will India ever be ready to sit on the global high-table?

Though India may have over taken Japan as the third largest economy in the world, its growth has slowed down to a virtual halt. While India is expected to be emerging or rather should have emerged by now as world power, it is terribly constrained with a plethora of domestic problems. Be it insurgencies in Kashmir and Northeast; to trying to contain the Maoist problem; to its politics torn by corruption; to bureaucratic hurdles; to factional feuds in major parties; to a terrible natural disaster; to just about every conceivable problem / negativity a country can have!


Our response to anything from Uttrakhand Tsunami to Kargil to 26/11 to anything that requires a response, still reeks of third world efficiency! There seems hardly any hope in the near future of stability, governance, implementation and growth.

Then when will be, if at all, ever, ready to sit on the global high-table?

Then why is it that despite our multitude of problems we still seem to be wooed by every major power in Asia and the world?

Parag Khanna (whom I know briefly from his WEF days) describes India as a “swing state” – meaning that India may not be a major power in its own right but is capable of swinging the balance of power. Be it in Asia and maybe in the global context as well. Else why would John Kerry come calling right after the Chinese PM’s visit and say that “India is key to Obama’s Asia rebalancing”. USA is obviously placating us for obvious reasons.

Japan is majorly wooing us, so is Australia with joint military exercises and exchanges and which is why China and some other countries against India are also seeking India ! The new Chinese Premier even went to the extent to say that “India and China are friends and don’t need to contain each other” – which according to me is to keep India out of any anti-China bloc I guess.

Now am told Joe Biden is also coming to defreeze nuclear ties with commercial treaties and all this to ensure India’s support for Obama’s “Asia pivot”.

I am no expert on India’s foreign policy but with whatever little understanding that one may have gathered over the years, to me it is smart diplomacy to stick to the non-aligned agenda and staying away from multilateral military alliances (while keeping bilateral option open for those who want too) as well thus making the most of being sought after by the key players in Asia’s security and economic architecture.

If India has to further its core national goals of security and economic growth, it may be imperative to play ball simultaneously with both China and those seeking to contain its ever growing influence and assertiveness.

While IBSA is important, very important infact but it makes sense to be active in BRICS as well – what with China and Russia there and it giving India the option of playing a larger global role. India needs to build a strong trading bloc with neighbors Bangladesh and Myanmar through regional groupings like BCIM, BIMSTEC – thus playing an equal role along with China.

And with US, Japan and Australia keep the relation strong and strategic if nothing goes well with China.

And if China is such a worry, which it is to all in Udyog Bhawan and South and North Block, then make BIMTEC strong and play into ASEAN without China. Strengthen India Ocean Rim (IOR) and South-South cooperation.

India is much sought after in Asia by Japan, US, Australia and ASEAN as a clear counterbalance to China. India holds the key to Asian peace and power balance and that ultimately justifies its permanent place in the Security Council.

The world seems to be getting ready to acknowledge India and its rightful place on the high-table BUT is India ready?



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Take it OR leave it !

By exhibiting a sense of propriety and taking a high moral ground, Mrs G has taken the winds out of BJP’s sails. A little late in the day, but effective for sure, at least for now!

A general election is supposedly fought on tangibles and promises. How it plays out in 2014, is a anybody’s guess – a matter of conjecture. Well nobody could second guess the mood of us electorate in 2009 and the hustling’s in the coming months can yet again throw-up the unexpected.

Am sure the fear of unknown stalks both the BJP and Congress, alike!

The Congress knows that the consistent taint smeared on its fabric by incessant scams and scandals will bog them down. And the BJP thinks it will waltz into Delhi because of the volume of people’s anger.

Well well …..

·         For sure there will be a default vote caste against the Congress and obviously in favor of BJP

·         For sure the BJP remains fractious and divided and undecided on who will lead in 2014. Just about everyone worth his or her salt in the BJP nurses ambition to lead the party into the coveted seat of power in Delhi. But our great leaders forget that Delhi cannot be conquered so easily now-a-days!

·         For sure there is a high possibility of the great Indian middle class gravitating towards NaMo. But is he really the chosen one? But ‘dilli door ast’ for him right now

·         For sure there is huge amount of anger against the ruling dispensation

·         For sure corruption, economic deceleration and mis-governance are huge issues for the educated middle class

·         For sure there is a massive unbridgeable divide between ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’, which is what the Congress still hopes to exploit

Ordinary folks like me are venting their spleen against the Congress misrule and but I am equally upset with the BJP because of its failed role as a responsible opposition – responsible to us the ordinary folks of this great country. I wanted to see a mature opposition pin down the government in parliament but also simultaneously be part of the legislative process in parliament so that the lives of ordinary folks of India and Bharat can be uplifted.

The choice for me the voter is between a fatigued treasury and an increasingly defocused opposition. It’s a messy “take it or leave it” scenario and either way it’s the aam adami of the India and Bharat who will loose out and continue struggling !

Dear Indian Leaders, please emulate Obama

That I am a Obama diehard fan has not doubt!
That I am trying to compare him and our revered leaders in this piece is a no-branier !!
That I am playing hard to bring out the dulleness of speech of our leaders that make as much part of the stagnant nature of our leadership is pretty obvious !!! :)

India needs new ideas, better articulated.
India needs more passion, a deeper sense of drama.
And I seriously wish our so called leaders (President, PM, even Rahul Gandhi and others from Congress and BJP alike) would make some effort to put value and passion to their speeches.

Indian Democracy sounds tired without it !

President Obama's state of the union message was a message to the Amercian people (and the world at large) and was nothing short of drama. His speech was a performance. And one can see he is enjoying his part to the hilt. As President of USA, the most powerful on the planet, of the most poweful nation in the globe, Obama conveys his enjoyment of power. He breathes through his messages. They are full of life !

And Obama looks fit (and handsome). His choice of words are so immaculate, his clothes just right and stated.

When Obama addresses the globe or the nation, he is not just a politican, he is appealing. And that makes him more endearing. There is a sense of intimacy and there is a sense of grandeur. There is a personal touch - the way he thanks his wife and his salute to his family becomes a salute to the nation at large. He will always acknowledge 2 or 3 ordinary citizens for thier courage or sense of duty thus adding a human sentimental touch. He even refers to his dog's behaviour sometimes !

The speeches of Obama have a feeling of achievenment. There is a sense of great urge and urgency to solve problems. There is a sense of process. Even sometimes admission of inadequacy - about health or unemployment.

Barack Obama converses with you, even if you are one among the millions watching him or listening to him.
He takes serious issues seriously. Every speech of his combines promise, threat and warning - with confidence, indicating the limits of his tolerance (case in point his appeal to repeal the gun act recently)- a strong leader of a strong nation

Despite lack of leadership seeds of a New Beginning

I returned home from the ASEAN-India Car Rally 2012 all europhic and estatic and straight into this tragic story of the 23 year girl. And then suddenly Delhi saw some unprecedented scences on the parthway that lead up to the symbols of state power. Rajpath and the cerntral concourse have seen many agitiations over the years - the Jat farm land leader Tikait took complete control of the area, As the sheer intensity of the water cannons lifted the youth from their positions, as lathis rained on them and the police manhandled scores of protestors, it was obvious to the naked eye that the system had failed.

More importantly, there was a no ostensible move from any functionary within the government or the police appratus to cauterise or assauge the hurt. Every household in Delhi and elesewhere was seized of this shocking tale of bestatility and brutality. Meanwhile the gritty woman hung-on to her dear life, showing remarkable spirit and fortitude in the ensuing mayhem, She ofcourse subsequently could not hold-on and left her the holy abode to perhaps feel safer there than here !

To me, an ordinary citizen of this great country, it appeared that the state and its instrumentalities unfortunately seemed near collapse over the days the anger split on the roads. Gripped they were with a strange inertia and lassitude in the face of spontaneous surge of youth power. Unbridled and uncontrolled, lacking cohesion, but not bereft of conviction.

For want of a better turn of phrase, impotence would be right to describe the situation.

While there is no issue like corruption which saw the Anna Hazares, Ramdevs and Kejriwals take and centerstage in the past, the detoriating state of the hapless rape victim became a talking point, equally a symbol of repression and inefficinecy of the state.

The primacy of security and safety of our citizens cannont be lost on anyone, least of all those in government and the law and order machinery. The LG was holidaying , the Home Minister was switched on mute, the Home Secretary and the Police Commissioner were busy patting themselves on the back for quick resolution of the case, for more than 10 days the people in authority were deeply ensconced in the arms of Morpheus. Indignation gave way to angst and anger and finally resulting in pitched battels between the agitators and the police.

Nature it is said abhors a vacum, the unending paralysis in governance has once again thrown into stark relief the marked absence of a decision making political leader in the government.

The rest they say is history !..........and this unrest would hopefully carry seeds of a new beginning. For in this anger I find hope. From this gloom I hope will emerge a brighter India.

Silence is not always Gold

India has been in a state of continuous crisis for the last few months!

Mahabharat and its hero’s come to mind, now especially, since I just recently finished reading this wonderful book called “The Glass Palace”……about Draupadi’s life.

The epic’s lament and the things about our leaders! The epic is a continuing repository of crisis in public morality…..just as our problem of governance and our institution(s).

And what is at stake .,….in the epic and now……success!

Raja, the un-hero of today and Yudhisthira the un-hero of the epic – I don’t think its possible to be both successful and good? No high status can be conferred to a person who is honest and kind.

And to top it all ……”silence” is at the heart of the problem …….today and as was in the epic !

Today our squeaky clean selfless PM has to silently preside over one of the most corrupt government!

In the epic, Bhishma remained silent when Draupadi was being disrobed. When she questioned the “dharma of the ruler”, everyone remained silent AND then it was Vidura who spat out at the immorality of silence! He is believed to have said that ‘half of the punishment goes to the guilty; a quarter to his ally; and another quarter to the silent”.

CWG-gate, Raja-gate, Radia-gate….et al - have shamed us before the world.

The purpose the epic’s war was to cleanse the earth, which was groaning under the iniquity of the rulers.

Should our own leaders (political and others) prepare for the same fate that befell the epic’s hero’s?

“The things we admire in men – kindness, generosity, honesty, openness, understanding and feelings…are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest – sharpness, greed, meanness, egotism and self interest – are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first, they love the produce of the second”…famous lines by John Steinbeck

And this is what seems to be the root of the present crisis in public morality.

Never-ending opening

It’s so difficult to know where to begin. I’ve been thinking long and hard.

Being stuck in a never-ending opening.

At first, it’s the real thing, sheer delight. Its that part of the relationship in which one is at ones best : fun, charming, excited, exciting, interesting, interested. It’s a time when one is most comfortable and lovable because one does not feel the need to mobilize ones defenses, so ones partner gets to cuddle a warm human being, a big teddy bear instead of a giant cactus!

But beginnings cannot be prolonged endlessly. They must move on and develop – or die of boredom.

One moves onto a series of protracted reopenings – some separations necessary and most manufactured.
One goes further than intended and one stops short of what the other sees as the next logical and lovely steps.

Both parties have a vision of something wonderful that awaits them, but then how do they move from here?!
Especially if one is faced with a solid wall of defenses. Walls don’t protect, they isolate!
One longs for richness and fullness and fulfillment of further development, while the other ways to avoid it.

Both parties are frustrated – one unable to go back, the other unable to move forward – both in a constant state of struggle, with clouds and dark shadows over the limited time that is allowed to both!

This constant resistance to “that” something wonderful – often causes pain on one level or the other.

And then the fierce inexplicable cutoffs.
Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. Not knowing which to do is suffering.

Away and apart or together and apart – it is too unhappy a scenario.
One of them cries a lot, for it seems that pity is necessary before kindness is possible. And this one knows that one has not come this far in life to become pitiful.
One is starting to accept the failure in letting know the joys of caring.

One is now saying this softly, even tenderly without camouflaging an underlying anger. There are no accusations, no blames, no faults.
One is simply trying to understand and stop the pain after being forced to accept that there is no development, much less the glorious climatic expression of a relationship grown to full blossom.

But despite the pain, one is happy to have known the other in such a special way. Both have grown and learned much from the other and both are today much better people for having touched one another.

Our life is like the chess game. Each party has its own singular objective even as it engages the other; mid-way struggle develops and intensifies and bits and pieces of each side are lost, both sides diminished; an end game in which one traps and paralyzes the other. And in the bargain – both the king and the queen are lost!

A promise so rare and so beautiful is going to go unfulfilled.

In the “middle” of everywhere and yet nowhere!

After spending nearly 4.5 years in Singapore, I came back to my base, Delhi, on a transfer, 3 months back.

I must confess that settling back into life – at work and home – has not exactly been a cake walk! – the weather, pollution, traffic, total loss of my space and my time and the endless deadlines and pressures of being back in the HQ – et al…..yeah, I sound every bit like one of those snotty, spoilt NRI’s returning to motherland.

But I am not totally off tack.
My angst, especially evident since then, driving around Delhi, which has given me more than enough time to think of my own class, the middle class!

Not that driving gives you time on hand, but traffic jams do.
These jams and traffic lights and the endless wait has given me enough time to ruminate on the sad spectacle that is the Indian Urban Life.

And that leaves me with a lot of anger towards the middle class and the government.

Just merely living in Delhi one may not notice the kind of things that would detain unless you really hit the road.

The most noticeable is the way people, these middle class drive – these people invariably do not like to wait at traffic lights; they are the ones who will make a right or left turn without bothering to indicate and yes these are the same middle class who will straddle lanes and overtake from the wrong side and that too at high speed!

Oh and not to miss the jams that the middle class are confronted with and the ease with which they swing out of the lane and drive to the top of the queue in the way of the coming traffic !

And yet we young, middle class are amongst the most self-righteous and complaining – and yet this is the tribe that believes in high speed drunken driving killing anything coming in their way – even the mighty Delhi Cop is not safe these days!

Yes these very urban, educated middle class, often well-travelled citizenry of our great country will park where they are not supposed to, they will ignore or quarrel the traffic cop directing some semblance on these horrid dug up Delhi roads, or in some narrow colony lane, their fancy cars will be parked protruding making sure no one can pass or they will in the name of greening their immediate environment make flower beds or build a canopy for their chowkidars – taking up half the public road space !

I really wonder why do we the middle class behave in such a inconsiderate and often dangerous way? Is it out of a sense of entitlement and impunity that we have stopped caring, caring about each other fellow human beings?

And despite all that we have achieved, we the middle class love (its almost fashionable) to blame the government or the disadvantaged for everything, without any self-consciousness.

No I am not another Arundhati Roy in the making, fighting for the no-cause!
I am certainly not claiming that the disadvantaged are above any blame – what about the defacement of buildings, public property, spread of refuse, peeing in public (an Indian male fantasy) – don’t these people realize this is ugly and unhygienic?!! But then why blame them – it’s the government (rightfully for this class) to be blamed. Ordinary people are truly disadvantaged.

The ordinary class do not have a sense of ownership of public spaces, where we the middle class think, we own everything and have a sense of impunity because we pay taxes and money can buy everything else that we don’t own! But is this justification enough for us the middle class?

The government does not prosecute the middle class when it breaks the rules and neither does it provide the ordinary class – then why blame them then?

After sixty years and 1 trillion worth an economy, the government is still cowardly, complacent and cruel; the ordinary class is still remains less than ordinary and the middle class ? – has just about lost it all!

This is the sad bitter truth about everyday life in this great country of ours.