Daily UPSC Mains Question – July 19/2020

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Before India joins other democracies, is it necessary to whither democracy in India? Comment 250 Words

In the News:

• The UK has rejected Huawei as a 5G partner, and says that it is now forging an alliance of ten democracies (D-10) to create alternative suppliers for 5G and other technologies from China. A major role is being envisaged for New Delhi in this venture.

Grand strategies:

• Countries fixated on “grand strategies”, like the US and Australia, want to use the denial of India’s huge market to strangle the rise of Chinese technology.  In the 1950s and 1960s the UK and US saw us as an answer to Communist China’s growth model.  India never did live up to its role and set off on its own course, throwing off the Anglo-American embrace.
• “Democracy” in India doesn’t quite mean the same thing it does in London or Washington. It remains a long work in progress. Whether it’s in governance institutions, caste or communal equations or police and legal institutions, large areas of iniquity and inequity remain.
•  Our variant is an electoral democracy which holds periodic elections and gives us successive governments which haven’t quite yielded economic and social justice, leave alone decent governance. Democracy is working well elsewhere, but our place in the D-10 is really honorary, occasioned by the geopolitical needs of the UK, US and other countries.

Indian Characteristics:

• Democracy with Indian characteristics comes with a dash of authoritarianism. The numerous people incarcerated on political grounds across the country and charged under the colonial statute of sedition.
• The biggest blot on the Indian “democratic” system is its police. Instead of insisting on, and advancing, the rule of law, political leaders in the country have given the police a free rein to conduct extra-judicial killings.
• Political corruption, extra-judicial killings, tax harassment, have  been around for a long time .Upholding political morality and respecting due process are part of the immune system that protects the body politic of a democracy. Wantonly weakening it is to invite disease and destruction.
• The crisis we face is not going away, notwithstanding the concerted spin. Along with our economy, our democracy is going under. We’re not even flailing our hands to stay afloat.

India must continue to remain politically engaged with Tehran despite its partnership plan with China. Explain 250 Words

In the News:

• Recent reports that Iran had launched the track laying programme for the 628 km long rail link between Chabahar and Zahidan last week sparked concerns that India was being excluded from the project.
• This keeps the door open for Ircon International Limited (IRCON) which has been associated with the project even as India continues with the development of Chabahar port.

Why Iran needs China:

• China had proposed a long-term comprehensive, strategic partnership programme that would involve its investment in Iranian infrastructure and assured supplies of Iranian oil and gas at concessional rates.
• China patiently permitted a limited barter trade; China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) prolonged its negotiations on developing the Yadavaran oilfield while China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) pulled out of the South Pars gas project last year, after initially promising to take over the French company Total’s stake.
• U.S. had announced that it wanted the UN Security Council (UNSC) to continue the ban on Iranian acquisition of conventional weapons. Even though the U.S. unilaterally quit the JCPOA, it is threatening to invoke the automatic snapback of sanctions provisions of JCPOA.
•  The United Kingdom and France have criticised the U.S.’s duplicity but are unlikely to exercise a veto. At the same time, Iran hopes that there might be a change in the White House that opens options for dialogue. Russia and China are the only countries to veto the U.S.’s moves in the UNSC. 

Advantages and a lesson:

• Iran may well be considering a long-term partnership with China, but Iranian negotiators are wary of growing Chinese mercantilist tendencies. It is true that China has greater capacity to resist U.S. sanctions compared to India but Iran realises the advantage of working with its only partner that enjoys a sanctions waiver from U.S. for Chabahar since it provides connectivity for land-locked Afghanistan.
• Nevertheless, India needs to improve its implementation record of infrastructure projects that it has taken up in its neighbourhood.
• There are numerous tales of Indian cooperation projects in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, etc suffering delays and cost overruns that only make it easier for China to expand its footprint in India’s neighbourhood. The key is to continue to remain politically engaged with Iran so that there is a better appreciation of each other’s sensitivities and compulsions.