The Catch-22 of nationalism

On

Christmas, hopes for high-level peace talks between India and Pakistan were higher than they had been in years. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise visit to his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, and the two shared a very public and symbolic hug. Now, just two weeks later, the optimism is mostly gone. After terrorists from Pakistan attacked an Indian air base, killing seven Indian security personnel, Modi told Sharif that talks wouldn’t go forward unless Pakistan took action against the terrorists. It seems altogether likely the talks won’t happen at all.

On the surface, nothing is more predictable than the suspension of impending peace talks between traditional enemies after a terrorist attack intended to produce exactly that suspension.

But this latest instance raises an interesting question about the pattern: Why does the terrorists’ technique work? After all, everybody knows that the point of the attack is to derail peace. So, why don’t the public and politicians alike simply discount the effect of the attacks, rather than giving in to their irredentist logic?

In this case, at least, the answer has to do with what you might call the Catch-22 of nationalism.

Modi is a right-of-centre Hindu nationalist. His credentials as a nationalist are exactly what allowed him to visit and embrace Sharif in the first place. His predecessor, left-of-centre prime minister Manmohan Singh, would have loved to have serious peace talks with Pakistan. But, among other factors, he was prevented by Modi and his party, which criticized him from the right as too weak to negotiate effectively with Pakistan.

Modi in contrast could count on the fact that the opposition wouldn’t be able to criticize him from the left for reaching out to Sharif. To this extent, nationalist credentials are a blessing for a peacemaking leader.

The catch is that the same nationalist credentials that let a right-of-centre leader like Modi attempt peace talks also require him to respond when his country is attacked by terrorists.

To make matters worse, the defence seems to have been bungled. Reports suggest that Indian authorities were informed of the impending attack on the Pathankot air base by an Indian superintendent of police, who had been abducted and then freed by the terrorists.

Yet, notwithstanding the notice, the Indian military lost men to the terrorists. And it took several days to track down and kill all the terrorists. The embarrassment of the weak response further fuelled Modi’s need to show strength in response—by delaying or suspending the peace talks.

To be clear, India’s national security wasn’t seriously harmed by the attack, perpetrated by lightly armed terrorists against a defended military base. Its sole purpose was to interfere with the peace talks.

But that fact, even if widely understood, doesn’t matter to a constituency that votes based on national pride. It’s no less insulting, embarrassing and infuriating to be attacked by terrorists if their intent is nakedly to oppose peace.

So what, if anything, can be done to avoid the nationalist Catch-22? The only long-term answer would be for nationalist politicians to educate their constituents to see the terrorist attacks as a sign of their opponents’ weakness. Pakistani terrorists clearly fear the consequences to themselves and their country of peace talks with India. If nationalist Indian voters understood that, perhaps they would allow their leaders to go on negotiating.

The only problem with this informational solution is that it assumes nationalists really want peace in the first place. Sometimes they do—but often nationalists fear and loath their historic enemies, and are prepared to abandon their own leaders if they go too far down the road to peace. When that happens, they deserve the unending war that results.

Source: http://epaper.livemint.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

Swamiji and Yoga

M N KUNDU





All problems, according to Swami Vivekananda, can be solved by imparting right education. Problems cannot be solved on racial, religious, national or narrow grounds but have to cover the whole of humanity .Holistic education will generate compassion for all sentient beings as extension of self and also awaken aspiration for the highest wisdom. The common error in all ethical systems has been the failure of teaching the means by which man could refrain from doing evil under instinctive compulsion. The solution: controlling our nature through the path of yoga.With this end in view, Swamiji thought of a universal way acceptable to all: yoga. To the worker, it is a union between man and whole of humanity , to the mystic, between his higher and lower selves, to the lover, a union between himself and God of love, to the philosopher, it is a union of all existence.
Swamiji asserted that each soul is potentially divine with omnipotence and omniscience, awaiting manifestation. We can realise the same through selfless service, assimilation of wisdom through deeper introspection, devotion to the Almighty or some special psychophysical practice.
To Swamiji, selfless service was a unique path for Self-realisation. Liberation is a matter of expansion of the self spread over the entire universe. The essential divinity and, thereby , unity of all creatures has to be realised through unconditional love for all, wise detachment and extension of self through serving humanity beyond the dogmas and sectarian faith.

Mythology Vs Science





Creating a better climate for research and innovation is a must for India's development

Vice-President Hamid Ansari has highlighted the dearth of scientific temper in the country . His comments come just as the 2016 Indian Science Congress has drawn many laments on the state of Indian science. In fact, for the last two years presentations on topics such as the invention of airships in ancient India have created a disappointing, disturbing image. In a damning indictment, Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has described the congress as a circus where very little science is discussed.While it can be argued that the congress should be open to diverse streams, such openness can't come at the cost of a genuine scientific ethos. As Ansari has observed, intolerance towards attempts to separate belief from scientifically verified facts leads to the occult being dubbed as scientific. Plus, there's empirical evidence to sug gest that the roots of Indian science are worryingly weak. The country is yet to achieve its goal of spending at least 2% of GDP on scientific research. Around 59% of secondary schools don't have an integrated science laboratory . And according to 2013 figures Indians filed only 17 patents per million population compared to 4,451 in tiny South Korea.
These metrics stand at odds with government policies like Make in India. As pointed out by Nobel winning physicist David Gross, attempts at manufacturing high-end products in India won't yield the desired benefits unless backed by sustained investment in basic science ­ right from school level to higher education. That not a single Indian institute of higher learning figures in the top 100 ranking of world universities is a poor comment on the quality of education and research in the country . An even greater tragedy is that most Indian students today consider the sciences only as academic streams to high-paying corporate careers. Overall, the science pedagogy is poor and the scientific temper diluted.
The state of Indian science is actually a direct reflection of India's general education woes. Lack of meritocracy in educational institutions shows up in poor research. Focus on producing degree holders kills innovation. Against this backdrop, a framework for audit of scientific departments as suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is just the first step. What's required next is an overhaul of science education to create an environment that encourages research and innovation. Only then can Indian scientists meaningfully contribute towards the development goals of the country .

Source: Times of India, 12-01-2015

Assam's Minority Report

Sanjoy Hazarika





As the state readies for polls, it would be dangerous to abuse the highly emotive `Bangladeshi' card

For five hours, the body of the 15-year-old girl hung on the barbed wire fence, blood streaking her clothes in the Janua ry chill, her hair hanging down in a macabre flow. She was shot while climbing over from the Indian side in West Bengal to Bangladesh and was going for her own wedding. Her father had managed to get over unscathed but the child, whose name was Felanee did not make it.That was in 2011. That Felanee was Bangladeshi was uncontested but the killing of an unarmed child sparked a furious outcry against shootings of civilians by BSF on the international boundary .As a result of this incident, Indian border patrols were instructed not to fire live ammunition on suspected intruders (mind you, BSF failed to tackle the real infiltrators, those of armed groups who had skipped across for years, creating mayhem, until the Bangladesh government cracked down and handed over Ulfa, NDFB and Manipuri insurgent leaders to India). Nearly 1,000 persons had been killed in a 10 year period or one death every four days.
Those who died included Bangladeshis and Indians, cattle rustlers, petty criminals as well as people who were shot while going about their daily business.Cattle smuggling is a major business along the border; so is human trafficking.Criminal gangs which flourish on either side of the border are unlikely to do so without official connivance.
Illegalinformal migration from Bangladesh into India is substantial but there are other interlocking issues. I will focus on two here. One is the scale of the migration ­ most of the figures i have seen are simply assertions and `analysis' based on assumptions. The other is the impact that such perceptions are having not just in eastern India, especially in Assam and West Bengal, but also across the country , with antipathy growing against Muslims of Bangla origin.
The latter is important especially as Assam is going to the polls in a few months. There appear to be few issues, barring the anti-incumbency factor against the Tarun Gogoi government. That is why one must be extremely careful that the highly emotive `Bangladeshi' card is not used as a weapon of rhetoric.
As far as numbers are concerned, the truth is that decades after the `Bangladeshi' campaign began in the late 1970s, few have been detected and deported despite many promises. Not even the Centre has a clear idea of how many illegal migrants are in India, not just Assam. For years there has been a sense of fatigue on the issue in Assam.
Thus, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi correctly chose statesmanship over local politics by settling the IndoBangladesh land boundary issue, a problem that had been unresolved for decades, he piquantly created a challenge for the Assam unit of his own party which had opposed the deal, claiming it would increase illegal migration.
Such complexity is deepened by sweeping media reports which posit a future where `Bangladeshi Muslims' will be a majority in the state and ignore the fact that it has three major groups of Muslims: Assamese speaking Muslims whose ancestors go back to the 13th century , Muslims of Bangla origin, many of whose ancestors came over 100 years ago, and the post-1971 Bangladeshi Muslims. Indeed, this last point is also conveniently forgotten: those who moved from East Pakistan before 1971are not Bangladeshis.
Also ignored is that there is a high fertility and birth rate among Muslims groups in western Assam where large families are the norm. This is a key factor in demographics ­ especially if one consi ders the fact that Assam has smaller border with Bangladesh than Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram or West Bengal! There is hostility to in-migration in Assam and the northeast. Most migrants ­ as the recent movement from Syria shows ­ seek safe havens. In addition to that, there is greater economic security as Bangladesh's economy has grown to a near middle economy , making risky out-migration less attractive.
The combination of selective facts, selective memory and rhetoric can be a deadly combination as seen in 2012 after incidents in western Assam where both Bodos and Muslims were victims. Hate mongering triggered an exodus of lakhs of workers from the region, from places such as Bengaluru. Few locally there would make the distinction between a Bodo, a Naga, a Sikkimese or a Mizo. The `northeast' is lumped together.
What happened in February 1983 should suffice as adequate warning about the vulnerability of this complex area: Over 36 years ago, Aasu launched a powerful anti-immigrant movement that brought successive state governments to their knees, stalled the economy , shut down educational institutions and markets and even blocked oil transportation; in February 1983, the central government forced an election in the state, in the teeth of opposition from Aasu and other anti-immigrant groups. In the ensuing violence, thousands were killed ­ no one still knows the final toll, but it is said to be well above 3,000 ­ including Muslims of Bengali origin, members of tribal groups, Assamese and other ethnics.
The worst massacre was at Nellie, which i covered as a young reporter, in which nearly 2,000 Muslim men, women and children were killed. The sight of hundreds of corpses, of infants, women, old men, huddled on dry rice fields are images which i can never forget. Those who died were certainly not Bangladeshis and had lived there for generations.Their survivors struggle futilely to get justice for the murdered and maimed.
The writer is director of the Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research, Jamia Millia Islamia

Source: Times of India, 12-01-2015

Kerala becomes 1st state in country to achieve 100% primary education

Vice-President Hamid Ansari will officially declare the 100% primary education status achieved by Kerala here on Wednesday .“Kerala has become the first state in the country to achieve total primary education. This has been achieved through the primary education equivalency drive of the state literacy mission -Athulyam. The equivalency programmes have proved a huge success and the ultimate objective is to achieve total PlusTwo education in the state,“ education minister P K Abdu Rabb said here on Monday .
The declaration will be made at a function at Kerala University Senate Hall. The second phase of Athum was carried out across lyam was carried out across the state as part of the Mission 676 of the government, launched to mark its third anniversary . The programme offers a chance for those who failed to get primary educa tion due to various reasons to achieve the education qualification equivalent to fourth standard.
Those aged 15 to 50 were beneficiaries of the programme and were identified through family registries prepared by anganwadis under the social justice department and also through ward-level surveys carried out by instructors in continuing education programmes.
Around 2.6 lakh candi dates appeared for the 4th standard equivalency examination in June 2015 and 2.2 lakh candidates qualified.The equivalency examination was held in 6,613 centres across the state and those who scored 3075 in English and 2050 in other subjects were declared winners.

Source: Times of India, 12-01-2016

Economic and Political Weekly: Table of Contents

Vol. 51, Issue No. 2, 09 Jan, 2016

Editorials

Certify, Not Censor

Killing Children of the Middle Class

Once Again a Poor Record

50 Years of EPW

50 Years of EPW

Margin Speak

Brahminical Arrogance

Anand Teltumbde

Commentary

Road Rationing and Economic Gains

Kaustuva Barik

How the Most Vulnerable Countries Fared at the Paris Meeting

Sujatha Byravan

Compulsory Licence for Diabetes Drug

B N Pandey, Prabhat Kumar Saha

Queering the Narrative

Kishalaya Mukhopadhay

Understanding Juvenile Crime

Malvika Tyagi

Bandung's New Global Agenda

Manoranjan Mohanty

Book Reviews

The Right to Property

Surajit C Mukhopadhyay

The Lokavidya Standpoint

Aseem Shrivastava

Insight

Climate Change Battle in Paris

Meenakshi Raman

Special Articles

Urban Infrastructure and Governance Mission under JNNURM

Vidhee Kiran AvashIa, Amit Garg

Determining Growers' Participation in Contract Farming in Punjab

Nivedita Sharma

Closing the Policy Gap

Radhika Khosla

Notes

Strident Politics and Grey Economics

Shobhna Kunwar

Economic Notes

Some Puzzling Features of India's Recent GDP Numbers

J Dennis Rajakumar, S L Shetty

Discussion

Men Doing Feminism

Arnab Chatterjee

Current Statistics

Current Statistics

Appointments/Programmes/Announcements

Appointments/Programmes/Announcements

Letters

Release G N Saibaba

Aahwan Ek Sanskritik Muhim, All India Students Association, All India Students Federation, Ambedkar University Delhi Faculty Association, Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association, Bhor, Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch, Collective, Communist Party of India, CPIML (Liberation), CPIML (New Democracy), CPIML (New Proletariat), and others

Joining the Debate on Caste

Bhairabi Prasad Sahu

Dow + DuPont = ?

Tomas Mac Sheoin

Web Exclusives

Rhodes Will Not Fall Alone

Abhijit Sarkar

Reports From the States

Third Gender and the Crisis of Citizenship

Anzu Augustine

Caste Discrimination in Relief

J Balasubramaniam

The strange death of Indian Communism

From the Fifties to the Seventies, there was serious debate on how imminent the Communist Revolution was in India 

CPI LEADER leader A B Bardhan’s demise reminded us how little the Left matters today. The Communists are the most honest, decent people in Indian politics. They are also the most irrelevant.

Few can imagine how unlikely this is. From the Fifties to the Seventies, there was serious debate on how imminent the Communist Revolution was in India. The future was red. Now of course no one takes Communists or even Communism seriously. The Soviet Union collapsed without anyone firing a shot. Leninism proved to be a delusion which could not survive the 20th century.

Even so, the reputation was that the Communists were a disciplined party whose members followed the line laid down. They were going to start the Revolution with mass support. Nehru would be exiled like Chiang Kai Shek was.

Why did Communism fail so abysmally? Marx had a fascination with Capitalism and admired its immense productive potential. He and Engels advertised the advent of globalisation in their youthful Communist Manifesto. His ideal of Socialism was timed for well after the maturity of Capitalism.

It was Lenin who changed the argument. He was shocked by the breakdown of working class internationalism in the First World War. He saw the future as dark. He bet that Capitalism would blow itself up due to increasing crises. His lucky victory in Russia established his idea as the Marxism for the Twentieth century.

Communism’s luck continued and Capitalism suffered the Great Depression. It looked like the Revolution was imminent. Lenin had conflated Imperialism and Capitalism. This enhanced the appeal of Communism for the colonies. Stalin consigned millions to concentration camps but the idea that the Soviet Union was the hope of the world remained strong. Victory in the Second World War and then taking over Eastern European countries enhanced the reputation of the Soviet Union. China had its own Revolution which confirmed Lenin’s wisdom that the Communist revolution would start in the backward countries, not developed ones as Marx may have thought. India was supposed to be the next ripe fruit to fall. The CPI had blotted its copybook by supporting the British rulers during the war, as for them the fight was for defence of the Soviet Union. They denounced independence as illusory and launched a premature Revolution in Telangana. Stalin thought India was not ready for a Revolution. So the Communists began to play the democracy game under orders waiting for the signal to revolt.

Alas, they never understood the Indian society and the salience of caste. They romanticised the working class, small as it was, employed in the few large factories. But economic growth stagnated due to distrust of the private sector. India failed to industrialise. The working class remained small.

Then Indira Gandhi cleverly bought out the communists by giving them patronage. The Communists abandoned any critique of the Indian political system and only criticised imperialists. Alas, for them Capitalism proved more robust than Lenin had thought and it revived while Leninism lost the battle of economic power.

The Rao/ Singh government abandoned the failed model of Socialism in 1991 and liberalised the economy which began to grow. Then the Communists challenged Manmohan Singh on the nuclear issue and Congress ‘unfriended’ the Communists. Communism became an irrelevant sideshow. Indian Communism, RIP.

Source: Indian Express, 11-01-2016