Why India is still not a global power?

The rising lack of vision has kept India’s leaders from realising the country’s ambition to become a world power, a nationwide survey of young Indians revealed.

Rapid economic growth in the last two decades may have seen India catapult to the global arena but the country is yet to wield the influence of a world power. And lack of good leadership is to be blamed for this.

That brings us to the question that was asked on a special show on the findings of the Hindustan Times CNN-IBN Leadership survey: Is the leadership crisis preventing India from becoming a global power?

On the panel of experts to debate the issue were MP and Congress Spokesperson Manish Tewari; President of Lok Satta Party Jayaprakash Narayan; leader of Professionals Party of India Mona Shah; Deputy Executive Editor of Hindustan Times Rajesh Mahapatra.

Leadership crisis in India

Forty-one per cent people have said lack of leadership is holding back India from becoming a world power. What does this say about how the young generation is looking at politicians?

Disagreeing with the findings of the survey, Manish Tewari said, “India is already an emerging global power. If you look at the global equation as it is balanced today, we are part of the 20 nations that is charting the course of this planet. So where is the question of getting stopped from being a global power? We are a part of that multi-polar emerging world.”

Has the moral leadership that Jawaharlal Nehru or Mahatma Gandhi stood for ended in India? Are there no such towering figures to give India the much-needed identity?

“It is not just about towering figures, but about governance and the nation’s vision,” said Jayaprakash Narayan.

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“I disagree with Tewari when he says that we are already on the high table. Look at India’s economic record. We started at 2 per cent of the global GDP in 1947. We went down to one per cent of the global GDP by 1991. We came back to 2 per cent again today. Our role is abysmally small even today. However, the emerging markets forum says that by 2039 if we do the right things now and have the right kind of leadership we could well be the second largest economy in the world after China. The potential exists but we don’t have a strategic vision,” he added.

Leadership crisis or is it the governance standards, population growth and terrorism and insurgency that is pulling the country down. So leaders to an extent are helpless because of the context they find themselves in.

To which Narayan said, “By definition a leader cannot be helpless. It is his job to change the course of the country. In that case bureaucrats can manage the country.”

According to the survey, 72 per cent have said that India does not have a strategic vision.

“If we look at the way criminals are gaining entry into politics then 50 per cent of politicians in the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections have criminal records. And there is a 20 per cent increase in such kind of politicians in Parliament. So if this is going to be our leadership then there will be frustration and apathy amongst the youth,” Mona Shah said.

The global order

Strategic vision is about India’s role in the world. The global order is where the Indian young generation is getting frustrated.

“Let me outline the context. This is the response of people in the age group of 18-45. And 50 per cent of our responders are aged between 20-29 years. This is the ‘I can do it’ generation whose aspirations are limitless,” Deputy Executive Editor of Hindustan Times Rajesh Mahapatra said.

Taking the debate further, Tewari said that the word strategic vision can mean different things to different people. “It could be economic, geo-strategic or scientific vision. And if we put all of them together then we have come a long way since 1945 to 1990s. In the last two decades India has seen a lot of growth.”

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Former PM AB Vajpayee was respected and looked upto by world leaders and now the country is seeing the second term of Manmohan Singh. He was also the first leader to be invited by US President Barack Obama as his state guest. So are we really lacking in strategic leaders?

“It is not enough to have one or two good leaders. We can have a piece of paper with a vision and still not go anywhere,” Narayan said.

He added, “Tell me which is a growing nation with abysmally low literacy levels like India? About 40 per cent of children in India cannot read. Where is healthcare is this country? We have no leadership to look into these issues. And look at the law and the judiciary. The reason why there are criminals in politics is that there is a market for them in this country. So strategic vision is not about leaders but about the way we govern our country.”

Dynasty politics

If politics becomes a closed shop and a monopoly of families, how will talent be encouraged in politics? Twenty-four out of 288 members in the Maharashtra Assembly are family members.

“In a democracy when you go to the people and then you are elected and sent to the House where does the question of dynasty come in? How can you stop the son or daughter of a politician from trying his luck? This is not dynasty politics,” Tewari said.

But can any democracy function well if the politicians simply pass on their constituencies to their children?

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To which Narayan said, “The answer is evident but we are skirting the problem. It is not merely about dynasties or qualifications of those who seek public office. The political recruitment today is disgraceful. The primary reason for this crisis is not politics but the society.”

But even if the talented people want to get in, can they? Either one needs ‘connections’ or money.

“I agree. The point is how many of us want to enter the political fray. There are not enough people who want to try. Bulk of the people are just looking at politics as a lucrative career and that is when corruption comes in. The primary crisis is the abdication of the middle class,” Narayan explained.

Agreeing with Narayan, Shah said, “The middle is only 250 million and it is emerging. We need more and more of the civil society to get involved and engaged if we want to make a difference.”

Concluding the debate, Mahapatra said, “What we need is democratisation of the political parties. I can’t think of any other party other than the Left, to a large extent the BJP and maybe Mayawati’s BSP, there is no other political party in India which is run by a family. It is deterrent to all who want to join politics. So democratization may be the solution to many problems.”

Results of the SMS/web poll:

Yes: 83 per cent

No: 17 per cent