Page 14 - EW August 2025

Editorial

NEGOTIATE BORDERS ON CLEAN SLATE ery, among others, to initiate de novo
negotiations with PRC, to settle once
and for all the Sino-India boundar-
he call for a new beginning and dent Donald Trump is upending the ies demarcation issue that has been
nomalisation of ties between In- multilateral trade order established hanging fire for over half a century.
Tdia and the People’s Republic of by the US which after World War II For this to happen, there has to be ac-
China (PRC) made by Union External ushered in an era of unprecedented ceptance within the Indian establish-
Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at the global prosperity. Since he assumed ment that Sino-India border lines in
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s office last year, President Trump has Aksai Chin in the north-west and in
foreign ministers meeting in mid-Ju- declared a tariffs war against several the north-east were arbitrarily drawn
ly, is a welcome development. After countries to balance bilateral trade and imposed in the pre-independence
meeting with his counterpart Wang surpluses. This wonky economics era by the British who it is well-estab-
Yi, Vice President Hang Zheng and could well disrupt the economies of a lished, had a reputation for drawing
President Xi Ping, Jaishankar called large number of countries, including arbitrary border lines during the age
for open dialogue amid the current PRC and India, which export a wide when they ruled over half the world.
complex geopolitical situation and range of goods and services to the US, Therefore to insist that inherited Sino-
expressed confidence in sustaining the world’s wealthiest nation (GDP Indian border lines drawn by imperi-
improved bilateral ties. The fact that $30.5 trillion). ous grandees of the British raj in India
during his first visit to PRC in five Simultaneously, the newly emer- are written in stone, has an element of
years, he not only met his counterpart, gent globalised world is experienc- irrationality.
but also the top Chinese leadership, ing major armed conflicts — the In the circumstances, this is an op-
indicates PRC’s seriousness about set- 40-month Russia-Ukraine war, the portune moment for the BJP/NDA
ting the stage for a new beginning of Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza and government at the Centre to evolve
the Sino-India relationship which has an uneasy ceasefire after the 12-day an all-party consensus to reopen the
been adversarial since the border war Israel-Iran slugfest. Sino-India border issue which has
of 1962, and most recently the Galwan Therefore, this is an opportune mo- unwarrantedly poisoned relations
lake clash of May 2020. ment for India which is heavily depen- between Asia’s two most populous
This first sign of a thaw in Sino- dent upon imports from China for a — and potentially most prosperous
India ties comes at a time of volatile wide range of industries — chemicals, — nations and begin negotiations on
global conditions. In the US, Presi- automobiles, electronics and machin- a clean slate.

TIME TO JETTISON NEHRUVIAN SOCIALISM the Indian economy in 1991, the an-
Although after liberalisation of
nual rate of economic growth (GDP)
he consequences of imposition of of micro-managing the entire econo- has doubled because of private sector
Nehruvian neta-babu socialism my and society devolved upon the 15- growth momentum, the brotherhood
Ton newly independent India 78 20 million neta-babu (politician-bu- is unwilling to let go. Privatisation of
years ago, regardless of the subcon- reaucrat) brotherhood of the Central PSEs is slow and private industry and
tinent’s several millennia of private and state governments. Seventy-eight business continue to be governed by
enterprise culture and traditions, are years on, it’s clear this task which in- 1,536 Central and state government
becoming increasingly evident. For cluded suppression of private industry laws, 69,223 compliances and 6,618
half a century economic growth barely and business, has proved too much for filings which has prevented double
averaged 3.5 percent per year (against the brotherhood. Spread too thin and digit annual economic growth neces-
the global average of 5 percent) while too wide, the brotherhood has failed sary to recover ground lost in the so-
annual population growth averaged on every front. cialist years. The brotherhood is fight-
2.5 percent. Perhaps not foreseen by Nehru and ing a determined rearguard action
Against this dismal development his heirs who persisted with the rigor- against liberalisation because control
record, neighbouring China which was ous neta-babu licence-permit-quota and command guarantees perennial
economically more backward than In- regimen until a non-Nehru (Prime streams of speed money and permis-
dia in 1949 but which took the capital- Minister Narasimha Rao) substan- sions income.
ist road in 1978, has attained a GDP of tially liberalised and deregulated the The only available solution is sus-
$18 trillion cf. India’s $4 trillion. Indian economy in 1991, half a cen- tained pressure of public opinion to
Under the inorganic socialism tury of neta-babu raj over industry, reignite the faltering momentum of
model formally adopted in 1956 and and micro-management of the social liberalisation of the Indian economy
reiterated in 1976 when ‘socialist’ was sector through discretionary laws to transform 21st century India into
inserted into the preamble of the Con- and regulations has infected the body a free enterprise, free markets nation.
stitution, it was holy writ that the State politic with pervasive corruption. The accelerating failure of national
and public sector enterprises (PSEs) Consequently, the brotherhood has infrastructure and social sectors is
dominate the “commanding heights of morphed into a powerful vested inter- the outcome of stalling momentum of
the economy”. Consequently, the task est within Indian society. liberalisation and deregulation.

14 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2025