Whither India ? - Dr Sandeep Pandey

Whither India ?

Dr Sandeep Pandey

The mainstream freedom movement of this country definitely had a vision for an egalitarian society. A society in which each family would be able to earn their livelihood with dignity and accord the same respect to every other member of the society that they would expect for themselves. People would be able to live in an atmosphere free from fear. There would be mutual respect for diversity of ideas. India would lead the world towards disarmament and peace and would help establish a just and humane global order.

The development policies adopted by the Nehru's government, completely ignoring the principles of Hind Swaraj put forward by Mahatma Gandhi, later further aggravated by the economic policies of liberalization, privatization and globalization have resulted in dual development stream in this country. A small minority of the society which possesses a purchasing power can afford the latest fruit of modern technological development available in the global market. The industrialists are allowed unhindered to produce material items for the consumption of this class and this class is allowed to consume things unbounded. Just like the American society nobody cares a damn about global warming or any such thing coming in their way of a global lifestyle. On the other hand for the vast majority of poor, devoid of the magical purchasing power - which doesn't accrue from one's capability alone - the country's parliament has passed a National Rural Employment Guarantee Act which bars machines from being used in work offered to them for the fear of causing a threat to the employment of the poor. In spite of Prime Minister's advice in a CII meeting the CEOs resist the idea of placing a ceiling on their salaries whereas the poor earns a maximum wage of what is described as minimum daily wage. So, obviously there are two sets of policies. One which allows unlimited growth and unbridled indulgence. The other which tends to restrict.

This is not just limited to the field of economy. It extends to all other areas of human life. The elite of the country resist the idea of common school system ever since the Kothari Commission gave a recommendation in its favour in the mid '60s. Even the child of a government school teacher goes to a nearby private school. Same is the case with health care system, access to electricity, potable water, transportation, communication, etc. We have a system offering better services to the rich and another for the rest where people are asked to make do with subhuman conditions. A good example would be people who can pay a higher amount can travel in reserved coaches of the railways and those who cannot afford it are relegated to animal like travel in the general unreserved coaches.

As if things were not bad enough. The shining India now aspires to be a military power, in the august company of the country which is the single biggest threat to the sovereignty of various nations around the world. More people have probably died in India pre-maturely because of disease, poverty and debt related suicides than would die because of dropping of a nuclear weapon by an enemy country. Through a stupid deal on nuclear energy, which has been rejected as an option for producing electricity by most of the developed nations, we're entering into a strategic tie-up with the US which will make it more difficult for us to resist exploitation by their MNCs of our natural resources and the market, will create more enemies for us in our neighbourhood and unnecessarily involve us in wars which the US will fight in this region and elsewhere. Already, our Prime Minister appears to be committed to fulfilling promises made to the US President at the cost of ignoring the priorities of people of this country. This is a serious departure from our policy of non-alignment and self-reliance. From being a leader is pursuing the agenda of global peace until as late as 1995 in the International Court of Justice, we've now slipped down to being a military ally of the US in making.

It is not a coincidence that the terrorist incidents in this country have seen a rise since we decided unilaterally to join the US 's war against terror in 2001. After the demolition of Babri Masjid, the first major terrorist incident which marked the arrival of right wing politics India, there was a lull until the mysterious attack on India parliament just before the passage of POTA Act. Since then there have been a series of incidents which have engulfed this country in an unknown fear. As we raise more brute power to crush the problem of terrorism, or for that matter naxalism, the cycles of violence continue to grow. The government policy of acting with vengeance, instead of trying to solve the problems politically through dialogue, ends up in targeting innocent individuals like Syed Abdul Rehman Geelani and Binayak Sen. Our response to a Irom Sharmila who has been fasting for eight years now to demand repeal of the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act is to charge her with attempt to suicide and jail her in the hospital ward in Imphal. The Indian state doesn't know how to deal with its people except for a small elite segment loyal to it for its own vested interest. Farmers and labourers fighting to save their lands from corporate take over, for example in the name of SEZs, are labeled as naxalites.

It is quite clear that majority of India doesn't know what it means to be 'independent.' It lives as a second rate citizen of this country, denied the fruits of modern development or of the basic human rights, working hard day and night to make two ends meet. The police, military, nuclear weapons, intelligence agencies, laws of the land and increasingly the development juggernaut do not instill a sense of security in her, rather they appear as ominous threat to their very existence.

Dr Sandeep Pandey

(Author has won the 2002 Ramon Magsaysay Award in the Emergent Leadership category for work towards empowering the poorest of the poor and lending the underprivileged in India a voice- from education to grassroots democracy to peace to promoting local ownership of resources)

Whither India ? - Dr Sandeep Pandey

Whither India ?

Dr Sandeep Pandey

The mainstream freedom movement of this country definitely had a vision for an egalitarian society. A society in which each family would be able to earn their livelihood with dignity and accord the same respect to every other member of the society that they would expect for themselves. People would be able to live in an atmosphere free from fear. There would be mutual respect for diversity of ideas. India would lead the world towards disarmament and peace and would help establish a just and humane global order.

The development policies adopted by the Nehru's government, completely ignoring the principles of Hind Swaraj put forward by Mahatma Gandhi, later further aggravated by the economic policies of liberalization, privatization and globalization have resulted in dual development stream in this country. A small minority of the society which possesses a purchasing power can afford the latest fruit of modern technological development available in the global market. The industrialists are allowed unhindered to produce material items for the consumption of this class and this class is allowed to consume things unbounded. Just like the American society nobody cares a damn about global warming or any such thing coming in their way of a global lifestyle. On the other hand for the vast majority of poor, devoid of the magical purchasing power - which doesn't accrue from one's capability alone - the country's parliament has passed a National Rural Employment Guarantee Act which bars machines from being used in work offered to them for the fear of causing a threat to the employment of the poor. In spite of Prime Minister's advice in a CII meeting the CEOs resist the idea of placing a ceiling on their salaries whereas the poor earns a maximum wage of what is described as minimum daily wage. So, obviously there are two sets of policies. One which allows unlimited growth and unbridled indulgence. The other which tends to restrict.

This is not just limited to the field of economy. It extends to all other areas of human life. The elite of the country resist the idea of common school system ever since the Kothari Commission gave a recommendation in its favour in the mid '60s. Even the child of a government school teacher goes to a nearby private school. Same is the case with health care system, access to electricity, potable water, transportation, communication, etc. We have a system offering better services to the rich and another for the rest where people are asked to make do with subhuman conditions. A good example would be people who can pay a higher amount can travel in reserved coaches of the railways and those who cannot afford it are relegated to animal like travel in the general unreserved coaches.

As if things were not bad enough. The shining India now aspires to be a military power, in the august company of the country which is the single biggest threat to the sovereignty of various nations around the world. More people have probably died in India pre-maturely because of disease, poverty and debt related suicides than would die because of dropping of a nuclear weapon by an enemy country. Through a stupid deal on nuclear energy, which has been rejected as an option for producing electricity by most of the developed nations, we're entering into a strategic tie-up with the US which will make it more difficult for us to resist exploitation by their MNCs of our natural resources and the market, will create more enemies for us in our neighbourhood and unnecessarily involve us in wars which the US will fight in this region and elsewhere. Already, our Prime Minister appears to be committed to fulfilling promises made to the US President at the cost of ignoring the priorities of people of this country. This is a serious departure from our policy of non-alignment and self-reliance. From being a leader is pursuing the agenda of global peace until as late as 1995 in the International Court of Justice, we've now slipped down to being a military ally of the US in making.

It is not a coincidence that the terrorist incidents in this country have seen a rise since we decided unilaterally to join the US 's war against terror in 2001. After the demolition of Babri Masjid, the first major terrorist incident which marked the arrival of right wing politics India, there was a lull until the mysterious attack on India parliament just before the passage of POTA Act. Since then there have been a series of incidents which have engulfed this country in an unknown fear. As we raise more brute power to crush the problem of terrorism, or for that matter naxalism, the cycles of violence continue to grow. The government policy of acting with vengeance, instead of trying to solve the problems politically through dialogue, ends up in targeting innocent individuals like Syed Abdul Rehman Geelani and Binayak Sen. Our response to a Irom Sharmila who has been fasting for eight years now to demand repeal of the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act is to charge her with attempt to suicide and jail her in the hospital ward in Imphal. The Indian state doesn't know how to deal with its people except for a small elite segment loyal to it for its own vested interest. Farmers and labourers fighting to save their lands from corporate take over, for example in the name of SEZs, are labeled as naxalites.

It is quite clear that majority of India doesn't know what it means to be 'independent.' It lives as a second rate citizen of this country, denied the fruits of modern development or of the basic human rights, working hard day and night to make two ends meet. The police, military, nuclear weapons, intelligence agencies, laws of the land and increasingly the development juggernaut do not instill a sense of security in her, rather they appear as ominous threat to their very existence.

Dr Sandeep Pandey

(Author has won the 2002 Ramon Magsaysay Award in the Emergent Leadership category for work towards empowering the poorest of the poor and lending the underprivileged in India a voice- from education to grassroots democracy to peace to promoting local ownership of resources)

Is this the Independence we shed our blood for?

Is this the Independence we shed our blood for?
Dr Sandeep Pandey

The mainstream freedom movement of this country definitely had a vision for an egalitarian society. A society in which each family would be able to earn their livelihood with dignity and accord the same respect to every other member of the society that they would expect for themselves. People would be able to live in an atmosphere free from fear. There would be mutual respect for diversity of ideas. India would lead the world towards disarmament and peace and would help establish a just and humane global order.

The development policies adopted by the Nehru's government, completely ignoring the principles of Hind Swaraj put forward by Mahatma Gandhi, later further aggravated by the economic policies of liberalization, privatization and globalization have resulted in dual development stream in this country. A small minority of the society which possesses a purchasing power can afford the latest fruit of modern technological development available in the global market. The industrialists are allowed unhindered to produce material items for the consumption of this class and this class is allowed to consume things unbounded. Just like the American society nobody cares a damn about global warming or any such thing coming in their way of a global lifestyle. On the other hand for the vast majority of poor, devoid of the magical purchasing power - which doesn't accrue from one's capability alone - the country's parliament has passed a National Rural Employment Guarantee Act which bars machines from being used in work offered to them for the fear of causing a threat to the employment of the poor. In spite of Prime Minister's advice in a CII meeting, the CEOs resist the idea of placing a ceiling on their salaries whereas the poor earns a maximum wage of what is described as minimum daily wage. So, obviously there are two sets of policies one which allows unlimited growth and unbridled indulgence; and the other which tends to restrict.

This is not just limited to the field of economy. It extends to all other areas of human life. The elite of the country resist the idea of common school system ever since the Kothari Commission gave a recommendation in its favour in the mid '60s. Even the child of a government school teacher goes to a nearby private school. Same is the case with health care system, access to electricity, potable water, transportation, communication, etc. We have a system offering better services to the rich and another for the rest where people are asked to make do with subhuman conditions. A good example would be people who can pay a higher amount can travel in reserved coaches of the railways and those who cannot afford it are relegated to animal like travel in the general unreserved coaches.

As if things were not bad enough. The shining India now aspires to be a military power, in the august company of the country which is the single biggest threat to the sovereignty of various nations around the world. More people have probably died in India pre-maturely because of disease, poverty and debt-related suicides than would die because of dropping of a nuclear weapon by an enemy country. Through a stupid deal on nuclear energy, which has been rejected as an option for producing electricity by most of the developed nations, we're entering into a strategic tie-up with the US which will make it more difficult for us to resist exploitation by their MNCs of our natural resources and the market, will create more enemies for us in our neighbourhood and unnecessarily involve us in wars which the US will fight in this region and elsewhere. Already, our Prime Minister appears to be committed to fulfilling promises made to the US President at the cost of ignoring the priorities of people of this country. This is a serious departure from our policy of non-alignment and self-reliance. From being a leader pursuing the agenda of global peace until as late as 1995 in the International Court of Justice, we've now slipped down to being a military ally of the US in making.

It is not a coincidence that the terrorist incidents in this country have seen a rise since we decided unilaterally to join the US's war against terror in 2001. After the demolition of Babri Masjid, the first major terrorist incident which marked the arrival of right wing politics in India, there was a lull until the mysterious attack on our Parliament just before the passage of POTA Act. Since then there have been a series of incidents which have engulfed this country in an unknown fear. As we raise more brute power to crush the problem of terrorism, or for that matter Naxalism, the cycles of violence continue to grow. The government policy of acting with vengeance, instead of trying to solve the problems politically through dialogue, ends up in targeting innocent individuals like Syed Abdul Rehman Geelani and Binayak Sen. Our response to a Irom Sharmila who has been fasting for eight years now to demand repeal of the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act is to charge her with attempt to suicide and jail her in the hospital ward in Imphal. The Indian state doesn't know how to deal with its people except for a small elite segment loyal to it for its own vested interest. Farmers and labourers fighting to save their lands from corporate take over, for example in the name of SEZs, are labeled as Naxalites.

It is quite clear that majority of India doesn't know what it means to be 'independent'. It lives as a second rate citizen of this country, denied the fruits of modern development or of the basic human rights, working hard day and night to make two ends meet. The police, military, nuclear weapons, intelligence agencies, laws of the land and increasingly the development juggernaut do not instill a sense of security in her, rather they appear as ominous threat to their very existence.

Dr Sandeep Pandey

(Author has won the 2002 Ramon Magsaysay Award in the Emergent Leadership category for work towards empowering the poorest of the poor and lending the underprivileged in India a voice- from education to grassroots democracy to peace to promoting local ownership of resources)

Published in
The Times of India

Is this the Independence we shed our blood for?

Is this the Independence we shed our blood for?
Dr Sandeep Pandey

The mainstream freedom movement of this country definitely had a vision for an egalitarian society. A society in which each family would be able to earn their livelihood with dignity and accord the same respect to every other member of the society that they would expect for themselves. People would be able to live in an atmosphere free from fear. There would be mutual respect for diversity of ideas. India would lead the world towards disarmament and peace and would help establish a just and humane global order.

The development policies adopted by the Nehru's government, completely ignoring the principles of Hind Swaraj put forward by Mahatma Gandhi, later further aggravated by the economic policies of liberalization, privatization and globalization have resulted in dual development stream in this country. A small minority of the society which possesses a purchasing power can afford the latest fruit of modern technological development available in the global market. The industrialists are allowed unhindered to produce material items for the consumption of this class and this class is allowed to consume things unbounded. Just like the American society nobody cares a damn about global warming or any such thing coming in their way of a global lifestyle. On the other hand for the vast majority of poor, devoid of the magical purchasing power - which doesn't accrue from one's capability alone - the country's parliament has passed a National Rural Employment Guarantee Act which bars machines from being used in work offered to them for the fear of causing a threat to the employment of the poor. In spite of Prime Minister's advice in a CII meeting, the CEOs resist the idea of placing a ceiling on their salaries whereas the poor earns a maximum wage of what is described as minimum daily wage. So, obviously there are two sets of policies one which allows unlimited growth and unbridled indulgence; and the other which tends to restrict.

This is not just limited to the field of economy. It extends to all other areas of human life. The elite of the country resist the idea of common school system ever since the Kothari Commission gave a recommendation in its favour in the mid '60s. Even the child of a government school teacher goes to a nearby private school. Same is the case with health care system, access to electricity, potable water, transportation, communication, etc. We have a system offering better services to the rich and another for the rest where people are asked to make do with subhuman conditions. A good example would be people who can pay a higher amount can travel in reserved coaches of the railways and those who cannot afford it are relegated to animal like travel in the general unreserved coaches.

As if things were not bad enough. The shining India now aspires to be a military power, in the august company of the country which is the single biggest threat to the sovereignty of various nations around the world. More people have probably died in India pre-maturely because of disease, poverty and debt-related suicides than would die because of dropping of a nuclear weapon by an enemy country. Through a stupid deal on nuclear energy, which has been rejected as an option for producing electricity by most of the developed nations, we're entering into a strategic tie-up with the US which will make it more difficult for us to resist exploitation by their MNCs of our natural resources and the market, will create more enemies for us in our neighbourhood and unnecessarily involve us in wars which the US will fight in this region and elsewhere. Already, our Prime Minister appears to be committed to fulfilling promises made to the US President at the cost of ignoring the priorities of people of this country. This is a serious departure from our policy of non-alignment and self-reliance. From being a leader pursuing the agenda of global peace until as late as 1995 in the International Court of Justice, we've now slipped down to being a military ally of the US in making.

It is not a coincidence that the terrorist incidents in this country have seen a rise since we decided unilaterally to join the US's war against terror in 2001. After the demolition of Babri Masjid, the first major terrorist incident which marked the arrival of right wing politics in India, there was a lull until the mysterious attack on our Parliament just before the passage of POTA Act. Since then there have been a series of incidents which have engulfed this country in an unknown fear. As we raise more brute power to crush the problem of terrorism, or for that matter Naxalism, the cycles of violence continue to grow. The government policy of acting with vengeance, instead of trying to solve the problems politically through dialogue, ends up in targeting innocent individuals like Syed Abdul Rehman Geelani and Binayak Sen. Our response to a Irom Sharmila who has been fasting for eight years now to demand repeal of the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act is to charge her with attempt to suicide and jail her in the hospital ward in Imphal. The Indian state doesn't know how to deal with its people except for a small elite segment loyal to it for its own vested interest. Farmers and labourers fighting to save their lands from corporate take over, for example in the name of SEZs, are labeled as Naxalites.

It is quite clear that majority of India doesn't know what it means to be 'independent'. It lives as a second rate citizen of this country, denied the fruits of modern development or of the basic human rights, working hard day and night to make two ends meet. The police, military, nuclear weapons, intelligence agencies, laws of the land and increasingly the development juggernaut do not instill a sense of security in her, rather they appear as ominous threat to their very existence.

Dr Sandeep Pandey

(Author has won the 2002 Ramon Magsaysay Award in the Emergent Leadership category for work towards empowering the poorest of the poor and lending the underprivileged in India a voice- from education to grassroots democracy to peace to promoting local ownership of resources)

Published in
The Times of India

Hiroshima Day: Let us worship peace and shun violence

Hiroshima Day: Let us worship peace and shun violence
Shobha Shukla

Every year, peace loving people all over the world, and more so in Japan , observe 6th August as Hiroshima Day in memory of the millions killed and/ or maimed for life for generations to come.

Hiroshima day is a grim reminder of the dropping of the first atom bomb (ironically named Little Boy), 63 years ago, by the U.S. on the helpless and innocent citizens of Hiroshima . The Uranium bomb detonated at precisely 8.15 am, 2000 feet above the ground surface, turning a beautiful Monday morning into an inferno of unprecedented destruction.

As of today, the death toll ( due to immediate loss of life and the long drawn out radiation impacts) stands at 242,437. About 270,000 A-Bomb affected people ,called Hibakusha, live in Hiroshima today.

The second round of terror was unleashed 3 days later (9 August) with the exploding of a Plutonium bomb (called the Fat Man), directly above the Urakami Cathedral, annihilating the city of Nagasaki.

Even military experts felt that these bombs were not necessary to win the war, whose fate was virtually sealed against Japan . They were a brash announcement of the arrival of the new leader of the capitalist world, the US imperialism. Since then the US' ambition to be controller of the world has found reflection in their tactics in national and foreign policies. Atomic weapons have now given way to the more lethal nuclear weapons threatening lives world wide, as never before.

Today, Hiroshima stands tall as a picturesque and clean city; a city of peace that is almost crime free. It bears testimony to the indomitable spirit of the Japanese people, to their faith in life and in the goodness of humanity.

On this sombre day let us join hands with all like minded, peace loving people of this planet to shun war and violence in any form.

The possibility of a nuclear attack in the 21st century is not far fetched. Terrorist attacks by the so called 'jehadis' , the 'cocking a snook behaviour' and the brash insolence of the economically/ politically powerful, the communal violence perpetrated in the name of religion, the inhuman treatment of women in many parts of the world--- all these are acts of terror that can never be justified. What sometimes start as seemingly small acts of childhood intolerance and aggressive behaviour eventually end up in abject disregard for human life and cruel intolerance towards others.

Hiroshima Day should remind us of the importance of peaceful coexistence so that we never start a war. Militarism is wrong and there is no glory in war. Taking a human life is the most inhuman act and does not justify any end.

It would be pertinent here to quote from the memoirs of Dr. Richard Feynman, an eminent physicist, who was closely associated with the famous Manhattan Project ( for the making of the atom bomb) headed by Dr.Bob Wilson. Feynman recalls: "After the thing went off, there was tremendous excitement at Los Alamos . Everybody had parties, we all ran around. But one man, I remember, Bob Wilson, was just sitting there moping. He said, It's a terrible thing that we made."

It is high time we brought the terror of annihilation to an end so that our children grow up in a world free of nuclear weapons and communal prejudices.

Let us vow to celebrate life and not glorify death. Let us live and let others live. Let us as citizens, reject the Indo US Nuclear Deal.

Shobha Shukla

[The author teaches Physics at India's Loreto Convent and has been writing in English and Hindi newspapers since past 30 years. She serves as Editor of Citizen News Service (CNS)]

Published in
Bihar Times, Patna, Bihar
Assam Times, Guwahati, Assam
The Seoul Times, Seoul, South Korea
News Track India, Delhi
Daijiworld, Goa
Khabar Express, Bikaner, Rajasthan
Thai Indian News, Bangkok, Thailand
Scoop Independent News, New Zealand
Kashmir Times, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K)
MyNews, Delhi
Media for Freedom, Kathmandu, Nepal
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service
Manipur Comments, Imphal, Manipur
News Blaze, USA
Howrah News Service, West Bengal
The Bangladesh Today, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Pakistan Post, Karachi, Pakistan
Chiang Mai Mail, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Hiroshima Day: Let us worship peace and shun violence

Hiroshima Day: Let us worship peace and shun violence
Shobha Shukla

Every year, peace loving people all over the world, and more so in Japan , observe 6th August as Hiroshima Day in memory of the millions killed and/ or maimed for life for generations to come.

Hiroshima day is a grim reminder of the dropping of the first atom bomb (ironically named Little Boy), 63 years ago, by the U.S. on the helpless and innocent citizens of Hiroshima . The Uranium bomb detonated at precisely 8.15 am, 2000 feet above the ground surface, turning a beautiful Monday morning into an inferno of unprecedented destruction.

As of today, the death toll ( due to immediate loss of life and the long drawn out radiation impacts) stands at 242,437. About 270,000 A-Bomb affected people ,called Hibakusha, live in Hiroshima today.

The second round of terror was unleashed 3 days later (9 August) with the exploding of a Plutonium bomb (called the Fat Man), directly above the Urakami Cathedral, annihilating the city of Nagasaki.

Even military experts felt that these bombs were not necessary to win the war, whose fate was virtually sealed against Japan . They were a brash announcement of the arrival of the new leader of the capitalist world, the US imperialism. Since then the US' ambition to be controller of the world has found reflection in their tactics in national and foreign policies. Atomic weapons have now given way to the more lethal nuclear weapons threatening lives world wide, as never before.

Today, Hiroshima stands tall as a picturesque and clean city; a city of peace that is almost crime free. It bears testimony to the indomitable spirit of the Japanese people, to their faith in life and in the goodness of humanity.

On this sombre day let us join hands with all like minded, peace loving people of this planet to shun war and violence in any form.

The possibility of a nuclear attack in the 21st century is not far fetched. Terrorist attacks by the so called 'jehadis' , the 'cocking a snook behaviour' and the brash insolence of the economically/ politically powerful, the communal violence perpetrated in the name of religion, the inhuman treatment of women in many parts of the world--- all these are acts of terror that can never be justified. What sometimes start as seemingly small acts of childhood intolerance and aggressive behaviour eventually end up in abject disregard for human life and cruel intolerance towards others.

Hiroshima Day should remind us of the importance of peaceful coexistence so that we never start a war. Militarism is wrong and there is no glory in war. Taking a human life is the most inhuman act and does not justify any end.

It would be pertinent here to quote from the memoirs of Dr. Richard Feynman, an eminent physicist, who was closely associated with the famous Manhattan Project ( for the making of the atom bomb) headed by Dr.Bob Wilson. Feynman recalls: "After the thing went off, there was tremendous excitement at Los Alamos . Everybody had parties, we all ran around. But one man, I remember, Bob Wilson, was just sitting there moping. He said, It's a terrible thing that we made."

It is high time we brought the terror of annihilation to an end so that our children grow up in a world free of nuclear weapons and communal prejudices.

Let us vow to celebrate life and not glorify death. Let us live and let others live. Let us as citizens, reject the Indo US Nuclear Deal.

Shobha Shukla

[The author teaches Physics at India's Loreto Convent and has been writing in English and Hindi newspapers since past 30 years. She serves as Editor of Citizen News Service (CNS)]

Published in
Bihar Times, Patna, Bihar
Assam Times, Guwahati, Assam
The Seoul Times, Seoul, South Korea
News Track India, Delhi
Daijiworld, Goa
Khabar Express, Bikaner, Rajasthan
Thai Indian News, Bangkok, Thailand
Scoop Independent News, New Zealand
Kashmir Times, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K)
MyNews, Delhi
Media for Freedom, Kathmandu, Nepal
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service
Manipur Comments, Imphal, Manipur
News Blaze, USA
Howrah News Service, West Bengal
The Bangladesh Today, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Pakistan Post, Karachi, Pakistan
Chiang Mai Mail, Chiang Mai, Thailand

India is, no longer the Guru, only a military state

India is, no longer the Guru, only a military state

Dr Sandeep Pandey



A lot of people didn't understand the hurry that Manmohan Singh was in in taking the safeguards agreement to International Atomic Energy Agency and requesting the United States President to pursue the matter with Nuclear Suppliers' Group. Even those who support the Indo-US nuclear deal are perplexed by the urgency demonstrated by the government. Manmohan Singh was willing to put at stake his prime ministership, his government and the party as well as the country for the sake of the deal. He annoyed his left supporters and forced a motion of confidence which he won not in a very dignified manner.



The Indian government has got the approval of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the safeguards agreement expectedly quite smoothly. If Manmohan Singh is able to drive this deal through Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) and the US Congress the second time, it'll be a virtual coup for him. He would have achieved what no other country on earth has been able to do so far.



He would have obtained the rights for India to engage in nuclear commerce with the 45 member NSG countries without signing on the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It doesn't matter that the US and the rest of the world doesn't recognize India formally as a Nuclear Weapons State under the NPT. He would walk away without having committed India to nuclear disarmament.



It is to be noted that the big five, the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, officially described as Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) under NPT are committed to nuclear disarmament, at least formally. The remaining countries which are signatories of NPT are anyway prohibited from making nuclear weapons. Pakistan and Israel , the only other non-signatories besides India , are also not officially committed to nuclear disarmament but then they are denied the benefit of nuclear commerce. Hence India will enjoy the unique status of a respectable member of the group of countries engaged in nuclear commerce with each other but without committing itself to nuclear disarmament. This is the diplomatic success of Manmohan Singh and a lot of countries are amazed that he has had his way violating the non-proliferation regime in place. He would like to consider this as his achievement and wants the due credit for it. This is why he wants to seal the deal during his present tenure.



It may be a personal achievement for Manmohan Singh. But what does it mean for the people and the country? Having obtained the status, even if informally, of a nuclear weapons state, India will seek to further stockpile. The nuclear power plants outside the IAEA safeguards will be used to add to India 's nuclear arsenal. This will fuel another round of arms race with Pakistan and possibly with China as well. Precious resources of the country will be dedicated to arms build up.



India has traditionally been seen as a harbinger of peace. As recently as in 1995, India's representative at the International Court of Justice described nuclear deterrence as 'abhorrent to human sentiment since it implies that a state if required to defend its own existence will act with pitiless disregard for the consequences to its own and adversary's people.'



Jawahar Lal Nehru had spurned an American offer to conduct nuclear test on India soil with American devices to preempt the Chinese nuclear test. Even though Indira Gandhi conducted the nuclear tests in 1974, Rajiv Gandhi was still seriously pursuing the cause of nuclear disarmament in the United Nations in 1988. India had taken a principled position against the discriminatory Non Proliferation Treaty and was hoping that the big five - the US , UK , Russia , France and China - would give a time bound commitment towards global nuclear disarmament.



However, the US , has now stopped surreptitiously talking about disarmament. The new phraseology is 'non-proliferation.' It is a euphemism for the continuing hegemony of the US called the 'new global order.' And slowly the world leaders have started trumpeting the idea of non-proliferation, abandoning the ideal of nuclear disarmament. The countries have either voluntarily or under coercion joined the non-proliferation order. India had resisted this design valiantly as the leader of the Non-Aligned Movement not until long back. However, with the Indo-US nuclear deal, the US thinks that India had been brought into the non-proliferation regime through the back door.



Even our political parties, like the Congress, the Communists and the Socialists, who have been traditional supporters of the idea of global nuclear disarmament have been forced by the US and its right wing allies in India, the Hindutva forces, in this debate, to take right wing position of maintaining the option to carry out nuclear tests in future and thereby increase India's nuclear and other arsenals in the name of national security. They are either now paying only lip service to the ideal of nuclear disarmament or have subscribed to the new paradigm of non-proliferation.



So, India , from a position of the leader of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) , advocating nuclear disarmament and global peace, fighting the US dominance, has now climbed down to be merely an ally of the only remaining super power. She was earlier a spiritual guru to the world and champion of peace. Now she is just a military power, that too a very mediocre one. She has an ambition to be in the league of security council members, but her vast majority of poor population, living on the verge of starvation and possible suicide deaths pull her down to be face to face with the reality.



While the Indian Parliament builds a nuclear bunker for itself, majority of the villagers live without electricity. From a strong believer in the concept of self-reliance we now seek dependence on others which is described as ending India 's technological isolation. Subjugation to the world power is being portrayed as India achieving its long overdue place in the comity of nations. India 's leaders think that they will be able to retain country's sovereignty and not let it degenerate into a banana republic. In reality, our position will be nothing more than a second rate UK or Israel .

Dr Sandeep Pandey

(The author is a Ramon Magsaysay Awardee (2002) for emergent leadership, heads the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and did his PhD from University of California, Berkeley in control theory which is applicable in missile technology. He taught at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur before devoting his life to strengthening people's movements.

He can be contacted at: ashaashram@yahoo.com)

Published in

Bihar Times, Patna, Bihar

The Kashmir Times, Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K)

Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh/ Chhattisgarh

Manipur Comments, Imphal, Manipur

News Track India, Delhi

Bihar and Jharkhand News Service

Assam Times, Guwahati, Assam