India: The ability to make change

Synopsis: The Indian majority now calls for change. Politicians realize unrest is a potential threat. The collaborative learning that lasted civilizations should be re-discovered.


The shock waves of the Mumbai attacks ignited outrage and anger around the country. Shaking off apathy, the Indian majority calls for change.

Verdict

With over a quarter below the poverty line, only 61 percent literacy, and security non-existent for the common person, their cup of tolerance brims over.




In recent state elections, defying bribery, intimidation and violence, people turned out in greater numbers for their verdict on performance. Representatives focusing on long-term development are being returned to office.

Unrest

The socioeconomic scenario causes concern. Over 63 percent of the population is aged 15-64, and paid employment isn’t growing fast enough to meet their needs.
About half the current workforce is self-employed. Policy makers assume India’s ‘vibrant economy’ creates their productive opportunities.

But in reality, highly skilled professionals categories may have high remunerations. Self-employment otherwise is intensive labour but low productivity, with both opportunity and income being uncertain.

Politicians realize unrest, potentially, is a threat to their own survival. In a country of limited resources, the leadership’s role is to create resources.

Empower and include

Governments can’t make the nation’s progress, but they can facilitate a collective participation by innovative means - empowering people, encouraging corporate inclusive growth, etc.

For example, the micro-credit system was pioneered in Bangladesh. The most needy, especially women were enabled to start up small businesses without collateral. Rather than await doles and handouts, they look forward to self-reliance, thus contributing to progress.

The corporate industry tends to ignore critical societal issues. Their focus on profitability has widened the gap between haves and have-nots, which leads to more unrest.

Some global companies have adopted social issues of education or HIV. But in a country as large as India, every Indian institution needs to buy in to social development.

Fact is the corporate is in business because of society and not in spite of it. They hold the social responsibility for its inclusion in their growth plans.

Sense of belonging

Non-governmental organizations are effective conduits to reach with economic help, education and vocational guidance to the grassroots. They initiate the informal movement that diffuses change into the social fabric.

The older age groups can be proactive in people development. For instance, retirees are storehouses of knowledge and experience, but retirement is considered a dead end in India. Mentorship brings them a new lease of life, their inputs being invaluable to growing youth in search of perspective and purpose.

The collaborative learning of ancient times has lasted civilizations in India. People need to re-discover their strong cultural roots in collectivism, cooperation, creativity, and non-violence. The sense of belonging thus nurtured has preserved national integrity against destabilizing influences.

Terrorist front organizations capitalize on unrest to lure people to pathways of hate. A people united by self-belief, and realizing their ability to make change by democratic means, can raise up to defeat the sinister designs of terrorism.

Comments/opinions, anyone??

India: Raising tactical levels

Synopsis: Forces trained for conventional warfare don’t expect war zones in metropolitan cities. Terror groups have changed the nature of combat today.


Indian armed forces protect the country from external aggression.

Community services

Trained for conventional warfare, they know the rules of engagement, and expect to fight accordingly.

Within the country, they provide community services like relief and rescue operations during natural calamities, earthquakes, floods and so on.

In a stable democracy, war zones in the heart of metropolitan cities aren’t imagined, so public security is left to the police.

Guerrilla tactics

But in Mumbai, the enemy playing outside rules, struck with audacity and strategic sophistication almost unbelievable. In small teams carrying small arms, the fidayeen fanned into landmark locations of the urban city.

The guerrilla tactics enabled just ten young fanatics to wreck havoc over three days - killing, wounding, and destroying.

Combat units

Terror groups have raised their tactical levels from suicide bombings. The more dangerous objective of each small team dispersed amongst populations is to heap the body count before ammunition, or their life, runs out.

It’s changed the nature of combat today. Experts say that to counter urban terrorism, the ideal close combat unit is the swift and agile 4-men fire team, highly skilled in fighting dispersed mini-battles.

These security units are networked, mutually supporting and semi-autonomous. Their weapons and tactical expertise enable them to operate individually to secure endangered streets, courtyards and houses.

Canes in crisis

The first responders in Mumbai, the police, were ill equipped to contain war crisis. They were in the fray with bamboo canes, and service revolvers against AK-47s and grenades.

State and central ministers too, were clueless about assessing the danger or coping with it. Slow responses raised the toll.

Interventions by elite commandos and army contingents finally halted the mayhem.

Inadequate

Public security and crisis management networks in India thus proved abysmal in quantity and quality. A few measures are planned like an NSG plane and 500 more commandos.

These aren’t nearly enough. A widespread national security network should link all security personnel, including policemen now lowest on the rung.

The first responders need experience with modern equipment and regular training in close fighting strategies to be effective against the unexpected - or even to recognize it.

Most importantly, security personnel duty bound to constantly lay their lives on the line to protect others, should receive far better salaries, benefits and insurance than that available to them at present.

Grassroots support

Terrorism’s success is in their front organizations focusing on connecting with people at the grassroots.

In poverty stricken areas, they build schools, hospitals, and so on. Their humane face wins the minds and hearts of people forgotten by their governments.

This creates for them a strong social support base. It also allows the training camps to flourish, ensuring the flow of fanatical fervour.

For example, the Taliban is quietly growing influence in Afghanistan. Now reportedly, it has a presence in 72 percent of the country...surely a lesson lies therein.

Cont’d 4…ability to make change

India: Focus of the hotbed

Synopsis: The Asian subcontinent is the ‘troubled corner’ of the world. Young men in Pakistan sign up to export terrorism so their untimely deaths help their families survive.


In the independence movement, generations sacrificed their present for a future free from oppression.

Democracy

Post-partition, democracy became the way forward for India and Pakistan.

The aim was majority rule, whereby the people hold power under a free electoral system. Votes decide which party earns the mandate to form government.

It often leads to groupism. The party hierarchy holds actual power. Individuals or small groups at the pyramidal apex call the shots.

This leadership may override judgement calls of even the government in office. Loyalty demands following party diktats unquestioningly, or else!

Sibling rivalry

Groupism is far more complicated and uncompromising in Pakistan, where several parallel powers enter the equation - the military, the intelligence agencies, and the clergy.

India-Pakistan ties remain emotionally charged with sibling rivalry. Wounds of the partition affected six decades ago, still bleed negativity for many. It’s made the region the ‘troubled corner’ of the world.

Communal prejudices passed on to future generations, thus carry forward, as on the Kashmir dispute. Political posturing, and vested interests in the global arena, ensure the mutual tension and distrust are alive, even virulent.

New ideology

Depleted resources inherited post-independence stretched thin with increasing populations in both nations. The plight of the general public already traumatized by the losses of family members and family fortunes in the partition, worsened.

Pakistan suffered further setback with the breakaway of the eastern province (now Bangladesh). The resulting socioeconomic problems wouldn’t resolve by magic, so those in power sought to hide their own incompetence by inflaming the already seething passions.

It’s led eventually to the new ideology of death. Pakistan’s generally named the hotbed of terror training, where young men sign up at suicide squad camps focused on exporting terrorism, hoping their untimely deaths will help their families survive.



Dying in vain

But the impressionable youth die in vain, committing themselves to visions of an impossible future. They’re sent on one-way ‘missions’ to accomplish objectives that relate little with them personally.

No leader of the terrorist movement ever leads from the front. They remain unidentifiable shadows, profiting most from thus wiping out generations of youth.

The urgent need

The question is how terrorism may be combated:

• Should India cut relationships with Pakistan until the most wanted terror mongers are extradited?


• Should Indian strike forces decimate training camps in Pakistan?

Truth is the Pakistani public is held hostage in its own home. The civilian government can’t deliver on promises – the alternate power centres ensure that it isn’t really in charge.

Besides terrorism is self-regenerating, like the mythological poison snakes on Medusa’s head. From each camp or organization shut down, others arise, morphing identity.

For India, the urgent need is to first address weaknesses exposed within the nation. It makes more sense to develop internal security, than to use up resources chasing shadows outside.

Cont’d 3…raising tactical levels

India: The drag of apathy

Synopsis: India, aspiring Asian ‘superpower’ and soft target for terror strikes, is too tolerant of incompetence.


India, the aspiring Asian ‘superpower’, repeatedly suffers acts of terrorism. The half dozen incidents this year were topped by the horrific Mumbai attacks.

This too can become habit.

Soft target

Indians are proud to belong to the largest democracy. But in the eyes of the global community, India is soft target.

The devastation confirms the vulnerability of a country with millions below the poverty line. It exposes the nation’s doddering infrastructure and inept governance.

Surviving

Through five thousand years of her civilization, India’s nationhood has survived oppression, including invasions, conquests, colonizations and partitions.

Consequently, Indians developed resilience, the ability to cope with new realities. Perhaps history inspires their raising to new levels their cultural strengths of adaptability - and tolerance.

History repeats

History continues to repeat, because security consciousness for the majority isn’t a lesson learned from the past. Conditioned to oppression, the people may accept it as their way of life today.

Gun-toting bodyguards surround celebrities and politicians, while the average taxpayer and the poor fend for themselves against natural and man-made calamities, still.

Their experiences strengthen faith in the Almighty, because when God preserves, who on earth can destroy?

Internalizing

Preoccupied with just surviving even in a democracy, they don’t confront those meant to protect them leaving them defenceless. They take it all in as karma, internalizing the oppression.

Fact is repeated trauma encourages apathy, especially in the mind. People tend to lose initiative, to passively await change if and when, like the seasons, it should come.

Apathy

If political apathy is the main reason for the repeated terror strikes, it’s the public apathy that as repeatedly, puts incompetence into positions of leadership, and thereby letting oppression through.

People may vote it in unthinkingly, or with no vote, cause its default selection. The generalized apathy allows the world’s largest democracy being perceived easy prey.

Superpower?

To achieve 'superpower' status, the inertia to excellence in every field needs to be overcome. The billion head count needs to surge forward in synch.

Burdened by burgeoning population and entrenched corruption, India advances one step and slides back two. The present rate of progress hardly gets past the ‘third world’ label.

Despite the Indian presence in the exclusive space club, the drag of apathy may ensure that the superpower aspiration won’t realize – unless oppression is halted.

Citizen roles

Betterment of India is a collective responsibility. But ordinary people haven’t learned to question being forced to make do with almost nothing, while many of their representatives, forgetting role commitments, live the high life.

The silent multitudes have got used to being mutely tolerant. They scarcely remember their constitutional shareholder role, and the power to break the dysfunctional loop of oppression.

In the democratic setup, their task is to elect representatives most competent to rule, concomitantly dismissing the oppression of greed and self-aggrandizement. It’s time for the citizen majority to demand value for vote in astute governance.

Cont’d 2…focus of the hotbed