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.   .