The schedule for the Lok Sabha elections have been announced and the stage is set for the battle royale. In what was initially thought would be a Presidential style race between the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and the Congress Vice - President Rahul Gandhi, General Elections 2014 is fast turning into a referendum on the Gujarat Chief Minister, a contest between  Modi and others.The UPA Government has announced sops and freebies ahead of the polls in a last ditch attempt to woo the electorate disgusted with scams, price rise and lack of decisive leadership.

This  bi-monthly issue carries exclusive articles by eminent strategists, academics and journalists on topics ranging from diplomacy to economy.Among other topics,Mr Surya Prakash has analysed the performance of the 15th Lok Sabha while Mr Sushant Sareen has forayed into the political situation in the country by drawing comparisons between the Aam Aadmi Party and the PTI led by Imran Khan in Pakistan.

variety of opinions offered by our authors, drawn both from within the Vivekananda International Foundation and those who contribute from outside.

Of particular interest would be the analysis of China's latest White Paper on Defence authored by an old China hand and former Special Secretary in the R&AW;, Mr Jayadeva Ranade and an article on the much-needed reforms in India's Defence Acquisition process, written by a specialist in the field, KV Kuber.

We also have a new contributor, Mr Ajay Kumar a former IAS Officer, who has weighed in with his view on why India needs to take its already robust ties with Israel to the next level. Our regular contributor Dr Radhakrishna Rao, has written a timely piece on how digital revolution is all set to empower the people.

Hope you will enjoy the rich fare on offer here.

We are happy to present the latest edition of Vivek for your reading pleasure.

As is the practice, the magazine has a rich variety of opinions and analyses from eminent diplomats, strategic experts and emerging scholars.

Ambassador Tariq Karim, who served as Bangladesh's High Commissioner in India for five years until very recently, puts forward a compelling argument for enhancing regional as well as sub-regional cooperation in South Asia while Brig. Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) analyses the journey of India's Nuclear Doctrine 17 years to the month after the Pokharan tests in 1998. A former intelligence officer PM Heblikar has examined Sri Lanka's current state of political affairs and suggested a way India can re-engage with Colombo.

Then there are perceptive pieces on Myanmar, developments in West Asia and the future of MQM in Karachi by our in-house scholars.

One interesting addition to Vivek this time is an article on the need for the Indian army to embrace Social Media as part of its outreach programme.

We welcome feedback from our readers on the latest issue of Vivek.

It gives me a great pleasure to inform you that I have taken over the responsibility of being the Editor of Vivek e-magazine and VIF website from this month. My predecessor, KG Suresh, has moved on to take up a bigger task as Consulting Editor for India's National Channel Doordarshan. He will of course continue to be a Senior Fellow with the VIF. We wish him all the very best in his new assignment.

This issue of Vivek is coming to you later than usual because of the transition mentioned above. It nevertheless has articles that touch upon a number of
important issues.

One of our bright young researchers, Alvite has analysed the deliberately brutal approach adopted by the IS in its relentless March in West Asia. In Defence, Lt Gen Gautam Banerjee has dwelt upon the need to evolve a military doctrine rooted in indigenous culture and tradition while Brig. Gurmeet Kanwal emphasises the importance of battlefield air strike capability for a winning edge.

Our regular contributor Dr MN Buch also gives an insight into challenges of rapid urbanisation that is currently sweeping the country.

As in the past, our endeavour at Vivek is to bring you a wide variety opinions and analyses to generate a meaningful dialogue and discussion.

We welcome well-researched, topical and original contributions both for our website and for this e-magazine.

In his latest cabinet expansion cum reshuffle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appropriately responded to this sentiment and assigned this onerous task to Manohar Parrikar, a highly qualified technocrat with impeccable integrity and administrative experience as the Chief Minister of Goa. Parrikar is not only acclaimed for his honesty but also his ability to take bold and fast decisions on critical issues.

In his first interaction with the media back in his home state, Parrikar, equally reputed for his plain speaking, aptly observed that most of the defence deals executed during the previous regime had got "stuck" due to lobbying, vested interest and kickbacks involved. He also underlined the need to remove procedural bottlenecks to ensure that the procurement process is not affected.

With a full-fledged Defence Minister at the helm of affairs, one sincerely hopes that issues such as procurement and indigenization, critical to further enhancing the
capability of our armed forces as they face manifold challenges, would be taken up on a priority basis.

In this issue, Ambassador Prabhat Shukla looks at the Pashtun Factor in the Afghanistan Post-2014 scenario while eminent civil servant M N Buch critically analyses the Swachh Bharat campaign and suggests concrete measures to make it more effective.

Dr Dilip K Chakrabarti cautions us on the ever growing foreign archaeological collaborations. There are equally interesting and informative articles on a host of
critical issues confronting the nation. We hope you enjoy this edition.

The coming budget will reflect the priorities of the government and how far it is willing to go to usher in reforms that would turn promises into substantial deliverables over a period of time. Some alacrity has already been shown by the government in adopting the ordinance route for effecting much needed reforms in coal, insurance, land acquisition and other sectors to overcome the obstructionist stance of the Opposition in the Parliament. Much more is needed to be done in the coming time.

This issue carries a review by Gurmeet Kanwal on what was the year 2014 like for South Asia and some others in the strategic neighbourhood. Of abiding interest to
India is what happens in Afghanistan in the coming years. Gen. Sawhney and Sushant Sareen deliberate on the possibilities of India and China cooperating in Afghanistan with a view to stabilize the situation there. Gen. Gautam Banerjee looks at the state of Maoist insurgency in the last year and portents for the coming year. The success of Indian Mars Orbiter Mission is critically analysed by Radhakrishan Rao while Admiral Raman Puri examines in detail as to what lessons Arihant nuclear submarine programme holds for our indigenization efforts.

South Korea is fast becoming an important cog in India’s Look East Policy which now has been transformed into ‘Act East Policy’. Maj. Gen. Chakravorty gives his perspective on evolving strategic relationship with Seoul. This issue includes many other analytical perspectives that deal with internal and external dynamics of India and its evolving international relationships.

Hope that you find this issue interesting.

Wishing you a Happy and Prosperous New Year from Team VIF

Hundred days is too short a period to assess the performance of a Government which came to power riding on lot of hopes and has full five years at its disposal to keep the promises it had made. Yet, like the box office collections of movies counted every week, the media makes a circus of such events. 

While it would be too early to pass any judgement on the Modi Government, its over three month long tenure clearly points to certain discernible indicators pertaining to the nation’s economy, security, social security etc. Of course, the most visible changes have been seen on the foreign policy front right from the word go.

On display is a strong and decisive leadership, which is willing to take bold steps and initiatives, secure national interests yet retain the consensus and traditions. It would take some time for changes in other crucial sectors to become visible on the ground given the enormity of the challenges. Nevertheless, the NDA Government’s first baby steps have restored the pride and confidence of a demoralised nation and instilled hopes that good days are not far away.

In this issue of Vivek, Brig (Retd) Gurmeet Kanwal outlines the challenges and opportunities before the new Chief of Army Staff, while veteran bureaucrat M N Buch presents a blueprint for the success of the proposed project to clean river Ganga.

Also on the menu are two insightful and analytical articles by RNP Singh and Sushant Sareen on topics hitherto skirted by mainstream media and the intelligentsia: the opposition of Muslim clerics to modernisation of Madrasas and India not being immune to Jihadists as is widely publicised and perceived. Do keep us posted with your invaluable inputs.

Two major developments on the domestic and international fronts have taken place since the publication of our last issue.

On May 16 came a historic electoral verdict wherein the world’s largest democracy voted for a single party majority Government in over two decades. For the first time, a person born after the country attained independence and belonging to humble origins came to occupy the top post in what was clearly seen as a quest for change, a dream for development and an assertion of identity by the majority community which has hitherto felt neglected and frustrated by the minority vote bank politics pursued by most political parties.

NDA.02 has begun its innings on a positive note reaching out to neighbouring countries with which India has shared uneasy ties over the last decade, taking harsh though unpopular economic decisions in the nation’s long term interests, bringing in efficiency and accountability in the work culture and functioning of the Government machinery and a strong emphasis on delivery.

The crisis in Iraq, the not so encouraging Monsoon and very high expectations of the people are among the immediate challenges before the Narendra Modi Government. The nation by and large has responded positively to the bold steps so far and one sincerely hopes that the Government obtains the desired results that would enable India to scale greater heights in all its endeavours.

On the international front, the Iraq situation following the success of the Islamist ISIS is a matter of deep concern both to India and the international community. Apart from apprehensions about oil supplies and hike in fuel prices as also safety of Indian nationals (many of them have been safely brought back to the country), the far reaching implications of growing Islamism on the Indian sub continent cannot be ignored.

Vox Populi, Vox Dei. In a democracy, the voice of the people is the voice of God. Come May 16, the verdict of the masses on the performance/non-performance of the different political parties would come to the fore and a new Government would assume office soon thereafter.

While Government formation is important, its stability, the maturity, vision and
decisiveness of its leadership and the quality of governance that it would deliver are equally critical. In recent times, the country has witnessed crises of confidence, of credibility and one sincerely hopes that the new Government would be able to restore the faith of the people in democracy, the rule of law and institutions, which has eroded over the years.

The 2014 Lok Sabha elections witnessed unprecedented mudslinging, personalized attacks and attempts to divide the electorate on casteist, communal and linguistic lines, which is most unfortunate even six decades after independence.

The low level of discourse engaged in by sections of the political class did not behove a mature democracy at a time when all the eyes of the world are on India.
Instead of debating governance related issues, which are of core concern to the people of India, particularly the youth, attempts were made by vested interests to focus only on the cliché subject of secularism, which has come to be identified with political hypocrisy.

One can only hope and pray that once the dust of the campaigning settles down, civility would be restored back into our polity and the political class would set an example by working together, particularly to resolve major challenges confronting the nation. In this issue, our eminent authors such as M N Buch, Dr A Surya Prakash and Prof B K Kuthiala have dealt with some of these critical issues.

We also have insightful articles on Defence, Diplomacy and Governance from our
distinguished scholars.

Please keep sending us your valuable feedback to enable us to serve you better in future.

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VIVEK : Issues & Options - January - February 2014

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