Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once said, “The task of statesmen is to resolve complexity, not to contemplate it.”
Although India’s Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is renowned as a Statesman worldwide, his fellow countrymen in India consider him ineffective. According to them, he has not solved any of the current problems- some believe he created them.
A few political pundits have likened him to former US President Woodrow Wilson (28th President from 1913 to 1921), who transformed the US into a great power with a decisive moralistic bent.
Dr Singh has played a key role in transforming India into a veritable economic powerhouse and presiding over its impressive economic growth ranging from 8% to 10%, the fastest growing economy in the world, after China.
But his critics say that he has failed in many other aspects. The middle and rich classes love him, while others believe that he has failed to lever his political authority in preventing and addressing the various political scandals that have been rocking India over the last several years.
Recent scams such as the award of contracts to Commonwealth Games and the 2G Spectrum have tarnished his clean image.
Corruption galore
Following an inquiry, the Vigilance Commission, found discrepancies in the award of contracts for the Commonwealth Games, including misappropriation of $US 176 million.
Even as the Singh Government was trying to hide its face over the Commonwealth Games scam, the 2G spectrum sandal involved officials illegally undercharging mobile telephony companies for frequency allocation licenses, which they would use to create 2G subscriptions for cell phones.
According to Comptroller and Auditor General Report, the loss to the exchequer was $US38.27 billion. Dr Singh could have stopped the loot if he had stepped on his authority but he chose to remain silent.
His adversaries say that Dr Singh never won an election and that just 1% of the population fancy him as Prime Minister, citing India Today Survey.
Dr Singh faces the problem faced by former Australian Prime Minster (and current Foreign Minister) in Australia, whose 24/7 work style with a no-nonsense attribute won him accolades around the world, but his lack of grounding enabled the easy bloodless coup.
Although such a coup is a remote possibility in India, (Sonia Gandhi’s son) Rahul Gandhi is “Discovering India” through his stays in tribal hamlets. At 40, he is considered inexperienced to be the Prime Minister at present and hence the ruling Congress Party may have to be content with Dr Singh.
Rising problems
Ms Sonia Gandhi is heading the Congress Party in a feudal tradition, although her foreign origin may make it difficult to see her occupying the top Government post.
The Indian Constitution does not prohibit foreign nationals from occupying the post of Prime Minister. Some critics say that she is yet to prove her competence for the job.
With Naxal violence increasing, Kashmir back into chaos, China’s increased aggressive posture, Pakistan’s ability to find strategic depth in Afghanistan by elbowing out India, the US reluctant to embrace India in the fashion and the prices of commodities increasing, the position of the Prime Minister must sketch policies with political understanding.
This is where Dr Singh had been found wanting. If he were a professional politician, he would have known how to play to the gallery like his predecessor Atal Behari Vajpayee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Undoubtedly Dr Singh deserves credit for having steered India out of financial collapse and introduced market reforms, making the country an economic powerhouse of the world. However, he does not understand that all statesmen should be primarily politicians.
As former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill said, “Politicians think about the next elections, statesmen think about the next generation.”
BJP Resurgence
Dr Singh and indeed the Congress Party must recognise the resurgence of BJP after two successive electoral defeats in 2004 and 2009. The diminished strength of the Congress Party under Dr Singh would also mean the increasing importance of regional parties in the affairs of the Federal Government.
This clearly has its ramifications with more sectional and communal violence which in turn hamper India’s space in the world affairs.
Dr Singh can learn from the failure of former US President Woodrow Wilson during the World War I. He had the vision for a New World Order with the creation of the League of Nations. He became a world celebrity but lacked the ability to convince his domestic audience to accept the mandate of League of Nation.
His Assistant Secretary of Navy Frank D Roosevelt who later handled two great crises in The Great Depression and World War II understood the problem.
He hung the photo of Mr Wilson in his office to remind him of the leader’s failure.
Dr Singh may emulate Mr Wilson, rather than FDR.
Balaji Chandramohan is our Correspondent based in New Delhi. The pictures appearing here were sent by him.
Photo: Former DGP Kiren Bedi leads an Anti-Corruption rally in Delhi
