We Don't Get Fooled Again

A wise man once told me that there are two kinds of economists: one who wish to advise The State with their writings; and the other who want to inform public opinion with theirs. This is also true of journalists.

Thus, the lead editorial of the Times of India today, entitled “Fight it Differently,” is written almost as if it were a speech delivered by the editor at a full meeting of the cabinet. Yet, it is actually written to “inform public opinion.”

The editor says:

“The best way forward would be to build an international coalition, led by the US, to help Pakistan tackle terrorist groups within its border, something that the civilian government is evidently unable to do. Strategic analysts have suggested establishing an international force to root out terrorist bases in Pakistan.
Since there is a UN resolution asking member states to curb terror, India must now work towards a UN Security Council resolution to permit strikes against terror camps within Pakistan.”

The editor recommends, to The State, and to public opinion, that this “complex and patient diplomacy” is the best way for our The State to keep the people (sheep) secure.

It also makes it seem as if all the national security problems of India are rooted in Pakistan. If Pakistan is sorted out by this “complex and patient diplomacy,” all our problems will be over. It makes it seem as if our “civilian administration” is in full control of the entire territory, while Pakistan’s is not. This is the “spin” that the editor’s googly contains. Public opinion is lulled into thinking along these lines.

I believe we desperately need to bring our own country to order.

If we leave aside Islamic terror (and Kashmir) for a while, and look around our own portion of this vast sub-continent, we will see an infinite number of armed violent groups – the Ranbir Sena in Bihar, the insurgent groups in Manipur and Nagaland, the Naxalites, the Maoists, and so on and so forth. In all these areas our The State exists as but a cipher. An open lawlessness prevails. As one IAS officer who served as a District Magistrate in Jharkhand told me a few years ago, “The writ of the DM does not run outside the gates of the DM’s bungalow.” Even in rural Bengal: The Indian Express recently carried a picture on its front page of political goondas carrying revolvers. They were going around rounding up villagers to vote! By force!

And do not get your emotions in a tangle because of the Mumbai massacre.

195 people died in Mumbai over two days. 275 people die on our unsafe streets every day. As Dylan put it, there is “blood on the tracks.”

So don’t point your finger at Pakistan, dear editor, for you have four pointing back at you.

Do not fall for this “spin.” Defend your stumps from this googly. With the full face of the bat.

Then you will discover that our biggest problem is not Pakistan at all.

Our biggest problem is the completely dysfunctional State that holds vast powers over us; powers that are being relentlessly abused. There is no Justice. There are no roads. Policing is atrocious. The rupee is nose-diving. There is rampant lawlessness. Every urban area, every town, and every city, is a shambles – while Mani Shankar Aiyar talks of “panchayati raj,” an idea that only promotes State Clientelism in rural India. That too, a rural India that has never been physically connected to urban India by roads, thereby entrenching poverty.

Yet, we have huge potential. But if we want to realize that potential we all must see that it is our The State that is our problem. We must fix government – beginning with institutions of urban local self-government. We must have a new idea of The Law – as a safeguard, and not as an instrument of coercion. We must also promote a moral culture of self-help in the markets.

All this, and more, can only be promoted in the Indian political arena by committed Liberals. Calling all such bravehearts: Stand Up And Be Counted!