Fragile State Index for India 2017 is 72/178

Fragile States Index 2017 by Fund for Peace 

 

• The Fragile States Index 2017, produced by The Fund for Peace, is a critical tool in highlighting not only the normal pressures that all states experience, but also in identifying when those pressures are pushing a state towards the brink of failure.
• Though the FSI does not predict unrest or turmoil, it does provide early warning of the conditions that can likely give rise to instability.
• India's ranking is 72/178 and 77.9/120 slipping by 1.6 points from previous year. However among BRICS nations India is better than Russia(67) only, whereas China (85), South Africa(96) and Brazil(110) stands better than India.

• If a shock of some variety were to occur - from a natural disaster to a recession to localized communal violence – that such events in any of these countries could have dire consequences given the pre-existing conditions of fragility.
• While the economic trajectory tells one part of the story, the gap in public services between the urban areas and rural areas (where over 60% of the population still live) hints at growing disparities.
• During past decade 2007-2017, worsening was significant for India. All our neighboring countries have improved during the decade.

Read the source - Fragile States Index Annual Report 2017

Other than change of guard following adverse elections results, democracy is non existent in India. Citizen rights undermined, justice dispensation limited to upper classes, civic services at their worst especially in villages and urban poor areas, rule of the law never followed, and so on is reflected in the Fragile States Index 2017 showing at least 106 countries better placed i.e. 72/178 is matter of shame for this largest democracy in the world even after 70 years of independence. Almost all neighboring countries did get better ranks than India speaks volumes about our chest thumping of democracy and claims of emerging economy shouting. Rather we have to guard ourselves against slipping into the category of 'failed states'.

Is terrorism the only problem India is facing?

India is facing several type of terrorist movements: (1) Paskistan is training and then sending 1000s of terrorists into Kashmir. (2) A large number of north east's locals are waging guerrilla type war against Indian state. (3) Not yet, but soon, India will face a secessionist movement from Bangladeshi immigrants with population crossing 25% of West Bengal to secede from India and may be to join Bangladesh. (4) In 100-120 districts of India, naxalite movement has wrecked the local administration and economy. The Western countries they have no such threats. The reasons are purely administrative. And by making certain changes in administration, the citizens of India can fix those flaws. 

• Modi in his three years of rule has more and more alienated Kashmir people towards terrorism and stone pelting even by students and girls with Hindutva and iron handed policies.
• Today he is making speeches at BRICS summit as if 'terrorism' is the only and biggest problem of India where as several other problems which were either unattended and made worsened by Modi administration.
• Modi must realize that impassioned speeches on terrorism in international fora might get him applaud but doesn't solve either terrorism or other problems on the ground.
• Cross border terrorism funded and aided by other countries is a minuscule component of plethora of all problems we Indians face perennially.
• Worsened economy, extreme poverty, fall in real wages, rising costs of living, loss of livelihoods, unemployment, distressed agriculture, precarious banking sector, population explosion, talent migration, deficiency in services and above all corruption are some of the serious problems India is facing at the moment.
• What BRICS can do to resolve our problems? They can just sign a joint resolution. What is its use? Nothing. We Indians has to work for solving our problems. That is it.

Modi with an insatiable desire for personal glory at any cost will talk about what others have to do but will never talk about his duties and failures. Neither as Gujarat CM nor as PM of India he has done anything meaningful for the benefit of common man on street or peasant in fields. He is only interested in trophy projects and showcase them as a signs of development. With the money he spends on self-glorification each day, a small town or over 100 villages could be modernized.

Doklam standoff. India tamed?

• Two months after the Doklam standoff, India said on Aug 25, 2017 that China has agreed to mutually withdraw troops from the tri-junction. Minutes after India's statement, the Chinese foreign ministry said, while India was withdrawing its troops, they will continue to patrol in the Doklam area.
• “In recent weeks, India and China have maintained diplomatic communication in respect of the incident at Doklam. During these communications, we were able to express our views and convey our concerns and interests,” the statement said. "On this basis, expeditious disengagement of border personnel at the face-off site at Doklam has been agreed to and is on-going," the MEA statement further said.
• China's Foreign Ministry on Aug 25, 2017 said Indian troops had withdrawn to the Indian side of a disputed border area where the two countries' soldiers had been locked in stand-off for more than two months. Ministry spokeswoman said Chinese troops would continue to patrol the disputed Doklam region.
• This comes days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Xiamen visit to attend the BRICS Summit from September 3 to 5. 
• After three months of weathering Chinese pressure, it is unfortunate if India has withdrawn unilaterally. For both countries, it would be a loss of face if it were not a mutual withdrawal. 
• The Indian Army has been engaged in a border standoff with Chinese troops for over two months when the Indian troops stopped the People’s Liberation Army from building a road in the Doklam area. While China has maintained that they were only building a road in their territory, both India and Bhutan, the two other countries sharing the border in this tri-junction has said that Doklam is Bhutanese territory and critical to India’s borders.

India has not controverted any of the official Chinese statements so far. China has disavowed that the disengagement was mutual. Chinese maintained that their border troops continue their patrols in the Doklam area. Our government sources off the record says that the reason to ignore the Chinese assertions is to give China a “face saver” doesn't hold any water. Is this not an abject surrender? If China was right and we were wrong, why are we there in the first instance? Is Modi attending the BRICS summit in China that important? If yes, for whom and why? Is India’s gesture a sign of weakness for all the bombastic rhetoric of nationalism spouted over the past three years. Are we actually a bunch of spineless fellows scared of a war despite a national cause and favorable terrain? China actually won the war without fighting!