Challenges threatening modern India’s unity from within have been gathering around its horizon over the past 45 years particularly after Indira Gandhi assumed power in 1967. Even the “Am Admi” today is well aware of the rapidly descending “dooms day” scenario. No intellectual acumen is needed to predict such an outcome.

Key internal strategic challenges are easy to recount: demographic transitions including identity crises triggered by uncontrolled population explosion and migrations – mother of all challenges; gargantuan envelopment of corruption – foster mother of challenges; crisis in values; leadership crisis; ethnic and sub ethnic polarization at local, sub regional and regional levels; caste and communal polarization due to appeasement and vote bank politics; and plundering of natural resources with utter disregard to future generations interests.

The more I reflect, the more I am concerned about the bizarre drama unfolding in social, political, economic, technological, judicial, bureaucratic, security forces, media and even civil society organizational fields. They flow out of incredibly complex India’s mosaic. Its labyrinthine twists, blind turns and dead ends of jigsaw puzzle are incredibly nerve racking.
Lesson of India’s history is simple: under strong leadership India prospered; under self centric and divided leadership, Indian regimes disintegrated and paved the way for alien rule.

Being conscious that majority are fully aware of the myriad internal challenges confronting the nation today, yet an attempt has been made to reiterate them to arouse their conscience to awake, arise and confront them squarely so that the rot is contained and redressed before it is too late.

The only solace one can draw is that India appears majestically moving ahead at its own elephantine pace to assume its rightful place due to its size, population and geo strategic significance more by destiny than by human design. Such is, perhaps, its inexorable course – divine intervention.

India’s pluralist society dictates the course of its politics; or, its curse. Let none suffer from any illusions. Its social plurality is summed up as multiethnic, multicultural, multi communal and multi class society divided vertically and horizontally. It has an overarching influence over economy, foreign affairs, science and technology and defense issues, choices and options. How India may traverse on its course depends on how leadership overcomes strategic challenges arising out of vicious social churning and seizes opportunities.

Paramount among strategic challenges is demographic transitions – mother of security challenges. Over 1.3 billion people are racing ahead at growth rate of 1.4 percent annually likely to cross 1.85 billion by 2051 – almost 1:5 ratios in global population in 2% of earth surface.

The demographic realities are compelling: an increasingly young population in old societies controlled by an ageing leadership; declining agrarian returns; and population shifts from rural to urban areas. Insecurity and uncertainty haunts everyone. Disastrous all round fallout is well known due to sectarian polarization. Lack of political will to control population is out of fear of losing vote banks.

Congress hierarchy, after their past experience with Sanjay Gandhi’s experience, does not want to touch the issue even with a ‘barge pole”. Even none of the other political parties or leaders are courageous enough to take on the issue head-on boldly. Such is the rank cowardice or call it pragmatic opportunism of leadership in all parties and at all levels. Even the media does not want to attract the wrath of vested interests.

Following closely behind is corruption – foster mother of strategic challenge. Those in power want to exploit opportunities to enrich themselves with utter disregard to its fallout. As a result, gargantuan envelopment of corruption – both moral and physical - is real. How can beneficiaries of corrupt practices, which is the rule rather than exception, ever counter the crisis generated by civil society activists on fight against corruption?

Crisis in values – national, organizational and individual - remains a ubiquitous threat to national security. And, leadership crisis is real due to incompetence. Leaders are afflicted by “I-Me-Myself-My Dynasty” syndrome and all round siege mentality – self inflicted and destructive. They are at war from within and among them only. Leadership vacuum or paralysis is, therefore, real. Proactive crisis management is by exception; by rule, episodic reactive crisis management.

Add to them, plundering of natural resources by those in power and their progeny, rising inflation, adverse investment climate lowering investor confidence, widening rich-poor divide and sub regional inequalities, with the rich paying scant regard to upholding national and human values.

Presiding over its top and directly responsible for mayhem viciously spinning in a social centrifuge is the leadership decline and decay. Infatuated by dynastic inheritance as birth right, the Congress Party, the political fraternity of Congress Party is bending over backwards to pay tribute to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, which they hardly deserve having presided over India’s current state of absurd affairs.

Let none suffer from illusions that the current India’s context and content has passed well beyond the leadership capability and potential of its presiding deity – Sonia Gandhi – and the PM in waiting – Rahul Gandhi, the Prince Charming. Adore and deify their crony camp followers to gain audience at their door steps, toe their ‘diktat’ at their beck and call only to gain their blessings for cabinet berths and key positions, which doest not augur well for the so called “collective leadership” so vital to counter strategic challenges.

Spokespersons serve as trouble shooters and trouble makers. In attempting to uphold the image of the “dynasty”, they go all out to justify policies and effective implementation at the grass root levels.
Most frustrating, but real, leaders, out of power, brazenly and arrogantly stir sentiments and arouse emotions of disgruntled sections to create crises, launch agitations through protests and self immolations justifying them in the name of democracy.

Invariably, they spin out of control resulting in damage to properties and disturbance to law and order and more bizarre, suicides by students and youth. When riot control measures fail, police open fire to quell mob frenzy resulting in death of activists or bystanders or innocents or even suicides. Fringe elements are exploiting opportunities provided by such developments to polarize different sections of society on confrontational lines.

More important, vendetta politics are quite common. Its fallout is bitter emotional and sentimental divide of pluralist society undermining national values and unity.

In sum, challenges faced by the nation are daunting in all fields – social, political, economic and psychological. Given the ever galloping confrontational and agitation politics on grand display, are myopic or one-dimensional refinements and reforms adequate to restore sanity and peace vital for progress and prosperity?

Yet, there is hope for India to survive the enveloping hostile forces threatening to disintegrate it all over again like in the past. Hope rests on the resilience and sagacity of the “Am Admi” due to his growing awareness on account of information technology revolution.

Time is ripe to banish all the “pretenders” hovering around the palaces of “dynasty or dynasties” and the “Am Admi” must assert his authority.

My plea to the silent middle class majority, which is intellectual and well informed, to carryout widespread dissemination to internal strategic challenges confronting the nation not only among themselves but also to extensively even to the ill informed. Hope rests on the ‘silent majority’ to become the ‘flag bearers’ of the real second or third freedom revolution from the neo-Maharajah dynasties.

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India’s democracy on fire or in peril?

India’s democracy is in peril or at cross roads, unable to resolve proliferating contradictions and controversies on daily basis. If one makes an attempt to resolve one, yet another crops like “Ravana’s Head”.

Mantralayam in Mumbai is on fire? North Block in New Delhi is on fire? So also, India’s democracy is almost inexorably moving towards being engulfed by fire.

India’s political, social, economic and technological environment is in a complex-cum-vicious churning in a centrifuge. What will finally emerge out of it – nectar or poison – posterity alone can dictate. Its mix is quite baffling – over 1.3 billion people continuing at the annual growth rate of 1.4 per cent.

Not a single day passes without agitations and protests, quite frequently escalating into violence with significant fallout on emotional, human and financial costs threatening to undermine national values, unity and consolidation of democracy. Most disturbing, seats of power are on ‘fire’ either due to sabotage or gross incompetence. If allowed to go scot free, all offices may be set on fire by those wanting to obliterate all traces of corrupt practices.

In hindsight, all one can say with some certainty and pride is that democracy has embedded so strongly in the Indian psyche none can derail it easily like in South Asian neighborhood and former colonies elsewhere. However, mass uprisings cannot be ruled out if the mother of all strategic challenges – demographic transitions – is not arrested; foster mother of strategic - challenges - corruption is not contained; rich-poor divide narrowed; and social justice assured.

In sum, the challenges faced by the nation are daunting. Given the ever galloping confrontational and agitation politics in full play, are episodic refinements and reforms adequate to restore sanity and peace vital for progress and prosperity? Lack of political will is legendary over the past 65 years.

During late 1980s, intellectuals generally prescribed refinements as the ‘Mantra” to resolve crises. Few advocating revolutionary changes were drubbed as cynics. By early 1990s, reforms – economic - became the buzzword. Economic integration is vital to promote political integration became the intellectual mantra. Its focus too was on liberalization - open market economy and globalization.

Attracting foreign investments through joint collaboration with aid agencies and multi national companies became the swan song. Other reforms, particularly electoral reforms identified as inescapable imperative to cleanse the system, were only superficially debated in drawing rooms. Vote bank politics through appeasement was mostly used as a weapon to win ballot box battle.

None voiced concern for social reforms – education and health. National integration and nation building processes were consigned to dust bins. None were also concerned about second land reforms prefacing the next wave of ‘Green’ and ‘White’ revolutions. As a footnote in intellectual circles, it was common to hear many pontificating holistic approach to cover social, political, technological and economic sectors.

The Constitution was adopted in 1950. Amendments to the Constitution have been issued to improve and enhance the efficacy of the Constitution from time to time. Yet, delivery mechanisms have failed to make significant breakthroughs. The commonly held belief is “all are equal before law” and “justice delayed is justice denied”.

How apt is the observation of one commentator who stated “law breakers are far more ahead than the law makers. Even before one law is enacted, the law breakers know means of circumventing it.” There is also grudging admission in political circles that “criminalization of politics has taken place during the past three decades”. In such a hostile environment, how can one expect laws to be respected and effectively implemented in its spirit? It is false hope.

Today, systems or systemic failure is the common buzzword among intellectual circles. What does it imply? Systems or systemic failure signifies collapse of the Constitution. In my humble perception, the Constitution is woefully mutilated in practice. The collective ‘will of the people’ – the conscience keepers of the Constitution – continue to remain mute spectators resigned to the inevitability of “Karma” presiding over their destinies and those of the nation.

The common refrain heard is that “India continues to progress somehow mostly due to invisible “Hand from above” guiding people to chart its course; despite bankruptcy of leadership who are gnawing away its vitals or on rampage of looting its resources.

Every one claims to be an expert on what reforms are key to India’s realizing its full potential. Politicians want to maintain focus on representative democracy including electoral reforms and good governance, peace and security, minorities and women’s rights and sustainable development etc. For them, the role of elected representatives is the prime area of concern at the national level. Bureaucracy cries hoarse on implementation of recommendations made by various “Administrative Reforms Commissions” in the past.

Police want four decade pending police reforms to be implemented as recommended by Police Commission. Eminent economists want second stage economic reforms. Judiciary want judicial reforms, but within their ambit. The three wings of the Armed Forces and Central Para Military Forces want modernization reforms. Similarly, almost every field of human activity wants reforms to their existing structures and processes. In sum, cumulative and continuing interactions among diverse sections have enabled identification of key reforms and refinements to enhance the effective functioning and consolidation of democracy, particularly demystification of democracy, empowerment of women and weaker sections.

Ipso facto, sans social reforms or sagacious social management, political reforms cannot be implemented. Similarly, economic reforms collectively acceptable to all sections – rich, middle class and poor – cannot be implemented in isolation without social and political reforms. So also, political reforms cannot be effectively implemented without simultaneously attempting socially and economic reforms. Even technology reforms should form part of restructuring the system. Such is the baffling mix of challenges before the nation.

In today’s dynamic and fluid context, there are ever increasing demands by historically deprived sections constituting majority staking their fair claims for fair share in all fields which democracy offers hope.

Management of such societal aspirations is the real challenge. Similarly, corruption – both moral and physical – threatens the fabric of democracy besides communalism. Furthermore, transparency of governance has become the “war cry’ of civil society. Leadership which can manage such dynamic transitions can only survive; others are bound to perish. How to reconcile the raising aspirations of common people due to growing awareness spread by information revolution is, therefore, the real challenge? There are no easy answers.

Notwithstanding myriad of challenges and crises, somehow the nation is traversing on its pre-destined course. It is the only way one can take solace.