Category: India

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India Journalism

Narendra Modi and Collective Leadership

‘Taking everyone together as a team’ is a heart-warming sentiment that almost always stands the risk of failing the test of circumstances. For, the unpalatable truth of life is that not everyone is born equal – or can even grow to be an equal.

There are some who take the reins of the moment in their hands and either convince others in the team to follow them or simply bulldoze their own flock decisively into following them. Very few such people have been there in the history; and with the advent of the ‘right to equality’ cacophony across physical and metaphysical spaces, there would be even fewer of ‘iron men’ in the future.

Luckily, India currently has one such person. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his previous responsibility, could ‘neutralize’ the pretenders in his party into following him in Gujarat. If India has to deliver its promise in the coming decades, he would have to succeed in achieving the same in New Delhi. And he only has one year to raise the bar – and the barrier – for the pretenders in the NDA government (the opposition barely exists elsewhere). Just one year. Beyond that lies the possible resurgence of the regurgitated.

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Asia Times Online India Journalism

India Beware: Bangladesh is Staring at Anarchy

The article first appeared on Asia Times Online here.

With no end in sight to political turmoil rooted in historic conflicts and sectarianism, Bangladesh is edging closer each day to chaos.

The overwhelming victory of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League (AL) in January 5 parliamentary elections did little to ease the tense situation.

Terming the current government “illegal”, the Begum Khalida Zia led Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the country’s largest opposition party, has vowed to unseat the government “with a popular movement”.

Because of a mass boycott of the poll by all major opposition parties, 153 of the 232 seats won by the Awami League in the recent elections were uncontested. The opposition had demanded that the vote was held under a neutral caretaker government – a condition ended due to a constitutional amendment forced through in 2011 by Hasina’s administration.

Hundreds of people died across Bangladesh in political violence in the run-up to the latest polls, with normal life ended by blockades of roads, railways and waterways and the closure of shops, schools and offices by the opposition. A reported 20 people died on the day of the vote and more than 100 polling stations were torched by violent mobs.

The election-related mayhem came close on the heels of violence related to an ongoing tribunal International Crimes Tribunal which is investigating “war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide” committed by the Pakistan army and their local collaborators during the 1971 war of independence.

The ICT drew international headlines in February 2013 when the Shahbagh movement – named after a major intersection in Dhaka where thousands of people gathered in a protest – demanded the execution of all those convicted by the ICT and the creation of a secular Bangladesh.

Most collaborators implicated in the trial belong to the second largest opposition party, Jamaat-e-Islami. Because the ICT plans to prosecuting JeT leaders for war crimes in 1971, Islamists have also been on the rampage across the nation.

On May 5, thousands of madrassa teachers, students and sympathizers laid siege to Dhaka in support of the Hefazat-e-Islam (“Protectors of Islam”), a radical Islamic movement that demands, among other things, a ban on the public mixing of men and women and the criminalization of “kafirs” (non-believers). This led to violent clashes between protesters and security forces, resulting in many deaths.

Meanwhile, convictions against Jamaat leaders led the Bangladesh Supreme Court on August 1 2013 to declare the registration of the party illegal – effectively barring it from contesting elections.

The mayhem hit its nadir on December 12 when one of the Jamaat leaders, Abdul Qader Mollah, was hanged being sentenced to death by the ICT. Mollah, known as the “Butcher of Mirpur”, who supported his party’s stand against the creation of Bangladesh, was accused of colluding with the Pakistani military in a killing and raping spree of Bengalis over an eight-month period.

While the Shahbagh and Hefazat protests did not give birth to the current election violence, they add to the deadly mix of historical and sectarian fault lines that are currently simmering in Bangladesh. These have turned the country into a free-for-all battlefield of politico-ideologies.

The first, most direct consequence of the strife has been on the economy. Bangladesh’s GDP growth shrunk to 6% last year, down from 6.7% in 2011 – and is expected to contract further because of the prevailing state of affairs.

A good part of the slowdown was caused because of the impact the violence has had on Bangladesh’s garment industry. Making 80% of the country’s total exports, garment exports stood at US$21.5 billion in 2013, up steeply from $9.2 billion six years ago.

But orders are now declining quickly from world markets – diverted to mainly India and some portions to China and Pakistan – mostly because of non-timely delivery by Bangladesh factories whose trucks were stuck on highways for days because of the violence. Many fear that the displaced orders may now never return to Bangladesh.

Four million people are employed with Bangladesh Garment Manufactures and Exporters Association member companies, of which 80% are women, and a majority of whom belong to the “disadvantaged” sections of the society.

That is sure to slow down, if not halt, a commendable run of poverty reduction in the previous decade, which saw the percentage of poor people in this eighth most populous country in the world reduce to 32% in 2010 from an enormous 58% in 1990-91.

The turmoil is also going to worsen Bangladesh’s standing on critical matters such as Generalized System of Preferences (a US government program that provides preferential duty-free entry for up to 5,000 products) and continued (garment) orders from and lower import duties in Europe, which is especially stringent in matters concerning freedom of speech and politics, and human rights of workers.

With men in uniform being stretched to their limit internally, the country’s ability to send military forces for United Nations peacekeeping operations too are likely to be affected – putting at risk significant foreign currency revenue.

Unfortunately, nothing of that is stopping the key players from holding back.

Yet the government is not releasing its iron grip on its opponents. Apart from Khalida Zia’s virtual house arrest, Mohammad Hossain Ershad, a former army general who had come to power in 1982 after a bloodless coup and who now leads the third-biggest party, Jatiyo, too is under restraining orders in an army hospital since he announced of joining the latest poll boycott.

Also, the Sheikh Hasina government is also being accused of harassing media and civil society members. As per a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, “[T]he government shut down opposition media early in 2013 and continues to target human rights advocacy groups and arrest prominent activists.”

Or, in other words, from politics, economy and human rights to the human development index, every marker of the nation’s well-being is under severe stress. 

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Asia360 News (Singapore) India Journalism

Embracing the Last Resort (News Report)

India’s anti-graft crusaders hint at taking the fight against government into the political arena

NEW DELHI — Marking a departure from its traditional stand of staying “completely apolitical”, India’s ongoing anti-corruption movement on July 31 appeared to lean towards formation of a political alternative.

Addressing a crowd of thousands at Jantar Mantar Square in New Delhi, Prashant Bhushan, eminent lawyer and a senior member of Team Anna, the group leading the movement under the leadership of veteran social activist Anna Hazare, said, “It is time for an alternative politics to shape up. Power should return to the hands of the people.”

“Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai [all senior members of Team Anna] should give up their fast. Their lives are very valuable and are needed to form an alternative political forum,” he added.

Others like former cop Kiran Bedi and Kumar Vishwas declared the movement’s growing political slant saying the movement’s mission is to ensure that “new and apt people” come to power in the 2014 polls by defeating the Congress-led ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition.

The team also attacked the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging that its earlier support for the movement was based largely upon political opportunism.

Appearing to have lost mass support in recent months, the movement got a fresh lease of life on July 29 when Anna sat on an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar to press for his team’s demand of passing of Jan Lokpal [(anti-corruption) Ombudsman Bill] in the parliament and investigation into cases of corruption involving senior politicians, including 15 federal ministers.

But even as the 74-year-old activist’s fast entered the third day and the health of two of his aides – especially that of Kejriwal, who has been fasting since July 25 – worsened, the government showed no signs of relenting on Team Anna’s demands.

On July 30, India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni even went to the extent of accusing Team Anna of resorting to blackmail tactics.

Similarly, when asked whether he would appeal to Team Anna to call off its agitation, senior lawmaker from the ruling Congress party Satyavrata Chaturvedi replied in the negative.

“Activists have their own agenda and I don’t want to appeal to them. They cannot challenge the independence of the House [parliament]. The House is supreme. Other views too need to be respected. There is no point appealing to them. They can do what they like.”

But an official statement from the government on July 31 said that the Prime Minister’s Office sent two letters to Anna under the advise of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, urging the veteran social activist to take the path of negotiations with the government.

Anna was quick to react. Addressing his supporters at Jantar Mantar, Anna said he would not talk to anyone in the government — including the Prime Minister — until his demands were met.

“This movement will continue till politics is cleaned up. Our struggle has not lost its way — I am clear that if the Jan Lokpal Bill is passed, at least 70% of corruption will end in the country,” he said amid loud cheers from thousands of his supporters.

He said he would sit on fast again and again till there is ‘flood of good politics’ in the country.

Though Anna Hazare has ruled out the possibility of him joining politics, he has indicated that his team members might contest the next parliamentary polls against the mainstream political parties.

He even threatened to return the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award.

Earlier in the day, government-appointed doctors reached the venue to advise Arvind Kejriwal and Gopal Rai — both fasting since July 25 — to get medical treatment as their health had become cause of concern.

The two rejected the appeal, telling the supporters that they were “not cowards who will give up because of health concerns”.

“I am warning the government not to try to arrest us and force us to go to hospital,” Kejriwal said.

The principal disagreement between Team Anna and the government lies in arriving at the scope of the proposed anti-graft Ombudsman, under the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Team Anna believes the Ombudsman should be empowered to probe and prosecute politicians, including public administrators of all levels, higher judiciary, parliamentarians and even the prime minister.

The government, on the other hand, feels this will create a parallel government and run against the basic premise of checks and balances Indian democracy is based upon.

With the government appearing ever more reluctant to engage Team Anna, the activists now seem to be formulating a new strategy that may lead them to fight the battle politically.

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Asia360 News (Singapore) India Journalism People

Anshuman Rawat Interviews Nitin Gadkari

President of Indian opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Nitin Gadkari believes that his party would bring the economy of India back on track by dislodging the present ruling coalition in 2014 elections

Established in 1980, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is India’s second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament. Occupying the right of centre in the Indian political spectrum, it is a firm believer of free market economics and capitalism.

But defeats in successive elections in 2004 and 2009 seem to have sown seeds of doubt in its economic thinking and posture. And it hurts to be seen as a market friendly party in a nation that has the largest share of the world’s poor.

The party, which has always been a faithful ally of corporations and businesses in India, talks more about pro-poor growth and an economy based on social inclusion.

The most recent and visible example of its about-face was its vehement opposition to foreign investment in the multi billion dollar retail sector in December 2011, though BJP had itself favoured the liberalisation when it was in power in the early 2000s.

Asia360 News’ Anshuman Rawat speaks to Nitin Gadkari, President of the BJP about the Indian economy and his party’s economic plans for the country.

Asia360 News: You have said recently that BJP would dislodge the ruling government “to bring the country back on the path of economic growth.” What do you think is wrong with the economic policies of the current government?

Nitin Gadkari: I had written a comprehensive letter to the Honourable Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) in January about the state of India’s economy. Let me share with you some of the thoughts that I shared with him.

The Indian economy is in complete mess today. There is virtual stagflation. Inflation has been hovering around 10% for the past two years, with food inflation above 12% during past two weeks. There seems to be no respite at all. The worst affected have been the poor.

On the growth front, there is a continued deceleration in output growth, while industrial production grew at a pitiful rate of 3.8% in July, the lowest in 21 months.

The figures are even more disappointing on the investment front. New investments in the country fell from 7.2 lakh crore rupees (US$145.5 billion) in April-June 2010 to 2.6 lakh crore rupees in July-September 2011, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).  This is a decline of 64% in one year.

Output of capital goods declined by 15.2% in July. Compared to a growth of 4.7% in August 2010, it grew only by 3.9% in the same month this year.  The repercussions of this on the economy are very evident and the long-term impact is going to be disastrous.

Asia360 News: If voted to power in 2014, what does the BJP propose to do to bring about a change in the current state of affairs?

NG: The BJP is developing an ‘India Vision Document 2025’. We have formed the team of experts, technocrats, economist and thinkers to deliberate and discuss our action plan for next 20 years.

We have formed small sub groups on more than 35 verticals such as Agriculture, Rural Development, Power, Infrastructure, Health, Primary Education, Higher Education, Irrigation, Women & Child Development, Environment, Urban Development, Non Conventional energy, Bio Fuels, God Governance, and Internal & External Security etc.

But most importantly, in a country where majority of people live in the villages, we would bring dignity to our villagers. This country has ignored agriculture and irrigation, with the result that poverty in the villages driven a good percentage of population to the cities. Cities do not have the infrastructure to deal with the influx as they are breaking at the seams. We propose to create quality infrastructure in rural areas.

Equally, we propose to have a sustainable philosophy of development. Realising that an increased demand of energy would be staring at us even as the reserves of fossil fuels deplete, the BJP would give a push to technologies that will use bio fuels and other alternatives.

Asia360 News: Which are the five key economic proposals that the BJP would to look to implement first, if it comes to power in 2014?

NG: We at the BJP believe that we can achieve 10% sustainable growth, which will not only benefit the industries but also create employment opportunities to millions of people in India.

To achieve that, I believe the biggest intervention is required in the field of agriculture.  India should aim at achieving at least 4% agriculture growth over a long period. Improvement in agriculture situation in India will not only benefit this large population but will also enable them to consume more products and avail various services. This will have a positive impact on industrial and service sector as well.

I strongly feel diversification of agriculture towards energy and power sector holds key to change scenario of agriculture sector in India.

Second, creating world-class infrastructure is a prerequisite for promoting investments and industrial development. NDA government in 1998 embarked on one of the most ambitious National Highways Development Programmes anywhere in the world. We need to think about such ambitious projects in the areas of railways, inland waterways, ports and airports etc. to overcome infrastructure deficit. It will reduce transaction costs for the businesses.

Third, the BJP would pursue the agenda of education and skill development in mission mode. Private sector can play an important role in this. Out of box ideas like the scheme of distributing free bicycles to school going girls in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar by the respective state governments has done wonders in improving the enrolments and reducing dropouts substantially.

Fourth, I firmly believe that for the sustainable development “going green” is the only option. We will have to focus on renewable energy like solar, wind etc. to generate electricity. We will have to invest in the green technologies for our industrial sector.

Finally, and most importantly, I firmly believe that (economic) reform process is irreversible and the fast economic growth it has led to has actually pulled millions of Indians out of poverty. The BJP support reforms so that hassle free procedures for the businesses to operate and flourish are created.

Asia360 News: Do you believe that BJP’s opposition to the FDI in multi-brand retail might hurt its image of a business friendly party in the eyes of foreign investors? Do you believe it would hamper India’s growth story?

NG: It would be unfair to call BJP anti reforms. The 1999-2004 BJP government was at the forefront of reforms process in India. It had in fact initiated many path-breaking reforms in the form of disinvestment, telecom policies etc.

I think the world needs to understand that every country, while contributing to global growth, has to protect the interests of its own people.
The Indian economy, at present, is dominated by the services sector, which accounts for 58% of India’s GDP. Retail chains, both small and big, make a major chunk of that sector.

At the same time, self-employment in India is the single largest source of jobs. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) agencies with deep pockets entering this segment will have an adverse impact on our domestic retail sector. It would be a bad move at a time when the domestic retail sector is growing anyway.

Asia360 News: Asia is growing faster than any other region of the world. Does the BJP have a separate vision for the continent, especially with regards China and regional bodies like ASEAN?

NG: India’s “Look East” policy was given impetus during the BJP-led regime under Vajpayee, who during his six-year tenure practically visited all the ASEAN countries to promote bilateral cooperation in the economic and cultural fields.

The BJP continues to attach highest priority to its relations with all the Southeast Asian countries with whom India has maintained centuries’ old cultural and spiritual ties.

As the two fastest growing economies, India and China hold great potential for cooperation based on their strong complementarities.

We in the BJP strongly believe that the two Asian giants, together with other ASEAN tigers, should strengthen cooperation and coordination, jointly deal with the challenges, and guard against attempts by the developed countries to shift the burden (of issues like carbon emission) to China, India, ASEAN nations and other developing countries.

At the same time, it is imperative that India and China overcome the existing problems in their bilateral trade such as the trade imbalance, limitations in trade scope and trade mix, and a low level of mutual investment.

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India Journalism People

INTERVIEW: Shantanu Bhagwat

An engineer by training, Shantanu Bhagwat is a one-time diplomat turned venture investor and now advisor, to start-ups.

In a career spanning two decades, Mr. Bhagwat has worked across geographies and industries, including several years in Japan and in the UK. He is a personal investor in several start-ups in India, including Myntra– a personalised gift company, Innovitia – a cutting-edge start-up in transaction processing and Elements Akademia – an innovative national chain of vocational schools.

A graduate in Computer Engineering, Shantanu holds an MBA from London Business School where he was a Chevening Scholar.

These days he divides his time between UK and India, working with early stage companies and on ideas to improve political systems and governance in India.

Anshuman Rawat interviewed him via E-mail about his life as a political activist and his thoughts for a better governed India.

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When and why did you decide to cut down on your life of a global business professional and immerse yourself into ideas aimed at improving political systems and governance in India? At the same time, talking in management terms, does this earnest endeavour-of-heart include an intrinsic exit plan too?

The change happened in the early months of 2008. There were several triggers:

The first was probably the shameful perversion of democracy on the floor of the house on 22nd July. In response to my post on this subject, Sanjeev Sabhlok challenged everyone to either rise and do something about it or shut up.

That shook me to the core. It hurt, probably even more because it was true.

The second trigger were the blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. Ironically, I had been to both these cities just a few days before. But strangely, it did not feel like I had cheated death.

Other events and things happening around me, helped make the decision…I watched with awe and fascination as the Obama campaign changed the paradigm of fund-raising in the US by reaching out at the grassroots…and I began to read about interesting experiments that were happening around “crowd-funding”.

The process was more complex and not quite as straight-forward as what I have outlined above. And of course NONE of this would have been possible without the whole-hearted support and commitment from my wife and family. Without her support, this would have been impossible to do. The whole story is here, for those of your readers who wish to read more about the background to this transformation.

As for an exit plan, there is no exit plan here.

The only exit is a better India – far better than what we have today – a better country with a healthy, prosperous populace that has its basic necessities covered and provides equal opportunities to progress to all its citizens. An India, where in the words of Rabindranath Tagore, “the mind is without fear and the head is held high…”

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How far is the political activist in you from becoming an active politician, one who fights elections i.e.? Or, do you believe that it is not necessary for the former to evolve in to the latter?

I believe the transition from being an “activist” into electoral politics is not a sharp, linear process (after all candidates fighting at elections are activists too).

I believe standing (up) for an election should be a carefully thought-through move and the culmination of a process that necessarily includes developing at least a basic understanding of the issues that plague us, developing an ideological paradigm to frame the issues and having some thoughts on how to confront the major challenges that face our nation.

I wish I could give you a time-frame for the transition but I am unable to.

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A lot of, what seems to be, your angst and earnestness comes out clearly in your blog Satyameva Jayate. Tell us a little about it, especially about its origin and the place it holds in your overall road-map of life from here on?

The story of the blog’s origin is here but very briefly it was a reaction to the feelings and emotions I felt following the attack on Indian Parliament in 2001 and several acts of terrorism since then.

I became convinced that we were fighting an enemy so deadly and so ruthless that our whole value system and the fundamental principles of humanity were at stake.  My early posts led some to the conclusion that I was a “Hindu fascist” – or more charitably, a “neo-conservative”. I am actually neither. I would like to think of myself as a liberal who is prepared to fight to defend his ideals, his beliefs and his principles.

The blog remains my main method of communication. It is my preferred medium for having a dialogue with my readers and expressing my opinion…I have learnt from it enormously…It has been a very rich, intellectually rewarding and deeply satisfying experience. It has also taught me a lot of things – such as patience and being careful with words. You can read more on my lessons from blogging here.

The blog continues to evolve but I believe it will remain an important part of my activities in the years to come.

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Apart from exchanging thoughts via Satyameva Jayate, what are the various ways in which someone can become an active part of your battle against status-quo– both on and offline?

The best way to engage online and become more active is to participate in the Skype conference calls. Live Chats and various events that I host and coordinate periodically.

A lot of events and meetings happen offline too (such as recent meetings in Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai in early December). Almost all of them find a mention on the Facebook page (under the events tab) .

Separately, I am working on an offline initiative that should help us get more active on the ground and increase our sphere of activities. Please stay tuned.

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In your lecture series, you have said that “the root cause of all problems in India is its dysfunctional middle class”. Can you please elaborate on that?

I think Kanchan Gupta put it best. In his article on “Three Myths and an Election”, he wrote  about a middle class that is: “least bothered about corruption in high places, the relentless loot of public money, the sagging physical infrastructure …the repeated terrorist attacks…”

I labelled it as “dysfunctional”. I could not think of a more apt description.

The middle class needs to be at the forefront of this process of change and reform…and I can see some signs of that happening around me. I am optimistic and  I remain hopeful.

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Assuming that the rich have got no stake in changing the status quo and agreeing that it is unreasonable to expect empty stomachs to start a revolution, don’t you think that expecting the middle class to shoulder ALL is akin to making a general quota student sit for an examination not just for his own self, but also on behalf of the one who gets his seat on account of reservation and the one who wrests his seat via capitation money?

The analogy is compelling but not accurate. This is not an examination.

What we are attempting could make the difference between a country that survives, prospers & becomes a model for heterogeneous societies around the world and a country that is breaking apart, in the throes of a civil war, with woeful infrastructure and extremely restive population.

I am afraid that we really have no choice. As my friend Surendra Shrivastava of Loksatta mentioned in an email some days back: “We are not born politicians like many, we are in politics not by choice but because of compulsion”.

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How do you see the make-up and the present state of the Indian democratic landscape – both from the perspective of governance and the various political players?

It is depressing, to be honest – both from the perspective of governance as well as the various entities.

The Congress is a party run by a single family, that is increasingly devoid of any ideology and moving from one populist measure to the next.  The “Left” are on their way to becoming a footnote in India’s political system. And the BJP – although strongly differentiated on policies with the Congress – is unfortunately a confused organization that appears to be unwilling to focus and cannot make up its mind on priorities. It does not help that its leadership appears increasingly bereft of any moral superiority. That said, this is the group that appears to be most amenable to change.  The “Left” will find it hard to jettison their ideology – it is their raison d-etre after all and the Congress (I) will find it next to impossible to become a more “normal” party of several leaders, rather than just one unchallenged head.

About governance, the less said the better! Everything you see around you is  either broken, leaking or does not work. It is the result of poor governance – a large part of which is due to ineffectual leadership and bad choices (in terms of polices).

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Which aspects of the present political system, in your opinion, require urgent revision? How can that be brought about by people like you and me?

Let me briefly enumerate the aspects that need urgent revision and are do-able provided there is sufficient political will:

(a) Stricter monitoring of election expenses and make false declaration a cause for debarring from contesting for 6 years
(b) Mandatory disclosure of source(s) of income of candidates standing for elections
(c) Allowing citizens to vote anywhere in the country (not just permanent place of residence) – with appropriate identification
(d) Mandatory disclosure of audited accounts of political parties and expenses
(e) Constitutional amendment to remove clause demanding adherence to socialism

People like you and me can help create pressure for these changes – by talking about this, discussing these points and writing to their local newspapers, demanding these moves. There are a few other things that people like you and me can do:

(a) Demand accountability from our candidates (by evaluating them against the promises made in their election manifestos)
(b) Vote en-bloc for credible and transparent candidates
(c) Create pressure groups for campaign financing reforms and to reveal source(s) of income of candidates
(d) Push for the “Right to Recall”

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Do you believe that rabid rise of language-induced regionalism (or sub-nationalism) in various Indian states stands endangers the very idea of India? In any scenario, in your opinion, how should we address the issue?

Yes it does. This worries me deeply although I sometimes feel I am in a minority who worry about the “Idea of India”.

I think this notion of identity – what it means to be an Indian – is a question we have never answered satisfactorily. And this is something that we grapple with even today, 60+ years after independence. This is the reason why the havoc caused by rains in TamilNadu does not find any mention in New Delhi just as the news about blockade of Manipur is hidden somewhere in the last pages of a “national” newspaper in Mumbai.

How does one address this issue?

The main thrust has to be on creating a sense of national identity – and promoting shared history through a national curriculum in history and the social sciences. There are a couple of other things that we should consider: Rigorous implementation of the three language formula and promotion and encouragement (including subsidies) to educational exchanges. This topic is far too complex to be dealt with in a few paragraphs though. I hope to have a online discussion on this soon.

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Finally, all the four pillars of Indian democracy seem to be facing credibility crisis owing to corruption scandals of varied nature. How can a ‘non-aligned’ (to any ‘pillar’ or security net) Indian citizen ever believe that he can not only survive the – often fatal – ‘chakraavyuh’ laid by the poisonous concoction of state & non-state actors, but also bring about a change?

We need to believe we can win this battle.

The road we are on is not for the faint-hearted. This is going to be a long battle.

In the words of Shri Chandra Prakash Dwivedi (Director of Chanakya, the serial):

पर ध्यान रहे,
स्वतंत्रता का यह यज्ञ यौवन का बलिदान मांगेगा, स्वार्थ का बलिदान मांगेगा…
और तो और,  जागृत हो रही रण-चंडिका जीवन का बलिदान मांगेगी |

…Bear in mind

The “yagya” of independence will demand sacrifices, it will demand the sacrifice of our selfish desires…And the fierce “Ran-Chandi” that is being aroused will demand we sacrifice our lives.

(loose translation)

But we need to believe we can win…And I firmly believe, we can.

Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!