https://t.
me/TheHindu_Zone_official
08 OPINION
Staring at a slowdown
THE TRIBUNE established in 1881
Financial tightening is the cure for diseased NBFCs, but has its downside
Pakistan snubbed
India firm on no-terror precondition for talks
I
NDIA has taken a tough stand by not inviting Pakistan Prime Minister SUBIR ROY
Imran Khan to Narendra Modi’s swearing-in, days after the ex-crick- SENIOR ECONOMIC ANALYST
eter called up the PM and congratulated him for the resounding victo-
W
ry in the Lok Sabha elections. The decision indicates that India remains HAT began with the
unconvinced by the neighbour’s claims of containing its non-state assets, default by an IL&FS
especially after the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama. Pakistan, in turn, (Infrastructure Leas-
has blamed India’s ‘internal politics’ for the glaring omission, convenient- ing and Financial Ser-
ly absolving itself of responsibility for the prevailing trust deficit. vices) subsidiary has over the
Over the past two decades, beginning with then PM Atal Bihari Vajpay- months spread and gotten worse,
ee’s bus ride to Lahore in 1999, India’s peace overtures have invariably subjecting the financial system and
been followed by Pakistan’s military misadventures. Barely a week after the economy to a downside that is
Modi made a surprise stopover in Lahore and hugged PM Nawaz Sharif highly disturbing, to say the least.
Today, the Indian economy, touted
on his birthday — he had attended the former’s swearing-in in 2014 — the
till recently as the fastest growing
Pathankot air base was attacked by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists in
among the large ones, is staring at a
January 2016. Terror factories continued to operate from Pakistani terri- clear slowdown.
tory even after major attacks in India: Parliament (2001), Mumbai (2008) The trouble in a part of the finan-
and Uri (2016). During a meeting in the Egyptian city of Sharm-el-Sheikh cial sector is not the sole cause of
in 2009, then Pakistan PM Yousaf Raza Gilani had promised Manmohan the slowdown but it has done its bit.
Singh that effective action would be taken against the perpetrators of the What is worse, the medicine that
26/11 Mumbai carnage. But the status quo reigned supreme. needs to be swallowed to cure the
After the Pulwama outrage, Pakistan came under incessant pressure malaise — financial tightening for
from the international community to stamp out terrorism. However, the the undeserving — will, if anything,
Imran Khan government has largely shied away from taking concrete and dampen sentiment needed for
visible action. It’s also not clear whether — or to what extent — Pakistan resuming healthy high growth.
has enforced the sanctions imposed on JeM chief Masood Azhar after the One medicine suggested which
will go a long way in restoring life to
UN declared him a ‘global terrorist’ a month ago. India has consistently
a half-comatose non-banking finan-
taken the line that talks can happen only if Pakistan adopts a zero-toler-
cial sector is the regulator Reserve
ance approach to terrorism. Imran’s push for peace doesn’t come with Bank of India (RBI) opening a win-
any commitment to end the proxy war in Kashmir. The massive mandate dow to offer finance to cash-starved
for Modi opens up the possibility that India will retaliate even more strong- non-banking financial companies
ly if provoked again by the neighbour. If Pakistan genuinely wants to (NBFCs), so that they can again
resume dialogue, it should first stop playing the cat-and-mouse games. lend to projects and businesses
which can revive and do their bit to
boost the growth momentum.
But no sooner was this suggestion
Another toddler raped made than the RBI turned it down. It
has good reasons for doing so as the
central bank can hardly lend money
Swift & strict action against guilty needed to entities which are in anything but
adequate health against dubious
T
HE heinous rape of a four-year-old girl in a private school at Dhuri assets and their IOUs. But the prob-
in Sangrur district, allegedly by a conductor-cum-helper, once again lem is that the RBI is yet to come up
underscores that our children remain vulnerable to sexual abuse in with a strategy that will breathe new
schools. While there are enough rules and regulations to ensure that the life into troubled NBFCs.
children are provided with a safe environment of learning, incidents such NBFCs, called shadow banks, are
as this disturbingly point to the many lapses in the system. The nation- there precisely because they will go
wide outrage over the murder of a Class II boy in the restroom of a reput- where banks will not, like lending to
ed private school of Gurugram in September 2017 jolted the government
and educational boards into issuing fresh guidelines to schools that were
Ugly behind us, look forward now
designed to make the institutes more secure. Safety audit of schools was
made mandatory. But sadly, laxity in the implementation of the well-inten-
tioned measures, such as putting up CCTV cameras, continues to endan-
ger the lives of children in most schools. It not only reflects lack of funds,
but also the skewed priority of establishments towards protecting the kids IP Anand
from predators who are quite often present inside.
T
As the frequency of horrifying cases of toddlers’ assault from across HE election process has come
the country remained unabated, the government last year introduced to a close. Campaigning
death penalty for those convicted of raping minors under the age of 12. comes as naturally to elec-
In the horrific Dhuri case, though the initial investigation brought to the tions as colours to Holi and decora-
fore that the cameras were not functioning, school officials were arrest- tions to Diwali. The election scene
ed only after the civil society raised a hue and cry seeking action against would have been monotonous and
the management along with the accused. What is more worrying is the monochromatic sans creative ban-
ters and digs coming from politi-
attempt by the authorities to either mislead or not fully cooperate with
cians. But it became distasteful
the law-enforcement agencies in nabbing the culprits.
when the skills of creativity and art
A thorough probe and swift action against and stringent punishment of oration went astray, breaking the
to the guilty and those responsible for the child’s safety are required to bounds of decorum and decency.
deter such crimes. Sensitisation of the staff and students against the Rhetoric of political rivals left one
threat of sexual assault must be repeatedly reinforced. Otherwise, the and all stupefied. The ‘chowkidar’
unfortunate Dhuri toddler will just be another number in our dubious sta- rant; calling an actor-turned-politi-
tistics: one in every 10 children is sexually abused at some point of time. cian ‘naachne-gaane wali’ and
‘Anarkali’ or reference to a
respectable woman as a ‘skirt-wali
❝ ❞
thought for the day
There can be economy only where there is efficiency. Make the right moves
— Benjamin Disraeli Refer to the May 26 report, ‘Modi: Pro-
incumbency wave, we also stand for
those we need to win over’; Modi’s
meeting with NDA MPs and RSS fra-
on this day...50 years ago ternity after the victory sent the right
signal. By focusing on the inclusion of
all, irrespective of political affiliation,
caste or creed, Modi has sent a strong
warning which needs to be heeded by
RSS’ foot soldiers, BJP and NDA
ambala,thursday, may 29, 1969
cadres. PM Modi should try to end
what was increasingly becoming a
U.S. Initiative for Indo-Pak Talks On Kashmir Issue polarised society. The renewed man-
TEHRAN, May 28 (AP)—The United States is trying to sponsor talks between date gives him another opportunity to
India and Pakistan on Kashmir. U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers is put the record straight and silence his
believed to have made efforts in this direction during his recent Asian tour in sceptics. All efforts must be made by
pursuance of a policy of United States’ detachment from the conflicts of Asia. It Modi 2.0 government to win back the
was the Nixon Administration’s decision to begin detaching U.S. forces by trust of the minorities. A workaholic,
peace-making or by replacement with South Vietnamese troops, which helped Modi must know how hard he has to
determine the nature of Mr. Rogers’ mission through Asia. The decision to cut work if he is to meet the challenges
the cost in Viet Nam had raised grave questions in Asian capitals as to whether that await him. For a start, he must dis-
President Nixon had decided to abandon Asia entirely. Mr. Rogers has told the cipline self-appointed vigilantes and
Asians that his country is cutting its involvement and intends to have no more minority-baiters like Sadhvi Pragya.
Viet Nams. He, however, gave an assurance that treaty commitments would be PRAKASH HANSPAUL, BY MAIL
kept. Going beyond the Administration’s Viet Nam peace policy he has begun a
process of detachment of the USA from the conflicts of Asia and the promotion
of a substitute policy of regional self-reliance. Fall was imminent
In ‘Paradoxes of mass democracy’
POLICE FIRE ON VIOLENT MOB (May 27), the writer tries to establish
HYDERABAD, May 28 (PTI)—Police opened fire on a riotous crowd believed to that the BJP victory is a cult of narcis-
be supporters of separate Telangana at Yadula village in Mahboobnagar district sism and can lead to authoritarianism.
last night. The 500-strong crowd indulged in stone-throwing in which three I differ with his views. The ‘Modi
policemen were injured. In Hyderabad city, the house of a municipal councillor, wave’ is not the first in Indian democ-
Mr. Yadgiri, who is a supporter of the united Andhra Pradesh, was set on fire by a racy. Nehru/Congress wave dominat-
crowd, which threw stones, smashed lights and window-panes of the house and ed the first two general elections. Lat-
after breaking open the main door poured petrol on the furniture and set it
ablaze. A four-year-old child and a relative of Mr. Yadgiri were hit by stones. Letters to the Editor, typed in double space, should not exceed the 200-word limit. These should be cogently written and can be sent by e-mail to: Letters@tribunemail.com
https://t.me/SSC4Exams https://t.me/Banking4Exams
HEAVY PRICE: Since the IL&FS copout, NBFCs’ cost of acquiring funds from the
market has gone up, casting a shadow over their entire business.
Non-banking financial companies which can’t be turned
around, or can be only after long nurturing, must be put
through a process of resolution that can end in bankruptcy.
less than prime borrowers. They are
not allowed by the RBI to accept
deposits so they issue short-term
paper which is picked up by, among
others, mutual funds which collect
money from you, me and corporates.
Plus NBFCs borrow from banks.
Since the IL&FS copout, NBFCs’
cost of acquiring funds from the
market has gone up, casting a shad-
ow over their whole business.
The other problem with NBFCs is
that many of those entities to
whom they have been lending are
themselves in trouble, casting a
shadow over the health of NBFCs.
A key sector that has been borrow-
ing from them is real estate and
what head winds promoters in this
sector are facing is too well known
to bear repetition.
The NBFCs’ other problem —
asset liability mismatch — is also
well known. They borrow short
term from banks and mutual funds
and lend long term to projects
which have long gestation periods.
Now that many of these projects are
themselves in trouble and unable to
bai’ or a derogatory remark on a
woman’s bindi were not only
obnoxious, but also violative of the
code of conduct.
Innumerable were the queer
quotes, the contents and the plat-
form prohibit one from going into
the details. Not to name any person
or party in particular, politicians of
all hues and identities, ideologies
and doctrines contributed to this
malacious campaigning.
The Election Commission of India
did come into action after it was
pulled up by the apex court, but cut
little ice. As posited by Plato, good
people don’t need laws to tell them
to act responsibly, and bad people
will find a way around.
In this regard, it is worth recalling
letters to the editor
er, the Indira wave swept in 1971 and
Rajiv sympathy wave was visible in
1984. In the recent elections, the BJP
projected Modi as the sole prime-min-
isterial candidate in contrast to sever-
al prime-ministerial aspirants in the
‘Mahagathbandhan’ and conspicu-
ous indecision in the Congress. People
vote for a strong leader, an icon for uni-
ty and security of the country. Only
Modi fulfilled these requirements in
people’s perception. In hindsight, the
Congress failed to fulfil Mahatma
Gandhi’s dream of poverty allevia-
tion, removal of caste system and pro-
moting cleanliness. It only crafted slo-
gans on social evils to win elections.
LR SHARMA, SUNDERNAGAR
Congress lost the plot
Refer to ‘Congress beyond Gandhis’
(May 28); Nehru-Gandhi scions have
been running the Congress since
Independence. Nehru and Indira’s
image was larger than life. Nobody in
the party had the courage to challenge
their authority. Consequently, a sec-
ond line of leadership never bloomed,
which could lead the party in case of a
leadership vacuum. Regional party
leaders like Lalu, Mulayam, Mamata
and Mayawati are streetfighters and
understand the pulse of the public.
But their parties are now reduced to
family fiefdoms and have lost touch
CHANDIGARH | WEDNESDAY | 29 MAY 2019
repay their NBFC loans — but the
latter will have to redeem the short-
term paper they have issued —
there is a classic dysfunction.
The overarching problem is that
the banks, which are supposed to be
solid pillars of financial stability kept
under day-to-day watch by the RBI,
are in too many cases in trouble
themselves. Their bad debts are now
a matter of history and efforts by the
RBI to get them to recognise their
bad debts, send them for resolution
and write off the hopeless ones keeps
making tortuously slow progress.
What is to be done? The healthier
ones among the NBFCs that have
run into temporary difficulties
because of what followed after the
IL&FS default can probably qualify
for a restricted RBI window.
But the real problem is with the
rest. What do you do with NBFCs
with loads of non-performing
assets, their owners’ equity as good
as wiped out and owners unable or
unwilling to bring in fresh equity?
The hard truth is that these NBFCs
which cannot be turned around, or
that when Dr Ram Manohar Lohia
contested the 1962 election from the
Phulpur (UP) constituency against
the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal
Nehru, he wrote a letter to Nehru:
‘In these elections your victory is
certain. But if certainty turns into
uncertainty and ultimately your
defeat, I would be extremely happy
and it would also be beneficial for the
country. Then you would get the
opportunity to improve yourself and
become a better person. In the end I
pray for your long life so that I may
get the opportunity to reform you.’
Graciously, Nehru replied: ‘I am
happy that a sober person like you is
opposing me... I think in this election,
the discussion would be centred on
the political programmes. Be cautious
with the common man. Their person-
al interests hampered Opposition uni-
ty. Rahul Gandhi lost the opportunity
to get administrative as well as politi-
cal experience under Manmohan
Singh. Now there is a serious question
of the survival of the party. Lack of
vision and distortion from principles
caused a debacle in the recent polls.
DEEPAK, BY MAIL
All leaders, no workers
Apropos the editorial ‘Congress
beyond Gandhis’ (May 28), a serious
rot has set in the grand old party. I
remember in the days of Praja Mandal
movement, every individual of the
party considered himself a worker
and all worked like a homogeneous
group, holding meetings, making
seating arrangements and setting up
sound system. Now the party is a
changed outfit comprising leaders
and leaders alone. The worker cadre
has vanished. It is time the party
changes its mindset and work culture
by way of initiating a vigorous mem-
bership drive to enroll dedicated
members. This will throw up local
mass leaders enjoying peoples’ trust
and confidence. It is the bounden
duty of the party to give strong a oppo-
sition to the country, failing which the
nation may relapse into autocracy.
RM RAMAUL, PAONTA SAHIB
THE TRIBUNE
can be only after long nurturing,
have to be put through a process of
resolution that can end in bank-
ruptcy. What this will do to mutual
funds whose money is stuck with
them can only be imagined. And
ultimately, the mood among the
public who fear for the worth of the
mutual fund units they own is too
traumatic to contemplate.
There is another way out. The
global economy will boom, the Indi-
an economy will again be on top of
the heap in terms of its growth rate,
the general economic buoyance will
be a kind of rising tide that will lift
all boats, including projects heavily
indebted to NBFCs. But one look at
the global economic scene, with a
US-China trade war looming and oil
prices likely to go up, particularly
for India whose access to Iranian oil
stands terminated, courtesy US
sanctions, tells us how much of a
pipe dream this is. Neither the
slowing Indian economy nor the
troubled global economy has any
kind of a life jacket ready.
The scenario that we need to con-
template — not too far down the
road — is some NBFC bankruptcies
and the economic and social disrup-
tion that will follow in their wake.
This will be as disruptive as a large
bank going belly up.
One way of finding out how to get
out of this mess is to look back and
figure out how we got into this mess
in the first place. When projects get
into trouble there has to be a quick
regulatory response to give promot-
ers some leeway to bring them back
to health over a period of time. During
this period, and this is all important,
the promoters have to bring in addi-
tional equity to fill in the gap created
by equity that has been wiped out.
In the Indian business ethos, this
is absolutely the last thing that is
likely to happen. On the other
hand, there are news reports that a
good number of high-net worth
individuals are leaving the country.
China, Russia and India have been
leading in the growing migration of
high-net worth individuals over the
past few years!
and ensure that the personal discus-
sion should be curtailed. On my part,
I promise that I would not visit my
constituency even for a single day.’
I wish our leaders emulate this
level of exchange, and focus on
issues and concerns pertaining to
public interest.
Let our politicians look forward
and learn from past mistakes.
There is no permanent friend or foe
in politics. It is in the fitness of
things to go by Urdu poet Bashir
Badr’s wise suggestion: Dushmani
jamkar karo, lekin ye gunjaish
rahe/ Jab kabhi hum dost ho jaaen
to sharminda na hon (Be rivals but
do leave the scope that if ever we
become friends, we should not be
ashamed of ourselves).
No regard for fire norms
Sadly, fire tragedies have failed to stir
owners of commercial buildings
(‘Need to enhance fire-safety aware-
ness’; May 28). Exercising economy
by using inferior material, builders
are throwing fire safety norms to the
winds. Considering fire outbreaks a
remote possibility and being well-
versed in escaping retribution
because of pervasive corruption, oth-
er builders are also emboldened to
disregard laws. The authorities
should conduct frequent seminars
with builders regarding fire safety.
Offenders must be brought to justice.
VIMAL SETHI, KAPURTHALA
We can be world power
India is a resourceful country,
including natural resources like
water, solar and wind power, miner-
als and human resource (‘Many a
hurdle in way to being world power’;
May 28). An iron hand is needed.
Insanitary conditions, enchroach-
ments and corruption can be
checked with effective enforcement.
Border areas need the best quality
roads, railway and tunnel infrastruc-
ture. Economic world power parity
will be possible only if we reduce
anti-dumping duties on imports and
manufacture at worldwide rates.
ASHOK KUMAR GOEL, PANCHKULA
https://t.me/UPSC4Exams
 https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official

THE TRIBUNE
CHANDIGARH | WEDNESDAY | 29 MAY 2019 OPED 09

The Congress problem: Dynasty in the DNA

more than taunts to the Congress Prime Minister saw the same person industry of sycophancy in the party
president on the issue of accounta- as Congress president and PM after which has resulted in the grass root
bility despite the fact that he had 1969, there were a few other presi- worker not getting the due and the
fought a hard battle. dents. They included Dev Kant leadership not getting the clear feed-
In the backdrop of the Congress Barooah who was at the helm in 1975 back. It has also stunted the growth of
debacle, the accusation of the belea- and had famously remarked that powerful regional leaders in the party.
guered party chief might be 100 per ‘Indira is India, India is Indira’. In the days of Nehru, there were
cent correct. But at the same time, it Her son, Rajiv Gandhi, continued umpteen leaders in the states who
SUNIL GATADE
is a fact that the three senior leaders that practice. Rajiv was brought into were leaders in their own right.
SENIOR JOURNALIST have not done anything earthshak- politics by Indira after the accidental In fact, the unwritten philosophy
ing against the interests of the party death of Sanjay Gandhi, who was gen- behind the dynasty culture in the

I
T was not exactly a case of find-
ing scapegoats for the shocking
defeat of the Congress in the Lok
Sabha elections but to state as to
what all went wrong in what now
appears to be a badly bungled exer-
cise. Ashok Gehlot, Kamal Nath and
P Chidambaram were in the firing
line in the just-concluded meeting of
the Congress Working Committee
and rightfully so.
None other than Congress presi-
dent Rahul Gandhi found fault with
them for pushing for ticket to their
children in the Lok Sabha polls
despite Gandhi expressing reserva-
tions due to the larger context. They
were accused of putting the interests
of their sons above the party at a
time when the Congress was fighting
with its back to the wall to keep
Narendra Modi out of power.
P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chi-
damabaram and Kamal Nath’s son
Nakul Nath were elected from the con-
stituencies of Sivaganga in Tamil
Nadu and Chhindwara in Madhya
Pradesh, respectively. However,
Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot
lost the poll from his home turf of
Jodhpur. The Congress ended up win-
ning just 52 seats nationwide, a mere
eight seats more than its tally in 2014,
which was the lowest tally for the
grand old party since Independence.
From the detractors, there were
where the norm among the leaders
from top to bottom is virtually to
promote their children, whether
competent or otherwise.
In fact, whether right or wrong, the
DNA of the Congress in the last over
half a century has become that of the
dynasty — of pushing the progeny of
the leader, big or small. When Sonia
Gandhi was herself confronted with
the dynasty question some 15 years
back when Rahul was named the Con-
gress candidate from Amethi, the then
Congress president had somewhat
angrily countered asking as to why
the media was not questioning vari-
ous regional parties, including the
DMK, on the issue.
It meant that the party which
brought freedom to the country from
British rule by mobilising people from
all walks of life under the leadership
of Mahatma Gandhi was justifying the
role of the ‘family’ by pointing
towards regional parties which are
dime a dozen.
The first family has dominated the
grand old party for more than 60
years. Indira Gandhi was made Con-
gress president in the late 1950s
when Jawaharlal Nehru was the
Prime Minister. Indira Gandhi, how-
ever, institutionalised the practice of
having the same person as the party
chief and the Prime Minister after
the second Congress split of 1969.
BASIC QUESTION: Rahul has struck at dynasty, which is the root of the matter.
The dynasty is both
an asset and a liability
for the Congress. The
Gandhi-Nehru family has
been the glue which has
helped maintain the unity
of the organisation.
However, the dynasty has
made the party increasingly
dull and dumb in the
changing political times.
It has prevented infusion
of fresh blood at
various levels.
Rajiv Gandhi continued that prac-
tice. Though Sonia Gandhi made
Manmohan Singh the Prime Minis-
ter from 2004 to 2014, she remained
both the Congress president as also
the Chairperson of the Congress Par-
liamentary Party. She has been
Chairperson of the UPA since the
Congress experiment of sharing
power at the Centre began in May
2004. When the question of passing
the baton arose, Sonia thought that
only Rahul fit the bill.
During 1885-1933, the presidency
had a term of one year only. Tradi-
tionally, the post rotated among
prominent members of the party,
successive terms for the same per-
son being frowned upon. Motilal
Nehru was Congress president in
1928 and the next year it was
Jawaharlal Nehru. During
Nehru’s premiership, he rarely
held the presidency of the INC.
Though Indira Gandhi’s reign as
eral secretary of the party and a major
influence on his mother during the
Emergency days.
Sonia Gandhi has created a record
by being at the helm of Congress for
nearly two decades. She passed on the
mantle to Rahul some two years back.
Rahul brought Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra as party general secretary some
three months ago.
It is not that the BJP does not have
dynasties in Parliament or the state
level, but the spread and the influ-
ence of the ‘family’ from top to bot-
tom in the Congress is something
which is in another league. The
dynasty is both an asset and a liabili-
ty for the Congress. The Gandhi-
Nehru family has been the glue
which has helped maintain the unity
of the organisation in turbulent
times. Loyalists have often used the
‘elective merit’ argument to justify
the prime role of the family.
However, the dynasty has made the
party increasingly dull and dumb in
the changing political times. It has
prevented infusion of fresh blood at
various levels. Leaders out to promote
their progeny have gone out of the
way to harm their detractors within
the party, leading to nepotism,
groupism, internal tussles and sabo-
tage, which has often proved a bane
for the organisation.
Dynasty has also given rise to the
Congress, lapped up by other parties,
is that if the son of a doctor becomes
doctor and lawyer becomes lawyer,
then what is wrong if a leader’s son
becomes a leader. If Dhirubhai
Ambani’s sons dominate the corpo-
rate space, then what is wrong in a
Gandhi-Nehru doing so?
If Rahul Gandhi remains adamant
on his offer of resignation, then the
party is in for turbulent times in the
short term. But such a move would
help the process of metamorphosis of
the party at a time when calls for a
Congress-mukt Bharat are being
made. Narendra Modi’s ‘naamdar vs
kaamdar’ rhetoric has hurt the grand
old party deeply.
Since the issue of dynasty is
inseparable from the Congress cul-
ture, Rahul has raised the basic
question, unafraid to strike on the
root of the matter that had brought
him to the top. He that is down
need fear no fall.
Rahul is the first Congress leader
from the Gandhi-Nehru family in
Independent India who has had to
establish his leadership through strug-
gle, especially in the past five years. If
he plays the gamble, things could
lighten up for the Congress at a time
when the chaiwala narrative has cap-
tured the public imagination. It will
show there is much fight left in the
oldest political party in the country.

Strategic autonomy and the looming oil crisis

T
HE new Modi government
will have to speedily contend
with a serious foreign policy
challenge on its hands.
That this ordeal comes in the wake
of some underplayed serious economy
problems currently facing the nation
will compound the problems for India
LT GEN KAMAL DAVAR (RETD) which imports over 80 per cent of its
FORMER CHIEF OF DEFENCE burgeoning oil needs.
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Thus, if the looming crisis in the
Persian Gulf between an arrogant US
and an equally defiant Iran does not
Notwithstanding any US get resolved peacefully, ominous
pressure on India, the ramifications await the region, the
world and all those nations which
unalterable fact of Iran’s import crude oil from Iran.
The genesis of the current crisis
strategic significance to between the US and Iran has its roots
India in the region remains in the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of
Action (JCPOA) which was agreed
beyond question. India upon by Iran and six western nations
in 2015, led by the US, to curb Iran’s
imported 24 million metric nuclear programme, which boils down
tonnes of crude from Iran in to deterring Iran from developing
nuclear weapons. But in May 2018, the
2018-19. India was Iran’s US, under its mercurial President
Donald Trump, chose to renege on
second largest buyer of this treaty as Trump felt that this was
crude last year, while the “worst deal ever negotiated.”
It is also a fact that Iran did not vio-
Tehran was the third largest late any norms of the law as regards
this agreement.
supplier to India after Iraq Meanwhile, the US allowed some
and Saudi Arabia. nations, including India, which
import oil from Iran a six-month waiv-
er, which ended on May 2, 2019. As a
consequence of the US action, oil
prices the world over have jacked and
soon its adverse effects will be felt in
IRAN IS VALUABLE: India need not succumb to US pressure on Iran or take sides.
India as inflation will hit the already
strained Indian economy. Over a 10
per cent hike in global oil prices has
already taken place in the last one
month and a crippling escalation in oil
prices ahead is well on the cards.
Notwithstanding any US pressure
on India, the unalterable fact of
Iran’s strategic significance to
India in the region remains beyond
question. India imported 24 million
metric tonnes of crude from Iran in
the 2018-19. India was Iran’s second
largest buyer of crude last year,
while Tehran was the third largest
supplier to India after Iraq and Sau-
di Arabia (11 per cent of a total of
India’s oil imports).
Additionally, Iranian crude comes
with a longer credit period and cheap-
er freight owing to Iran’s geographi-
cal proximity to India and, thus, Iran-
ian oil remains the best option for
India in more ways than one.
Higher oil prices also make the Indi-
an rupee weaker, making imports to
India costlier. Importantly, that Iran-
India collaboration in the develop-
ment in the vital Chabahar Port in
Iran will give India vital ingress to
Afghanistan and the Central Asian
Republics cannot be understated.
Meanwhile, the US has rushed the
formidable USS Abraham Lincoln
carrier-borne Task Force to the Per-
sian Gulf region and undertaken cer-
tain prophylactic steps in case war
breaks out.
The Iranians, too, have mounted
some small-range anti-ship missiles
on their warships. Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani recently said that his
nation is facing acute pressure from
international sanctions, dubbing it a
"war unprecedented in the history of
the Islamic revolution."
The US has also branded Iran's elite
Revolutionary Guards as a foreign
terrorist organisation. A war of words
has broken out, with President
Trump declaring that if “Iran wants
to fight, that will be the official end of
Iran. Never threaten the United
States again.”
Replying back sternly, Iranian For-
eign Minister Javad Zarif retorted
that Iranians have stood tall for mil-
lennia against aggression and that
“economic terrorism and genocidal
taunts won’t end Iran.” He added
that “never threaten an Iranian. Try
respect it works.”
Importantly, even US allies have
steered away from of taking any parti-
san positions with either the US or
Iran. Meanwhile, oil-producing
nations like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
Mexico and the US itself have been
requested to step up their oil produc-
tion to cater for Iranian oil shortfalls.
How this oil crisis will shape up to
meet global demands is anyone’s guess.
It is a strategist’s nightmare in
conjuring up a scenario concerning
the ramifications of a war between
Iran and the US. The Persian Gulf is
easily one of the world’s critically
significant strategic waterways
through which one-third of the
world's oil is transported.
In the event of a war, Iran will defi-
nitely close the vital Straits of Hormuz
for commercial shipping purposes,
throwing the region’s economy out of
shape — an eventuality which, hope-
fully, should not ever take place.
Preoccupied with its General Elec-
tion, India, as a major regional player,
has so far not reached out to its strate-
gic partner, the US, to impress upon it
to defuse the crisis.
Recently, the Iranian Foreign Min-
ister made a trip to India to explain
their position to India on the cur-
rent standoff.
India, however, need not succumb to
any US pressures or take sides. India
has an adequate financial standing
and moral stature to play a peacemak-
er's role. India must conscientiously
follow the time-honoured policy of
zealously guarding its strategic
autonomy. Respect for India from
nations even adversarial to each other
— as in earlier decades — will follow
automatically and some of India’s
economic tribulations will also get
simultaneously addressed.
Let the new government in New
Delhi bear in mind Iran’s more than
significant strategic value for India
in the region.

quick crossword su do ku calendar forecast

ACROSS MAY 29, 2019, WEDNESDAY SUNSET: WEDNESDAY 19:19 HRS
1 Meddlesome (9)
8 Become irrational (5) 5 3 ■ Vikrami Samvat 2076
SUNRISE: THURSDAY 05:21 HRS

9 The largest inland sea (7) ■ Shaka Samvat 1941

9 4 8 7
10 Fortified building (6) Sunny Partly Cloudy Cloudy Rainy Foggy
■ Jyeshtha Shaka 8
11 A humiliating
discourtesy (6) ■ Jyeshtha Parvishte 15 CITY MAX MIN
12 Happy and Chandigarh 41 23
8 7 4 5 9
■ Hijari 1440
contented (2,6) New Delhi 43 23
■ Krishan Paksh Tithi 10, up to 3:21 pm
15 Intimidate (8) PUNJAB
18 Refer (6) ■ Priti Yoga up to 2:15 pm
Amritsar 42 23
20 Ludicrous (6)
21 Impedimenta (7) 8 6 ■ Uttrabhadrpad Nakshatra up to 9.18 pm

■ Moon in Pisces sign

Bathinda
Jalandhar
43
42
26
21
22 Throttle (5)
23 Final intolerable Ludhiana 43 23
3
■ Gandmool starts 9.18 pm
blow (4,5) 2 HARYANA
Bhiwani 44 24
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION
Hisar 43 23
DOWN
2 Physically weak (5) 4 3 3 5 7 2 1 8 4 9 6 Sirsa
HIMACHAL PRADESH
44 26
3 To call in question (6) 9 8 6 3 4 5 7 1 2
4 Passive (8) Dharamsala 32 18
5 Untidy handwriting (6)
6 Prisoner (7)
9 1 7 2 4 1 4 2 7 9 6 5 3 8 Manali 26 09
5 6 8 1 3 7 2 4 9 Shimla 29 18
7 To profane (9) JAMMU & KASHMIR
11 Outward appearance (9)
13 Large waterfall (8) 4 1 7 6 7 3 4 8 2 9 1 6 5 Jammu
Leh
40
20
24
06
2 1 9 5 6 4 8 7 3
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION 14 Just to attract
Srinagar 28 10
1
attention (3,4)
Across: 1 Fiction, 4 Degas, 7 Drab, 8 Pristine, 10 Poker-faced, 12 Sloppy, 13 Spooky, 15
On the cards, 18 Outsider, 19 Mire, 20 Tardy, 21 Defunct.
16 Tube of gun (6)
17 Unfortunate situation (6)
7 6
8
7
9
5
3
9
4
8
7
1
2
3
6
2
5
4
1
UTTARAKHAND
Dehradun 39 21
Down: 1 Fed up, 2 Crackpot, 3 Normal, 4 Disrespect, 5 Grim, 6 Specify, 9 Propensity, 11 19 Authoritative Mussoorie 28 17
Coercion, 12 Sell-out, 14 Shrewd, 16 Sleet, 17 Stir. 4 2 1 6 5 3 9 8 7
doctrine (5) V. HARD TEMPERATURE IN OC

https://t.me/SSC4Exams https://t.me/Banking4Exams https://t.me/UPSC4Exams