Round The World

New Delhi, 24 June 2010

Krishna’s S Korea Visit

INDIA EXPANDS HORIZONS

By Monish Tourangbam

Research Scholar, School of International Studies (JNU)

India has had long historical ties with the Korean people. But the relationship has gained momentum only recently with the visit of President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea (ROK), also known as South Korea as the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations early this year. What is important and needs to be noted is the fact that India-South Korea ties are an example of a relationship that is moored in pragmatism and the prospects of shared goals and interests and no mere rhetoric. The relationship has been clearly generated by the opportunities in store as a result of the vitality of both the economies.

Speaking to a select gathering at Korea’s Premier Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna dwelt on the importance that East and South East Asia holds for India’s foreign policy visions. Ever since the liberalization of its economy and the evolution of what is termed as India’s ‘Look East’ Policy in the early 90s, Indian policy makers have looked at the East Asia economies as an inevitable step towards India increasing its economic clout in the region and internationally. During the visit, Krishna spelled out a six-pronged strategy to take India-South Korea ties forward into the 21^st Century.

Emphasizing on how President Lee’s India visit set the ball rolling, he talked about consolidating and strengthening political partnership through high-level exchange. Enough focus was given on forging common interests with a view to meeting the new challenges to security. The prospects of cooperation and developing alliances in the areas of security and defence was further dwelt on, hammering on the need to go beyond a buyer-seller relationship to the realm of co-production, joint ventures and the transfer of technology.

Top level visits besides being high on rhetoric and symbolism are real integral parts of the machinery that keeps relationships thriving and in motion, preventing stagnancy. High hopes were expressed from the upcoming visits of the Defence Minister A.K. Antony later this year and that of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the G-20 Summit to be held in Seoul this November. While the visit of the Singh as part of a larger summit would give enough chance to build on the excellent momentum, Antony’s visit is going to be of specific importance for developing a robust defence and security relationship that is on the horizon.

Economic ties between the two countries without doubt acquire centre-stage for building confidence and tight webs of linkages. Since the liberalization of the Indian economy, there has been a monumental change of India’s image in the international market. India is one of the largest growing markets in the world creating lots of opportunities for collaborations and joint-enterprises. But, efforts should be made to expand, diversify and deepen the burgeoning India-South Korea economic ties as expressed by the Indian top diplomat. The implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) made operational since January 1, 2010 was deliberated upon and a firm belief was propagated that the bilateral trade goal of US $ 30 billion set could be met before the target date of 2014.

A major initiative towards cooperation in the field of science and technology was made during the visit of the Korean President. An announcement was made regarding the establishment of a Joint Fund of US $10 million with equal contribution from both sides to sponsor joint research between scientists. During the recent meeting of the India-South Korea Joint Commission,  Krishna and his counterpart Yu Myung-hwan discussed ways of operationalizing the Fund at an early date, which will bring major boost to innovations. Reflecting on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), great enthusiasm was expressed in view of the excellent mutual benefits that can be reaped out of this cooperation.

Owing to the imminent challenges of a sustainable growth, it is imperative that India and South Korea work concertedly in the field of energy security. One of the highlights of the recent visit was the possibilities explored and the prospects shown from both the sides regarding cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy. South Korea, with its flag bearer the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) is one of the leaders in the field of producing atomic energy. There is a lot of positive buzz around regarding KEPCO after it won an international contract through competitive bidding in the United Arab Emirates.

KEPCO’s entry into the Indian nuclear energy market would increase New Delhi’s access to clean nuclear energy with reliable, efficient safety features, something vital for India which has come out of isolation after the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) waiver. The signing of the civilian nuclear deal with the US actually led to the waiver but India in view of its increasing demands of energy and reliable alternatives went on to sign nuclear agreements with a host of other countries, including Russia and France.

As such, the cooperation with South Korea would only enhance India’s position as a viable emerging market for nuclear commerce. This in turn will be an asset to India trying to tackle real-time challenges to meet the increasing energy demands because of its growth and the large consumer base. And, nuclear energy being recognized a clean alternative, deliberations on this matter is critical in taking India-South Korea ties to the next level.

Besides these areas of hardcore diplomacy, the softer variants of diplomacy including cultural exchanges and increasing people-to-people contacts assume as much importance. In times of differences and divergence, cultural exchanges and shared sense of values such as adherence to democracy and rule of law serve as cushions.

Towards this endeavor, various strides have been made, including the announcement to establish a Korean Cultural Center in New Delhi, an MOU between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Korea Foundation, proposal to install a bust of the Nobel laureate and Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore in Seoul, and another MoU for Cooperation between Indian Council for World Affairs (ICWA) and the Institute for Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) in Seoul.

It is symptomatic of a rising power to keep expanding its horizons, in terms of developing ties with different countries in the world, more so with important countries in its area of influence. The trajectory of India’s diplomacy in recent years has given ample examples of its inherent need and ambition to channelize regular and effective diplomatic relations with different countries. Nations with different growth patterns are more dependent on each other than ever before.

The inter-linkages created because of the rapidly globalizing world and the enhanced competition especially in the field of economy, demands that aspiring countries with a buoyant economy like India find partners and alliances in different corners of the earth. In some cases, old ties are enhanced, amplified and in others, new initiatives are taken, new friendships are made. So, New Delhi’s increasing ties with South Korea assume importance in the context of India’s expanding plate of political and economic endeavours.--INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Round The States

New Delhi, 24 June 2010

Battle Against Corruption

KARNATAKA SENDS SHOCK WAVES

By Insaf

Karnataka is threatening to become a major issue in the country’s battle against corruption. On Wednesday last, the State’s Lokayukta, N Santosh Hegde, tendered his resignation sending shock waves across the country. The reason: sheer “disgust” against the “non-cooperation” by the BJP Government in his crusade against corruption. "The decision was not taken at the spur of the moment. It is not an emotional outburst. For a long time, I suffered mentally. The Government ignored and showed indifference towards the Lokayukta institution," he said after submitting his resignation to Governor H R Bhardwaj. Sadly, for the six crore Kannadigas, Hegde was a moral force that drove fear into the hearts of the corrupt, and under him the institution meant to nab corrupt officials had evolved. In fact, the aam admi saw him as their saviour, as one who helped them in matters ranging from getting pension to securing school admissions.

 Hegde's resignation, which will come into effect on August 31, is the first case in the country where a Lokayukta has quit after blaming the Government. Hegde cited three reasons for his decision: non-appointment of the Upalokayukta for the past six months because of which thousands of complaints had piled up; reinstating officers suspended following his recommendation to the same post after a few months; and a recent recommendation made to the Chief Secretary by a Minister to suspend the Deputy Conservator of Forests,  who, on the directions of the Lokayukta, had seized eight lakh tonnes of iron ore illegally transported to Belekeri port. Hegde stressed that “If I cannot protect an officer who was obeying me... then I should not be in a position where I give them directives.” Interestingly, Hegde’s resignation comes on the eve of the second anniversary celebrations planned by the Yeddyurappa Government. It will be a major setback to the BJP, which has been lambasting the UPA Government at the Centre for mounting corruption.

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Bihar Alliance Intact

Bihar has once again weathered the coalition storm. After days of sabre-rattling in public, the JD(U)-BJP ruling combine has agreed to keep the alliance going. On Wednesday last, the two NDA partners decided it was best to bury their differences and “run the government together and serve the people.” Fissures had appeared in the alliance following a bitter feud between JD (U) Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his BJP counterpart in Gujarat, Narendra Modi. Kumar had returned the Rs 5 crore flood relief fund to Gujarat after an advertisement appeared in local newspapers of Patna thanking Modi for the help. Kumar also insisted that Modi and Varun Gandhi not be fielded as campaigners for the Assembly elections. While the Bihar CM was obviously eyeing the Muslim vote bank in his State, the BJP was unwilling to play second fiddle and accept any pre-conditions. Fortunately, the two camps realised that public display of discord was not doing either of the sides any good. The alliance, which has withstood the test of time for 15 years should remain intact, more so as the State is to go to the polls in four months. Will the peace last or will the two partners find themselves embroiled in another feud over seat-sharing in the coming months? 

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Compensation For Bhopal Victims

The outrage in Bhopal over the scandalous compensation to the gas victims has yielded  some dividend. The Group of Ministers, headed by Home Minister P Chidambaram, on Monday last finalized a Rs 1,500 crore package for enhancing compensation for the kin of those who died and those debilitated in the Bhopal gas disaster 26 years ago. The GoM, which went into a whole range of issues, including relief and rehabilitation of the victims, has  recommended a payment of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of the dead, Rs five lakh for those permanently disabled or suffering from critical ailments and Rs 3 lakhs for those partially debilitated in the world's worst industrial disaster. The other recommendations include a fresh attempt for extradition of former CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson, the filing of a curative petition in the Supreme Court against the dilution of charges against the accused in the case and the take-over of the Bhopal Memorial Trust hospital, set up in the aftermath of the tragedy, for whose upgradation Rs 230 crore will be spent. Recall that in the immediate aftermath of the gas leak 5,295 people lost their lives, and another 10,047 persons succumbed in the following months. Out of the 5,60,000 affected people, nearly 37,000 were permanently disabled, 3,166 were completely disabled while the rest received minor injuries.

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Hope For Kashmiri Pandits

Winds of change are blowing in Kashmir. Last weekend over 800 Kashmiri Pandits families, who continue to live in the Valley had a welcome influx of guests. Their relatives from Jammu and other places across the country attended the yearly Kheerbhawani festival and also decided to have an extended holiday. The pilgrims, were particularly impressed with the hospitality extended by the local population, which greeted them with sweets and arranged all the pre-requisites for the traditional puja. According to the State Government, this year over 40,000 Pandits marked their presence at the festival which takes place at the temple dedicated to Ragnya Devi, one of the incarnations of goddess Durga, at Tulmula, in Ganderbal.  For many in Srinagar, this was a sign of “a changing Kashmir”, and that perhaps the Pandits, who had fled the Valley at the start of militancy, may consider visiting, if not return home completely. Remember, the  Central government is implementing a Rs 1,618 crore plan to rehabilitate the migrants for their return. This includes an employment package; 3,000 have been promised government jobs.  

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Well Being In Delhi, Mumbai

Delhi and Mumbai have reason to rejoice. The two cities have been judged as having the best living standards in the country. In comparison, Orissa's Rayagada and Kandhamal districts were declared the worst, followed by Banka district in Bihar. The findings are a part of a report by the Tata Strategic Management Group, after analysing the National Sample Survey Organisation household surveys and Census 2001 data to generate the Well Being Index. Delhi and Mumbai occupied the first five slots measured on eight criteria -- education, hygiene, entertainment, communication, healthcare, transportation, home amenities and kitchen facilities. While Central Delhi ranked first followed by New Delhi and North Delhi districts, the fourth and fifth spots, went to Mumbai and Mumbai suburban. In home amenities, North and Central Delhi were at pole position, while East Kameng in Arunachal Pradesh and Banka in Bihar were bottom-placed. Kitchen facilities were found to be the best in East Delhi and Dimapur in Nagaland, whereas Sonapur and Nuapada districts in Orissa were at the bottom positions.---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Defence Notes

New Delhi, 21 June 2010

Army Vs Maoists

NO ROOM FOR CONFUSION

By Col. (Dr.) P K Vasudeva (Retd.)

Pressure is clearly mounting for gunning up the role of the Army in operations against Maoists/Naxalites: especially after Dantewada revealed their striking power, Jnaneswari exposed their killing agenda of innocent civilians by continuously blasting rail-road tracks beside ambushing police and paramilitary forces.

While it is true that military force will not address the root problems, there is increasing realisation that Maoist/Naxalite violence has to be countered and contained unless they are compelled to negotiate for a mutually acceptable peaceful solution. Still, there are human rights, philosophic, strategic and tactical issues that have to be addressed before the troops are called out: particularly if the favoured “calibrated” employment of the Army fails to avert the unfortunate ultimate direct action on the ground.

Most national televised debates about Maoist/Naxalism degenerate almost instantaneously into a shouting match between human rights groups and the Government on the question of what comes first, development or peace. The human rights groups insist that the lack of development is the source of Maoist/Naxalism but the Government is equally certain that there can be no development without peace.

By posing the problem of development and peace as a simple chicken-and-egg one, both sides come up with hardly perfect solutions. The human rights groups' prescription of reducing security forces and providing greater resources ignores the experience of the North East. Armed groups in that region have found means of using their dominance to tap into resources for development. They ensure their proxies get the contracts to carry out development works through extortion. 

Home Minister P Chidambaram's option of using armed forces to get over the problem suits the Maoists/Naxalites though rightly disapproved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). The notion of bringing about peace through the use of the gun plays directly into the Maoist/Naxalite ideology. At the heart of this ideology is the contention that behind the democratic facade is armed machinery protecting the interests of capital at the cost of the tribals. It is then morally right for the tribals to use whatever armed might they can muster against the Indian State.

While it is true that using the Army against “its own people” does not go down well in the uniformed community, it is sometimes prudent to get the Army involved before insurgency snowballs into a civil war. Reports suggesting that the Army has been formulating plans point to its professionalism, it will not launch operations under-prepared, as did the paramilitary at the behest of Home Ministry.

Whether it will be advisable to withdraw some units from J&K is a matter for concern, there is evidence that militants are waiting for opportunities to infiltrate, and wreak havoc. But from where else will come enough boots on the ground to establish a counter-insurgency grid across Maoist/Naxalite-dominated regions? This cannot be perceived as a localised operation. This is possible if a force like the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) is created under the Army to tackle the Maoists/Naxalites. In the meantime, the police and the paramilitary forces should be well trained at the Army’s Counter-insurgency School regularly.

The key issue is a determination on whether “all else has failed”, and the Army is the last resort. For that will entail accepting considerable collateral damage, allegations of human rights violations, perhaps even further alienation of the populace. Yet to ask the Army as politicians seem to think is virtuous to “fight with one hand tied behind the back” is to risk severe reverses, maybe even failures. Can the nation’s decisive instrument of authority-enforcement be permitted to fail? 

The limitations of the State machinery in dealing with the Maoist/Naxalite challenge have sometimes led to the encouragement of local opponents of the Maoist/Naxalites. The Salwa Judum was created as a force to fight the Naxalities. But since they used the same violent methods it was not difficult for the Naxalites to project them as another instrument of upper class repression that could only be fought through armed struggle.

The need to provide a moral justification for what is, at best, political murder has led both sides to try to grab the only moral symbol still surviving in Indian politics, Gandhi. Supporters of the Salwa Judum insist that this violent group is Gandhian. Not to be left behind the Naxalites have used the literary firepower of Arundathi Roy to be described as ‘Gandhians with guns'. The fact that those who see it as their duty to defend Naxalites have had to fall back on Gandhi suggests that the ideological battle for the mind of the tribals may not be over.

The idea of large private companies to invest in tapping the natural resources of these areas for giving employment to the tribals may be well meaning but this makes it easier for the Maoists/Naxalites to argue that the real benefits of the rich resources of the tribal regions are being taken away by the outsiders. This link between ethnic and class identities provides them a strong emotional appeal that transcends the attraction of a few job opportunities. There is also a need to reach out to the mind of the tribals. The way forward here would be to deal with not just their current economic conditions, but also their aspirations.

One of the reasons why our vastly unequal cities among the most unequal in the world control their anger is because the poor can aspire to become a part of the rich. A slum dweller can dream of becoming a movie star. Even the more realistic among them can aspire to have their children educated to a level where they can become a part of the information technology revolution.

For such aspirations to become meaningful in the tribal regions they have to have their bows-to-riches stories. The only such examples available to them today are those of corrupt politicians. The fact that such politicians do little to hide their corruption and still win elections suggests that they have become a model that younger tribal aspire to follow. But such flawed unethical models create an environment that makes the violently unethical means of the Maoists/Naxalites acceptable.

A more ethically suitable bows-to-riches model that the young could aspire to follow would be the emergence of a tribal entrepreneurial class. The Central and State Governments could consider a variety of specific initiatives that would help such a class emerge. Even if such initiatives do not immediately succeed they would at least counter the Maoist/Naxalite propaganda that all development in the region only uses tribal labour to help outsiders take over local natural resources.

However, there is no room for using armed forces to solve Maoists/Naxalites problem, as it is only a political one of providing resources and development to the tribal’s who have remained neglected for the last 64 years. INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Open Forum

New Delhi, 17 June 2010

Skewed Development

PVT. SECTOR INITIATIVE CRUCIAL

By Dhurjati Mukherjee

The IPL imbroglio saw the hyper rich in conjunction with some politicians amassing wealth among themselves in a country where around 37 per cent of the population languishes in poverty and squalor. This obscured the Dantewada massacre -- a significant show of strength by the Maoists who have been fighting for a better deal and a better livelihood for tribals and other backward and impoverished sections of society. While the rich, the industrial class joined by a section of politicians are super powerful in society and corner all facilities and benefits – grabbing land of the poor, availing all types of concessions for their projects and getting involved in corrupt deals directly or indirectly, include evading taxes, the poor are left in the lurch. Only good expressions and intentions are voiced and not translated into practice.

But it is surprising nonetheless that the Prime Minister has thought it prudent to request the private sector “to invest in building trust in the Naxalite-hit districts …. and improving the conditions of the people in the area”.  This is possibly for the first time that Manmohan Singh has directly tried to get industry to join the Centre’s battle for hearts in the rebel zones, specially Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal, through the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The sincerity of the industrial class in India to help the poor and the backward sections, without expecting any financial gains, is suspect because of their track record. No doubt some industrialists have carried out some benevolent and charitable work for the poor but the size and quantum is indeed quite meagre.

It is indeed insignificant compared to the profits they make and the wealth amassed by them or even the concessions received from the Government (directly or indirectly) for various projects. Even in areas where they carry out massive projects, there have been innumerable cases of starvation, illiteracy and poisoning due to leakages and/or pollution from the factories, jeopardizing health.   

There can be no comparison of the Indian industrial class with say Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, who has donated liberally to far-off India in the health sector and the BMG Foundation has donated one billion dollars of the body’s $ 13.1 billion in grants for global health. In fact, Bill has entered into a partnership with the Bihar government to provide mother and child health services in rural areas, ranging from family planning to improving nutrition and general health standards.

The Indian industrialists are really very much different in attitude and behaviour as their contribution to grass-root development leaves much to be desired. There have been reports of land being forcibly taken away for industrial or other such projects with very little compensation at below market rates and no rehabilitation, throwing the families at the brink of poverty. The government in most cases remained a silent spectator. The intelligentsia did rarely question whose development was taking place when poor people were being evicted without alternative source if livelihood. 

It may be mentioned that mineral production in the country is estimated to be worth over Rs 99,000 crores per annum and the overwhelming majority of the income comes out of the Maoist-hit states. The areas, as is well-known from several surveys and reports, suffer from what economists call “resource curse” – rich in resources but poor in human capital and very low income levels.

But from these areas where mineral production takes place, the extent of impoverishment of the masses is difficult to imagine. The obvious reason is the total neglect of most of these areas for years together, both by the Central and State governments and also by the private sector. Moreover, whatever little Government funds have been made available through its various schemes have been squandered by unscrupulous politicians of the panchayats and sub-divisional/district officials.

Thus, it is quite obvious that recent attempts in these States to set up mining ventures or factories have faced stiff resistance from local tribals who fear being exploited from their homeland without any benefit of development coming to them – directly or indirectly. One may mention here that a study undertaken by Dr. Walter Fernandes found that 60 million persons were forcibly evicted from their land, livelihood and habitat during the period 1947 to 2004 which figure comes to around 70 million till the year 2009. It involved 25 million hectares of land, including seven million hectares of forests and six million hectares on common property resources (CPR). 40 per cent of the displaced and affected comprised the tribals. Even official figures reveal that only 28 per cent of the displaced tribal population has been rehabilitated though in reality the figure is much less.

The unjust pro-rich and pro-urban development process has economically, socially and culturally exploited the poor and the landless in a country which swears by the name of Mahatma Gandhi, who talked of decentralization, grass root rural development and equitable sharing of resources and wealth. It has to be admitted that this has totally been ignored. It is time that the skewed development planning needs to be reversed to make it more rural centred and make villages the engines of growth.

While the Government has to come in a big way by curtailing various privileges and benefits of politicians, bureaucrats and the business community, the latter has to be pressurized to adopt one village each for development which would include providing social infrastructure and some physical infrastructure as well. The plan for this should be chalked out in detail in consultation with the Planning Commission and the industrial and trade bodies.

The Government should ensure that the strategic plan formulated in this regard should specify the initiatives to be undertaken and the time frame for carrying out the work. The amount of money to be spent should be worked out keeping into consideration the concessions received by the industrial houses as also their net profits. If necessary, the Government could also provide some funds for the development work to be undertaken.

Only humble requests by the Prime Minister or other political personalities may not yield the desired results as the character of India’s business community has not been praiseworthy, specially in recent years. It is thus necessary to impose conditionalities on the business community so that they take up development work in the right areas and in the right spirit for mitigating the miseries of the poor, the impoverished and the backward sections of society.  Vague utterances of ‘inclusive’ development and invoking the name of Mahatma Gandhi on and off would sound naïve if his ideas are not translated into reality. --INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)