On the occasion of Navy day 2013.

Culmination of Ideas and Dreams

Myths and Realities of Modernisation

What a remarkable achievement, one might say. When most navies of the world are stagnating or drawing-down due to scant resources, i.e .financial, material and human, the Indian Navy has commissioned a whole range of potent platforms that would make any modern Navy proud. Arihant and Chakra, both nuclear powered Submarines, the former indigenous and the latter leased; P8I Boeing, the much needed maritime surveillance aircraft; Vikramaditya, the long awaited aircraft carrier; and the first indigenously launched communication and satellite are a few worthy of mention. Add to these two extremely ambitious shore facilities - the new naval base at Karwar and the Naval Academy at Ezhimala – and the Navy's growth seems even more impressive.

Myths on modernization may suggest that the Government of the day or those at the helm of affairs have pulled off a miracle. The reality is that no acquisition in India is possible unless the case has been examined for decades. All the above listed platforms have been conceived, discussed and processed for decades. For instance the first proposal for Vikramaditya was   made in 1994. The deal was signed a decade later, after many levels of scrutiny by experts from the Navy, MOD and Finance. The ship was handed over in 2013.  The reality is also that there is no accountability with the Government for inordinate delays caused by repeated interventions and scrutiny. The opportunity costs of such delays do not fall within the purview of any of our auditing mechanisms, nor are they viewed with concern for their impact on budgetary escalation.

Advantage Indian Navy

Being a small service, the navy enjoys some unique advantages. Firstly, perspective plans and budget management fall under a common head who reports to the Vice Chief of Naval Staff. The Future Navy is the sole responsibility of the senior most Principal Staff Officer of the navy. It is not so in the other two services owing to their size and historical imperatives.

Secondly, being a small service with a disproportionately large responsibility of guarding the maritime frontiers of a sub-continent, the Navy had to learn to consistently pursue long term plans which are refined with the passage of time. The very first plan for the modernization of our Navy soon after independence, contained references to a three-carrier fleet. It has taken more than six decades to partially realize the dream.

Conceptualizing the design and building a destroyer takes up to a decade. Build time in our shipyards are notoriously high due to lack of modern and contemporary facilities. After they are addressed, we could perhaps reduce it by half, to be at par with established navies of the West. 

Thirdly, the Navy was quick to support ship building in India in Defence Public Sector yards and a few privately-owned Indian ship-builders. This impetus has paid rich dividends, right from the commissioning of the British designed Leander class frigate Nilgiri in 1972. We now build Fast Attack Craft, Corvettes, Frigates, Destroyers, Landing Ships, Tankers and Aircraft Carriers. Remarkable, but modest, in terms of future needs of high quality platforms. There are some unsuccessful stories too which are covered later in this piece.

Fourthly, we were quick to embrace indigenization and place confidence in DRDO supported laboratories. While the growing DRDO capabilities were unable to produce weapons to keep pace with the build cycle of the ship, (despite that being a prolonged process) Sonars to hunt submarines and EW systems did pass the test. Many of our frontline platforms are fitted with these systems. Also, radars, communication and EW systems have been supplied by BEL and other PSU labs in India.

Fifthly, indigenous ship building gave birth to thousands of small and medium scale industries that supplied auxiliary equipment, power generation and air conditioning systems, cabling and thousands of other sub-systems that go into a building and sustaining a modern warship. There are well known large scale industries that supply generators, as also shafts for propulsion of ships. The stringent quality-standards applied to clear them for acceptance have enabled most of them to become internationally certified and known. This is a classical spinoff of defence related activities. The private sector thus has a significant stake in warship building

Lastly, among many such success stories, a couple that do not find mention often enough are the navy's own design department based on whose stellar work indigenous warships are built, and the Navy's own group of specialists that continue to do pioneering work in the development of state-of-the-art Combat Management Systems and a slew of cyber security products and networking solutions for the Indian Navy.  Such capabilities hold strategic potential and are essential components to establish self-sufficiency.

Looking Back to see the future

In the last six decades, scores of committed individuals have skillfully led the Navy's planning initiatives, often innovatively. They have been ably supported by a leadership that saw in these efforts the means to leap-frog the Navy into a potent blue water force.

A myth that found favour with overseas experts, and some of our own in the 1970s and 80s, was the description of the Indian Navy as a brown water force aspiring for blue water status. The rear view suggests otherwise. Even as early as  the 1950s, Indian Navy ships were deployed for flag showing as far as the Australian waters. In fact, when I had the opportunity to meet Mr Wolfenson, former President of World Bank in Washington in 1997, he greeted me by narrating his experience of boarding the old Cruiser INS Delhi at Melbourne in 1954. Warships do leave indelible impressions on those who visit them. Even the old Indian Navy was never a brown water force.

There was however a brief interregnum when the ships acquired from the Soviet Union imposed limitations on engine hours of their gas turbines, which in turn significantly reduced blue water deployments.

    

When ageing British ships, which formed the mainstay of our Fleet, were to be replaced and the first submarine acquisition programme was approved, the U-turn performed by the UK in denying India the supply of submarines is well-documented. The consequent large acquisition programme from the Soviet Union enabled us to tide over gaps in force levels until our own programmes began to fructify.

The Soviet platforms however, gave us insights into relatively modern weapons and sensors, and more importantly, into missiles and torpedoes. Surface-to-surface missiles were positively a force-multiplier and when ably supported by surface-to-air missiles, they provided the Fleet with punch enough to deter any adversary.

The submarine arm too received the much-needed upgrade when both German designed submarines and the Soviet designed EKM submarines were inducted in quick succession.

At this stage, naval planners were busy pushing for indigenous construction of a variety of platforms. First they focused on the successors of the Leander class ships by indigenously modifying their design, which not only enabled a frigate to carry a 10-ton multirole helicopter for operations at sea, but also led to the induction of the Godavari class frigates that skillfully integrated Soviet missile systems with a host of indigenous systems and equipment accessed from multiple sources abroad. Simultaneously, new design for Corvettes, Tanker and Destroyers evolved over time. The only occasions we were forced to seek foreign shipbuilding assistance was for six Talwar class ships from Russia and Tankers from Italy, both owing to inadequate capacity in our own yards due to over loading.

Some Lessons

One of the unfulfilled programmes of a rapidly modernizing force relates to the inability of the Navy and the Government to build submarines to offset depleting force levels. A number of factors have led to the present imbroglio. The optimally designed German SSK submarine inducted into the Navy were also built at Mazagaon Docks in Mumbai. The build-facility was set up at a great cost and technicians were trained to use state-of-the-art build technology. The project was soon abandoned after two boats were built due to alleged kickbacks and corruption. Consequently, the entire set up along with trained manpower of the yard was allowed to dissipate and be wasted.

The Scorpene submarine to be built with French assistance has been inordinately delayed. The second line of construction remains to be concluded. Thus, the Navy is yet grappling with the declining force levels of conventional submarines.

As regards budgetary allocation for the navy, constant interaction with MOD has seen an increase from 11% of the defence budget to almost 18% in recent years. However, the target of 20 % has to be achieved in the near future, if we are to accept the new challenges posed by the global strategic focus to the Asia Pacific region.

In so far as defence acquisition procedures are concerned, they continue to stifle and throttle efficient and time bound programmes. Unless procedural and systemic changes are brought about by professionalizing and integrating the decision-making structure of MOD as recommended by the Committee on Defence Management chaired by Arun Singh, there is little hope of optimizing the process.

Finally, whenever there is resource crunch, as in late 1980s to mid-1990s and now in 2013, the armed forces are advised to tighten their belts and review acquisitions in the pipeline. Nothing could be more disastrous than this approach. Each year lost in reduced budget allocation results in depletion of combat capabilities. The cumulative shortages can never be remedied by nominal increase in budget subsequently, due to systemic limitations and minimum acquisition time cycle needed to complete the task. Combat capability and adequate reserves to fight a limited war cannot be compromised under any circumstances, unless the nation is prepared to accept defeat in war as an option. Victory in 1971 has not erased the memories of 1962 - the latter was caused by neglect, inadequate knowledge of military needs and insufficient political interaction with military leadership.

Paradoxically, six decades later, we continue to grapple with the basic issues of national politico-military interface.

Vice Admiral Suresh Bangara (retd) former C-in-C of Southern Naval Command. He has had the unique opportunity of heading the Policy and Plans, and later Naval Operations divisions of the Indian Navy.

0f air bags,seat belts and crashes-The Indian Story

Motor vehicles in India today, have pleasantly surprised many of us who grew up in an era dominated by acute shortages of quality vehicles, an under developed industry,inability of most to pay for a new car and severe restrictions imposed by Governments on scarce  foreign currency for transfer of technology. The good old Ambassador of Hindustan motors, Fiat,standard Herald were common sight on the sparsely crowded roads of our country.  The changes after  liberalization however, saw quantum jump in design, quality and safety standards of  cars that continue to flood our market. From the days when a direction- indicator was a rarity,we now match the latest trends in technology and software driven applications in all our automobile products.

This is the backdrop against which I am recounting the details of a car crash which my wife and I survived recently. Given that advent of modern cars coincided with attempts to upgrade the quality of National highways and Express ways, the opportunity to exceed an average speed of 80 Kms on these newly built surfaces became a reality.  While the ability to traverse distances in comparatively shorter duration became a reality, a whole host of attendant facilities coupled with the need to educate the semi literate user on the repercussions of high speed traffic,were perhaps not pursued with equal vigour.   . Safety features in all walks of life in India, be it,construction,transportation and industry, are far from meeting well documented and mandatory features enforced by advanced countries of the West. It is thus not unusual to see inadequate sign boards/ warning signals/signs, incomplete safety barriers to prevent human and animal encroachment on high speed corridors, unauthorized traffic of two wheeler ,four wheelers and tractors in the wrong lane( often heading the wrong way) and inability to hold highway authorities accountable for dangerous diversions and unlit stretches of potentially high risk accident prone zones. Viewed from the ever increasing density of population bordering on intercity motorways and unregulated settlement of colonies, we are poised on the threshold of serious conflict of interest posed by human/animal and environmental issues.

For a country which has witnessed unprecedented growth of motor vehicles but not enough infrastructure development,strict adherence to rules of the road and close monitoring to check indiscipline, should be a very high priority activity. That it is not so, is known to all.The chances of encountering an unlicensed driver at the wheels of a truck or load carrier and vehicles with poor material state  are very high ,if not real.

With all the knowledge at my disposal, I managed to collide with a milk truck on the National Highway near Kolhapur in Maharashtra.Entirely my fault. The rather well made SUV took the brunt of the collision and voila, the air bags deployed as designed. I was in for a further surprise apart from the safety features of my SUV. The emergency road side assistance provided a flat bed and a taxi in a reasonably short span of time.Such facilities were unthinkable a few years ago. Well done Mahindra.

The sense of relief and gratitude for our very miraculous escape was marred soon thereafter, by the procedures adopted by the Cops who arrived on the scene. That is another story which needs to be analysed in the context of services provided for the common man in India.

So we thank the Almighty for sparing us rather lightly. But air bags, seat belts and a well designed firewall perhaps contributed in no small measure to our survival.

Do spend a few moments on the safety features of your new car before you select one. A cashless policy with zero depreciation is well worth the investment for those of you who intend to frequent our Highways. 

Poor Civil-Military Relations-Root Cause Of Malaise?

POOR CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS-ROOT CAUSE OF MALAISE TODAY

Most democracies have struggled to find a balance in their civil - military relations. Unlike India, more seasoned democracies of the West have learnt to handle frequent disharmony between the two, owing to decades and centuries of deployment of their Armed Forces in Great Wars and more importantly at distant locations away from their home land. Refinements in processes of Command and Control were thrust upon them due to extraordinary circumstances including the post World War 2 occupation of Germany and Japan. This was managed and run by Military Officers who were suitably empowered and authorized by Heads of elected Governments of their respective countries. There were also occasions such as the Truman-Mac Arthur dispute, during the Korean War, which was seen as one of the most illustrative tools of the civil-military friction in the history of USA.

The Indian scene was quite the contrary. Along with independence came a series of Coup de'tat, in many of the Countries in our region. India alone  stood as a shining example of a copy book democracy, with the Armed Forces remaining apolitical all the way. This is no mean achievement, especially given the fragility of so many of our neighbours who had to be subjected to Military intervention in their internal politics. But this 'harmonious' civil-military equation in India, came at a price. The civilian leadership right from Independence began to neglect the dire needs of both the serving and the retired Soldiers. (The term Soldier is used to encompass all three services and their men)  Modernization of weapons and sensors, service conditions and health care of serving soldiers and the care that ought to be extended to retired soldiers through reemployment opportunity and compassion towards widows of war veterans etc continued to be accorded less priority.

 The politician  was never very comfortable with the strict traditions and dress codes that gave the military a distinct identity and character.  Consequently, 

the sanctity of civil -military relations were from time to time tested.  Some of the notable events of conflict were, Nehru-Gen Thimmaya, Krishna Menon- Gen Thapar and later Indira-Gen Manekshaw. The military, however, conducted itself with dignity and discipline. Since the media was not intrusive and confidentiality of sensitive information was respected, matters of dispute remained in-house and appeared in print only when someone wrote a book, years after the event. Leakage of information outside the confines of the Defence Ministry was considered to be blasphemous acts.

 Civilian control over the military went through periods of tension without violating the basic tenets of Command and control. Errant and less informed Defence Ministers with personal agenda  did try to intervene in routine matters of administration,promotion and land acquisition/ disposal.In most cases direct access of the Chiefs to  the Prime Minister,  acted as a relief valve. Equilibrium was soon restored when needed.

The discomfort of the Politician continued to grow even as the quality of Politics and politicians deteriorated after mid 1970s'.In order to sequester  the politician  from assertive soldiers, the bureaucracy was increasingly given the responsibility to decide on most matters military. This was aggravated when some Prime Ministers also held the Defence portfolio  in addition to many other Ministries. On such occasions,  RRM's chosen to fire- fight on day to day activities, were quite incompetent and relied heavily on the bureaucracy. Consequently,the service Chiefs  had to stand in queue to meet the Prime Minister. Earlier, they had the liberty to walk in and out of the PM's office  when necessary.

After the Rajiv Gandhi era which enjoyed better civil-military relations, the country was subjected to a grave economic crisis which resulted in shelving of all major modernisation programmes for nearly a decade. Matters Military were relegated in priority till combat efficiency began to erode.

Another major factor that has had deleterious effects on civil-military relations is that Armed forces deployed to restore law and order in poorly administered and terrorism infested states of India including Kashmir, found themselves permanently deployed with no solution on the horizon. Troops so deployed are exposed to politicization owing to the nature of  the environment and firsthand knowledge of political exploitation and machinations.

 A series of events thereafter led to reduction of the status of the soldier in society: until Kargil restored some aspects of neglect, when the electronic media brought the war to the drawing rooms of our citizens.

The first serious review to study what led to Kargil was entrusted to late K Subrahmaniam, the well known expert on strategic affairs. The team formed under him consisted of experts drawn from the retired community as well as people of considerable experience in their respective domain. The then Government, ensured that the study was carefully vetted by a competent group of Ministers, who in turn formed Task forces to address the issues that would lead to successful implementation of the broad recommendations submitted by the Subrahmaniam Committee.

By a twist of fate, Tehelka expose exploded in the face of the ruling party. George Fernandes was forced to step down. The second 'coincidence' occurred at this point in time. The External Affairs Minister was given temporary charge of Defence. In a short stint, he proved that perhaps he was the most perceptive and far sighted Raksha Mantri that independent India had seen. He was an acknowledged scholar with a Military background and an author of one of the best written books on Defence of India. He had already appointed Arun Singh, former RRM in the Rajiv Gandhi Government as an advisor to EAM.

Arun Singh, was perhaps one of the few corporate honchos brought into Government, by Rajiv Gandhi, based purely on his passion for matters Military and unparalleled knowledge of how the Military and bureaucracy ought to function. The far sighted RM now holding fort for his colleague who had stepped down, promptly selected Arun Singh to head the Task Force on Higher Defence Management. Arun Singh had substantial knowledge on how the Ministry of Defence functioned and he had a rare insight into knowledge of the Military including its modernisation. Arguably, independent India had perhaps not seen a Civilian with this capability. He was also the leader of the team which  produced a document titled The Committee on Defence Expenditure(CDE), for the VP Singh Govt. The only occasion when he came out of a self imposed ban, after his abrupt departure from Rajiv's cabinet.

Having been made the leader of the Task Force on Higher Defence Management, Arun Singh left no stone unturned to bring to light a whole range of changes and reforms that would have made India a very potent and effective force to reckon with.

Based on facts and drawing from experiences gained by developed nations of the West, this report contained far reaching reforms that made the bureaucracy and some uniformed officer, both serving and retired, very nervous. As long as Arun Singh continued as an Advisor in the South Block and the EAM was holding temporary  charge of Defence, they worked as a well oiled team. Implementation of all the recommendations moved flawlessly and rather speedily. Red tape and delaying tactics at all levels were dealt with firmly and decisively. It appeared to be the turning point in Indian Military history. It was not to be.

The next episode is quite inexplicable. Prime Minister Vajpayee for reasons best known to him stopped the most important reform of all. Integrating the Armed forces under a single Chief, was stalled by him. All the progress made until then came to a dead halt.

Enter George Fernandes after he was cleared of all charges and Arun Singh quit his post as abruptly as he did, when he left Rajiv. Another coincidence? One will never know until one of the main actors writes about it one day.   

The greatest opportunity to cleanse the system of all its malaise was thus lost. Needless to say no further reforms were carried out by the new Govt. The bogey of the CDS becoming an all powerful entity reappeared. Equations and pay and allowances of Soldiers were distorted. Post Vietnam- like scenes were witnessed on the streets of Delhi. Soldiers returning medals, the age row of a Chief and now the spectacle on Television on the VK Singh episode, which makes India look like a banana republic, are all symptoms of a disease caused by Poor Civil- Military relations.

The sad part is that, all of it was caused by uninformed Ministers, a leaderless bureaucracy which is equally uninformed on matters Military and conniving Soldiers who were too parochial and petty minded to waste a golden opportunity for reforms.

No reforms of the armed forces have been successfully planned and executed by the Soldiers themselves. They have been thrust upon them, ala, Maggie Thatcher, the Iron Lady and the Gold Water Nichols act in USA.

As Arun Singh often said, "Those who have vision have no power and those in power lack vision on matters Military".

(Suresh Bangara, former C-IN-C of Southern Naval Command and presently Vice President Nav Bharat Democratic Party.)

'We are like that only'?-What is common between politics and sports

Some one once commented, "Politics is not bad but politicians are"  Surely not all of them. You must admit that there are many good ones who despite being sidelined, continue to do their duty by their conscience.But then they do not make news. The screaming TV anchors cannot hold you spell bound with their vituperative and acerbic comments and rehearsed stunned /hurt looks, if the subject of their talk- show, is an honest and well meaning politician.

So when the recent confabulation and ready consensus emerged among all political parties on why they need to be out of the ambit of RTI or how charge sheeted  politicians should continue to function in Parliament, it was unbelievably amusing. As amusing as a comedy show on stage . Well scripted,choreographed and enacted with panache.

Soon another bunch of comedians joined the play. These were senior functionaries of the Indian Olympic Association,(IOA) who having been shown the door by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for failing to cleanse the system accused of corruption, continued to face the camera with non nonchalance and completely oblivious of  the humiliation and shame that they have brought upon the Nation. Distinguished sportsmen who have brought laurels to the Country, even appealed to them to professionalize the administration ,to  stop treating  sports  bodies as perennial source of perks without accountability and to read the writing on the wall which said " Go home" In return they received a standard response on why should they break way from the law applicable to politicians. Charge sheets are not the benchmark but conviction is. Hence one can continue to discharge all  duties as long as they are not convicted of the offence. Dejavu!

Not surprisingly most members of sports bodies and their heads are politicians of all shades.There is thus a bond between the two,i.e. Politics and Sports. The shamelessness stems from utter contempt for processes and institutions.  Why should a country which is blessed with so much talent  be governed by those accused of corruption, skulduggery,parochialism and sheer greed.? The same applies to sports bodies. Where are the good men and women who can professionalize and run complex institutions?

'Cleanse politics first and the rest will follow'. Nav Bharat believes in this motto. Candidates are being carefully selected based on merit. Institutions and party structures are being built brick by brick so that Good Governance results from it. Our candidates are the bed rock of  the party and not viceversa. Join us in our endeavour to build a new India as fast as we can. Exercise your right to vote and ensure that a good.committed and capable candidate is not rejected due to money and muscle power.

Why Nav Bharat

The Story of a Retired Sailor and Nav Bharat

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Four decades in the Navy was enough to give me an insight into a whole range of  subjects that  go into governance of  a country. Surprised? Here is how it worked.

My first memory of meeting the political hero of India, Jawaharlal Nehru was at the Republic day parade at Delhi in 1962, when I was all of 16 years. I led  the Junior Division NCC Air wing cadets of India on a cold,hazy and freezing morning. There were no winter uniforms. Cotton full sleeve shirts, shorts and stockings and off we went marching down Raj Path. Thousands had lined up on either sides and the sheer sight of the President taking our salute and the feeling of pride kept us warm.

  Later at a special occasion Pandit Ji  presented me with a trophy which in effect was the start point of my Military career. My picture with him has been on my desk for the past  52 years.

My College days came and went, but not without giving me an opportunity to meet the then Raksha Mantri YB Chavan. Yes, the RM had the time to meet a lowly NCC cadet who was selected to represent India, at the Malaysian Air Training Corp Camp, in Singapore, in 1964. These were some impressionable events with Politicians, albeit of my teenage life. They appeared to be in service of the Nation-not Masters of the people who put them there.

The Indian Navy became my home from 1966. In 1970, I was sent to the Soviet Union. A remote island in Vladivostok was to be our training base for the next year. Frozen seas and temperature of -32 degrees did not deter us from venturing to challenge their way of life. Communism/socialism with all its ramifications and nuances were on display in day to day Governance of the Country and their Armed forces. Young as I was, it was still a lesson on a political systems of governance.

The 1971 war gave me firsthand knowledge of what Military action meant to people in uniform. The attack on enemy ships off Karachi and the port itself, gave me insights into human emotions and passion . Death and destruction  which is an inextricable part of war, demanded  a high quality of Military and Political leadership.  We were fortunate to have had  a lady PM, who showed courage, decisiveness  and  single minded purpose to carry the whole nation with her. Here was leadership on display as never seen thereafter. The soldier needs just that to die for his country. After all he fights for "the ashes of his father and the temple of his god"

Events leading to the declaration of emergency in 1976 however, by the very same leader, taught us the oft repeated lesson on how absolute power corrupts absolutely.

A stint with the British Navy at the then Royal Naval college at  Greenwich, coincided with the arrival of the iron lady-Maggie Thatcher, at the helm of British politics. I was given an opportunity to study a leader who single handedly lifted the  sagging morale of the British people as a whole.  Another lesson in politics.

Barely five years later in 1985, I was appointed as the Indian Naval Adviser at our High Commission  in Islamabad. For the next three years I had numerous occasions to study the political system run by a Military leader, in a non- democratic system of governance. Zia Ul Haq was able to provide a false sense of economic prosperity and political stability for very nearly nine years. His reign ended only with his untimely death in 1988, due to assassination through sabotage of his aircraft. Here was another dimension of governance and many political lessons  to learn.

Not many would remember the stellar role performed by our Armed forces consequent to a coup attempted at Maldives by 300 armed militants, in 1989. My ship was positioned to stabilize and oversee the withdrawal of our forces after the successful handing over of control to the legitimate Government of Maldives. Extensive interaction with the senior Ministers and President of the Maldives, gave me insights into restoring confidence in a shattered people, albeit of a small island nation.

Finally, owing to  a series of postings at the Integrated Headquarters at Delhi at senior ranks bestowed on me, I was closely involved in briefing and working with senior bureaucrats, Diplomats and politicians  tasked to govern India, including the PM. This is where the real lessons of governance or the lack of it was on display.

That my friends is, just one example of how the Military is exposed to Politics.

 There are numerous others who have not cared to pen down their experience. Yet whilst in uniform we remain completely apolitical,  forbidden  from interacting with media, foreigners,  political parties et al. That is not to say that as individuals we do not have political views based on which we are expected to  exercise our franchise at every election. The fact of the matter is most of us, except a small minority, could not exercise our right to vote, as the postal ballot paper never once reached us due to various reasons. We were thus denied the right to vote due to the callousness of all those involved with the electoral process.  It was left to the Supreme Court to rule in 1971, that every soldier should be permitted to vote at his station of duty. What about a large percentage who are in remote corners of India guarding our inaccessible borders and sailors who are at sea?

Two Sailors of Italy who were under trial in India were flown back to Italy to cast their votes -just less than a year ago. That is the seriousness and importance of voting in a democratic set up.

So, it was not surprising that on shedding my uniform I opted for a role in political activism to contribute my little experience and to start a movement to cleanse the system. Four years in Professionals Party of India(ppi) and now Nav Bharat Democratic Party are the logical courses of action for one, who refuses to fade away without a fight.

I hope you agree with my reason to fight and that you will join Nav Bharat to help us restore order in this chaotic democracy of ours. Distance without destination and mileage without mile stones is not what  the youth- our future asset of this country, deserve. Join us to put the right people into Parliament.

     
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing"
                                                                                     Edmond Burke                                    

JAI HIND

The Tragedy of Indian Politics-A Strong Desire to Self Destruct.

The media is full of pot holes-not the ones created by the rather good monsoon this year but by the emerging political scenario in India. Yes, we are just six and a half decades old with much to learn from other mature democracies. They too had their paths riddled with bad politics, poverty, internal and external mine fields to negotiate. They did it over many decades and in some cases,  centuries of trial and error. We do not have the luxury to traverse the same path due to the globalized environment and instant flow of information in a wireless era, compounded by accessibility with hand held devices.  So we have a well informed population but not necessarily with wisdom to supplement the knowledge base.

Instant solutions to complex problems is the demand of the youth increasingly equipped to process information but, without the time to assimilate and analyse. Compressing time required for decision making  may be advantageous in business matters, but perhaps not in complex socio-economic and governance related issues, that demand deliberation among knowledgeable and wise members of the society.

Our current democratic processes have failed to keep up with the rapid reforms required to implement lessons repeatedly learnt by successive Election Commissions.No political party has shown any resolve to implement electoral reforms,administrative reforms,Police reforms or Judicial reforms. A strong desire to cling to power and the added incentive to dramatically increase the financial status of incumbent politicians, as revealed by recent surveys, have resulted in a strange convergence of interests among otherwise squabbling political parties. Politicians all over the world irrespective of their ideologies display preference to overlook national interests over political expediency.This may be morally despicable to many not in power, but, it is not alien to human behavior. It is said that as long as the human race exists there will always be greed and conflict.

In our context, politicians display unanimity when doling out allowances to themselves,making RTI inapplicable to political parties, sacking honest bureaucrats,accepting criminals in parties and looting our natural resources or selling away spectrum. Vulgar display of VIPISM and armed commandos surrounding leaders of little value-forget about threat to themselves that they conveniently reinvent from time to time -do not appear as waste of public money.   Who in his right sense will regret the demise of one of those heavily protected Netas, should he be despatched to face God. Even the terrorists do not consider them to be good enough targets for publicity. Perhaps they expect celebrations and not grief among the people who are deprived of  the presence of such Netas among us.

 If this is the attitude of those in power and coalitions Governments are condemned to be the order of the day,  what are our options. There are a few worthy of consideration.

More participation in politics and not less is the first mantra. Politics is not dirty but the ones you elect or those elected by default, are. So why not participate in voting with a purpose and convincing your neighbours to do so too.

Second, why not convince those who have achieved financial stability and are known for their competence and character to stand up and be counted. Often the fear is of rejection and loss. There are ways and means to overcome such fear provided the' mohallas 'supports such candidates. Buying voters is fast losing its charm as people who are rising from poverty to reasonable lower middle class status are thinking of the future of their children. They are also displaying more courage of conviction to change the face of politics than the affluent and the rich who are not effected by the results of election,or,on  who is selected to legislate our future.Like the squabbling politicians who find common cause to unite, perhaps, the rich and the not so rich should find common cause to elect the right candidate.

Third, if coalition politics is a reality that cannot be wished away, why not start a debate on direct election of PM along with separation of the executive from the legislators. If you are weighed down by the need for constitutional changes, do not fret, we have amended our constitution 98 times in six decades.    Surely this is a good cause to unite us all. Act well before 2014-it is just round the corner. A New India or NAV BHARAT is what we need.   .     

Crisis Management In India

I had been an active participant in the Government of India's crisis/disaster management organisation in my capacity as head of operations of the navy for three years and thence as head of joint services operation in the newly formed Integrated Defence Headquarter in 2002.
On one of the TV debates yesterday-a more respectable one, where the anchor was not screaming or hogging time on the limited debate-a supreme court lawyer who appeared to be well informed, articulated some home truth. He referred to many disasters that he  was associated with for mitigation measures, including the last tsunami; lamented the total absence of capability and capacity of senior bureaucrats to handle them and pleaded that the entire operation be handed over to the Military. He was right on every count,but let us park the issue of the Military for the time being.

No Govt organisation in India including the police have a culture to create facilities to monitor and control situations such as natural calamities, emergencies including hi-jacks of Aircraft. Those that have graduated from the rudimentary to a time expired model have little or no capability to sustain operations. The Govt still has the process that works on written orders issued and forgotten, no drills to refine processes in 'peace time' and little emphasis on updating records of personnel expected to react.That, on many occasions, the   entire list of members of the crisis response team, which is drawn from multiple sources of the Govt,was out of date and their emergency contacts unavailable, cannot be disputed. Since there is no culture of manning operations Rooms 24/7 and  365 days in almost all civilian organisations,just rounding up the right people around a table, was a herculean task. This is equally disastrous in Hi jack situations as also  with natural calamities such as earth quake, which has no warning mechanism as yet. Consequent delays in action have caused considerable embarrassment and damage to life - a fact that would never be discussed in public, as there is no system of debriefing and lessons learnt in organisations chaired by the senior most bureaucrat of the Govt.



The Military, on the other hand, mans an ops room at every level of operations and the data exchange is almost real time. The rapidity of data flow including live pictures makes it eminently suited for emergencies. Secure communication,data transfer and built in redundancy make the Military in India most suited to handle all emergencies.

The only area of inadequacy in the current  situation, is  financial and other powers for mobilization of resources vested in the civilian bureaucracy and political leadership. The true potential of the Military thus remains unexplored in this country.

Ironically in every such emergency it is the Military or para military force which delivers   in the disaster effected zone.

Even when new structures are created such as National Disaster Management Authority(NDMA)  the Military, as in all other decision making structures,  is sidelined to a peripheral role. It may be true that the first NDMA was indeed led by a former Chief but that is more a proforma appointment to acknowledge the services rendered by an individual rather than recognize the potential of the force as a whole.

So what can we do to make our emergency /crisis management more effective and institutionally strong. Allow the the entire operation to be coordinated and conducted by CDS(when in place) or CISC. For this necessary ordinance/legislation need to be passed to empower the Armed forces for the limited duration of operations.

Frequent drills are necessary to fine tune and refine procedures. Participation of the entire machinery of civilian  and political leadership should be made  mandatory without which the whole exercise would be futile.

Finally, debrief and lessons learnt have to be acted upon by Central and State authorities with clear accountability at the appropriate level of the Govt.

While accepting that such a model does not exist currently and that such integrated systems fail more due to civil-military tensions and ignorance of capabilities, I make an appeal to try it at least in disaster/crisis situations which are war like conditions.  This needs empowerment of the Military and independence of execution as in war conditions.  No harm trying; but not half heartedly.

SMART PHONES AND AUTOMATION-ARE THEY DILUTING OFFICE PROCEDURES?

For those of us who grew up with the white hall system of managing office records, it was unthinkable to shift to a paperless office with partial or full automation. The old office assistant who was just a clerk was a walking-talking encyclopedia on all the files listed from A to Z. No references were required-only a mention of the subject or the initiator of the communication. He would produce all the relevant correspondence duly flagged so that at any given time,you had a full background of the case. It was also necessary that after each correspondence was in- warded with a number on  it,(which tallied with the register of incoming/outgoing mail) a collation cover(CC) was attached, in which the entire case was analysed by the coordinating officer. After obtaining the views of all those connected within the department, this file would go the boss with a clear recommendation of  the next step to be taken. The CC was not accessible to any one outside the department. The filtered output of the decision would then make its way to other departments in a file titled Branch Memo(BM) on which concerned  branches collated their respective views,.

Admittedly, the process was long and tedious but it  was so thorough that decisions taken   were perhaps the most well considered ones given that all the relevant information was available at all times. Was the system fool proof? To the extent that those handling it complied with all procedures.

Now that the paperless routine has been invented I find that communications are instant, hierarchies have been flattened and decisions are expedited. But inability to process all facts related to the case along with comments and suggestions offered by lateral and collateral  organisations remains a major area of concern. Generally, e mails accessed on cell phones just do not give you a historic perspective of the case,thus resulting in less than optimum decisions.  

While the private sector has been able to automate office work to suit their unique requirements which includes cyber safety devices and e signatures etc hacking and phishing continue to be areas of concern. Back up of correspondence,ability to store and retrieve data and most importantly limiting accessibility to authorized users, continue to challenge administrators.

Governments including the Central Govt find themselves caught between the devil of expediting decisions and the deep sea of automating office work such that the guiding  principles of the white hall system are not violated. Hence e mail which is the most preferred communication medium in the industry and private sector continue to be a secondary form of communication in the Government. At best progressive state and central govt organs have put in place a file tracking system which brings in accountability with respect to time.

The greatest of all concerns is that the good old systems of filing have been long forgotten, as the recruitment of clerks have been suspended along with the training that enabled them. The present lot of personnel neither know the manual system and its virtues nor the automation along with all its vices.

Are you surprised that so many scams are being perpetuated within the system-a system which can neither differentiate nor correct itself during the crucial phase of transition  from the manual office system to the fully automated one.  Administrative reforms need to address this by using personnel of yester- years and the  whiz kids of today.

Negotiations-A View From Down Under

Readers are undoubtedly aware of the importance of professionalizing the art of negotiations both in  Public and Private sectors. While the private sector is wholly focused on cutting costs to enhance profits,the public sector is oblivious of targets to be met within reasonable time frames. Consequently, opportunity costs incurred by the Government due to inordinate delays in concluding contracts is indeed mind boggling. The advanced jet trainer(AJT) for instance, took two decades to negotiate. The cost per aircraft continued to rise,modifications and modernization was a parallel process which also contributed to the spiraling costs. More than anything, we lost precious lives of trainee pilots since we did not have a suitable trainer to prepare them to man front line combat squadrons. 

My earlier blog in Oct 2011 covered the deficiencies in hostage negotiations. During my recent visit to Australia a report from their Defence Material Organization(DMO) caught my attention.Let me quote,"Defence Force mandarins are calling for private sector help after admitting the organisation lacks the skills and 'general business acumen' to prudently negotiate billion-dollar contracts with America's military-industrial complex".

The Australians who have had dealings with the USA for decades have at least accepted the need to have professionally competent negotiators to bring value to their own acquisition programmes. 

Since independence India has had to face strategic and tactical negotiation for settling cross border disputes,acquiring nuclear power plants,oil, military equipment and platforms costing billions of dollars and much more.
Yet there is no records of these proceedings for analysis or for teaching the art of negotiations. This is equally true of the private sector where record keeping for posterity is conspicuous by its absence. Personalities are trusted to negotiate, very often with least preparations and with minimum skills for it. When a deal is struck with a more proficient supplier, much is made of a win-win formula, the value of which  is never substantiated over time.

The answer lies in introducing negotiations in all business school curricula,  sending serving bureaucrats,men in uniform and private sector managers for courses in reputed institutions overseas or in India. We need to create a cadre of well trained negotiators in selected areas where continuity is of significance. SALT treaties between the erstwhile Soviet Union and USA were negotiated by the same group of people who met for decades.More importantly, given that equipment worth over a 100 Billion $ are on the cards for acquisition in the Ministry of defence alone, it is imperative that we form joint teams from public and private sectors to provide level playing fields to counter the very experienced commercial negotiators who are bound to descend  on us.

A word of caution, some of our well known academic institutions which claim to teach this subject have none or only a few with hands on experience of live negotiations,leave alone case studies of value.

This is a good time to clean up.

MODERNIZATION OF OUR ARMED FORCES

Much has been said about Arms Gate of India. Periodically, scams hit the headlines and TV anchors scream their heads off, virtually carrying out a media trial,without understanding the process of acquisition and the damage done to our forces by further delaying the modernization process.

The damage done to the reputation of those accused based on preliminary reports is another matter. CBI has rarely proved the guilt of those accused by the media but decades pass without any justice to the accused. Yet no one has filed for compensation either from the media or from those involved in the investigation and unproven charge sheets. The accused rarely have the energy or the resources to fight a system.

That there is corruption in arms deals is an accepted fact. An erstwhile Secretary of MOD has written a frank and objective piece on just this aspect in the OP-ED page of  Indian Express dated 21 Feb. He has asked for systemic reforms in the  process of acquisition. What he has left un said is that knowledgeable Politicians should occupy the chair of RM. This is not a portfolio up for grabs owing to loyalty to a party or the clean image a person enjoys. There is definitely a need for above average leadership qualities of the RM. No other Minister has to face the day to day challenges of running a large force of trained soldiers who are increasingly better informed and better connected with facts. This is a new era which demands understanding of service conditions, technical complexities and above all articulation of the strategic objectives of the Govt of the day.

In many years of my service in Delhi, I have had the privilege or the misfortune of dealing with both senior politicians and bureaucrats of MOD. It would be fair to say that I felt less privileged, as misfortune was the order of the day. . Barring one RM (unfortunately he held this portfolio in addition to his primary task-that too for a short while) not a single Politician was comfortable to deal with Senior officers of the Armed forces. The powerful presentations that are made to the PM and the whole hierarchy every six months, by no less than the Chief of the three services invariably results in  substantiating the proverbial 'water on the duck's back' syndrome. These were the  occasions when a large audience from the senior hierarchy of the Armed forces witnesses the deficiencies being brought to the direct attention of the PM and his Cabinet colleagues. Some Chiefs are known to be blunt while others, more diplomatic. In either case, no Prime Minister and least of all the RM, can claim to be ignorant of the crying needs of the Armed forces.

How then can a RM use the threat to cancel an acquisition, which takes five to ten years before it materializes,and having failed  repeatedly to remedy the systemic weaknesses in the Ministry that he oversees?

Those of you who care to read the Defence Aquisition procedures will soon realize that the Armed forces have direct control only on stipulating the technical contents and on evaluating a new platform/ system. The rest is totally and unambiguously under the Ministry of Defence. If Amitabha Pande, in the article quoted above, is right-and I have no reason to believe otherwise-it is not the quality of the system recommended by the services which is in doubt, but it is the subsequent process which need to be followed under the supervision of MOD.    
No  one has questioned the capability of Bofors, HDW submarines,SU 30 or Barak anti missile system. They were truly the top of the line systems/platforms. If money has changed hands it must be to expedite the procurement and so  it is advisable to look within the Ministry, in the first instance.

The Immoral India......

'THE IMMORAL INDIA'-What is the way ahead?

The symptoms were there for all to see. In one generation, i.e. from about 1970 till the turn of the century we witnessed historic if not paradigm changes in the Indian society. In the early Years of independence, conservative living with bare minimum creature comforts had disciplined most Indians to live within their means. Even the rich and well to do opted for Spartan life styles. From telephones to motor vehicles were considered to be luxuries of life which few could afford.

Then came the change. Destruction of institutions, which had been carefully created and nurtured. Political arrogance born out of a combination of dynastic politics and a suppressed people. Invasion of Television into the drawing rooms, liberalization of the economy, cable TV/Bollywood and the inevitable thrust towards consumerism. All this led to increasing trust deficit between the people and the Government. Social media began to empower a section of our society. The  power of ICT and its impact on moral and religious values were yet to be comprehended.

Poor infrastructure, induction of criminals with money and muscle power into legislative  and migration of rural population to urban centre coincided with another event. Empowering the socially isolated segments of society and the emergence of the nouveau riche.

Poor quality of political leadership led to crony capitalism, as that was an option for entrepreneurs and successful politicians to prosper. There were no level playing fields.

The fast lanes of urban life destroyed traditional joint family patterns leading to nuclear families. There was no one at home to illumine and stimulate impressionable minds on Indian epics and their lessons. Demographically, all this could not have happened at a worse time when India was leaderless and the density of population in cities continued its upward journey(likely to continue at least till 2030.)Given that, poorly governed city administration refuses to restructure and professionalize tools of governance, it only meant that we will witness the slow death of our Metropolitan cities.

How then can India regain her civilizational and cultural integrity? From a nation which claimed to be the epitome of  moral values, we have degenerated to an in disciplined, mindless ,valueless, insensitive and an aggressive people. Rapes and dead bodies do not move us unless it is so gruesome that it temporarily stuns us. Single issues can at best stimulate minds for a while. Palliative measures have to give way to prophylactic ones. The latter has to start with good politics, good economics, which in turn would hopefully result in adequate resources to address education, health, infrastructure, industry and all other essential segments that could and would restore the dignity of India. How would that come about?

A ray of hope. The middle class has begun to participate in demanding good governance. The middle class is growing rapidly and they inhabit urban centres. From the very inception, PPI has sought to mobilize this segment of our population in order to make some impact on the decision making mechanism that resides in the Parliament.

Getting good people into parliament and ensuring that their primary focus is on amending/creating laws and legislation that contribute to good governance, is the cornerstone of our strategy.

Anna and 'Nirbhaya', the 23 year old brave heart, might have just ignited the fire to awaken the middle class. It bodes well for 2013. Happy new year.

JAI HIND