BOOKS

Of real security

L. RAMDAS

Society, State and Security: The Indian Experience by Verghese Koithara; Sage Publications, New Delhi; pages 414, Rs. 550.

Real Swaraj will come not by acquisition of authority by a few but by the acquisition of the capacity by all to resist authority when it is abused.

- Mahatma Gandhi, in Young India, 1925.

THESE pearls of wisdom came from the Father of the Nation almost three quarters of a century ago. It focussed on the empowerment of the people as the most important aspect of 'swaraj', or freedom. Unfortunately the state of the nation today is far remov ed from the vision that he had of India. Over half a century has passed since Independence and the Human Development Report 1999 brought out by the United Nations Development Programme tells it all. On the basis of the Human Development Index, India rank s 132nd among 174 countries listed in the report. Countries such as Botswana and Gabon rank above India. In short, the national leadership has failed its people. Basic needs such as drinking water, health, primary education and shelter have been continuo usly neglected. These and related aspects of 'human security' have been kept in sharp focus by Verghese Koithara while analysing India's national security concerns in this maiden work of his.

Having chosen an all-embracing title, it was inevitable that the author would end up saying something about everything. The master craftsman that he is, Koithara has arranged his 'collage' in an interesting and logical manner. The book comprises three di stinct parts. Part I is titled "The Fifty Years, 1947-1997", Part II "The Coming Decade 2000-2010", and Part III "Security Assurance, 2000-2010". Each of these parts has six chapters and various aspects are treated under numerous sub-headings. This does at times tend to interfere with the smooth flow of the arguments being made. Perhaps the number of the sub-headings could have been reduced so that the text flowed more easily.

Matters affecting 'human security' feature throughout this monumental work. Unlike many analysts of 'national security' who neglected 'human security', Koithara feels that both these issues need to be addressed concurrently. In his view the leadership ne eds to take immediate corrective action in both these areas if India is to meet the aspirations of its people. Part I deals with the evolution of the modern Indian state, the social and economic changes and the management of external and internal securi ty issues. In the opening chapter on the 'evolution of the modern Indian state', the author states: "Security has always been twinned with status in the minds of the Indian elite who have from the time of Independence harboured aspirations of the country becoming a great power." In the final piece called 'Looking Ahead' at the end of Part III, Koithara reinforces this Indian concept with yet another reference: "Jawaharlal Nehru fifty years ago had identified future great powers as the USA, USSR, China a nd India. The U.K., France, Germany and Japan did not feature in his list. If after fifty years the latter continue to remain ahead of India, in terms of both power and influence, there is need for introspection."

This obsession for power has not left us even today. Every conceivable trick is being played on the country's masses by eulogising 'militarism' and flexing the 'nuclear muscle' even as the core sectors concerning human security continue to be neglected. Discussing the economic performance of the country, Koithara concludes: "The gross failure in developing its human potential, through better health and education, has notably contributed to the modest economic results."

Lastly, there is an interesting chapter comparing India's achievements with those of China and Indonesia. The author gives his reasons for selecting these countries for the comparison as in his view these two came closest to the situations obtaining in I ndia. The overall picture sketched by Koithara in the closing paragraphs of this chapter clearly brings out that although all three countries started roughly at the same levels in 1948/49, both China and Indonesia are way ahead in their achievements. Be it gross domestic product or the levels of poverty or literacy, India brings up the rear. The only area in which we seem to have a slight edge is the 'human rights spectrum', which involves protection from the state itself - at least on paper. It is no surprise, therefore, that we emerge as the third among the three even in matters concerning national security!

Part II is an attempt by the author to play the 'futurologist'. It is a well-reasoned analysis of the likely trajectories most countries and regions are expected to follow in the coming decade. In the chapter on the 'emerging international system', Koith ara sketches the future stance and posture of the main players as he sees it - the United States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the European Union, China, Russia, Japan, South Asia, South Asia Periphery, and Islam! It would appear very odd to m ost readers that a discussion on Islam has been included in this section. The author has justified its inclusion by mentioning that it is the only politico-religious multinational grouping wielding considerable influence on the world scene today. One can also sense the impact of Huntingon's work The Clash of Civilizations and Remaking of the World Order in Koithara's examination of the "global power matrix" in this section. It is a very interesting analysis of a question which may in the author's view have far-reaching implications for India in the coming decade.

In the chapters concerning 'latent dangers and manifest threats', there is a detailed examination of the latent dangers in terms of an enfeebled people, society, economic and technological mismanagement and environmental degradation. The analysis of mani fest threats includes an examination of the Chinese and Pakistani threats, as also the maritime and nuclear threats. The author concludes that there is very little if any chance of either China or Pakistan starting a full blown war with India in the comi ng decade. Pakistan may, however, continue with its low intensity engagement if the outstanding disputes are not settled by then.

IN the discussions on weapons of mass destruction, Koithara subscribes to the traditional view that nuclear weapons have both a political and a military role. He has also highlighted the new twist given by the U.S. of downplaying the role of nuclear weap ons and favouring the use of sub-nuclear high technologies.

While the author comes through in some parts as a proponent and supporter of nuclear weapons and their political and military usefulness, he does accept the fact that "the decision to find military usefulness in nuclear weapons against Pakistan and China has clearly created problems" - an understatement if ever there was one! He concludes Part II thus: "In the foreseeable future there is no conceivable cause for China or Pakistan to start a conventional, much less a nuclear, war against India." It woul d have been appropriate if the author had also analysed in this section the possibilities of India - under a given set of circumstances - starting a conventional or nuclear war with either of these two adversaries in the same time-frame.

Part III concerns itself with chalking out a strategy for security assurance in the coming decade. I would like to call this the 'foundation and stabilising strategy', because that is what it is. It consists of empowering people, good governance, resourc e mobilisation, force structure and force architecture. This section also includes a discussion of the role of nuclear weapons, the defence industry and security management. Most of the subjects treated here have featured in some form or the other in the earlier parts and therefore seem to fall into place easily. It contains a series of recommendations stating "what needs to be done" in the various sectors mentioned. Unfortunately the "how" part seems to elude us. This is an infirmity in an otherwise ou tstanding analytical work. Indians are past masters at making rules and regulations, laws, agreements, reports, commissions of inquiry, speeches, advice. In short, we are genuine 'paper tigers'. Never short of ideas but apathetic and too heavily bureaucr atised to implement anything. Is there something that we can do to correct this? Maybe Koithara has already a title for his next book.

On the whole this is a masterly work, duly supported by references and statistics. It is a courageous, powerful and an in-depth analysis of a very complex subject. It is incisive and informative. Reading it, one feels the impact of an economist, scholar, political analyst and sailor - all of which Vice-Admiral Verghese Koithara represents in abundant measure. A must for every library and all those interested in South Asian affairs in general and India in particular.

Admiral L. Ramdas (retired) is a former Chief of the Naval Staff.