POOR GOVERNANCE -(My article carried by First post today)

A NEVER ENDING JOURNEY OF POOR GOVERNANCE

WHY INDIA CANNOT BE EASILY GOVERNED

Those of us who were born just prior to Independence have lived with optimism and hope. Hope that India will soon overcome complex problems of Governance given the plurality, non-homogeneity and diversity of cultural and religious milieu of our people and optimism that we will get our act together sooner than those in the immediate neighbourhood.  Both the hope and  the optimism appear to have been belied despite some notable achievements. Compulsions of coalition politics and inability to pass legislations of crying need even when the people of India elect a majority government further accentuates frustrations among well-meaning citizens.

 What is increasingly clear to many, is that the present form of governing structures has been found wanting. An option that has been examined for many years now has been the Presidential form of government. The pros and cons of this proposal have been debated among experts but has not found sufficient traction among budding young politicians in the making, for fear of enormous challenges of amending the constitution of India. That the Constitution has been amended about 98 times in 68 years is often left unsaid.

There is a second option which may find traction. That of directly electing a Prime Minister who then has a stable tenure of  five years or more. Before commenting on this option it is  prudent to analyse some bitter truth about the citizens who elect the politician and the quality of politicians who populate the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and the State Assemblies.

In the corporate world," the Stockdale Syndrome" is often quoted to train a manager to face the brutal realities on the ground while remaining optimistic about his vision and plans. The brutal realities of politics in India need to be faced if optimism is to be the goal. In brief, they are;

• ·        The voter base also consists of  semi-literate or illiterate citizens who are often described as very perceptive voters by candidates who talk down to them during campaigning. A vast majority are still up for sale for goodies ranging from liquor, sari, TV to computers.
• ·        Non-implementation of Electoral reforms which are stymied by all shades of parties who are elected continues to ensure that money and muscle power play a vital role during elections.
• ·        Given the very limited options of qualified candidates with  a clean reputation, the voter continues to vote to punish those who do not deliver but the quality of tainted candidates remain the same.
• Well- meaning and qualified citizens shun politics. They neither contest due to lack of funds nor even vote to neutralise the votes garnered by illegitimate means. The end result is the same scamster reappears with a range of promises that cannot be delivered. The alienated and poor voter is ready to clutch at any straw in the wind.
• ·      National priorities or interests are often sacrificed at the altar of personal or party priorities.

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 behaviour.

The above is just a representative sample of what a sincere, clean aspiring politician should be ready to face. Hence, in the current format no individual, no matter how sincere or capable can deliver within his/her tenure.

If a Prime Minister could be directly elected as the Chief Executive, with powers to use domain experts as executives of his cabinet and the parliamentarians function to pass legislations to enable good governance, that model  may be an option to consider. Elected representatives cannot possibly fulfil the role of a domain expert in the rapidly globalised environment when decisions are required to be taken expeditiously  by experts with more than adequate experience and knowledge in the concerned sphere of activity.

What is implicit in this model is that only a politician who has national exposure and acceptance can contest a direct election. All the regional satraps would need to give way to a statesman of repute.

All the experts would hasten to bury this concept by pointing out the enormity of obtaining necessary consensus for such a change. But maintaining status quo is an even more dangerous option if India has to discharge her responsibilities at a global or even a regional  arena.

Strangely people outside India expect us to assume a global role while we continue to self-destruct with glee.

http://www.firstpost.com/india/collapse-of-governance-directly-elect-a-pm-as-ceo-and-allow-him-to-use-domain-experts-as-executives-2641008.html

The International Fleet Review at Vishakhapatnam (East coast of India) 06 to 07 Feb 16

seamless transition from Presidents Fleet Review to International Fleet Review- 2001 to 2016

The second International Fleet Review is scheduled to commence on 06 Feb. Historically, Fleet reviews in India are conducted once during a President's tenure. The first review was held in 1953 during the presidency of Dr Rajendra Prasad. Nine more have been held, with the last at Mumbai, on 20 Dec 2011, during the tenure of the first Lady President, Smt Pratibha Devisingh Patil .  However, the scale and grandeur of an International Fleet Review is quite another challenge.

The first such event was conceived and executed in 2001 under the leadership of the then CNS, Admiral Sushil Kumar. I was summoned to his office soon after Prime Minister Vajpayee embarked the Western Fleet in Mar 1999.I was the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff(Information Warfare and Operations) The Chief stated that the PM had outlined his maritime vision during discussions with the then External Affairs Minister Mr Jaswant Singh. What better way to execute it, he suggested, than building bridges of friendship across the seas. "Why cannot we convert a Presidents Review into an International Fleet Review?" Having participated in a grand international review at Spit Head in the UK, to celebrate the silver jubilee of the Queen's Coronation in 1977, where INS Udaygiri, a ship built at Mazagaon Docks at Mumbai was nominated by our Navy, my first thought was that it was an audacious suggestion. The logistics of such a show in Mumbai was mind boggling from an international perspective, as was seen at UK. Indeed, our ships had participated in International Fleet Reviews in other parts of the world. USA, UK, Japan and Australia were countries which had successfully hosted such an event. But then they were resource- rich and infrastructurally and logistically well equipped to handle such an event. Given that at least two years of preparations would be needed which included internal clearances from multiple authorities, discussions with MEA, MHA, MOF and MOD, consultations with PMO and the Presidents secretariats, it implied that execution had to commence forthwith.

Mumbai was the only port which had the proven capacity to anchor a large number of ships and was the home for the sword arm of the navy, the Western Naval Command. Having hosted seven such events earlier, planning commenced without further delay. That the event was a resounding success on 12 Feb 2001, has been well documented. 29 foreign warships participated among a total of 89 ships which were reviewed by the Supreme Commander. Over 30 chiefs and senior officers of other navies including a large number from the Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) were present.

On the following day, the Marine drive provided a brilliant venue for a grand march past and an operational demo for all the participants and the Mumbaikars who enthusiastically supported the event.

For the record, Mumbaikars were requested through print and the electronic media to assist in reducing the smog created by vehicles and other polluting industries. That the event including the fly past and displays on the next day were a complete success, proves the contribution made by the citizens of Mumbai and the close liaison between the Western Naval Command and the civilian authorities in Mumbai. The city of Vishakhapatnam is now gearing up for the second International Fleet Review scheduled between 06 and 07 Feb this year.

Prime Minister Vajpayee had perhaps kick-started the very concept of an International Fleet review by outlining his vision for building bridges of friendship across the oceans during his maiden passage on the Fleet ships in March 1999. Later that year hostilities at Kargil resulted in the mobilisation of the Indian navy and deployment on the western seaboard. yet while addressing the participants at the International city parade in 2001,  the Statesman in him articulated the thought, that it was time to rewrite the historical thinking that seas and oceans are dividing features between countries. He ended by saying, "Let us start that process with the Indian ocean." India and the Indian Navy have done just that while reaching out to the IOR.

On a lighter note, two incidents come to my mind. The Captain of USS Cowpens was understandably paranoid about Indian fishing vessels approaching his ship while entering Mumbai. The USS Cole incident had  deeply influenced him. It took a bit of dexterity and diplomacy to tell him that the fishermen of Mumbai were perfectly peace-loving people and that the review anchorage was well protected by coordinated patrols by speed boats of the Indian Navy.

The second incident was when an Iraqi senior officer at the Maritime seminar directed a question at the chair while the US sixth fleet commander was seated in the audience. He asked whether the US presence in the Persian Gulf was an act of maritime diplomacy or maritime piracy. It took the seasoned skill of diplomacy  of JN Dixit, who was the Chairman of that session,  to deflect the question and pose a benign one.

Bottom of Form

The second Review at Vizag promises to be an, even more, memorable event. After all the man-of -war is amongst the best ambassadors of a country.
http://southasiamonitor.org/detail.php?type=in&nid=15533