India needs to be decisive

The recent deaths of five Indian soldiers in an ambush killing carried out by Pakistani troops, along the Line of Control (LoC) at Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir has sparked a lot of rage and displeasure among the people of the country. With such kind of heinous killings led by the troops coming from across the border, any sort of good relation between India and Pakistan has now become skeptical.

After Nawaz Sharif was once again sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, he spoke about picking up threads and resuming ties with India. If the sources are anything to go by, Sharif is keen on reviving the K-plan or Kashmir-plan.

Post-independence, there is a struggle between India and Pakistan regarding Kashmir. During the 90s, when Nawaz Sharif was Pakistan PM, India and Pakistan were in a war-like situation which finally led to the Kargil War of 1999. India emerged victorious, but since then, the bilateral ties have been soured.

Kashmir is often regarded as a troubled Indian state, the advantage of which Pakistan tries to take. There are often reports of internal conflict in Kashmir, most of which happen due to the presence of Indian Army in the state. People in Kashmir feel insecure as the Indian Army enjoys a lot of freedom over there and the army men being aggressive in nature, open fire at any one and at any time if they smell any conspiracy or witness any kind of protests or riots whatsoever. This has led to a state of unrest in the Kashmir valley.

The state of destabilization in Kashmir and the Indian army being pre-occupied with the duty of internal securities has added fuel to Sharif’s K-plan. The recent attacks on the LoC, ceasefire violations and infiltrations prove that Sharif’s K-plan has come into action.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Nawaz Sharif are slated to meet at United Nations’ General Assembly meeting at New York next month. It’s expected that there shall be peace talks between the two countries and both shall try to improve the bilateral ties. Nothing on the ‘Kashmir issue’ has been talked about yet.

On the Pakistani side, the blame of infiltrations and ceasefire violations has been pinned on Indian army and government. The Pakistan National Assembly and Punjab Provincial Assembly have accused India for hostile actions on the LoC. But even after this resolution, Sharif has declared that the meeting with Indian PM Manmohan Singh at New York in September will not be in jeopardy.

India needs to act very decisively and diplomatically, if it has to establish good relations with Pakistan. While doing so, it has to safeguard the interests of its countrymen and maintain peace and order in the country. A careful plan needs to be chalked out for Kashmir.

Good governance is a key to sound economy

India’s economy is crumbling by the day. The Indian currency, rupee, has hit a record low of 65 against the U.S. dollar in the past few days and the plunge continues to the extent that Deutsche Bank has claimed that rupee may tumble to as low as 70 in the coming months.

But the situation is not as worse as the way it was in 2011. In the year 2011, the rupee went from  44.80 to 54.20 in a few months. This means that the rupee almost fell down to over 20 percent against the dollar in a matter of few months; whereas, this time around, the decline in rupee is around only 10 percent (from June till now).

There was no hue and cry back then.  But the gloom and doom overspread in the media and public debate in the country over the plummet in the rupee is hard to justify. World Bank chief economist Kaushik Basu who is also a former chief economic adviser to the Indian government said on this issue that the current situation is not as nearly as bad as very often being reflected in the headlines.

The fear which has grown into the minds of the people regarding the fall of rupee is mainly due to lack of confidence in the government. The economy is crashing down, the market is terribly unstable and the government has done little to improvise the situation.

The scenario relating to economy hasn’t changed much in the past few months.  Food inflation is high,  the current account deficit (CAD) is widening, Gross domestic product (GDP) growth is low, imports are ballooning, the bulk of mega projects are yet to take off or are moving slowly.

The main problem with Indian economy is that our imports are way more than our exports, due to which the current account deficit has been burgeoning day by day. In such case, the weakening of rupee should be perceived as a great opportunity to produce those goods in the country which are now being imported. This shall be achieved by strengthening the manufacturing sector.

The government has a decisive role to play in boosting the economy. The RBI and the Finance Ministry lack co-ordination which has led to further disintegration of the economy. Recently, Finance Minister blamed the RBI for the predicament of the economy due to its tight monetary policy (high interest rates). RBI governor D. Subbarao backlashed at Chidambaram saying that the RBI is as committed to growth as it is to controlling inflation.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted that there is no throwback to the 1991 economic crisis, even if rupee is plunging. But back in 1991, due to the introduction of the ‘Foreign Economic Policy’, there was a way out of the catastrophe then.

Kaushik Basu has said that there is no substitute for ‘good governance, improved bureaucratic efficiency and better business ethos to drive growth’. Hence, in order to regain people’s faith in the system, the government needs to take stern steps and decisions and devise plans and policies accordingly. All hopes are pinned on Raghuram Rajan to revive the economy, when he joins office as the RBI governor next month.

‘Youth leaders are just for namesake’

Abdul Siddiqui is a Media student and a youth leader of Congress in Bhiwandi. In a no-holds- barred conversation, he gives an insight of his life as a youth leader and discusses few important things about the upcoming elections.

Describe your role as a youth leader.

The concept ‘youth leaders’ is a sham. They are just for namesake. We just have a nominal position. There is no participation from our side. The party leaders and members don’t involve us in any legal or authoritarian matters.  During festive celebrations or rallies, we are summoned and we just stand as showpieces. We aren’t involved in any activities of the party. Moreover, the youth leaders and members are necessarily sons/relatives of party leaders and members. It’s just that they want to remain in public eye, hence the formation of youth and student unions.

What are the prospects of Congress in the upcoming elections?

Nothing has been decided as such. Most probably, Mr. Manmohan Singh would be the Prime Ministerial candidate.We are putting our best foot forward to emerge as a winner in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Due to so much of propaganda of Narendra Modi, does Congress feels the pressure?

Definitely not! BJP and Narendra Modi are on a self-promotion spree. Due to so much propaganda of Narendra Modi, many of their party leaders are apprehended. That’s evident as recently Nitish Kumar stepped out of NDA. Due to too much endorsement of Narendra Modi, BJP is digging its own grave and definitely, Congress will take advantage of this.

Describe the situation in Bhiwandi constituency.

The main problem with Bhiwandi constituency is that there is no co-ordination between the MPs and local leaders. MPs loathe local leaders. Both of them try to pull each other’s legs.  If the statistics are anything to go by, none of the Congress person of Bhiwandi  has become a Mayor yet. Due to so much differences between the two, the local people have to suffer because their issues aren’t addressed.

If in the upcoming elections, Congress emerges as winner in your constituency, what would be the future strategies and plans?
Right now, our plan of action and strategy is to invoke people’s trust in us.  Bhiwandi is an upcoming city and we shall try our best to better the conditions here. We resolve to provide good education facilities, build better roads and create an environment of peace and harmony.