Is India pushing the ordinary Kashmiri people further away by enforcing regular curfews, putting most of their separatist leaders under house arrest and denying them religious freedom by banning Friday prayers in Kashmir’s Jamia Masjid (grand mosque) on a regular basis to avoid violence?
Many told me how they felt unhappy each time an incident of violence in a remote corner of the city would scare authorities into shutting down the city and forced them to stay indoors, many without any provisions.
The majority of people in Kashmir appear tired of the 20-year-old violence, involving militants and Indian troops, which has declined significantly — with almost no major attacks in the main city of Srinagar for more than a year now.
Having tasted peace for a while now, people in Srinagar want to spend time near the Dal Lake or travel to a picturesque location with their families, instead of being locked up in their homes.
Industry heads and businessmen I spoke to recollect their endless meetings with Indian ministers, requesting them to do more to restore confidence of potential investors to boost the handicraft, horticulture and tourism sectors.
Many bookshop owners, fruit sellers and students I talked to want the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, the main separatist alliance in the disputed region, to hold talks with the government.
Some separatist leaders admit that talks can help their cause.
“With militancy down, this is the perfect opportunity for talks and the onus is on India now to take advantage and resolve the Kashmir dispute once and for all,” Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq told Reuters.
Could this be the right time to hold talks with the separatists to resolve the Kashmir crisis? And do Indian authorities agree?
The black sheep of India’s most powerful political dynasty or a young politician making his own way in that family’s most potent political rival?
Call him what you will, Varun Gandhi is grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons in an episode that could embarrass his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party at the start of a general election campaign.
The great-grandson of India’s founding father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was allegedly caught out making inflammatory comments against Muslims at a recent rally.
Local TV news channels are daily replaying clips in which he is alleged to have said the hands of those who threatened Hindus should be cut off, and going on to make crude comparisons between a rival Muslim candidate and Osama bin Laden.
India’s election commission will now monitor every speech Gandhi makes in the run up to the polls. To add insult to injury, Gandhi has since been accused of dishing out money to voters in his Pilibhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh state.
But the man himself stood defiant and said video clips of his speech had been doctored for political gain.
“That is a conspiracy, that is not my voice, those are not my words,” he said, but refused to name the likely conspirators.
The political lives of Gandhi and his cousin Rahul make for lip-smacking contrasts. Rahul’s mother, Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born head of the Congress party whom many see as wielding the real power in government, has long groomed her son to be a future prime minister.
Congress leaders openly say Rahul’s rise to the top is a matter of when not if. Varun, who faces a criminal investigation into his alleged comments, presents his party with a fiery alternative to Rahul, but enjoys precious few benefits from his famous name.
Unlike most of the Nehru-Gandhi line, Varun joined the BJP. His mother fell out with slain former prime minister Indira Gandhi and drifted towards Congress’ main rival at the end of the nineties.
In the dynasty vs dynasty game, Congress promotes Rahul as the natural heir to his father Rajiv Gandhi, the country’s youngest ever prime minister who governed when a young India began its rise on the global stage.
In contrast, the BJP wants to position Varun as the only Gandhi who can uphold the ideals that Indira stood for, especially toughness on internal security and military prestige.
The BJP has in the past been accused of stoking tensions between Hindus and Muslims to pander to its large Hindu vote base. Comparisons between Varun Gandhi and Narendra Modi are inevitable.
Some have not forgiven the Chief Minister of Gujarat, regarded as one of the BJP’s most capable politicians, for what they saw as his quiet complicity in communal riots in his state in 2002 that left more than 2000 people, mostly Muslims, dead.
“Another Modi is rising. There is no necessary to apology, he told real situation,” reads one reader’s comment on an article on Gandhi in the Economic Times newspaper.
“Varun is among the few bold younger politicians taking the bull by the horns. The majority (Hindus) must have at least an equal say in their own country. But we are ruled by minorities with an Italian to boot,” said another.
Another thing Gandhi said this week in the midst of the row caught my eye. “I am a Gandhi, a Hindu and an Indian in equal measure,” he was quoted as saying.
Where had I heard such words before? The charismatic young Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, a friend of Rahul’s, delivered a barnstorming speech in parliament last year in defence of secularism.
“I am a Muslim and I am an Indian, and I see no distinction between the two.”
Whereas Abdullah’s speech was widely praised and became an instant YouTube hit, the question is what the future now holds for Gandhi’s fledgling political career.
The peacetime activities of an armed force have a bearing on its wartime capabilities and its relations with the civil society.
Although it has been the stated government policy for at least a decade to use the defence forces as sparingly as possible the Indian army has been continually engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast.
“Excessive and continuous involvement of the Army for internal security is not good, neither for the Army nor for the nation,” former army chief Ved Prakash Malik said four years ago.
“Most of the states have neglected their armed police,” he said.
When the al Qaeda recently threatened India with more Mumbai-like attacks, the first response came from Defence Minister A.K. Antony.
“Our army is ready to face any threat from anywhere,” he said.
Internal security is the responsibility of the Home ministry and the police force.
“There is an increasing trend to rely on the army for internal security,” strategic affairs expert Jasjeet Singh told Reuters.
“We have got into the habit that the moment there is the slightest disturbance the administrator picks up the phone and calls for the army.”
Defence analyst Gurmeet Kanwal said “such operations undoubtedly stretch the army’s budget and affect its modernisation programme.”
They also interfere with the training of the armed forces for conventional warfare, he said.
Was it then the defence minister’s remit to respond to that threat?
The army’s apolitical stance makes it something of an exception in South Asia.
However, concerns had been raised after the Malegaon blasts case where a serving army officer has been charge sheeted.
Does the army’s involvement in internal security duties make it vulnerable to politicisation?
Singh thinks that Malegaon is an aberration but “what is aberration today in twenty years will be regular.”
He suggests reforming the training and recruitment of police so it can tackle internal security challenges on its own.
Police being a state subject under the Indian constitution, personnel are recruited locally and therefore are more sensitive to local sentiments. This makes the police more conducive to handling internal security duties provided it has the capacity.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah favours the strategy of letting the local police maintain law and order in the state.
Yet another year is coming to an end and independent India’s idea of being a republic is a year older. But is it any wiser?
On many counts, 2008 was both tumultuous and memorable for India, testing its men and the manner in which they confronted the challenges.
It was a year which saw the Manmohan Singh government face some of the toughest questions in its 4-year rule.
For that matter, some of the questions were directed at the people, the polity and the nation itself, which is still on edge after horrific images of a militant rampage on Mumbai made headlines around the world in late November.
It was a promising start to the year with the economy growing at well above 8 pct and the Sensex touching a staggering 21,000 points in late January.
Inflation was the only worry as global crude prices were near the 100-dollar mark.
For its part, the govt was confident about handling inflation and announced a 60,000-crore rupee debt relief package for farmers which became the highlight of the annual budget.
But global crude prices showed no signs of moderation and India’s inflation too crossed the double digit mark.
What added to the govt’s problems was pressure from its coalition allies. The Communist parties pulled out over India’s historic civilian nuclear deal with the United States and the govt’s survival was put to the ultimate test.
But parliamentary politics in India dipped to a new low when wads of cash were whipped out in the well of the house. Opposition MPs claimed money was used to buy support. The allegations did not stick and the Manmohan Singh govt survived the trust vote.
But the problems were mounting. The global subprime crisis took its toll and the stock markets started crashing as FIIs pulled out billions of dollars. The Sensex has lost more than 60 percent this year and is now hovering around the 10,000 mark, making it one of the worst performers in the Asian equity scene.
The economy too was no longer insulated and growth estimates for one of the world’s fastest growing economies have been revised downwards. Multi-billion dollar stimulus packages have been announced and an aggressive rate-cut campaign has been initiated by the Reserve Bank of India. But economists and analysts say more needs to be done to salvage India as the rest of the world sets off on a road to recession.
Corporate India too had its share of highs and lows. While Tata wowed everyone with the Nano, the world’s cheapest car, the company was forced to move its plant out of West Bengal thereby delaying the car’s roll-out.
Investor confidence was on a razor’s edge throughout the year. While India’s top private lender ICICI’s share price dipped more than 70 pct as concerns arose over the health of its books, IT major Satyam Computer Services faced some tough questions about corporate governance after a botched attempt to buy two of its sister firms for $1.6 billion.
Indian airlines struggled too amid soaring fuel costs and dwindling passenger numbers. Carriers like Jet Airways faced staff ire over efforts to downsize and survive.
More than anything else, it was the internal security situation that took a turn for the worse. Hundreds of lives were lost as a series of blasts shook various Indian cities.
If the bombs in Bangalore, Ahmedabad, New Delhi and Guwahati were blamed on Islamist militants, the needle of suspicion in the Malegaon blasts pointed to Hindu extremists. A serving officer of the Indian army is still being interrogated.
But all the violence seemed only a dress rehearsal for what turned out to be the most audacious terror strike in the history of independent India.
Armed assailants held India’s financial capital hostage for nearly three days. 179 people were killed as many of Mumbai’s iconic landmarks including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Taj Mahal hotel and the Oberoi-Trident came under fire.
The lone surviving attacker said he came from Pakistan and New Delhi has put Islamabad on notice. A worried world is watching and urging restraint as reports emerge of heightened military activity along the border separating the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The man on the street is anxious too. There’s been a clarion call for civilian activism. They want accountability, not just hollow assurances from the political leadership.
Heads did roll. Union home minister Shivraj Patil was asked to go. The Maharashtra CM and home minister were sacked too.
But did it placate the common man? Amid all the tension, five Indian states went to polls and the results showed that development was a bigger election issue than terror. It was a lesson that the main opposition party BJP learnt the hard away.
Its “Congress is soft on terror” campaign failed to win public approval as it tried to mount an assault on the Congress-led coalition ahead of the 2009 general elections.
The biggest surprise of all was the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir which witnessed more than 50 per cent voter turnout.
The turnaround in public opinion comes less than six months after the state was up in arms over the Amarnath land row, some thing which led some commentators in New Delhi to even question the worthiness of holding on to Kashmir.
So, does this mean that what had started off a memorable year will turn out to be one best forgotten?
Well, if you look at the sporting arena, it’s actually been a good year for India.
The Indian cricket team started off winning the tri-series in Australia. The success of the inaugural IPL 20/20 league reaffirmed India’s pre-eminence as one of most powerful forces in the world of cricket. India capped its season with home series wins over both World champions Australia and England and many Indians now hope India can actually become no.1 in world cricket.
2008 was also a year that saw Saurav Ganguly leave in a blaze of glory while others like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid did enough to let a demanding but adoring public know that they remain a force to reckon with.
New heroes like Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma emerged, and there was success for other Indian sportsmen too.
Abhinav Bindra made the nation proud winning India’s first individual Gold in shooting at the Beijing Olympics.
While boxers like Vijender Kumar packed a punch, Sushil Kumar grappled both inner fear and pressure to add a bronze from the wrestling mat and make it one of India’s most memorable campaigns in the world’s biggest sporting spectacle.
Jeev Milkha Singh winning the Asian Golf’s Order of Merit and shuttler Saina Nehwal’s meteoric rise in the badminton world brought India more cheer.
In the field of literature, India’s Aravind Adiga won the Man Booker Prize for his novel ‘The White Tiger’, a dark tale about the son of a rickshaw puller who dreams of escaping poverty.
It was only the third time in the Booker’s 40-year history that a debut novel won the award. But the win also raised the question whether only the darker side of contemporary India appealed to Western readers.
So, it has indeed been a rollercoaster year for the country.
But what about 2009? What’s in store for India and Indians?
Do vote… not just on Reuters.co.in but also when India goes to polls next year. Have your say. It might be your and India’s best chance to set things right.
I once paid a cop 30 ringgit (about $10 then) for making an apparently illegal left-hand turn in Kuala Lumpur. Scores of drivers in front of me were also handing over their "instant fines", discreetly enclosed within the policeman's ticketing folder. It was days ahead of a major holiday and the cops were collecting their holiday bonus from the public.
Malaysia opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim holds a disc he says contains evidence of judge-fixing in Malaysia
I felt bad about this, of course. What I was doing was illegal, immoral and perpetuating an insidious culture that goes by many names in the East -- "baksheesh" in India, "Ali Baba" (and his 40 thieves) in Malaysia, "swap" in Indonesia (means "to feed"). But the policeman pointed out I would have to take off the good part of a day to go to court and pay 10 times as much to the judge. So I rationalised: "When in Rome..."
Alas it was not the first time, nor would it be the last that I have (ahem) paid an "informal levy" to officialdom. I've given baksheesh to the phone company in India to get a telephone installed, and to get a driver's license without a test (no wonder there are so many accidents in India.) I've paid the immigration officer at Jakarta airport to let me in with a nearly expired passport.
Many of my friends in Asia have similar tales to tell about bribing customs agents, power companies, hospitals, schools -- anybody with the power to give a license or provide a service. A couple of bucks here, a couple there. Pretty soon you're talking about real money. Daniel Kaufmann, who spearheaded the World Bank's efforts to improve the study of governance and the rule of law estimates that $1 trillion of bribes are paid every year. A Reuters series on corruption in Asia found that perceptions of corruption in the emerging markets of Asia have not improved much over the years and have even declined in some cases. This is despite a growing revulsion among people in those countries for business as usual on the "demand" or government side, and a growing realisation from companies on the "supply side" of the bribery equation that payola is simply bad for business.
Protester holds a wanted poster for ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra at a mass anti-government rally in Bangkok.
Part of the problem is mindset and a major attitude adjustment might be needed. People may be fed up with "money politics" and crony capitalism in their countries, but they still pay off people in their neighbourhoods. A U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research study on unpaid parking fines issued to diplomats in New York, home to the U.N., showed Southeast Asian nations again among the league leaders and a remarkable correlation with more conventional measures of corruption. You can take the man out of his corrupt country, but you can't take the culture of corruption out of the man.
Anti-graft fighters model uniforms that those convicted of corruption offenses inIndonesia willbe required to wear in court and jail.
For years, Indonesia ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world. It permeates almost every level of society, reducing the country's appeal to foreign investors, and curbing Indonesia's potential for growth. Today, Indonesia's anti-corruption agency, known by its acronym KPK, has won plenty of media attention with its Jame Bond-like undercover exploits against corrupt officials. The government is also trying to get at the root of the problem by sending officials and judges to "anti-corruption school.
Passers-by in Jakarta walk past a poster that reads "fight corruption."
Some OECD countries will even let you take a tax deduction for providing "facilitation payments" to get routine services such as a phone installed. Facilitation payment? Hello, it's called a bribe, payola, grease, ice, a backhander. It's corruption, the dictionary definitions of which include moral perversion, depravity, debasement, not to mention rottenness. Okay, that's a little harsh. We're not talking about the moral equivalent of, say, paedophilia. But it's surely a slippery slope from giving the cop some lunch money, to bribing the customs guy to look the other way on a smuggled shipment, to paying off politicians.
Ramon Navaratnam, 73, the Transparency International Malaysia President told me the battle for him started when he was a young man in the finance ministry and he came home one night from work to find a case of whisky on his doorstep from a company bidding on a government contract. "It took a lot of doing, but the company finally took the whisky away. "If I had taken that box of whisky, I can never say no later on."
I travelled to Srinagar, the summer capital of India’s troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir this week, and saw how people were tired of violence and wanted peace and dignity in the region.
Many bookshop owners, fruit sellers and students I talked to want the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, the main separatist alliance in the disputed region, to hold talks with the government.
