Kalam was right: India needs to stand up for world to respect us
"Unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us. In this world, fear has no place. Only strength respects strength," said Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. India has been trying to do so ever since it gained independence. The country is being lauded as the largest democracy in the world. With immense diversity in religion and culture, the democracy is indeed a unique one. The question, therefore, arises, are we a functioning democracy?
Making a strong pitch at United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "We are reviving our manufacturing, improving our services sector, investing on an unprecedented scale in infrastructure and making our cities smart, sustainable and engines of progress." But what does the ground reality suggest?
As Indians go gaga about being the next "superpower", it is important for us to first take a critical look into the issues the country is plagued with. With only a handful of political parties having a pan-India presence, innumerous regional parties dominate the political scenario in India. These regional parties' approach towards development of the country as a future superpower does not seem to be aligned with those of the dominant parties. Narrow agendas of such parties seem to be a major setback for the country. Their representation in Parliament merits them to have a say in setting India's destiny, but they usually work across purposes.
Interestingly, India has often been pitched opposite China in this battle for supremacy. India's heavily armed neighbour and an emerging superpower is known to be communist. Under the garb of communism, they have turned to capitalism, and from capitalism to imperialist expansionism. The highly developed Chinese industrial base was made possible only because of a centralised decision-making body with brook no opposition of any kind. If land is required for industrial or infrastructure development, the Chinese government simply evicts the populace by force. Public outcry does not seem to find any space in the media.
In India, however, every head of state is chosen democratically, which has its own merits, but it has often proven to be a fruitless exercise. For instance, the land Bill pending in Parliament is a major development issue. Land is required for industrial and infrastructure development, but the procurement of land is a major obstacle because of opposition from regional parties. The latter seem to have no inclination or interest in national development. Ensuring their power base by resorting to populist postures, these parties continue to flourish in the country. Keeping the interests of land holders in mind, India must walk unitedly towards development.
Unlike China, India enjoys support from the world community for being the world's largest democracy. But I doubt whether the developed countries of the western world praising our democratic system are genuinely interested in the development of India. Is it unfair to suspect praises of our democratic system and values (which are chaotic at best) from the West whose parochial interests have little to do with India's national development?
With hostile and a few politically unstable neighbours around us, India must be strong economically, socially and militarily. But the unfortunate reality is that there's an enormous gap between the rich and the poor, with many finding it difficult to have a square meal everyday. Socially, the population is being divided along caste and religious lines by our scheming political leaders whose self-serving interests include protection of their vote banks and preservation of power.
India has a strong military force but is not a manufacturer of military assets, such as combat aircraft, whereas China manufactures the greater percentage of its military hardware, depending minimally on foreign supplies. India has only been successful in the field of space technology, missile manufacturing and nuclear science. "I cannot see why we can't produce a basic assault rifle carried by the army or a bullet-proof jacket used by our troops," defense minister Manohar Parrikar said at a recent DRDO meet.
The government and politicians must ponder upon these crucial aspects if India is ever to become a real world power and not a mere paper tiger. Democracy prevails in major developed countries, but they enjoy a disciplined political life with few political parties vying for power. Although political systems in the West are in no way free of corruption, it is not nearly as widespread as in our country. Corruption and nepotism are major issues India must counter in the decades to come as presently political interest seems to be taking a higher seat than national development.
Despite having a very large educated and technically competent pool of manpower in India, we have not been able to organise them strategically for meaningful contribution to the national cause. It is, therefore, time to indulge in some soul searching. Democracy indeed is the best system of governance, but is it working efficiently to its full potential and towards the common good?