Is India a soft State?

is india a soft state?

  • yes

    Votes: 61 89.7%
  • no

    Votes: 7 10.3%

  • Total voters
    68

NSG_Blackcats

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Is India a soft state?

In the past we have many incidents where we had not acted in a decisive manner. We had never learnt our lesson from the past. Members are requested to share their views on this issue. I am pointing out a few incidents as for me we are a soft state.

It was year 1962.One of our former Prime Minister has issued a slogan that is Hindi Chini bhai bhai (Indians and Chinese are like brothers). Government of India had no intelligence report of Chinese troop buildup. So we were taken by surprise and lose the war before it began. Now it is 2009. There are reports of repeated Chinese incursion in many parts of AP, Sikkim, Uttaranchal, Ladakh. As usual we are not prepared. Our government is downplaying the incident. We must not react in a immature manner but are we prepared for China?

It was April 18 2001; 18 BSF man was tortured and killed by BDR. Their body was returned as if they are animals. At that time BJP who makes so much noise about national security was in power. What was the action taken by GOI? Nothing flag meeting with BDR. Protest was lodged with Bangladesh government and the then Home secretary Kamal Pandey asked BSF to be on alert. You can imagine what effect this incident would have on the morale of BSF. Signs Of Torture

Of the 16 bodies handed over only seven could be identified. And these bore clear marks of torture:

Constable Sukhwinder: Cut injury on forehead and point-blank range bullet injury on body
Dy Commandant B.R. Mondol: Cut injury on neck and cheek. Was probably killed a day after capture.
Sub-Inspector Panna Lal: Bullet injury on left arm. Vertical knife cut mark on forehead.
Head Constable Raman Gouda: Cut injury on head and right arm, cut injuries on right leg.
Constable Mafiuddin: Four cut marks on body.
Constable Gurbax Singh: Cut injury on right temporal region and arm by sharp object.
Constable S. Dhala: Bullet injuries on chest/arm.

It was 24th December 1999. Indian Airlines flight IC-814 was hijacked. Now I am not sure what GOI had done was right or wrong. Once the plane was allowed to take off from Amritsar airport things were never under our control. During those 6 days we saw protest in front of Prime Minister Residence by relatives and family members of the passenger onboard the hijacked plane. I do not how I would have reacted if any of my family members was there in the hijacked plane. But this kind of protest proves that we are not mentally tough. The then foreign Minister has accompanied 3 terrorist to Kandahar to resolve this issue which is another debatable issue.

The date was 13th December 2001. Terrorists attacked the Parliament of India resulting in a 45-minute gun battle in which 9 policemen and parliament staffer were killed. All the five terrorists were also killed by the security forces and were identified as Pakistani nationals. After this attack mass troop movement has been done to our western border. Our then Prime Minister quoted as saying “Abb aar paar ki ladayi hogi” (Now there will be a decisive fight). We recalled our ambassador from Pakistan; Pakistani Civilian aircrafts are not allowed to use Indian airspace. The troops were stationed there for a whole long year but no action has taken place. After few years we started the composite dialouge and relation got normal. Afzal Guru who was convicted for the crime by Supreme Court is yet to be hanged. His mercy petition is pending with our president. I do not know how much time our president will take to decide on his mercy petition.

We are facing state border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan from late eighties. In late eighties and early nineties the act of terrorism was confided to J & K only. But now it has spread to all over India. On 26/11 2009 what happened was just unimaginable. Nine terrorist came through sea route and had a blood bath on the soil of our financial capital Mumbai. There was huge public outcry. Initially GOI was taking tough under public pressure. But as time passed what we see is exchanges of thousand pages dossiers and frequent visit to US by our leader for American help in this matter. GOI cannot guarantee that an incident like 26/11 will never happen.

There had been reports of torture of Indian fisherman by SriLankan Navy. There has been lots of protest in TamilNadu. But GOI is down playing this incident. I do not know whether government of India is taking up the matter with SriLankan government.

Now let’s talk about problem of Naxal and Maoist violence. How many civilian, policeman and paramilitary jawans have been killed in this violence is unknown. Naxals and Maoist are running parallel governments in many states of India. Currently Naxals and Maoist are active in following states of India – Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. It is believed Naxals and Maoist are getting support from political parties. If that is not the case how can these people are getting sophisticated weapons and operating for such a long period of time.

There have been lots of Police encounters recently. There is no doubt many of these encounters are fake. But to generalize that all the encounters are fake is a dangerous thing. Recently we have a police encounter at Batla house in Delhi. In this ecounter 3/5 terrorist were killed and one respected Inspector of Delhi police got killed. A general secretary of a political party started his vote bank politics and accused the encounter was fake and the inspector was killed by his own man. I do not know why this politician is not beaten up by the public? These politicians came with their Z+ security and when any terrorist attack happens they talk as if they are ready to die for the country.

Recently there has been attack on India students in Australia. What measure is GOI of India is taking? GOI has not even issued a travel advisory. Our government is busy in hosting the prime Minister of Victoria. Why GOI is not banning Australian universities? India constitutes 50-60% of the $ 3 billion Australian education sector.

Recently there has been numerous incident of ceasefire violation by Pakistani rangers in J & K. We are just protesting in Flag meetings between BSF and Pakistani rangers. Why government of India not allowing BSF to take retaliatory measures?

There are many other issues which I will highlight in my next post. I would request members to share their views.

regards
 

Sabir

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Is India a soft state?

In the past we have many incidents where we had not acted in a decisive manner. We had never learnt our lesson from the past. Members are requested to share their views on this issue. I am pointing out a few incidents as for me we are a soft state.

It was year 1962.One of our former Prime Minister has issued a slogan that is Hindi Chini bhai bhai (Indians and Chinese are like brothers). Government of India had no intelligence report of Chinese troop buildup. So we were taken by surprise and lose the war before it began. Now it is 2009. There are reports of repeated Chinese incursion in many parts of AP, Sikkim, Uttaranchal, Ladakh. As usual we are not prepared. Our government is downplaying the incident. We must not react in a immature manner but are we prepared for China?

It was April 18 2001; 18 BSF man was tortured and killed by BDR. Their body was returned as if they are animals. At that time BJP who makes so much noise about national security was in power. What was the action taken by GOI? Nothing flag meeting with BDR. Protest was lodged with Bangladesh government and the then Home secretary Kamal Pandey asked BSF to be on alert. You can imagine what effect this incident would have on the morale of BSF. Signs Of Torture

Of the 16 bodies handed over only seven could be identified. And these bore clear marks of torture:

Constable Sukhwinder: Cut injury on forehead and point-blank range bullet injury on body
Dy Commandant B.R. Mondol: Cut injury on neck and cheek. Was probably killed a day after capture.
Sub-Inspector Panna Lal: Bullet injury on left arm. Vertical knife cut mark on forehead.
Head Constable Raman Gouda: Cut injury on head and right arm, cut injuries on right leg.
Constable Mafiuddin: Four cut marks on body.
Constable Gurbax Singh: Cut injury on right temporal region and arm by sharp object.
Constable S. Dhala: Bullet injuries on chest/arm.

It was 24th December 1999. Indian Airlines flight IC-814 was hijacked. Now I am not sure what GOI had done was right or wrong. Once the plane was allowed to take off from Amritsar airport things were never under our control. During those 6 days we saw protest in front of Prime Minister Residence by relatives and family members of the passenger onboard the hijacked plane. I do not how I would have reacted if any of my family members was there in the hijacked plane. But this kind of protest proves that we are not mentally tough. The then foreign Minister has accompanied 3 terrorist to Kandahar to resolve this issue which is another debatable issue.

The date was 13th December 2001. Terrorists attacked the Parliament of India resulting in a 45-minute gun battle in which 9 policemen and parliament staffer were killed. All the five terrorists were also killed by the security forces and were identified as Pakistani nationals. After this attack mass troop movement has been done to our western border. Our then Prime Minister quoted as saying “Abb aar paar ki ladayi hogi” (Now there will be a decisive fight). We recalled our ambassador from Pakistan; Pakistani Civilian aircrafts are not allowed to use Indian airspace. The troops were stationed there for a whole long year but no action has taken place. After few years we started the composite dialouge and relation got normal. Afzal Guru who was convicted for the crime by Supreme Court is yet to be hanged. His mercy petition is pending with our president. I do not know how much time our president will take to decide on his mercy petition.

We are facing state border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan from late eighties. In late eighties and early nineties the act of terrorism was confided to J & K only. But now it has spread to all over India. On 26/11 2009 what happened was just unimaginable. Nine terrorist came through sea route and had a blood bath on the soil of our financial capital Mumbai. There was huge public outcry. Initially GOI was taking tough under public pressure. But as time passed what we see is exchanges of thousand pages dossiers and frequent visit to US by our leader for American help in this matter. GOI cannot guarantee that an incident like 26/11 will never happen.

There had been reports of torture of Indian fisherman by SriLankan Navy. There has been lots of protest in TamilNadu. But GOI is down playing this incident. I do not know whether government of India is taking up the matter with SriLankan government.

Now let’s talk about problem of Naxal and Maoist violence. How many civilian, policeman and paramilitary jawans have been killed in this violence is unknown. Naxals and Maoist are running parallel governments in many states of India. Currently Naxals and Maoist are active in following states of India – Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. It is believed Naxals and Maoist are getting support from political parties. If that is not the case how can these people are getting sophisticated weapons and operating for such a long period of time.

There have been lots of Police encounters recently. There is no doubt many of these encounters are fake. But to generalize that all the encounters are fake is a dangerous thing. Recently we have a police encounter at Batla house in Delhi. In this ecounter 3/5 terrorist were killed and one respected Inspector of Delhi police got killed. A general secretary of a political party started his vote bank politics and accused the encounter was fake and the inspector was killed by his own man. I do not know why this politician is not beaten up by the public? These politicians came with their Z+ security and when any terrorist attack happens they talk as if they are ready to die for the country.

Recently there has been attack on India students in Australia. What measure is GOI of India is taking? GOI has not even issued a travel advisory. Our government is busy in hosting the prime Minister of Victoria. Why GOI is not banning Australian universities? India constitutes 50-60% of the $ 3 billion Australian education sector.

Recently there has been numerous incident of ceasefire violation by Pakistani rangers in J & K. We are just protesting in Flag meetings between BSF and Pakistani rangers. Why government of India not allowing BSF to take retaliatory measures?

There are many other issues which I will highlight in my next post. I would request members to share their views.

regards
Our reaction is really mysterious. For Chinese incursion in no mans land we can write up pages and vow to take on the Chinese...On the other hand where Indians are real victims (students in Australia or fishermen of Tamil Nadu) we are quite silent.
 

Martian

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"On the other hand where Indians are real victims (students in Australia or fishermen of Tamil Nadu) we are quite silent."

Isn't this problem due to the fact that India lacks sufficient leverage over Australia? I don't think the Indian government has many options in reminding the Australians that India can really hurt their pocketbook.

Also, India is trying to buy Australian uranium. The truth is that Australia may actually have more leverage over India.

Unfortunately, this is the current state of affairs. But things may change as India's economy grows and becomes a more important customer for Australia.
 

NSG_Blackcats

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I will try to highlight few points about why I feel we are a soft state in this post.

1/5th of Jammu and Kashmir (Aksai Chin) is under Chinese Control. As per the resolution unanimously adopted by our Parliament entire J & K is Indian Territory. We do not have the guts to say it publicly that China is also a party to Kashmir dispute.
We have border disputes with china. The Chinese position is that the area under their control is not negotiable. They are claiming whole of AP, some part of Sikkim, Ladakh, and Uttaranchal. We are not claiming our land that is under Chinese Control. We are not negotiating from a position of strength.

We are a developing country. Energy is very important for our development. Initially India was very interested in Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline. But now we had put this issue to back burner. I am not sure is it because we have security concern as the pipeline transit through Pakistan or we succumb to American pressure? We must have good relation with Iran. But under American pressure we are doing opposite.

I hope everyone aware of Rubina kidnapping case. Rubina is the daughter of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed who was kidnapped by militants. GOI had ordered the release of 5 dreaded militants which unleashed a whole new era of terrorism.

It is a great achievement that in our history we have never attack or invade any country. But at the same time when we were attacked our response was not extraordinary. Why during Kargil operation our forces were not allowed to cross the LOC?

Pilots who are getting a salary in the range 2-4 lakh per month can call a strike at anytime and held the country to ransom. Why doesn’t the government invoke ESMA and arrest them in the very first hour of the strike? Now 8000 doctors in Karnataka have threatened to resign in mass unless their salary hiked by government. This is nothing but black mailing. Just book them under ESMA. The massage should be sent loud and clear; you cannot held a state to ransom. The government should bring a law and declare strike as illegal for people working in certain very important sector.

I will highlight some more issues in my next post.

Regards
 

marcos

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South Africa was boycotted by whole world for several years because of Racism. If Indian students are attacked in Australia regularly why should India atleast threaten to send their diplomat back or breaking cricketing tie. Such examples we have against Pakistan.
 

Mohan

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I would request poll be added to this thread.
 

hit&run

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KPS Gill on the soft State of India
September 6, 2006
Mr. KPS Gill is one of the most thoughtful and articulate officers (he is retired now) in the Indian police. I have been very impressed by his forcefulness, directness and candor, not to mention his tremendous track record in ridding Punjab of the separatist/terrorist threat.

I think it is no coincidence that subsequently Gill was hounded and humiliated with a sexual harassment case. It is routine in India for those who are patriotic or nationalistic to be destroyed through the ancient technique of tejovadham, the murder of their reputation and self-image through innuendo and rumor. For an example, refer to what happened to Acharya Jayendra Saraswati, the Sankaracharya of Kanchi.

The idea is to ruin them personally, destroy the institutions associated with them, and preferably drive them to suicide. The English Language Media in India collaborates with great glee in destroying anyone who refuses to sell the country — as the ELM does — for 30 silver coins.

As an aside, the laws that supposedly protect women in India including the sexual harassment provisions as well as the anti-dowry laws, are being completely misused.
The purported beneficiaries of these laws are poor, illiterate, exploited rural women who may in fact be, alas, oppressed. However, those who use the laws are mostly middle class, educated, urban women who are not oppressed, but arrogant. It is they who use the woman-friendly laws as weapons for vindictive revenge. There are any number of these “daughters of Surpanakha” around, to the extent that what we see more and more is actually the oppression of menfolk, not of womenfolk.

Feeble response to governance
by KPS Gill

Accidents of history often become intrinsic to the culture and thinking of a people. India secured its freedom through a process of non-violent confrontation with the British, and this has enormously encouraged a popular psyche that tends to reject the option of the use of force in the resolution of political conflicts – and, indeed, yields a significant resistance to the application of coercive measures even in cases of violent criminal transgression. At the same time, the extended history of the non-cooperation movement has become entrenched in an attitude of general disregard of, or even contempt for, the law. In combination, these proclivities have undermined our capacities, as a nation, to respond adequately and effectively to situations of crisis. (i can recall 5 recent incidents)

If anything, contemporary political thinking – or perhaps, more accurately, the absence of it – has deeply compounded the difficulties with inchoate and muddle-headed formulations, indeed, sustained obscurantism, clouding judgement on vital moral and strategic issues. Such confusion has historically had – and continues to have – a paralysing effect both on policy and on the operational command of enforcement and security agencies, addressing which has become critical within the context of relentless, utterly unscrupulous and unconstrained movements of terrorism within India.

The military thinker Carl von Clausewitz warns us that, in war, “the mistakes which come from kindness are the very worst… If one side uses force without compunction, undeterred by the bloodshed it involves, while the other side refrains, the first will gain the upper hand”. This is the principle that must be kept in mind while framing an approach to counter-terrorism (we are still far from framing a counter-terrorism policy or strategy). There is, in the Indian discourse, an air of utter bafflement regarding the question of use of force within the context of democracy, with the dominant thinking endorsing the idea that all use of force is somehow a violation of democratic principles, and that the state must negotiate a solution to every emerging problem or conflict. Within this bafflement, the idea of the rule of law (Once my dad asked me, Do we indians know what is rule of Law? )– which, and not the electoral process, is the essence of democracy – has been completely sacrificed. Regrettably, those who claim to speak for democracy seem to be unfamiliar with the most fundamental aspects of democratic theory, and particularly with the debates on the role of force in democratic governance. Politically correct rhetoric has left us indifferent to the plight of the victims of criminal and terrorist violence, even while there is a constant harping on the grievances of those who resort to crime and terrorism. In doing this, the dominant discourse, in effect, removes all constraints from those who resort to violent excess, while it places extraordinary and irrational constraints on the agencies of the state that are intended to protect the rule of law.

The Indian response to terrorism – a problem we have confronted continuously at high intensities for at least the past three decades – has been plagued by vacillation, on the one hand, and an alternation between extreme under-reaction and excess, on the other. The nature of terrorism demands quick, indeed, immediate and decisive application of appropriate force; it requires the creation of institutional structures and protocols of response, not only for counter-terrorist action, but for relief and containment of the impact of terrorist acts; above and before all, however, it demands a measure of clarity and an understanding of the nature and necessity of use of force, a realisation that the use of weak and ineffective force compounds and escalates violence, and that continuous emphasis on political and negotiated solution actively privileges violence and terror at the cost of the interests of the law abiding citizen, and of the nation. Thus, when we argue that ‘these are our brothers and sisters’, and ‘these are our children’, we ignore the fact that those whom they kill are also ‘our brothers and sisters’ and ‘our children’; and that it is the prior, inescapable and constitutional duty of the state to protect the latter, and to impose the laws of the land, before unrealistic considerations of a universal pacifism destroy the possibility of such protection. Counter-terrorist policy and response are an awful responsibility of the state, and must anchor themselves in a practical wisdom, “without conceding too much either to pity or to indulgence.”

Terrorism has, moreover, emerged as a pattern of criminal transgression and warfare that has no immediate parallel in either other patterns of crime or of warfare. It allows hostile states to engage in continuous acts of war against India, even while they remain involved in a wide range of trade relations and ‘peace processes’, denying the country the option of condign response. Terrorism demands, and must consequently be accorded a special status in policy, law and warfare if democratic nations are to learn to protect themselves against a affliction that has the potential to enormously escalate in the foreseeable, if not immediate, future, with terrorists securing access to increasingly lethal technologies, potentially including chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

Through history, nations have had to maintain and often refresh their independence through the force of arms. The South Asian region has become an extraordinary locus of instability, with each of India’s neighbours skirting state failure. India is, itself, deeply susceptible to a complex dynamic of destabilisation that has already extended areas of disorder and non-governance to large parts of the country, with nothing resembling an adequate set of responses in evidence. The use of force in the defence of freedom, and of its laws and institutions, is not just a moral necessity, it is a survival imperative. It is a demand that must be fulfilled, moreover, (very important)-->not with jingoism and hyper-nationalism, or with emerging patterns of communal polarisation and coercion, but rather with a strong and sustained reliance on rationality, on a detailed understanding of the challenge of terrorism and disorder, and of the imperatives of a democratic, lawful and effective response to the threats to the nation’s freedom and survival.

Despite our sense of civilisational continuity and rising contemporary power, it is useful to remind ourselves that we are a very young and vulnerable nation. Our capacities to survive, to grow and to secure our position among the promised ‘great powers’ of the world will depend on our capacities to root governance in reality and reason, not in the political illusions that manifestly dominate most contemporary:( perspectives. Constitutionalism, the rule of law, and the imperatives of governance have too long been neglected in India, or have been reduced to slogans and rituals. Unless this trajectory is reversed, our failures will compound themselves to destroy the tremendous gains of Independence, and of the economic revival of the past decade !!!!.

http://rajeev2007.wordpress.com/2006/09/06/kps-gill-on-the-soft-state-of-india/
 

anoop_mig25

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soft state?

i don`t know whether India is soft state or not. but it actually depends upon party which is governing at that time .for eg both congress -s shikh`s riots and bjp`s gujarat riot are best eg`s where respective party gave indirect support to rioters :thumbs_thmbdn:. and about ic-814 hijacking once plane went of india there was little any indian gov had done .whether it was congress or bjp they had to give to the demands of terrorist
 

StealthSniper

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I think India is portrayed a soft state for a few reasons. I think when it came to the terrorist attacks it really showed our police were ill prepared and we didn't have a sufficently covered coastal area. Also when It comes to countries I have noticed that we are quick to blame and very slow to react.


But the main reason why India is protrayed as a soft state is because of our political system and our politcal will. We always like to shout but when we shout we don't take action. What I admire with China is if it needs to be done it will be done. Also India has a lot of corrupt people in the law system and the political system. Once the corrupt politicians and policemen are gone and we have a strong punishment and strong laws we can and will enforce, then the country will be a much stronger state.
 

mattster

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India is a Soft State because none of you educated middle class Indians are willing to run for political office.

Political office is occupied at the state level and even some cabinet level posts by fat old lazy corrupt incompetent morons who are the scum of the earth. Most of these morons are in their sixties or seventies.

How can you expect progress and strength when at the base you have such politicians at the MLA, state, and regional levels ??

Look at some of these parties - there is not one individual that could even be called an intellectual in some of these regional parties.

Unless the middle-class get off their butts, and stick their fingers into the political muck, India will never improve.

India could never develop its military strength in the past because it was too weak economically until the last decade. Now as its economic situation improves India will have to play catch-up. While it is playing catch-up - it is still going to be a weak soft state.

India's other problem is that it has never had a truly dynamic visionary leader with strong charisma and popularity to sell his message.
 

Sabir

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I must thank Mr. Hit & Run for posting this well written article.

However, in the first part I think it is biased towards Mr. KPS Gill and Jayendra Saraswati. Nobody (even the most patriotic person too) is above the Law. Yes, there are many instances of framing persons of high stature. But there are more instances where persons of high stature have used their influence to evade the Law. Even in case of Jayendra Saraswati , there were influential persons and organizations to back him. I am not saying they were guilty, simply because I don’t know that for sure. But we should avoid making biased comments from sidelines when we are not in a position to know the fact with certainty.

Similarly , I severely condemn the attempt of generalizing the women who are supported by law as conspirators. Can the author prove …….. “ those who use the laws are mostly middle class, educated, urban women who are not oppressed, but arrogant. It is they who use the woman-friendly laws as weapons for vindictive revenge. There are any number of these “daughters of Surpanakha” around, to the extent that what we see more and more is actually the oppression of menfolk, not of womenfolk….”

Where did the author get the fact that middle class, educated, urban women are beyond oppression and they are all arrogant not oppressed. Shame to this shameless generalization.

However up to that , this post has nothing to do with the topic. We can rest the case here.

…………… “Accidents of history often become intrinsic to the culture and thinking of a people. India secured its freedom through a process of non-violent confrontation with the British, and this has enormously encouraged a popular psyche that tends to reject the option of the use of force in the resolution of political conflicts – and, indeed, yields a significant resistance to the application of coercive measures even in cases of violent criminal transgression. At the same time, the extended history of the non-cooperation movement has become entrenched in an attitude of general disregard of, or even contempt for, the law. In combination, these proclivities have undermined our capacities, as a nation, to respond adequately and effectively to situations of crisis. (i can recall 5 recent incidents)”……………



Our independence through non-violence movement is being reflected in our society after five-six decades and making us incapable of act in crisis. Too bold derivation, I must say. Similar crisis took toll of millions of live through pages in Indian history in disguise of Md Ghouri, Mahmood or Nadir Shah(may be the concept of India was not there, but Indians were there). Even then our forefathers could not act in crisis. Then why drag non-violence movement in between.

I must admit I could not decipher anything beyond that (may be because of my poor knowledge of English language). However, thank you for the well written article.
 

Energon

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Indians are soft, they have no guts, they lack a "killer instinct" and they certainly don't have the courage to use the nuclear bomb. Maybe it’s because they're vegetarians. Either way, risk averseness, complacency and a generalized state of "softness" has enabled the likes of Pakistanis and the Chinese to walk all over India. These rants have been making circles of virtually every Indian living room over the last 62 years, particularly when the cricket team was/is getting tossed around.

I personally don’t prescribe to any of these theories, especially the ones focusing on victimhood and insecurity at the expense of common sense and objectivity. It is true that all the ills listed in this thread have more or less occurred, however that is primarily because India is a soft target, not necessarily because it’s a soft state.

“Strong” states by deduction, who adopt the cowboy philosophy of shooting their way out of anything and everything primarily fall into two categories: ones who are secure, wealthy and organized enough to pull it off, and the ones who have nothing left to lose. India is neither one of these, and until this changes (hopefully by being inducted into the former category) its leadership has to whatever it can to stay afloat even if it means swallowing its pride and not going to war with China or Pakistan out of a retributive sense of justice.

Dysfunctional public mechanisms of governance, lack of infrastructure, mass illiteracy, lack of ample economic opportunity, lack of cohesion/ organization among the diverse population etc. on the other hand is what makes India a soft target. Incidentally they are also the reasons why India can't be "strong" and proactive with its retributive pursuits. For all practical purposes it makes a lot more sense to address these concerns and build up enough of a momentum to fix these issues before lamenting over the "softness" of the Indian state.
 

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Reason for posing a question of India's deliberate attempt to remain soft despite repeated and unprovoked aggression and deception from both external and internal sources yield from the fact that, there is a acute crisis of Political Leadership that can really steer India's might. Since our Independence we couldn't manage to create most formidable generations of Political and Economic along with Military leadership, in short India is highly suffering from Leadership Poverty. During Pre-Independence era, we had leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanaya tilak and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar alongwith Maulana Azad and Sardar vallabhbhai patel who really steer the soul of this country which helped India to break the shackles of British Occupation. Today, we are lacking leaders of similar Might who can really sacrifice everything for the betterment of the country.
 

amitkriit

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India must remain a soft power, as we cannot afford any greater role. Just look around India's neighbourhood to understand this simple fact. Big fishes will eat us whole and won't burp otherwise.
 
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for a country the size of India 1 biilion+ people to be crying and playing the victim role and looking for consolation from bigger powers is a sad state of affairs, we are a developing country so this softness will remain, because we more or less have been given a choice either remain a soft state and develop or no development(trade) if aggressive path is chosen.
 

bengalraider

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India has a whole lot of problems none insurmountable but at the same time none that are easy to wash away, i shall detail only three
firstly we have a corrupt and inefficient bureaucratic system that seems to take a perverse enjoyment in delaying all major decisions.
secondly we have way too many NGO'S and professional protesters who turn up at each and every opportunity to show themselves in the media these people by virtue of stopping major irrigation projects have caused the Indian economy to lose thousands of crores each year.
thirdly it is us the indian junta we forget and forgive and in that lies our folly.
 

AJSINGH

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ofcourse we are a soft state except when BJP was in power in 2000,they did not care what the public thought but went on to wage a war with Kashmir on kargil issue,ofcourse killer instinct is still missing ,like no terrorist is given captal punishment .we need some one like Bhagat Singh,or vallabbhai patel to unite india once again
 

roma

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not quite a soft state but certainly a dormant one

Unfortunately, this is the current state of affairs. But things may change as India's economy grows and becomes a more important customer for Australia.
as our colleague mattster has stated while the economy is growing it continues to be a soft state . 50 to 60% of aus educatn sector is sufficient to have a strong voice but when AUssie Pm rudd visited india he stated that there is no guarantee the attacks wont continue.
would he dared to have said that in usa or britain ? i doubt it

true, such attacks are hard to stop but his attitude by the statement is c"ouldnt care less# in nature.... and, no reaction from the goi., just ignore and contunue sleeping

similarly with the provocative posturing of china

basically india is not a soft state but a dormant one ...which wakes up when the problem is already past the doorstep and inside the house , then they suddenly awaken and take drastic, miraculos action.

further examples, the commonwealth games and the usa-india nuke agreement, pushing the deadlines and hoping for miracles.

this is hardly te way to run a country and people migrate hoping to return someday if the system improves.

root of the problems : no vision and preoccupied with having to take care of oneself rather than the country

vote : it's a soft state
 

mattster

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The inefficiency of India's bureaucracy is another major reason for India being a soft state.

India has probably got one of the worst bureaucratic establishments anywhere in the world which is filled with incompetent people. This makes any decision making process an absolute nightmare.

This problem pervades every single sector of the government including defense and security.

India needs a powerful PM with the guts to reform this monstrosity of a system much like Obama is taking on the entire Health Care System in the US.

This system needs to be reformed and cleaned out and its a huge task that only a strong powerful young PM who is charismatic and decisive will have a chance to succeed.

Manmohan Singh despite all his good qualities does not have the clout or stamina to succeed.

If this system is not reformed; then the only hope for India is to reduce the role of the government in every aspect of daily life and hope that the more efficient private sector can resolve some of the many problems that the country faces.
 

Singh

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Bureaucracy/executive is the responsibility of the legislative.
 

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