Events

On 24 February 2022, the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) organised an international webinar on “India’s Approach to Cooperation with Africa”. Panelists included eminent speakers from India and Africa. Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy, Director General, MP-IDSA delivered the opening remarks and the Keynote Address was delivered by Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER), Ministry of External Affairs. Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia chaired the first Session on “India-Africa Development Cooperation” and the second session on “India-Africa Security Cooperation” was chaired by Ambassador Gurjit Singh. The speakers in the first session included Mr. David Rasquinha, Dr. Philani Mthembu, Dr. Roberto J. Tibana and Dr. Hoseana Bohela Lunogelo; while Ms. Ruchita Beri, Prof. Hussein Solomon and Ms. Harriet Njoki Mboce, HSC were speakers of the second session. Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Bipin Bakshi (Retd.) delivered the concluding remarks and the vote of thanks. The webinar was attended by scholars from MP-IDSA, guests from Gusau Institute, Nigeria and other invitees from various think-tanks.

Executive Summary

The webinar shed light on all salient aspects of India-Africa Development and Security Cooperation. The distinguished panelists drew from their long on-ground experiences and scholarly expertise to suggest the way forward in diversifying and strengthening the India-Africa relationship. The importance of African Union’s Vision 2063 for India’s approach to cooperation with Africa was highlighted. India-Africa partnership is truly multidimensional and India is a reliable partner for Africa.

Underscoring the mutual importance of India and Africa to each other, it was agreed that successful initiatives like India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) and India Africa Defence Ministers Conclave (IADMC) need to be regularised. The gaining traction of Indo-Pacific creates scope for strengthening India-Africa maritime cooperation. Acknowledging the existing mechanisms for cooperation with Africa, the need to explore potential new ideas like innovative financing, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) based models of development projects and creation of multidimensional institutions in Africa to create local value and capacities was emphasised.

Session I drew attention to the future prospects and avenues to strengthen India-Africa development cooperation. Exploring new areas to enhance India-Africa cooperation must build on existing strengths. It was underlined that India through setting up manufacturing hubs in Africa will play an important role in the economic transformation of Africa. The session pointed out that India could focus on supporting Africa in the industrial and manufacturing domain as well as healthcare sector. Furthermore, there was positive convergence on both sides about the partnership and a need to do more was underscored.

Session II delineated India-Africa security cooperation in traditional and non-traditional security domains. It also deconstructed Africa’s security architecture and the pervasive need to address challenges and concerns wholly from an African perspective. Furthermore, it also addressed how India could engage more proactively with its African partners to ensure continental security.

Detailed Report

Inaugural Session

The Webinar began with Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy, Director General, MP-IDSA welcoming all the distinguished panelists and esteemed guests. He acknowledged the diversity of expertise in the panel which included strategic thinkers, practitioners, former ambassadors and scholars. He shed light on events like Africa Day Round Table, India-Africa Strategic Dialogue and others that are regularly organised by MP-IDSA. Underscoring that India and Africa were mutually important for each other, he delivered the opening remarks of the webinar. Ambassador Chinoy highlighted the historical close ties and maritime trade links particularly between coastal regions of Gujarat and eastern Africa. He stated that the vast Indian diaspora in Africa helps promote ties. Reiterating India’s sustained support to Africa’s liberation from colonialism before and after Independence, he drew attention to the challenges of building consensus in a world inflicted with rising tensions, fractured power and weakened multilateralism in the context of United Nations (UN).

Ambassador Chinoy observed that the world has become flatter with the emergence of non-state actors, gray-zone tactics, disruptive technologies and cyber capabilities. Recognising the disruptive effect of the pandemic particularly on African economies, he indicated that there was scope for India and Africa to work together in dealing with these challenges. He stated that India is a reliable partner of Africa for capacity building programmes, promoting health care and medical assistance amongst others including its rich contributions to the United Nations Peace Keeping Operations (UNPKO). Emphasising successful initiatives like IAFS, he shared that MP-IDSA was the knowledge partner for the upcoming India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD). Stating the principles of equality, mutual respect and benefits underlying India-Africa partnership, he suggested potential areas for strengthening cooperation. India could consider collaborating with other countries like Japan, US, UAE for building capacity and developing infrastructure in Africa. He observed that the problem of piracy was shifting to Gulf of Guinea and suggested that perhaps India could work together with countries like France for ensuring maritime security in the region. Remarking on the gaining traction of the Indo-Pacific, he highlighted the scope for improving maritime cooperation between India and Africa as they are welded together by shared oceanic spaces.

On this note, Ambassador Chinoy introduced and welcomed Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), to deliver the keynote address. Shri Ravi began by acknowledging the panel. Drawing from his own experiences, he shared innovative new ideas for furthering the mutually beneficial India-Africa relationship to a much stronger partnership. He drew attention to efforts made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in bringing India-Africa closer. These include the announcements to open 18 new missions in Africa of which nine are already open, continued India-Africa summits and increased exchange of bilateral visits at various levels. He shed light on the PM’s address to the Ugandan Parliament which brought out the ten principles of India’s partnership with African countries. Observing that the logic of sharing was part of the cultural ethos of both regions, he asserted that more could be done by India besides the existing USD12 billion project commitment, Lines of Credits (LOCs) and grant assistance, capacity building under Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), infrastructure projects of roads, bridges, ports and airports.

Recognising that lengthy processes take a toll on patience, he remarked that India must focus on being nimble footed in its cooperation with Africa and be sharper in its delivery timelines. Stating that it is unfair to compare India’s cooperation efforts with China, he underscored the need for ‘value creation’ as a measure to approach Africa. He assessed that Africa is no longer just a mineral rich continent but rather is itself changing, is highly aspirational and India’s priority must be to create value with the minerals within Africa instead of extracting them. Shri Ravi appreciated the far-sightedness of African Union’s Vision 2063 and stated that India through its industries could tap into the huge potential created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). With this background, he put forth multiple future prospects of India’s cooperation with Africa. In terms of trade, he proposed that manufacturing hubs must be created in the African continent with Indian support and joint venture with African locals. He shed light on underlying benefits of creating as well as sustaining employment along with multiplying revenue generation locally. This would be in spirit of India’s Aatamanirbhar Bharat which the PM made clear was for the world markets.

Emphasising that the government could not do everything, he underscored the potential of innovative financing and opening partnerships in the banking sector for executing projects in Africa. Referring to ITEC, he stressed on creation of multidimensional institutions on the African continent to create value locally and capacities to support Vision 2063. This could include the agriculture sector for Africa to become food self-sufficient; medical & healthcare sector to set-up medical colleges and nursing homes in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model; enhancing technical education by exploring cooperation with USA, UK, France, Japan and others to create local technical skills to take advantage of new technologies. Shri Ravi proposed the idea of replicating India’s own successful and inexpensive flagship programmes in Africa by altering them to suit local conditions. In this context, he mentioned Aadhar, Ayushman Bharat, Har Ghar Jal and Saubhagya. Recognizing the need for prior study and pilot projects, he presented the benefits of implementing them gradually as this would create value in the relationship. He remarked on the shared diaspora and suggested creation of support mechanisms to strengthen people-to-people contacts. He concluded by reiterating the need to explore these ideas to further India’s cooperation with Africa.

Session I

Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Gateway House and Former High Commissioner of India to South Africa and Kenya, chaired the first session of the webinar on the theme “India-Africa Economic Cooperation”. He began by paying tribute to the sterling work being done by MP-IDSA to promote India-Africa relationship. Greeting the diverse eminent panelists, he remarked on the truly multidimensional partnership of India-Africa and asserted the need for seizing every opportunity to listen to African voices. Ambassador Bhatia acknowledged the speakers who had joined from various African countries and shared his delight in being part of listening to experts from Africa. Expressing hope that the analysis and suggestions by the speakers would improve India’s policy approach to Africa, he moderated the first session.

Mr. David Rasquinha, Member, Advisory Board on Banking and Financial Frauds and Former Managing Director at Export-Import Bank of India, drew inputs from his rich on-ground experiences and shared valuable suggestions for strengthening India-Africa development cooperation. He began by reflecting on financial assistance as central to development cooperation. In this context, he highlighted the unintended consequences and challenges of categorisation of developing countries to provide assistance. In order to cope with it, he suggested that India must focus on simplifying processes and legal documents as well as ensure uniform terms for all developing countries. Speeding up processes in inter-ministerial consultations, enhancing the ability of Indian companies to meet international standards as well as avoiding multiple ministerial consultations could be India’s priorities. Addressing the usually raised issues of Indian content, Mr. Rasquinha explained that considering India is itself a developing country and furthermore, a democracy dealing with issues like poverty, India’s conditionality of Indian content in offering technical assistance and financial aid is justified so as to ensure support of its population for such initiatives.

Mr. Rasquinha proposed three distinct ideas focusing on healthcare, investments and funding of projects. On healthcare, he referred to EXIM Bank’s “Madiba-Mahatma Initiative” and influx of Africans in medical tourism to India. He underscored that setting up a network of hospitals in Africa initially operated by well-established Indian hospitals and eventually handed over to locals would transform healthcare in Africa. Noting the transactional nature of development projects, he suggested building a lasting investment driven India-Africa relationship. Citing the example of Suzuki operations in India; he proposed developing lasting commercial relations between Indian companies and the partner company in Africa. In terms of funding, Mr. Rasquinha shed light on the need to expand EXIM Bank’s branches in Africa and encourage Indian banks to establish corresponding banking networks in Africa that could generate local savings and supplement development finance.

Dr. Philani Mthembu, Executive Director, Institute for Global Dialogue, South Africa, emphasised that efforts to explore new areas to enhance India-Africa cooperation must build on the existing strengths. Some of these include people-to-people ties, private sector partnerships and reforms in development partnership administration. He assessed that ITEC, deputation of Indian experts abroad and extending loans were part of the growing multiplicity of tools that India has used in cooperating with the African continent. He shed light on the lessons of the pandemic, increase in African stakeholders in India, strengthening of norm entrepreneurs in changing international landscapes, the crisis of multilateralism, problems within World Health Organisation (WHO) and the convergence of India-African countries on intellectual property rights. He underscored that for India-Africa development cooperation to move forward, India must draw from the developmental challenges and opportunities identified by Africa in its Agenda 2063.

Dr. Mthembu identified the AfCFTA as a key element of Agenda 2063 and opined that India could play an important role in operationalizing the AfCFTA as well as developing regional value chains. Reflecting on the growing population dominated by the youth, he underlined the opportunities it presents as a growing market for Indian enterprises. He indicated that the role played by Indian private sector in countries with weak diplomatic ties was an advantage for India. He explained that by establishing regional value chains, India could provide the cooperation that Africa needs in order to play a greater role in a multipolar world. However, Dr. Mthembu cautioned that India’s leverage of its advantages and approach to Africa must be motivated by underlying shared historical ties rather than be driven due to increased engagement by EU or US with the continent. He concluded by highlighting the plethora of services like education, jobs, healthcare required by the African continent that India could provide and focus on working with African stakeholders.

Dr. Roberto J. Tibana, Director of Research, African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), Ghana, began by sharing the conclusions of a group of experts gathered by ACET in 2014 - “Africa is growing but was not transforming.” He shared insightful remarks on avenues for India to support the economic transformation of Africa and highlighted the convergences of opinions between the Indian and African speakers as a positive sign of improving the partnership. Dr. Tibana presented the five dimensional aspects of economic transformation – diversification of economies, export competitiveness, increase in productivity, technological upgrading and human well-being. He appreciated that Secretary (ER)’s keynote address focused on the operationalisation of all these aspects. Remarking on the challenge of job creation for the youth, he stated the need for companies developed by Africans and by foreigners in Africa and indicated India as among as the key players. He expressed that setting up manufacturing hubs in Africa was the need of the hour and is well in tune with Africa’s vision.

Dr. Tibana explained that growth with transformation would require Africa to focus on technology and trade linkages with the Rest of the World (ROW) as well as within itself in a versatile manner. India could assist in the same as there is cohesiveness and intersection in the Indian and African thinking. He stated that partnership between India and Japan was welcome in policy making and would energize Asia-Africa cooperation. On the issue of energy transition, he opined that India’s investments in Gas and Oil in Mozambique were welcome inspite of the controversies of energy sources as Africa particularly is currently in need of investments in Gas and Oil to facilitate eventual transition of energy, promote foreign exchange and feed into domestic industry. Pointing out that India was shifting gears in terms of its economic outlook for cooperation with Africa, he stressed on the need for enhancing skills in all sectors of economic activity in Africa. Dr. Tibana concluded by reiterating the agenda to be pursued by India as “produce in Africa and invest in Africa”.

Dr. Hoseana Bohela Lunogelo, Principal Research Associate, Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF), Tanzania, expressed his appreciation of Secretary (ER)’s address which seemed like that of a special ambassador to Africa. Sharing about the collaboration between think-tanks in Africa, he remarked that they all opine India of all countries has a special and unique relationship with Africa. This is evidenced by the presence of Indian diaspora in Africa and trade between the two regions particularly of minerals exports like gold. He acknowledged the need for India to invest in local manufacturing of minerals instead of extracting. Referring to ITEC programmes, he stated that countries like Tanzania had benefitted in terms of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and training of irrigation engineers. He suggested that centers of excellence set up by ITEC must consider expanding to other sectors like medical, agricultural, etc.

Dr. Lunogelo drew attention to the opportunities for Indian companies to invest in Green Clean energy and cited examples of efforts made by Rwanda to use green energy. Mentioning the popular presence of Indian motorcycle company Bajaj, he stated that reserves in natural gas in Mozambique and India presented opportunities for both of them. Emphasising that India and Africa could improve trade in agriculture and commodities, he briefly remarked on the challenges faced by Tanzania in exports to India. He presented the contours of improvement for India-Tanzania development cooperation. Dr. Lunogelo proposed that India could invest in the creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Tanzania through a PPP based model. He concluded by acknowledging India as Africa’s key partner with comprehensive advantages.

In the Q/A session, questions pertaining to cyber security and India-Africa synergy in practice to drive growth in both continents was raised. Panelists observed that cyber security was an important pillar of India-Africa cooperation and India has the potential to play a leading role in the cyber domain. It was noted that balance between citizen concerns and government prerogatives would be important. Furthermore, it was noted with particular emphasis that cyber-attacks affect small scale enterprises more severely and India through its ITEC could focus on skill transfer to create robustness in cyber architecture of small scale companies. On India-Africa synergy, the need for investment and creation of manufacturing hubs in Africa to utilise the growing demographic dividend was highlighted. It was reiterated that setting up manufacturing hubs would be mutually beneficial as labour is cheaper in Africa.

Ambassador Bhatia concluded the first session by reiterating the key highlights of the first session. India-Africa cooperation must focus on economic transformation, move beyond trade and investment by prioritizing industrial and manufacturing domain. Healthcare is another priority sector. Furthermore, Ambassador Bhatia called for the need to recapture the momentum of India-Africa ties by regularly convening the India-Africa Forum Summits.

Session II

Ambassador Gurjit Singh, Chairman, CII Task Force on Trilateral Partnerships in Africa and Former Ambassador of India to AU and Ethiopia, opened the second session for discussion by expressing his gratitude to MP-IDSA and highlighted its role as a knowledge partner for the IADD. Echoing the remarks made by the chair of the previous session, Ambassador Bhatia, he reiterated that India and Africa need to re-engage institutionally, including on security cooperation. He also explained that India and Africa built their relationship by establishing military academies in Ethiopia and Nigeria, training personnel, and participation in the UNPKO. Today, the focus has shifted towards non-traditional security domains, such as counter-terrorism, piracy, and climate change. However, he asserted that these threats are not evenly attended to, with anti-piracy operations assuming primacy.

Furthermore, Ambassador Singh added that India became one of the first countries to incorporate Eastern and Southern African seaboards within its Indo-Pacific Ocean context. Therefore, India can be a security provider and support base for African countries. He also underlined that, unlike other African countries’ partners, India engages with Africa through capacity building instead of dictating its internal matters.

Ms. Ruchita Beri, Senior Research Associate & Coordinator, Africa, LAC & UN Centre, MP-IDSA, underscored how India has prioritised its foreign policy towards Africa and how India–Africa partnership is driven by African priorities. She delineated how India’s engagement with Africa spans different levels, including pan-Africa, regional, and bi-lateral levels. India’s SAGAR doctrine – Security and Growth for All in the Region – initially flagged in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in Mauritius in 2014, drives India’s security cooperation with the African continent. There is recognition within India that development and security are intertwined and how underdevelopment, directly and indirectly, undermines African security. Moreover, she highlighted how security enables and protects the fruit of development and discussed three pillars of India’s engagement with Africa, such as training, UNPKO, and maritime security. Training has served as India’s main focus of its Africa policy, with emphasis being placed on enhancing skills, training military officers, including the Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari, a notable alumni of the Defence Services Staff College (Wellington).

Ms. Beri also emphasised how India has actively participated in promoting peace through the UNPKO and deployed women peacekeepers, including in Liberia. This has helped in enhancing the role of women in security and peace operations. Indian women peacekeepers were hailed as role models for gender equality and an inspiration for women in local communities to enter the security domain. India has also cooperated in the maritime sphere through the deployment of its navy in anti-piracy operations and delivery of humanitarian aid on request of African countries due to its shared interests in the Indian Ocean. Furthermore, she pointed out that India has sought to enhance its cooperation with Africa by hosting the biennial Defence Ministers Conclave in February 2020 and will do so again in March 2022. Moreover, she recommended that it is crucial to understand African priorities and challenges to enhance India–Africa cooperation.

Additionally, Ms. Beri highlighted further how the African continent had been mired with conflicts over the years; however, it has also witnessed economic growth and political reforms over the last two decades. Like India, Africa has also confronted non-traditional security challenges, including climate change, directly impacting its food and energy security issues. Furthermore, health-based concerns have become securitised, as the discussions surrounding the outbreak of the Ebola Virus and COVID-19 pandemic have found a place on the international agenda, and have become national security priorities. On the other hand, she claimed that terrorism has also served as a critical area of concern for India and Africa. Therefore, India must engage with Africa on these issues. According to the speaker, it is essential to learn from each other’s experiences and construct a common discourse on issues of mutual interest. India’s contribution to peacekeeping has served to promote peace in Africa, while its forces have also learned from African conflict resolution mechanisms. However, India must ensure its policies address diversity since Africa is not a monolithic entity.

Professor Hussein Solomon, Senior Professor, Security Studies and Conflict Resolution, Department of Political Science, University of Free State, South Africa, explained that India and Africa have common interests in the reform of the global multilateral system, including the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Peacebuilding Committee. The speaker also affirmed that the critical juncture the world has found itself in amid great uncertainty and rupture has provided fertile ground for India and Africa security cooperation. However, security has deteriorated in Africa, more so in the Sahel region, over the years, despite foreign troops’ presence and financial assistance, and France recently announced its decision to exit from Mali. He provided statistics, beginning from 1989, for validating his claims. Such challenges have emerged from Africa’s post-colonial legacy, dysfunctional state security apparatus, arms and narco-trafficking, food insecurity, and the youth bulge with increasing demands to address unemployment. Consequently, alternative power centres have come to the fore.

Professor Solomon also added that over the years, living standards have also worsened. It is worrisome that some of Africa’s most powerful states, including Nigeria and South Africa, are experiencing turmoil as deteriorating socio-economic conditions have resulted in ethnic secessionism, political agitation, and electoral violence. Africa’s standby forces and regional economic communities have failed to address these growing challenges. He also underlined that given India’s growing interest in Africa, it needs to move away from viewing its security policy through a state-centric lens to reflect current reality. India also needs to be more proactive in engaging with Africa’s private sector and community-based organisations to ensure African security. These non-state actors are playing an increasingly important role as the state's power declines since it has proved incapable of securing the continent on its terms.

Professor Solomon also pointed out that the military might remain insufficient to eliminate the proliferation of terrorists across the continent. As indicated by the Global Terrorism Index, governance determines the size, longevity, and success of terrorist groups. Therefore, India needs to prioritise good governance in its security relations with Africa. Currently, India mainly imitates a Western approach in its security cooperation with the African continent. Therefore, he recommended that it develop an indigenous approach in this regard.

While underscoring that privatisation of security is a new trend, Ambassador Singh added that India is not ready to directly step into any internal African matters. Indian contribution remains limited to the traditional security support it provides for capacity building to African countries. He also appreciated Professor Solomon’s point about how the African security architecture leaves much to be desired.

Ms. Harriet Njoki Mboce, HSC, Consultant and Policy Advisor, Faculty, School of Law, University of Nairobi and Advocate, High Court of Kenya, acknowledged MP-IDSA’s role in bringing together an African-centric panel for the webinar. She reiterated Shri Dammu Ravi’s point about the strong ties between India and Kenya, how Indians are referred to as the “44th tribe” in Kenya, and how India has greatly absorbed African students. She emphasised a need to look at cooperation from an African perspective. According to her, maritime security is a critical domain of security collaboration, and the newly instituted Kenyan Security Guard Service can play a role in this regard. Some of the areas of collaboration include pollution control, maritime security and safety, trafficking of drugs, arms, ammunition, and illegal goods, sanitation, prosecution of maritime offenders, and search and rescue.

Ms. Mboce also called for collaboration between coastal guards, research, and academic institutions. The speaker also emphasised the need for software and hardware search and rescue capacity building as part of Indian and Kenyan Coast Guards’ joint initiative. She also introduced the idea of exchange programmes for students to get a hands-on approach in dealing with maritime security issues.

During the Q/A session, Ambassador Singh refuted one of the comments about the lack of cooperation between India and Africa in peace and security architecture and mentioned how African countries prefer Western partners in the security and peace domain and India on development issues. India is a country that will accommodate proposals emanating from the African continent and not thrust its proposals on the African states. However, India has contributed funds to the upkeep of the African Mission in Somalia and for operations in the Sahel through the African Union’s Peace and Security Architecture Peace Fund.

Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy, Director General, MP-IDSA, expressed his gratitude to the Chair for moderating the session and highlighted how the Kenyan Coast Guard’s capacity building proposal must emanate from within Kenya and must be driven by Kenyan priorities. He also highlighted the spillover of terrorism from countries in the Sahel region, including Mali, the effects of which are already visible.

Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Bipin Bakshi (Retd.), Deputy Director General, MP-IDSA, concluded the webinar by speaking about the wonderful intellectual African Safari that this session had provided. He highlighted his experience in Africa as a UN Peacekeeper in Angola between 1995 and 1996. He expressed his appreciation of the historically rich cooperation between India and Africa, as was mentioned by the eminent panelists. He underscored the long-standing presence of Indian diaspora, technology, Indian teachers and military trainers in Africa. He also highlighted the importance of looking at the concept of Make in Africa for Africa and the World since greater cooperation and an Exclusive Economic Zone approach were also discussed in today’s webinar. It is equally significant to expand skilling efforts in healthcare, engineering, IT training, counter-terrorism, cyber security, and maritime security cooperation.

He proposed the vote of thanks on behalf of team MP-IDSA and expressed his profound gratitude to the eminent speakers for sparing time from their busy schedules to share their thoughts and participate in the discussions. He also expressed his special thanks to the Chairpersons, Ambassador Singh and Ambassador Bhatia who skilfully guided the discussions and showered generous praise on the Institute and the Africa team in their opening remarks. He also expressed his profound gratitude to Ambassador Chinoy for guiding the preparations for the webinar and illuminating the discussion with his introductory remarks, the Africa centre scholars, and the web team for setting up and conducting an excellent webinar. He looks forward to similar engagements in the future. Finally, he thanked the participants for patiently engaging and listening to the discussions and bade everyone a good evening.

Report prepared by Ms. Sindhu Dinesh, Research Analyst, ALACUN Centre, MP-IDSA (Inaugural session & Session I) and Ms. Saman Ayesha Kidwai, Research Analyst, Counter Terrorism Centre, MP-IDSA (Session II and Concluding remarks).

The Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) organised a virtual Talk on “Colonial Borders as State ‘Simplification’ Project: Garo Hills in the late 19th and early 20th Century” by Shri Sanjeeva Kumar, IAS, former Secretary (Border Management) on 02 February 2022. The discussion was chaired by Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy, Director General, MP-IDSA, and was attended by Maj. Gen. Bipin Bakshi, Deputy Director General, MP-IDSA, Dr. Pushpita Das, Col. DPK Pillay, and other members of the MP-IDSA fraternity.

Executive Summary

The State ‘Simplification’ Project in the Garo Hills was essentially a new resource management regime designed to give the colonial power larger control over the fertile Garo Hills. The Project imposed artificial boundaries in the region by dividing and delegitimising the Garo community. It completely destroyed the Garos popular culture, customs, practices and social relations. A majority of the contemporary border disputes in Northeast India stem from the colonial period and necessitate a thorough understanding of the boundary notifications and the lines that preceded them.

Detailed Report

Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy, Director General, MP-IDSA, initiated the talk by introducing the audience to the speaker’s diverse background and his extensive experience in Northeast India. Ambassador Chinoy, at the outset, acknowledged that the majority of the problems Northeast India faces today have their roots in the colonial period, when Britishers loosely defined their borders in order to serve their ultimate goal of building a colonial empire. Thus, their policies and practises in Northeast India, as well as in Myanmar and adjoining areas, were derived from the 'holistic frontier policy'. Ambassador Chinoy emphasised the importance of viewing and understanding contemporary challenges in the Northeast through the lens of its colonial history.

Shri Sanjeeva Kumar depicted the manner in which Britishers drew artificial lines in the Garo hills of Meghalaya (then part of Assam) during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the disastrous impact they had on everyday issues of livelihood and social relationships. He claimed that the 'project' was undertaken haphazardly to simplify the limited state functions of taxation and law enforcement, as well as to facilitate greater control over natural resources. This, in turn, resulted in large scale discontent and displacement of Garos and eventually led to widespread protests erroneously referred to as "irrational acts of barbarism and idiosyncrasy of the hill men".

Shri Kumar termed the colonial efforts in the nascent South Asian states as State 'Simplification' Project, claiming that the Project was essentially a 'new resource management regime’ driven by the exigencies of the Industrial Revolution. The same was true of the Garo Hills, where the Britishers strived to expand their control over the fertile foothills by completely dividing and delegitimizing the Garo community. Shri Kumar discussed the manner in which the State 'Simplification' Project was facilitated in the Garo Hills through gradually declaring 'reserve forests' in 1864 and then declaring the community land as 'Wasteland' in 1878. According to him, the entire process overlooked record keeping, land demarcation, and the creation of revenue maps. Meanwhile, surveys and settlements received adequate attention as these provided ‘documentary intelligence’ in the forms of making of theodolite stations, drawing of cadastral maps etc.

Shri Sanjeeva Kumar also delved into the modus operandi of the State ‘Simplification’ Project in the Garo Hills. He noted that the Britishers, in a bid to make the Garos more ‘legible’ and easier to govern, consciously arranged them into five ‘artificial categories’- Bemalua, Bibhagnama, Nazrana, Zamindari and Namdani.  This also gave the State a greater control over the population. Habraghat Pargana, located in the south of the foothills, became the actual point of contest where the boundaries were frequently drawn by the Britishers and where the non-tribal Zamindars, Garos and the Britishers- were engaged in a war of attrition for exercising greater control over natural resources of the foot hills. The Project resulted in large-scale Garo displacement and mindless violence manifested during the 1807-1819 raids, and, ultimately led to a protracted conflict for the Garo land. He opined that the subjectivity of the Garos shifted with shifting boundaries in the foothills. While ‘Bemalua’ remained free, the others moved on the continuum from freedom to subordination.

The speaker underscored that the year 1901 marked a watershed moment in the Garos’ history, as their protests shifted from a tribal-based movement to a larger struggle for Garo land. He also emphasised Sonaram Sangma's pivotal contributions to the protracted Garos' agitation. Sangma used history and the legal system to restore the Garos' customary rights over 500 square miles of land, including the Garo Hills, foothills, and parts of the plains. Although the Garos' long battle with the Colonial State yielded little fruit, the community heroically confronted the artificial barriers with a variety of responses.

Shri Sanjeeva Kumar concluded his presentation by emphasising the need to rethink border studies in South Asia, which have mostly focused on 'security' issues while completely ignoring the eco-system of border regions. The speaker also alluded to the north eastern states' limited success in resolving the boundary disputes, cautioning them against interpreting colonial borders as "sacrosanct" and "immutable." Shri Kumar advocated for an "open-minded" approach to resolve the existing boundary disputes, backed up with a thorough grasp of border-making procedures throughout the colonial period.

Discussion and Key Takeaways

During the discussion, the panellists expressed their concerns over important issues like colonial division of East Bengal from rest of the Northeast, settlement of boundary disputes between Assam and Nagaland, and the restoration of tribal customary rights while redefining the colonial borders in the Northeast, etc.

As a way forward, the panellists concurred on the importance of studying the nitty-gritty of colonial border marking exercises. However, the same ought to be seen in the backdrop of customary usage of the past and the existing ground realities in the Northeast.

The talk concluded with the vote of thanks by Dr. Pushpita Das, Coordinator, Internal Security Centre, MP-IDSA.

The Report has been prepared by Ms. Rajbala Rana, Research Analyst, Internal Security Centre, MP-IDSA.

Dr. Opangmeren Jamir, Research Analyst, East-Asia Centre, Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis, spoke on the “Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Bhutan’s Economy” at the Monday Morning Webinar held on 7 March 2022. The webinar was chaired by Dr. Uttam Kumar Sinha, Coordinator, Non-Traditional Security Centre. The Deputy Director General, Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Bipin Bakshi (Retd.) and other scholars of the Institute participated in the webinar.       

Executive Summary

The pandemic has brought many challenges in the world, especially for developing nations like Bhutan. Some challenges that emanate from the pandemic are in social, educational and healthcare sectors. Apart from these issues, the efforts Bhutan took to contain the pandemic are very satisfactory. The healthcare sector did well by vaccinating 65 per cent of Bhutan’s population. However, Bhutan has gone through an economic crunch which affected its other sectors.

Detailed Report

Dr. Uttam Kumar Sinha, the moderator, made opening remarks on the topic and introduced the audience to the topic “Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Bhutan’s Economy”. He mentioned that Bhutan is one of the few countries that managed the pandemic well. He also focused on the social, economic, education, and especially the healthcare system that Bhutan managed and how they vaccinated its population. Despite all this management, the economy was hit by the pandemic and major sectors were declining.

Dr. Opangmeren Jamir explained the topic in three parts. The first part focused on Bhutan’s economy before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the pandemic. The second part emphasised the steps undertaken by the Bhutanese government to sustain the economy during the pandemic, via policy measures, i.e., Mining Bill 2020 and the commercialisation of forests.  The last part of the presentation revolved around India-Bhutan cooperation with a special focus on hydropower projects.

The speaker highlighted that Bhutan is following the principle strategy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) to measure the well-being and collective happiness of its population. The strategy has helped to achieve many sustainable development goals. Once the pandemic set in, the economy of Bhutan was on the brink. According to the National Income Statistics 2021, the economic growth of Bhutan in 2020 was 10 per cent. Except for sectors like agriculture and electricity, sectors like mining, communication, tourism, construction, and transportation made significant contributions to the economy. The tourism sector had boomed from 2012 to 2019 which became the backbone of Bhutan’s economy. But in 2020, the tourist arrivals plummeted to 29,000 as compared to 315,599 in 2019. Data shows that in 2019-2020 there was a decline in tourists by 91 per cent and this negatively impacted the economy with a 92 per cent decrease in GDP as compared to the previous year. Additionally, the fiscal deficit of Bhutan in 2019-2020 was Nu 3.385 bn and reached Nu 11.139 bn in the financial year 2020-2021.

Despite all these issues, Bhutan became one of the most successful countries in dealing with the pandemic. According to the WHO report (2022), till 6 March 2022, the total number of Covid-19 confirmed cases in Bhutan were 13,846 with only 6 deaths and 90 per cent of the population was fully vaccinated. To mitigate the impact of the pandemic, the Bhutanese Government launched the social welfare scheme called National Resilience Fund to help sectors like tourism and agriculture.    

As per the Bhutanese constitution, Article 14(6) says “the government shall ensure that the cost of recurrent expenditure is met from internal resources of the country”.  The government attempted to generate revenue by exploring domestic resources via bringing mining bills and commercialisation of forests. As compared to the tourism and hydropower sector which contributed to strengthening Bhutan’s economy, mining was not much explored in earlier times. However, the Mining Bill was defeated in the National Assembly and National Council. The prime reason for the failure was the conflict of interests between the private and government sector. Members of the National Assembly were in favour of nationalisation of coal and other strategic mines while putting non-strategic mines under the private sector which was a violation of the Constitution of Bhutan. On the other hand, members of the National Council were in favour of the nationalisation of all mines that was also mandated by Article 1(12) of its Constitution, according to which all-natural resources should be under state rule.

The speaker highlighted the commercialisation of forests, another measure to generate revenue. However, there is high risk involved as deforestation leads to many climate issues. As Bhutan is the only carbon negative country, there is an onus on the decision-makers to balance economic development with ecological protection. Article 5(3) of Bhutan mandates the government shall ensure that “in order to conserve the country’s natural resources and to prevent degradation of the ecosystem, a minimum of 60 per cent of Bhutan’s total land shall be maintained under forest cover for all time.”   

The last section of the presentation focused on India-Bhutan cooperation on hydropower projects. India has been a consistent partner in providing development assistance to Bhutan. In the budget session of India for FY 2021-2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a development assistance of 7,100 crore rupees to countries in India’s neighbourhood, in which the share of Bhutan was maximum with 3,004 crore rupees.

One of the special features of India-Bhutan relations is the hydropower project, which dates back to 23 March 1974, the Chukha hydropower project. Later, agreements on the construction of two more power projects were concluded; the 60 MW Kurichhu and the 1020 MW Tala hydropower project. The 2006 agreement added another 5000 MW of electricity export from Bhutan to India. Later the 1200 MW Punatsangchu was unveiled.  

Hydropower export is a major component of Bhutan’s economy that contributed over 40 per cent to its national revenue and 25 per cent to its GDP. These projects have been identified as a win-win. Despite India’s economic development assistance, there is a negative perception in Bhutan about India, more during the economic shutdown. In the past several years, the performance of Bhutan’s hydropower projects has declined. The total debt (Domestic and External) in 2018-19 was Nu 184.174 including the share for hydropower debt of Nu 142.036 bn. The total debt increased in 2020-21 to Nu 234.389 with hydropower debt climbing to Nu 162.359 bn.

India’s actions were blamed for the hydropower debt situation in Bhutan as India reversed the financial model from 60:40 (60 per cent grants and 40 per cent loans) to a 30:70 model (30 per cent grants and 70 per cent commercial loans). Another major reason was fixing low electricity tariffs for the energy imported from Bhutan. The Bhutanese officials complained that India is getting cheaper electricity from Bhutan as compared to domestic market rates in India. Escalation of costs in the construction of hydropower projects is a major reason for increasing debt. Further, Bhutanese officials failed to undertake rigorous environmental impact assessments. In addition, the hydropower projects also failed to generate jobs for the local population as contracts are mostly held by the Indian construction companies.  

Comments and Questions

Following this extensive presentation, Dr. Uttam Kumar Sinha first called upon Deputy Director General, Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Bipin Bakshi (Retd.) for his comments. Dr. Sinha later opened the floor to the participants.

Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Bipin Bakshi threw light on bilateral cooperation in the field of economy and security. He discussed the role of the Indian Army training the Bhutanese Army and the development of roads by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). He also talked about Operation All Clear (2003) where 40 ULFA camps were uprooted in the region by the Indian Army.

Dr. Uttam K. Sinha commenting on the presentation highlighted Bhutan’s format of development and how social, cultural, and environmental costs are equally important. He also talked about the form of government in Bhutan since 2018 and its objectives regarding the demands of Bhutanese societies that are also reflected in its economic plans and its development goals.

Ms. Mayuri Bannerji asked about the sectors other than tourism that were hit by the pandemic and what foreign remittances contributed to Bhutan’s economy and how it impacted Bhutan’s economy.    

Mr. Prashant Singh asked about the interests of international, governmental, and non-governmental donors in Bhutan and any other demands within Bhutan to open up for foreign economic cooperation other than that with India, particularly China.   

Dr. Opangmeren Jamir gave extensive and insightful remarks and a detailed discussion was held on all questions and comments by participants. 

Report prepared by Mr. Mukesh Kumar, Intern, Centre for Defence Economics and Industry, Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (MP-IDSA), New Delhi