Over the last 75 years, India’s standing and development have been heavily compromised by statecraft blunders, misplaced ideology, prejudices and biases and lack of vision from our top political netas and a compliant babudom. They have shown a flair for scoring own goals in the fields of geopolitics and national security. They have also undermined national welfare and governance in the single-minded pursuit of power at any cost. Some of our most esteemed leaders have let the nation down through short-sighted policies and actions and even more so through sheer inaction.
Let’s put the Kashmir problem in context. In 1946 Sheikh Abdullah raised the call of ‘Quit Kashmir’ to get rid of the Dogra rulers. Mr Nehru rushed to support his friend and Raja Hari Singh stopped him at the border. The Nehruvian ego cost India dearly as subsequent events proved. In July and Sept 1947, Raja Hari Singh approached the Indian leadership for accession to the Dominion of India. Nehruji declined. He wanted Sheikh Abdullah to first take charge of a provisional government and accession would come later. National interest, logic and common sense dictated that he accept Kashmir’s accession to the Indian Union, forever shut the door on any Pakistani plans and then go for the change in administration. His intransigent position still haunts us after more than 7 decades. Pakistan took advantage and invaded Kashmir occupying a large portion of it and the State became a disputed territory. The Instrument of Accession was finally signed on the 27th Oct 1947. All the tragic events which have panned out since have been a corollary to this original sin.
Worse was to come. On the 2nd Nov 1947 PM Nehru announced that the fate of Kashmir would ultimately be decided by the people through a referendum held under the auspices of the United Nations. So the Kashmir problem was internationalised by our own Prime Minister. To aggravate matters further Article 370 came into force in 1954 with the Agreement of the State Constituent Assembly- basically granting local authority to the State of J&K. Article 370 was a temporary provision with its applicability to last until the formulation of the State Constitution. However, the State Constitution dissolved itself without recommending the abrogation or amendment of Article 370. The huge benefits of this special provision and the Union Government’s generous funding accrued to Nehruji’s dost Sheikh Abdullah’s family and the family of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Shockingly, some terrorists and separatist leaders sponsored by Pakistan enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle in the Valley with security also provided by the Indian government. Finally, on the 5th Aug 2019, the pernicious Article 370 was abrogated.
In the 1950’s, PM Nehru rejected Nepal King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah’s offer that the Himalayan kingdom become part of the Union of India (The Presidential Years- Pranab Mukherjee). The same is also detailed on the Shodhganga website. Nehruji rejected the offer on the grounds that Nepal was a free country and should remain so. The late President has commented in his book that ‘had Indira Gandhi been in Nehru’s place she would probably have seized the opportunity as she did with Sikkim.’
On the 5th of May 2018 (Karl Marx’s birthday)Mr Sitaram Yechury celebrated the merger of the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) as a transition from a once-Hindu kingdom to a Republic. Since 2006 the Indian Comrade had become a mentor to this nation’s tryst with Communism. Cut to 2023. India faces an imperialistic China with humungous influence in Nepal. At times it does seem that our Comrade General Secretaries sit in Delhi. Their Chairman sits in Beijing.
Then there is the curious case of India being offered a permanent seat in the UN Security Council in the 1950s. In 2023, it remains one of the country’s top diplomatic objectives considering the chaotic geopolitical situation. A seat at the table should be reserved for the world’s largest democracy, the 5th biggest economy, an established nuclear and military power plus a Soft Power in its own right. The Great Wall of China is the barrier. Even left-wing media in India have acknowledged that in August 1950 as the Cold War gained momentum, America dangled the bait for a permanent seat at the UNSC. There was more to come. Servapalli Gopal’s biography of Nehru (1979) specifically mentions that ‘he (Nehru) rejected the Soviet offer in 1954 to propose India as the sixth permanent member of the Security Council and insisted that priority be given to China’s admission to the august group.’ Please note that the historian was the son of President Radhakrishnan, a close friend of the Prime Minister. Further, a detailed exchange between Nikolai Bulganin and Nehruji on this subject is part of another Nehruvian scholar’s book- AG Noorani’s ‘Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru’ (2002). Some Congress leaders and intellectuals have dismissed this as baseless rumours and a conspiracy theory of the BJP. The Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai bonhomie was rudely jolted by the Chinese invasion in October 1962 resulting in the loss of Aksai Chin territory in Eastern Ladakh. This humiliating loss is detailed in Brig John Dalvi’s ‘Himalayan Blunder’. The helplessness and shock displayed by the PM and his close acolyte, Defence Minister Krishna Menon. The outdated rifles of the Indian army and even the lack of warm clothing. Today, China has its eyes on Arunachal Pradesh.
In 2017, 2018, and 2019 the PM in waiting Rahul Gandhi met the Chinese Ambassador multiple times. He publicly announced that India had lost hundreds of square km to the Chinese without a fight. Shameful!!. A disparaging remark by a national party leader for the Indian Army just to score some political points. But flashback to 1962. His grandfather had done exactly that. Foreign intelligence agencies reported that in a few clashes in recent years, the PLA had retreated with a bruised nose. The latest is that the Chinese are reinforcing their border forces with Han-Tibetan soldiers.
The Vodka Biryani brigade, which drives the ‘Aman ki Aasha’ narrative should get a reality check done. China and Pakistan are hostile neighbours. Period. Check out what happened after the PM Atalji Vajpayee- PM Nawaz Sharif Lahore peace declaration in early 1999. KARGIL!!.
In the late 1970s, Mrs Indira Gandhi’s Congress attempted to co-opt Bhindranwale in a bid to split the Sikh votes and weaken the Akali Dal- its chief rival in Punjab. For starters, Congress supported his candidates in the 1978 SGPC election. Mr Sanjay Gandhi and Giani Zail Singh are credited with transforming an obscure preacher into a Frankenstein monster. The rest is history leading to Operation Blue Star. Followed by the shocking assassination of PM Mrs Indira Gandhi. Then the genocide of thousands of innocent Sikhs with Congress leaders inciting the mobs and goons. Even 40 years later justice has not been done. Connect the dots to the well-orchestrated Khalistan rallies in Canada, the UK, the USA and Australia. Follow the money to the funders of the farmers’ agitation.
The implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is a hotly debated topic today amidst the Amrut Mahotsav of Azaadi. Countries with large Muslim populations like Indonesia and Bangladesh have adopted the same. UCC has been practised for decades in Goa and Puducherry. Dr Ambedkar tried to reform Indian society by recommending the UCC. It just ended up as an article of the Directive Principles stipulating that ‘the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizen a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.’ The recommendation remained a dead letter because Muslims took a hard line on their personal law. There was also a pushback from traditional Hindus who were opposed to reforms of Hindu practices like inheritance, marriage and divorce and adoption. But the next few decades did see codification and reforms of the Hindu code as also the practices of Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists.
In 1985 the Shah Bano case became the litmus test for the progressive Rajiv Gandhi government. A 73-year-old woman was divorced through Triple Talaq and denied regular maintenance under Muslim Personal Law. The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Shah Bano (Section 125 of All India Criminal Code) pertaining to the maintenance of wives, children and parents irrespective of religion. The Congress Government with 400+ Lok Sabha seats capitulated to vote bank politics and appeasement. In 1986 the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights of Divorce) Act was passed making Section 125 inapplicable to Muslim women and verily overturning the Supreme Court decree. Alimony or maintenance was deemed payable only for 90 days after divorce.
In October 1993, the Vohra Committee submitted its 100-page report which has never seen the light of the day. The Home Ministry now claims that it has been misplaced. It is said to have explosive revelations of the cosy relationship between senior Maharashtra ministers and politicians, Mumbai crime branch officials and primarily the D Company of Dawood Ibrahim and some other underworld figures. The Netflix serial ‘Scoop’ tangentially refers to this in a 2011 time frame. If only the Vohra Committee report had been discussed responsibly in the public and national interest. The needle moves to 25 years later and the sordid saga of the MVA government in Maharashtra with its Home Minister in jail, an absconding Commissioner of Police and a reinstated sub-inspector- who had easy access to both- running an extortion racket targeting bars, dance clubs and restaurants. Truth be told, the Congress playbook with its winnability formula for elections- money, muscle, caste and creed have wholly been embraced across the political spectrum including by the BJP. So we have 233 elected MPs in the current Lok Sabha with criminal charges; 65% of sitting Kerala MLAs with criminal records with 21% in ‘the serious category’; and the BJP leading with 37% criminally tainted representatives in the UP Vidhan Sabha.
It is said that a fish rots from the head down. Independent India’s first official scam was the Jeep scam. In 1948, Krishna Menon, High Commissioner to the UK bypassed protocols and ordered 2000 refurbished jeeps for military use from an unknown foreign company. A substantial amount then of Rs 80 lakhs was paid upfront. 155 jeeps were delivered but did not pass the Defence Ministry tests. PM Nehru’s patronage ensured that even judicial enquiries were dropped in 1955. In Jan 1956 Menon was inducted into the Council of Ministers and continued till he met an inglorious end as Defence Minister in the disastrous Indo-China war of 1962. Those were supposed to be idealistic and patriotic times with memories of the freedom struggle still fresh. The Scourge of corruption was unleashed and has now become synonymous with India; gnawing like termites at the vitals of the nation and hurting the poor and needy and the middle class the most.
Jaichand and Mir Jafar are not confined to our history books. In 2008, India Today presented the Youth Icon Award to the mass killer and Kashmiri terrorist Yasin Malik. He was cheered on by the Vodka Biryani brigade in full strength. The trophy was handed over by a well-known Harvard-educated industrialist. In 2002, Malik had laughingly admitted to the killings of a Judge, some unarmed IAF personnel and some innocent bystanders in a BBC Hard Talk interview. Not surprising, what?! Consider which self-respecting government would have done absolutely nothing after the persecution and forced exodus of half a million Kashmiri Pandits from 1990 onwards. Just 2 years after 26/11 we had Digvijay Singh, Mahesh Bhatt and Zakir Naik on the stage for the release of the book- ‘26/11 an RSS conspiracy. Disgusting!!! Several Congress and Opposition leaders were in denial after the Balakot surgical strike against Pakistan. Can’t blame them, what? It’s totally beyond their comprehension. But more seriously, this is the reason India is seen as this soft, fractious and easy to lecture to and meddle with country. Even national security matters have become political football.
The majority governments of PM Nehru, Smt Indira Gandhi and Mr Rajiv Gandhi faltered and messed up in vital areas and the side-effects are still being felt. PM Modiji in his second term and with a majority in both the Houses also does not seem to be focused on urgent structural reforms. Possibly his own BJP Parliamentarians, Legislators and Corporators are the nay-sayers who defend the toxic status quo. The Supreme Court in 2006 in a landmark judgement had directed the Centre and State Governments to bring in urgently needed police reforms on a PIL filed by a retired senior police officer. Road maps on the way forward were already in place. Zilch!! (meaning nothing.)The 33% reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies was first proposed in 1996 and was also part of the BJP election manifesto. The Sound of Silence!!! A well-thought-through election finance bill on the lines of the French model to curb black money has never been on the table. To borrow some lines from Bob Dylan’s famous protest song- ‘The answer my friend… Blowin’ in the Wind.’
So it seems that in 2047, 100 years since independence, India will remain a work in progress. The country may make huge strides as a major economy, in technology and defence innovation and in global geopolitics. However, in key areas which directly influence governance and the greater good we may still languish behind as a developing nation. Courtesy of the reluctance of our tall political leaders to go the whole hog in cleaning up, revamping and reinforcing the entire edifice of the country’s public institutions and support systems.
Over the last 2 decades, a galaxy of stars of Indian spirit and origin has sparkled brightly in the space of business, technology, culture and entertainment. Is this destined to be India’s century- with India leading the comity of nations?!
A Fistful of Salt 