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Books on India
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Update No: 038 - (28/03/07)
INTERNAL SECURITY ISSUES
India has recently become the hot-bed of renewed terrorist attacks. Maoist
rebels attacked a security post in India's east-central state of Chhattisgarh,
killing 55 policemen and injuring 12, according to statements released by Indian
news reports. The group consisted of 200 to 300 Maoist rebels who lobbed
grenades and petrol bombs and fired indiscriminately in the predawn raid on a
police post in Rani Bodli, about 525 kilometres south of the state capital,
Raipur. The rebels then set fire to the remote jungle outpost and planted
landmines around it before escaping with arms and ammunition. Chief Minister of
Chhattisgarh, Raman Singh said that the dead included 15 personnel of the
Chhattisgarh Armed Forces and 34 special police officers recruited from among
local tribal people. The Chhattisgarh Armed Forces is a special police unit
trained to fight insurgents. The Maoists claim to be fighting for the cause of
poor farmers. According to various news sources, the Maoists have established
dozens of war training centers and units manufacturing explosives. The state has
witnessed over 600 violent Maoist related activities in the last one year. As a
result of this new thrust in violent activities, more than 50,000 villagers have
been evacuated into temporary shelters set up by the state. The Maoists are most
active in Chhattisgarh and southern Andhra Pradesh states where they are also
known as Naxalites. The birth of the Naxalite movement can be traced back to the
1960s when it originated in West Bengal. The primary message of the Maoists has
been to reject parliamentary democracy and capture political power through an
armed struggle based on guerrilla warfare. Today, they pose one of the most
serious threats to India's internal security.
IRAN-PAKISTAN-INDIA GAS PIPELINE
In a recent development, Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon rejected
any link between the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project and
the political situation in the region, particularly the Iran nuclear issue. He
stated that the project did not have any links to the general political
situation in the region. The IPI project is still underway and has not reached
its final stages. There are various issues that need to be addressed from
structure to costs. Moreover, the Indian foreign secretary stated that there
were some technical and feasibility matters on which the governments had to take
decisions. On the issue of Iran possessing nuclear weapons, Menon said that
India would like to see a peacefully negotiated solution to the problem which
satisfies both the international community and Iran. Regarding Tuesday's
meeting, Shivshankar Menon said he and Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan held
a first round of talks and that the talks would be continued Wednesday morning.
INDIA'S NEW PAKISTAN POLICY
India has significantly toughened its Pakistan policy, indicating that it
would not make any compromises on thwarting terrorist activities. External
affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, has suggested that the Indian government is
weary with all the terrorism its people face and now has an
"enough-is-enough" attitude towards Pakistan. While refraining from
pointing a direct finger at Pakistan's government, Mukherjee said that terrorist
outfits were being constantly cultivated and nurtured in Pakistan, and that New
Delhi was afraid of Pakistan's nuclear weapons falling into the hands of radical
Islamists or jihadis. Mukherjee also displayed concern for the current
instability in Pakistan caused by the removal of a senior Chief Justice. New
Delhi has been harping on various occasions that the dialogue with Pakistan
could not make a breakthrough unless Islamabad lived up to its January 2004
commitment of eradicating terrorism. While India is open to exploring creative
and cooperative solutions that could influence the dialogue positively, it is
waiting, in large part, for Pakistan's resolve and commitment to be reflected a
little more clearly.
INDIA-CHINA
Lord Christopher Patten, former European Commissioner and the last Governor
of British Hong Kong recently declared that there must be a "recognition of
the leaderships of India and China" for any trans-Atlantic unity or
progress. Releasing for India 'Straight From The Gut', part two of his memoirs
'Not Quite The Diplomat', Patten outlined his stand on the "state of
nations and where they are heading" for an august gathering at the British
Council Patten is currently the Chancellor of Oxford and Newcastle Universities.
The two countries have an important role to play in the future geo-political
arena. Patten believes that at least in terms of sheer size, India could
eventually overtake China. Patten displayed a zeal for the ideals of democracy
and pluralism.
CORRUPTION
According to a survey by the Hong Kong based Political and Economic Risk
Consultancy (PERC), India is perceived as Asia's fifth most corrupt economy
while the Philippines is the most corrupt economy. In a grading system with zero
as the best possible score and 10 the worst Singapore at 1.20 and Hong Kong with
1.87, were ranked by foreign businessmen as the cleanest economies among the 13
Asian economies. The Philippines with a score of 9.40, worsening up from 7.8
last year, was ranked as the most corrupt. Perception of corruption in Thailand
worsened after the military seized power in September, though PERC argues that
it had not noted a worsening in the actual situation in the Philippines despite
its deteriorating score. Thailand and Indonesia, both on a grade of 8.03, were
tied as Asia's second most corrupt nations.
INDIA-EU TRADE AGREEMENT SUFFERS ROADBLOCKS
A planned free-trade deal between the European Union and India has run into
serious difficulties over whether or not it should include clauses relating to
human rights and weapons of mass destruction. Critics also argue that such an
agreement might weaken India's control over the economy. The EU is bound by a
1995 decision by its member states' leaders that any trade or political
agreement with the outside world must contain a commitment to human rights and
democracy. But the EU's executive, the European Commission, has been arguing
that an exception should be made for India, which does not want this clause
inserted. Commission officials say human rights are already covered by a 1994
cooperation agreement between the EU and India and that a free-trade accord
should be limited to economic issues. Similarly, India is opposed to having a
clause relating to weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Although the clause would
commit India to supporting international conventions against chemical and
biological weapons, it would not deal with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,
which India has declined to accept. Annalisa Giannella, adviser on WMD to EU
foreign-policy chief Javier Solana, confirmed this month that some EU states are
willing to omit such a clause. She argued that if the EU fails to apply to India
the WMD clause it systematically includes in agreements with other countries,
this would "establish a terrible double standard". The EU has cited
India's and Brazil's reluctance to pry their markets open to Western firms as
one of the reasons the Doha Round of world trade talks has so far been
unsuccessful. Peter Mandelson, the European trade commissioner, is seeking to
have investment issues included in a bilateral deal with India. This is despite
investment being taken off the agenda of the Doha Round after protests from
developing countries. Anti-poverty advocates are concerned that a deal designed
to placate Western multinationals would reduce India's ability to restrict the
activities of such firms within its borders.
The question on the minds of many is that the EU is primarily interested in
furthering its mercantilist interests, rather than improving the multilateral
trading system. Mandelson's policy of pursuing bilateral deals has driven a
wedge between EU trade officials and their counterparts handling development
aid. By going after bilateral deals, the EU seems to be subverting the entire
idea of a "multilateral trading system". While the EU accounts for
almost 20% of India's total external trade, India is only the EU's 10th-largest
trading destination, at 1.8%. India also receives less than 1% of the EU's
foreign direct investment. Those who favor trade liberalization, argue that it
would help alleviate poverty in India and open up further European companies in
India which would create jobs. However, others believe that the intrusion of
foreign companies in Indian markets is precisely the reason for the lack of jobs
in indigenous industries. Right now, whatever the EU might seek to accomplish,
looks like a double edged-sword.
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