Indian Defence Review

Creed of Nonviolence

India can be justifiably proud of using non-violence and passive resistance as cardinals towards attainment of freedom from British colonial rule. It is however also a fact that our independence was the cumulative outcome of other factors and contributions of many players who used methods other than passive resistance.

In that the contribution of the military is least acknowledged and appreciated. Soon after independence, the British Prime Minister Clement Attlee had confided to one of the state governors in India that the most compelling reason for the British to leave the country was the seeds of disaffection planted by the Indian National Army (INA) and the Naval Mutiny in February 1946 in Bombay. He shared that these developments made Britain realise that their most reliable and ultimate instrument of colonial rule, the armed forces, could no longer be taken for granted. Moreover, the contribution of Indian soldiers was critical towards the Allied victory in the World War II, which provided the Indian leaders a potent and robust plea for the demand of freedom. Despite that, some of the post independence leaders, particularly the ilk of V K Krishna Menon, continued to treat the Indian military with suspicion and lowered its institutional status. It was the same military that was used after independence for integration of some princely states and liberation of Goa from Portuguese rule. It involved use of force or the threat of it. It implies that the weapons of non-violence and passive resistance can only be effective against an adversary, which has collective conscience. Moreover, non-violence is best practiced from position of strength.

Kashmir Problem and Tibet

No other state in the Union of India has bled the country in human and financial terms like the J&K. The part of the state, which is currently under Indian control, comprises the regions of Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Ladakh. There is no problem in Hindu majority Jammu and Buddhist majority Ladakh. The problem is confined to the Muslim majority Kashmir, which has been purged of most minorities. No decree, no fatwas, no movements by the Muslim moderates and intellectuals has been in evidence against the religious persecution. The pattern of insurgency in Kashmir clearly suggests that there are no causes for it, but only excuses. This fact is well known and understood, but seldom accepted.

The problem lies in the demography, but any suggestion towards the change in the demographic structure in the Valley, for the enduring good of the state and the people, is considered blasphemous. On the other hand, we do not condemn the Hananisation of Tibet, i.e. the ongoing thrust by the Chinese authorities to settle Hans to achieve demographic preponderance over ethnic Tibetans. The Dalai Lama has cautioned that the Tibetans were the first line of defence for India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), but the ‘situation may completely change with the huge influx of Han Chinese to alter Tibet’s demographic profile’.5

India and China

China was the aggressor in 1962. It is in illegal occupation of vast tracts of Indian territory. There are commentators on strategy and foreign policy, who maintained that the Chinese aggression had a limited strategic purpose, i.e. to build road communications between Tibet and Sinkiang. Having achieved this, it should have been more accommodative, rather enthusiastic in resolving the border dispute with India, at least in the interest of a hugely beneficial bilateral economic relationship. Instead, it has steadfastly been ambivalent about it, even during the recent visit of the Indian Prime Minister. It is clear that China considers the border issue as a huge diplomatic and military leverage. China facilitated the acquisition of nuclear weapons and missiles by Pakistan. It has been seeking direct and indirect presence in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka—to strategically circumscribe India. And yet when an Indian defence minister says that China is the principal adversary, there are huge protests. There has never been a clear answer from the leftists in India with respect to certain questions concerning China. These are:

• Was China the aggressor in 1962 ?
• Is China in illegal possession of Indian territory?
• Do they support the Hananisation of Tibet ?
• Do they condemn the facilitation of acquisition of missile and nuclear technology by China to Pakistan ?
• Do they condemn China for one-party rule ?
• Do they support religious freedom in China ?
• Do they support Chinese activities in India’s neighbourhood ?

Tackling Naxalism

Some 160 districts, i.e. 40 percent of India’s territory, euphemistically referred to as the Red Corridor, has come under the writ of Naxalites/Maoists. Leftwing extremism had been building up over several decades, but was not tackled in the nascent stages. The argument that was bandied was that the problem was owing to the lack of socio-economic development. This was the logic of the government, which in the first place was responsible for it. It has allowed the problem to acquire the character of internecine war.

The ideological moorings of the Naxalites, who are essentially extremist offshoots of leftwing parties, was not viewed with concern for political reasons. The very tools of socio-economic development – railways, post-offices, schools, hospitals and industries are being targeted by the Naxalites. It is a truism that under the circumstances, and given the level of control and violence, wherein the writ of the government does not operate, no socio-economic development is possible, without the restoration of a requisite stability in the affected areas. The advocates of socio-economic development in the current scenario, have no formula as to how development projects can be undertaken as the naxalites are opposed to it. As to how much the Naxalites are interested in socio-economic development, at the present juncture of Naxal movement, is best illustrated by the example of a village Sabdo in Bihar.

A couple was engaged in path-breaking social work in the village. The lady was herself a part of the Naxalite movement for some years and then left it to devote herself to social work. The couple managed to open new schools, conducted adult literacy programmes, trained the women folk in cottage industries, built-up irrigation channels by galvanising the people, introduced commune farming, organised dowry-less marriages, and demolished cast barriers. As a consequence, the social and economic prosperity of the village increased manifold. Eventually, the Naxalites felt that the couple was weaning away their constituency, and murdered them. Few years back, the Naxalites tied up the ex-Air Chief D A La Fontaine in his house Andhra Pradesh, where he had chosen to settle down after retirement. His belongings, including his personal weapon, were stolen. He even remarked whether the intruders were Naxalites (revolutionaries) or dacoits.

In the vast swathe of the Red Corridor, there are different paradigms in operation. The only common thread is ideology. The leaders exploit existing and imagined grievances, their biggest tools being propaganda and indoctrination, which the administration was failed to counter by way of action and counter propaganda. A very senior police officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre had revealed a few years back that his innovative attempts to expose the ideological hypocrisy had met with astounding success, but for some reasons were not pursued by his successors. For the top and middle level Naxal leadership, it is an industry as well. So many leaders of the Naxalite movement after acquiring wealth have deserted the movement or have been replaced, a phenomenon that continues.

To begin with, the hot spots of leftwing extremism were some areas of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. Some areas in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar and U.P. joined the bandwagon much later. Most analysis and solutions to tackle the growing menace does not reflect the local facts and situation on ground. For instance, with respect to Bihar, commentators continue to harp on the hackneyed theme on lack of land reforms. They do not realise that there is almost no surplus land holding in the state, i.e. beyond sealing limits. There are negligible numbers of land sealing cases in the courts. They also choose to ignore the fact that agricultural land holdings below an optimum level, is economically non-viable.

Kerala is a case in example. Land reforms in the state were initiated by the communist government in 1957. It was in fact the first communist government to have been elected in a multi-party democracy in the world. Recently, the principal secretary of industries in Kerala proposed that the land-reforms law be repealed because it stymied the growth of agriculture and industry due to extreme fragmentation of land.6 The proposal was subsequently vehemently criticised by the Chief Minister. In the early 70s, the Naxalite movement that originated from West Bengal and which had assumed alarming proportion was defeated by use of force, which many considered to be excessive.

Nevertheless, normalcy and the writ of the state were restored. Despite the success of comprehensive land reforms initiated by the CPI (M) led West Bengal government, Naxalism has again become a cause of concern to the state government. Allegedly, the Naxalites had lent their armed weight behind those opposing the acquisition of land at Nandigram for industrial purposes. In this, there are two clear messages.

First, that land reforms, though very laudable and desirable, cannot be an endless process. They have a lifespan and beyond a certain limit they create far greater problems. Somewhere, the politics of production has to replace the politics of distribution. With the current surge in Indian economy and emphasis on industrialisation, the politics of production, if not pursued, will add to unmanageable tensions in the society. Naxalism or leftwing extremism has to be tackled in face of this reality, for which time is running out. The menace of Naxal or Maoist violence has to be defeated by every counter-violence means that the State has at its disposal. Failure to do so will result not only in further worsening the condition of the people inhabiting the Naxalite controlled areas in socio-economic terms, but will also permit the menace to rapidly consume other parts of the country.

Quality Development

The lack of basic development in many areas of the country has led to regional imbalance as well as tensions. It is the single most contributory factor for the rise of regional parties, and demand for separate states. Since the regional parties do not share the national perspectives of the mainstream parties, the task of policy making and national integration suffers. Most leaders since independence have claimed to be the champions of the poor, and yet poverty persists. They advertently and inadvertently propagated the idea that to be wealthy is sin, but never hesitated in spending crores of rupees on their election campaigns, and amassing phenomenal wealth. Their hypocrisy and resultant policies restricted the upper mobility of the masses. In the 80s, the eminent jurist N A Palkhivala in his book We the People has said that every rupee that the shareholder earns, the government stands to gain eight rupees. India did make a ‘U-turn’ with regards to its economic policies in the early 90s, not out of conviction, but because of the looming prospect of bankruptcy. Meanwhile, a generation had suffered and given rise to discontent manifesting in class-based and caste-based politics.

Our approach to human development in terms of health, education and opportunities had an invidious impact on the social fabric of the nation. If Apollo hospitals are good for politicians, bureaucrats and the upper strata of the society, then various governments should have made efforts to replicate the same quality of healthcare for common people. Similarly, if English medium schools, colleges like St. Stephens, universities like Oxford, Cambridge and Stanford are good for the children of those, who are responsible for governance, then similar pattern of education, should have been introduced throughout the country. It is acknowledged that the ideal paradigm as suggested cannot be achieved in a matter of few years, but the despicable part is, that the intent has been missing. Instead, we see the tendency to cut-to-size or level those institutions, which have acquired a reputation for excellence like the AIIMS, IITs and IIMs.

The approach of various governments towards health, education and development – has been one of statistics, i.e. number of schools, percentage of literacy, number of dispensaries and hospitals, and kilometers of road and railway network. The pitfalls of this statistical approach are best illustrated in the case of Kerala, which has 100 percent literacy, but woefully incommensurate economic development and employment.

Basic development, in which we have already far lagged behind, is not enough. With the revolution in communications and corresponding increase in aspirations of the people, there will be newer tensions within the country if quality development is not undertaken. This can only be achieved, if the government, unlike in the past, gives wholehearted support and encouragement for contribution in health, education and development by the private sector and the NGOs in the remote areas of the country. For too long, we have viewed private entrepreneurs as financial sharks, even as the government machinery siphoned off large chunks of public money allocated for development.

Energy Security

About 30 percent of India’s energy requirement is met by oil, and nearly 70 percent of that is imported, and as per the Center for Strategic and International Studies, it could increase to 90 percent by 2025. In the last decade, petroleum consumption in the country has more than doubled. Coal accounts for more than 50 percent of India’s energy needs and 70 percent of the total electricity produced. Though India has the third largest coal reserves (estimated 90 billion tons) in the world after US and China, at the current rate of consumption, as per some estimates, it may not last for more than 50 years. India’s electricity consumption is projected to increase by 10 percent every year till 2020. If India is to sustain a GDP growth rate of nine percent, it must at least triple its primary energy supply and quintuple its electrical capacity. In energy consumption India is likely to surpass Russia and Japan by 2030 and become the third largest consumer after US and China.7