Activist Governors and egoistic Chief Ministers are the last thing India needs, especially during a pandemic
Should State Governors and elected Chief Ministers confront each other even at the time of a crisis? Do we need activist Governors or are they mere figureheads? Do we need the Governors at all or should the post be abolished? These are some of the questions that come to mind in the wake of the recurring disturbing confrontations between the two constitutional offices. It reached a peak last week with some Chief Ministers complaining about it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his fourth virtual meeting on the Covid-19 strategy. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sought Modi’s intervention alleging that Governors were interfering in the State Government’s work and playing politics to hamper the fight against the Coronavirus.
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy supported her claim. He complained, “We are facing this in Puducherry, too, where Lieutenant-Governor Kiran Bedi is trying to run a parallel Government despite a judicial snub. We are going to move a contempt notice against her.” Narayanasamy and Bedi have been at loggerheads since the latter assumed office in 2016 with the Chief Minister even saying, “The Centre has appointed a demon.”
Maharashtra Governor BS Koshyari did not cover himself in glory when he decided to swear in BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis in October 2019 in a hurried, private oath-taking ceremony at 7.30 am. Maharashtra also witnessed how Uddhav Thackeray had been kept on tenterhooks about his election to the legislature. Ultimately on the intervention of the Prime Minister, to whom Uddhav had appealed for help, the Governor wrote a letter to the Election Commission to hold polls to the council as a special case.
The situation in Delhi is no better. The relationship between Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal and the Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal and his predecessor Najeeb Jung was quite strained. Kejriwal got some reprieve after the Supreme Court ruled in July 2018 that the Lieutenant -Governor does not have independent decision-making powers and the real power must lie with the elected Government. Baijal had recently written a strongly-worded letter to Kejriwal on the exodus of tens of thousands of migrant workers from the national Capital after Modi announced a nationwide lockdown that caught citizens by surprise. This exodus forced the Centre to ask bordering States to seal their borders and look after the migrants.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has been having differences with the State Government on many issues, including the Government’s stand on the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). In his address to the Assembly, he read out the prepared speech but also expressed his own views on the CAA.
The ongoing tug of war between Mamata and the Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has turned ugly in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis. With both asserting their constitutional positions and Mamata alleging that the Governor is overstepping his jurisdiction, West Bengal is witnessing a no holds barred fight. The two have had tense relations since the day Dhankhar took over as Governor last July. There have been many incidents of a verbal clash over several issues, including the law and order situation in the State, to the running of universities. Even though the Prime Minister has praised Mamata for her handling of the pandemic, Dhankhar had continued his criticism, alleging that Mamata had failed to enforce the lockdown. The latest is a warning from Mamata accusing Dhankhar of trying to “usurp powers” amid the Coronavirus crisis. In his letters, Dhankhar had urged Mamata to refrain from indulging in politics during the pandemic.
This brings us to the question what is the role of the Governor? The Constitution empowers him/her to influence the decisions of an elected Government by giving the right “to be consulted, to warn and encourage.” Pertinently, the Sarkaria Commission had recommended that the Governor should be appointed in consultation with the State’s Chief Minister and second, the five-year term of the Governor should not be disturbed except in rare circumstances.
Unfortunately the Governor’s role has been distorted as successive Central Governments from the time of Indira Gandhi had often used and abused the office of the Governor. Indira changed the rules of the game by making loyalty to her the sole merit. But even then, the country never witnessed the kind of acrimony between the Governors and the Chief Ministers that is being seen now.
What is needed today is harmony between the two constitutional posts and not figuring out who is right and who is wrong. Both are expected to function with dignity and decorum. Both are expected to confine themselves to the role envisaged by the framers of the Constitution. Activist Governors and egoistic Chief Ministers are the last thing India needs. As Gopal Krishna Gandhi, himself a former Governor, says in an article, “A Chief Minister actuates a popular mandate, the Governor exercises that all-pervasive moral influence, both together providing the people in their jurisdiction the assurance they are in secure and mutually composed, not conflicted hands.”
(Writer: Kalyani Shankar; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Article 75 of WHO’s Constitution gives it the right to refer matters to the ICJ for advisory purposes. China’s failure to disclose information and disseminate data about the virus during its preliminary stages, coupled with its wilful negligence in regulating wildlife trade, invariably triggers a breach of the treaty
The COVID-19 pandemic has engulfed over 100 countries around the world and for the lack of a cure, governments have been compelled to largely depend on social vaccination measures, including lockdown, isolation and social distancing. This flu-like virus, with origins in China’s Wuhan city, has caused tremendous distress in terms of health, economic and social well-being of the international community.
Accountability: World economies are in shambles but when the dust settles, fingers will be pointed and responsibility strictly apportioned. Already China is being pushed against the wall by the global community and difficult questions are being asked of it regarding the origins of the virus and the delay in warning the world about it turning into a pandemic.
Predictably, the issue of China’s legal liability for the COVID-19 outbreak will be raised. The US has filed a $20 trillion lawsuit — an amount larger than China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — against Chinese authorities to seek reparation for economic harm. Similar lawsuits have been filed in Germany and India against China claiming compensation for damages. However, domestic laws are unsuited for this task because the principle of sovereign immunity prevents local courts from ruling on the acts of foreign governments. For the lack of enforceability, we must redirect our attention to supranational legal frameworks for remedies and solutions to this precarious inquiry.
International Health Regulations, 2005: After the spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003, the World Health Organisation (WHO) adopted an International Health Regulation (IHR) by making member countries accountable to counter such global pandemics. Article 6 mandates each member country to “notify the WHO, by the most efficient means of communication available, by way of the National IHR Focal Point, and within 24 hours of assessment of public health information.” Further, Article 7 goes on to state that if a country “has evidence of an unexpected or unusual public health event within its territory, irrespective of origin or source, which may constitute a public health emergency of international concern, it shall provide to the WHO all relevant public health information.”
These regulations are further fortified by Articles 11 and 12 of the IHR which require the WHO to share such data, once verified, with other countries so that they can enact precautionary measures.
It is alleged that China not only failed on both counts but also censored, misled and suppressed information, from the media and the WHO, about the Coronavirus and its effects. Moreover, China portrayed COVID-19 as a new form of pneumonia that could not be transferred from one human to another, which was later admitted by Chinese authorities as otherwise. Collectively, these actions made it difficult for countries around the world to adequately prepare for this deadly virus, leading to colossal damages to the health and finances of nations. The destruction of virus strains in Wuhan University also raised suspicions regarding the COVID-19 being a man-made virus to be used as a biological weapon, currently put under experimentation in Wuhan Labs. Keeping these accusations aside, it is important to note that it is not the first time China is the place of origin of an epidemic or deadly disease. From the Asian flu and Hong Kong flu to the Swine flu, all had China as their epicentre. In the case of SARS, China’s exotic wet market was on the radar but Beijing failed to impose restrictions on its billion dollar industry, overlooking the threat of a repeated catastrophe. China flouted the rules, time and again and for this, it must be held to account.
Jurisdictional issue: The final and probably the most vital piece in this puzzle is how might China be brought before an international court for its unlawful actions?
The major lacuna is the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Cases are referred to the ICJ once consensus between disputing parties has been established and taking into account past records, China has been resistant to authority and may continue on the path of resistance. An unconventional way of circumventing the jurisdictional issue would be to invoke the provision that empowers an organisation to refer disputes to the ICJ. Article 75 of WHO’s Constitution gives the organisation the right to refer matters to the ICJ for advisory purposes.
China’s failure to disclose information and disseminate data about the Coronavirus during its preliminary stages, coupled with its wilful negligence in regulating wildlife trade, invariably triggers a breach of the treaty. Though experimental and untested, this route offers a glimmer of hope for invoking the jurisdiction of the ICJ to assess Chinese liability and hold that nation accountable for losses caused to the international community at large.
While the ICJ’s opinion is not directly enforceable, they do provide an authoritative assessment of legal liability around which governments can synchronise their political response by way of seizure of Chinese assets or imposing trade sanctions. China, being Asia’s largest economy, holds an influential place in world politics today. This, however, shall not be construed as a means to assume absolute power and continue flouting rules of the IHR issued by the WHO.
Measures available to the affected countries are by no means simple. Each requires considerable international collaboration, cooperation and resolve to implement, particularly considering China’s towering economic influence. It is evident that China is the originator of the pandemic but it will be an onerous task to classify its action and response as advertent, willful or a case of gross negligence in its greed to push a lucrative, yet hazardous billion dollar industry.
(Writer: Sonam Chandwani; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
People and the Opposition have been with the Govt so far. The latter now needs to heed their views on saving the economy
So far, one cannot fault the common citizen or even the Opposition leaders. For they have risen to the occasion and stayed with the Central Government in battling the Coronavirus, be it by observing lockdowns or working out medical protocols. But that does not mean total subservience to “one voice”, the non-questioning of wrong moves or even dismissal of alternative suggestions to get the nation back on track. The viral curve has not flattened despite the lockdown but the economy has surely flatlined and we need cooperative federalism to manage this bigger crisis than resort to ego wars or cheap politics. Fortunately, India has a large resource pool of policy experts and even mature politicians of long standing who can help. So it would make infinite common sense to tap into them. Sadly, the Narendra Modi Government, for all its muscular push on shutting down the nation, had not foreseen the reverse migration of labour or planned a bailout package for an economy that’s grunting, groaning and gasping for breath. Kickstarting agriculture is not the only solution. As companies go under, people lose jobs and State Governments stare at bankruptcies with dipping revenues, some as high as 90 per cent, India would lose more lives to the great economic chaos than the virus. In fact, saving the economy is now the twin pillar of the battle as global studies predict that the pandemic is not going away anywhere soon. And now that allied crises are compounding the disease burden, the Government doesn’t seem to have concrete plans to address either migration or an economic stimulus. Worse, the political ceasefire is over and the blame games have begun. What else explains the distasteful remark by the ruling BJP on Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s offer to pay train fare of migrants from party coffers as an attempt to create Italy everywhere? What lies behind the relentless nitpicking of Opposition-ruled States like Bengal and not self-introspecting on self-ruled States like Gujarat? What explains the decision to make destitute and stranded migrants pay for their return journey on trains when they have had no daily wages over the last month and a half? What explains the rationale of passing the burden to States, who themselves are cash-strapped? What about the accountability of expense patterns from the PM Cares fund, which is seeing contributions pouring in from all sections of society? Of course, there are disturbing reports of a segregatory attitude towards different communities while disbursing COVID-19 relief packages, too. The Centre would do well to assuage these anxieties than smell the familiar Opposition conspiracy. Truth be told, each Chief Minister worth his/her salt, is stepping up to protect his/her respective State. Given the undiagnosed trajectory of the disease or the number of fatalities we might end up with, there’s no way to guarantee that politicking over survival would stand the test of human memory in the next round of polls. That would be too foolish indeed. Wisdom demands that regulated and realistic exit protocols be worked out in a consultative format and not as a bureaucratic imposition.
There was a big question mark on the success of the lockdown given the Indian penchant for indiscipline but people voluntarily complied and willed themselves to stay safe. Similarly, the Opposition Chief Ministers have all worked in tandem with the Centre. But in the end, the lockdown can only buy one time, delay the onslaught of the virus so that anticipatory preparations can be made, not only in managing healthcare but also keeping the economy chugging. As testing gets aggressive, it is clear that the virus has seeped through the trellis of India’s dense population and lockdown or no lockdown, the graph is vertical now. Also, with an extended lockdown testing patience and one’s earning ability, violations are difficult to police. There is no point pondering what could have been done. But the focus should be on what can be done now. Beginning with migrants. If Air India could be used to bring back stranded Indians free from around the world, then the same courtesy can be extended to displaced migrants on trains. They, in the end, do not deserve to be treated like the Stateless. The Railways have already contributed Rs 150 crore to the PM fund and a part of that could be used to cover the expenses. Let us not forget that without labourers at their bases, no business can start operation no matter which zone it is in. So till we facilitate easy movement by train, either to their villages or to their work hubs, no stimulus package can be utilised on the ground. Let’s not forget that labourers are also revolting as the violence in Surat revealed. Shunned by India’s cities, which they built and serviced with their toil and sweat, they were turfed out overnight, forced to stay in under-serviced camps and looked at with suspicion as carriers of a disease they certainly didn’t import. Couldn’t some bit of non-essential railway infrastructure be slowed down or stalled temporarily to take care of India’s unorganised workforce, believed to be around 10 crore, to keep the economy moving? Some relief could be allocated from the National Disaster Management fund, too. The third promised stimulus is still coming. The non-action now won’t be forgotten but the rhetoric certainly will be.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Will the chaos outside liquor vends defeat all that was achieved over the last 40 days? Certainly, it could have been managed well
There is no doubt that revenues collected by States across the country have been pummelled by the 40-day shutdown. With commerce shut, Goods and Service Tax (GST) collections have collapsed. Fewer people moving around has meant petroleum taxes are minimal and most States, with the exceptions of Bihar and Gujarat, had huge revenue collections coming in from liquor sales. After losing access to beer, wine and spirits ever since the lockdown came into force, it was not just the public that wanted to enjoy a chilled beer but also various State Governments who were looking for ways to increase revenues. But much like what happened during the lockdown, a well-intentioned move to open the liquor vends has been managed haphazardly. Huge crowds, extending upto one to two kilometres were seen outside major vends. With no social distancing norms being followed, this defeated the very purpose of the last 40 days of lockdown. However, as chaos has been the order of the day in the past few weeks, with conflicting orders, shut borders and more, it seems almost asinine that a bureaucrat or politician would have believed that opening liquor stores would have been a smooth process. Even in normal times, we have seen long queues in front of liquor shops, especially on weekends. Is there a better way to do this? Maybe the Aarogya Setu application, which the Government has been touting over the past few weeks, would have helped manage the crowd, which has been abysmal in Delhi, Mumbai and other major cities across India. Of course, there are huge privacy and data security issues with any application, which must be addressed, but the only way to have assured the sale of liquor smoothly would have been to involve the application, and possibly home delivery in certain cases. This would not have been an easy fix but if the simple objective is to prevent crowding at the vends as well as hoarding, this is what should have been done. State Governments, too, need to answer on whether the additional revenues will be worth the health risk.
That said, the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic has been strange in India. Despite the fact that several malcontent commentators professed that India would see a surge of deaths, the number of deaths attributed to the pandemic has been limited. The lockdown has ensured that India has managed better than many developed countries. There has been no hard and fast science over here, nobody knows what works and what doesn’t. However, one thing is certain across the world, social distancing works. While opening the liquor vends was a smart move, it was handled poorly.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Zafarul Islam Khan’s attempt to reach out to the Muslim world is an affront to the core values of our secular Constitution. His comments are detestable and must be contested
Even as India is grappling with the monstrous Coronavirus and every organ of the State is doing its best to contain the spread of the pandemic, the Chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission, Zafarul Islam Khan, publicly declared that Muslims are being “persecuted” in the country. He has taken, what one would consider, the most irresponsible step by reaching out to the Muslim world for help. He thanked the Government of Kuwait “for standing with the Indian Muslims.” Khan has since partially retracted his statement but the damage is done because he persists in saying that Muslims are being persecuted in our country.
In his first Facebook post, he had said that Indian Muslims had “opted until now” not to complain to the Arab and Muslim world about the hate campaigns against them. He then warned that “the day they are pushed to that (complaining to the Muslim world), bigots will face an avalanche.” Well, Mr Khan, under our Constitution and the laws, you do not have the “option,” which you imagine you have. Our Constitution and our laws strictly forbid citizens from behaving in this manner. While Article 19(1)(a) guarantees freedom of speech and expression, Article 19(2) imposes “reasonable restrictions,” which pertain to the “sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order… and incitement to an offence.” In other words, the State has the right to make laws to ensure that no individual commits these infringements. Hence the provisions in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deal with these matters.
Despite holding an important public office — there are lakhs of our fellow citizens who are Muslims and who are holding public offices in this country — Khan has sought to run down the nation he belongs to. This writer is of the view that his attempt to reach out to the Muslim world is an affront to the core values of our secular Constitution; it constitutes denigration of the nation he belongs to; and disturbs the sovereignty and integrity of India because he sought the help of other nations for a section of India’s citizenry. It affects public order because his petition to the Muslim world will offend the senses of 85 per cent of the country’s citizens, who are not Muslims and many Muslims themselves, who will feel that this is an act of betrayal. Consequently, this could result in incitement to an offence. Finally, it is certain to disturb friendly relations with the Arab world — a relationship that is very dear to every Indian from the days of former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and former Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation Yasser Arafat.
The Delhi Police has acted promptly in this case. They have filed an FIR against Khan under Sections 124A and 153 A of the IPC, which deal with sedition and promoting enmity among different groups. So now, the law will take its course. But what Khan has done goes well beyond legal niceties and courtroom dramas. It is a warning bell for every citizen, who wishes to preserve the secular, liberal and democratic Constitution that our founding fathers have given us. Will we keep it or lose it, thanks to the follies of Khans of this world?
His original comments are indeed detestable and must, therefore, be contested vehemently. In that statement, Khan also revealed the kind of company he keeps. He had said Zakir Naik, who is spreading communal venom, is a “respected household name.”
Seeking the interference of another country in India’s internal affairs is an act of treachery. This should never be countenanced because, in a democracy, various groups will always have some grouse or another. India’s Constitution has created an elaborate mechanism to address these grievances and to find solutions. Apart from the two Houses of Parliament and the legislative Assemblies in all States, the nation has a strong, robust and independent judiciary that even has the power to strike down Constitutional amendments enacted by Parliament.
The country also boasts of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Minorities Commission (NMC) and similar institutions in States as also the Central Information Commission (CIC). To top it all, India has a vibrant media that reflects every aspect of the country’s plurality — one look at the abuses and barbs flung at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Muslim leaders and their flunkies on television debates and on Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets will give you an idea of how “persecuted” the Muslims are in our country.
Should they be citizens of the Islamic nations who are being beseeched by Khan and should they try something like this on the leaders of those nations, they would be heading straight to the gallows. Also, some of the highly provocative and distasteful videos circulated by Muslim youth against Hindus in recent months would surely be additional evidence of the “persecution of Muslims” that Khan is talking about. Or, are we to believe that he has not seen any of this?
Now, onto the Tablighi Jamaat. When all the temples and churches in the country were closed, including the temple of Lord Balaji in Tirupati, why did the Tablighi Jamaat flout Government orders? Why did it hold the conference in Delhi in the second half of March with foreign delegates, which resulted in the rapid spread of the virus in the country? Are the Tablighis above the law? And why have they been spitting and abusing doctors and nurses in different parts of the country? Are they devoid of basic manners?
When all this was reported in the media, Khan declares that India is in the grip of Islamophobia. Did you, Khan, advise the Tablighis to behave? Have you no responsibility in this regard?
Annie Besant and BR Ambedkar had the prescience to anticipate this problem — of Indian Muslims seeking Muslim brotherhood and camaraderie outside the nation they belong to. In her book, The Future of Indian Politics, Annie Besant said in 1922 that “the primary allegiance of the musalmans (Muslims) is to Islamic countries, not to our motherland.” She said their attitude was “subversive of civic order and the stability of the State. It makes them bad citizens for their centre of allegiance is outside their nation and … they cannot be trusted by their fellow citizens.”
Annie Besant sounds prophetic when we read the statement of Zafarul Islam Khan but let us not forget that millions of Muslims, who work in every sphere of life including the armed forces, scientific laboratories, academia, entertainment and the crafts, have made us proud. Several of them have achieved the pinnacle of success like former Presidents Abdul Kalam, Zakir Hussain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan. All this has been possible because of the rhythm and harmony created by our Constitution to enable each one of us to chase our dreams in an environment that breeds equality and fraternity. We should not allow a few malcontents like Khan to disturb this.
(Writer: A Surya Prakash; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Curbs have been eased but with existing chains broken, a stimulus and a new work code won’t perk up the economy
Certain truths are too glaring to ignore. Like the fact that most metro cities are on a virus spiral and are fully red, which means they need to be contained if we do not want an apocalyptic slide into chaos. Unlike most world cities, Indian ones have a high population density. Toying with herd immunity, like the way Sweden has done, moving a younger population outside while keeping the vulnerable indoors, is too huge a risk to take and monitor. But lockdown 3 also means that the economic activity, which has been enabled with easing of restrictions, won’t quite pick up pace because the disease hotspots also happen to be the country’s economic hubs. And while the rural economy has got a push in disease-free zones, MGNREGA work has seen record enrollment and returnee migrants are signing up for village schemes and infrastructure, the urban economy is still some time away from whirring back to life. Now the ease of doing business is still too sporadic to have any accelerating impact on the economy. Cities can only avail essential goods and services, so the big push that consumption was supposed to get isn’t happening because suppliers have a limited range to operate within, non-essential goods strictly off the list for the time being. Non-essential single shops are allowed to be open only in safe zones, that too with truncated hours. Certainly not in red clusters. And although the Government has allowed 33 per cent staff of industrial units and firms to be operational even in red zones, the protocol is yet to be figured out in different States, so implementation and synergising a work flow within new rules and codes are not only time-consuming but slow down movement. This logistical mismatch is one of the reasons why even those who can run businesses are feeling hemmed in. Of course, the reverse migration has meant a chronic shortage of labourers and they are not likely to return in the near future. In fact, businesses will now have to offer other incentives and living quarters to hold back labourers. Then there are issues like sourcing of raw material, movement of products, supply chain disruptions due to the forced closure of factories of suppliers and ancillaries, all of which are just about lurching forward in fits and starts. Even while a third economic stimulus is in the works, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally looking to put the economy back on keel, industry and investors are not finding enough confidence yet. Experts are worried that the foreign capital outflow taking place from India is bigger than from any other emerging economy, $15 billion leaking in March alone. With the private sector choked, global players are leveraging other economies. The rupee is weaker than ever before and we must seem convincing enough as a future market.
Meanwhile, the Government has a tough task opening up the economy without risking a health disaster. Any meaningful stimulus would need a minimum Rs 6 lakh crore as we stare at a prolonged trough till the disease curve flattens out. While dry rations may not be a problem, even usual consumer goods are now in short supply. While we have been able to rush essentials for a while given existing stocks, the cessation of production, the lack of packaging and processing and breakage in the logistics chain mean that consumer goods are going to be available in limited numbers. Nearly 43 per cent of the 157 units owned by FMCG majors are in the Coronavirus red zones in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. Besides, with asymptomatic carriers going around, distancing, hygiene and other protocols at our factories need to be executed with military precision and precaution. So if green zones are opened and anything between 25-83 per cent people are asymptomatic carriers, infections will spike. Monitoring markets and mandis poses a huge challenge, so a rotational format of days when these will be open along with staggered times must be worked out before hand. Most importantly, every local administrative authority down to the panchayat level will have to be empowered to run territories with efficiencies. The first lockdown gave us some time to prepare healthcare facilities for an expected surge. This lockdown should be about creating an enabling atmosphere and inculcating discipline and compliance among people. For without adherence to exit protocols, there would be no economy left at all. The problem is not of choice but the will to get going.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Well-meaning yes, but Rahul Gandhi needs to convince people with hands-on leadership than online conversations
It is tough to be in Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s shoes these days. For no matter what his best intentions are, nobody buys his attempt to mean serious business in COVID-19 times. Or his effort to be a credible determinant of national revival as a concerned citizen-volunteer. The timing of the makeover is a tad too late, howsoever eager and convincing he might want to appear. Even if he does get the Congress’ reins, there’s a long way before he gets taken seriously as a national alternative. The way he handled the last Lok Sabha debacle of the Congress, barely able to demonstrate proof that his leadership did work in reinvigorating India’s grand old party, hasn’t been lost on people’s minds, even among those willing to give him the benefit of doubt. Recalcitrance, of the kind he demonstrated by resigning and hiding in the woods of Wayanad simply because the old guard didn’t go along with him, didn’t show him up as a leader who could rebuild. Or take everybody along step by step despite the odds. Rather he was seen as a quitter who had plunged the Congress into a cesspool of stagnation topped by the residue of dynastic politics. Over months of absence from political life and pushing himself into an abyss of irrelevance meant he became the subject of public ridicule. Loyalist partymen may have tried projecting him as their prince but his wilful transgressions over the months have only lent credence to the BJP’s campaign of him being a “Pappu.” So though he is crafting an image change in the middle of a pandemic, appearing to contribute to the national revival effort, it’s not reaping results. Particularly at a time when capable leaders of the Congress have proven their mettle as Chief Ministers in the battle against the pandemic, be it Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot or Punjab’s Amarinder Singh. Both incidentally are the old guard. So though Rahul has been making the right projections about the COVID-19 crisis in India since February and justifiably raised some questions before the Government on social media, his party colleagues on the ground got all the attention. Besides, the Opposition Chief Ministers, too, are going out an arm and a leg to contain the disease spiral and Rahul, at this point of time, doesn’t seem hands-on enough. Even his think tank-like advisories seem too tutored and self-serving than well-meaning.
But to his credit, his recent attempts have been at least sincere. He performed creditably at a recent press conference, too, where he refused to be baited by journalists into commenting on the shortcomings of the lockdown. The Congress’ latest plan to rebrand him as a serious ideologue and a thinking leader will see him participate in a series of online conversations with public intellectuals, the idea being to strip down his dynastic entitlements and project him as a leader who has every issue in his grasp. The first of these publicised dialogues got off with economist and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan. Not entirely a bad one as Rajan made some specific observations about a post-COVID scenario, like an infusion of Rs 65,000 crore for the poor. But the point is Rajan has already made revival recommendations on various fora and will probably be heard and consulted. He won’t need Rahul’s forum to establish his credentials. On the other hand, when Rajan asked him to compare the response to COVID in India and the US, all Rahul could come up with was the social inequity in our country in getting treatment. Clearly, his critics made mincemeat of him for not seeing through the US oversight of the situation, Trump’s flip flops and absurd theories and that nation’s own discriminatory tests. Perhaps Rajan was a bit taken aback, too. And if the Congress had thought that appropriating Rajan would mean taking on the BJP, the economist himself was reasonably careful not to fall into that trap and said things like they should be at this moment of crisis. The Congress shouldn’t try to make Rahul look “sharp” and then land with a PR disaster. Experts from India feature in world institutions and the Government could requisition their services anytime in rebuilding the nation. Rahul’s conversations won’t change that. But what he and his strategists must do is to diminish the trust deficit in him as a leader and build on his natural strengths like when he did padayatras and entered people’s homes. Perhaps, he could lead a pan-India Congress community kitchen and health camp project to help the poor and migrants and rebuild the human touch that he had lost over the last few months. Perhaps, he could take up cases of starting up local economies. He has enough advisors, too, he just needs to show that he can be a leader through such simple connects.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
We must act fast to capitalise on the flight of firms from China. Initial indicators are suggesting that we are unable to project ourselves as an alternative to China and Japan has already made a move in this direction by offering major incentives
The lockdown has been extended yet again although this time there is a relaxation of some restrictions to enable economic activity. It will be interesting to see how the Government as well as the industry negotiate this challenge.
Despite the doom and gloom scenario in the country right now due to the lockdown, the fact remains that the current Corona crisis has provided an opportunity, too, for India. But for the country to take advantage of this spell, it would require major initiatives and that too, at a fast pace. Covid-19 has provided the much-needed elbow room to the political leadership to push for transformation, more particularly land and labour reforms. If a Communist China can serve the economic interests of the capitalist West, then India is even better positioned to do that.
Now, more than ever, global firms are aware of the dangers of putting all their eggs in one basket and they must implement strategies to reduce that risk. It is quite surprising that the risk-governing framework of all these corporates didn’t highlight the concentration of manufacturing in one territory as a key risk and even their boards overlooked this aspect. China has established itself as the manufacturing hub for the global economy and it is also positioned as the first-tier supplier in the overall global supply chain. Even India is hugely dependent on China for raw material, chemical and engineering goods. Our telecom, pharmaceutical, power and mobile accessories sectors are largely dependent on China for raw material, semi-finished goods and skilled manpower.
It would not be easy for any country to replace China and position itself as an alternative to it, but we can start leveraging our competitiveness in areas like information technology, to gradually move in this direction. The world order is expected to change and diplomacy will play a key role in establishing India as an alternative, low-cost manufacturing destination. For this to happen, first and foremost, Indian manufacturers must start thinking globally.
Integration with the global supply chain is the key to this and instead of just setting up assembly lines, our companies should start thinking of developing industrial clusters where India can be a first-tier supplier in the global supply chain. It is worthwhile to understand the difference between first-tier and second-tier supplier. All the entities and activities in the supply chain are dependent on the first-tier supplier and, therefore, placing India as one will provide sustainable economic development which can be enjoyed for decades.
This is a long-term task and apart from structural reforms (like land, labour, sanctity of contracts, tax certainty and so on), this will require skilled manpower and latest technology, for which the Government and private players, both, must come forward.
Some sort of additional tax incentives should be considered as a stimulus for local players to start investing in these areas. Friendly nations like Japan can be our potential technology ally and this would serve the economic as well as political interests of both the countries.
However, under all circumstances India must act fast to capitalise on flight of firms from China. Initial indicators are suggesting that we are unable to project ourselves as an alternative to China and Japan has already made a move in this direction by offering major incentives.
India is lagging despite lowering income tax rates last year, which has increased the competitiveness. However, policymakers should understand that tax rates are just one among the various factors which a person looks at before committing his resources. As per a Nomura report, out of 56 companies which have decided to shift operations from China, only three have decided to come to India.
We can either continue to blame the bureaucracy or India Inc. can realise that it is high time to get the bull by the horns.
In 2017, Deloitte research identified five countries, which it dubbed the MITI-V (Malaysia, India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam) as an alternative to China in which India was positioned at top.
We have our advantage in terms of a young population, cheap labour, domestic consumer market, rising income levels and so on, but this will remain in theory only till the time policy interventions grab the eyeballs of investors.
If we lose this opportunity, then we will lose out for at least the next three decades and provide millions of employment opportunities to our Asian peers.
India must take a host of measures and do it fast while the iron is still hot, to convince Western investors to come here and position itself as an alternative in the global supply chain. Initially our manufacturers can supplement the Chinese global supply chain but we should think of establishing ourselves as an alternative to China for all time to come.
(Writer: Shashank Saurav; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
COVID-19 isn’t the only challenge for Johnson. The British PM needs to resolve trade talks with the European Union
Barely three weeks ago, when the cruel Coronavirus had infected British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, threatening his life and putting the entire country, its people and the Government on tenterhooks, none had expected that he would bounce back. But he did. And now he is proud father of a boy with his partner, Carrie Symonds. All this must have surely made him forget the rollercoaster ride he had to go through last month in hospital, only three months after he secured a resounding personal mandate from a Brexit-weary electorate. Johnson, though, is not the first PM to have a child while in office; his predecessors David Cameron and Tony Blair, too, experienced fatherhood while being in the chair. May be Johnson will need to borrow paternity drills from their book. Like them, he, too, would find it difficult to achieve a balance between work and family life, especially in these tough times when the world, as also his country, is facing the darkest moment in history. It’s another matter that both Cameron and Blair were able to compartmentalise their familial and official duties. But the same cannot be said of Johnson. What do we do with his undeniable vigour and energy which define most of his political identity and appeal? Though he has made it clear that he would be postponing the paternity leave until the end of the year, for that to happen, the rules need to be bent for the Prime Minister as official codes call for the leave to end within 56 days of childbirth.
Officials commitments aside, though Johnson has been around the fatherhood course many times — maybe five, six or even more — to expect that any aspect of his life will be normal, even fatherhood, in these times, is irrational. Over 26,000 Britons have died due to the COVID pandemic, thanks to the Government’s early dilly-dallying approach and “herd immunity” experiments. Even now, it is feared that Britain may face the second wave of the disease and account for the worst fatality rate in Europe. COVID-19 isn’t the only challenge for Johnson. Even as the Government is currently fighting the most pressing crisis, there are the faltering trade talks with the European Union that need resolution. The Brexit ghost will come to haunt him once again. Father and Prime Minister Johnson has a tough job ahead.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
One wonders whether the Government did or didn’t possess any advance information on the Nizamuddin gathering. The event has exposed another kind of intelligence failure
It was an adage about Hindi films in the 1970s and 1980s that the police always arrived in the end. There seemed to be a re-run of it in real life when Delhi Police personnel reached the Nizamuddin Markaz mosque on Sunday, March 29, as part of the COVID evacuation exercise, several days after the Tablighi Jamaat event (March 13-15) had concluded and many of the participants had departed to various parts of the country. Attendees took home not only the message of reverting to true Islam but many also carried the strain of the Novel Coronavirus. The rest stayed back in the enormous six-floor dormitory of the Markaz mosque before being caught up in the lockdown.
The evacuation lasted for 72-odd hours involving police personnel, medical and administrative officials and staff members from the Delhi Transport Corporation. But it was the National Security Advisor (NSA), Ajit Doval, who stole the media thunder with his presence. Why does the NSA need to visit the spot like a superintendent of police is not clear. One does not expect any bonhomie between the nationalist “superhero” of intelligence and the Tablighis, who fell to disrepute. It might be his signature style. Had he not visited the scene during the Nepal earthquake, the Kashmir lockdown or even the riots in Delhi? However, one wonders whether the Government did not possess any advance information on the Nizamuddin gathering? Why was the event, which drew participation from COVID-affected nations like Malaysia and Indonesia, allowed to take place in the first place? It appears that international participants were permitted to enter India without proper screening, let alone sending them into quarantine. This failure led to a flare-up in COVID infection.
Though the conduct of the event antedated the beginning of the lockdown period, there were hardly any prohibitory orders (from the Delhi Government) on any political, cultural, social or religious gathering, comprising more than 200 people. It was later hardened to a gathering of more than 50 people, before being completely prohibited. Were the intelligence and law enforcing agencies completely clueless about what was going on? It is difficult to believe that his large congregation of more than 3,000 people was organised without seeking any permission. Neither the Central or the Delhi Government has accused the gathering as patently illegal. In non-COVID times, the event would have passed off peacefully without raising eyebrows.
The event has actually exposed another kind of intelligence failure. Our security apparatus is more obsessed with Islamic terrorist organisations like the Lashkar-e-Taiyabba, the Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Harkat ul Mujahideen, the Islamic State and Al Qaeda, among others because of their offensive and disruptive activities. These organisations recruit full-time activists (Mujahideen), who indulge in terrorist activities with the use of explosives and weapons.
By doing no such thing, the Tablighi Jamaat escaped the security radar. It is a huge global missionary network that does not recruit fighters but works peacefully. It does not target the non-Muslims in any manner. Its focus is only on nominal or lapsed Muslims, whom it seeks to enliven with true faith of Islam. The Tablighis insist that preaching must be done face to face and that intellectualism and arguments are irrelevant when it comes to influencing lives. For them, what counts more is a meeting of hearts. No wonder, the Tablighi Jamaat has no digital presence like the Darul-Uloom of Deoband or the Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama of Lucknow.
Its agenda is actually more penetrative. More than a decade ago, the Tablighi Jamaat was in the news for Islamisation of Pakistan’s cricket team. Cricketers like Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi became devout Muslims by visibly growing beards. While Pakistan is an Islamic republic, its cricketers, recruited from urban nurseries, were mostly urbane and suave sportsmen till then. In the 1980s and early 90s, before ODIs became a year-long activity, many Pakistani cricketers played in British county cricket. Even the Islamisation of Pakistan under Zia-ul-Haq had left them unimpressed.
What Zia could not do with his policies and laws in the 1980s, the Tablighi Jamaat achieved with its proselytising activities in the first decade of the millennium. Yousuf Youhana, Pakistan’s former vice-captain, thanks to the Tablighi’s activities inside Pakistani cricket squad, became convinced that “Islam is the best religion.” He adopted Islam, accompanied by a change of name to Mohammed Yusuf, whereas his wife Tania became Fatima. As a Muslim, he grew a long beard and piously hoped that if every non-Muslim accepted Islam in Pakistan, the country could become the land of the pure, literally. That is the power of the Tablighi Jamaat.
The “Islamisation” of the Pakistani cricket team is illustrative of what Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi (1885-1944), founder of the Tablighi Jamaat, envisaged to achieve almost a century ago. His goal was to turn a born Muslim (mumin) into a true Muslim (Ihsaan/Muhsin). He sought to purge a Muslim of non-Islamic parts, whether inherited or adopted, into a one-dimensional individual inspired by the lives of the Prophet Mohammed and his companions as the basis of model Muslim society.
This was against the spirit of syncretism that liberals often wax eloquent about. Mewat, the historical region spanning Haryana and Rajasthan, became the nursery of Maulana Ilyas’ work in the 1920s. Islam had extended its sway in this region during the time of the Delhi Sultanate. However, Islam sat only lightly upon most converts for ages. The Meos (Mewati Muslims) celebrated Hindu festivals like Holi, Janmashtami, Dussehra and Diwali alongside Muharram, Eid and Shabi-e-Barat. Very few know the Kalima and fewer still observe Namaz regularly. The beginning of the Shuddhi and Sangathan movement in 1923 by Swami Shraddhanand of the Arya Samaj threatened many Muslims lapsing to their original faith viz, Hinduism.
Maulana Ilyas began his campaign to turn Meos into true Muslims. He had grown up as a beloved student of Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (1826-1905), co-founder of the Darul ul Uloom, Deoband. The Deobandi movement, in contrast to the contemporaneous Aligarh movement started by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, had kept itself away from Western education and turned its back to developments in the modern world. Maulana Ilyas’ work had the same imprint of Deobandi orthodoxy. He wished to bring the expertise in Islam available in western Uttar Pradesh — Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur (which he considered “wellspring of faith and godly men”) — to the service of Mewat.
His innovation was in the terms of method that made its impact widespread. Perhaps realising the truism of the axiom (made famous of Francis Bacon), “If the mountain does not come to Muhammad, he must go to the mountain”, he began taking the teaching of Islam to homes, fields and workplaces of those who could not go to maktabs and madrasas. The Tablighi Jamaat was born in that open air preaching of missionaries going from village to village in Mewat and group retreats centred on religion. Publicity was shunned from day one by Maulana Ilyas, a code which remains inforce even in this day of social media.
Emanating from the Nizamuddin Markaz, this missionary movement has spread to various parts of the world. The Tablighi Jamaat organises the world’s largest Islamic congregation next to Hajj in Mecca, at Tongi near Dhaka in Bangladesh every January. It is called Bishwa Ijtema (global congregation). The Tablighi Jamaat has contributed to “re-Islamisation” of Bangladesh that gained independence from Pakistan on the plank of Bengali nationalism. How little does India know about its most globalised conservative Islamic movement?
(Writer: Priyadarshi Dutta; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Beijing has been pushed to the wall and should not be allowed to bounce back without paying for its deliberate mischief. India needs to support global efforts to contain China
While the world struggles to combat the deadly pandemic spread by Covid-19, the dragon nation believed to be the originator and spreader of the deadly virus is busy working out its options to combat the international pressure and campaign launched against it. The nation, which was dreaming of becoming the world leader, is today finding itself pushed to the wall, with most nations joining together and demanding an international inquiry into how the virus emerged out of the Wuhan laboratory and the deliberate delay in sharing information about its existence? The global community holds China responsible for the loss of health and human lives, the damage to the world economy and for the hardships humanity will have to face in a post-COVID world. Beijing is also being questioned over the disappearance of virus whistle-blowers in China and strict censoring of any information pertaining to the outbreak. As expected, China has denied all the allegations and continues to do so amid growing international demands of monetary compensation from it against the Coronavirus damages to the global economy.
Wuhan, which is the epicentre of the Coronavirus crisis, has been on the radar of the global community since long as it was dubbed to be the location of the largest virology laboratory in the world, housing about 1,500 kinds of viruses. It was also rumoured that the US and China were jointly developing the biological agent. The virus is believed to have hit the city in October but by the time the disease became global and Wuhan was locked down in the third week of January, maximum damage had already been done. Two weeks prior to the lockdown, almost five lakh people had left Wuhan for their homes in central China and 18 international destinations. Many of them were carriers of the deadly Coronavirus. The question now being asked as a subject of international inquiry is, “Was it intentional or accidental?”
Why does China find itself in a quagmire today? Despite its counter-offensive and rubbishing of allegations against it, the dragon nation finds itself isolated globally. A peep into recent events in China is essential to understand the same. The connection between the phenomenal rise of Xi Jinping and his autocratic style of functioning by capturing complete power within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and his ambition to make China the number one power in the world and the Wuhan episode is a matter of study. Xi is the most powerful man in China donning three hats of the general secretary of the CCP, president of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) among many other top Governmental posts. In order to make China great again, Xi has enunciated a grand strategy.
At the 19th CCP National Congress in October 2017, Xi announced his ambition of realising the “Chinese dream” of national rejuvenation. He said, “The Chinese nation has stood up, grown rich and is becoming a strong nation. To fulfil our dream, I have set up a timeline with three major target dates. By the party centenary in 2021, China should finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. By 2035, China should be much stronger economically and technologically, have become a global leader in innovation, and have completed its military modernisation. By the PRC centenary in 2049, China should have resolved the Taiwan question and be a strong country with world-class forces.” Was the Wuhan experiment part of the grand strategy of Xi? Was it planned as a centenary gift on the occasion of his first timeline of the celebration of the centenary of CCP?
“Winning without fighting” is an old Chinese strategy. It goes to the credit of modern Chinese leadership, including Xi, that they have not ignored the ancient Chinese wisdom but instead imbibed it in their modern thinking and strategies. Ancient Chinese General, strategist and philosopher Sun Tzu liked to win before the other side even knew they had lost. Was Xi trying to emulate the legendary Chinese strategist? China has also mastered the art of “grey zone warfare.” Xi’s grey zone tool kit is expansive and includes “global economic domination” through political and economic coercion. Was the virus intended as a masterstroke to cripple the competing world economies? If it was, Xi has definitely succeeded in his game plan for the time being. While India has always considered the threat from China as a reason to grow, Beijing has always envisaged us as an impediment and existential threat to the fulfilment of the “Chinese dream” and thus an intended target.
To its credit, the US was the first nation to call the Chinese bluff by blaming China and terming the pandemic as the “China virus.” It also questioned the role of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and put it under the scanner, ultimately withdrawing the financial assistance to the global health watchdog. Beijing lost no time in counter-attacking and blaming the US for bringing the virus to China during the World Military Games held in Wuhan in October 2019. It blamed the US for bringing infected soldiers as part of the 300-strong contingent. However, the Chinese argument was not convincing because had it been so, why did the virus not affect other athletes in the American contingent and from other contingents, including the Chinese, and why did it remain confined to Wuhan only?
In view of the prevailing geo-political situation, Iran was the only nation that supported the Chinese charge. Thus, the “conspiracy theory” sold by China as a counter-narrative to the assault by the US and other European nations failed to hold ground. The global community also took notice of the fact that by mid-March, when the rest of the world economies were on the verge of collapse and economists were predicting a worse crisis than 2008-09 or the “Great depression”, Chinese factories had commenced production.
China had begun to re-build its supply lines whereas a lockdown in major parts of the world had brought the global economy to a standstill. Worse than that was the aggressive buying overseas of the majority shares in their companies. It smacked of the real conspiracy since companies in China are also the properties of the CPC. Xi’s dirty ambition was exposed before the world.
India, during this entire crisis, has behaved like an independent, matured nation with paramountcy to its national interests. Many wanted India to join the US in withdrawing financial support to the WHO and echo the global outcry of an international enquiry against China. India did not want to be recognised as a cheerleader of the US or other west European countries but preferred to chart its independent course. India did not openly blame China because the situation demanded no disturbance on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that may interfere in the nation’s fight against Covid-19. But India lost no time to nip in the bud the evil designs of Chinese companies by making Government nod mandatory for Foreign Direct Investments from neighbouring countries, a move aimed primarily at Chinese firms. Beijing did make a noise, calling it violation of World Trade Organisation norms but India stood firm.
The Indian intelligentsia also played its role in naming and shaming China. Brahma Chellany, a famous China-watcher, minced no words in stating, “The Covid-19 pandemic should be a wake- up call for a world that has accepted China’s lengthening shadow over global supply chains for far too long. It is only by reducing its global economic influence that the world can be kept safe from Chinese political pathologies.”
This outbreak is a golden opportunity for India to realise its ‘Make in India’ ambition and become a global manufacturing hub. India must also remember that power begets respect and compliance and so it must keep its long-term vision in mind and strengthen its armed forces.
As a prelude to revival of the economy, India needs to ensure that its huge workforce stranded in various parts of the country is gainfully employed, thus generating jobs. The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana package should not turn into a free dole but used to generate employment. Randhir Singh, a Chandigarh-based senior advocate, in a letter addressed to the PM has suggested effective measures to generate employment for migrant labour, which include: Organising them into a manageable workforce based on their skills and experience under retired personnel from uniformed forces as supervisors; employing them in time-bound projects under the local administration to include cleanliness and sanitisation of public places, cooking food in community kitchens, tree plantations, water harvesting, desilting, construction of water tanks and restoration of traditional check dams, loading/unloading of essential supplies, supplementing farm labour and couriers/delivery boys.
The dragon has been pushed to the wall and should not be allowed to bounce back without paying for its deliberate mischief. India needs to complement the global effort and also chart a strategy to contain China in the post-Corona world. India should also bat for a new global treaty to deal with the risks to the future of humanity. There is growing dissent in China. It is the right time to strike when the iron is hot by launching a psy-war campaign against the CPC and Xi.
(Writer: Anil Gupta; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
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