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Political Diary
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Opposition Unity And V.P. Singh, By Inder Jit, 18 January 2024 |
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REWIND
New Delhi, 18 January 2024
Opposition Unity And V.P. Singh
By Inder Jit
(Released on 11 October 1988)
All those
interested in seeing a strong Opposition emerge as a credible alternative to
the Congress-I at the national level will need to keep their fingers crossed.
The Janata, Lok Dal-B, Congress-S and Jan Morcha are due to meet at a
foundation conference at Bangalore today to launch their unified party to be
called Samajwadi or Rashtriya Janata Dal. High drama preceded this meeting
during the past fortnight and more. On occasions, the unified party appeared to
be coming through. On others, its formation looked like going up in smoke. It
was touch and go on Monday last week when the Steering Committee failed to
meet. Hopes revived when the Committee met a day later on Tuesday. But a
question mark again went up over its future by Friday night. Fortunately, Mr.
V.P. Singh, backed by Mr. R.K. Hegde, Mr. Biju Patnaik and many others,
persevered in their decision to hold the party’s foundation conference on
October 11, birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan. Nevertheless, one
question remains. Will the leaders merely pay lip service to the Lok Nayak or
will they truly emulate JP and put the country before self?
The problem is
the unified party’s leadership has been resolved in favour of Mr. V.P. Singh,
notwithstanding some unnecessary and graceless remarks reportedly made by Mr.
Chandra Shekhar. Mr. Singh is undoubtedly the Opposition’s best bet today for
the next general election. He is widely viewed as a fine person and a man of
character and probity, unaffected by sharp Congress-I attacks on him and his
policies. But he has still to show that he has vision and qualities of
leadership required for guiding our huge country of over 800 million people and
for providing a good government. (Remember, self-government is no substitute
for good government!) Candidly, his popular image today no longer shines as
brightly as it did when he founded the Jan Morcha or impressively triumphed
over the Congress-I in the Allahabad by-election to the Lok Sabha in mid-June.
Even his friends and known supporters are concerned, if not worried. Willy
nilly, he seems at the moment to have needlessly reduced himself to the level
of the other Opposition leaders, most of whom have little charisma and even
less credibility.
Many
Opposition leaders feel that “VP” has not shown the decisiveness and boldness
expected of him as the new leader in the past few weeks. Mr. Singh, they argue,
was given full authority by the Janata, Lok Dal-B, Congress-S and Jan Morcha to
go ahead and form the unified party --- the SJD and a Steering Committee. But the
exercise has left much to be desired and, in the bargain, not only raised
doubts over the unity moves but even given a convenient handle to persons who
have been basking in his reflected glory during the past year to attack him
publicly. One can understand Mr. Singh’s desire to carry the leaders of all the
four parties with him in the footsteps of JP. I recall his telling me some time
back that the real art of politics lies in the management of disharmony and not
just of harmony. However, the outcome so far has been far from flattering. The
Steering Committee and its composition has not inspired much confidence, apart
from the fact that it has attracted avoidable flak and created an impression of
superficial ad hocism and absence of a national perspective. Surprisingly, Mr.
Singh failed to consult all those concerned.
The Steering
Committee, intended to be the nucleus of the new party, is dominated by persons
from UP and the rest of the Hindi States. True, the Hindi heartland is crucial
for winning the next poll battle. Nevertheless, the Committee needed to be more
representative of various regions and special interests such as the minorities,
women and youth. Surprisingly, the South is represented only by Mr. Hegde and
Mr. K.P. Unnikrishnan, who hails from Kerala. Maharashtra, Punjab and West
Bengal, too, are unrepresented. (Prof. Madhu Dandavate has been included only
as a special invitee) Equally surprisingly, women are conspicuous by their
absence. Several names come to mind easily, especially those of Mr. Mrinal Gore
and Mrs. Premila Dandavate. The Committee’s strength could have been increased
to at least 2 and even to 31 and not limited to 17, a figure which had no special
sanctity. Advantage should have been taken of the experience and approach of
the pre-independence Congress. Its Working Committee normally comprised 21
members plus some special invitees, if necessary.
The Opposition leaders have none but themselves to blame if their image
has slumped and fresh doubts have arisen about their ability to provide
credible alternative to the Congress-I. Far too many among them have been
speaking out of turn --- often at cross purposes. Far too many meetings have
been handled tactlessly, leading to avoidable heart-burning. A case in point is the meeting of the Steering Committee, which failed
to be held on October 3. It should have been convened only after differences
had been ironed out and ground work completed. Failure to hold the meeting only
tarnished the image of the Opposition at a time when it desperately needs to
win friends and influence people. Mr. Singh should have striven to ensure that
there was no confusion over the Jan Morcha’s stand in regard to the basic issue
of unity, leading to messy situation in which Mr. Ram Dhan felt emboldened
to publicly attack Mr. Singh as well as the entire leadership of the Janata,
Lok Dal-B and Congress-S and denounce it in astonishingly strong terms.
Not a little
of the blame must go to Chandra Shekhar. Undoubtedly, Mr. Chandra Shekhar is a
man of ideals and has not few other admirable qualities which made JP choose
him as the youthful President of the Janata Party in 1977. Sadly, however, he
has allowed his unrequited ambition to run away with his better sense and the
ideal of selflessness advocated by his mentor --- JP. Instead of helping the
Opposition parties to come together in response to popular demand, he has been
dragging his feet and seems to have left no stratagem untried to block unity
and “VP”. Mercifully, he did turn up at the Steering Committee meeting on
Wednesday last even if he was late by an hour. He also greed to the
persuasion of Mr. Singh and Mr. Hegde to head the Sub-Committee set up to
draw up the SJD’s policies and programmes. But his attitude at the meeting and
subsequently has left on observers the clear impression that he has been out to
“delay if not sabotage” the birth of the unified party at its foundation
conference on October 11. At one stage, he even wanted it called only the
“sponsoring conference.”
Mr. Chandra
Shekhar was theoretically correct when he said some weeks back that the
Opposition should seek to provide an alternative to the Congress-I and Mr.
Rajiv Gandhi and not merely substitute. He, therefore, insisted that the
proposed unified party and its policies and programmes were more important than
Mr. Singh as the new leader. But this stand ignored certain practical realities
in a country like India which continues to be soaked in feudal ethos. What ultimately counts here is the individual who leads a
party and not the party and its policies and programmes. Nothing
illustrates this more than the great success which the Congress achieved under
the charismatic leadership first of Mahatma Gandhi, and thereafter under Nehru,
Indira Gandhi and Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. The Janata Paty, too, won its great victory
in 1977 because of JP and his leadership. Equally illustrative is the
dismal failure of the CPI and CPM to make any great impact. The CPM has, no doubt,
continued to achieve remarkable success in West Bengal. But the credit for this
goes mainly to the personal popularity of its top leader, Mr. Jyoti Basu.
In retrospect,
many wish that Mr. Singh had heeded the advice of some of his trusted friends
and founded a new party, instead of taking on the sticky job of unifying the
Opposition. He could have transformed the Jan Morcha from what Mr. V.C. Shukla
smartly described as “a transit lounge” to a full-fledged party with a
constitution and a policy. He could then have invited individual members of the
Opposition as also intellectuals, academicians and professionals to join the
new party. Alternatively, he could have invited the Opposition parties to merge
with the Jan Morcha. In other words, he could (and should) have called the
shots. There is little doubt that most of the rank and file of these parties
would have gladly jumped on to his bandwagon, leaving their leaders high and
dry. Mr. Singh could have thereby saved himself the trouble of having to knock
time and again on the doors of Mr. Chandra Shekhar, Mr. Bahuguna and some
others. In essence, he would have taken over the Opposition armies and forced
their Generals either to surrender or take retirement.
Popular
opinion increasingly favours a strong Opposition. Even those who continue to
stand for Mr. Rajiv Gandhi feel that such an Opposition would be in the best
interest of the ruling Congress-I and the country. Much ultimately will depend
upon the quality of leadership Mr. Singh is able to provide and the success
with which he and his supporters can neutralize the mischief of those who are
unreconciled to his leadership and are certain to prevent him from functioning
effectively. Bangalore could help resurrect JP‘s dream provided the Lok Nayak’s
not remembered only ritually. He needs to be followed in practice and in
action, in sharp and distressing contrast to the happenings after the Janata
Government came to power in 1977. As we all know, JP died a sad and
disillusioned person. Mr. Chandra Shekhar, Mr. Bahuguna and several others owe
it to the Lok Nayak to give the country a credible alternative to the
Congress-I, having failed to prevent the collapse of the Janata Government in
1979. It is time for them and other veterans to see the writing on the wall
and, like Mr. Devi Lal, make way for the younger leaders --- and the new
heroes. ---INFA
(Copyright, India News and
Feature Alliance)
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Poverty Data: CONCOCTED, FOOLING PUBLIC?, By Dhurjati Mukherjee, 24 January, 2024 |
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Open Forum
New Delhi, 24 January 2024
Poverty Data
CONCOCTED, FOOLING PUBLIC?
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
A very
recent discussion paper released by Niti Aayog titled ‘Multidimensional Poverty
in India since 2008-09’, authored by member Ramesh Chandra and senior
adviser Yogesh Suri, claimed that nearly 24.82 crore Indians have been lifted
out of poverty over the last decade. The paper showed a decline from 29.17
percent in 2013-14 to 11.28 percent in 2022-23. The Multidimensional Poverty
Index (MPI), based on Alkire and Foster (AF) method, identifies people as poor
based on universally acknowledged metric designed to assess acute poverty,
providing a complimentary perspective to conventional monetary poverty
measures.
Several
economists have questioned the assessment based on the MPI as also the method
of calculation. They contended that the MPI, which mainly measures possessions
and access to certain services, is a poor and inaccurate method of estimating
poverty, traditionally measured through household expenditures on certain goods
and services.
The
projections of the report are based on the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)
for which data was collected before the pandemic. Based on the overall numbers,
it concluded that Uttar Pradesh managed to get 5.9 crore out of poverty
followed by 3.8 crore in Bihar, which is the home to the highest share in the
country.
Recall
that the last poverty estimation was done in 2011-12 by applying the Tendulkar
methodology after price indexation and based on the last consumption pattern
data from the NSSO survey. As per that estimate, 21.9 percent of the population
were below poverty line in 2011-12. Meanwhile, it is indeed surprising that
poverty reduction has been announced though the government has not
released the Household Consumer Expenditure Survey report for 2017-18, citing
high divergence between the survey findings and administrative data. Many
economists pointed out that MPI is not used as a measure of poverty and
deprivation. They maintained that the MPI simply shows the percentage of people
unable to access facilities provided by the government.
Just on
the heels of this report, the Oxfam came out with a more revealing and
judicious report. it came out with the startling revelation that ending
poverty, the target for which is 2030 under the SDGs may not be possible
for another 229 years. This has been in sharp contrast to the Niti Aayog report
that predicted India is likely to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
of “halving multidimensional poverty well before 2030”.
Oxfam
observed that runaway inflation across the world has destabilised governments
and pushed people to desperation but if there’s one thing that has grown faster
than prices of bare necessities it is the wealth of the ultra-rich. It found
that the “super charged surge” enjoyed by the wealthy in the last three years
has meant that billionaires are $3.3 trillion richer than in 2020; their wealth
growing three times faster than the rate of inflation. In fact, there has been
114 percent jump in wealth of the richest men since 2008. Their combined wealth
has more than doubled – going from $406 billion in 2020 to $869 billion now. Moreover,
one percent of wealthy people own 43 percent of all global financial assets.
Mention
may also be made of Oxfam India’s ‘Survival of the Richest: The India
Supplement’ that reveals some stark findings proving that the gap between
the rich and the poor is indeed widening. Some of the key findings from the
India supplement are:-
the top 1 percent in India now owns more than 40.5 percent of total wealth in
2021 while the bottom 50% of the population (700 million) has around 3 per cent
of total wealth.
While these
contrasting reports of the government and Oxfam make interesting reading, it is
surprising that why the present dispensation is trying to project things in a
distorted manner. If one delves deep into the matter and considers other
international surveys, there is little justification in the data projected as
also the laughable estimation of the elimination of poverty by the year 2030.
One
cannot doubt the fact that the ground reality presented a stark rebuttal.
Former finance Minister, P. Chidambaram expressed concern over Modi
government’s alleged tendency to manipulate research and data. It was pointed
out that the fact that the government manipulated data showing only 15 crore
poor in India, then there has possibly been no justification of giving free
ration to 80 crore people. Supriya Shrinate of the Congress pointed out that
the Niti Aayog has measured poverty based on the government’s flagship
programmes, ignoring the standard parameters adopted the world over.
According
to her, “The government’s recent growth figures suggested the consumption
growth was 4.4 percent. If people are getting more money, why are they not
buying basic stuff such as soap, hair oil, toothpaste, biscuit and so on?” Some
economists and even the Congress are of the opinion that the government is
compelled to rely on such manipulated data after its 10-year tenure because it
has somewhat failed to solve the country’s economic problems.
Let us
turn to a recent UN estimate which found that over a billion people in India
could not afford a healthy diet in 2021 and this puts a question mark on
the government’s recent estimate of decline in poverty levels. The 2023 report
on food security and nutrition released by five UN agencies earlier this week
stated that 74.1 percent of Indians or 1043 billion people were unable to
afford a healthy diet in 2021. The report also estimated India’s proportion of
undernourished population at 16.6 percent during 2020-2023. Comparatively 66
percent of people in Bangladesh, 82 percent in Pakistan and 30 percent in China
were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2021. The report from FAO emerged amid
what some food security advocates and nutrition experts view as the Indian
government’s efforts to deny the persistence of food deprivation and poor
nutrition among large sections of the population.
Meanwhile,
one may also refer to the Global Hunger Index (GHI) which ranked
India as low as 111 among 125 countries though the government alleged that it
was “an erroneous measure of hunger with serious methodological issues” that
displayed a “a malafide intent”. Some experts pointed out that though the
government has been bragging about its food aid programmes and challenged the GHI,
but it is quite surprising that its own estimate of 813 million people need
food aid contradicts the government’s contention.
Thus,
the present estimation is not quite justified and does not reveal the true
picture of the poor in India. The basics of decent livelihood which consists of
nutritious food, potable water and a permanent shelter is possibly not
available to at least 15 percent of the population. The government’s attempt to
bring forward concocted data may not be acceptable to the really educated
sections though the aam janata can be swayed with such irrelevant
findings.---INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
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Ram Lala’s Consecration: OPP HINDUISM VS BJP HINDUTVA, By Poonam I Kaushish, 23 January 2024 |
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Political Diary
New Delhi, 23 January 2024
Ram Lala’s Consecration
OPP HINDUISM VS BJP HINDUTVA
By Poonam I Kaushish
Circa September 1984:
Vishwa Hindu Parishad begins campaign against Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid threatening
to break open locks. Two years later then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi acquiesces
and Hindus enter mosque.
Circa 1989: Rajiv allows temple shilanyas and begins Lok Sabha campaign from Ayodya promising Ram Rajya.
Circa 25 September
1990: BJP President Advani becomes “charioteer” of rath yatra from Gujarat’s Somnath temple which culminates in
Ayodhya October. Asserting he did not imagine response would be so overwhelming whereby yatra took the monument out of its
religious context and gave it a potent political thrust for installing Hindu
nationalism as India’s dominant political credo. Followed by kar sevaks demolishing Masjid 6 December
1992.
Circa 9 November 2019: Supreme Court in a historic unanimous
judgment says rights of 2.77 acres disputed
Ayodhya plot where Babri Masjid stood is Lord
Ram’s birthplace
and will be handed
over to Ram Lalla, one of the three
litigants in the case. Muslims will get “alternate land” a five-acre plot
elsewhere for a mosque, thereby putting to rest Sunni
Waif Board claims
the mosque was built by Babar.
Circa 20 January 2024: Congress’s leaders
Sonia Gandhi, President Mallikarjun Kharge decline , invite calling it “an
RSS/BJP event.” Ditto other INDIA bloc Opposition leaders. While TMC’s Mamta dubs
it a “political gimmick,” NCP’s Pawar is more circumspect, “I will go later,” “so
will I” coos SP’s Akhilesh, RJD’S Lalu and AAP’s Kejriwal, DMK’s Stalin states
cannot accept temple built after razing mosque and BJD’s Patnaik who has
maintained equidistance from all inaugurates a grand parikrama of Puri’s Jaganthnath temple.
A triumphant BJP slams decision
saying “Opposition feels jealously, malice and inferiority complex” towards
Prime Minister Modi.” For the Party the consecration is a masterstroke, a
seminal moment, an act of faith and assertion of Hindu identity. The road to attaining
political nirvana in the upcoming polls.
From a mere two seats in 1984 to 303 in 2019 it hopes to total over 400+ now.
Circa 22 January
2024: Undeniably, Modi has established the centrality of religion in today’s
politics, an embodiment of belief. Proved post Ram Lala’s pran
pratishtha that he knows aam aadmi’s pulse
as the tidal wave in support of Ram temple underscores Lord Ram resonates in
people’s hearts. More important its construction and consecration finally rests
centuries-old dispute. Ironically, Congress opened the lock but BJP got the key
and will go down in history as its legacy to transform India to Ram Rajya.
In
the midst of Opposition-BJP tu-tu-mein-mein
over who is a true blue Ram bhakt vs 'seasonal
Hindu' and religion is a personal affair. Congress’s Rahul contends “temple’s unveiling
is timed deliberately close to elections soon. While Hinduism is not about
persecuting people belonging to different faiths, Hindutva is. Hinduism is not
about beating a Sikh or a Muslim, Hindutva of course is.”
Alas,
Congress and Co does not have a language on Hinduism for people. By staying
away from pran pratishtha follows
their dismal pattern of me-too and boycott politics. Even as they profess to be devout
Hindus and visited temples in respective States
on 22 January so as not to be seen as anti-Hindu, yet most are perceived as indulging in appeasement politics, part of
the “tukde-tukde gang” which favours
Muslims.
Worse, they did not checkmate BJP by launching
an equally vigorous counter campaign or made any attempt
to invoke secular ideals or Constitutional values to strike a cord among those
who share their views on politicization of temple and strict separation
of religion and State to run a multi-cultural country like India. Also, they do
not seem to have the wherewithal for a mass connect programme.
Clearly,
in the ongoing tussle between Hindus and ‘extreme Hindus’ the onus of deciding
what one expects from one's religion --- whether it should be command-driven
and enslaved to a Party hunting for power in the religion's name, or not --
rests with Hindus.
Questionably, is
Hindutva same as Hinduism? According to Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Hindutva as
defined in the classic statement of its ideology, is the “culture of the Hindu
race” where Hinduism is but an element and "Hindu dharma is a religion
practiced by Hindus as well as Sikhs and Buddhists.” The Merriam-Webster's
Encyclopedia of World Religions, Hindutva is a concept of “Indian cultural,
national and religious identity. The term conflates a geographically based
religious, cultural and national identity: a true ‘Indian’ is one who partakes
of this ‘Hinduness.’
In the early 1920s RSS
ideologue Sarvarkar wrote the Essentials of Hindutva whereby he sought to
define these as common nation (rashtra), common race (jati) and common culture or civilisation (sanskriti). Indian culture as a manifestation of Hindu values; this
concept grew to become a major tenet of Hindu nationalist ideology.
Interestingly, he
defined his idea of Hindu resurgence in political terms, not religious. The
nation, he said, was based on the unifying Hinduness of its people. Hindutva
refers to “cultural nationalism” and is “not a religious or theocratic
concept.” He called as much for a combative spirit as a cohesive one, if India
were to retain its essence, which in his opinion was its Hindu civilization and
Hindu way of life.
Besides, Hindutva and
Hinduism have been a part of several Supreme Court judgments. In 1966 Court
held, “Hinduism is impossible to define and is complex. Historically it has an
‘inclusive nature’ and can be described as a way of life. The theist and
atheist, sceptic and agnostic may all be Hindus if they accept the Hindu system
of culture and life. Hindutva is not hostility to any organised religion nor
does it proclaim its superiority of any religion to another.”
Plainly, Opposition
needs a more imaginative, more political and bold response. They need to frame
an alternative idea and politics, do hard political labour, communicate it to
people in a language that is persuasive, appealing and uplifting, not just
react to agendas set by BJP. As running away isn’t nimble politics.
Undeniably, the Sangh Parivar has
amplified Ram Lala’s narrative by resurrecting enormous Ram literature, Ram bhajans, mythical stories of Ram through
social media to start a new chapter in Indian history, a 'new world order'. 22 January
is modern India’s national carnival as there has been no event this size which can
be dismissed as BJP's propaganda only. It symbolises India’s transformation
from a Constitutional State to a civilizational State distinguished by
different levels of culture and heritage
Time now, for Parties
to close ranks and re-dedicate themselves to a truly secular nation and focus
on matters pertaining to governance, development, social and economic
prosperity. They need to remember that India is a
pluralistic society where Hindus and Muslims have to live and die together.
In fact, the temple is
a symbol of national unity as all castes and communities were involved in
rebuilding it. Those at the helm of governance must
desist from showing a bias towards any faith as it could seriously strain
inter-religious relations. After all, it was none other than Mohammad Iqbal who hailed
Ram as Imam e Hind.
Undoubtedly, our
polity has to desist from playing ducks and drakes with the aam aadmi’s religious beliefs, be it Ram Bhakti or Rahim Bhakti. It is only through sheer force of political will and
authority that a Government and Opposition can bring about communal harmony for
the betterment of a future India. Can it deliver? --- INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
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Ayodhyanomics Energises UP: LIGHTING UP THE GRAY AREA, By Shivaji Sarkar, 22 January 2024 |
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Economic Highlights
New
Delhi, 22 January 2024
Ayodhyanomics Energises UP
LIGHTING UP THE GRAY AREA
By Shivaji Sarkar
Ayodhyanomics
unveils an ambitious vision with Rs 85,000 crore investment for the township of
30 lakh people, as majestic Rs 1800 crore Ramlala Mandir sets to open on
January 22 amidst grand celebrations and inauguration by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.It is wonder economics. The state government invests a mere Rs 20
crore for Ayodhya for housing schemes and the largesse goes to Agra and
Varanasi, Rs 400 crore each, Moradabad and Meerut Rs 200 crore each, New Kanpur
Rs 170 crore of a toral Rs 3000 crore allocation for housing schemes.
The Sri
Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust estimates the cost at Rs 1800 crore to be
met from an approximate collection of Rs 5500 crore. This is swelling.More than
its economics, the politics around Ram keeps people more engaged. Not only the BJP
sees it as the trump religious card, even the Opposition finds it uncomfortable,
if not troublesome to handle.
The
small township of less than 5 square km sees flurry of activity to welcome an
estimated 45 lakh visitors and the Ayodhya commissioner says it would see an
investment boost of Rs 85000 crore over the next ten years. This is largely an
estimation. The dream is of turning it into a hub to rest on 178 projects and
an array of various levels of hotels, OYO with 1000 beds to a number of 5-star
hotels.
A
contrast is Jagdishpur industrial hub, 66 km from Ayodhya, attempted to be
developed in 1980s by Sanjay Gandhi and after him Rajiv Gandhi with thousands
of crores of public sector investments. The latest of that was in the 2012 plan
for creating a food hub. It all collapsed partly for it being an interior area
and largely for unsustainable business model and as some alleged because of
unfavourable political atmosphere.
Ayodhya
is seeing building of roads, bridges, new railway station, airport to water
metro service and similar other facilities and cultural centre.The
redevelopment of Ayodhya, as envisaged in Master Plan 2031, broadly hinges on
eight themes to guide civic authorities for the upcoming smart city. The scheme
includes a spiritual university, a green-field township, an urban forest, to
name a few. Other highlights include a central business district, hotels,
riverfront, water bodies, and dharmshalas. The footfall as of now is said to be
around 30000 a month.
Property
prices, as per industry sources, have risen nearly four times over the past
three years. Top five-star hotel brands such as the Taj, Radisson, ITC are
opening new properties to cater to the projected rise in demand. In fact, over
73 new hotels are in the pipeline in Ayodhya. A new property, Ayodhya Tent
City, has also come up and offers stay at luxurious tents.
Indian
Hotels (IHCL) launched two new hotels in Ayodhya under the Vivanta and Ginger
brands. Both are greenfield projects in partnership with Bhardwaj Global
Infraventures. “Ayodhya is an important pilgrimage site and likely to receive
high footfall throughout the year. These hotels will also complete the travel
circuit with Lucknow and Varanasi”, IHCL said in a statement.
Interestingly,
civic authorities are projecting a ratio of 1:10 of residents to tourists.
According to industry estimates, around 3.25 lakh tourists visited Ayodhya in
2021 and the following year this number rose to 2.39 crore. Now, after the
inauguration of the temple, local authorities are expecting over 4 crore
pilgrims to visit Ayodhya this year.The state-government has promised that the
holy town will become a world-class city in the coming years with modern
amenities around its cultural aesthetics.
There
are 324 five-star hotels in the country. Agra is said to have a dozen, but they
do rarely have full occupancy as most people prefer to stay in Delhi and make
short trips. Vrindavan a popular pilgrim centre has no 5-star accommodation.
Pilgrims spend moderately. The ground breaking ceremony in Ayodhya, scheduled
for February, will launch 126 hospitality sector projects worth Rs 3,800 crore.
This includes four mega projects, including hotels and resorts. The largest
investments in the district are in the hospitality sector, totalling Rs 420
crore. Out of the 126 projects, 46 have MoUs signed, worth Rs 1,923 crore.
Ayodhya
has been one of the low priority stations for most devouts. The hype created
would need efforts to sustain. The government investment is low and so far, it
seemingly has not much of an industrial activity planned. The flow of tourists
at ratio 1:10 or residents would be the only factor for sustaining an economy.
The political
atmosphere contributes a lot to sustain a project. Jagdishpur, launched with
much fanfare did not succeed. The region was planned to become an industrial
hub and public sector companies were forced to setup factories in the region,
irrespective of feasibility and concerns of profitability. Many big PSUs like
SAIL, HAL, BHEL and thousands of small companies set up units in the area out
of political compulsions. The region flourished as the PSUs pumped money to set
up factories but in less than a decade, decline began as almost all the 135
units turned out to be unprofitable because the region is not feasible for
industrial development. Even Malvika Steel, a Rs1500 crore mega plant of SAIL
and Rourkela Steel collapsed despite central government financial support from
2012 to 2014.
Similarly,
Amethi, 100 km away from Ayodhya suffered what congressmen say, “politics of
revenge” and BJP minister Smriti Irani says unviable projects pushed by the UPA
government. The few projects that could ultimately be propped up failed to
bring about the promised growth and development. The fate of several projects
pushed by UPA 2 in its final months now hang in balance.
Small
traders are having a spurt in business. There is growing demand for handicrafts
such as decorative pendants, bangles, lockets, key rings, garlands, among
others. Exports from Ayodhya, according to reports, rose by 130 percent to
Rs254 crore in 2023.
Ayodhya
has not much of public investments. It is designed mostly to survive on private
investments. Dinesh Goyal, Vice President, Indian Industries Association, told
the press that he expects a business turnover of Rs50,000 crore because of
ongoing preparations ahead of opening ceremonies at Ram Mandir. Business
entities across the country are capitalising on these opportunities. A tall
order or not, the unfolding developments beyond the temple consecration would
reveal.---INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
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India & Maldives: SOCIAL MEDIA WAR, By Dr. D.K. Giri, January 2024 |
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Round The World
New
Delhi, 19 January 2024
India & Maldives
SOCIAL MEDIA WAR
By Dr. D.K. Giri
(Secretary General, Assn for Democratic Socialism)
Digital
technology is a wonderful invention and social media is a powerful platform.
But remember, EF Schumacher had propounded the concept of appropriate
technology which is defined by judicious use of any technology by its
consumers. In the India-Maldives relations, the recent unsavoury spat in the
social media backed by a dose of hyper nationalism on both sides is a classic
case of overuse if not crass abuse of social media. Unfortunately, both the
countries have perhaps unconsciously allowed the social media to influence negatively
the bilateral relations.
The
fracas began with absolutely uncalled for reactions by three Maldivian ministers
to snapshots posted by Prime Minister Modi of his trip to Lakshadweep. Even in
the words of former President of Maldives, Ibrahim Solih that the ministers used
‘hateful language’. Of course, the Maldives government immediately suspended
the ministers.
Nevertheless,
in reaction to the derogatory personal comments by the Maldivian ministers on
Indian Prime Minister, all hell broke loose on the Indian social media. A
fairly big travel agency EaseMyTrip CEO reacted by cancelling thousands of
bookings by Indian tourists to Maldives. Another Indian travel aggregator
removed Male as a destination from its travel website and encouraged tourists
to go instead for Indian beaches. BJP IT cell unleashed its troll army to take
on Maldives. It roped in its favourite acquiescent celebrities from sports and
cinema – Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar –
ironically the very people who holiday in Maldives.
A South
Indian film star Nagarjuna cancelled his entire family’s visit to Maldives in
support of the Prime Minister and the country. The troll army used demeaning
language in attacking Maldives. The point is, was it necessary to disparage Maldives
while promoting Lakshadweep and other holidays spots in India. The outburst of
nationalism against a small neighbouring country, which has been friendly and
dependent on India was equally uncalled for. Worse, a commerce organisation has
said they would not trade with Maldives.
The
patriotic cheerleaders and social media warriors are oblivious of two important
elements in the recent episode. One is presenting Lakshadweep as an alternative
to Maldives. There is no doubt that there are several wonderful, underused
tourist spots in India. How to promote tourism to such areas is another
discussion. It should be noted that Lakshadweep is a small archipelago located
in 32 sq kms, quite small to absorb numerous footfalls. It is an ecologically
sensitive zone that contains the carbon footprint in the Island. It has, as of
now, very little connectivity. There is one daily 60-seater flight from Kochi
to Agatti. Only two of five ferries sail between Kochi and Lakshadweep. There
are barely 100 rooms across the Island. Lakshadweep is certainly exquisite. But
the question is whether average Indian tourists always game for food and
shopping will find much attraction.
The
second issue is the comprehension of Maldivian politics, especially after the
election of President Mohamed Muizzu having a pro-China tilt. Muizzu ran his
campaign on an ‘India Out’ plank. A correct perception of the recent political
developments in Maldives should help steady the India-Maldives bilateral
relations. Let us not forget that Maldives politics is divided like that of any
other country. All Maldivians or political parties are not against India. The
Opposition parties are vigorously protesting the anti-India positioning by the
present Maldivian government. In fact, there have been calls for a no-confidence
motion against the ruling regime. Even a Maldivian tourism body wrote to their
Indian counterparts, “We want you to know the bonds connecting our nations
transcend politics. We consider our Indian counterparts as cherish brothers and
sisters”.
Maldives
economy is run largely by its tourism. India is by far the largest source of
tourism for Maldives. So, the panic, even if we discount the pro-Indian feeling
in anti-Muizzu political segments, is understandable. In 2023, over two lakh
tourists from India landed in Maldives that has around 5 lakh people. Even in the
pandemic, 63000 Indians visited Maldives. Over last two years, 4.5 lakh Indians
have been to Maldives. President Muizzu asserted that Maldives can substitute
Indian tourists by an increase in the flow of tourists from China. Apparently,
he made a request to Chinese President Xi Jinping to send more tourists to his
country. It is hard to imagine that China can literally turn on a tap that
increases the flow of tourists to any destination.
Let us
also remember that leadership in many countries in the India-Pacific region is divided
as pro or anti-China. Those who are anti-China seem to be pro-India and vice-e-versa.
The countries that come to mind are Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldivies and
so on. The External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in an event in Nagpur
reacted to the journalists on the recent tension with Maldives. He also
suggested that small countries try to leverage the big power rivalries. Admittedly,
India has been doing so in case of former Soviet Union, now Russia and the United
States. So, some countries including Maldives do the same between India and
China.
Indians
should be conscious of the geo-political dynamics that prompt regimes in
countries to choose partners. New Delhi should focus on its tension and
competition with China which are reflected in our relations with our neighbours
and other countries in the region. Beijing, in the pursuit of its policy of ‘String
of Pearls’, is penetrating into India’s neighbourhood. New Delhi has to counter
it with all its force - diplomatic, economic and strategic. This is a strategic
choice imposed on India which it cannot forswear.
On repairing
the current rupture in India-Maldives relations, both countries have to reflect
and react. As a bigger country, India could be more tolerant by being a bit
thick-skinned. Outsized reactions as were seen in the social media should be
avoided. Maldivians should realise that India has been their trusted ally and a
provider of essential goods and services. New Delhi has helped Maldives on
several crisis situations in addition to having multi-sectoral projects in the
country. China may come with a bigger pot of money, but as other countries have
realised, alliance with China is like a kiss of death. Beijing seduces
countries with instant aid and draws them into a debt trap.
Geographically,
Maldives is 700 kms from the Indian coast and over 6000 kms from China. New
Delhi treats Maldives as an important part of SAGAR (Security and Growth for
All in the Region) Policy. A robust long-term relation with India will augur
well for Maldives. Likewise, India would benefit from the strategic location of
Maldives in the Indian Ocean. Beijing has been wooing Maldives for the same
reason as 80 per cent of China’s oil passes through the maritime trade highway
through Maldives.
To
conclude, New Delhi should take urgent steps to repair the damage. The China
angle in India’s neighbourhood is not new. The situation has been similar in
Nepal. But the regime change has retrieved it for India. Maldives could be no
exception. India’s foreign policy is more progressive than China’s. President
Muizzu would have a change of mind or Maldives will have a change of regime. Indians
should therefore react with caution and maturity.---INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
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