India at 75

India’s strategic environment draws from the fact that though India has an ancient culture but  it is a new nation. Over the last 60 years the nation has experimented with various forms of foreign, domestic and economic policy models. From Panchsheel to a dominant government owned stiffled economy to the present race, Indian strategic environment and policies have been governed more by the predicaments of the time rather than a well articulated long term vision. There thus is a dismal record of Indian strategic policy and decision making at various levels, be they external posture or management of the internal growth requirements. There resultantly is a lack of a seasoned mechanism for strategic policy and decision making in pursuance of achieving its Core National Interests. This applies specifically to India’s higher defence decision making organisation.

The National interests are affected by various drivers in the field of economy, education, infrastructure development, internal and external security threats and human index values. Indian strategic culture is in its infancy. This is the reason why Indian policy making is vacillating, primarily because we find it difficult to “let go” of the beliefs and systems of governance nurtured over the last 60 years which now are in the policy makers’ “Zone of Comfort”. This strategic culture or the lack of it, be it in management of country’s growth or its security paradigms, is chained in the “East India Company” mindset. The political system and model for governance to face the complex threats and situations is thus too tardy and resistant to drawing any long term vision based on well defined Core National Interests. India thus is entwined in a self imposed intellectual trap.

India’s strategic environment over the next ten years will be determined by the focus of its current policies, drawn from the track record of its past, in pursuance of achievable targets of national growth. It will be affected by internal and external drivers in the field of foreign policy, economics, education, infrastructure development and internal / external security paradigms to make sound economic growth of India possible. The Key National Interests would remain improving the quality of life of Indians across the full spectrum of economic strata and narrow the rich poor divide. Important growth patterns will have to enable dignity and choice through a systematic and planned application of resources and intellect intelligently. India would have thus to apply itself to morph the pyramid of poverty into a diamond with a large middle class and manageable people below the poverty line. All efforts of the state and private machinery should concentrate on this single path to take India forward.

Theoretically speaking, India will have to focus on these Core National Interests and evolve strategies and options in a variety of ways to achieve its short term goals. Considering the overall strategic environment obtaining as a result of policies put in place, the nation will have to define  conducive internal and external environment to enable sustainable growth. This growth pattern must be enabled by suitable economic and social policies and guarded by internal and external policies in the field of security and mutual coexistence at regional and global levels.

At the outset does India have a flexible and robust system of Governance to study and predicate such academic activity towards enunciating its National Interests and Priorities. Our governance pattern for the complex threats facing India fall far short of the desirable dynamic policy making and executing environment making strategy meaningless. This aspect was covered earlier in the article Governance for Complex Threats.

The government must adapt, otherwise many of the reforms suggested, required, and even implemented may face unnecessary delays and suffer from uninformed oversight. There is a need to institute parliamentary committees like in the Western countries. Congressional committee system is a valuable scheme providing checks and balances and intentionally dilutes power. In practice, the lack of communication and coordination can create confusion and limit support, oversight, and understanding the requirements of various programs.

India needs to correct the internal fault lines through sound governance, else the gains made in the private sectors may be watered down along these fault lines.

Next there is a need to articulate the external environment and its management to meet with the requirements of Core National Interests…