indias might
Tale of Two Democracies
StandardBRIC(S) by BRIC(S)
Standardalways an optimistCHINMAY DANDEKAR
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chinmayud@gmail.com
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International Politics- A Struggle for Power
StandardBe it a family,an office,a nation or the global arena we associate the word “Politics” in all these spheres.What is politics ? Politics is nothing but the struggle for power. Human nature is power seeking, you have a constant quest to be competitive,to prove yourself, earn money,find respect, be the center of attraction, you want the world to listen to you. Why ? because you have the inherent quality to seek power.But, given the fact that you live in a country which is guided by the “Rule of Law” you cannot exercise that power absolutely and you are subject to certain restrictions.
In the context of International relations, there is no overarching authority.It is said that International arena exists in the state of Anarchy, therefore all the nations of the World are guided by the Principle of “MIGHT IS RIGHT”.
The concepts of Morality & Ideology are plastic.Ideology is generally the “mask to hide real intentions”. For e.g ,the ideology of “Democracy” which the United states and the United nations want to impose on every country of the planet, but the UN and other world institutions guided by the US are hardly democratic, they are oligarchies guided by certain nations who have their might well established.All the institutions like the World Bank,IMF,United nations seldom represent a broader interest.
A nation always wishes to be powerful, one which is already powerful goes further to attain the absolute power, it wants to have the “Power to Roar”, it wants to establish itself as a Hegemon, either globally or regionally.Also there is no permanent friend or enemy in International Politics, policies shape up depending on the self interest of a particular nation.For e.g Japan & US ,the deadliest enemies which lead to the atomic disaster are the strongest allies today, Pakistan & Russia are having a good relation,Iran-US,China-India- all these nations are having good relations today but what persists is the TRUST DEFICIT. Nations never believe the intentions of the other nation ( Nehru believed China & it back stabbed us) this leads them to attain greater relative power with respect to the other nations, this develops a “Arms Race” arising out of the “Security Dilemma“. Nations understand the other the system is a system of “Self Help”- hence they are Power Maximisers.
In the 21st century though you do not see a conventional war taking place, hence they go to maximize their strength on other indicators like Demography,the Power of Knowledge,Economy,Natural Resources, Technology,Sports etc- but the ultimate principle still remains the same Acquiring Greater Relative Power.
In today’s world be it bullying of the US, the Great Economic Leap by China, Rise of the ISIS, Modi’s campaign to spread tentacles of India- asking for permanent UNSC seat, Pakistan making use of its strategic location, Russia bombing the Islamic State to show that it is still relevant- all almost all these examples are guided by the same principle- Acquire POWER; other things will take care of themselves.
India needs to assert itself more dynamically on the International Arena. We need to develop our capabilities in every possible way- be it Military,Economy,Polity,Yoga,Olympics or anything else. But India should also be cautious that our claim should not be hollow meaning we should develop the capabilities from within , we need to develop our people,empower the downtrodden,eliminate poverty, abolish illiteracy and we need to do all this on priority to assert ourselves as a major power in the world & to give better life to our people.
always an optimistCHINMAY DANDEKAR
All feedbacks will be appreciated on
chinmayud@gmail.com
( All rights of the blogs are reserved with the author , duplicity in any form without the consent of the author will be legally scrutinized)
Kalyan Dombivali shaping South Asia
StandardPolitics is nothing but the race and the struggle for Power. According to Machiavelli “Ends Justify The Means” the doctrine which the Politicians in India seem to have adopted over the one which Gandhi was an ardent Supporter of,” The nobility of Ends and Means”; in politics of the present world ,Ideologies are shaped up as the Situation demand.Soon these pseudo ideologies turn into a propaganda to acquire power, to gain the lost grounds, to remain in news, to make your presence felt.
The recent development in Mumbai against the Pakistani Nationals by the Shiv Sena ranging from the Oil Paint Episode, to music concerts,returning back of Pakistani Commentators and Umpire, cancellation of BCCI and PCB officials, has brought Embarrassment to Mumbai and India on a whole. Mumbai, the financial Capital of India and by far the most liberal city of India is in news for all the wrong reasons. To understand the reasons of these acts one needs to understand the context of history, current national and international scenario.
After the death of veteran Balasaheb Thackeray, the Shiv sena witnessed a leadership crisis, the vaccum for a strong agenda and issue based politics persisted since a long time. Now, amidst the rift with BJP ; breaking of the alliance and a last moment entry into the Government, was like a wounded Tiger agreeing to Eat vegetables for Survival; once again the point was established there are no permanent friends & foes in Contemporary Politics, establishing the point further that Opposites attract not only in case of magnet, in this case Power which is the larger magnet. The Attempts to gain the lost ground in the State after a humiliating 2nd place in State election, lack of positive agenda,absence of Issues made Shiv Sena to resort to “ShivSena style politics” again, the only thing they are best and comfortable at. The Prestigious and 21000 crore budgetary Mumbai Municipal Corporation over which Shiv Sena has managed to maintain its Hegemony are due in 2017, and before which another satellite town Kalyan-Dombivali elections are due where Shiv Sena and BJP have decided to go separately, hence these context and the ongoing Skirmishes with the BJP has lead Sena to resort to tactics it is most comfortable with.
More than the micro level Politics of Maharashtra it is the Politics of entire South Asia which can be shaped up by these disruptive activities.Known the fact that the stability of Entire South Asia rests largely on the relations between India and Pakistan, the animosity of which has made the SAARC almost redundant and ineffective also made the region Unstable, the most volatile after West Asia.
After the recent developments after the Ufa meet between two nation heads and the cancellations of NSA level talks, the phase of Political Slogans is on. It is necessary to understand that “conflict is the fodder for Politics” in South Asia, the existence of most parties in India and Pakistan is due to Anti India and Pakistan issues. The balance of Power theory , the Realist theory of International Politics is shaped up in such a manner that it manufactures facts and makes us believe that we are the arch rivals of each other, whereas on ground level there would be hardly any difference in the structure of lives of people in entire South asia, the artificially created boundaries have manufactured animosity. It is unfortunate that we are shaping up our present and future by the Colonial legacy that we shared.Pakistan is dangerous because it is like the “Mad Child with a Loaded Gun” which can be lethal, it has very less to lose but the stakes of India are high.
India and Pakistan relationship has been shaped up by the Government, the bureaucracy,Army(in case of Pakistan) and the Elites for their vested interests.The insecurity for India with Pakistan raising number of Nuclear warheads,Growing Sino-Pak relationship and Us-Pak nuclear deal is giving sleepless nights to many in India. The need of the current world is to develop regional cooperation, peaceful neighbourhood is the most important pre requisite for Overall development of the country. The Security Dilemma needs to be overcome.The interactions of Government to Government relationship has repetitively failed or had a short shelf life, the need is to develop Track Two Diplomacy i.e People- People diplomacy, the trust deficit needs to be overcome, people need to be feel that there is hardly any difference in the way they live, the differences at various level needs to increased for the interests of both the nations. A lesson needs to be learned from The European Union, which has been one of the most successful organizations to promote regional peace over national goals, the region which was the most conflicted region, which had a 30 year long war, ended the war and the concept of Nation emerged by ”Treaty of Westphalia” and since then, especially after the 2nd world war they have entered in the Era of peace. The same feeling of homogeneity needs to be promoted in South Asia, if the nation have the ambition to make any progress.
If India aspires to become a Global Leader, if it aims a seat In UNSC, it needs to Understand, “With Authority Comes Responsibility”- if India cannot promote regional peace, if India cannot be Regional leader , the ambition will only remain a Utopia.
The men who lead to the disruptive activities, would only be obeying their party leadership, for them “ The feeling of Vengeance would be over Reason”, what they need to understand is the dynamics of International Relations and the affect of their short sighted, unreasonable disruptive activities for petty political gains would have on the Relations of India-Pakistan and overall politics of South Asia.
If they are really Patriotic and Nationalism is not a propaganda and they are not playing the Patriot versus Pakistan card to score brownie points, they must care about the Image of India on International Forum,
They need to Understand the India has been taking Pride in its diversity,tolerance,multiculturalism and Plurality.Our Right winged Political leadership should realize that they are elected for their agenda of Development, they should not do anything that hinders that Social and Moral fabric of our Nation, lets preserve the values of Our great nation, the core values of Hinduism which has been able to accommodate the diversities since last 5000 years. Let us build a Strong foundation on which the superstructure of our development can be build upon.
-always an optimistCHINMAY DANDEKAR
All feedbacks will be appreciated on
chinmayud@gmail.com
( All rights of the blogs are reserved with the author , duplicity in any form without the consent of the author will be legally scrutinized)
Why Have i chosen journey full of thorns ? (PART 1)
StandardFather of our nation ,Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, once said;
” Be The Change You Want to see in this world”
As a kid I was always fascinated by the way the politics of this country worked, inspired by freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh,Lokamanya TIlak, Subhash Bose, kept dreaming by watching films like “Nayak”, “Kurukshetra”,”Swades”,”Kargil”,”Lakshya” and probably many other patriotic movies which i watched in my early childhood , also watching our then PM Atal Bihari Vajpaye’s speeches, I would then play with my jiyajo and say its Vajpayi Ji and hoist a 2 Rs plastic flag and make my toy hoist the flag on national days,and also hearing stories about 1993 bomb blasts, watching the Twin Tower Attack ; I was always moved by the national and International events. I might have been very naive and immature to understand many of them but the Intent to do something for my country , my India has always been the highest on my priority list.
In my 4th standard we had shifted from a small town in thane district ” Nallasopara” to “Borivali” a decent middle class suburb of Mumbai, my partner in school asked me, What do you want to become in life ? most would say teacher,doctor or Engineer but I said” A PATRIOT” , probably i could hardly frame a correct sentence in English back then. I was naive, i was immature but I was itching to do something for India, I never wanted to be a mere Spectator. Just Condemning, Criticizing and Complaining about things has never been in my DNA, i wished to take initiative and move things myself.
In my 8th std came an important point in my life, my class teacher “Pravina Miss”, she exposed me to the world of debates,elocutions,public speaking,news reporting,acting etc. I felt like I had found my love.In our Semester Exams we had to write an Essay on “If I would be the PM of India”, my dreams about my motherland overflowed as i got a platform to express myself. When I was absent she told the class I had written the best Essay, the very next day she asked me to read it aloud; and she said , ” I really feel I have the future PM in my class ” that sentence has been a milestone and motivation for me thereon.I wanted India to be a super power and i wanted to be a higher contributor in the process always, i started taking things written or spoken about India Personally.
I still couldn’t figure out as exactly what was the right way to move forward, When my maths teacher in 9th std, asked what do you want to be in life ? I said I dont know, but then i want to do something for India maybe i will join Politics. He said ,” thats the temporary form of executive, why don’t you use your intellect and go for UPSC, you will be able to contribute to India and make use of your academic skills at the same time.” I asked him what is UPSC ? what is IAS ? I came home , i researched and BANG !!! There has been no looking back since then , The only goal that remained static in my life will many other goals have vacillated.
At the point when i was done with my schooling after std.10th I remember writing in my diary, “The next 7-8 years i want to devote completely to myself and help myself so that I can make myself so capable that i will be compatible to make a difference in other people’s life “.
VALUING DEMOCRACY..
StandardIt was 26th January,1950 when we adopted our Constitution i.e. we decided our way of life in Independent India.It was beginning of the journey ,realising the dream and ambition of Democracy.Equality,liberty & justice; all these terms may look easy and theoretic today but back then it was a dream that less people had faith in.We had started the process of transforming Indians from subjects to citizens &the process of breathing free and realising political sovereignty.
I have seen people cursing democracy and saying , “In Democracy there is no stability,its all about political competition and power play where morality is at stake, corruption, allegations & dirty electoral tactics is hampering progress & we will never become a superpower given a democracy like ours;I wish we had a system like the Chinese or the Americans”. I would say grass always looks greener on the other side.Yes, all the above aspects are true but reforms need to be done & they are being done however their magnitude can be debated but these things are not to an extent that they don’t serve the entire purpose of Democracy. Our Democracy makes our government accountable,it might lead to delay in decisions but we are protected from rash and irresponsible decisions because of the consensus between representatives.Our democracy, the electoral competition works in the long run.Our Political leaders are compelled to raise issues of pubic concern as they know they should perform or they will perish.We have in fact raised the importance of democracy by voting a 130 year old party out of power & make it look like an underdog.By voting a Chai Wala as the PM we have shown the world what worlds largest democracy and one of the strongest Election Commission along with 90 Crore electorate can do.Our democracy deals with differences and conflicts also India is together due to its democracy & dignity of people are intact or it is being fought for.It allows us to correct our mistakes.
All in all our Constitution has given us a platform & an idea, we have to realise,value,establish and propagate these ideas.The fate of democracy depends not just on what the rulers do but also what the citizens do to establish these democratic ideals and fulfil their aspirations.