DOCSLIB.ORG

India Foundation Journal March April 2020

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
India Foundation Journal March April 2020 ISSN 2347-1522 Vol. VIII Issue No. 2 March-April 2020 India Foundation Journal Editor’s Note : The Tyranny of the Mob - Maj. Gen. Dhruv C. Katoch FOCUS : India’s Soft Power: An Assessment India’s Soft Power: The Attraction and the Trap - Come Carpentier de Gourdon India’s Soft Power in the US & Impact on Kashmir Policy - Subhash Agrawal Countering False Narratives in the West: Right-Wing Ideology and the War of Perceptions - Rami N Desai Need to Rejuvenate India’s Ancient Geo-Spatial Cultural Heritage - Neera Misra Economy The Indian Road to Serfdom - Kishen Shastry KS Defence and Security Autonomous Aerial Weapons & Platforms - Air Marshal Anil Chopra India’s Economic-Social Legal Structure and its Impact on National Security - Jay Bhattacharjee Book Review Jaithirth Rao’s The Indian Conservative - B Shruti Rao Table of Contents EDITOR’S NOTE The Tyranny of the Mob ................................................................ Maj. Gen. Dhruv C. Katoch 3 FOCUS- INDIA'S SOFT POWER: AN ASSESSMENT India’s Soft Power: The Attraction and the Trap........................ Come Carpentier de Gourdon 8 India’s Soft Power in the US & Impact on Kashmir Policy.............................. Subhash Agrawal 15 Countering False Narratives in the West: Right-Wing Ideology and the War of Perceptions ...................................................Rami N Desai 23 Need to Rejuvenate India’s Ancient Geo-Spatial Cultural Heritage .........................Neera Misra 32 ECONOMY The Indian Road to Serfdom ........................................................................ Kishen Shastry KS 39 DEFENCE AND SECURITY Autonomous Aerial Weapons & Platforms ......................................... Air Marshal Anil Chopra 48 India’s Economic-Social-Legal Structure and its Impact on National Security ........................................................................ Jay Bhattacharjee 59 BOOK REVIEW Jaithirth Rao's The Indian Conservative ................................................................ B Shruti Rao 66 India Foundation Journal, March-April 2020 {1} About India Foundation India Foundation is an independent research centre focussed on the issues, challenges and opportunities of the Indian polity. The Foundation believes in understanding contemporary India and its global context through a civilizational lens of a society on the forward move. Based on the principles of independence, objectivity and academic rigour, the Foundation aims at increasing awareness and advocating its views on issues of both national and international importance. With a team of dedicated professionals based at its office in New Delhi, the Foundation works with partners and associates both in India and overseas to further its stated objectives. About India Foundation Journal The India Foundation Journal, India Foundation’s flagship publication has been in circulation since 2013. The journal is led by an Editorial Board of eminent scholars and leaders from various spheres of Indian public life. The bi-monthly journal covers a wide range of issues pertinent to national interest, mainly focusing on international relations, national security, legal and constitutional issues, Indian polity, and other issues of social, religious and political significance. Over the past few years, the journal has cultivated an expansive readership creating awareness on issues impacting the Indian society, and has contributed towards policy formulation. The journal seeks articles from scholars with the intent of creating a significant body of knowledge with a nationalist perspective and establish a recognised forum for debates involving academicians and policymakers. {2}{2} India Foundation Journal, March-April 2020 EDITOR'S NOTE India The Tyranny of the Mob Foundation he Constitution of India, adopted on 26 November 1949, is perhaps Journal one of the most liberal documents which affirms the idea of India, Twith the Preamble to the Constitution making a powerful statement of intent. The words are indeed stirring and bring out the grandeur of a process of thought which encompassed a set of beliefs and principles that Vol. VIII encapsulated the idea of Dharma and Righteousness and which have, since Issue No.2 ages, been the bedrock of India’s civilisational ethos. The Preamble to the Constitution, when it was adopted, read as under: March-April 2020 WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; Editor LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship; Maj Gen (Dr) Dhruv C Katoch EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all Assistant Editor FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and B Shruti Rao integrity of the Nation; The words SOCIALIST and SECULAR were added by the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1976, to make the preamble read as “sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic” and the words “unity of the nation” was also changed to read “unity and integrity of the nation”.1 At its very commencement, hence, the idea of India being a state for Publisher all communities and for all religious groups was enshrined in the Constitution. India Foundation This, of course, applied to citizens of India and not to non-citizens. The New Delhi partition of India, however, happened on religious grounds and Pakistan was created on the basis of religion, as a Muslim state. This left a large E-mail number of Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and other religious minorities in Pakistan, [email protected] who were vulnerable and whose very existence was threatened. Website In 1955, the Government of India passed the Citizenship Act which www.indiafoundation.in provided two means for foreigners to acquire Indian citizenship. People from the earlier undivided India, who had come across from Pakistan as refugees were given a means of registration after seven years of residency for private circulation only in India. Those from other countries were given a means of naturalisation India Foundation Journal, March-April 2020 {3} after twelve years of residency.2 The Citizenship was pending for consideration and passing by the Act was further amended after the Assam Accord Upper House, but lapsed consequent to the of 1985 when the Rajiv Gandhi led government dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha. agreed to identify foreign citizens, remove them With the formation of the 17th Lok Sabha, the from the electoral roles, and expel them from the Union Cabinet cleared the Citizenship country.3 The Citizenship Act was further amended (Amendment) Bill, 2019, on 4 December 2019 for in 1992, 2003, 2005 and 2015. introduction in Parliament. The Bill was introduced n December 2003, the Vajpayee led NDA in the 17th Lok Sabha on 9 December 2019 and government passed the Citizenship (Amendment) was passed on 10 December 2019, with 311 MPs Act, 2003, wherein illegal immigrants were made voting in favour and 80 against the Bill.6 On 11 ineligible to apply for citizenship by registration or December 2019, the bill was passed by the Rajya by naturalisation.4 Their children too were declared Sabha with 125 votes in favour and 105 votes as illegal immigrants.5 The 2003 amendment also against it.7 After receiving assent from the mandated the Government of India to create and President of India, the Bill became an Act on 12 maintain a National Register of Citizens. The Bill December 2019. received support from all sections of India’s polity, Protests have broken out by some sections of with the then leader of the opposition, Dr society on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act Manmohan Singh stating, during the debate in (CAA), mostly by people who are unaware of what Parliament that conditions for grant of citizenship the Act actually entails. Imaginary fears have been to refugees belonging to the minority communities aroused and despite repeated assurances by the in Bangladesh and other countries who had faced government, including by Prime Minister Modi persecution, should be made liberal. himself, that the Act is not intended against any After the BJP led NDA alliance came to power Citizen of India, but is only intended to grant in 2014, a Bill was introduced in the Parliament to citizenship to a small group of people who have amend the citizenship law, to make the non-Muslim faced religious persecution in the Islamic states of migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, the protests Bangladesh eligible for Indian citizenship. The Bill continue in some parts of the country. This gives was passed by the Lok Sabha but could not be rise to the belief that indeed, the protests are passed in the Rajya Sabha. It was reintroduced in motivated, with a hidden agenda behind them. the Lok Sabha on 19 July 2016 as the Citizenship It is worth noting that the CAA does not violate (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and was thereafter any provision of the Constitution, as is being referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee on suggested by some. Here, false concerns have 12 August 2016, which submitted its report to the been flagged that the CAA is in violation of Articles Parliament on 7 January 2019. While the Bill was 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India. The passed by the Lower House on 8 January 2019, it CAA simply defines who can be considered an {4}{4} India Foundation Journal, March-April 2020 immigrant and has reduced the time period of an assurance to the Hindus and Sikhs who had legitimate stay for consideration for citizenship from been left behind in Pakistan due to the division of 11 years to 5 years. A clause has also been the country on a communal basis. This assurance introduced that such people cannot be prosecuted. was also repeated by Mr Nehru, so it is not This in no way is violative of Article 14, which something new. The CAA thus seeks to address a states “The State shall not deny to any person historical wrong and provide some element of relief equality before the law or the equal protection of to a small group of people who have been eking the laws within the territory of India”.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Change Is on Its Way January 5, 2014 S
    Established 1946 Price : Rupees Five Vol. 68 No. 52 Change is on its way January 5, 2014 S. Viswam The first task for all of us here already formed a government in in Janata, a pleasant one, is to wish Profligate legislators Delhi. It has announced that it intends all our readers a happy 2014. In the Kuldip Nayar to go national and field a substantial context of national politics, the year number of candidates for Parliament. we have just ushered in is a crucial The party is not lacking in public Apartheid of the world unite! one for the polity and the country. support for its unconventional style K. S. Chalam We begin 2014, as we have done of politics. The people at large are with earlier new year arrivals, with funding it in a surprisingly big way. hope laced with abundant optimism. Its anti-corruption crusade, initially No roadblocks for AAP agenda The year we have just rung out did launched under Hazare’s inspiration Nitish Chakravarty not meet with all our expectations. and leadership, has caught popular Indeed, it left us highly dissatisfied, imagination, which has been further displeased and even angry. But it has fortified by the welfare measures set gone. Let it go. Why I am not in AAP? in by the Kejriwal government. In Sandeep Pandey short, the ground has been laid, and But in its own way, it gave some now exists, in many states of India, for shape and substance to its successor by a pan-Indian entry into the national Communal violence in 2013 ushering in some important changes mainstream politics by the AAP.
    [Show full text]
  • Innuendo As Outreach: @Narendramodi and the Use of Political Irony on Twitter
    International Journal of Communication 11(2017), 4197–4218 1932–8036/20170005 Innuendo as Outreach: @narendramodi and the Use of Political Irony on Twitter JOYOJEET PAL PRIYANK CHANDRA PADMA CHIRUMAMILLA VAISHNAV KAMESWARAN ANDRE GONAWELA UDIT THAWANI PRITIKA DASGUPTA University of Michigan, USA Our analysis of tweets from @narendramodi demonstrates how the Indian prime minister used political irony, enacted through sarcasm and wordplay, to refashion his political style and practice into a more broadly appealing populist ethic. We deconstruct confrontational Twitter messages laced with innuendo to explore the use of language as a means of political self-representation. Modi’s use of irony provides a form of political spectacle and demonstrably resonates on social media, as quantified by the high retweeting of his sarcastically worded messages. We identify three rhetorical strategies in these tweets: (1) appeals to the base through the use of popular idiom, (2) creation of a shared cognitive environment to allow followers in on inside jokes and a means of affiliating with the leader, and (3) the performance of righteousness in underlining the leader’s use of wit and restraint. We argue that the use of political irony in these tweets must be seen as part of a longer-term performative effort to recast Modi’s political image from a regional strongman into a sophisticated communicator. Keywords: Twitter, India, Narendra Modi, sarcasm, irony, populism Narendra Modi has more than 35 million followers on Twitter and 43 million likes on Facebook, a combined tally greater than that of any other elected leader in the world.1 He has more direct social media Joyojeet Pal: [email protected] Priyank Chandra: [email protected] Padma Chirumamilla: [email protected] Vaishnav Kameswaran: [email protected] Andre Gonawela: [email protected] Udit Thawani: [email protected] Pritika Dasgupta: [email protected] Date submitted: 2016–12–05 Copyright © 2017 (Joyojeet Pal, Priyank Chandra, Padma Chirumamilla, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Andre Gonawela, and Pritika Dasgupta).
    [Show full text]
  • Corruption in India: Bridging Research Evidence and Policy Options
    Corruption in India: Bridging Research Evidence and Policy Options Sandip Sukhtankar1 Milan Vaishnav2 April 27, 2015 Abstract Corruption has become an increasingly salient issue in India today, spawning both enormous interest from the media as well as a large amount of academic research. Yet there is a large gap between what has captured the media’s attention, the policy options under discussion, and the actual evidence base drawn from empirical research on corruption. We attempt to bridge this gap, directly addressing the particular challenges that corruption in India poses. Academic evidence supports the popular perception that corruption is widespread and endemic. However, we find that the costs of day-to-day corruption are just as large, if not larger, than those of the “scams” that dominate headlines. Further, we find that there is very little evidence to support the idea that greater transparency, information, and community based efforts have a significant impact on reducing corruption on their own. This is also true for some technological interventions, although those interventions – like direct benefit transfers – that bypass middlemen and corrupt officials have a much greater scope for success, as do interventions that transfer bargaining power to citizens and beneficiaries. We find much to commend in the sensible and wide-ranging legislative agenda to combat corruption, including the Right to Service and Public Procurement bills. However, what is most important for combating corruption is not the law on paper but the implementation of the law; the binding constraint, as always, is the government’s desire and ability to punish corrupt officials and politicians.
    [Show full text]
  • A Tragedy That Was Long in the Making Illegal Rat­Hole Mining in Meghalaya Persists Despite Ruinous EffEcts on the Environment
    EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE DELHI THE HINDU 10 EDITORIAL FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE A tragedy that was long in the making Illegal rat­hole mining in Meghalaya persists despite ruinous effects on the environment possible to put things together to protect the community rights of Familial face assist the rescue mission. But des­ tribals from any form of exploita­ pite his initiative, things were de­ tion of their land and resources. Priyanka Gandhi can be a star campaigner, but layed. The distance of the mine, How can it now be used as an in­ the Congress still needs to flesh out its vision for one, was a major hindrance. strument to protect an activity Then there are other issues that that is a private enterprise, that is n appointing his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as a P atricia Mukhim need to be highlighted. The inhuman, and that
    [Show full text]
  • Gender Stereotyping of Female Politicians on Twitter
    Journal of Content, Community & Communication Amity School of Communication Vol. 13 Year 7, June - 2021 [ISSN: 2395-7514 (Print) ] Amity University, Madhya Pradesh [ISSN: 2456-9011 (Online)] WOMEN LEADERS AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATION: GENDER STEREOTYPING OF FEMALE POLITICIANS ON TWITTER Neha Saluja PhD. Scholar, Symbiosis International University, Pune (Corresponding Author) Email: [email protected] Dr N. Thilaka Director, Symbiosis School of Media & Communication, Bengaluru ABSTRACT Digital media has evolved into the most comprehensive space of political communication. Many politicians utilise social media platforms to extend their political discourse, and the public has exhibited divergent responses. However, female political leaders are often subjected to a unique pattern of reception distinct from that of their male counterparts. This research employs qualitative content analysis and Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA) to draw gender-specific inferences from the Twitter discourse of three prominent female leaders in India: Priyanka Gandhi, Mayawati Smriti Irani. It explores the relationship between their digital discourse and the scope of performative gender in modern-day political communication. Through findings incorporating relevant points of intersection between attitudes of misogyny and the popular conception of leadership, it foregrounds the key concept of gender trolling in digital communication. In doing so, the research signifies a predominantly discriminative digital media that delineates the growth of egalitarian politics. Keywords: Female leaders, political communication, Twitter, gender, stereotyping INTRODUCTION gendered leadership stereotypes that The unprecedented growth of digital automatically assigns women to an imaginary platforms in recent years has paved the way set of rules and regulations (Aaldering and for the growth of political communication Van Der Pas, 2018, p.
    [Show full text]
  • Dvi 45 Trdv+ 3RXYV] ]R Ud Z
    1 RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015 :' & ; ; ; %!#'%"()*+ 3*232 53$60 2!"324 !" #$%&'( )!'* =/#!3'0! '4)')*,7*&*534! 312/!&!4<23*=/ )!#)*&+(* *&$!"*"# *!+/1!4/4## #)'/5!/>N#33*A /!#0/5!/>'3?3*1? $!*&",*!!*#& 2 $26%%3 78 9# ! , -.-/()0 (-12// - - 01.& sheet in the court of special CBI judge Sumit Kapoor against Baghel and others, the Congress termed it a ‘pure political vendetta’ of the BJP and announced to launch a protest on the issue on Tuesday against personally targeting its state president. Meanwhile, the BJP has said that State Government has recommended a CBI probe into the scandal specifically on demand of the Congress and Baghel is paying the price for attempting to politically finish career of PWD Minister Rajesh Munat by indulging into ‘below the belt’ politics. The Sex CD case came into 5341 kms. public in October last year The event was held as part of ‘Atal Vikas after Chhattisgarh police nion Minister for Railways and Coal Yatra’ at Hardi Bazar, under Korba district in arrested a senior journalist and UPiyush Goyal and Chief Minister Raman presence of a large gathering on Monday. Baghel’s close relative Vinod Singh jointly carried out bhoomi pujan and laid Both Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Verma from his residence at foundation stone for four railway projects Chief Minister Raman Singh distributed mate- National Capital Region (NCR) worth 9952 crore here on Monday. rials to around 3000 beneficiaries from Centre Ghaziabad on charges of pos- The project also encompasses laying of rail- and State Government sponsored schemes.
    [Show full text]
  • Childhood in Afghanistan Is
    BEST OF 2014 Observer Fair Atul Singh (Founder, CEO & Editor-in-Chief) Abul-Hasanat Siddique (Managing Editor, COO & Co-Founder) Anna Pivovarchuk (Deputy Managing Editor, Culture Editor & Co-Founder) Olayinka Topping (Designer) Fair Observer | 461 Harbor Blvd | Belmont | CA 94002 | USA www.fairobserver.com | [email protected] The views expressed in this publication are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy. Copyright © 2015 Fair Observer. All rights reserved. Contents 01 Culture Off the Radar: Stealth Conflicts and the Media (Virgil Hawking)...............................................................10 No One’s Lucky in War: An Interview with Robert King (Anna Pivovarchuk and Robert King)..........................14 Private Information and Outline Security: How to Disappear From Big Brother (Anna Pivovarchuk and Frank Ahern).......................22 What Inspires Creativity? Reason Enough (Jonathan Vickers and Chris Mann).........................27 Tibet: A Nonviolent History of War (Carole McGranahan)..............................................28 02 Asia Pacific Britain Betrays Hong Kong... Again (Sophie Richardson)......................................................33 How America & Britain Crushed the Government of an “Ally” (John Pilger)...................................................................35 China’s Educational Challenge When Going Global (Ulf Henning Richter and Shan Xiaofeng)..................37 Democracy and Southeast Asia are not Incompatible (Jarno Lang)...................................................................40
    [Show full text]
  • Ixth ENGLISH MODEL QUESTION PAPER I
    ENGLISH QUESTION PAPER PATTERN [100 MARKS] Q.1 (A) and (B) Language study : (16 + 4) [20] Q.2 (A) and (B) Seen Passages (2 × 10) [20] Q.3 (A) Poem for comprehension (1 × 5) [05] (B) Poem for appreciation [10] Q.4 (A) Unseen Passage (1 × 10) [10] Q.4 (B) Summary/Precis writing [05] (Based on different passages) Q.5 (A) Letter writing: [Formal/Informal] [05] Q.5 (B) Dialogue/Interview [05] Q.6 (A) Information Transfer: [05] (Tree diagram, chart, flow chart, leaflet, fact file, note making, Do’s and Don’ts, webchart, paragraph writing) Q.6 (B) Report/News Report based on the Headline/News preparation [05] Q.7 Creative writing (A) Expansion of idea [05] Based on proverb, story (completion) (B) Story/poem/skit/playlet/monologues/speech/ [05] Description to achieve certain effect/Analyse and evaluate the argument being presented by giving a small paragraph (views/counterviews) STD : IXth SUBMISSION DATE : 10.09.2017 MARKS : 100 SUB : ENGLISH MODEL QUESTION PAPER TIME – 3Hrs. Q.1A] Language study : [16] A.1) Make meaningful sentence by using the given phrase. [1] (a) bed of roses (b) by the grace of God (c) in a nice way (d) from the beginning A.2) Use the given adverb in your own sentences. [1] (a) fearfully (b) immediately (c) hopefully (d) magically A.3) Choose correct alternative based on homograph / homophones. [1] a) A B 1. Reed a having knowledge of reading 2. read b large white canvas to catch wind 3. sail c act of selling 4. sale d tall, thin water plant b) Bank (use the word in sentence to bring out the difference) A.4) Spot the error and correct the sentence.
    [Show full text]
  • Recasting India: How Entrepreneurship Is Revolutionizing the World’S Largest Democracy / Hindol Sengupta
    RECASTING INDIA HOW ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS REVOLUTIONIZING THE WORLD’S LARGEST DEMOCRACY HINDOL SENGUPTA The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy. To my parents, who always said, “We middle class people must always stand by the poor and take their side—and not the side of the rich.” CONTENTS Title Page Copyright Notice Dedication Introduction Chapter 1 The Businessman Called Tagore Chapter 2 Business Models in the World’s Most Dangerous Place Chapter 3 The Socialist Moneylender Chapter 4 Gujarat, Riots and Economics Chapter 5 In the Company of Maids Chapter 6 Models in Villages Chapter 7 The Not Untouchables Chapter 8 The “Pervert” Pad Maker Chapter 9 Facebook for the Poor and the Village Call Center Chapter 10 From Dung to Detergent Conclusion: Was the Mahatma a Socialist? Acknowledgments Notes Index About the Author Copyright INTRODUCTION In the months before starting this book, I was writing and talking about the concept that I called Per Capita Hope. In my short lifetime, it seemed as if the world’s largest democracy would alter beyond recognition and finally take that lumbering leap into modernity promised when its first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, spoke of its “tryst with destiny” in his midnight speech at independence in 1947. While economists and politicians were content to debate infinitely the rise of gross domestic product (GDP) that, since India’s economic liberalization began in 1991, has pulled the nation out of everlasting penury, it seemed to me that this narrow focus on GDP hid a more powerful phenomenon: the newfound freedom from anxiety and a constant sense of being held back, the paranoia of failure and the humiliation of class that millions of Indians have been freed from.
    [Show full text]
  • Verdict 2012
    COVER STORY VERDICT 2012 By M.J. Akbar fall from grace is par for the course. A slide into humiliation is another discourse. Defeat is the familiar price of failure in democ- racy. Humiliation is retribution for WILLUPASURVIVE a more dangerous sin, arrogance. Parties often blossom after an Aelection victory, as Congress did after 2004; very few retain any relationship with reality after re-election. The trap of 2012 was set in 2009. Rahul Gandhi sought to win his electoral spurs in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on the road to the Prime Minister’s office. After two years of effort THIS SUMMER? and expense, he has just discovered that he has A battered Congress stares at an ominous future as belligerent allies are likely to strike at the UPA Government’s weakest moment neither horse nor direction along the Gangetic belt. Family, in these egalitarian times, is an PARKASH (LEFT) AND SUKHBIR SINGH inadequate rationale for office. BADAL ATTHE GOLDEN TEMPLE, AMRITSAR Dynasties are loath to admit mistakes, since they damage their principal claim to power, mystique. Even a punctured prince must be praised, therefore, if for nothing else than hard work, as if hard work is perfectly understandable for mortals like Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati but a labour of love for a prince. Everyone works hard in an election. Defeat cannot be a prince’s fault: Candidates were wrong, or the party was to blame and not a whisper about who chose the candidates, or who was in charge of building the party. A curtain of ali- bis becomes a tattered cloak.
    [Show full text]
  • Issues & Options
    Issues & Options April - 2012 Issue: I No: IV Constitutional Promises - Still a Dream Betrayal of Trusteeship Indo – Pak Back Channel Uncalled For Sri Lanka: An Area of Vital Interest and many more …. Published By : Vivekananda International Foundation 3, San Martin Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021, [email protected], www.vifindia.org Contents Articles Worrisome Trends For National Parties An Insider’s Perspective 51 3 - A. Surya Prakash - Kanwal Sibal Need To Review The Constitution Voting Against Sri Lanka 60 11 - RNP Singh - PP Shukla Trusteeship And Trust Better Government To Government 20 Efforts Needed To Rejuvenate - Dr. M.N. Buch Nepal-India Relations 65 Indian Maoists: The Extent Of Their - Hari Bansh Jha External Linkages 30 Recent Political Turmoil Inside The - Dr. N. Manoharan Communist Party Of China 75 Analysing India’s budget For 2012-13 - Dr. Binod Singh 36 - Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran Chinese Chequers 79 Balochistan On The Boil, Pakistan In - Vice Admiral (retd) Barry Barathan Denial 40 - Sushant Sareen Events 84 Resumption Of India Pakistan Back Interaction with Mr. Michel Channel Talks: An Uncalled For Move Miraillet, Director Strategic Affair, Govt. Of France - Satish Chandra 47 Vimarsha: A Talk On ‘Functioning Of Parliamentary Democracy In India’ 87 VIVEK : Issues and Options April – 2012 Issue: I No: IV 2 Worrisome Trends For National Parties - A. Surya Prakash he two main national of 56.50 per cent in Uttar Pradesh. parties – the Congress and In 2012, their share of the votes is T the Bharatiya Janata Party down by about 3 per cent. This (BJP) - are going to take a long still looks like a decent figure time to digest the bitter medicine because the BSP is classified as a that has been administered to national party.
    [Show full text]
  • India and Vietnam
    WORKING PAPER: X TRAVELS BY LEADERS: INDIA AND VIETNAM Himanshu Prabha Ray Susan Mishra 147 WORKING PAPER: X Travels by Leaders: India and Vietnam Himanshu Prabha Ray and Susan Mishra 1. Introduction and Sindhi merchants from Mumbai (then Bombay), The commercial, religious and maritime linkages Sikhs and other Punjabis who worked as security 3 between India and Vietnam date to the ancient period guards and shop owners. An in depth study by and continue in the medieval period as attested by Natasha Pairaudeau reveals the existence of a strong archaeological records and literary references to the Indian community in Vietnam, hailing from various travel of Indian and Vietnamese Buddhist monks. backgrounds and providing the essential man power In the colonial period Vietnam formed a part of the and investment required for the sustenance of the French colony of Indo China, and it is in this time French authorities in Vietnam. Essentially Indians period that migration and settlement of Indians into who migrated to Vietnam did so out of free will and Vietnam occurs. As for the term Indo China Pham pursued a number of economic professions ranging Quynh wrote “one side is Chi-na, while the other is from labourers to attorneys and lawyers. An-Do [India], and thus we have this land of Dong “Indians living in Cochin-china who were not Duong, which is quite rightly given the name of French citizens fell into one of two categories. If they An-Do-Chi-na”.( Pham Quynh, ‘Les annamites au originated from the French Establishments in India Laos’, France-Indochine, no 3,403, 6 March 1931, p.
    [Show full text]