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HomeThoughtShotFaizan Mustafa on minorities, Brahma Chellaney on "hard decisions" by Modi &...

Faizan Mustafa on minorities, Brahma Chellaney on “hard decisions” by Modi & Mahesh Vyas on jobs

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Note to the minority

Faizan Mustafa | Vice-chancellor, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad
The Indian Express

In what might strike readers as a contrarian viewpoint, Mustafa argues that Modi’s victory does not signal a bleak future for minorities like Muslims – they should welcome his assurance of winning their trust. Muslims have suffered “existential crises” over the last three centuries, and “survived”, writes Mustafa, citing examples from British rule and Partition to Ayodhya 1992 and the Gujarat riots of 2002.

If India becomes a “Hindu Rashtra”, the heavens are not going to fall for Muslims – if anything, it ought to worry Hindus more that India might follow Pakistan’s example.

He believes the Uniform Civil Code, construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya and abolition of Article 370 will not be issues of “life and death” for Indian Muslims. He argues that if the Narendra Modi government implements “regressive policies”, it will affect all citizens and not just the minorities.

Modi must advance national security

Brahma Chellaney | Geostrategist
Hindustan Times

Chellaney says Modi’s return to power establishes India’s desire for a “dynamic, assertive” leadership. However, to become a “major power” globally, the new government must tackle internal and external security challenges, especially in view of the China-Pakistan nexus.

An “unpredictable and transactional” Donald Trump administration will pose diplomatic challenges too, underscored by its recent bans on Russia and Iran.

At home, Chellaney urges India to develop a “credible” no-tolerance counter-terrorism plan, especially after the Sri Lankan Easter bombings. In Jammu and Kashmir, India has learnt little from the 2016 Burhan Wani “blunder” in its response to protests after the killing of Al Qaeda leader Zakir Musa. Chellaney says Modi must not shy away from “hard decisions” now to dispel India’s image of a “soft” state.

How to rescue genuine secularism

Rajeev Bhargava | Professor, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi
The Hindu

Bhargava says “secularism” has been absent from recent political discourse, and also explains what “asli” secularism means. For him, Modi’s claim of minorities being cheated by other political parties is “partly right and partly wrong” — Modi’s political supporters must take the blame for the fear that has engulfed Muslims with the sporadic incidents of lynchings. However, Modi is “partly right” because “fake secularists” have failed to defend Muslims or worse, have “pampered” their “orthodoxy”. If Modi is able to implement his “sabka saath, sabka vikas” slogan, then he would make “great strides towards secularism”.

Bhargava asserts “asli” secularism is not anti-religious, it opposes intra-religious domination, also plays the role of keeping minorities away from their own “extremism”.

A better place

Ruchir Joshi | Writer, filmmaker and columnist
The Telegraph

Joshi says that with Modi’s victory, it seems the Congress, the old BJP and parliamentary democracy have all been wiped out from India. He says the BJP’s claim that Modi won all the 352 seats and not the NDA combine, means that Lok Sabha will have “one man’” and “351 holograms of himself” (MPs).

He says people will have to accept this as a “democracy’’ until we find the means to replace it. He also criticises the government’s track record on the economy, corruption, environment, education, healthcare, etc, His previous government’s greatest contribution was the “violence against women, the violence against Dalits, the violence against minority communities”. Joshi believes Modi and Amit Shah are the “hardest line elements” of the “Sangh parivar”. He says reality will kick in only when people will realise Modi’s propaganda won’t work for hungry farmers or those unemployed.

Make the world our oyster

Jayant Dasgupta | Former Indian ambassador, World Trade Organisation, and Harsha Vardhana Singh | Former deputy director general, World Trade Organisation
Economic Times

The authors say India needs a strategic approach to convert opportunities arising out of the US-China trade war into major gains. India should focus on becoming a new “powerhouse as a global hub of exports”. They argue that India should target at least a 10 per cent shift from Chinese exports to Indian exports — this can happen if India manages to attract investments from large global companies.

To attract such firms, India should quickly announce a 100-day plan that devises a strategy for ‘India: Making for the world’, focusing on sectors that generate employment and are important from the perspective of exports.

Unemployment rate stabilises at 7%

Mahesh Vyas | MD and CEO, CMIE
Business Standard

Vyas writes the monthly unemployment rate has now stabilised at approximately 7 per cent if one considers the data of the last six months. He cites the findings of the tenth statistical profile on unemployment, released by CMIE, to argue that the biggest challenge India faces is to harness the 42 million people who may or may not be actively looking for a job, but are willing to work. He focuses on women who have both low labour force participation rates and high unemployment — Vyas calls this a ‘double whammy’. Also, the figures indicate the labour participation rate of urban women is a poor 9.8 per cent compared to their rural counterparts at 11.6 per cent

The process of governance matters more than policies

V. Anantha Nageswaran | Dean of IFMR Graduate School of Business (Krea University)
Mint

Nageswaran writes that the right organisational structure in the cabinet and the bureaucracy will be central to ensuring accountability. He says the “half-finished promise of super-ministries from 2014 must be completed now” and points out that if the cabinet leads the way in “goal-setting, measurement and accountability”, the bureaucracy will follow suit.

Since the economy is slowing down, the prime minister needs to know the true picture of the economy, and the Central Statistical office will be the first place to help establish a transparent government. He lists several important tactics for good economic governance, which include acceptance of reality, communication and listening to dissent.

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