28-09-2021 (Important News Clippings)
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Date:28-09-21
Women’s Turn
Is reservation the only way to a fair deal in India? Economic growth delivers justice, too
TOI Editorials
When Chief Justice of India NV Ramana administered the oaths of office to Justices Hima Kohli, Bela M Trivedi and BV Nagarathna last month, it meant women now constitute a record 12% of the country’s top court. The moment was marked by celebrations, including of the prospect of Justice Nagarathna becoming our first woman chief justice in 2027. But considering that this moment came 75 years after Independence, it was an underwhelming feat. From accepting that we should have done better by now follows the question, how can we do better in the future? CJI Ramana offered one solution this weekend: 50% quota for women in the judiciary, indeed in all spheres of activity. He urged them to ‘shout and demand’ this right.
Women’s representation in the Parliament and bureaucracy is only marginally better than in the upper judiciary. In all cases the argument for reservation is twofold: Proportionate representation is social justice and diverse voices result in better decision-making overall. The trouble is that women are hardly the only group demanding reservation in India. After all, even as the historic and uplifting photo of the CJI flanked by four women judges entered the public domain, there were questions about when Dalits and Adivasis would occupy a similar frame.
Indian women know there are countries where their counterparts are doing much better. Iceland just celebrated a female-majority parliament, even if a recount swiftly pushed the numbers to a less dramatic 48%. But forms of affirmative actions are only one factor in the country topping a World Economic Forum index for gender equality for 12 years in a row. For example, more than 50% women earn university degrees and women make up over 47% of the total labour force.
Indian women of course had been retreating from the labour force even before the pandemic. Recent research indicates that this is because they are being displaced by male workers in the wake of repeated macroeconomic shocks. The weaker sections of society are worse hit when the pie shrinks. But the populist politics of reservations has them all pitted against each other, instead of united to ‘shout and demand’ economic growth, which is what actually has a great track record of delivering social uplift in India. The lure of the blunt tool is eclipsing smarter ones. Let’s push back. Let’s demand good economic policies and really invest in proactive mentoring and recruitment of women before declaring these to be failures.
Date:28-09-21
Red Menace
Despite successes, taking out the Maoist core will require smart security-cum-development strategy
TOI Editorials
However, despite this apparent success, the core command structure of Maoists remains intact. This was exemplified by the deadly Maoist attack on security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region earlier this year that killed at least 22 jawans. Despite no popular appeal, elusive Maoist commanders like Madvi Hidma operate with small groups of committed fighters and draw on the support of remote tribal populations in the deep forested areas of Bastar, Bijapur, Dantewada, Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur and Sukma districts of Chhattisgarh and adjoining areas of Maharashtra and Odisha.
It’s clear that security operations, although vital, alone aren’t enough to overcome this challenge. Development of remote affected areas along with targeting of Maoist money flow is key. Ultras thrive on extortion in areas rich with minerals and minor forest produce like bamboo and tendu leaves. The latter alone account for revenues estimated at Rs 20,000 crore annually. Gram panchayats auction these forest products and Maoists pose as middlemen to get better prices from contractors and take a cut. Thus, the trade in minor forest produce needs a closer look in Maoist-affected areas to break the contractor-Maoist nexus. At the end of the day, it is poverty that sustains Maoists. Hence, the country’s best weapon against ultras is extending the welfare state to areas it hasn’t quite reached. A pincer security-development strategy, done well, may just stub out the Maoist menace for good.
Date:28-09-21
When Digital Meets Health
Why GoI’s new initiative has the potential to revolutionise patient care
Devi Shetty, [ The writer is a cardiac surgeon and Chairman and Founder, Narayana Health ]
We need to make hospitals very safe for patients. When we admit our loved ones to a hospital why do we always inquire about which doctor is going to take care of the patient? Why is it that when we board an aircraft, we never ask about the work experience of the pilot? This is primarily because of the regimented processes adopted by the healthcare and aviation industry.
Unlike in the healthcare industry, no pilot can have his own style of take-off, cruising or landing an aircraft. Pilots strictly follow prescribed protocol, their moves, manoeuvres and conversations within the cockpit are recorded and stored on a ‘Black box’. In case of a crash everything about the reason for the crash is accessed, revealed and studied to ascertain the cause of the incident. Any human error causing a crash becomes material for precaution in the future. Essentially it is technology with protocol which is rigidly adhered to within the aviation industry, making it one of the safest industries in the world.
Unfortunately, in healthcare delivery it is difficult to follow treatment protocols since over 90% of hospitals in developing countries including India do not have Electronic Medical Records (EMR).
EMR will help us document real-time events happening around a patient, inside the hospital with seamless movement of data between patients, machines, labs, nurses, technicians and doctors on a mobile platform.
Currently with the processes followed when a patient develops any complication, it gets difficult to track events which led to the problem, since bedside paper records contain very little detail to analyse and interpret with accuracy. Inability to analyse the real reason for any complication is frustrating doctors and the civil society.
In September 2018, Uttarakhand high court directed that no doctor in the state of Uttarakhand can prescribe medicines on paper. They were told to adopt digital prescriptions to avoid prescription errors. Unfortunately, efficient digital tools to follow the mandate didn’t exist then. However, things are going to change with the launch of the ‘Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission’ yesterday.
If we provide smart digital tools to doctors, nurses and technicians instead of pen and paper, morbidity mortality in healthcare will come down significantly, access to healthcare will improve tremendously and the cost of healthcare will come down dramatically. Today it is a nightmare for doctors to get all the medical data required to make accurate clinical diagnosis by the patient’s bedside.
Doctors are under tremendous pressure due to the fear of possible human error, which can adversely affect a patient’s life. More than anything else, well-designed intuitive EMR built with inputs from the doctor community will restore their joy of treating patients.
If EMR is going to transform healthcare, then why is US healthcare still struggling? Why is EMR one of the main reasons for physician burnout in the US? It is because billions of dollars were spent building EMRs in the US purely as a billing software on which medical components were added as an afterthought.
The Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission will open the door for Indian digital health start-ups to dominate the global digital health industry.
With a gentle nudge by the Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission, EMR will become ubiquitous. A unique digital health ID will help chronic patients carry their medical records on their phones which can be seen by doctors on their computers anywhere. Doctors will stop asking the same repetitive questions during every visit like allergies, family history, past medical history since it is already recorded by doctors in the past.
Patients will be delighted to interact with doctors who know everything about their medical history. For every medical problem starting from a headache to cancer, first interaction with a doctor will happen online. Consulting a doctor online will become a pleasant experience instead of painful hospital visits.
In the process, patients will consult doctors online at the early stages of the disease. Uncontrolled diabetes will be better controlled with online diabetic care and constant monitoring by the diabetologists’ team. Since most of the blood tests, CT scan, MRI, ultrasound reports will be available on the cloud from anywhere, patients do not need to go for painful and expensive repeat tests.
Soon data analytics will build clinical decision support systems on EMRs which will suggest alternative diagnosis based on the patient’s condition virtually like offering second opinions from senior doctors. Quackery will be abolished since only registered doctors will be allowed to prescribe medication on digital prescription pads. With the barcoding of medicine strips, fake medicines will also disappear.
Digitisation has disrupted every industry. Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular digital media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the world’s largest retailer, has no inventory, and Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate.
Going forward the world’s largest healthcare provider will have no beds because it’s going to be an Healthapp. With the encouragement from our tech savvy Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Healthapp will be developed in India, by our brilliant software engineers. The rest of the world will have no option but to embrace it because of the young smart intuitive appeal of our Healthapp.
Words and deeds
PM Modi did well to commit India to its democratic traditions at UN General Assembly
Editorial
For the third consecutive year in a row, and his fourth such speech since he was elected in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the UN General Assembly, outlining his outlook on India’s place in the world. Referring to India’s large population, he said that the world grows when India grows, and transforms when India reforms, pointing to examples of the country’s progress and impact: in the area of vaccines and pharmaceuticals, particularly to counter COVID, green technology and the promise of 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030, and poverty alleviation. He also enumerated how many Indians had been provided water connections, banking access, insurance coverage, health services and homes, although his claim that these “all-inclusive” development goals had been achieved only in the “last seven years”, struck a politically partisan note that was out of place. Moving to regional matters, Mr. Modi pointed to the contrast between India’s actions and those of Pakistan and China in veiled references. In an apparent message to Pakistan, he linked events in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have taken control, to the problem of “regressive thinking” that leads to the use of terrorism as “a political tool”. He also called for safeguarding the maritime sphere from the “race of expansion and exclusion” and referred to the need for investigating the “origins of the coronavirus”, subjects China is sensitive about. Addressing the UN directly for its own shortcomings, the PM said that time waits for no one, urging the UN to speed up the reforms process that has been flagging for more than a decade, which would include an expanded Security Council. This, he explained, is the only way to restore the credibility of global governance institutions.
Mr. Modi’s strongest words came at the beginning of his speech, where he launched a defence of the state of Indian democracy, which has come in for some criticism over the past few years. He said India had been named the “mother of democracy” for its adherence to democratic values, symbolised by its diversity, pluralism, inclusivity, and equality, that allowed someone like him, who had once worked at his father’s tea stall, to become the country’s leader. The PM’s words appeared to be a response to comments made during his Washington visit, where U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris stressed the need to strengthen democratic processes internally. Even as he addressed the UN, protesters outside criticised his government for actions against activists, NGOs, the laws on agriculture and citizenship, and incidents of lynching and mob violence. While the PM’s commitment to India’s “great tradition of democracy” was heartening, it will be measured not by words at the world body, but by answers and actions on the ground in India.
Date:28-09-21
The Quad could end up running out of steam
It has too many items on its agenda, and with the announcement of AUKUS, faces the danger of becoming a talk shop
Happymon Jacob, [ Teaches at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and is the founder of the Council for Strategic and Defense Research ]
Coming on the eve of the first in-person Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) summit in Washington DC, the new Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) trilateral security partnership appears to be sending a subtle message to the Quad: shape up or become irrelevant. The announcement of the AUKUS and the recent outcome of the Quad summit indicate that AUKUS will go on to form a key security arrangement of the Indo-Pacific region, thereby potentially forcing the Quad to recede to the background in a struggle for attention, political will, and resources. But before we get to the implications of AUKUS on the Quad, let us briefly examine how AUKUS is also useful to the Quad.
A reassurance to allies
Still reeling under intense international criticism in the way the United States withdrew its forces from Afghanistan resulting in a humanitarian disaster, AUKUS seeks to unambiguously signal U.S. President Joe Biden’s commitment to U.S. allies especially in the Indo-Pacific.
In some ways, AUKUS helps reassure its allies of the U.S.’s security commitments and underlines Washington’s pivot to the Indo-Pacific. Second, the deal and particularly the sharing of American nuclear submarine technology with Australia will help Canberra overcome past hesitations about taking on China with more conviction. Third, notwithstanding the point that AUKUS may set alarm bells ringing for the Quad, AUKUS is still a shot in the arm for the larger Indo-Pacific agenda of which India, the U.S., Japan, Australia, among others, are key partners. In other words, AUKUS will help the Quad’s declared aim of keeping the Indo-Pacific region free, open and inclusive thereby contributing to its core agenda.
No replacement, but…
AUKUS may not replace the Quad and yet it appears that AUKUS has ventured where the Quad has been reluctant to make forays into — the military domain. More so, AUKUS also exposes the inherent, also self-imposed, limits of the Quad, i.e., its inability and lack of desire to give itself any military role. The focus of the recently-held Washington summit, on challenges ranging from COVID-19 to climate shows that the Quad is unlikely to take a security-dominated turn; that is precisely the vacuum AUKUS seeks to fill.
The larger question then is whether the Quad is losing its steam. For sure, the Quad seems to offer no clear purpose which, as a result, leads to too many items crowding the agenda. It neither has a secretariat or a charter, like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), nor a clear set of activities such as AUKUS. The ever-growing list of focal areas of the Quad will eventually make it a less than useful deliberative forum.
Put differently, with too many items on its agenda, the Quad faces the danger of becoming a talk shop with very little actual work. What is ironic is that all the Quad members have security/military considerations in mind vis-à-vis China while engaging the Quad platform, but no one seems to be keen on framing it in such a manner, as is evidenced by the summit’s joint statement (North Korea and Myanmar find mention in the statement though, not China). There is little interest in properly institutionalising the Quad nor has the objective for ‘Quad Plus’ been purposefully pursued.
Let me put this somewhat differently: Indo-Pacific remains a grand strategic vision, AUKUS has the potential to become a major military/security arrangement in the Indo-Pacific, and the Quad/Quad Plus could end up becoming a talk shop within the Indo-Pacific.
New Delhi’s hesitations
New Delhi has taken the stand that “there is no link between the AUKUS and the Quad” just as it had argued earlier that there is no link between the Malabar naval exercises and the Quad even though the Quad membership is replicated in the Malabar exercises and two-thirds of the AUKUS form 50% of the Quad.
Technically, New Delhi’s stand is accurate — just because there is a striking similarity in the membership of these forums, they are not the same institutional architecture. And yet, if one were to go beyond such technicalities, it is evident that these groupings share a larger vision about the Indo-Pacific, i.e., addressing the challenge from China, and the desire for an open and free Indo-Pacific. Be it AUKUS, which enables Australia to stand up to Chinese bullying or provides the United Kingdom — its aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, the flagship of the U.K.’s Carrier Strike Group, is in the region — with a more prominent, and desirable, role in the Indo-Pacific or the annual Malabar exercises which focus on the Indo-Pacific or the Quad, their common geopolitical theatre is the Indo-Pacific. So while they are not technically related to each other, there is a broader reality that unites them all. There is no point in refusing to accept that self-evident reality.
There is also little doubt today that the Indo-Pacific is of great importance to India for a number of reasons. For one, given the continental challenges it faces including from the new developments in Afghanistan, New Delhi would do well to shift some attention to the maritime sphere. Second, at a time when India is continentally pressed against a rock and a hard place, an opportunity has presented itself for India — in the form of growing global interest in the Indo-Pacific — to be at the centre of a new geopolitical churning which it must make use of for its own security and prosperity. Third, it is also a major way of bringing together like-minded states to check Chinese hegemony in the region.
Given this context, if AUKUS potentially overshadows the enthusiasm around the Quad, it would be disadvantageous to India’s interests in the Indo-Pacific region. Other Quad counties are either on the AUKUS or are alliance partners; India is neither. Eventually, therefore, the Quad faces the potential challenge of becoming a talking shop without an actionable mandate. More so, bereft of any defence arrangement, the material returns from the Quad over time would also be minimal.
Indo-Pacific engagement
This situation is made worse by India’s hesitation about joining major regional economic frameworks. India, for instance, is neither a member of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership nor can its trade relations with the Indo-Pacific countries rival those of China. So, given our rather weak economic influence and performance in the Indo-Pacific region, what might help the country is being part of a security arrangement which can take care of its regional defence/security concerns. Even before AUKUS, India’s current engagement of the Indo-Pacific was neither capable of contributing to its national security nor promoting its economic influence in the region. And now, AUKUS may have further shrunk the potential space available for the Quad, and India, to play a serious role in the region’s security architecture.
Sources of India’s hesitations
Even though it is not just New Delhi which is hesitant about the Quad venturing into the security/military domain, India has been hesitant about the Quad moving beyond the non-military issues. So, what are the sources of New Delhi’s hesitation regarding a robust role for the Quad in the security/military domain? One could advance two hypotheses in this regard. One, India’s traditional reluctance about military alliances and the desire to maintain strategic autonomy. New Delhi fears that militarising the Quad could undo this jealously guarded tradition. It is, however, possible to explore military utility for the Quad without making it a formal military alliance. More so, exploring mutually beneficial military and security cooperation within the Quad framework need not contradict the principles of strategic autonomy. The operative part of ‘strategic autonomy’ is autonomy, not strategic.
The second hypothesis has to do with domestic political considerations: The Narendra Modi government is keen to avoid any military overtones for the Quad due to potential Chinese reactions to it. Recall how India and Australia had for many years soft-peddled the forum for fear of provoking China. Australia seems to have overcome its hesitation, but has India done so? For the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, any heat on the Line of Actual Control with China in the run-up to crucial State elections next year and then the 2024 parliamentary election would be unwelcome. This seems, therefore, to be a case of domestic political considerations trumping the pursuit of strategic necessities.
किसान खेती छोड़ मजदूरी की तरफ क्यों जा रहे हैं?
संपादकीय
एनएसएस 77वें चक्र के आंकड़ों के आधार पर ताजा एसएएस (सिचुएशनल असेसमेंट ऑफ एग्रीकल्चर) में पाया गया कि पिछले डेढ़ दशकों में किसानों की खेती से आय घटी है। किसानों का सड़कों पर आना शायद इसका नतीजा माना जा सकता है। दरअसल इस अध्ययन में किसानों की आय के चार स्रोत माने गए हैं। यह पहली बार है कि इन चारों स्रोत को जोड़ने के बाद उसकी आय तय की गई है। आंकड़े कहते हैं : सन 2002-03 में एक औसत किसान की कुल आय का 45.8 प्रतिशत हिस्सा खेती-बाड़ी से आता था वहीं 2018-19 में यह घटकर सिर्फ 37.7 प्रतिशत रह गया जबकि इसी काल में प्रति हेक्टेयर कृषि उत्पादन भी बढ़ा है। आय में कमी आने की मुख्य वजह थी- उपज बढ़ने पर दाम कम होना। उधर ये किसान बढ़ती गरीबी से निपटने के लिए मजदूरी और पशु-पालन तथा अन्य रोजगार की ओर बढ़ने लगे। मजदूरी से किसानों की आय जो सन 2002-03 में 38.7 प्रतिशत थी, पिछले 16 वर्षों में बढ़ कर 40.3 प्रतिशत हो गई। यानी दिहाड़ी या पगार इनकी आय का सबसे बड़ा स्रोत बन गया है। शायद यही कारण है कि हर रोज देश के 2052 किसान खेती छोड़कर मजदूर बनते रहे। पशुपालन…किसानों का दूसरा ऐसा पेशा रहा जिसमें लगातार इनकी आय बढ़ी है, जहां 16 साल पहले इनकी आय का मात्र 4.3 प्रतिशत पशुपालन से आता था, वहीं दस साल बाद यह 11.9 प्रतिशत हो गया और सन 2018-19 में यह 15.7 प्रतिशत हो गया यानी तीन गुना से ज्यादा वृद्धि। इस अध्ययन का नतीजा स्पष्ट है- खेती से किसानों की आय लगातार कम हो रही है और ख़तरा यह है कि किसान खेती से रूठ कर दिल्ली, अहमदाबाद, मुंबई और चेन्नई में छोटे उद्योगों या कंस्ट्रक्शन से जुड़े कामों में श्रमिक या रेहडी-लगाने वाला न बन जाए। जहां कड़े कानून के अभाव में उनका फिर एक बार ठेकेदारों द्वारा शोषण होना तय है।
चीन को चुनौती देने की तैयारी
श्रीराम चौलिया, ( लेखक जिंदल स्कूल आफ इंटरनेशनल अफेयर्स में प्रोफेसर और डीन हैं )
प्रधानमंत्री नरेन्द्र मोदी की उपलब्धि भरी हालिया अमेरिकी यात्र ने एक सत्य को सिद्ध कर दिया है। वह यह कि चीन के विरुद्ध बहुपक्षीय मोर्चा तैयार हो रहा है और उसमें भारत एक मुख्य स्तंभ की भूमिका निभाने को तत्पर है। हालांकि, मोदी ने पूरे दौरे में सार्वजनिक तौर पर एक बार भी चीन का नाम नहीं लिया, फिर भी हमारी कूटनीति नि:संदेह चीन से मुकाबले की ओर उन्मुख है। समय की भी यही मांग है। मौजूदा विश्व व्यवस्था में भारत का स्थान एक संतुलन बनाने वाली शक्ति यानी बैलेंसिंग पावर का है। हम बिना किसी संकोच के इस दायित्व के निर्वहन की पूर्ति में लगे भी हैं। वाशिंगटन में इसके स्पष्ट संकेत दिखे। वहां मोदी और अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति जो बाइडन की पहली शिखर बैठक के परिणाम से साफ झलकता है कि चीन के वर्चस्व को रोकना ही विश्व के सबसे बड़े और पुराने लोकतंत्र की व्यापक सामरिक साझेदारी का मूल सार है। वैसे तो भारत और अमेरिकी संबंधों के अनेक आयाम हैं। मसलन व्यापार, निवेश, प्रवास, प्रौद्योगिकी, शिक्षा, रक्षा एवं स्वास्थ्य आदि और चीन इन सभी बिंदुओं से जुड़ा है।
इस समय अमेरिका का ध्येय है चीन को विश्व की सबसे बड़ी महाशक्ति बनने में विफल करना। वहीं, भारत का लक्ष्य है एशिया में चीन-केंद्रित व्यवस्था को नाकाम करना। भले ही मोदी और बाइडन ने राजनयिक औचित्य के चलते चीन का खुलकर जिक्र न किया हो, फिर भी उनके साझा संयुक्त बयान में हिंद-प्रशांत का उल्लेख पांच बार हुआ है। इसका सीधा तात्पर्य चीन को चुनौती देना है।
अफगानिस्तान को लेकर बाइडन का रवैया भले निराशाजनक रहा हो और उससे भारत की भूराजनीतिक स्थिति एवं राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा को ठेस पहुंची हो, परंतु इससे यह अनुमान लगाना गलत है कि अमेरिका हिंद-प्रशांत में भी मित्र राष्ट्रों का परित्याग कर भाग निकलेगा। उधर चीन इसी प्रचार में लगा है कि ताइवान हो या एशिया में अन्य अमेरिकी साझेदार, सबको अफगानिस्तान से सबक लेना चाहिए कि अमेरिका गैर-भरोसेमंद है और उसके सहारे की आस में चीन का विरोध करना मूर्खता है। बाइडन की नीतियों से इतना स्पष्ट है कि चाहे दुनिया भर से अमेरिका पीछे लौट जाए, परंतु हिं-प्रशांत को छोड़ने का प्रश्न ही नहीं उठता, क्योंकि ऐसा करना खुद अपने पैरों पर कुल्हाड़ी मारने जैसा है। अमेरिका ने हाल में ब्रिटेन और आस्ट्रेलिया के साथ आकस नाम से नया सैन्य गठबंधन बनाया है। इससे हिंद-प्रशांत क्षेत्र में 21वीं सदी के खतरों यानी चीनी विस्तारवाद का प्रतिरोध करने की क्षमताएं बढ़ने की बात कही जा रही हैं। हालांकि, हिंद-प्रशांत में ब्रिटेन की सीमित ताकत और इसमें एशियाई देशों की अनुपस्थिति से आकस का चीन पर कोई खास प्रभाव नहीं पड़ेगा।
दूसरी ओर बाइडन ने भारत के साथ हिंद-प्रशांत और अफ्रीका में त्रिकोणीय विकास सहयोग पर जोर दिया है। इससे दोनों पक्ष मिलकर चुनिंदा विकासशील देशों मे कृषि, क्षेत्रीय संपर्क, स्वास्थ्य, आपदा तैयारी, ऊर्जा और पोषण जैसे क्षेत्रों मे परियोजनाएं चलाएंगे। भारत और अमेरिका सहमत हैं कि इससे हिंद-प्रशांत में चीनी आक्रामकता के बरक्स ‘क्षेत्रीय अखंडता और संप्रभुता एवं अंतरराष्ट्रीय कानूनों’ का बचाव किया जा सकता है। बाइडन चीन के खिलाफ दूरगामी रणनीति और सामरिक धैर्य वाला दृष्टिकोण अपनाना चाहते हैं। वैसे भी केवल सैन्य आक्रामकता से चीन के कद पर प्रहार नहीं किया जा सकता।
चीनी विस्तारवाद के कुछ मुख्य बिंदु हैं उसकी भीमकाय इन्फ्रास्ट्रक्चर परियोजनाएं, आर्थिक विकास के नाम पर कर्ज का जाल और प्रौद्योगिकी के माध्यम से कमजोर देशों पर नियंत्रण। उसकी इन बलाओं से मुक्ति दिलाने में भारत और अमेरिका सहित जापान और आस्ट्रेलिया जैसे क्वाड के सभी सदस्य देश चाहते हैं कि एक वैकल्पिक ढांचा बने, जो बहुआयामी और दीर्घकालिक हो। क्वाड की पहली औपचारिक बैठक में इसके स्पष्ट संकेत मिले। क्वाड बैठक का एक विशेष परिणाम था प्रौद्योगिकी में साझा पहल, जो ‘सार्वभौमिक मानवाधिकारों और मूल्यों’ का संरक्षण करेगी। इस अवसर पर चारों साथियों ने ‘5जी विविधीकरण’ का प्रण लिया और ‘भरोसेमंद विक्रेताओं’ को प्रोत्साहित करने पर सहमति जताई। दरअसल, हुआवे और जेडटीई जैसी चीनी दिग्गज कंपनियों ने कई विकासशील देशों में 5जी का ढांचा तैयार कर इस दिशा में बढ़त बनाई है। इसी आड़ में चीन इन देशों के दूरसंचार जैसे संवेदनशील क्षेत्र पर अपनी पकड़ बनाना चाहता है। इसीलिए क्वाड सदस्यों ने सेमीकंडक्टर उत्पादन में विविधतापूर्ण एवं सुरक्षित आपूर्ति श्रृंखला सुनिश्चित करने का फैसला किया, ताकि चीनी दबदबे को घटाया जा सके। साथ ही ताइवान, दक्षिण कोरिया और जापान जैसे लोकतांत्रिक आपूर्तिकारों की क्षमताएं बढ़ें। भारत भी सेमीकंडक्टर उत्पादन में उतरने की तैयारी कर रहा है। इसी लक्ष्य की पूर्ति की दिशा में मोदी ने अमेरिकी चिप महारथी क्वालकाम के मुखिया से मुलाकात की।
चीन के विरुद्ध नए शीतयुद्ध में भारत को लोकतांत्रिक पश्चिमी देशों से अधिक विदेशी निवेश मिले तो इससे हमारा आर्थिक विकास भी होगा और वैश्विक शक्ति संतुलन भी सधेगा। जब से ट्रंप प्रशासन ने चीन को निशाना बनाते हुए आर्थिक जंग शुरू की तबसे बहुराष्ट्रीय कंपनियों ने ‘चीन प्लस वन’ रणनीति बनाई है। इससे वे अकेले चीन मे निवेश करने के बजाय अन्य देशों मे भी निवेश कर भूराजनीतिक जोखिमों को घटा रही हैं। मोदी ने संयुक्त राष्ट्र महासभा के अपने संबोधन में भारत को ‘लोकतांत्रिक और भरोसेमंद साझेदार’ कहा और याद दिलाया कि लोकतंत्र के साथ प्रौद्योगिकी को सुनिश्चित करना अहम आवश्यकता है। वह इशारा कर रहे हैं कि भारत और चीन में जमीन-आसमान का अंतर है और हमें चुनने के नैतिक और व्यावहारिक लाभ हैं। याद रहे कि चीन नाजी जर्मनी जैसी शक्ति नहीं है, जो दूसरे देशों पर हमला कर उन पर कब्जा कर लेगा। वह धीरे-धीरे प्रतिद्वंद्वियों पर शिकंजा कसने में जुटा है। ऐसे प्रतिद्वंद्वी से धैर्य और संयम से निपटना होगा। हम उसे उसकी ही भाषा में जवाब दें तो जरूर दबाव में ला सकते हैं। ऐसे में सवाल यह नहीं होना चाहिए कि क्वाड एक सैन्य गठबंधन क्यों नहीं बन पाया, बल्कि यह होना चाहिए कि चीन को मात कैसे दी जाए? भारत सही सवाल और सही जवाब के पथ पर है।
संयुक्त राष्ट्र में मोदी
संपादकीय
प्रधानमंत्री नरेन्द्र मोदी अपना तीन दिवसीय अमेरिकी दौरा पूरा कर देश लौट आए हैं। कूटनीति की दृष्टि से उनकी यह यात्रा बहुत सफल रही। इस यात्रा के दौरान अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति जो बाइडे़न और उप राष्ट्रपति कमला हैरिस से उनकी मुलाकात हुई। उन्होंने क्वाड़ शिखर सम्मेलन में भाग लिया और अंत में संयुक्त राष्ट्र महासभा के 76वें सत्र को संबोधित किया। प्रधानमंत्री मोदी ने इस विश्व मंच पर ओजपूर्ण भाषा और प्रभावशाली विषयवस्तु के साथ भारत का पक्ष रखा। उन्होंने एक ओर जहां शांति स्थापना की रणनीति पर बात की वहीं दूसरी ओर पड़ोस में हो रही गतिविधियों को लेकर भारत की चिंताओं को भी सामने रखा। उन्होंने संयुक्त राष्ट्र में कहा कि भारत लोकतंत्र का जनक है और स्वयं अपनी व्यक्तिगत उन्नति एवं प्रगति का उदाहरण देते हुए भारत में लोकतंत्र की संभावनाओं को रेखांकित करते हुए कहा कि एक छोटा बच्चा जो कभी रेलवे स्टेशन पर टी स्टॉल में अपने पिता की मदद करता था‚ वह आज चौथी बार भारत के प्रधानमंत्री के तौर पर संयुक्त राष्ट्र महासभा को संबोधित कर रहा है। प्रधानमंत्री मोदी का भारत का लोकतांत्रिक होने का दावा पूरी तरह सही है। इस बात से कोई इनकार नहीं कर सकता। प्रधानमंत्री मोदी ने पाकिस्तान का नाम लिये बिना वहां से मिल रहे संकेतों को क्षेत्रीय शांति के लिए खतरा बताया। उन्होंने कहा कि जो देश आतंकवाद का इस्तेमाल एक राजनीतिक औजार के रूप में कर रहे हैं‚ उन्हें यह समझना होगा कि आतंकवाद उनके लिए भी समान रूप से एक बड़ा खतरा है। इसी तरह उन्होंने चीन की विस्तारवादी नीति का भी संकेतों में उल्लेख करते हुए कहा कि हिंद–प्रशांत क्षेत्र में चीन अपनी सैन्य ताकत को लगातार मजबूत कर रहा है‚ जिसके कारण इस क्षेत्र में शांति के लिए बड़ा खतरा है। प्रधानमंत्री मोदी ने अफगानिस्तान के बारे में कहा कि यहां की जमीन का आतंकवाद के प्रसार और आतंकी गतिविधियों के लिए इस्तेमाल नहीं होना चाहिए। लंबे समय से संयुक्त राष्ट्र की संरचना में सुधार की मांग उठ रही है। इस पर टिप्पणी करते हुए मोदी ने भारत के महान चिंतक चाणक्य के विचार को उद्धृत करते हुए कहा कि जब सही समय पर सही कार्य नहीं किया जाता तो स्वयं समय ही उस कार्य की सफलता को समाप्त कर देता है। उनका इशारा साफ था कि अगर संयुक्त राष्ट्र प्रासंगिक बने रहना चाहता है तो उसे अपना प्रभाव और विश्वसनीयता बढ़ानी होगी।