10 CHALLENGES INDIA FACES IN 2010

The year 2009 was a satisfying year for India. Been able grow at an impressive rate of 7% at the time when the whole world was reeling under recession and also emerging as a major global player on all key global issues were some of the biggest achievments . But the year 2010 will bring with it even bigger challenges which will truly test the might of the nation. Here are the 10 major challenges for the year 2010.

1) Price rise- Even though India was able to fight global recession to a great extent, the rise of basic food items has hit the common man badly. Currently the food inflation is at a decade high of 20 percent.The government will have to ensure that prices are back to normal levels at the earliest otherwise the economic growth will look meaningless for the middle class & poor people of this nation.

2) Terror threat- Post 26/11 no major terror attack has struck India but the Headley-Rana case is a chilling reminder of the vulnerable security situation. From the time Chidambaram has taken over as union home minister, the inteligence sharing has improved drastically. But there are still many grey areas. The threat of another 26/11 type attack continues to loom.

3) Commonwealth Games- This has become a matter of pride for the nation. This is a golden opportunity for India to showcase itself to the world as a potential superpower. China was able to do it by hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. But with the IOC skeptical about the preparation made so far, the onus is on the administration to act quickly at any cost. If Delhi is able to pull this off succesfully then the stereotype of India been just a poor nation and full of call centres might be finally broken. This is a huge challenge as the nation’s reputation is at stake.

4) The Naxal threat- The naxals proved in 2009 that they are the biggest security threat to this country. With the naxal influence growing from the state to state the government will have to do much more to restrict this threat. Apart from dialogue with the Naxals, enhancement of police weapons & special task force are significant immediate steps that the government will have to take.

5) Implementation of flagship programs- The iconic projects and flagship programmes of the UPA government are suffering from implementation blues. The delivery monitoring unit in the Prime Minister’s Office that assessed the performance of 18 schemes has found that only the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is doing well. The Rajiv Gandhi Yojna (Housing scheme) & Right to education are some key projects that are yet to take off. Making sure they take off in the right direction would be essential this year.

6) Creation of smaller states- The Telangana issue has triggered of a debate which would shape the future of India. Having smaller states could prove to be boon as it would lead to more development, lesser corruption and more decentralization. But it is imperative that the government comes out with clear set of policies for carving out smaller states. Creating states merely on ethnic or linguistic lines doesn’t make sense at this point of time. Economics should be the driving point. Setting up a committee to set the guidelines should be done at the earliest.

7) Autonomy for Jammu & Kashmir- This is a thorny issue that is bound to create huge ripples but probably is the right way ahead. Critics argue that this will create a safe haven for terrorists which will have a direct impact on Indian security. By granting autonomy to J&K, the government just might tilt the valley’s support in its favour. With uncertainty attached to Pakistan’s democratic future, this is the practical way ahead.

8) Foreign policy decisions- India has been criticized in the last few years for going the US way on international political issues. The vote against Iran was seen in this light. On issues like climate change India has been able to guard its interest. But will it stifle under US pressure on large international political issues is the big question.

9) How to deal with neighbours- This question has haunted India for decades now. To talk or not to talk to Pakistan is a big question. So far India has resisted from taking a very rigid stand. But it still needs to find ways to make Pakistan act against the perpetrators of 26/11. Without that there would be no meaning to any dialogues with them. Similarly the China issue is even dicier. On issues like climate change both countries have lobbied together but the Arunachal Pradesh issue is the tricky one where trusting China could be a mistake.

10) Police Reforms- P.Chidambaram has been raising this point for sometime now. The police needs immediate reforms. The recent cases of Ruchika molestation and Mumbai cops dancing in an underworld party exposed the naked truth. Also the cops need better training & weapons to fight terror attacks.

DEMOCRACY UNDER ATTACK?

Indian National Congress is on a roll. Congress registered thumping victories in Maharashtra (with ally NCP), Arunachal Pradesh & though it fell short of a majority in Haryana but still managed enough to retain power. But unlike any normal election victory which is bundled with euphoria & celebrations, these latest election results have delivered an appaling message…The vibrant democracy is now getting reduced to an unhealthy boring democracy for reasons more than one.

The Rise of One Party Rule- It began with the Lok Sabha election results in May this year, when the Congress led UPA won a 2nd consecutive term with enhanced political mandate. This was the first time in 30 years that any alliance got a 2nd term on completion of its 5 year term. But more then UPA’s astouding victory the highlight of this election was the depleted ‘Opposition’. The principal opposition BJP lost even more seats in the parliament, while the Left parties fell to the 5th postion with an abysmal 20 seats. The new parliament is turning out to be an open playground for the UPA with the opposition seated clueless with no idea on how to counter the policies of the current government. With the Congress coming back to power in all the 3 states, it is now holds power in 15 states (in some states with allies). The writing is on the wall- NEED A POTENT, UNITED OPPOSITION TO BALANCE THE DEMOCRATIC ACT.

Bad governnace rewarded- The state of Maharashtra epitomises this issue in the best fashion. The Congress- NCP combine is back in power for the 3rd consecutive time. Congress- NCP government’s performance has proabably been one of the worst that any state would have witnessed in the last 10 years. Farmer suicide is going up, power shortage is at its peak, infrastructure development is slowest in the whole country, water shortage is increasing, and the security situation is detoriating coninuously. In the last ten years Mumbai alone witnessed 6 terror attacks.Since 2005, every year during monsoons, Mumbai gets flooded leaving the city reeling under water .Raj Thakarey’s MNS workers have openly attacked north Indians while the government stood silently instead of taking any swift action taken against him ( For obvious political reasons). With this kind of a performance if a party/ alliance still manages to win a 3rd term, then there has to be something miserably wrong with the opposition (BJP-Shiv Sena) , that the people of the state are dreading to give them a second chance.

Urban voting percentage emaciating- During the recent Assembly elections the turn out in Mumbai was an abysmal 46%, while Gurgaon registered 54% in the Haryana assembly elections.The voting percentages of the major metros of India in the Lok Sabha elections in May do not look encouraging at all with an exception of Chennai- Mumbai: 44%, Delhi : 53%, Bangalore : 46%, Chennai : 60%, Hyderabad : 54%...For the assembly elections the Election Commission in an unprecedented move made sure that offices, colleges, malls, theatres were all shut but yet the response was so poor. The problem is that urban India, the middle class, youth & professionals do not feel inspired by the political fraternity to come out & vote. With migration of rural population to urban areas going up, this trend could hamper the overall voting percentage even more in the years to come.

Rise of Naxalism- With the naxal menace getting worse by the day the Indian security situation has become even more volatile. The reprehensible violent methods adopted by naxals are a serious cause of concern. But an even more serious cause of concern is the growing support for these naxals in the rural & tribal areas. Poverty is the main reason behind this growing support which again successive governments have failed to counter. This rise in support underlines another chilling reality - The Indian poor drifting away from Indian democracy. The poor have started loosing faith in the political system to solve their basic issues. In turn they are embracing the even more poisonouse radicals who in the long run could spell devestation for the whole country including them.

After 62 years of independence India is again fighting a battle for democracy. Probably this time it’s not a mass revolution like it was against the british rule, but a more subtle & sustained battle been fought in different corners through different ways by different groups in this country. Its time for the establishement & the civil society to wake up & smell the coffee before the dragon within gets out of control.