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DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20110212T053000
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DTSTAMP:20261108T203510
CREATED:20231223T204943Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231224T131011Z
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SUMMARY:National Strategy Lecture - Explaining India’s peaceful transition and what means to India’s future
DESCRIPTION:Chair: Mr. V. Krishnappa \n \nProfessor Mitra spoke on the topic – Governance\, citizenship and India’s counter-factual democracy. In that context he spoke on how India is looked at. Whether democracy is deepening and strengthening or is it at edges?  Is the state of Indian democracy such that it shows unfolding of liberal dream or will it just disappear with course of time? He suggested the theory of democratic transition and pointed out the sociology of knowledge of politics of India. Then he looked at the state from three perspectives to develop a model for India\, in order for India to move from here – poverty\, communitarian setups and other irrational concepts – to there – democratic institutions\, other rational organisations\, democracy\, high growth rate\, etc.  \nTo initiate the proceedings\, Prof Mitra explained the concept of counter factual democracy\, wherein he emphasised that India finds it difficult to reconcile its democratic achievements with its inconsistencies. He substantiated this with the help of examples\, contrasting the inconsistencies in Indian democracy\, with the help of pictorial presentation of the various comparable events. Working closely with the professional bureaucrats who act mostly by virtue of their ranks\, the new political elites like army and judiciary create hybrid political system which holds modern state and traditional society together. It is an ongoing process.  \nThree views of the State: \nThe speaker examined the state from 3 perspectives:  \nThe first overview of the Indian state was from the Marxist perspective and goes back to the era of industrial revolution\, when the state was considered to be the committee of bourgeoisie. Society was divided into two\, on the basis of capital acquisition\, as have and have nots. This according to the speaker is the fixed image of state which others have and they cannot look beyond it.  \nAnother way was that the State goes into battle to produce modernity\, growth and institutions\, and at the end has its two hands tied behind the back because of democracy. Therefore the state has to be a soft state and cannot face hard problems.  \nThe third way of looking at State has been drawn from the theory of Rudolf and Rudolf\, wherein they defined the Indian state as the Avataars of Vishnu. Simultaneously it is also the State of Marx waiver\, wherein the state has the monopoly of legitimate violence and acts as an honest broker presiding over the conflicts of the state.  \nModel of the State:\nHe pointed out that the Indian state keeps shuttling between neutral enforcer and partisan\, on which he developed his model of state. This model presupposes that if there is a structural change in terms of industrialization and political role then the society would polarize and develop its own dynamics\, which would lead to ethnic identity mobilization. The speaker compared the position of India with other post-colonial countries. For example the example of Basha Andolan that took place in Pakistan\, which created political conflict in ethnic identity mobilization and destroyed the state. India could avoid such a chaos because between the political conflicts and end of all things\, elite could intervene with package of policies\, which would include order\, welfare and identity. The speaker pointed out some of the things that are important for good governance\, and for turning rebels into stakeholders. In that context\, law and order management and strategic reforms are very important. And also pointing at the third factor that is dignity as to one’s language\, family\, identity and God\, he indicated that it is sacred and if incorporated in the constitutions of the states\, will transform the politics framed in sacredness into transactional. Therefore\, order\, welfare and identity should be put in institutional policies and processes of society to avoid any disorderliness.  \nMost importantly\, in India\, the people took power seriously\, which led to mixed economy\, creating balance in the economy. According to the speaker\, under the rhetoric of parliamentary politics\, goes on the real public policy making\, which he termed as fuzzy model of Indian state. He also indicated that for states to be successful three things are required- Efficacy\, Legitimacy and Trust and explained in detail these concepts from a less ideal as well as the most ideal framework in which the modern state and institutions are bound. \nSuccessful Governance in India:\nThe speaker said that the number of violent deaths and riots have come down from earlier times. The concept of cooperative federalism in India makes sure that the Centre help states out if they are facing impossible odds\, like in case of Northeast India and Kashmir. And despite huge variations in budget contributions\, India is holding together. The modern institutions are imported and reformed by way of hybridization with the help of innovative legislation\, innovative institution\, two-track strategy and region meets theory. However\, it was pointed out by the speaker that\, there is a lot of skepticism about India not only in India\, but outside as well. \nDiscussion: \nThere were two interesting questions asked which came up during Q & A session.  \n1.	Bringing out the difference between India and other colonial countries\, it was pointed out that while others developed the state first and then defined their nation\, India as a nation came first and then the assimilated other cultures and religions into it\, as a state. How true it is?\n2.	How the political discourse in India should be with respect to colonial laws?  \nOn the State-Nation duality\, Prof Mitra explained it as a problem of political analysis as far as India is concerned. He identified instances\, how a state can help without being part of the nation and supported state-nation duality.  \nWith respect to colonial laws\, he said that the puzzle of Indian governance can be resolved by examining the colonial laws closely\, understand them\, protect them and then build on them. \nThere was a question asked about the learnings from British and how far they worked\, while pointing out the role of various movements that took place during that time like Gandhiji’s Satyagraha movement\, which proved to be well controlled and successful? \nAbout the role of ideologies in the contemporary era\, since the British rule\, the speaker said that militant non-violence had been prevalent earlier\, which was displayed in 1920 Gandhiji’s Satyagraha. He urged we must reuse colonial institutions to give it a democratic content. He also said that Nehru and Gandhi still can go together in the contemporary era.  \nReport prepared by Haifa Peerzada\, Research Intern\, IDSA
URL:https://idsa.in/idsa-event/national-strategy-lecture-explaining-indias-peaceful-transition-and-what-means-to-indias-future
CATEGORIES:LECTURES,EVENT REPORT
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DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20110221T053000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20110221T053000
DTSTAMP:20261108T203510
CREATED:20231223T204843Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231224T131011Z
UID:63262-1298266200-1298266200@idsa.in
SUMMARY:National Strategy Lecture - India and the World – the Economic Dimension
DESCRIPTION:As the world grapples with the after effects of the economic downturn\, India has emerged out of it relatively unscathed and is being noticed increasingly on the world stage as an economic powerhouse. IDSA National Strategy Project organized a lecture by former media advisor to PM Manmohan Singh\, Dr. Sanjaya Baru\, to enlighten the audience about the challenges the Indian economy faces in this transformative environment. \nThe Director General of IDSA\, Mr. N.S. Sisodia\, set the context by noting that in this increasingly globalised world\, a robust economy in a large way enhances a country’s Comprehensive National Power (CNP). Dr. Sanjaya Baru commenced his lecture by pointing out that the days when national strategies were driven solely by security implications are long gone. He elaborated his point by first explaining the erstwhile policies that were adopted by India during the earlier decades. India followed a reactive policy with no clear planning\, sidelining the economists from any policy formulation in matters related to foreign affairs. At that time\, India suffered from a paradox of a large country with a large self image\, but without the resources to match its ambitions. Due to autarkic policies\, India’s trade declined and\, as a result\, its economic and political clout shrank.  \nThe situation changed completely after 1991\, when India began opening up its economy to the outside world. He mentioned that apart from the reforms initiated during that time\, several other critical aspects were responsible for the turnaround. Firstly\, the collapse of the Soviet Union left India with no credible partners and therefore forced it to change its economic outlook. Secondly\, the parallel rise of China as an economic power and the constraints it imposed on India’s strategic options affected the policy decisions at that time. Lastly\, the emerging business and middle class demanded growth promoting policies. \nDr. Baru went on to argue that foreign policy is not complete until the aspect of economic relations is clearly defined. He mentioned the Chinese economic juggernaut which is wholly responsible for the change in the attitude of the Chinese establishment towards other countries. In this regard\, he called for better understanding of strategic effects of economic issues by security experts in India and vice-versa in the case of economists. \nDr. Baru expressed confidence that positive demographics would be catalyzing India’s economy in the future as it will be attracting foreign investment and integrating deeper with the rest of the world. In his last comments\, he emphasized that India will maintain its non-alignment with major powers in the future. To maintain such pace in economic growth\, India will have to tackle its resource constraints in a more efficient manner and scout for resources globally. Dr. Baru ended his lecture by insisting that contemporary state to state relations are based on the foundations of people to people and business to business relations.  \nIn the discussion that followed\, an apprehension was expressed about the possibility of the demographic dividend turning into loss since the government will be incapable of generating enough jobs for the masses thereby leading to disenchantment amongst the people. One scholar raised a question about India’s low leverage vis-à-vis other countries due to meagre trade levels. Questions were also raised about India’s stagnant manufacturing industry as compared to services. \nDr. Sanjaya Baru acknowledged that much needs to be done to boost the manufacturing sector. In replying to the question on demographic dividend he stated that creating employment for the youth is vital and agreed that the services sector alone would not be able to absorb the burgeoning population. There was a discussion about the effect of economic transition on the national identity and what it means for the relationship between the state and its citizens. Dr. Baru believed that India’s national identity will be of an economic powerhouse with a plural and secular democracy. India’s rise as a global power will be welcomed because of its espousal and sustenance of universal values such as democracy and rule of law. He went on to suggest that the world is moving towards the ‘New Delhi Consensus’ where the mixed economy model will ensure sustainability of the economy as well as of a democratic polity.  \nWhen asked to identify key ideas for sustaining economic growth\, he cautioned about getting carried away by success\, lest complacency sets in. Secondly\, to sustain such growth rates\, domestic political stability is crucial. Thirdly\, improving the social sector in terms of setting up new hospitals and schools to providing qualitative health care and education is essential. Lastly\, the bureaucratic system needs to be reformed and reinvented to bring in more efficiency to improve governance. \nMr. Sisodia thanked Dr. Baru for enlightening the audience and concluded the session by stressing that infrastructure development and speeding up economic reforms are the two main areas where much still remains to be done. \nReport prepared by Pratik Jakhar\, Intern\, and M. S. Sundar\, Research Assistant\, at IDSA
URL:https://idsa.in/idsa-event/national-strategy-lecture-india-and-the-world-the-economic-dimension
CATEGORIES:LECTURES,EVENT REPORT
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