in the amount of cash with my friend’s wife and that rich man, their household’s spending capacity will decrease; markets will then correct themselves, thus bringing down demand and wastage, ultimately price. Now come to supply.

There is an assumption that with lessened demand, economic activity will dampen and job creation will take a hit. This is not true. When inflation would weaken, it will increase demand from genuine taxpayers due to price and market correction. The incentive for supply side to produce goods and services will remain, although their profit margins may squeeze a bit. Another surety is that when idle cash will turn into productive asset by being deposited in bank, banks will use this to increase credit flow in market. And this credit, at lower rate of interest, will flow to small scale industry, farmers besides corporate houses. In such situation, economic activity is bound to see an increase and job growth will see significant improvement.

How Should Implementing Agencies Act?

Even when we laud the brave step of ban on high denomination currency notes by the government, some flaws in scheme’s overall execution are noticeable; and these stem from bureaucracy and other implementing agencies, if not from the very top echelon including the Prime Minister and Finance Minister. It is also correct that these top policy makers brainstorm and devise plans, and as such they cannot be expected to spare time and labours to give directives on all ‘how to’ to banks and other stakeholders.

A few top heads thought of this bold step and did not involve many, or prepare well in advance to avoid any leaks and hints. But a foolproof plan of action the subsequent morning with elaborate directives to partners in implementation should have inevitably come. Chaos in banks with people queuing up in large numbers and no clear directives on how to manage such critical occasions (by guiding Chairpersons of banks to advise branch managers to arrange for separate queues for separate tasks, booking of time-slots to avoid wasting time, out-of-turn service of people in genuine urgency, restoration of dysfunctional ATMs and recalibration) was that leaves a stain on the entire implementation exercise.

Leading part had to come from banks and post offices, which in fact should not have waited for the government to issue instructions on trivial problems like managing crowds and easing the scene for vulnerable groups like disabled, senior citizens and those with real emergencies like need of cash for health related concerns, impending ceremonies and those without any ID proof. Bank staff had to be sensitized on the very first day. Backdoor conversions of family and friends have to end.

The most apt idea to make sure legality of exchanger and curb repeat exchange by same users was to just check a valid ID proof of seeker and use of indelible ink (a suggestion by me on 12 November that has lately been accepted on 15 November). Why did you, in first instance, want inks of photocopy machines to dry, even for paper trees are cut? Indelible ink would have cut short the queues very second day! This was an undeniable planning disaster.

Then are the state governments which must now come in support of the move and instruct respective departments like state highway toll authorities to either allow trucks carrying essential commodities pass without toll payments or facilitate online payments like the ‘Fastag’ service introduced on national highways. Also are public sector undertakings which should help their staff convert old bills from in-house treasury department and prevent them from thronging bank branches.

For the general public, it is time that seat belts are tightened, not for being the first one in the queue to change currency notes, but for getting ready for a new dawn. It will be time where transparency shall prevail, unaccounted money and benami assets will make it to government’s coffer, not individual pockets. As a proactive measure, make all your accounts, be it with banks, insurance and mutual fund companies or in G-secs or bank lockers, KYC-compliant to avoid any approaching trouble.

Let’s conclude

Agreed, farmers are facing a tough time in their peak sowing period. But do we not know that the primary worry for agrarian economy is lack of institutional credit and the menace of private moneylenders. How about the future where banks will have sufficient capital to lend them, backed by their own banking and transactional history? Pain for households where marriages are scheduled?- let’s find out. Was marriage not an occasion to showcase wealth in Indian scenario? Do marriages in developed countries (where we dream to immigrate) entail similar expenses and show of affluence? Bring some austerity dear Indians, it will help in the long-run!

The issue of a 2000 denomination note is undoubtedly the most controversial subject that is generating new conspiracy theories every minute. Texts are doing rounds on social media that say it was a pre-thought measure hinted well before November 8 to engage Pakistan in swelling its printing of old 500 and 1000 currency notes that were easy to replicate. Yet another theory is that the ruling party told its legislators of the November 8 announcement in advance and has introduced the new 2000 note to help them stash their unaccounted wealth! It is up to you which one to go for!

This entire episode is the latest in the series where 24×7 news channels have created an atmosphere of unfounded ruckus and imaginary brouhaha. The fact is that these round the clock channels need something (or should I say anything) to discuss, panelists die to offer contradiction on any move to showcase their acumen, and what could have been better than an incident that has a bearing on all Indians!

Stay relaxed, your hard-earned legitimate money isn’t going anywhere; yes, the hoarders need to worry. Stop blaming government for shortage of currency and long queues outside banks; blame either your anxiety or your banks who otherwise promise to be with you at any hour of need, in the real test, however, they failed to the core. A cashless, transparent and inclusive economy welcomes all in near future, let’s be a part of this revolution.

I will say that although prima facie pluses are eradication of black money and counterfeit currency, underlying advantages are many. Although we are the fastest growing economy, Index of Industrial Production, manufacturing and agrarian growth rate, employment creation, credit growth were and are either in red or near-stagnant. All these concerns must resolve to some extent, albeit assurance of double digit growth at this time may not be given, but still, the atmosphere will be conducive to both growth and equitable distribution of national wealth and income.

Lastly, let’s be thrilled on taking a ride toward a prospect where rich will lose at least 20-30 percent of their stashed wealth, which will flow to the poor in form of credit from banks and social spending by government, thus giving a decisive blow to decades of income disparity. This eroded wealth of the rich and future check on accumulation of illicit money will boost the zeal of legitimate taxpayers and the poor, a new India is about to be born.

And here is a huge salute of applaud for the bank staff that is working overtime to ensure citizens face nominal troublesomeness. For all those waiting patiently in queues, do not worry, this is your investment that will produce phenomenal returns.

Now that Donald Trump has defeated Hillary Clinton and is set to become the 45^th President of the United States (POTUS), the question that most Indians are asking is: How will it impact India? It isn’t hard to find people expressing angst over the outcome of elections on social media. What should we call this, illusory fear or real threat? Does the world has really come to an end with the coming of Trump Presidency, or is this only a media created hype puffed up by debates of so-called political pundits? Let’s find out.

Pollsters and Panellists Proven Wrong, Yet Again

Here it is worth recalling that in the very early stage of the Republican primaries, doomsayers, pollsters and journalists across the world were emphatic that Trump would never win the GOP nomination. As soon as they learned how wrong they were, these biased Hillary Clinton supporters started asserting that Trump has no chance of winning the presidential election. Now that the billionaire businessman has emerged victorious, many of them are crying themselves hoarse that the Trump presidency could be disastrous for the world, including India.

To support their argument, they claim that the stricter immigration rules that Trump plans to put in place would go against the interests of India. According to them, successful Indian IT companies such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro and others would be adversely affected by such policies. The media’s diatribe against the Republican real estate mogul has been so prejudiced that the Economist went to the extent of listing the Trump presidency as “one of the top 10 risks”.

Trump spoke against H-1B visas given to skilled immigrants, used extensively by Indian software professionals. He has also spoken against loss of jobs caused by companies setting up their manufacturing hubs outside the US – mainly China and India. Of course, these are matters of some worry for India. But should these arguments be accepted as they are served to our ears by the so-called analysts who have already been proved wrong by American voters, or should these be viewed pragmatically and in the backdrop of historical India-US bilateral relations?

Will the President-elect Turn All Promises True?

It is sure that Trump’s utterances have to be seen as mere pre-election rhetoric by a Republican front-runner desperate to win the upcoming election, after all polls do demand some statements that voters wish to listen, with which they can relate to, and finally make their minds to vote in favour of a particular candidate. An aspiring candidate and an elected president are entirely two different entities; Trump’s post-victory address has proved this, accepting Hillary’s contribution to the country with grace was a mature step.

In 2008, during his electioneering, Barack Obama said he would take steps to curtail outsourcing of jobs to other countries by changing the federal rules. Though President Obama tried to restructure the tax system a year later, he could not change much because of an indifferent response from the US Congress. Why then prejudge the outcomes of Trump presidency and create an atmosphere where stock markets would crash out of imaginary fear? Indian stock markets, which experts said wouldn’t be able to recuperate in case of Trump presidency, showed momentum after initial plunge the same day, an evidence of how markets absorb shocks.

As such, even if there is some cause of worry for India under Trump’s presidency, there are many areas where India could reap immense benefits after the new POTUS takes charge. Under Trump, the US foreign policy may see some serious changes and upset the power equations in Asia to favour India. For instance, Pakistan is unlikely to be seen as a friend of the Americans anymore. In fact, Trump has described Pakistan as “probably the most dangerous (country)”. He had even insisted that the South Asian nation should apologize for offering “safe sanctuary” to Osama bin Laden.

Bearing on Asian Geopolitics

The US has been helping Pakistan with massive amounts of aid every year for fighting radical Islam, and the experts who wanted Hillary’s election for a stable world (which Democrats haven’t been able to deliver in the past 8 crucial years, rather have created a ruckus and atmosphere of volatility) never considered this fact. Pakistan has been diverting part of these funds to create terrorists aimed at disrupting peace in India. So, if the funds from the US dry up, as promised by Trump, Pakistan could be more amenable to peace overtures from India. And there is no better news for India than the possibility of an end to cross-border terrorism.

When Trump described Pakistan as a problem, he also mentioned that “India is part of the solution”. It necessarily means that Trump is more likely, than any previous US presidents, to influence Pak’s foreign policy. He hinted as much when he was talking to Fox News about Dr Shakil Afridi, who is jailed in Pakistan for allegedly helping the CIA locate Osama bin Laden in 2011. Stating that he would get Dr Afridi out in two minutes, Trump said, “I would tell them, ‘let him out’ and I am sure they’d let him out because we give a lot of aid to Pakistan.” Is there any harm if the world’s most powerful country will now be led by such decisive leader who has a hard-hitting stance on global terrorism?

Tumbled Chinese Influence in The Making?

Moreover, the Trump victory cannot be music to the ears of China, which has been flexing its muscles in its efforts to be seen as a superpower. The US currently has a huge negative trade deficit with China (US$366 billion in 2015), and so is the case with India. Trump can bring down China’s trade surplus only by bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US from China. How does he do that? By introducing tax systems, that would adversely impact imports.

It would be easier to tax physical products coming from Shanghai than software transferred from Bengaluru. Any American restriction on China’s imports could be catastrophic to that country’s credit-fuelled economic boom. It could lead to recession and political unrest within the country and, possibly, you never know, even a violent revolution. Even a deep recession could potentially wipe away years of its booming growth. Not to forget, once China’s manufacturing hub status gets disrupted, India will gain not just by way of lessening imports from this country, but also by rising as the new production centre for the global economy.

The other side of the coin is that a troubled China would be reluctant to help Pakistan, which in turn would stop meddling in Indian affairs. Besides, China would also be forced to turn its attention to more serious internal issues than casting its eye on Arunachal Pradesh, which it had been claiming as its own. The Communist country has been a threat to India on South China Sea where ONGC has been trying to drill for oil in cooperation with Vietnam. As such, Trump presidency may bode well for India.

Let’s Get Real, and Not Media-Influenced

All in all, the falsely created atmosphere against President-elect of the United States will fade away sooner than later; let’s not forget the Brexit hype by world press. What will remain is the new global setting where new players will take a shift toward pragmatic action than repeat same timeworn ways of administration. India is a rising star and the world has acknowledged this, Donald Trump and his cabinet will be no unacquainted of this fact. The Indian Prime Minister, who has demonstrated his capability to take tough decisions will strike a chord with the new President-elect of the US, let’s wait and watch how the world order changes.