INDIA’S CULTURAL PLURALISM ITS BEST DEFENCE

Malini Parthasarathy

The Hindu, November 5, 2009

To question the patriotism of the Muslim community on the ground that it refuses to "worship" India as a concept is to make a mockery of the real meaning of patriotism and national loyalty.

As the anniversary of the cataclysmic event of 26/11 draws near, undoubtedly the country will relive the painful and humiliating memory of its powerful financial capital held hostage for more than 36 hours by a group of murderous terrorists sneaking in from Pakistan, challenging the might and capabilities of the Indian nation. But instead of replaying those dark moments, Indians ought to remember with pride the aftermath of the tragedy. The days after the terror strikes saw a spontaneous nationwide outpouring of sympathy for Mumbai with all communities united in their anger and outrage at the impunity with which Pakistan-based jihadi terrorists had struck at India.

Indeed the Indian national spirit triumphed in that dark moment with thousands of citizens of diverse cultural and social identities rallying together to support Mumbai in that traumatic phase. There was a remarkable absence of communal violence with even the Shiv Sena in Mumbai resisting the political temptation of baiting Muslims in that stressful period. As a new generation of Indians made the political class and the political system the targets of their ire, one refreshing change was that there was absolutely no focus on communal and social identities. Projected was a collective sense of “we Indians” against the external intruders. All this showed that the enduring sense of national unity was a solid asset that helped the country tide over what could have been a deeply disintegrative challenge.

It is clear that with the United Progressive Alliance government emphasising its commitment to secular governance and the preservation of cultural pluralism, the minorities, especially the Muslim community, find little conflict between their civic identities as Indian citizens and their cultural and religious affiliations. When national identity is defined in cultural nationalist terms, the loyalty of minority groups to the national identity comes under intense pressure. In an increasingly disturbed security environment with terrorism sharpening in intensity in Pakistan, it is imperative that the UPA remain unswerving in its acknowledgment that without secularism and internal communal harmony, it would be difficult to fight terrorism.

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AFGHANISTAN AS A BAILOUT STATE

Tom Engelhardt

Asia Times, November 4, 2009

In the worst of times, my father always used to say, "A good gambler cuts his losses." It's a formulation imprinted on my brain forever. That no-nonsense piece of advice still seems reasonable to me, but it doesn't apply to American war policy. Our leaders evidently never saw a war to which the word "more" didn't apply. Hence the Afghan war, where impending disaster is just an invitation to fuel the flames of an already roaring fire.

Here's a partial rundown of news from that devolving conflict: In the past week or so, Nuristan, a province on the Pakistani border, essentially fell to the Taliban after the US withdrew its forces from four key bases. (See Taliban take over Afghan province Asia Times Online, October 29.)

Similarly in Khost, another eastern province bordering Pakistan where United States forces once registered much-publicized gains (and which Richard Holbrooke, now President Barack Obama's special envoy to the region, termed "an American success story"), the Taliban are largely in control. It is, according to Yochi Dreazen and Anand Gopal of the Wall Street Journal, now "one of the most dangerous provinces" in the country.

Similarly, the Taliban insurgency, once largely restricted to the Pashtun south, has recently spread fiercely to the west and north. At the same time, neighboring Pakistan is an increasingly destabilized country amid war in its tribal borderlands, a terror campaign spreading throughout the country, escalating American drone attacks, and increasingly testy relations between American officials and the Pakistani government and military.

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COULD CHINA'S ECONOMIC POLICIES TRIGGER ANOTHER CRISIS?

Bill Powell

Time, November 3, 2009

Just before the global financial crisis exploded, the conference halls in China were alive with the rhetoric of economic reform. Hardly a week went by without some think tank or ministry in Beijing toasting the 30th anniversary of China's great opening to the world and outlining what the next phase of China's historic development would entail. At a time when experts and policymakers everywhere were decrying "global economic imbalances," China would do its bit to rectify them.

That meant attacking the problem at the root. Just as the U.S. saved too little while consuming too much, China saved too much and consumed too little. The result was a lopsided international trade scorecard. China ran huge current account surpluses — peaking at 10% of GDP in the first half of 2008 — and as a result accumulated a massive load of foreign exchange, which it turned around and loaned, mostly, to the U.S. Government, which enabled Americans to go on borrowing and spending. China, policymakers said, intended to break this unhealthy cycle.

Then a not so funny thing happened on the way to rebalancing: the worst crisis since the Great Depression. The Chinese response to sharp declines in manufacturing and exports has been cheered for its effectiveness. Government stimulus spending and loose credit powered the country's economy to an 8.9% growth rate in the third quarter, and the most recent Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI), a widely watched gauge of economic sentiment released on Oct. 30, rose for the eighth straight month. It now shows "sustained expansion in industrial activity," says Jing Ulrich, managing director at JP Morgan in Hong Kong. At the same time, the U.S.-China economic relationship is not as lopsided as it was a year ago, at least by some measures. The U.S. savings rate has increased to about 4% of GDP (from zero at the recession's onset), and China's current account surplus has fallen from 10% to about 6.5% of GDP. Both are improving for the same reason: shell-shocked consumers in the U.S., where the unemployment rate is 9.8% and rising, have snapped their wallets shut. Now that it's pouring, they have started saving for a rainy day.

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CLIMATE ENVOYS MAY WANT CHINESE ACTIONS, NOT RESULTS, BINDING

Alex Morales

Bloomberg, November 2, 2009

Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- United Nations climate negotiators meeting this week in Barcelona will debate how far they can push developing nations such as China and India to restrict greenhouse-gas emissions blamed for global warming.

While the UN will ask industrialized countries to accept binding targets on their gas discharges, poorer nations may be urged only to adopt measures to limit emissions growth, such as building wind-energy farms.

Developing countries may be urged only to ensure those “actions” are undertaken, and may not have to prove they are successful, under a new climate-protection agreement, the UN’s top climate official said in an interview.

“They would commit to the action and not to the result,” UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer said before the negotiations started today, when asked to indicate areas where accords might be struck.

Getting China, the largest greenhouse-gas producer, to curb emissions is a goal of several industrialized countries. U.S. officials, concerned about competitive advantage, have said they won´t approve a treaty that has no gas-limitation measures for the fastest-growing developing nations such as China and India.

UN officials have long called for a new climate treaty to include absolute targets for developed nations and to indicate what measures poorer countries such as China, India and Brazil will take to rein in their discharges.

One proposal that has been debated is to document the developing world’s pledges in a registry. The U.S. has asked that those actions be measurable and legally binding. Developing nations have rejected internationally enforceable commitments.

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FIGHTING CORRUPTION IN ASIA

The Japan Times, November 1, 2009

When Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama likened the Democrat Party of Japan's takeover to the Meiji Restoration in last week's policy speech, he failed to mention an issue that fueled discontent with the Tokugawa Shogunate as it ended in 1867 — corruption. Though corruption did not get a specific mention amid the historical allusions and hopeful rhetoric of the prime minister's speech, it is a grave problem that, if left unsolved, will continue to hamper development and shackle people's lives throughout Asia.

The United Nations Development Program's annual report on corruption identifies the problem as widespread and devastating. Japan may imagine itself as a developed country no longer suffering from the petty bribery that troubles the rest of Asia, but Japan still has many gray areas with questionable business-as-usual practices. The collusive relationship between government ministries and the private sector has resulted in amakudari, the hiring of retired bureaucrats by companies and other organizations that they used to oversee. Similar complex social relationships are entrenched in all Asian countries. The common acquiescence to them can lead to exploitation.

The UNDP defines corruption as: "the misuse of public power, office or authority for private benefit, through bribery, extortion, influence peddling, nepotism, fraud, speed money (form of bribery) or embezzlement." Corruption makes possible nearly every type of organized crime. Drug smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, and illegal arms sales all depend on corruption. It occurs in the private sector just as often as in the public, and at all levels of society. In this age of internationalization, corruption does not stop at the border, but moves as swiftly and easily as a bank transfer.

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HEALTH IN CHINA: THE ENVIRONMENTAL TOLL ON CHILDREN

César Chelala

The Globalist, October 31, 2009

Ever since China unveiled its new greenhouse gas emissions targets, the world has begun to recognize China’s efforts to clean up its degraded environment. César Chelala explains that children may be the most immediate beneficiaries of this new push, as they are most vulnerable to the dangers of pollution.

In recent times, China has greatly improved the health status of the majority of its population — while also maintaining a sustained economic expansion. Some of these achievements have been a model for developing countries worldwide. Gains in the health sector, however, are being curtailed by the environmental consequences of the rapid economic expansion of the country.

To continue the country’s economic growth — while at the same time protecting people’s health — is one of the main challenges facing Chinese authorities today.

China’s achievements

In the last two decades, China has had average economic growth of 9.4%. For the last 50 years, it has also made impressive advances in public health by improving access to health care and tackling infectious diseases with remarkably good results.

The average life expectancy is now 71.8 years, up from 35 in 1949. Immunization coverage is over 95% for those under age one.

From 1960 to 2003, China’s infant mortality rate fell from 150 to 30 per 1,000 live births, and the under-five mortality rate dropped from 225 to 37 per 1,000 live births. Both rates are used as indicators of access to basic health services. At the same time, there has been a sustained increase in the number of community service networks, which provide basic health services to the population.

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ASIA RECOVERING RAPIDLY, BUT FACES CHALLENGES, SAYS IMF

IMF, October 29, 2009

- Rapid recovery, with growth forecast of 5¾ percent in 2010
- Need for continued stimulus until recovery entrenched
- Shift growth towards domestic demand, says IMF

After being hit hard by the global economic slump, Asia is now rebounding fast, according to the IMF in its Regional Economic Outlook for the Asia and Pacific Region.

The report says the region is outpacing other parts of the world, with the “green shoots” of recovery appearing earlier and taking firmer root than elsewhere.

However Asia’s outlook remains closely tied to the global economy and the key behind Asia’s recovery was bounce back from the sudden stop in global trade and finance at the end-2008. This has fuelled a rapid recovery in exports, boosting industrial production and overall GDP, says the report.

“Asian economies have been very strong in their stimulus from both monetary and fiscal sources,” said Anoop Singh, Director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department.

In the wake of the global downturn, Asian authorities swiftly deployed packages to boost government spending, reduce interest rates, and stabilize financial markets. These measures were much larger than in previous crises, and in the case of the fiscal programs even larger, on average, than those introduced by the Group of 20 industrialized and emerging market countries.

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