Modi and South Asia

 Engaging with South Asia should be one of the key objectives of India's new foreign policy

Narendra Modi, India’s new prime minister, has assumed office in style.  Those who have been following him through the election campaign know that he is great in raising expectations. His speeches were powerful:  loaded with cliches of dynamism, development and growth that sparked the excitement of the crowd wherever he went. It gave them hope for change that India desperately needs.  This created the ‘Modi wave’, and it has successfully propelled the 63 year old to become India’s most powerful man.

The ‘Modi  wave’ didn't stop there.  No one really expected that he would fire his first salvo at India’s foreign policy by inviting the leaders of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) - India’s immediate neighbours- on his oath taking ceremony in New Delhi.  This well thought out plan took the entire south Asian region and the world by surprise. From Kabul to Dhaka, people were  jerked to take notice of the man who is going to take charge of the region’s most dynamic economy.  With the presence of Pakistan’s Prime Minister, at this historic moment, Mr Modi turned his swearing in ceremony into a grand international event.

The Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif must also be appreciated for seizing this opportunity to come down to India and give a fresh momentum to the stalled Indo- Pakistan peace process. It was under his and then India’s then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s leadership (also from Modi’s BJP party) in 1999 that concrete efforts were made to improve the ties between the two countries, and a bus service was started between Delhi and Lahore. The efforts were later thwarted by the Kargil war. Mr Sharif now promises ‘to pick up the threads’.

The invitation of rest of the south Asian leaders sends out an important signal. The countries that make up SAARC(India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka)  are historically and  culturally connected to India. But over  the years,  due to a combination of factors that includes India’s  neglect  of the region coupled with high –handed attitude  meant that  India’s relationship with some of its neighbours, particularly Bangladesh,  have been patchy. India’s lukewarm engagement with its neighbours has made these countries to turn to China for economic help. The Chinese have been generous in dolling out millions for  infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. There is growing Chinese expats in Nepal, and not to mention about China’s ‘all weather’ friendship with Pakistan. New Delhi has been nervous about Chinese presence in India’s backward . Strategic experts warn of India being surrounded by the ‘string of pearls’.

India’s long term security and economic stability largely depends on the prosperity of its neighbours. As India’s economy grows, the region as a whole must benefit from it.  It is also important the countries must work together to fight the scourge of extreme poverty, climate change, human trafficking, drugs, insurgency, terrorism, migration,  HIV and other diseases. These are shared problems and have a knock on effect on each other. The  solutions have to found locally as they have a direct bearing on a common man.

Narendra Modi has demonstrated great statesmanship by inviting the SAARC leaders on the first day of his term. How will this translate in to action is difficult to say but it’s a great start. South Asia needs vision and a leadership and above all an environment of trust.  India as a powerful and big country  under leadership of Modi might want to show magnanimity by engaging constructively with its neighbours, and hopefully other countries will respond. This should be in the interest of the people that make up one fifth of the world’s population, majority of which lives with an income of less than $2 a day.

  

India's north-east and racism

The death of a student from India’s north –east in Delhi raises disturbing questions about regional integration and racial profiling.

Nido Taniam has been killed. He was beaten mercilessly by the “locals’ in South Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, a popular residential area for students and migrants from India’s north-east.

Was his death an act of racism? Or, an altercation that went out of control leading to his death?

The mainstream and the social media are swarming with messages of protest over the death of young student from Arunachal Pradesh. Many see it purely a racist attack and are organizing rallies to demand swift police investigation. The unfortunate incident has ratcheted the thorny issues of racism in regard to India’s oriental looking citizens living in other parts of the country.

Let’s step aside from bigger issues of policy, politics and militancy that always forms the core of debate whenever north-east is discussed, and focus for while what brews tensions when people from the north-east and “locals” live side by side.

 

Apart from the students, Delhi has seen a huge influx of people from the north- east, Darjeeling and Nepal over the last decade. Many of them with basic education have found jobs in the retail sector and the call centers.  Many more are now employed with restaurants  and work as security guards.

Almost unseen to an outsider and sandwiched between posh neighborhoods of South Delhi is Munirka village. It provides affordable accommodation to thousands of students, young professionals and other migrants from the north-east. It's crowded, cosmopolitan and is bustling with small businesses. Many of them have opened small businesses here. Small rooms have been turned into chapels.

Raju, one the local landlords, who is a Jat, tells me how Munirka village has transformed in last 15 years. He says when the oriental looking people first arrived, the locals thought they were from Korea or Japan. 'We had no idea such people existed in India’! He admits that landlords have benefited because of people from the north- east house rent has gone spiraling.

Raju says, “ I have no problem in renting out rooms to them as long as they don’t create trouble and are well behaved.” But there are issues: there is a cultural clash and some locals feel their lifestyles are ‘immoral’ and they bring in foreign (western) culture. “We don’t want our children to be influenced by them”, says another landlord who has stopped renting rooms to people from Manipur. She assumes all people from the region to be Manipuris!

It is also true that many from northeast promote cultural values that they might not necessary practice back home. Deepak is from Darjeeling works in a retail shop. He tells me about the deliberate and arrogant attempt by the some young people from the north-east to show that they are different. He says, “many keep to themselves, and that creates a problem.”

For those who understand the north-east would know that there is not much cultural assimilation in the region, but when students travel to other parts of the country, they unite under one banner and assert themselves as “north eastern”.    

Once in Delhi, they increasingly find difficult to get along with the local mainstream cultures. Regional sentiments run high. They complain of racism when referred as ‘chinkis’.

Group fights are a regular phenomenon amongst those who resort to hooliganism in university hostels and in residential areas, and in many instances they are more about personal issues, which can have fatal fallout.

But why this alienation amongst students who are young and have an opportunity to do well?

First of all not much have been done to facilitate the acceptance of people from the northeast in the local societies. It’s not easy given the conservatism that already hounds the local communities. The government has to educate the people through community building programmes and tell that people from the north-east are also Indians.

Universities and boarding schools must adopt programmes to integrate students from different states. It has to be a part of induction and fresher’s day parties, and any regionalism mustn’t be tolerated. A robust mechanism involving students from various backgrounds needs to be put in place to fight any sort of racial abuse in educational institutions. Police  should be sensitized.

Also, students from the north -east should try to develop broader national outlook and get over with petty regional issues and divisive ideologies. North-east also has a lot of successful people, they need to serve as ambassadors to promote harmony and talk to students from the region.  

  

Finally, the media mustn’t act responsibly and not prematurely see the attack on Nido Taniam as a hate crime.  Whist his killers must be brought to justice, but raking the issue as a hate crime will only create further rift and mistrust between communities which is not desired.

The Khobragade episode vs India's honour

Khobragade’s episode shows that misplaced notions of pride guide Indian public sentiment.

Let’s step away from a the debate about who is right and wrong in this unexpected diplomatic tussle between India and the US over the treatment meted out to an Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade.

Mrs Khobragade has been indicted in the US for visa fraud and for making false statements about the compensation given to her housekeeper, who is also an Indian. The row  has strained the relations between the two countries. India has acted swiftly to withdraw a series of petty privileges enjoyed by the US diplomatic staff. It also expelled one of the US diplomats.

But look at this: the diplomat’s father went on record to thank Indians who ‘stood with me like rock’ and ludicrously said that his daughter is so popular now that political parties have approached both her and him to run in parliamentary elections, and he might consider!

Clearly, Mr Khobragade must know that his daughter has not done any heroic act. The fact of the matter is that she has been indicted on serious charges. She has merely been made a ‘hero’ by the Indian foreign ministry.

New Delhi’s retaliatory responses and stringent condemnation in the name of India’s honour is something that is can be easily sold to India’s not very well informed population. They see that the manner in which the diplomat was arrested is detestable, which is true, but miss the bigger picture. It also must be remembered that the complainant is one of us: an Indian. The ill treatment meted out to her (not proven) is something that many Indians systematically face everyday in some form or the other. Clearly,if they really understand the issue purely on humane terms, they would be able to relate more to Mrs Richards, the maid rather than the diplomat.

So, if political parties have approached the Khobragades, it’s a national shame and speaks volumes about the rickety nature of politics in this country.

 Strangely India is fighting on the ‘immunity’ issue, and hasn’t condemned the crime committed by the diplomat. The MEA as a powerful lobby, and given the nature of their jobs considers itself as a cut above the rest and is trying the save its own skin.

It is now an open secret that diplomats from all countries have been abusing their privileges. What is difficult to understand is why a maid is needed when posted in developed countries, when millions of ordinary Indians living abroad can do without one.

And, taking about national pride and honour, let’s not forget that the diplomat in question is married to a US citizen, her children- until this issue erupted -would have presumably been brought up like Americans rather than Indians. She has used her position to make her life comfortable for herself and her family. There is nothing wrong in it. But when her husband is an American why could she not pay the legal minimum wage to the maid? And, now when she is in trouble for offences committed against someone who is also an Indian, why should ordinary Indians show solidarity with her?

On the contrary, Mrs Khobragade has done irreparable damage to the reputation of Indians at large by her reckless and insensitive behaviour, and this could have serious repercussions  on a number of  issues related to foreign affairs where US support is needed. 

  

India's fight against corruption

A systematic reform of work culture is required to fight India’s tough battle against corruption

2014 seems to usher a new hope for Indian politics and governance. The debutant Aam Admi Party(AAP) that stormed into power in Delhi promising to wipe out corruption has jolted political equations in India. Its brilliant performance in Delhi polls and popularity elsewhere in the country makes it a force to reckon with. Its leader Arvind Kejriwal is already been compared with the India’s two other political stalwarts touted as future prime minsters: Rahul Gandhi of the ruling Congress led UPA and Narendra Modi of the BJP.

Let’s talk about the corruption issue that the AAP promises to tackle head on. It has set up an anti graft helpline that received 3904 calls on its first day of operation.  The helpline will offer ‘government advice’ to the callers to set up sting operations on corrupt officials. This is seen as an unprecedented step in India’s fight against corruption.

Will it work? First of all given the depth of corruption in India where everyone seems to be affected, the very presence and the publicity of the helpline will make a difference.  The results may be far more dramatic if a few officials are named and shamed for taking bribes, and are persecuted. What is really laudable is that it gives helpless citizens to resort to something immediately to redress their grievances against a corrupt official. The helpline will have pons and cons, but if handled properly it can at least be the beginning of a battle against a deeply rooted problem in India.

In India corruption is not just about paying bribes to get things done but it interlinked with deeply prejudiced social practices of class and caste.. The entrenched class based bureaucracy, which is a fall out of colonialism, emphasizes on safe guarding the status and power of those on the top. The culture of hierarchy is such that it not only needs to be preserved but must function in a manner so that it commands worship, respect and inflicts fear on ordinary citizens. In rural areas this is further reinforced by the caste system.   

The beacon lights on cars, the  need to address someone as ‘sir’ or ‘madam’, personal subservience to superiors at work,  the indifference to others, the need to assert one’s identity to get things done, the power of might, abuse of domestic workers and people who are less privileged are some of the many visible cultural practices that directly or indirectly breeds and promotes corruption.

Such system of arrogance that essentially abuse human rights and dignity of others must be eliminated. Fortunately, there is a growing consensus that such things are wrong : the Supreme Court of India has banned the use of beacon lights, the AAP has vowed to bring in a culture of simplicity and transparency by shunning excess facilities that surrounds VIP. These again might look symbolic and small measures but again it’s at least a start of a big process to change the mindset of the people.

 The behaviour outlined above is propelled by greed and mad rush for wealth, something that has been a characteristic of all developing economies. But in the 21^st century, the answer to solve many of these problems lies in technology. It is the only way in a country like India to leap frog the human barriers to get access to something. Technology brings in accountability and transparency.  Only a few years back, getting a passport in India was a nightmare, thanks to technology and the state –of – the- art passport offices, the process is much simpler and easier now.

At institutional level fighting corruption in India will require multiple approaches. It will require systematic reform of work culture. This must include providing better infrastructure at work places (look at India’s police stations, hospitals and government schools you don’t want there to be again!), it will require installing a very sense of professionalism and a reward system based on performance. Such reforms and measures of checks and balances are equally needed along side a mechanism for vigilance to win the battle against corruption in India.