India-Japan axis, an Asian landmark
The pomp and heraldry that greeted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Ahmedabad (see Media Watch, page 12) was no ordinary show. Its message to the region, to Asia and the world at large was crystal clear: the Indo-Japanese relationship, never less than friendly, had reached a new level of understanding, marking a defining moment in bilateral ties, and of transcending significance for the emerging global order.
The quantum of Japanese exports to India has risen exponentially in recent years with the ascension to power of Shinzo Abe. Under his dynamic leadership Japan has emerged from the shadows to occupy centre-stage with other Great Powers. In the post-war decades, Japanese leaders and the political class were content to play a self-abnegating role in regional and global affairs. During this period Japan rose phoenix-like from the ashes of defeat to become an industrial and technological superpower, yet remained a self-effacing pygmy fearful of its own shadow. What Mr Abe has done with steadfastness and unusual brilliance has synchronized Japanese diplomacy with its massive economic and technological strength.
Developments on the Asian mainland – most notably China’s rise – have been the catalytic agents in Japan’s recent affirmative policies on the international front. Mr Abe has made multiple visits to Moscow in search of a formal peace treaty ending the Second World War. The US blocked the treaty in earlier years as part of the Cold War. The confusion and unpredictability of American foreign policy has given traction to the leavening of the Japanese national interest with the demands of its American alliance.
President Obama’s pivot to Asia was little more than a masquerade. President Trump’s mood swings have prompted Asia’s two emergent powers to join forces in a far-reaching collective enterprise that promises to straddle continents.
Geography and demography are key. Japan is an archipelago off the Asian continent with limited natural resources and an ageing population. India with its billion-plus population, mostly the aspiring young, represents a dynamic market with untold opportunities. It is also within easy reach of the Middle East and Africa, particularly its east and south. Japan is a formidable naval power; India’s extensive military embraces land, sea and air. These are complementary strengths.
The Japanese foot print in Delhi’s spanking metro speaks for itself. Now, Japan will showcase its bullet train technology linking Ahmedabad to Mumbai, then Mumbai to Delhi, creating a huge and transformative belt industrial belt as it proceeds.
Scientific research from stem cells to defence beckons. The future is in the making, and it’s a future that works. Decisively.
Afghan Foreign Minister in Delhi
Afghan Foreign Minister, Salauddin Rabbani, was recently in Delhi exploring ways to bring his country’s relationship with India even closer. He spoke optimistically of US President’s recent demarche on peace and stability in Afghanistan. If the truth be told, such optimism is scarcely fit for purpose. What the Afghan people have seen and heard are the same reassuring words followed by the same appalling deeds: the cavalier American bombing of hospitals and dwellings and the scandalous deaths of innocent Afghans. The unabated bombings and killings of the Taliban have added to the toxicity, as have the cynical activities of the Pakistan military in abetting and funding jihadi terrorism for strategic reasons, it is claimed.
It was the Unted States and Pakistan that joined forces to create the inferno in Afghanistan, which, boasted the late Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor, was designed to entice and trap the Soviet Union into intervention. That ended almost three decades ago. America is currently engaged in its longest foreign war, with no end yet in sight.
Foreign Minister Rabbani appeared enthused by President Trump’s warning to Pakistan to behave or else face a US aid cut-off. This charade has been going on for years to little or no effect. China, meanwhile, plans a peace conference with three participants: China, Pakistan, the Afghan government, with possibly the Taliban on the side.
President Ashraf Ghani’s regime must come up with something more credible than the replay of a bad movie. Indian economic aid and military training for the Afghan defence forces have not been a game-changer and never will be, given Pakistan’s proximity and its role as spoiler. New thinking in Kabul is surely the need of the hour.
Peter Hall: Passing of a cultural icon
Britain’s soft power is an asset that has long transcended its military muscle. Yet it is the latter which dominates the country’s political discourse. Nato exercises, the roll-back of Russian power and much else in similar vein are sacrosanct: as if these are, or will be, the determinants of seminal historical change.
Peter Hall, who died recently at 86 after a long illness, symbolized all that was (and is) enduring in the cultural life of Britain. He was the embodiment of his country soft power, which remains its true strength. Hall was an iconic figure in theatre as a director and founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His distinguished career spanned more than half a century during which he staged the production of Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’; and in 1960, aged 29, he founded the Royal Shakespeare Company, of which he was leader until 1968. Later, in 1973, Hall moved the Old Vic to the present purpose built London’s South Bank of the Thames. Hall directed The Merchant of Venice (1989) with the noted Hollywood star Dustin Hoffman playing Shylock. He was also an internationally acclaimed opera director.
Among Hall’s memorable stage productions were Harold Pinter’s ‘The Homecoming, Peter Schaffer’s Amadeus and Alan Ayckbourn’s ‘Bedroom Farce.’ His last production was Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ in 2011, the year when his illness was detected, and from which he was never to recover.
The theatre paid him the following tribute: ‘Peter Hall was an internationally celebrated stage director and theatre impresario, whose influence on the artistic life of Britain in the 20th century was unparalleled’ - every word richly deserved. Peter Hall was a remarkable man, of whom his country, and a world that respects and embraces culture, can be truly proud. Whence cometh another?
A red letter day in the history of India
The dedication of Sardar Sarovar dam to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be red letter day in the history for India. A tribute to the people of Saurashtra and Kutch, the Narmada dam will provide water to farms and households. The water can push the development of Gujarat coast - commercial, industrial and maritime activities. Addressing farmers, Modi said it was time for blue revolution in Gujarat. Despite its controversies, the dam is a symbol of India's growing prowess. It will provide drinking water to 131 urban centres and 9,633 villages of Gujarat and irrigation facilities to 73 talukas in Gujarat. Besides Gujarat, the canal will also irrigate 2,46,000 hectares of land in the desert districts of Barmer and Jalore in Rajasthan. The completion of the dam is a testimony of the dedication and perseverance of Modi government and successive state government of Gujarat.
The foundation stone of the dam which was conceptualised by Sardar Patel in 1946, was laid by then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961. However, it has been delayed for 56 years because of trumped up and exaggerated concerns on rehabilitation of dam affected people. No project in the world have possibly faced so many hurdles. Many people conspired to stop the project, launching a massive misinformation campaign resulting in the World Bank's refusal to fund the project. The present height of the dam -138.68 meters-was originally sanctioned during the tenure of Chimanbhai Patel as chief minister of Gujarat. Later, disputes led to a restricted height until permission to raise to its maximum height was granted by the Narmada Control Authority in 2014. The dam faced legal challenges starting 1995, when Medha Patkar of Narmada Bachao Andholan moved the Supreme Court against the project. The court stayed the work, vacating it in February 1998. The dam serves as a dream for the people of Gujarat.
