Enough has been written about the achievements of Narendra Modi government in the short span of three years of its coming into power. Its foreign policy initiatives, spotless governance, bold initiatives of demonetization and introduction of Goods and Services Tax have come in for praise but are yet to be evaluated in a somewhat longer time frame.
Foreign policy is not about hugs and hand-shakes but what it achieves for the country. Every country has its domestic concerns and the first principle of diplomacy is to smile while wishing to give a punch if self interests are involved. Our initiatives with our neighbouring countries are being neutralized by China with huge doles, offers of massive projects and military assistance. International terrorists roam freely with large rewards on their heads, bestowing them with wider notoriety, with no intention to nab them.
The end of non-violent cold war should have ushered in an era of peace but it resulted in dozens of small wars to keep the arms factories running as this was in the national interest of big industrialized countries. Visits or no visits, World cannot ignore India – a land of a billion plus nation with growing commercial clout in the ultimate analysis India would have to rely on its own capabilities to face the emerging challenges.
It is fortunate that Narendra Modi has picked up a group of honest and able persons as his colleagues to run the Government. There has been no hint of corruption so far even though the opposition parties go on picking holes in situations where no ground exists. One has to wait and watch. It is not uncommon that when a government demits office, the succeeding government discovers hidden corruption on matters long forgotten.
Demonetization was bold and courageous decision to unearth black money. There were glitches in its implementation and despite all efforts by the opposition parties people bore the discomfort with fortitude. BJP won several State elections ignoring opposition propaganda. Government has, however, yet to make public the results of unearthing black money as a result of such a big exercise. It would be useful if the Government comes out with a White Paper giving out figures of currency in use before demonetization and the money returned for new notes.
GST is only a few weeks old now. Any comments on its efficacy can be made only after about six months.
Having said all this, there are areas where BJP has failed to deliver.
i) It was promised by the Prime Minister that special courts will be set up to expedite the trials of newly elected M.Ps, MLAs and other elected representatives, who had cases pending against them so that those found guilty are thrown out of elective bodies within one year. This would have cleaned the system of tainted persons and would have deterred future aspirants with tainted past. This has not been done.
ii) Not a single high profile person, whether of political background or otherwise, against whom there are accusations of big scandal, of money laundering or land grabbing or amassing of ill gotten wealth has been booked and sentenced.
iii) Patronage of politicians to their party men still holds good. Two politicians did not face any punishment when one caused a ruckus in a flying plane, endangering the lives of fellow passengers and second causing disturbance at booking counter of an airline and assaulting the working staff on duty. Law continues to be different for such people.
While Modi continues to handle External Affairs, it is the domestic affairs which need better handling. Home portfolio is not meant for a gentleman who says every time “WE SHALL DO THIS - WE SHALL DO THAT.”
We need a person who says “WE DID THIS AND WE SHALL DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN TILL ANTI NATIONAL ACTIVITIES ARE STOPPED”. Pakistanis and their supporters will howl and peaceniks will stage candle light march but dignity of the State must be protected. It is a shame to observe that Indian soldiers are being killed by foreigners with local assistance on our country’s own soil. Never in history there has been any occasion when an army is sent to face a war-like situation, with arms tied behind the backs of the soldiers.
A large section of Kashmiris are poor, need jobs and markets to showcase their handicrafts. They depend upon earnings from tourism and have nothing to do with terrorism. This is borne out by the fact that most parents send their children to schools and colleges and thousands apply for jobs in police and other recruitment agencies. It is only unemployed young men who become paid stone throwers who fear no threat from army. Lately local policemen have become targets of their attack for cooperating with the State government. Strong punitive measures need to be taken to stop such attacks on local police personnel. A weak-kneed policy on militancy encourages more militants to join their ranks. Religious fanaticism makers militancy more deadly as it promises ‘jannat’ to those killed.
Naxalism is a home grown malady nurtured by left-wing ideology. Bad governance, over past few decades has led to its spread. A few peasants, in Naxalbari, in North West Bengal, whose lands and crops had been taken over by their land lords took up arms to reclaim their properties. It was just a law and order problem. Communist ideologues took up the struggle as a people’s movement to over-throw the corrupt government and establish self-rule. While communist gave the movement respectability, small time leaders established their hold on small hamlets, collected taxes, armed their retainers and assumed the role of rulers of their small areas. Their job has been easy as the affected areas are inhabited by mostly poor tribal or illiterate peasantry.
In the given situation, a policy of stick and carrot is likely to be effective. The States affected are ill equipped to tackle insurgency like situation. In the first place army commandos well trained in jungle warfare should be deployed to head hunt leaders of insurgency, plug down their sources of arms and ammunition and create confidence in local population to refuse to fund their activities through illegal taxes and penalties. In addition deployment works should be expedited to create job opportunities and a massive programme set in motion to teach the population advantages of integration with rest of the country through peaceful means. It would take time but is worth an effort.
Ever since BJP came to power, certain groups of people, in their over-enthusiasm, have tried to raise issues which tend to alienate certain sections of society. Opposition parties too have played a divisive role to create dis-satisfaction by putting one group against another for political purposes to revive their own fortunes. In several instances, this has led to violence. As law and order is a State subject, a strong leadership in Home Ministry is necessary to order rapid action forces to step in for action to control the situation. Currently too much time is taken to call for reports from Governor/Chief Minister.
(This writer is former Indian Economic Service Officer, who retired from the erstwhile Planning Commission)