India’s longest serving Defence Minister A. K. Antony will go down in history as its worst as well. He deprived the armed forces of badly needed equipment. Armed forces were denied urgently needed equipment because Saint Antony did not want to sign any procurement agreement with foreign suppliers, for fear that it might sully his reputation for being honest. What use that honesty if the nation has to suffer? And in the dying days of the UPA when, after more than a decade, the tenders were floated for the supply of Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft and the same were to be supplied by Dassault Aviation, last minute differences stalled the deal. One hundred and twenty-six Rafale aircraft were to be bought from the French company, of which 18 were to be bought in flyaway condition, while the remaining 108 were to be manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd as part of the technology transfer agreement with Dassault. However, soon after the agreement was signed, differences over pricing virtually killed the deal. Since then, the Indian Air Force has been desperately pressing the political leadership to augment its old and ageing fleet of fighter aircraft, since it is woefully short of the minimum numbers needed to meet the strategic needs of the country, surrounded as it is by hostile neighbours on at least three sides. Sometime ago, following his hour-long meeting with the IAF chief, Prime Minister Modi became further determined to replenish the IAF squadrons of fighter aircraft. India has a sanctioned strength of 44 squadrons, but is down to only 34. And of the 34 squadrons, the Russian-made aircraft are not only old and ageing, but even their newer versions are accident-prone. Therefore, Modi, on his visit to France last week, took the initiative to order 36 Rafale planes in flyaway condition as early as possible, though even at its earliest, Dassault will not be able to supply before two years. It can manufacture only a dozen or so annually. Yet, the fact that Modi has revived the Rafale deal by ordering two squadrons in flyaway condition while reopening negotiations for the manufacture of the remaining 90 in India is a feather in his cap. Even the French have reason to feel happy at the Indian order, as it will bolster their manufacturing sector and give them hope of further cooperation in the defence sector. The French are keen to supply a number of other defence items sought by India, including refuelling aircraft and helicopters. Modi’s initiative is also a very happy signal to the defence forces, which were getting increasingly concerned about the failure of the political establishment to procure the latest equipment. The government-to-government order for two flyaway squadrons of Rafale aircraft is the first of many such decisions that Modi, along with his energetic and able Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, is set to take in the coming months to fill the yawning gap in the defence forces’ needs thorough preparedness to defend the country. Indeed, the government needs to have a fresh look at the much-vaunted policy of defence offsets and technology transfers in the defence sector, since so far, the experiment has been a roaring failure.
Defang the snakes but …
As an attention-seeking device, the Shiv Sena’s demand for disenfranchising Muslims seems to have done the trick. The Sena leader Sanjay Raut has had his 15 minutes of fame. But if only he had paused to ponder for a moment, he would not have failed to realise the sheer stupidity of the suggestion. How can you deny voting rights to Muslims, who constitute over 15 per cent of the population? And, then, why stop at Muslims alone? Why not Christians and other minority groups? Yes, the Owaisi brothers are poisonous, their noxious politics evokes hatred among large sections of the people. But some people will counter that even the Sena brand of politics is repugnant to good politics. No. We are not equating the All India Majlis-e-Ittihadul-Muslimeen with the Sena. Far from it. But only pointing out that the people who support the `poisonous snakes’, as Raut calls the Owaisis, might see the Sena leaders in the same light. Competitive communalism does not make a pretty picture. Instead, concentrate on `roti, kapada aur makan’ and `bijli, sadak, pani.` Voters are mature enough to defang the snakes among politicians. You must not lose trust in the people.
