07-24-2006, 12:19 PM
India, superpower?
Readers may be genuinely puzzled: Why this subject at this time? If at all, we haven't heard anything about our aspiration to superpowerdom since the Vajpayee Government was voted out 26 months ago. The incumbent Sonia Gandhi-led, jholawala-driven regime doesn't believe in any kind of power, not even electrical power, for that clashes with its "politically correct" redistributive goals, which hinge around empowering minorities, Vanniyars and similar real or potential votebanks. Indeed, this is a subject that fits ill with India's current realities.
India has a Government that dilutes existing anti-terror laws, vigorously champions the cause of madarsas (read jihad factories), responds tepidly to a succession of mass murders such as last fortnight's Mumbai train blasts and then suddenly rediscovers that Pakistan is a perfidious nation! Its flip-flops get derided at the G-8 summit where the US Administration applauds "strategic ally" Islamabad's "courageous role in the war against terror" and tells New Delhi to stop crying wolf over its own failures to combat home-grown jihadis.
Meanwhile, rather unfortunately, Agni III crashes ignominiously into the sea, INSAT 4C fails to get into the projected orbit, and India's aspirations both to intercontinental ballistic missile capability and space power status suffer a severe jolt. Also casteists and jholawalasgo on the rampage domestically: They conspire to demolish AIIMS, stuff IITs, IIMs and other institutions of excellence with sub-standard students and worse teachers, force a communal/casteist headcount in the army, judiciary, media, private sector companies - in short, launch a full-fledged blitz for India's destruction from within.
Any casual observer watching India evolve during the first decade of the 21st century would nod his head in disbelief and despair. India is not happening any more. Even the Sensex is crashing! So why have I chosen to write on India as an emerging superpower at this most inappropriate juncture?
Well, first, I believe in India's destiny as a superpower. In my early childhood, when I studied in a Bengali-medium Government school in the Kolkata suburb of Hooghly, we would sing a number penned and composed by a little known (outside Bengal) poet Atul Prosad Sen. He inspired the freedom struggle generation by writing, "Bolo bolo bolo shobey/ Shata bina-benu robey/Bharat abaar jagat sabhar/Shreshtha asan lobey (Say one, say all/ To the tune of musical notes/ Bharat shall once again/ Occupy the most coveted seat in the comity of nations)". This 1930s composition gave me goose pimples then and does so even now. So, I am convinced that irrespective of our temporary misfortune of having the worst Government since the United Front regime (1996-98), we shall overcome. Times will change and the people of this magnificent civilisation will get back a Government they deserve.
The second reason for choosing this subject is that I was asked to speak on this theme at a faculty refresher course conducted by the Makhanlal Chaturvedi Rashtriya Patrakarita va Jansanchar Vishwavidyalaya (for those who will stumble over this, it is a UGC-recognised national university of journalism and mass communication) headquartered in Bhopal. Its vice-chancellor Achyutanand Mishra is a former Editor of Jansatta and one of the doyens of Hindi journalism. Under his leadership, the MC University is going places and I never refuse an invitation to share my thoughts with its students or teachers.
The two-day orientation course they held last week in Bhopal was among the most engaging symposiums I have attended in recent times. I was worried when this unusual subject was allotted to me; further concerned when informed it was a two-hour session; and alarmed upon realising that, being Madhya Pradesh, I would be expected to talk in Hindi throughout those 120 minutes. In the end, though, I was really happy to have participated. The faculty was not just attentive through my one-hour dream-selling, they were probing, disbelieving and questioning for the next hour. Finally, though, we reached a consensus: India would be a superpower if we got our act together.
At the outset, I laid down a 10-point criterion for a country to aspire to superstardom. These are:
# Economic prowess
# Military strength
# Scientific and Technological capability
# State of Infrastructure (Road/Rail/Air in particular)
# Communications and Connectivity (Telecom/Internet)
# Human Development (Education/Health/Housing)
# Human Resources (Skilled Manpower)
# Political Stability backed by a system of Social Justice
# Democratic Governance with independent Judiciary and Media
# Equality of Opportunity
India's record, I argued, was excellent in macro terms on economic prowess, military strength, science and technology, communications, human resources. It was reasonable in some sectors of education, political stability and democratic order. But India would fail the superpower test pathetically on infrastructure, rural human development indices, and the volatile issue of equality of opportunity.
To take the last point first. We are systematically approaching this from the wrong end. Promotion of casteism in the name of providing equality of opportunity will ensure India never emerges as an egalitarian society. Caste hierarchy, by definition, is unequal. If Brahmin allegedly oppresses Shudra, upper Shudras like Yadavs exploit Dalits. The chain goes on and therefore equality of opportunity can be attempted only outside the matrix of the caste system. Sadly, I can't see that happening in my lifetime.
Three observations/questions from the faculty made me think furiously on my feet, more than a hostile TV show anchor compels me to do. I was asked if a country did not need moral authority, regardless of its economic and military strength, to qualify as a superpower. I referred to Gandhiji at one level and the moral superiority of the Allies over Axis in World War II, at the other. I insisted that the Indian civilisation had a better record on morality than many big powers. But I would like to hear from readers what they think about this question.
A particularly articulate woman teacher pointed to the incongruity of my reference to women's material advancement (as corporate honchos, media celebrities and airline pilots) to ask if their daily humiliation at the hands of insensitive husbands and rapacious in-laws would not come in the way of the country's acceptability as global power.
I spoke of China's achievements from the days of women with bound feet to the present. But I don't think she was convinced. Finally, another woman teacher asked me if a meagre 3.9 per cent growth in agriculture and consequent farmer suicides wouldn't bring India to its knees. A truly worrying question, I admitted.
I came out of the energetic dialogue happy to have held my ground and sold the superpower dream. But the questions continue to haunt me. These were a measure of the extent to which the power of information that has empowered Middle India. I am humbled by the queries, and I have mentioned only three out of at least a dozen that I faced. But I sincerely believe that the Indian genius will find the solutions. Let me know if you share my hope.
- Write in at: chandanmitra@hotmail.com
Readers may be genuinely puzzled: Why this subject at this time? If at all, we haven't heard anything about our aspiration to superpowerdom since the Vajpayee Government was voted out 26 months ago. The incumbent Sonia Gandhi-led, jholawala-driven regime doesn't believe in any kind of power, not even electrical power, for that clashes with its "politically correct" redistributive goals, which hinge around empowering minorities, Vanniyars and similar real or potential votebanks. Indeed, this is a subject that fits ill with India's current realities.
India has a Government that dilutes existing anti-terror laws, vigorously champions the cause of madarsas (read jihad factories), responds tepidly to a succession of mass murders such as last fortnight's Mumbai train blasts and then suddenly rediscovers that Pakistan is a perfidious nation! Its flip-flops get derided at the G-8 summit where the US Administration applauds "strategic ally" Islamabad's "courageous role in the war against terror" and tells New Delhi to stop crying wolf over its own failures to combat home-grown jihadis.
Meanwhile, rather unfortunately, Agni III crashes ignominiously into the sea, INSAT 4C fails to get into the projected orbit, and India's aspirations both to intercontinental ballistic missile capability and space power status suffer a severe jolt. Also casteists and jholawalasgo on the rampage domestically: They conspire to demolish AIIMS, stuff IITs, IIMs and other institutions of excellence with sub-standard students and worse teachers, force a communal/casteist headcount in the army, judiciary, media, private sector companies - in short, launch a full-fledged blitz for India's destruction from within.
Any casual observer watching India evolve during the first decade of the 21st century would nod his head in disbelief and despair. India is not happening any more. Even the Sensex is crashing! So why have I chosen to write on India as an emerging superpower at this most inappropriate juncture?
Well, first, I believe in India's destiny as a superpower. In my early childhood, when I studied in a Bengali-medium Government school in the Kolkata suburb of Hooghly, we would sing a number penned and composed by a little known (outside Bengal) poet Atul Prosad Sen. He inspired the freedom struggle generation by writing, "Bolo bolo bolo shobey/ Shata bina-benu robey/Bharat abaar jagat sabhar/Shreshtha asan lobey (Say one, say all/ To the tune of musical notes/ Bharat shall once again/ Occupy the most coveted seat in the comity of nations)". This 1930s composition gave me goose pimples then and does so even now. So, I am convinced that irrespective of our temporary misfortune of having the worst Government since the United Front regime (1996-98), we shall overcome. Times will change and the people of this magnificent civilisation will get back a Government they deserve.
The second reason for choosing this subject is that I was asked to speak on this theme at a faculty refresher course conducted by the Makhanlal Chaturvedi Rashtriya Patrakarita va Jansanchar Vishwavidyalaya (for those who will stumble over this, it is a UGC-recognised national university of journalism and mass communication) headquartered in Bhopal. Its vice-chancellor Achyutanand Mishra is a former Editor of Jansatta and one of the doyens of Hindi journalism. Under his leadership, the MC University is going places and I never refuse an invitation to share my thoughts with its students or teachers.
The two-day orientation course they held last week in Bhopal was among the most engaging symposiums I have attended in recent times. I was worried when this unusual subject was allotted to me; further concerned when informed it was a two-hour session; and alarmed upon realising that, being Madhya Pradesh, I would be expected to talk in Hindi throughout those 120 minutes. In the end, though, I was really happy to have participated. The faculty was not just attentive through my one-hour dream-selling, they were probing, disbelieving and questioning for the next hour. Finally, though, we reached a consensus: India would be a superpower if we got our act together.
At the outset, I laid down a 10-point criterion for a country to aspire to superstardom. These are:
# Economic prowess
# Military strength
# Scientific and Technological capability
# State of Infrastructure (Road/Rail/Air in particular)
# Communications and Connectivity (Telecom/Internet)
# Human Development (Education/Health/Housing)
# Human Resources (Skilled Manpower)
# Political Stability backed by a system of Social Justice
# Democratic Governance with independent Judiciary and Media
# Equality of Opportunity
India's record, I argued, was excellent in macro terms on economic prowess, military strength, science and technology, communications, human resources. It was reasonable in some sectors of education, political stability and democratic order. But India would fail the superpower test pathetically on infrastructure, rural human development indices, and the volatile issue of equality of opportunity.
To take the last point first. We are systematically approaching this from the wrong end. Promotion of casteism in the name of providing equality of opportunity will ensure India never emerges as an egalitarian society. Caste hierarchy, by definition, is unequal. If Brahmin allegedly oppresses Shudra, upper Shudras like Yadavs exploit Dalits. The chain goes on and therefore equality of opportunity can be attempted only outside the matrix of the caste system. Sadly, I can't see that happening in my lifetime.
Three observations/questions from the faculty made me think furiously on my feet, more than a hostile TV show anchor compels me to do. I was asked if a country did not need moral authority, regardless of its economic and military strength, to qualify as a superpower. I referred to Gandhiji at one level and the moral superiority of the Allies over Axis in World War II, at the other. I insisted that the Indian civilisation had a better record on morality than many big powers. But I would like to hear from readers what they think about this question.
A particularly articulate woman teacher pointed to the incongruity of my reference to women's material advancement (as corporate honchos, media celebrities and airline pilots) to ask if their daily humiliation at the hands of insensitive husbands and rapacious in-laws would not come in the way of the country's acceptability as global power.
I spoke of China's achievements from the days of women with bound feet to the present. But I don't think she was convinced. Finally, another woman teacher asked me if a meagre 3.9 per cent growth in agriculture and consequent farmer suicides wouldn't bring India to its knees. A truly worrying question, I admitted.
I came out of the energetic dialogue happy to have held my ground and sold the superpower dream. But the questions continue to haunt me. These were a measure of the extent to which the power of information that has empowered Middle India. I am humbled by the queries, and I have mentioned only three out of at least a dozen that I faced. But I sincerely believe that the Indian genius will find the solutions. Let me know if you share my hope.
- Write in at: chandanmitra@hotmail.com