Public is paying a heavy price for the countenance to the corrupt Babudom: Is the Modi Government watching?

Anoop Swarup

Do we need an incompetent bureaucracy or a committed adhocracy

Anoop Swarup

I may sound overly sceptical perhaps angry, yes I am, as are scores of my patriotic fellowmen, on the state of the nation and more particularly on the plight of the poorest of the poor. As is more often than not, the case, the usual blame game ends with a finger pointing towards either the politicians, hereinafter referred to as the netas, a popular connotation for the political leadership in India and the bureaucrats or the civil servants, now being referred to as the babus, a term that will be taken up in more detail later in this column. Thus it is the netas and the babus both past and present. who are more often than not considered to be the ostensible culprits for all our woes. It is in this backdrop that I felt it prudent to investigate the very ethos and the reasons behind the very genesis, the necessity and the compulsions of the babudom in our country in these contemporary times of the digital age. When it comes to public sentiments against the netas, they invariably and always get away under the guise of being public representatives and the babus, since most of them are always too ready and willing to serve the interests of their political masters, remain insulated, receive endless protection, and continue to rise the ladders of success. Irrespective of the ruling class or party in power the babus wield enormous power and influence over the decision-making process within the government that remains more like a feudal order that refuses to make way even 65 years after India became Republic and allow the transition to a healthy democratic and federal system as perceived by the founding fathers of the Constitution of India. Despite huge public anguish the babus more particularly the IAS do proclaim being a professional band of civil servants and the metaphors do run wild from being a so-called steel frame to the nation to a necessary evil that runs the affairs of the state as the third pillar in a democratic State.

Let us now briefly study the Collins Thesaurus of the english language that defines bureaucracy as a noun and as ‘government, officials, authorities, administration, ministry, the system, civil service, directorate, officialdom, corridors of power’. Of course true to its functions bureaucracies do tend to stifle enterprise and initiative but also are the best safeguards against the whims and fancies of those in power. But as the saying goes “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” we have a scenario in India where this is more of a norm rather than an exception as those in power including both the bureaucrats and the politicians often do form an unholy nexus. It also implies a corrupt bureaucrat politician nexus and not mere red tape, regulations, paperwork, officialdom, officialese, bumbledom and the list goes on. Incidentally in the federal polity of India those working in the states have a much more happier time as the three central services assigned to the States i.e. the IAS, IPS and the IFS do end up with more than their fair share of the power clout and the nexus becomes complete with the Members of the Legislative Assembly heading a number of state run enterprises ranging from the fisheries corporation to state-owned contraptions handling power generation and distribution to industries development and leather corporation – all being run with the help of the public exchequer as a hang over of the socialist past.

While the State run autonomous corporations have turned into grazing grounds for the netas and babus, critical institutions such as primary and secondary school education, health and infrastructure are in a shambles. Those babus who maintain even a fair degree of honesty either follow the safe formula and go for the thumb rule that ‘no decision is the best decision’ or land up postings that hardly matter for those who only command what are called the “money spinning” posts

Never before the Babus could imagine that they would be seeing their senior head towards Delhi’s Tihar jail for approving documents as asked by Telecom Minister A Raja. Insiders in the babudom who did smell the wrongdoings in distribution of 2G licenses, are convinced that Siddhartha Behura, a 1973 batch IAS, who is languishing behind bars since 2011 might not have been a party to the entire conspiracy as he had joined as Telecom secretary much later in the day. In contrast the fact remains that the Babus who were directly or indirectly indicted for wrongs in Commonwealth Games 2010 somehow escaped with mild punishments as is normally the case like transfer to the parent cadre. Amusingly, the Babus were apprehensive from day one that Right to Information Act (RTI) would force them to be on the receiving end on every decision they took. But as the grapevine is and as it has unfolded now, the bureaucrats have now started raising more questions on the file to be better safe than sorry to the detriment of prompt decision making in the interest of good governance.

Incidentally, managing investigators is now more of a taboo as more often than not the CBI is being monitored by an over eager judiciary as also the Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate sleuths do become adventurous and target the high and mighty to land with a spectacular catch as was the case with the IAS Joshi couple in Madhya Pradesh. The CBI raid on a former telecom secretary Shyamal Ghosh, a 1965 batch IAS officer is an indication that a Babu may be haunted and hauled up for his decision even after his superannuation. The Babus who had hitherto wanted “plum posts” in ministries such as economic affairs, finance, roadways, tourism, commerce and industry, are now shying away and scouting for “safer abodes in social sector ministries. A Babu who awards a contract now must gather intelligence on a number of aspects which he had hitherto conveniently ignored before even while angling for a prize post. This was the case when a Member Engineering of the Railway Board discovered much to his chagrin when an erstwhile Railway Minister was found using his nephew to source the much wanted post in the Railway Board.

More often than not it is the nexus between the politicians and the mafia more particularly the netas and the babus of India, so well brought out by the Vora Commission in the aftermath of 1993 blasts while I was with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. Indeed this was the time of revelation personally to me as I may recall having arrested a senior BSF officer with huge quantities of heroin from the Amritsar border. Also having worked on the infamous stock market Harshad Mehta case, followed by several others convinced me that the long hand of law may not reach out to those who are well connected and who operate through an unholy nexus with the politicians in power. The discovery of huge remittances by the now well-known defence dealer Abhishek Verma with his own set of political connection was handed over to the enforcement directorate by us at Revenue Intelligence but the same apparently made little headway as I later found out, perhaps and in retrospect as I see the nation could have averted more such defence deals with timely acton. It was a time when we cracked the Vizag Steel Plant case of DEEC fraud where a very senior IAS Officer who had functioned as the the Director General of Foreign Trade and some very senior officials of Vizag Steel Plant. They, in connivance with a number of politicians in power, had masterminded one of the most ingenious commercial frauds of the time. Unfortunately both the anti-smuggling case and the anti-corruption matter could not reach their logical conclusion both with the DRI and the CBI respectively despite our best efforts as the politico legal forces had joined hands in the end. Incidentally, public memory is short and this very important file of Vora Commission on bureaucrat politician nexus along with the recommendations is now gathering dust in the corridors of North Block.

When it comes to ethics, morals and values in our babucracy let us have a quick revisit to the very infamous episode when our Indian Foreign Service officers were shocked and angry after they had heard the news that one of their colleagues Devyani Khobragade, a doctor-turned IFS officer of 1999 batch and the then Deputy Consul General of India in New York, was arrested by law enforcement authorities in New York City when “she was dropping her daughter at school”. Khobragade, who was later released on bail, was arrested on the basis of allegations raised by the officer’s former India-based domestic assistant, Sangeeta Richard. Ms. Khobargade was accused of giving false information while applying for a visa for a “babysitter and housekeeper”, and also of underpaying the help. The chargesheet against her implied a jail term up to 15 years. Incidentally she did what every other Indian diplomat does in the US to secure a visa for their servants. Unfortunately, in her case the maid walked away and sought legal protection, which brought the dirty baggage in the open. A wrong is a wrong, howsoever you may wish to defend the indefensible.

Government sponsored banners run across the globe, on incredible India today, yes ironically the Telecom Regulatory Authority or the TRAI after a amazing and uncalled for public consultation process against net neutrality has now come up with yet another bloomer and that is to expose the very privacy of those very netizens it was meant to protect. And the list goes on, as there have been several other instances at the TRAI, to name a few: the delay, perhaps deliberate in bringing about number portability amongst the operators, the delay in doing away of unwanted roaming charges and the differential and complicated tariff structure that most subscribers as yet do not understand. Well one may be lead to believe that either this would be a case of gross incompetence or blissful ignorance. In either case it is the public at large that has to pay for the apathy and ignorance and the public is paying a heavy price for the countenance to the corrupt Babudom. Is the Modi government watching?

It is in news that under new rules being finalised by the Centre, the state governments will have to inform the Centre within 48 hours about the suspension of an all India services officer.The new service rules being formulated by the Centre for top bureaucrats will ensure that Babus do not remain suspended beyond a week except for prior sanction of a review committee. Let us be sure that the new set of rules do not lead the babudom to further complacency as it is the interest of the common man and not the interest of the politicians and bureaucrats that should count at the end of the day. I may mention that to add to the country’s development dilemma in addition to the bureaucratic apathy, perhaps incompetency , the party in power has to contend with an opposition that is on a virtual war with the ruling party. As we may observe over its predicament over the Land Bill now on the anvil. We have seen Spectrum being allowed for free, Coal mines handed over for free. What has happened to the paralysis of decision making, the integrity and agility of the babudom, the rational discourse in our legislatures and also in the media. Are we caught in a catch 22 situation as a country? Is the Prime Minister worried!

Yes, I am worried more for the bureaucracy than any one else as that was supposed to be a very competent and professional institution, more importantly a committed steel-frame as was envisaged by our founding fathers. It is high time that we in India consider a bureaucracy in the higher echelons as one that is non-permanent and that is loyal to the country instead of the service or the party in power. A babudom that is not feudal in its mindset but a forward looking agile and committed force to be reckoned with, perhaps in line with a system of governance now followed in the western world known as ‘adhocracy’. As we talk about ‘adhocracy’ now in vogue in many developed countries – a form promoted by Alvin Toffler in 1970 as a structureless problem solving organisation. It has often been used in the theory of management of organisations in a tecehnotronic age and popularised by academics such as Henry Mintzberg. Let India look forward to a Babudom that is neither corrupt nor incompetent but is professionally more responsive to the masses and to the constitution for an India. Let us have a fresh rethink to review and reform for a modern progressive bureaucracy for an India that is not feudal but is modern and progressive Mr Prime Minister before it is too late for India.

Salman Khan, 2002 hit-and-run case and the Indian Justice delivery system

Anoop Swarup

Anoop Swarup

My head hangs in shame as I cannot speak against the judiciary in a free and democratic India where my right to expression and freedom of speech is guaranteed by the Constitution.

Yes, there are over 3 crore cases pending in our courts while scores facing prosecution continue to languish in jails or so many others have breathed their last hoping for justice, which remains a far cry for countless citizens. Yet the ‘rich and famous’ of India, so often get away from the long arm of law and this would continye until the nation gets a conscience and rises for the have nots.

Our laws and court processes are antiquated from the British Raj but have adapted well to the Money Raj of modern India. As the media trial goes on even as the High Court grants bail to Salman Khan, the anguish of the common man is at its peak and to top it all, this morning I saw a very sarcastic message taking rounds on WhatsApp ‘People have lost faith in the judiciary today … but if Salman had not got the bail people would have lost faith in money too’. The public perception is a telling commentary on the state of affairs in India today. Yes, no one is above law, but for sure in posterity we will look back to agree that there are humans who can always rise above law, in free India.

Well this is not just about actor Salman Khan and the 2002 hit and run case or for that matter even his 2008 black buck case and a few other matters that did or did not end up in the courts. But it is, thanks to Salman, that we once again have the opportunity to talk about inequity, inequality and injustice in our society, and about a tale of two nations, ‘India and Bharat’ where same law and same judicial process have been allowed to be partial.

As about the media and the film fraternity of India, who have spared no thought for the victims, the solidarity and all the talk of justice delivered appears ridiculous perhaps hypocritical. Mr. Khan, you have been gracious enough to thank all those who prayed for you but please do also spare some time for your own conscience as being human is not running away from the site of the accident and delaying the process of justice on various technical, or perhaps flimsy grounds. But you are not alone in this as in my free country a good and competent lawyer employs a man of law who is well connected and is also good in subverting the process of justice on various technicalities.

The national television channels for the last three days have been on a hyper drive, nothing has been more important in this world of ours than : Salman gets 5 years for hit & run, What next for Salman ! Salman, Bail or Jail! 2002 Hit and Run. Salman didn’t provide medical aid is well made out in the 240 page judgment. It was apparent that Ashok Singh was a got up witness as the tyre burst theory was rejected, apparently for 13 years Salman didn’t admit he was driving. As it transpires now the defense lawyer’s approach was perhaps fallacious as to who was the driver: Altaf or Ashok who was driving from J W Marriott. When it comes to crime and punishment it is almost 13 years since that fateful night in Mumbai that the star is convicted for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304-II IPC- 5 years imprisonment and INR 25000/- fine read with Section 338 IPC, causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others, one year simple imprisonment and Rs 500/- fine, Section 337 IPC, causing minor injuries, three month simple imprisonment and fine, Section 187 Motor Vehicle Act, failing to give information on name address and license to police, three month simple imprisonment and Rs 500/- fine, Section 185 of Motor Vehicle Act, drunk driving, six month simple imprisonment and Rs 2000/- fine, Section 3(1) read with 181 of Motor Vehicle Act, driving without license, 2moth imprisonment and Rs 500/- fine.

I am also equally compelled to share this piece that is taking rounds on the new media that the visual media has not fully taken cognizance of: The reason why Salman Khan and his advocate are alarmed at Ravindra Patil’s statement is because Patil is the only eye witness in this case. He was sitting next to Salman Khan on the dreadful night of September 28, 2002, when Salman Khan under the influence of alcohol drew his car recklessly. In his statement, recorded by the magistrate, Patil had categorically declared that Salman Khan was under the influence of alcohol and despite his repeated requests to let him drive, Khan ignored his pleas and rammed his car into a bakery in suburban Bandra, killing one person and injuring four others who were sleeping on the pavement. After the ugly accident Ravindra Patil was the first person to lodge an FIR against Salman Khan as a concerned citizen. However later he had to pay a heavy price for his civilian act. Though Patil was a constable in Mumbai police and employed as a body guard to Salman Khan, he was immediately stripped off duty as Khan’s body guard due to his bold remark. Soon he was also pressurized by his department to change his statement. But he was adamant. Later the pressure became so extreme that Patil was compelled to flee from Mumbai so that he could not be present during trial in the court. Patil’s absence was cleverly exploited by Khan’s men as Patil was declared an absconder by the judge for not being present in the court. A warrant was issued and without hearing Patil’s pleas he was arrested and sent to Arthur Road jail. To make his life worse his police job was also stripped! With no job Patil’s family too abandoned him and he was left to begging. The young and handsome Patil’s condition deteriorated to such an extent that he contracted TB and was reduced to skeleton! He was last seen by a news reporter at the Sewri Municipal hospital in Mumbai in 2007. Despite such hardship and humiliation Patil was adamant on his stance regarding Salman Khan’s statement in the hit and ran case.

We came across a series of lies from the appearance of Ashok Singh – accepting that he was driving and not Khan and a sudden change of statements by Khan himself that present a discomforting picture of an actor who runs the Being Human charity. The court antics in fact wash away all the good work that he may have done. Patil died an unsung death on October 4, 2007 lamenting that neither the society heard his cries nor God paid heed to his pleas.

The question remains, is Bollywood out of touch with the world and the ground reality. The convict in this case Salman Khan, who is now out on bail, had no valid license, was responsible for not only rash and negligent driving but was under the influence of liquor and has been indicted for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Perhaps rightly enough one of the panelists on TV was fuming that a case of perjury should be made out for a got up witness and that 340 CrPC for false evidence the term of 7 years should have been applied as the entire made up defense case had boomeranged. Salman Khan ’s paradropped alibi was strongly opposed in the trial court, but the appeal against the quantum of sentence, why was Kamal Khan allowed to get away by the prosecution were taken as valid arguments by the High Court. Now again the facts do speak for themselves as the captions and banners in prime time media channels and the print media run: 13 year delay in trial but just 48 hours for bail, 13 years on and no closure for the victims, even without a copy of the entire judgment, will you be heard this quick, the High Court was kept open beyond thet 5 pm closing time for the common man, special treatment indeed. Is speedy justice only for those who can afford and book the top lawyers. The extreme alacrity in the deliverance of justice has been debated time and again. In the instant matter, I shall not discuss that any further as the matter is subjudice and I cannot afford a contempt.

Yes in the bold new world of today, it is not news any more but views that drive the info media! and one of our national newspaper was more concerned with the ‘Stars many moods” and the stoic expression on the actor’s face, to add to our star obsessed mindsets the actor who had all along been merrily away from the long arm of law could also manage with a two day bail even after conviction on the grounds that he did not get judgment copy. The last straw, indeed was the observation of the Hon’ble Judge of the High Court that the charge of culpable homicide we discussed above, requires serious consideration as he asked the public prosecutor “Why will this … not be a case of only rash driving” and went on to pronounce the bail orders on a bond of Rs 30,000. In the end it was the extreme alacrity and speed of the due process of law that perhaps was the winner apart from Salman Khan and his defense counsel.

It is said that the person with the long leg cannot be caught by law, as more importantly though everyone is said to be equal before law, but the vice versa need not be true as the same law can always be applied differently. I always thought that bail should be the rule and jail should be an exception, yet amazingly 2.43 lakh of our fellow countrymen who lack the resources to afford the rising cost of lawyers or cope with the whole process of the judicial delivery system are forced to languish behind bars without any bail! Will each of them get the same treatment?

At the end of the day it appeared, thanks to the glitterati of our country that it was perhaps Salman Khan who appeared to be the victim and not those who were mowed down and injured and the unfortunate soul who lost his life. Indeed that led me to wonder as to what has gone wrong with my country’s conscience.

On India’s Century: How Narendra Modi can propel India to move forward as a global power

Anoop Swarup

Anoop Swarup

As we celebrate one year of Narendra Modi government, the May 18th issue of Time carries a portrait of Narendra Modi on its cover and the Editor Nancy Gibbs goes at length to state that though Barack Obama may be the leader of the world’s most powerful democracy, the distinction of leading the largest one belongs to Narendra Modi. Indeed the world is watching us as Obama recently wrote about Modi in a Time 100 issue it is now expedient for India to move into the fore front of nations by force of will and conviction. It is also equally important that India’s future history does not repeat its past tale of missed opportunities? There has been much media hype on the first year of the Modi Government and its achievements and failures but few had really looked forward to propose the next few steps that can propel us to make the next century as India’s century. Let me devote this column to that onerous task and propose a future forward. Also in the same measure let me mention that it is not Modi’s NDA versus Rahul’s UPA or for that matter, the BJP versus the Congress with all the cacophony of the past but a more defining approach to nation building that the Prime Minister should now pursue as the people have now given him the decisive mandate for change after almost 30 years.

In my last week Column I had elaborated on the eve of Modi’s foreign visit that the Elephant and the Dragon, together as the two billion plus economic giants can forge a future for the whole world. I had been passionate that the long march is indeed possible only through a strategic give and take on the border, economic synergy, joining hands on the global war against terror, joint endeavors and better investments on manufacturing and agriculture, climate change and new technologies, water resource planning, manpower skilling to resource the world as an economic powerhouse. I had made a case that the opportunity is here and now for the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chinese President Xi Jinping, so that the Asian Century may take shape.

First, is Governance and that implies real and representative organizational framework at local levels and a committed leadership at the helm supported by an honest and responsive civil service. Governance is therefore a double edged sword and the Prime Minister should take urgent and immediate steps not only to reform the leadership structure at the top but also the existing bureaucracy from an outdated feudal civil service comprising the IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS, and the rest to a modern, progressive and responsive civil service. India should urgently ensure as prevalent in most progressive societies that the higher bureaucracy, at the rank of a Director/Joint Secretary and above in the Union government and the Secretary/Principal Secretary and above in the States be hired as specialists through a transparent process by the Union Public Service Commission on contractual term basis with distinct key performance indicators, identified result areas and performance outcomes. Also in the States now the very dysfunctional and obsolete District Administration should be thoroughly revamped with only specialists running major government departments and functions with strict monitoring, evaluation and targeted time frames. On the law and order and policing front we should bid adieu to the outdated colonial mindset that had the oversight of an ICS District Magistrate over the Superintendent of Police from Indian Police who in most cases was from an army background and there used to be a justification he being ill informed of civilian law and norms. We do now have a professionally trained policing for almost 60 years where the IPS officers are better trained to administer civil policing the earlier logic now appears preposterous. The Police should have absolute control over their domain as in most advanced countries in the interest of better performance and leave magisterial functions to a more committed judiciary to be inducted as Indian Judicial Service officials like the rest of Civil Service. The top echelons in diverse and specialized departments such as Public Works, Health, Irrigation, Revenue and Education can be hired on contractual basis so as to be more responsive for delivery on strict time frames whereas lower functionaries may be retained as is now prevalent through the State Public Services. The organizational change for prompt delivery and responsiveness can only be driven by a more specialized professional specialist with independent functioning than a generalist Indian Administrative Service Officer who at the helm at the District level has a plethora of functions, all under one cap. He not only finds it almost impossible to do justice to anyone but also and more often than not is inclined to maintain the status quo. I may mention that at the Panchayat level and at the Municipal level now the time is indeed ripe in our country to have a more involved and decentralized approach to governance as in vogue in the county and city council structure of the west where the prime focus is on citizen centric participatory development and delivery rather than on mere revenue collection and administration.

Second, is corruption as that only bleeds the individual but also infects the entire society and it starts from the very top. It is indeed high time that our legislators, the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha MPs as also the Vidhan Sabha MLAs are driven by the highest common factor and not the least common denominator. Therefore it is imperative that the legislators who deliberate and frame our policies and who legislate the nation’s priorities and concerns are not only literate enough but are also educated well. These should as leaders of an emerging India join the party on raised bar as graduates with no criminal history, due disclosure of both movable and movable assets and be free of corrupt and criminal history. Any further procrastination or deception on our part on any purported consideration will sure be a disaster in the making for the country at large and a recipe for a societal failure. It would be even more necessary for the selection of our Ministers both at Centre and State levels, where with foresight and better planning it can be ensured that the ruling party has commitments and internal guidelines to follow good practices for representative candidate selection and enrolment. Without any further delay we have to ensure that the selection to the statutory bodies and anti-corruption bodies such as the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Central and State Vigilance Commissions, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the state Lokayukta and Economic Offences Wing, is made on an impartial basis without the say of either the ruling or opposition parties so that they do function and perform with integrity and honesty.

Third is the immediate and outright need to revamp the Indian Judiciary, reform the legal regime and also to throw away to the bins the infamous Collegiums for selection of higher judiciary. There are over three crore cases now pending in our Courts mostly on flimsy grounds. Mr Prime Minister let us give our bright young law graduates an opportunity to serve the nation and on merit alone reach the very top that is the High Courts and the Supreme Court through an Indian Judicial Service that can function professionally right from the district and subordinate Courts. As you once very rightly observed judicial activism. even if five star, should now be opened up to scrutiny. That implies that not only judicial pronouncements and legislative intent should be on a watch but also our existing notions of right or wrong even if it has been tested earlier before a Court of Law. Thus very much like the other three pillars in a democracy, judiciary even if considered divine need not be in ivory towers Mr Prime Minister. In a free democratic society where constitutionally guarantees of freedom of expression and speech are inbuilt we should be open to introspection and scrutiny in the interest of better performance and higher efficiency for the common man. It is equally important to urgently rationalize and simplify our laws and regulations in every sphere that are an unwanted anachronism from our feudal past for a just, transparent and progressive regime that favors initiatives, innovations, facilitation and ease of compliance instead of evasion, avoidance and control of a bygone Inspector Raj that promotes inefficiencies, corruption and delays.

Fourth is India’s Strategic Defense and Foreign Policy preparedness and response. I vividly recall that once in the early 90s during my interaction one fine evening with Late General K Sundar ji while at the Defense Staff College at Wellington that he commented on India’s strategic response to a particular foreign policy intervention that he surmised that it was nothing more than a fuzzy logic of decisive indecisiveness. How true, when in retrospect I do feel that he was not off the mark as our foreign policy reaction as much as our homeland security response to many threats both internal as well as external, have been of implied and supplied indifference. That I believe should now be changing having cognizant of Narendra Modi’s bold pugmarks both on defense inland and foreign policy offshore initiatives.

Fifth and perhaps the most important is the investment in Education Mr. Prime Minister. Once Peter Drucker famously quipped that today knowledge has power, it controls access to opportunity and advancement. The question is, are we doing enough as the youngest nation when we rethink skilling, teaching and learning. I believe that the time is ripe to ensure that our demographic dividend does not turn out to be a demographic disaster. On an urgent basis we should identify the constraints, problems and challenges in school teaching both at secondary and tertiary levels relating to curriculum, infrastructure, administration and better access. One issue that is now a global issue is to explore methods of attracting and retaining talented faculty members. Attempt should be made to suggest measures to develop a research tradition particularly in the Universities where it is important to provide a level playing field to private entrants. Across the globe some innovative approaches have been made to raise standards and promote excellence in higher education in the wider social context. A case in point is the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), the Virtual Class Rooms and Technology Enabled Learning now in vogue that is changing the teaching landscape across the globe and is going to be a great leveler for India. It is also critically important that we explore and suggest ways of incorporating emerging changes in teaching and curricula as John F. Kennedy believed that knowledge is the frontier of tomorrow and the America that we know made it a mantra for its policy makers. Obviously, in India also emerging knowledge has to keep pace with the changing paradigms in the educational environment and will require identification of problems implicit in regulatory structures that constrain the quality and spread of education. The Ministry of Human Resources will have to set its vision for teaching standards in education, evaluate its status today, and build a roadmap and a broad strategy to reach those goals. It is not at all farfetched to treat as vital investment in knowledge, innovation and creativity as it pays the best interest.

To conclude, I may mention that it was amusing enough to find Rahul Gandhi on the floor of the Parliament calling the government a Suit Boot ki Sirkar and quick was the retaliation from Arun Jaitley that it was a Sooj Bhooj ki Sirkar. Indeed let us for the moment believe that this will indeed be a Government that works and that would deliver!

A measurable goal for a Nonkilling World

Anoop Swarup
(From Honolulu, Hawaii)

Threats to human existence have been predicted, debated and analysed through the ages by mystics and scientists alike and also the science fiction writers and futurists particularly when it comes to meteorites, gamma ray bursts from distant galaxies, super volcanoes, apocalypses and catastrophes of the unknown kind.

There have been warnings, speculation and much amusement as I recall my own childhood reading of H G Wells, when more than a century ago in “The Time Machine” he tried to develop the science of forecasting and I was equally fascinated by Issac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke who do peep into the far futures. Also any talk of our future destiny may be imperfect if we do not speak of mystics like Nostradamus and the ancient Mayans who regularly tried to speculate and even predict the end of the world as we know it.

The outcome of our future destiny has nonetheless remained incoherent despite the best efforts of these pioneers. We are more privileged today as humans have steadily advanced both technologically and sociologically to predict at least our existential future and have developed the will to evolve strategies, deal with impending issues and to an extent mitigate these future disasters. The fact though remains that humans do overestimate the probability of events we know and underestimate events we do not readily recall. Let us for a moment assume that humanity becomes extinct, it would imply a loss of not only lives but also the loss of values, the intelligence, the knowledge and above all the consciousness generated by Homo sapiens through past several millennia. There is evidently a strong moral logic for humans to prevent existential threats of our own making such as wars and global warming from occurring.

Also in retrospect I do wonder, have we deliberated enough on the existential risks that we face today, mostly of our own doing. Yes, indeed we do face risks of just not the big disasters from the realm of the unknown but more importantly disasters that are man-made and recur almost every day in our life and times and these are the ones that may end history as we know. As Robert Burns almost two centuries and a half back commented ‘man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn’ when Edmund Burke was compelled to observe that ‘the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for the good men to do nothing’. Today we are no different and may be reminded of these ominous words in a world that thrives on violence, terror and killing where we value Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King or for that matter Nelson Mandela only for lip service.

It is in this context that an informal but unique gathering of a most extraordinary league of individuals was held at the Centre for Global Nonkilling with Professor Glenn D Paige from the 11th to 14th June at Hawaii. Indeed I was a participant along with some very unique and outstanding individuals driven and inspired by the cause for a killing-free world from across the globe. I had the opportune moment to further understand and also to highlight some of these threats to the measurable goal of a non-killing world that may or will endanger human existence in the foreseeable future.

One of the prime risk to my mind was the present state of geo-politics that may lead to a war like situation. The driving force may perhaps be purely economic compulsions as substantial parts of globalised economy as yet strives for a magic wand for recovery that does not exist. Be it inflation, unemployment, commodity shortages or even GDP numbers, a recent decision on crude prices by the OPEC actually translates into a war like confrontation with the West. The West on its part clearly understands that if war funding has to come down than the entire middle-East has to be kept under pressure. As per recent estimates despite the end of the Cold War the probability of a nuclear holocaust is one in 1000 in a year and hence any prediction of mass killing that may be the unwitting outcome of any major escalation of geopolitik may not be at all far-fetched.

Next is a bio-engineered pandemic as pathogens are easier to design and as biotechnology gets better and cheaper and as bio-weapons get more accessible even to fringe groups. Lest we forget the Aum Shinrikyo cult that tried to hasten the apocalypse deploying a nerve gas attack. Do we have the hindsight of the leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) at midnight at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal that killed thousands of citizens. In the Japanese biowar program since World War II up to 400,000 may have died, far more than those killed by the terrorists. And governments across the globe have killed yet more people in wars across the globe, and even more than in biowar and terror. Not that governments and military or even the industry for that matter, may both wittingly or unwittingly unleash bio-terrorism as a weapon of choice in the hands of a few misguided individuals.

It is said that humans are the crowning achievement of evolutionary history. As humans develop super intelligence and improve cognition through enhancing drugs and artificial intelligence software, traditional civilisational pace of change is increasingly threatened. The explosion in super intelligence may not follow the complex values and diffused morals that have been the cornerstone of the world that we had known until now. But that may be a distant dream and the outcome disastrous considering the explosive growth in human desires, future possibilities and aspirations as Gandhi said there is enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed. The risk of autonomous and semi-autonomous weapons and systems through advances in nano technology where smart poisons can annihilate a whole population, where gnat bots and self replicating nano machines in the hands of a maniac may result in mayhem and mass killing on a global scale.

It has been estimated that on average a mammalian species survives for a million years and if that be the extinction rate for humans as well than it is going to be much less if we take into account the probability of wars and a nuclear holocaust or any of the other existential possibilities such as hunger, pestilence, climate change or any of those discussed above. Just one possibility where humans have absolute and avoidable control is war and even there our record is not only dismal but a horror story of the worst kind. In last seventy years alone since the end of World War II in some 250 major wars alone 50 million people have been killed, not to speak of those millions who became homeless and the millions injured. Yet we have movies and digital games now that do motivate our youngsters to be the killing machines for a world where revenge and wars are the ultimate goal and not our youth as the harbingers for peace and prosperity in a non-violent and non-killing world.

In our futures exercise at Honolulu we did focus on the preferred assumption of a measurable goal of a non-killing world in the next 30 years in place of a possible or probable world. The unexceptional conclusion was that though a time frame until 2045 may not be a fantasy as such as it can be visualised when we look back at our own past and the pace of change. The non-killing spirit is all pervasive among humans and with the right resolve it may be brought to the fore. Indeed violence and killing is not only self-defeating but also makes the attainment of other goals almost impossible such as sustainable development and universal education, hunger and poverty, conflict resolution and disarmament, human rights and religious tolerance, gender equity and unemployment, and the list goes on.

From times immemorial the all important human trait of cognition and symbolic reasoning led to our cultural explosion and helped our species not only to survive but also to thrive. As humans we not only learnt from our past mistakes but also adapted to variation itself over the the past few millenia, but has our morality really kept pace with our own rapid intellectual transformation. If our own past is any indicator, indeed we have not. The danger is therefore immediate and urgent as existential risks have to be eliminated here and now. Not surprisingly it was felt that a mass movement for a Global Nonkilling World was the only way forward that could bring human consciousness to the next level.

On India’s Tryst with Destiny

Anoop Swarup

Anoop Swarup

India’s tryst with destiny is yet a struggle and I as all my countrymen who heard the Prime Minister on the 69th Independence day would be struck by the earnestness of the speech like many other Prime Ministers of India in the past. I will be wide of the mark if I am not driven by the urge and the desire like many of my fellow countrymen to change the country for the better. I do admit that I have a list, not entirely my own, as we recently celebrated the 69th Independence Day 2015.

There are 69 things India is yet to get its freedom from, these are: Corruption, Child Marriage, Cigarette and Tobacco, Honor Killings, Crime against women and children, Stereotyping the LGBT community, Violence against animals, Plastic bags, Use of pesticides, Drugs and trafficking, Public portrayal of women, Urinating in public, “Saas bahu” episodes, Junk food, Violence in Cinemas and the list goes on. Yes like many of us I too have contemplated over the year’s bygone and my own vision of our tryst. In my last five and a half score years, the speech of Jawaharlal Nehru at the stroke of the midnight hour has always haunted me from childhood days. I have wondered if anything has gone wrong and if so, what is wrong with my own people, government, society and the country.

Let us not start with governance and policy in post independence India but for a change let me focus more on the trials and tribulations of the fourth estate and the transforming societal ethos. The first one of course is the uninformed policy discourse that goes on. Our media has been dominated more by assertions and not the hard facts, with the media indulging more on views – motivated ones rather than facts alone and with little scrutiny. The consequences are invariably disastrous as it has in the past not only created but also perpetuated myths and misconceptions. Many in our country believe today that poverty, illiteracy and ill-health afflict India more because of leadership failure at the top and less because of endemic and collective societal failure. We have been exceptionally good in creating rules, programmes, projects and proposals but have been disastrously bad in implementing these. I have pondered on this aspect as I do recall, as most of my readers would, that the values engrained in us through our schooling, from our parents and the society that emerged immediately after independence was of a very idealist fervor. Over the years that spirit is waning and the forces of cut-throat competition and globalization in the digital world of today has taken precedence over ethics, values and ideals. Thus it is not the government and the political leadership alone but the waves of change that sweep our civilizational landscape that have made all the difference to the changing times. I am yet to conclude whether the change is for the better but would like to bring forth the entire dialogue on development and growth that confronts our country. It is a widely held belief that the economic reforms that focused on growth alone have failed the poor, particularly the socially disadvantaged. The gains in poverty alleviation have done precious little in improving the malnourished and their health outcomes because of bad governance, corruption, high population pressure and growth. There have been decisive moments in our nation’s history when we had the urge to decisively demolish some of these barriers to our growth and development. There can be no doubt that India needs reforms urgently be it economic, educational and cultural to lift millions from poverty, deprivation, ignorance, illiteracy and ill-health.

It is true, that India suffers from a lack of ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious homogeneity. Also as pointed out by a University Professor abroad much to my chagrin, perhaps we also confront the issue of less than average cognitive abilities compared to many developed countries due to the viscious circle of illiteracy, joblessness and poverty. For these reasons, we have utter indiscipline, disorganization and perhaps lawlessness in the society compared to other Asian or Western countries. How a country with such disparate demography and social cohesion achieve the trust and affluence or is it more likely to be trapped in a catch 22 situation? But then the lack of homogeneity or rather the diversity, is what sets India apart and I had the occasion to expound the same before the United States Foreign Relations Committee in 2004 on Fulbright Visitors programme in Washington when one of the US Senators boasted of an America that was a melting pot for a heterogeneous diversity from across the globe. With all the pride, I could respond and roll out in much detail the virtues of a mosaic or a bouquet that was India where diverse beliefs, thoughts, religions, ethnicity and cultures flourish. In retrospect, to my mind, India should not even aspire to become more homogenous as the real strength of this great democracy is from its variety and diversity. As far as the remark of average cognitive abilities is concerned, I am more skeptical; as literacy levels improve, that will possibly show comparable or even better cognitive levels as amply demonstrated by a bold new tribe of global Indians. I agree however that India may not achieve western levels of affluence in the next quarter century but the overall growth and GDP Inequality may go down only with better investments in education. Low social indicators of India may be the harbinger in several states of greater social inequality and political instability.

APJ Abdul Kalam

APJ Abdul Kalam passed away on 27 July. I had the fortune of being with him for almost a week having invited him at Ahmadabad for the National Youth Festival on the 12th of Jan more than a decade and half ago to mark the Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. During one of his planned morning sittings ‘Suvichar’ with our youth, he was steadfast in sharing his unequivocal vision – “to transform India from the present developing status to a developed nation”. Later when he became the 11th President of India in 2002 I had several occasions to be with him. Sharing his thoughts and wisdom, I was always struck by his unflinching and greater aim of transforming India in every possible way. Delivering the first Independence Day speech as President of India, he had prophetically said, “The second vision of our nation is to transform it from the present developing status to a developed nation by integrated actions simultaneously in the areas of agriculture and food processing, education and healthcare, infrastructure development, including power, information and communication technologies, and critical technologies. This greater vision will aim to alleviate poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. When the minds of the people of our country are unified and fused towards this vision, the dormant potential will manifest as a mammoth power leading to a happy and prosperous life of a billion people. This vision of the nation will also remove the conflicts arising out of differences and small thinking”.

Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, displays a similar spirit like the late ‘Missile Man’, with his focus on the development of the nation. His tasks are enormous ranging from technology to agriculture and from the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’ to ‘Make in India’ mission. These sentiments got well reflected in his Independence day clarion call from the ramparts of Red Fort, “I have started making efforts at making the government, not an assembled entity, but an organic unity, an organic entity, a harmonious whole – with one aim, one mind, one direction, one energy… Let’s resolve to steer the country to one destination,” he said and appealed to the 125 crore people of India asking them to eradicate poverty by resolving to move forward with the dream of poverty eradication from India”.

The future beckons us and of course India’s tryst with destiny is like a rendezvous with a distant dream or perhaps a prolonged struggle.

Opportunity beyond the Chinese conundrum and the Indian cacophony

Our World Our Times

Anoop Swarup

Chinese Conundrum and Indian Cacophony

The rise and fall of the Chinese Bull has been much discussed and debated but few on the global stage have cared to look at the role India can play in economic resurgence of the world in a recessionary gloom the world over.

Let us examine the China conundrum and the India cacophony from a world view that remains skeptical and unsparing. As China keeps surprising the world, the shifting gears were apparent in 2012 when the Chinese GDP growth came below 8%, and with rise of labour costs China would loose its edge as the manufacturing hub of the world. Perhaps it may gradually evolve from an asset based to a service and consumption based economy. In contrast India gives some hopes as also some jeers as the growth data released recently for April to June quarter reveals that India as yet struggles to remain the fastest growing major economy for the second quarter in a row with the GDP hovering at 7%.

Considering the world view particularly from Hedge Fund legends such as George Soros in the backdrop of increased global conflicts in past few years in the mid-East and the rivalries in Europe and Asia we may be heading for a global catastrophe once again with China providing the flashpoint. The prediction is based on the fact that the Chinese demand may have to shift from being export driven to domestic. In this scenario, the leaders in China may resort to military conflict in order to stay in power and to prevent the country from breaking down. In case of an adversary such as Japan where the United States may become a party the conflict may turn into a third World war with Russia aligning itself with the Chinese in the words of George Soros.

There are skeptics who fear that just six years since the worst financial crisis since the 1930s yet another one is on the horizon as we have failed to learn from the Greek debt crisis, the Argentine default in 2001 and the looming currency crisis and collapse of the emerging markets such as Malaysia, Brazil and South Africa.. The omen is here and now with DOW and NASDAQ hitting a new low and 99% of S&P 500 facing a worst year.

The problems are being precipitated by rising national debts, the soaring dollar and the unprecedented fall in oil prices. The concern is going to be a real one in case the US Federal Reserve raises the interest rates, perhaps in November 2015. Ann Petti-fog, Director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics asserts ‘We’re going to have another financial crisis.’

In this global backdrop let me explain India’s cacophony of discordance that may well prevail on the Chinese conundrum of opportunity if we do not act fast and pull our act together. Land, Labour and Taxation, in the words of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley a few months ago, were the major pillars of Narendra Modi’s reforms agenda. However, now we may lose out on all these fronts, if we do not act in time. India’s own reform agenda with GST and Land reforms has now hit a major hurdle with the States and the opposition. Coupled with a bad Monsoon there are issues driven and exacerbated more by ineptitude in India rather than climate and act of God such as MAT problem, startling black money laws, delay in bringing about a Direct Taxes Code confusing taxes and disparate laws and no talks of the much needed labour reforms. Modi governments dream budget now appears as a distant dream with the inept handling of the logjam by the discordant opposition in Parliament.

Let us have a look at the economic headlines in the past few weeks, as amid the global economic gloom, triggered by China, India’s growth prospects were seen to be brighter than those of other emerging markets. The fact also remains that after its worst single-day washout of 1625 sensex points and a sharp rupee depreciation of 82 paise against the US dollar, both stocks and currency bounced back gaining 291 points and 55 paise respectively in just a day.

China’s slowdown is just one of its problems. Its debt is pegged at 282% of GDP by some estimates compared to India’s at 32%. Its growth has been export led compared to India’s domestic demand driven. Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan tells us why it is different this time, and how India is no more in the club of the ‘Fragile Five’ or ‘Troubled 10’ with all the reasons for brighter prospects.

As India seeks better ratings with S&P, Moody’s Investor’s Service maintains that India’s macro economic indicators have improved over last few years and that will help India withstand any volatility in global capital flows. Let us not forget that India is blessed with a huge domestic market and a large stock of cheap workforce, if we ensure a national mission on skilling the demographic dividend, India will have more opportunity to get investments. Thanks to its resilient consumer spending and improving macroeconomic fundamentals, India is to a great extent insulated from any global crisis and this is best asserted in the words of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who said: ‘the crisis should be converted into an opportunity to grow by speeding up the reforms’. And he is not off the mark in pointing out ‘India, with 8-9 per cent growth rate, can replace China as the driver of world economy’.How much and when that would happen will not only be a defining moment for ‘Modi and India’ but also set the stage for coming of age of a new and resurgent India and for the ‘Elephant versus Dragon’ story to be complete.

What Role Does Technology Play in Record Levels of Income Inequality? | MIT Technology Review

What Role Does Technology Play in Record Levels of Income Inequality? | MIT Technology Review