Liz Truss wants to create a different image of her country by keeping it away not only from Europe but also from the shadow of America

Liz Truss, 47, has finally been elected Prime Minister after lagging behind in the initial stages of the Conservative Party's internal elections for the position of the next Prime Minister of Great Britain, which is considered the foundation of the current democracy around the world. She is the 6th Prime Minister of Britain who has been elected in the last 4 years, the 56th Prime Minister of British democracy and the third female Prime Minister of Britain after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May, known as the "Iron Lady". Fighting and never giving up, Liz Truss' father was a math professor, and her mother was a nurse. After completing her studies, she also worked as an accountant for some time and then entered politics.

These elections were held due to the resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the old Conservative Party government of Great Britain. Liz Truss, who was the foreign minister in the former government of Boris Johnson, defeated Rishi Sunak, who was the finance minister during the Johnson government, by a huge margin of about 21 thousand votes. However, Rishi Sunak was outpacing Liz Truss in the early stages.

The people of Britain also did not like Rishi Sunak's "cheating" with Boris Johnson, whom Rishi Sunak described as his "political guru," which Sunak's detractors called a betrayal of Boris because Sunak was the first to do so. By resigning, there was a blast in British politics. In the history of England, since the beginning of democracy in the 13th century, only people of British origin have become Prime Ministers. Although Sunak is a British citizen by nature, only people born in Britain have become Prime Ministers. Therefore, even this slight notion formed in the minds of the British people may have gone against them, and the customs are not completely British.

Rishi Sunak is a British national of Indian origin and a world-class economist. Born in 1980, Sunak studied at Oxford and Stanford universities. In 2009, he got married to Akshata Murthy, daughter of NR Narayan Murthy and Sudha Murthy, founders of Infosys. He was elected to the House of Commons in 2015 and became the finance minister of the country in 2020. Sunak's candidacy for the post of Prime Minister is significant as Indians are the largest minority supporters of the Conservative Party after Jews.

According to Neha Shah of Oxford University, Indians arrived in England in large numbers in two periods: first, during the 1940-1950s when England needed workers; and secondly, during the 1970s when they were expelled from the East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Indians arriving in England in the first period (1940s–50s) participated in labor movements and opposed apartheid; he became more and more a supporter of the Labor Party. A large number of Indians who arrived in Britain during the 1970s became supporters of the Conservative Party.

Rishi Sunak, former Home Minister Priti Patel, and Attorney General Suella Braverman are the sons and daughters of Indians who came to England in the 1970s.

According to Neha Shah, the elders of these Indians got the patronage of the British government in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, due to which they made economic and political progress. For this reason, they are mostly supporters of the Conservative Party. The Conservative Party believes in stricter immigration laws. Despite all this, the election of Truss as Prime Minister is a testimony to the fact that internal democracy is maintained in the political parties of England and the work of electing leaders is done with transparency.

Because of this, a large liberal section of Britain, and especially the Conservative Party, were supporting him with their policies and plans regarding the nation's economy. However, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson emerged as his biggest opponent and blamed Rishi Sunak for the downfall of his government. Boris Johnson's government was also engulfed in serious scandals from many sides. But the Russia-Ukraine war is also thought to be the main cause of Britain's recession and financial crisis.

Britain is standing on the verge of a serious financial crisis these days, Boris Johnson had to resign. Liz Truss has not fully opened her doors to Rishi Sunak's plans, although she has claimed that she will start working with immediate effect to solve the country's financial crisis. Liz Truss has decades of political experience, but Britain's own experts have warned of the possibility of a severe recession and economic crisis in the country over the next two years. In Britain this year, the inflation rate is also expected to reach 13 percent.

While Rishi Sunak has declared the Conservative Party as a family and given full support to Liz Truss, it remains to be seen to what extent Liz Truss will be able to overcome the country's financial crisis on her own. Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister of the ruling Conservative Party in England for 12 years, is facing many economic challenges. Inflation in the country is at the highest level in 40 years It will also be a big test for her to meet the deficit of 80 billion pounds in government funds to cut the current taxes in the country and to allocate the balance of electricity bills. Even regarding the Ukraine war, she will continue the policy of helping Ukraine at every level. However, the next four months may prove to be very important in testing the performance of her government.

Another issue is that all the Conservatives want to keep Britain separate from the rest of Europe and Liz Truss keeps saying the same. Although Boris Johnson was a supporter of America, Liz Truss says, "We should create a different image of our country by keeping it away not only from Europe but also from the shadow of America." This was also liked by the communist party members.

 (Surjit Singh Flora is a veteran journalist and freelance writer based in Brampton Canada)

The word secularism has been imported into India from the west. In Indian tradition and civilization, there is no parallel word for secularism. No word is found in our historical texts or literature or scriptures precisely equivalent in meaning to this word. The reasons for this are not far to seek. The Indian culture is intrinsically secular, in the working sense of the word. Our accounts of the long periods of ancient history gleaned from texts or folklore also suggest the absence of discrimination among peoples on the basis of religion in the functioning of the governments.

Present India is a secular nation; its constitution is clearly secular in character. As stated above, Indian society over the centuries of ancient history has been secular in its thought, outlook and in ways of interaction with its members. Since the word secular is connected with the term ‘religion’, we have to look at the attitude of the majority Hindu community in India towards religion in social and political intercourse. The Hindu society is innately secular because of its theological threads which define religion and religiosity in a broad-based manner. The average Hindu has a universalistic view of religion and generally sees religion as humanism. To him, the mode of worship of a divine entity God is a secondary matter. To him, the scripture that a person follows is also of secondary importance. For precisely this reason, the Indian society has been traditionally tolerant and accommodative over the course of long world history.

India is still home to almost all the major religions in the world. It is also a fact of recorded history that India has offered a safe haven to the victims of religious persecution in all places across the world. People belonging to various religions who were excommunicated or driven out of their countries found refuge in India and ultimately settled here becoming one with the Indian society. This process of amalgamation witnessed through history is an eloquent proof of the secular ways of Hindu society. The term secularism finds roots in medieval West European society and culture where the governments of the day sought to reduce the hold of the church on the ruling class. There is no parallel or equivalent word for secularism in Hindi or Sanskrit, the prime native languages of India. Hence to use the word secular and secularism in the Indian context, in Indian society and in Indian politics is not only irrelevant but outright improper.

In India, the word ‘secularism’ had been used and misused for many decades after independence.  Till as late as the turn of the century, it was the prime determinant of the legacy and legitimacy of the political elites of the professedly centrist as well as leftist camps.  With political turbulence increasing in the country, the issue of secularism and communalism in political functioning continued to simmer as it was a political hot potato for garnering votes and alienating minority communities from right-wing politicians. Politicians made hay while the sun of pseudo-secularism shone on the political horizon of the country. The Congress party and its coalition partners or allies, backed by the Communist Parties, trumpeted their secular credentials while castigating the BJP for being non-secular. The communist political outfits sought popular support in the name of secularism and by shouting hoarse about the professedly communal credentials of the BJP.

This happened for full two decades of hoodwinking the masses till the game-changer general elections of 2014, which brought an overwhelming mandate to the BJP on the development agenda of Narendra Modi.

Educated and intelligent voters of today in India have amply understood the hollowness of the term called secularism as testified by the election results. Secularism is now a total non-issue for most of the Indian electorate. Development has taken the front seat, and rightly so.

To be secular is to be rational, scientific, even-minded and impartial. Actually, our culture and tradition transcend religion and religious differences. Hinduism which is fundamentally rooted in Vedic ideology is universalistic and hence innately secular. It is high time all of us understood this great truth and started dealing with the social, economic and political challenges accordingly. This understanding and realization are critical to the Indian nation’s progress to a place in the comity of distinguished, developed nations.

Being secular means not being irreligious but being above religion. Actually, religion is the observance of right conduct and moral uprightness. Religion is righteousness. It is a code of humanistic living in which the action of a person is conducive to the welfare of other humans, living beings and the physical environment. The intelligentsia in India really needs to abandon the usage of the terms secular and secularism and instead focus on strict adherence to the laws of the land and a universal moral code of conduct that applies to the entire humanity.

Communalism and Secularism are terms laden with political mischief. These terms are irrelevant in a society of educated, rational-minded individuals with a scientific outlook on life. The modern world of the twenty-first century is growing more rational and scientific by the day, as witnessed by increasing indifference by the younger lot towards traditional religion with its rituals. The attendance in the church is thinning in the west. So is the case with other societies across the globe. Apathy and disinterest toward ritualistic religion are widely witnessed even among the Indian youth. This is not a worrying sign. It only shows that with increasing scientific temper, the youth is attaching more importance to humanism. The youth of India is increasingly jumping the barriers of caste and religion in marriage, which is a standing testimony to the above statement. In the present scenario, it would be in the fitness of things to just stop talking about secularism and communalism and concentrate on humanism, for, all humans are the subjects of the one almighty creator.  

In Kupwara, Bashir Dar, a trader, and Pervaiz Butt, an ophthalmologist, confided that youngsters of Kupwara, Lolab Valley, Tithwal and Trehgam are not interested in seeing ‘Kashmir banega Pakistan’ anymore. Some teenagers still think Azadi is a viable option. But a majority of older youth have reconciled to being a part of the Indian union. I recalled that twenty-six years ago when I first visited Kupwara bazar, pro-Pakistani youth were in majority. During my second visit, ten years ago, young people favoured the independence option. So, what made youngsters shift their opinion?

There are a couple of hypotheses. I tried to test them one by one. The first hypothesis is the masculinity hypothesis. It states that the abrogation of Article 370 and termination of J&K statehood asserted the Indian Government’s will and no Kashmiri dares to mess with the BJP government in Delhi anymore. However, in the history of secessionist movements, clampdowns always created a temporary eerie calmness followed by renewed turbulence. In Kashmir though, even three years after the abrogation of Article 370, popular sentiment does not appear to support any more winters of discontent. People appear to be somewhat reconciled to the prevalent state of affairs. One cannot explain it all based on the masculinity hypothesis alone.

The second hypothesis, also known as KPS Gill hypothesis, claims that the security forces have broken the back of militancy in the same way they gained the upper hand against Khalistani extremists. In other words, continued application of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), extra-judicial terminations, and successful infiltration of militant outfits (HUMINT) coupled with modern electronic intelligence (ELINT) have reduced the average lifespan of a militant to less than six months. With fewer and fewer young men joining militancy, the supply pipeline of tanzeems is drying up and they cannot replenish the losses in its ranks. The problem with this hypothesis is that the annihilation of extremism always required an efficient security apparatus and an effective political process. In Punjab, it was Beant Singh’s  Government in the early 1990s that addressed the political aspirations of Punjabi people at the same time when KPS Gill was neutralizing gun-totting terrorists. In Bengal, in 1970s, it was S.S Ray’s Congress Government that co-opted CPI(M) and marginalized Marxist-Leninist student factions before initiating operation Steeplechase to exterminate Naxals.  But in Kashmir, the political processes are virtually suspended post-August 2019 revocation of special status. The apparent decline of militancy was not accompanied by any manifest accommodation of common Kashmiri’s political aspirations. Therefore, one cannot unequivocally declare the validity or triumph of KPS Gill hypothesis here.

We all know of Pakistan’s complicity in Kashmir. I also felt that the common Kashmiri feels an emotional connection with Pakistan because of shared religion, language, geographical proximity and culture. In today’s day and age, with social media, youtube, and whatsapp reigning supreme, Kashmiris are much better aware of what is happening in Pakistan, POK, and Gilgit-Baltistan. So, I asked Shadab and Bilal, both college-going teenagers, what is their impression of Pakistan. The response was instructive.

Shadab spoke at length about the human disaster that the monsoon flood has wreaked in Pakistan. He pointed out that both India and Pakistan got independence at the same time and that India was far more prone to natural calamities than Pakistan was. Annual floods and draughts, periodic crop failure, and low productivity per acre plagued India. But India mobilized resources to build dams and extensive irrigation networks, develop a high-yield variety of crops, and introduce drip irrigation in arid areas. Pakistan chose to whittle away its resources by buying weapons and distributing largesse to an entitled section of the populace which resulted in endemic corruption. Its debt to GDP ratio kept on climbing. Islamabad got some respite when Afghanistan became the strategic frontier between the free world and USSR between 1979-1991 as aid and weapons poured in from the West freely. In the aftermath of 9/11, Musharraf again identified an opportunity for Pakistan to capitalize on its strategic geographic location in the context of the war on terror and charged billions of dollars to US and coalition forces for the grant of rights to use bases and supply routes through Pakistan. In other words, the Pakistani political elite got used to leveraging a rent-seeking model for running its economy. However, all good things eventually come to an end. And Pakistan, as the US started to scale down its presence in Afghanistan, started to feel the heat. Unable to manage the spiralling fiscal deficit, the country soon faced a bleak prospect and started tottering on the verge of bankruptcy. Even Saudi Arabia, who always bailed out Islamabad on past occasions was cautious and minimalistic in its support. Pakistani profligacy seems to have run out of its course and options.

The two youngsters felt that the Pakistani state is unable to provide jobs, education and prosperity to its citizens and if Kashmir becomes a part of Pakistan, the poverty and chaos will simply suck Kashmir dry before you could say ‘Inqilab zindabad.’ In India, one can have hope and ambition. In Pakistan, it is only despair and apprehension, Bilal concluded. He has relatives in Muzaffarabad and heard the first-hand account, he affirmed.

Pakistan’s economic report card, combined with a surging India, facilitated by smooth dispersion of knowledge and information by social media might have built the case for India in minds of Kashmiri youth. But I recalled that pro-Pakistani Kashmiris, led by the enigmatic late Syed Ali Shah Gilani and his Jamaat-e-Islami, were never in a majority. On the other hand, pro-Independence youth appeared to be, at least when I had visited Kashmir several years ago, greater in number. Therefore, my next quest was to understand whether the disillusionment with the Pakistan option is also accompanied by disenchantment with ‘Azadi’ option and whether that handed over an advantage to the Indian state.

The ’Azadi’ that Kashmiris often appear to be asking for, needs to be understood in context. Just like everywhere else, Kashmiris also have grievances with respect to unemployment, civic issues, crime, inflation etc. Almost every demonstration, be it against disrupted electricity supply or for potable water, can include a slogan demanding ‘Azadi.’ Conspicuous presence of a largely non-local security force that is often on the edge because of the militancy, makes even routine demonstrations fraught with peril and potential violence. Therefore, often a demonstration, even on a routine issue, results in police action amidst loud demand of ‘Azadi.’ In fact, Madhu Kishwar said, “Mehbooba Mufti once told me that even when a group of Kashmiri women come to meet her, if they find she is not available, they will start shouting ‘We want Azadi,’ when in fact they came for jobs or better civic amenities.” In other words, ‘Azadi’ became a moniker of Kashmiri grievances and unfulfilled demands. Yes, Kashmiris meant Azadi for independence once upon a time, but today it is more of a reminder of their identity; It need not be associated with separatism or demand for independence.

With ‘Azadi’ diluted and Pakistan discredited, the field for India backers starts to look a bit favourable. The revocation of Article 370, on one hand, established the central government’s no-nonsense credential, while on the other hand raised the spectre of an alien rule that believes in domination rather than conciliation.   

The bell might have already rung for the final lap for integration of Kashmir valley with the rest of India. It requires a careful combination of sternness and generosity, federalism with unitary tilt, and a liberal approach with a modicum of authoritarianism from time to time. Such paradoxical concoction is best achieved with a functioning elected state government in Srinagar that can tailor and customize the tactical approach based on the ground situation. Grounds should be prepared for that.

What is the true meaning of ‘freedom’, only a person suffering the brunt of exile can know better. A soldier standing on the border can know or he/she who has lost thirty-six springs of his/her life imprisonment. The air we breathe in a free country, and our safe borders of ours are the only (true meaning) of this 'freedom'. But, if we turn into a relaxed zone and feel thinking that it is our innate right, then we are far from understanding the philosophy of 'freedom'. Every citizen of India must commit to keeping it intact. Thinking it then stops on some 'on', why the need for words like borders and security! Why we have not been able to implement the concept of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' till now? In this journey, many words have lost their meaning and layers of dust have settled on many. We will have to remove them or at least have to start turning on that track of new India in this Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsava. As we all are celebrating glorious 75 years of our Independence from Colonial rule and entering into 76th year of independence, we all have a common as well as an individual responsibility that on one hand, we are celebrating our Azadi (freedom) as Amrit (Nectar element), but on the other, we as a nation have to combat with Vish (poison) persistent in our country in various forms of irregularities, corruption and others maladies which combined pushing us away from our duties/fundamental duties which is not only an integral part of Azadi but also a true companion of fundamental rights.

I am not saying and quoting these things in sentiments, rather these national festivals especially create a thrill and sadness mixed with excitement. There is a lot that has to be done, so the journey after that one important and historic step has to be continued. We as Indians have to acquire our ability to recite “Jana-Gana-Mana”, and have to cross all limits by being constantly aware of our fundamental duties and rights. Only then, we will be able to understand the meaning of freedom. Each Indian, every class/religion/sect, etc. should be painted in the same colour, so that all boundaries of discrimination are removed. May the joy of this festival of freedom (Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsava) overwhelm all the challenges, excesses, envy, limitations and misfortunes because we don't know how many people are in the world, who are searching for or looking to return to their motherland or sitting in vain in the world.

This glorious Azadi Mahotsava is an opportunity for all of us to understand the real meaning of freedom. Freedom is such a balanced choice of a life of a citizen, in which s(he) has the right to sovereignty, s(he) can freely express his/her views, experience respect, and s(he) has due participation in the system. And, who can better understand this than the citizen of the largest democracy, which has very recently elected it's maiden lady tribal (Santhal Tribe) President.

This means freedom applies to different aspects of life. Freedom is not something that comes for free. For this one has to fight. Enjoying our freedom does not mean that we ignore the rights of others. In fact, the way we feel right and it is also in larger public/community/societal interest, this kind of living is 'freedom'. A person, who is in captivity, cannot be free in mind. Therefore, s(he) cannot enjoy the pleasant music of a group of birds singing at sunset or the beauty of the beautiful moon rising in the sky, as an independent person can. For a prisoner, being out of jail means 'freedom'.

But, freedom is certainly a broader concept from the social perspective, in which a person is free to follow the social customs and laws of the land in a free environment. Any society can give absolute freedom to its entire people only in relative form. This is because if everyone in the society does whatever they want to do, even if it is wrong, it will be anarchy. That is, there are some rules and regulations in freedom as well.

Today's new civilization is bringing with it a new family relationship, a way of working, a new way of life, a new scientific system, a new political struggle, and above all a new changed consciousness, which allows people to share their thoughts and in the society providing power to bring positive change.

Thus, 'right to liberty' broadly means - to be where one wants to live; whoever wants to eat, eat; who wants to learn, learn; freedom and freedom in the religion he believes in is such that a person who believes in these beliefs can believe in his/her views without ignoring or harming the rights of others.

'Needless to say that after getting independence, India developed at a new rate and touched many heights. In the new era, many types of challenges are now emerging, which are constantly being tried by the government to deal with them. The spirit of “Indian pandemic federalism”, shown during combat with global pandemic Covid-19, Digital India giving our country a new technical edge on the domestic and international front, Smart Cities Mission turning our engines of growth i.e. cities into sustainable smart habitation hub, several flagship schemes brought by Union and States government contributing in the upliftment of their economic and social status or in other words making them free (aazad) with poverty, these all are a new dimension of freedom being in the shoes of a free Indian citizen. Also, a series of inclusive schemes targeting half population, of marginalized communities have inculcated a new meaning of Azadi (freedom) among them, which not only makes them dream bigger but also, turns those dreams into real actions.

Nevertheless, today's India needs to work fast to get rid of corruption, poverty, pollution, malnutrition etc. Dependent economic freedom is the only proven reason for long-term progress, paving the way for people to break free from poverty. Also, the extensive rise of the use of technology has also given rise to the virtual world or cyber world and apart from ‘citizen’ a new word has to get popularized i.e. ‘netizens’. This further gave rise to the concept or space of virtual freedom/social media freedom, which is undoubtedly like a do dhaari talwar (double edged sword).

However, on the completion of seventy-five years of independence, the Government of India announced the celebration of 'Amrit Festival'. On this occasion, it would be appropriate to examine the themes and personalities and ideas related to India's 'independence' from a different angle. Naturally, these are the 'meanings of freedom' - 'mutual unity', 'harmony' and 'fraternity'.

(Nayan is presently a Smart Cities Fellow-India Smart Cities Fellowship Program, NIUA-MOHUA, Government of India.)

Last week, amid rising concerns over the Chinese state's detention of thousands of Muslim ethnic minority groups, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping paid an unannounced visit to the North-Western region of Xinjiang. According to New York Times report, the four days visit aimed at projecting Xinjiang as a stable and united region under his administration. Moreover, Xi’s second visit, as a top leader, showed no sign of withdrawal from his popular ‘Xinjiang policy that has come under sharp criticism from Western nations. According to many human rights organizations and activists groups, Xi’s 2014 ‘Xinjiang policy’ set in motion drastic measures in the region- heavy surveillance, transfer of labourers to other parts of China, indoctrination, mass arrests and forceful identification of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups with the ideologies of the Chinese communist party. Furthermore, along the same path, Xi’s second visit emphasized the assimilation and Sinicization of the Uyghur and other minorities in the region.

But why is Xinjiang so important for Xi?

The Xinjiang Autonomous Uyghur Region (XUAR) is in the northwestern corner of China. It is the only Chinese region that encompasses a Muslim majority population. Moreover, Xinjiang’s population contains fifty-six ethnic groups in which Kazakhs and Uyghurs constitute 6% and 46% of their respective population. The Kazakhs and Uyghurs communities are ethnically Turkic and primarily speak their languages and follow their inherited beliefs and customs.

Xinjiang plays a significant role in China’s world hegemonic ambition. Xinjiang, which is predominately a desert region, encompasses 17% of China’s territory. In addition, the Westernmost region contains one-fifth of China’s natural gas and oil, 40% of its coal reserves and much of its gold reserves. Xinjiang also acts as a gateway to Europe, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Iran.

Or, in other words, Xinjiang’s rising geopolitical significance can be accredited to three prime reasons- China’s new policy focusing West, the region’s rich natural resources and the bordering nations especially those rich in natural resources such as Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.

In addition, the region acts as a vital node in China’s One-Belt-One-Road program. In 2013, Xi Jinping announced the BRI initiative aimed at connecting Europe and Central Asia with China. And as per China’s Xinjiang policy, the region should act as a fulcrum of trade with central Asian nations. Moreover, Xinjiang should play a significant role in the Eurasian corridor as it’s home to six out of eight European- Sino railways.

However, Xinjiang’s proximity to nations like Afghanistan and Pakistan which, according to former US and NATO commander (General Nicholson) in Afghanistan, host numerous terrorist organizations, has proved to be a major concern for the Chinese leadership. Given the sensitivity of the region, the Chinese leadership has placed extreme importance on stabilizing and securing the region with stringent measures.

In 2014, the administration introduced the ‘Grid style management system’ that actively surveys even the most remote areas of the region. In 2017, the Population Registration program was introduced, which collected the DNA and Iris samples of all the population aged between 12 and 65, to form an Individual’s identification number in the name of medical reports. However, the kind of surveillance and security system, that China has on the people of Xinjiang, violates the standards of International Human Rights. Moreover, if the Human Rights Watch’s report is to be believed, China can be held for crime against humanity.

China’s Crimes against Humanity

Rome Statute of Inter Criminal Court defines crimes against humanity as serious specified acts that are intentionally committed as part of a systematic or widespread attack against any faction of the civilian population. Moreover, crimes against humanity are considered one of the gravest abuses under international humanitarian law.

Many reports have documented China’s specific crimes against humanity, deprivation of liberty and imprisonment, persecution of a specific religious or ethnic group, murder and universally recognized inhumane acts, towards Xinjiang’s ethnic minority groups. For instance, earlier this year, a cache of photographs and documents was leaked by a German-origin anthropologist ‘Adrian Zenz’ that shed new light on the brutal methods used by the Chinese authority on the Uyghur-Muslim community in so-called re-education camps.

The leaked records exposed the government’s plot to target the ethnic minorities, for practicing their culture and religion, in the name of state surveillance and vocational training centres. The record also suggested that most people in these camps have never been charged with a crime but have been targeted for reasons including attending mosques, travelling to nations that China considers sensitive such as Afghanistan and turkey, and sending Qur’anic verses. However, the Chinese administration dismissed the leaked documents as ‘concocted’ by anti-China forces in the west. Moreover, the Chinese administration claimed that Xinjiang’s issues are not even concerned with human rights or religion, as the west widely proclaims, but about combating separatism, violent terrorism, and de-radicalization.

According to government officials and experts, around two million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities including Uzbeks and Kazakhs have been detained in the internment camps since April 2017. Furthermore, as per the reports of the New York Times, inmates of these internment camps go through years of interrogation and indoctrination, aimed at transforming them into groups of loyalists of the Chinese Communist Party. However, the Chinese widely dismisses such accusation and considers these camps as a hub to curb extremism, advocated under the United Nation plan of action to prevent extremism. Chinese authorities assert that these camps facilitate compliance with the principles of international resolutions for counterterrorism including the United Nations global terrorism strategy. Moreover, the leadership, during the second visit, gave credit to the deradicalization and counter-terrorism measures for maintaining stability in the region for the past four years.

Conclusion

Despite, Beijing’s constant attempt to portray the region as a beautiful homeland of diversity, the evidence of China’s draconian actions has been mounting up. Xinjiang Files 2019, Human Rights Watch Reports 2019, Leaked documents 2021, CNN reports 2020, The Chief Witness book by Sayaragul Sauytbay, and hundreds of survival testimonies hinting in the direction of China’s alleged ‘genocide’.

Not only was I born and raised in India, but my passion for technology started there too. I was wandering through the British Council Library in Calcutta when I came across a book called The Little Kingdom. It was a true story about Apple’s founders, and I was immediately interested. I thought, “This is going to change the way we live and the way we work.” From then on, I knew two things: I wanted a career in tech and I had to work for Steve Jobs. 

I moved to Silicon Valley, worked for NeXT, the company that Steve Jobs started after Apple, ran a few startups, took a company through acquisition, and did a stint at Google. Now, I find myself at this awesome place called DataStax. We help enterprises and developers build high-growth, real-time applications and experiences.

Recently, I headed back to India to meet with our team, get an update on the technology landscape and discover ways we can work together to build the future. After meeting with government officials and private sector technology leaders, I came away not only with a lot of great new connections, but also a strong impression of India’s tech-forward mindset.

The public sector is all-in on India’s digital transformation

Digital transformation is key to India’s journey to becoming a $5 trillion economy. We all know about India’s stature as a software development powerhouse, and IT service providers like Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services are leaders in helping their clients around the world become digital leaders. 

But I was surprised by the level of commitment the public sector has to move India forward with technology. I saw and heard examples of this over and over. The Delhi police are investing significant resources into AI and machine learning, for use cases including improved traffic flows. The federal government is making census data available via application programming interfaces (APIs), enabling developers to have simplified access to this data to build powerful applications (In 2021, census data was collected digitally, with a mobile app, for the first time ever in India).  

The global leadership that India has shown by making government payments (Unified Payments Service, or UPI) accessible in real time to so many citizens is impressive, too — particularly in light of the challenges that other countries have faced in making this a reality. As Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India’s Minister of State for Electronics and IT, said recently, “India leads digital, and digital leads India.”

Private sector technology leadership is strong 

I always enjoy speaking with technology leaders to learn how they scale their businesses, inspire their teams, overcome challenges, and celebrate innovation. On my trip, I met with several leaders who worked in a variety of fields, from healthcare to eCommerce to fintech—and the innovation that’s happening there blew me away. 

Consider VerSe. The company’s technology enables more than 300 million users to consume content in their local language, driving creativity and connection through digital empowerment (not to mention a healthy valuation nearing $5 billion). It’s the platform behind India’s fastest-growing short video app, Josh. This kind of success is enabled by an environment that promotes innovation and high, sustainable growth.

Widespread data access is key to India’s future

As part of its quest to build a multi-trillion dollar digital economy, India is moving quickly to set up digital infrastructure. The goal? To provide internet and 5G service and ubiquitous access to data. 

This access to data and services via the applications they serve will be unprecedented. The Digital India initiative is focused on making data a critical asset to improve the lives of Indian citizens and modernize the way many governmental and state agencies function. 

When it comes to data, especially in government agencies and citizen services, it’s easy to think about data warehouses and analytics. Understanding data after it’s been gathered and stored is important, but the digital civilization India is building calls for more than just “data at rest.”

Citizens expect from the government and agencies a digital experience that’s in the moment—instant and valuable. Government agencies are often involved in situations requiring instant and timely information from massive data sets to make critical decisions that ensure their mission—including citizen safety, continuity of service, a secured platform, and the optimized use of its resources.

Access to real-time data—whether for agencies and citizens to have real-time information in emergencies or for developers to build applications—will play a key role in the success of the Digital India initiative. 

We’re just getting started

With the vibrant business climate and tech-forward leadership in India, the DataStax team is excited to partner with the wide range of developers and enterprises that call this country home. We’ve already got some amazing customers in India (VerSe, Trigyn Technologies, and Fashnear Technologies, to name just a few), and we’re only just getting started.

China initiated trade relations with African countries way back in 1970. Their motive was primarily strategic, i.e., creating new allies and expanding its global influence against the west, mainly the United States. African countries are the perfect victims of China's predatory lending policies. They are capital-poor and are desperate for an influx of investments to grow and compete with the Western world.

The goal of the African Continental Free Trade Area was to break away from its colonial routes and begin trading and competing with a variety of countries from different continents. However, the most significant benefit of this FTA was reaped by Communist China and its crony-capitalist policies. Through this FTA, China expands its network through new loans, trade deals, and military support. Chinese companies are dominating transportation and infrastructural development projects in Africa. According to a McKinsey Africa report, about 50% of Africa's engineering, procurement, and construction contracts were given to Chinese companies. Africa's economy is primarily extractive and depends on its natural resources, raw materials, and primary goods. Low production values and infrastructure gaps in Africa force African countries to export these commodities to China to be converted into finished goods and imported back to Africa. China also lends money to African nations to create infrastructure and improve connectivity. African countries give China exclusive access to their resources, like mining rights in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China aims at improving regional integration, increasing international trade, and stimulate economic growth by connecting Asia, Africa and Europe via land and sea. The BRI is often referred to as "debt trap diplomacy." China appears to be giving emerging countries questionable loans for growth capital in order to strategically use the recipient country's debt to China for economic, military, or political gain. The ownership swap of Sri Lanka's Hambantota port, in which China has forgiven Sri Lanka's massive debt in exchange for a long-term lease of the port in 2017, is a well-known example of this.

Why Loans from China?

China seems to be very secretive in its lending policies using confidentiality clauses. It offers far less transparency compared to international lending agencies such as IMF. China must be using more competitive interest rates compared to these organizations for African countries to so enthusiastically borrow from them.

What Might Happen in Case of Default?

As in the case of Kenya's multi-billion dollar railway project, and Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port, China seizes control over these assets, i.e., all the revenue generated from the operations of these projects is credited to China's EXIM bank. There is no formal judicial process in case of loan default as it is in international organizations and other Western countries. The secret contracts enable the Chinese Exim Bank to control these assets.

Does China overlook human rights violations and labor exploitation when giving loans that other countries may not overlook? Is this ethical?

Most of Africa missed out on the industrial revolution. Therefore, the lack of capital accumulation and the lack of growth (as stated by various development economists such as Solow, Meade, and Robinson) have been the primary cause of the backwardness of most African economies. This has resulted in the backwardness of physical and human capital in education, skill, and health. China saw the potential to exploit cheap and abundant labor in Africa. More liberal Western countries lean towards protecting employees and safe working conditions. However, a country like China is ruthless when capitalizing on the low labor cost for procurement and activities.

The ethics dimension of the Africa-China relationship is always under question. It can be compared to how the Europeans ruthlessly colonized African, Asian, and Latin American countries and exploited their resources and manpower for their gains. There are both advantages and limitations to China's lending policies toward Africa. On the upside, countries are moving towards a stage of economic development with capital accumulation and mobility. At the same time, on the downside, prosperity is still not very high due to exploitation.

Everyone wants to become prosperous fast, but is it possible? Should countries live within their means?

There is no congruence between the growth of Africa and that of the rest of the world. However, there is a fine line between growth, development, and prosperity. A country can grow economically, but it may not be developing. A country may be developing, but it may not be prosperous. African nations must keep in mind that improving prosperity is a gradual process. Upliftment of the poor takes time. According to Gunnar Myrdal's theory of Circular Causation, there is a backwash effect between China and Africa which means that savings are gradually being siphoned off from poor regions to richer ones.

In the 21st century, countries can't live within their means. A state of complete autarky can not lift a nation from economic backwardness. A country needs investments and the accumulation of capital to grow. Citing another development economics theory, namely "The Big Push Theory" given by Rodenstein Rodan, a large amount of minimum investment is required to overcome development obstacles in an underdeveloped economy to set it on the path of development. This is where China plays a vital role. China brings in high amounts of investments to push African Economies towards the course of development. International Lending Agencies and Western Countries may be hesitant to invest a significant amount in such emerging countries.

How much leverage is acceptable?

China's primary aim in Africa is to create allies. African nations risk losing control of their assets due to leverage. However, African countries don't have many alternatives. Even they need to progress to meet their domestic consumption requirements and increase their international competency. With that being said, they can not keep increasing their debt just because there are no judicial ramifications. The only thing at stake is the control of assets, which Africans use daily to earn their bread. From Africa's point of view, a high level of external debt to China is not wrong because of the conditions and clauses involved in their lending. The fact that 88% of Djibouti's GDP stems from Chinese investments reflects that China has an overwhelming contribution to the economy of such nations. Such a high debt to GDP ratio is not sustainable for any country and this should serve as an example to other African nations to keep a check on borrowings and the terms and conditions laid out in the contract of loans taken from Chinese institutions.

What sort of reforms and fiscal discipline are required for a strong economy?

Fiscal discipline necessitates governments maintaining fiscal positions compatible with macroeconomic stability and long-term growth. Excessive borrowing and debt buildup should be avoided for this reason. At the same time, authorities must be cautious when it comes to attaining resource allocation and distributional goals and smoothing out output fluctuations. Creating financial buffers is also necessary to respond to both unpleasant shocks and predictable fiscal pressures, such as those caused by high levels of population growth.

The track record of fiscal management in achieving these many goals has been uneven. Weak fiscal discipline, which reflects deficit and debt sustainability issues, has frequently jeopardized stability and growth and, in the worst situations, has resulted in economic and financial disasters. Furthermore, while output stability would necessitate countercyclical fiscal policy, governments tend to favor procyclical discretionary expenditure increases and tax cuts when the economy is performing well. While the countercyclical fiscal policy may be beneficial in "hard times," urgent deficit and debt sustainability issues make such policy difficult, if not impossible. Procyclicality becomes a significant underlying factor of poor budgetary discipline in good times.

Budgetary discipline is required to maintain overall economic stability, reduce susceptibilities, and improve economic performance. If governments are to benefit from the opportunities provided by increasingly free trade and open capital markets to improve their long-term economic prospects, fiscal discipline is required. They must, however, decrease their exposure to market sentiment fluctuations and capital flow volatility in order to reduce the likelihood of debt crises.

How can the global community help small, vulnerable countries? Can some frameworks be put in place to control the predatory instincts of China?

For emerging countries, the current structure of international economic organizations has proven insufficient. A positive examination focused on equity, sustainability, and social prosperity is required. Essential international organizations must be reconfigured to reflect inclusion and representative coverage now that different leaders are at the table. Allowing the African Union to join an expanded Group of Twenty (G20) would act as a catalyst, reshaping global policy and allowing for a more inclusive and sustainable world. African and other countries must look for alternatives that would allow them to be independent, as Western and Chinese policy initiatives have shown that their operations do not benefit the host countries.

Concluding Remarks

The credit line extended to other emerging countries is predatory, not benevolent. To begin with, the contracts with the host countries are murky. Contracts frequently include stipulations ensuring that contracts for infrastructure projects are awarded to Chinese businesses and that the labor engaged in these projects is Chinese rather than local. These contracts ensure that a considerable portion of the money returns to China. As manufacturing possibilities decline in China, the country's large labor force is repurposed and does not become a burden on the Chinese economy.

In many ways, the plan is comparable to what Imperial Britain achieved by establishing colonies, albeit more subtle and with minor tweaks as the CCP adapts it for the twenty-first century. While initially appealing to poorer countries, China's offering to fund infrastructure projects frequently becomes a trap for them. The projects do not generate enough cash for the host countries to repay their debts to China. China collects its debt by seizing control of the host country's essential infrastructure, giving it a long-term strategic advantage. These countries' only hope is that China agrees to rework the contracts, which China typically refuses to do.

For all the historical anecdotes, common anti-liberation struggles, diasporic linkages, and the common aim of prioritising the voice of the Global South, the India-Africa partnership is set to face a crucial test. As India is on the verge of taking over the Group of 20 (G20) Presidency from Indonesia from 1^st December 2022 till 30^th November 2023, it must work to ensure the African Union (AU) – comprising of 54 diverse, sovereign, and innovative economies - is formally admitted to the G20 as a permanent, full-time member, thereby making the G20 a G21.

Too often, discussions revolving around India and Africa tend to get lost in the debate around how historical our relations are. While history matters, it is equally important to look forward and find pragmatic ways of collaborating. India has a chance to do exactly that by making the African region more representative in a forum for international economic cooperation that shapes and strengthens global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues.

With its forthcoming Presidency, India now has a golden chance to push for G20’s engagement with organisations like the AU, African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD), ASEAN, and in the process, mainstream the needs of emerging, developing, and vulnerable regions.

The G20, comprises the world’s major developed and developing economies, accounting for nearly 85 percent of global GDP and two-thirds of the world population. Naturally then, leaving out Africa, which represents the voice of 1.37 billion people and is the world’s eighth-largest economy, from the decision-making table would be detrimental to global sustainable economic growth. By continuing to view Africa as a subject and not as an agent would impede the achievement of common developmental priorities.

The inclusion of the AU will echo the type of representation that the European Union (EU) reflects as a member of the G20, in addition to individual members like France, Germany and Italy. On the other hand, South Africa, being the sole African member of the G20, often finds it difficult to balance its own domestic interests with that of other African countries which have vastly different demography and national priorities. Unfortunately, despite featuring regularly in the G20’s discussions, the African continent still continues to remain severely underrepresented. This affects African efforts toward promoting African voices, agency, and interests within the G20.

The Indian imperative

For India, Africa’s development is fundamental to its foreign policy goals and is a prerequisite if the world is to truly become multipolar. India has always been a vocal proponent of supporting African representation in multilateral organisations. External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar emphasised the Indian position when he stated that “India believes that Africa’s growth and progress are intrinsic to global rebalancing.” This sentiment is even more important at a time when the world is witnessing sharpening polarisation between democratic nations led by the United States and authoritarian regimes coalescing around China. The unintended consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the accompanying challenges of rising fuel and food prices, inflation, financial instability and energy crisis, are forcing African leaders to make tough choices.

Fortunately, India’s engagement with Africa has been sustained and regular in recent years. The continent’s growing role in Indian foreign and economic policy is reflected in our expanding diplomatic footprint which currently covers 43 African countries. The numbers speak for themselves: $12.37 billion lines of credit (LOC); $89.5 billion in trade; and $73.9 billion in cumulative investments, thereby making India the fifth-largest investor in Africa. The capacity-building and skill development aspect of the relationship is equally strong as more than 32,000 of the proposed 50,000 scholarships back in 2015 have been availed by African nationals to undertake various graduate and post-graduate courses in Indian institutions.

The fact that India sources nearly 18% of its crude oil from Africa, especially from countries like Nigeria, Angola, and South Sudan, and 20% of its coal from the continent is a testament to the vitality of our partnership. Moreover, almost 90% of Indian imports of cashew nuts are from Africa, in addition to 90% of phosphates. India’s entire fertiliser industry is based on what it procures from countries like Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal.

Africa’s tryst with G20

The G20’s focus on Africa is not new. The initial reference was made back in 2010 at the Toronto Summit during which financial support through concessional lending to the African Development Bank (AfDB) was promised, despite the financial crisis of 2008. Following this, the twin objective of infrastructure building and regional economic integration through trade facilitation was emphasised during the Seoul Summit in 2010. Since then, African countries have consistently been invited to G20 summits. The engagement coalesced into a G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) under the German G20 Presidency in 2017.

The compact aimed to highlight the need for joint measures to enhance sustainable infrastructure, support education and capacity building, coordinate country-specific reform agendas, and promote private investments in Africa. Presently, 12 African countries are members of the compact. More importantly, the compact seeks to diversify the focus beyond established continental players like South Africa and Nigeria to smaller African countries. The fact that each African country is unique and has varied infrastructure requirements informed the rationale behind the G20 Compact with Africa.

Don’t lose the momentum

India’s Presidency of the G20 is poised to come at a tumultuous time. The US-China divisions, following Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is at a glaring high. Chinese ships and jets are breaching the median line at the Taiwan Strait while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues unabated. While these uncertainties continue to rear their ugly side, it is equally important to acknowledge the positive strides India has taken in its effort to elevate its partnership with Africa – a continent and a partner that will make a difference.

The 17^th edition of the Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership was jointly held by CII and EXIM Bank recently in New Delhi. The ensuing discussions pointed toward a serious push by the Indian private sector and businesses to export Indian innovations to Africa. Hopefully, the fourth edition of the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) takes place at the first possible opportunity in 2023. India needs to encash this ‘Africa Opportunity’ by facilitating the induction of the AU as a permanent member of the G20 under its presidency.

The zeal and intent from the Indian side have always been there, as reflected in our strong support of the Common African Position, which is stated in the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration. PM Modi has strongly advocated for a ‘Reformed Multilateralism’ that essentially calls for constructive reforms of multilateral forums like the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Africa has enough credentials to demand two permanent and five non-permanent seats at the UNSC.

The moment is now for India to step up its game and distinguish itself as Africa’s partner with a difference. Until then, India will unwaveringly respond to African priorities, as defined by Africans themselves. Unlike our neighbour up north, this support would continue to be without conditionalities, cooperative, collaborative, and in line with African expectations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the Captain Cool of Team New India, who sticks to his plan for the country without being distracted by whatever is hurled at him by the opposition parties and the ideological baiters. There is much to learn from the personality of PM Modi, for his image remains that of a well-composed person even in the face of crises of unprecedented scales. The youth in the country will find many virtues in studying PM Modi’s personality and they would find that staying calm and composed even in the eyes of adversities is the true hallmark of leadership.

Modi has been in public life for decades. His social life as the ‘Pracharak’ of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the political works thereafter in the Bharatiya Janata Party spanned several decades before he assumed the office of the chief minister of Gujarat over two decades ago. His socio-political life made him steady in his life that he brought in the office, while heading Gujarat and thereafter the country as Prime Minister.

Modi has been hurled the most vitriolic personal attacks during election campaigns by the top leadership of the opposition parties, principally Congress. ‘Maut ka Saudagar’, ‘Zeher ki kheti’ are some of the well-documented abuses that were aimed at PM Modi from none other than the working president of Congress Sonia Gandhi.

A section of the civil society ran a campaign against PM Modi, while a few media persons became willing partners. He has been the biggest victim of the media trials. While the media and a section of the civil society sought to look at PM Modi solely from the Godhra lens, he as the chief minister of Gujarat steadily busied himself in qualitative turnaround in the socio-economic fortunes of the state.

Away from the spotlight, he was busy laying the tunnel-size water pipelines that soon flowed into the parched Kutch and other parts of Gujarat, which were perennially water deficient. Farmers in such regions struggled to raise one crop. But soon, Modi as the chief minister of the state had laid a grid of water pipelines, network of dams, facilities to lift waters by several meters to take them to places where people reacted with disbelief after seeing water in that form. Not only had the people of Gujarat, but even in the neighbouring Rajasthan gained from the works done by Modi in addressing the scarcity of waters.

In fact, Modi faced many hurdles as an adversarial government in New Delhi led by Manmohan Singh, which always created hurdles. Now the world is becoming alive to the crisis of water scarcity, but Modi had been farsighted to accept the challenge and stayed focused to work on the solutions.

This gives a lot of lessons in leadership. Modi was responding to the low-level of personal attacks only during the election campaigns, while he stayed focused on the development works, and never let any emotions betray in public. This is remarkable since the youth or we may dare say the people in Delhi are on a short fuse if someone scratches their vehicles on the roads. The depth of patience in PM Modi is remarkable, and truly a sign of a great leader.

It will not be out of place to say that virtues such as patience, tolerance and focus as if one has blinkers on, are now too rare when people are mostly reactive, combative and quarrelsome.

PM Modi was again the subject of the vilest and most vitriolic personal attacks in the wake of the decision of demonetization. That was a bold decision, which required courage to do, and PM Modi stayed firm and steadfast on the objectives of the move despite the opposition parties running canard against him on a daily basis. Only a few years have gone by, and India is now the world leader in a digital financial transactions. The scale of digital financial operations in the country is astounding.

Now, the RuPay card is also internationally accepted. The JAM trinity has scripted the highest ever inclusion of the people in the banking operations, with most of the beneficiaries being people eking out their livelihoods in the informal sector. With one click of the mouse, crores of farmers receive their Pradhan Mantri Kisan Nidhi installment after every four months. They don’t have to pay bribes to the middlemen or spend their precious time sitting with the Gram Pradhan. Digital architecture has done wonders.

The Covid-19 pandemic was once a century crisis for the country and the world. There was no know-how on ways to deal with a pandemic of such a scale. The developed countries shut themselves out. They were not forthcoming to share their knowledge and expertise. The crisis was overwhelming. India the second largest population in the world had a huge challenge on its hands.

But PM Modi stayed steadfast. He was calm and composed. He exhibited rare patience as he sat out for marathon meetings with the scientists. He was listening to them. He trusted the best brains in the country. With the leadership at the top exhibiting unfathomable tolerance and patience, the scientific community had the maximum confidence to put forth their views and thus lay the roadmap to deal with the pandemic.

The principal job of a leader is to communicate. PM Modi held a number of meetings with the chief ministers, listening to their views and concerns, and enlisting them in the national response against the pandemic. Team India was out in the middle against the ferocious foe in the Covid-19 that was disguising more often, changing shape and patterns. Yet, PM Modi led India with poise and equanimity to deal with the crisis, and not only carried India out of the deep challenge but the country became the call away to respond to the SOS of several countries.  

The vaccine and medicine inequity are the sad realities of the pandemic-affected world, as the developed countries resorted to stock-piling. They were least bothered about the fate of the people in the poor countries in Africa and Asia. But PM Modi thought for them, and even the Caribbean countries with a population of a few lakh received the medicines and vaccines on the lines of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and others.

The Indian-made medicines and vaccines saved the lives of millions of people across the world. That was possible because India was being led in such a crisis time of grave proportion by Captain Cool whose eyes were set only on the aim that India’s national interests must be guarded by all means.

If PM Modi is seen in angrier frames, people would recall him wearing black clothes in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, and that was also to send the loud message that his patience and tolerance cannot be tested when India is attacked.

(Article is courtesy The Pioneer: The author is Director, Public Policy Research Centre)

With his equanimity and poise in the face of adversity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a role model for the nation’s youth

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the Captain Cool of Team New India, who sticks to his plan for the country without being distracted by whatever is hurled at him by the opposition parties and the ideological baiters. There is much to learn from the personality of PM Modi, for his image remains that of a well-composed person even in the face of crises of unprecedented scales. The youth in the country will find many virtues in studying PM Modi’s personality and they would find that staying calm and composed even in the eyes of adversities is the true hallmark of leadership.

Modi has been in public life for decades. His social life as the ‘Pracharak’ of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the political works thereafter in the Bharatiya Janata Party spanned several decades before he assumed the office of the chief minister of Gujarat over two decades ago. His socio-political life made him steady in his life that he brought in the office, while heading Gujarat and thereafter the country as Prime Minister.

Modi has been hurled the most vitriolic personal attacks during election campaigns by the top leadership of the opposition parties, principally Congress. ‘Maut ka Saudagar’, ‘Zeher ki kheti’ are some of the well-documented abuses that were aimed at PM Modi from none other than the working president of Congress Sonia Gandhi.

A section of the civil society ran a campaign against PM Modi, while a few media persons became willing partners. He has been the biggest victim of the media trials. While the media and a section of the civil society sought to look at PM Modi solely from the Godhra lens, he as the chief minister of Gujarat steadily busied himself in qualitative turnaround in the socio-economic fortunes of the state.

Away from the spotlight, he was busy laying the tunnel-size water pipelines that soon flowed into the parched Kutch and other parts of Gujarat, which were perennially water deficient. Farmers in such regions struggled to raise one crop. But soon, Modi as the chief minister of the state had laid a grid of water pipelines, a network of dams, and facilities to lift water by several meters to take them to places where people reacted with disbelief after seeing water in that form. Not only had the people of Gujarat, but even the neighboring Rajasthan gained from the works done by Modi in addressing the scarcity of water.

In fact, Modi faced many hurdles as an adversarial government in New Delhi led by Manmohan Singh, which always created hurdles. Now the world is becoming alive to the crisis of water scarcity, but Modi had been farsighted to accept the challenge and stayed focused to work on the solutions.

This gives a lot of lessons in leadership. Modi was responding to the low-level of personal attacks only during the election campaigns, while he stayed focused on the development works, and never let any emotions betray in public. This is remarkable since the youth or we may dare say the people in Delhi are on a short fuse if someone scratches their vehicles on the roads. The depth of patience in PM Modi is remarkable, and truly a sign of a great leader.

It will not be out of place to say that virtues such as patience, tolerance and focus as if one has blinkers on, are now too rare when people are mostly reactive, combative and quarrelsome.

PM Modi was again the subject of the vilest and vitriolic personal attacks in the wake of the decision of demonetization. That was a bold decision, which required courage to do, and PM Modi stayed firm and steadfast on the objectives of the move despite the opposition parties running canards against him on a daily basis. Only a few years have gone by, and India is now the world leader in digital financial transactions. The scale of digital financial operations in the country is astounding.

Now, the RuPay card is also internationally accepted. The JAM trinity has scripted the highest ever inclusion of the people in the banking operations, with most of the beneficiaries being people eking out their livelihoods in the informal sector. With one click of the mouse, crores of farmers receive their Pradhan Mantri Kisan Nidhi installment after every four months. They don’t have to pay bribes to the middlemen or spend their precious time sitting with the Gram Pradhan. Digital architecture has done wonders.

The Covid-19 pandemic was once a century crisis for the country and the world. There was no know-how on ways to deal with a pandemic of such a scale. The developed countries shut themselves out. They were not forthcoming to share their knowledge and expertise. The crisis was overwhelming. India is the second largest population in the world had a huge challenge on its hands.

But PM Modi stayed steadfast. He was calm and composed. He exhibited rare patience as he sat out for marathon meetings with the scientists. He was listening to them. He trusted the best brains in the country. With the leadership at the top exhibiting unfathomable tolerance and patience, the scientific community had the maximum confidence to put forth their views and thus lay the roadmap to deal with the pandemic.

The principal job of a leader is to communicate. PM Modi held a number of meetings with the chief ministers, listening to their views and concerns, and enlisting them in the national response against the pandemic. Team India was out in the middle against the ferocious foe in the Covid-19 that was disguising more often, changing shape and patterns. Yet, PM Modi led India with poise and equanimity to deal with the crisis, and not only carried India out of the deep challenge but the country became the call away to respond to the SOS of several countries.  

The vaccine and medicine inequity are the sad realities of the pandemic affected world, as the developed countries resorted to stock-piling. They were least bothered about the fate of the people in the poor countries in Africa and Asia. But PM Modi thought for them, and even the Caribbean countries with a population of a few lakh received the medicines and vaccines on the lines of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and others.

The Indian-made medicines and vaccines saved the lives of millions of people across the world. That was possible because India was being led in such a crisis time of grave proportion by Captain Cool whose eyes were set only on the aim that India’s national interests must be guarded by all means.

If PM Modi is seen in angrier frames, people would recall him wearing black clothes in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, and that was also to send the loud message that his patience and tolerance cannot be tested when India is attacked.

(The author is Director, Public Policy Research Centre)

Japanese director Akira Kurosawa on Satyajit Ray, “Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon"- 

Satyajit Ray is the man of cinema who paved the path for a refined way of storytelling. His art of filmmaking speaks volumes of his unconventional style and techniques where he focused on a society defining itself post-war. A time when culture found itself hanging on a traditional way of life versus a modern outlook towards society. His work dealt with exploring human conditions and behaviour in accordance with their environment. There are numerous themes that Ray explored; satire, fantasy, social realism, surrealism, and social /cultural /behavioural differences. His understanding of cinema stands out even today and has been a source of inspiration for many. He has been honoured by most prestigious institutes from the highest honour in India, to global honour as the Lifetime Academy Award.

In 1964, Satyajit Ray was requested to direct a film for the “ESSO World theatre”. Which resulted in an impactful twelve-minute story of two different boys with their own set of differences. The movie quite evidently draws contrasts between the two boys who may be living in close proximity but still lead polar opposite lives. There are various aspects that one can find fascinating. The subtle hints of a westernised lifestyle; the aristocratic mindset and their perception of those inferior to them; the faulty materialistic bubble that keeps increasing when egos are boosted and how quickly that bubble bursts away and the vast gap in each’s behaviour. 

This classic fable film by Satyajit Ray features two young boys who help the audience explore the many “differences" around. The film starts with a young boy in a big mansion enjoying his cola. He is wandering around, under a big roof with many rooms, looking for a new sport to entertain himself. To cope with his loneliness, he plays with a ball, lights a matchstick, and bursts a balloon by putting it under the flame of the same matchstick. Various activities around him, yet nothing amuses him. One can make out his notorious and restless nature by his actions. While he may have every possible toy to play yet his bored is getting to him.

Until he hears a melody by a flute playing nearby. Curious, he rushes to the window to see where the music is coming from and he finds another young boy, similar to his age, playing a simple wooden flute. This young boy outside seems to be enjoying his own company under the vast sky. The boy, sitting inside his home has a sudden urge to pick up his fancy shiny trumpet and play along. He grabs his toy and approaches the window to play his version of a tune. Here, we see a sudden change in the background music. Since it is a silent film, the art of communication occurs through music. With the background music now intense the boy plays his trumpet. Instead of playing along the melody of the simple flute, this kid overpowers the song by playing a loud sound, as if his intention is not to make friends but instead to overpower the other child. The music in the background gets intense and by now it's clear that this is not a call for friendship but instead a signal for competition.  
Round 1: The trumpet has successfully intimidated the wooden flute. There seems no way that the flute can outdo the trumpet
Round 2: The toy of choice presented by the boy outside is a drum; to which the rival party (of one) brings out an electric machine drum that is played by a monkey. Again the fancier party has proven to be superior. 
Round 3: Realising the intensity of the competition the boy outside ups his game by fetching his bow and arrow and he also dresses to the occasion by putting on a tiger mask, he is certain that this unique move would stump the boy. The music here changes to a more regional tone which could symbolise the more grounded approach of the boy. But our arrogant boy who is inside has a retaliation for the same. A toy gun that makes sounds with a push of a button and even more fancy masks of different kinds, of soldiers, Indians, tribals, and animals. Pretty happy with himself, the boy inside the mansion looks down at the simplicity of another party. He is sure that for every move, he has a better-equipped toy stored inside his house. Until the tables turn. What was supposed to be his big win suddenly became a reason to lose.
Round 4 ; the boy outside finds himself a kite to fly in the open sky. This seemed his win, his freedom, his ability to fly as high, the pride that he may not have fancy toys but the sky is his, the wind is his, the sun is his. 
Now even if the boy gets a fancier kite, it will be a fair game because no matter how fancy a kite is, the only way to win this round would depend on the ability. And since his confined space will now allow him to fly a kite, the win here seemed definite. Jealous, the boy inside rushes in to find whatever he can lay his eyes on to trump the spirit of the boy outside. Taking a rather edgy turn, the boy grabs an air rifle to shoot down the kite. He misses some aims but his determination to show his authority and superiority is real. 

And after a few tries, he shot down the kite. He shot down the hopes of the other boy. The sky, the wind, and the sun could not be enough in front of his fragile ego. The boy outside cannot have a superior life to him and he just proved that.
Proud of himself he marches inside and sets all his toys to play the music of victory. The man strums the guitar, the monkey plays the drum, the teddy bear blows bubbles, and a robot marches, all in celebration of his win. But suddenly the sound of his victory falls faint to certain music coming from the outside. The robot marches but to the rhythm of this music. It was the music of the flute that we heard first. The boy outside is back, playing the same tone. Somehow we have come back where we started from. Where a young boy plays his flute and is enjoying himself and another boy is confined in his house surrounded by many toys, yet lost as to how to entertain himself. Sitting amid his many sounds of victory, the boy falls back, maybe he did not really win. 

The black and white movie brings out many colors of human nature and the environment. We might not expect such young children to mirror the truth of society but when the end credits start rolling we find ourselves deep into thought, and contemplation of the many aspects of the movie. 

SAY NO MORE-Essence of a silent movie
A silent film, by the name of it, is silent. It has no dialogues. So the narration of that particular piece of work falls on other aspects, such as music, cinematography, and acting. In this film, we can determine the tone if the film by the music that plays in the background. It begins with a slow melody and eventually tunes into more faced paced music to give the audience a sense of intensity and competition. The flute being simple yet melodious and the fancy gun just making noise was my personal favourite use of sound in terms of symbolism. It seemed like a depiction of the temperament of the two boys. It is noteworthy why Ray made this into a silent film. In 1964, he was asked to make a movie for “ESSO World theatre” and was funded by the American oil company Esso and they requested for the movie to be written and directed in English. Instead, he chose to go for a more that did not require any dialogues at all!

FRIENDS OR FOES?
The movie begins with a lonely young boy roaming around his house, looking to pass his time when he comes across another boy his age. What might have seemed like a friendly display of talent in the first round only turned into a bitter rivalry in the complex. In fact, until the third round of their oneupmanship, it seemed only like a competition until jealousy kicks in and one of the boys attacks the kite by using an object that was tough to keep up with. From here on it becomes quite clear that the boy inside was never looking for a friend or even a healthy competitor. His intention was to gain a sense of superiority, a sense of being better than the boy outside since he was more blessed in material possession. 

WAR COMMENTARY
The movie is a subtle take on the situations during a war. The rich intimidated the poor with expensive machines, the show of authority and the desire for power. However, it has no dent in the spirit of mankind and the ability to get up and dust itself off. That spirit will always find its way back and overshadow the power that tries to curb it.

YING YANG-The balance of “Two”
If one does not read into the film too much, one can still see how relevant the presence of two things are. The story of two boys, from two different financial backgrounds, the two perceptions of happiness, and the two ways of dealing with winning and losing. If one exists, there also exists the other, to create a balance in the world. When one takes too much pride in his victory, the other reminds him of the spirit of hope that goes beyond it.

Conclusion
Under twelve minutes Satyajit Ray delivers a more so powerful that it leaves a long-lasting impact. While watching the movie I sympathised with the boy outside as I saw him in a position of losing a battle he did not want to participate in. The lack of empathy in the other boy made a very mundane setting extremely uncomfortable. I kept thinking about whether it was an intentional arrogance in the boy or whether was he a victim of an apathetic environment. That he would choose to be alone rather than be friends with someone he did not consider an equal. 

But is that the place we are in today? That we feel better about ourselves when we tell ourselves that we are superior to some, materialistically, intellectually, and financially? What becomes of us when all that is taken from us? How do we define ourselves then? Without our trumpets and drums and air rifles. Without empathy and kindness, we just stand clueless in a world that is constantly playing a trumpet noise, each louder than the other. It's the music of the flute that will bring harmony among us, making the world a better place.