Prof. John K. Galbraith, a former US ambassador, once described India as a “functioning anarchy”. Galbraith’s famous quote comes to mind on hearing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent helpless cry that the country’s fight against Maoists/Naxalites is failing.
Such public display of vulnerability appears pathetic, although it is a fact that governing a large democratic and diverse country like India is a big challenge. This strange admission came when the Prime Minister was speaking to the heads of police forces from different States and Union Territories in India.
Agreed that the challenges are mighty (what with 20 out of 28 States under the shadow of Maoist/Naxalite movement), but one is tempted to ask why this concern and alarm now. Four decades ago, the Maoist rebellion began in Naxalbari in the east. It has now spread as a major rebellion that champions the cause of extremely poor peasants in several States.
Is this alarm because of the Western nations’ pressure that the foreign investments would be hurt in this uncertain environment? Has this rebellion virtually put a “vast swathe of the countryside rich in minerals out of official control, hurting potential business worth billions of dollars?”
To quote the Prime Minister again: “Despite its sanguinary nature, the movement manages to retain the support of a section of the tribal communities and the poorest of the poor in many affected areas. It has influence among certain sections of the civil society, the intelligentsia … all this adds to the complexity of the problem.” (See here…
If the Maoist/Naxalite movement enjoys the support of the poorest of the poor, as well as the intelligentsia, as Mr. Manmohan Singh admits, then the question arises what were the Federal and the State governments doing to address issues of public concern, and to alleviate the poverty and suffering of the people in the past 40 years.
By this inference, the rebel movement has become the voice of the suffering people. The respective governments, by abdicating their responsibilities, have themselves contributed to the strengthening of the mass rebellion. Over the years, the legitimate public protests were generally ignored (as it is New Delhi seems so far away, and caught up in its own machinations/corruption).
Unfortunately, the political leadership generally wakes up when the situation appears to be spiraling out of control. Then the typical response is to use the “danda” (or the stick) in a liberal fashion in the hope that the rebellion would fizzle out by the use of sheer force.
Obviously, this has not happened this time. To quote the Prime Minister again: “I would like to state frankly that we have not achieved as much success as we would have liked in containing this menace. It is a matter of concern that despite our efforts the level of violence in the affected states continues to rise.”
This movement has become the “biggest home-grown threat to India’s internal security” and, in the words of India’s Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, the rebels have “increased attacks on railways, power and telecommunication networks to halt economic development.”
Earlier Chidambaram had said that last year alone there were 1,591 incidents of Maoist violence resulting in 721 killings; this year until August there had been 1,405 incidents, resulting in 580 deaths spread over 11 states.
What Mr. Manmohan Singh and Mr. P. Chidambaram seem to be implying is the State force/tyranny is now no match to Rebels force/tyranny. Another spell of The Emergency in the offing (just a wicked thought)?
The leadership has opted for a Western model of armed solution to a highly complex problem/challenge. They have not learnt the lesson despite the West’s mindless intervention in Afghanistan/Pakistan (not to forget Iraq).
What causes great worry is that the top leadership is prone to rushing to Washington to sort out any (including the country’s) problems. However, Maoists/Naxalites are no militants/terrorists from Afghanistan/Pakistan. They are home-grown manifestations of the deep grievances of a large section of the Indian population.
Poverty and hunger are big issues and no cosmetic relief measures, announced periodically with great fanfare, are going to help. In an interview with The Times of London, the director of the British-based Institute of Development Studies (IDS) said: “It’s the contrast between India’s fantastic economic growth and its persistent malnutrition which is so shocking. An average of 6,000 children died every day in India; 2,000-3,000 of them from malnutrition.”
India’s economic boom has “enriched a consumer class of about 50 million people, but an estimated 880 million still live on less than $2 (Rs 100) a day, many of them in conditions worse than those found in sub-Saharan Africa.”
The Times reports: “Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister, described malnutrition as ‘a curse that we must remove’ in an Independence Day speech last year. Since then his Government has quadrupled funding to tackle the problem — but the IDS report said that the money would be wasted unless steps were taken to improve governance at every level.”
The IDS report can be read at this website…
However, the point is that India has survived (and progressed) despite mind-blowing challenges. The country has gone through traumas such as the Partition, the Emergency, and the Babri Masjid demolition (and in recent times the Mumbai terror attacks), and still retained its unity.
The challenges will always remain in this highly complex and diverse country. Yet, the nation expects the political leadership to build public morale and exhort people and public servants to meet those challenges, and not cry out publicly and express helplessness.
Well, if a leader appears so helpless, then perhaps it is time for him/her to pack up the bags and let someone else pick up the baton. Who will it be?
Meanwhile as long as India is a functioning democracy/anarchy (as aptly described by Prof Galbraith), so be it.
