Category Archives: Research
Al Qaeda under New Leadership
Ayman al Zawahiri
Al Qaeda’s Leadership. Osama bin Laden died during a U.S. Special Forces raid in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad on 2 May. It is most probable that two weeks later the senior leaders of Al Qaeda decided to appoint Saif al Adel as the new interim leader (Emir) of the organization. Al Adel is the former chief of Al Qaeda’s military committee and spent the majority of the last decade in house arrest in Iran. However, his tenure as the interim leader was cut short by the 16 June announcement that another Egyptian—Ayman al Zawahiri, bin Laden’s former deputy and one of the most prominent spokespersons of the organization—was confirmed as Al Qaeda’s new Emir. He will attempt to rebuild the shattered organization and its morale with the preparation of spectacular terrorist attacks while simultaneously trying to ensure its survival during intensified U.S. counterterrorist operations in South Asia.
Al Qaeda Central after bin Laden’s Death. Now led by al Zawahiri, the so-called “Al Qaeda cen- tral,” suffered further serious losses after bin Laden’s death: Ilyas Kashmiri, the Pakistani connection between Kashmiri fundamentalists and Al Qaeda was killed on 3 June, and Fazul Abdullah Moham- med, Al Qaeda’s representative for East Africa and the man behind one of the 1998 suicide bomb- ings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya or Tanzania, was shot dead by Somali soldiers five days later.
Those spectacular eliminations of Al Qaeda central’s leaders and its representatives seriously weaken the organization and limit its capacity to conduct successful terrorist attacks around the globe. Its strength, however, lies with its allied organizations from the Afghan-Pakistani border region and also Somalia, Chechnya and Indonesia, its Saudi Arabian-Yemeni, Iraqi and Northern African branches and independent terrorist cells functioning within the Muslim communities in Europe and the United States. It is hard to expect such organizations and structures to cease terrorist activity in the aftermath of bin Laden’s death. Some of them actually possess the potential to intensify their activities and may attempt avenging bin Laden, the icon and the leader of the global jihad.
Al Qaeda Central’s Allies. Al Qaeda’s allies from the Afghan-Pakistani border region, and espe- cially the Pakistani Taliban who officially announced their desire to avenge bin Laden, constitute the biggest terrorist threat to international security. In the last month, they conducted a series of spectacular attacks on Pakistani security forces, including a double suicide bombing of the head- quarters of the Frontier Constabulary in Shabqadar that killed 80 people and the commando style assault on the Mehran naval base in the vicinity of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. The assault team managed to wreak havoc within the perimeter of the base for about 16 hours, and the Pakistani army had 18 killed and 16 wounded trying to flush out the terrorists. Such attacks further destabilized Pakistan, a state which is now in the process of upgrading its nuclear arsenal and locked in a frozen conflict with India. Its cooperation, however, is vital if American efforts in the “global war on terror” are to succeed. In addition to this, the Pakistani Taliban, which operate from the Afghan-Pakistani border region, have a documented history of targeting the West and utilizing their paramilitary infra- structure to train Europe and U.S.-based members of Al Qaeda central-affiliated cells.
The jihadist organizations allied with Al Qaeda central from the North Caucasus, Indonesia and Somalia constitute a much diminished threat to international security. Most of them suffered serious losses when Supyan Abdullayew and Abu Anas, prominent field commanders of the Cauca- sus Emirate, were both eliminated by Russia, and Umar Patek, one of the organizers of the 2002 Bali bombings, was arrested in Pakistan. However, the death of Fazul Abdullah Mohammed in Somalia failed to stop the Al Qaeda-aligned Somali Al Shabaab from executing a successful suicide attack against Abdishakur Sheikh Hassan, the Somali minister of interior, on 10 June.
Al Qaeda in the Middle East. Out of the three Al Qaeda branches, the Yemen structure (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) appears to be in the best condition and will attempt to use the country’s difficult domestic situation to its advantage and create not only a logistical base for its terrorist activities in the Middle East but also in Europe and the U.S.
Al Qaeda in Iraq finds itself in a much worse condition, but it could stage a spectacular comeback if the political process in this country continues to stall. According to Leon Panetta, director of the CIA, the organization still numbers more than a thousand members and might grow stronger as U.S. troops continue to withdraw from Iraq, which is expected to be completed in December.
The least dangerous of the Al Qaeda branch operates in Northern Africa (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb). Five years after its merger with Al Qaeda central, the organization that earlier functioned as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat failed to conduct one successful terrorist attack in Europe, though targeting this continent was allegedly its main priority. The organization is riven with internal conflicts but it could use the Libyan civil war to its advantage and relocate to ungoverned spaces in this country.
Individual Terrorism. One of Al Qaeda central’s strongpoints is its ability to inspire and radicalize individual potential jihadists who could conduct terrorist attacks targeting the West. An example of such a plot is the case of Nidal Hassan from 2009 who shot 13 American soldiers dead on their base at Fort Hood, Texas. Al Qaeda central calls for more such attacks in the statements and videos it released after bin Laden’s death. Their task is to simultaneously incite and authorize acts of individual terrorism carried out in the name of the global jihad.
Despite the seriousness of the threat from terrorist lone wolves, these calls from Al Qaeda central also can be interpreted as a sign of weakness. It seems clear that the organization now almost solely relies on its allies, branches and individual jihadists to conduct any spectacular terrorist attacks. Due to security precautions and intensified U.S. counterterrorist activities, it may not be in a position to recruit new members and, because of this, is forced to call for acts of individual jihad.
Conclusions. Al Qaeda central remains the biggest terrorist threat to international security. Most of its terrorist acts, however, actually will be perpetrated by allied organizations, its branches or Al Qaeda-inspired individual jihadists. This might reduce the number of spectacular terrorist attacks and plots that would target the West. Unfortunately, this might signal an increase in the number of plots and attacks prepared by lone-wolf jihadists who often would be acting without Al Qaeda central’s knowledge or direct authorization. In such conditions, countries without a history of a terrorist problem, such as Poland, the co-host of the EURO 2012 football tournament, could find themselves among the targets.
Kerala: Communist Survival – Now What?
Communist
The state of Kerala, which gave the world its first elected communist government in 1957, now provides one of the world’s last bastions for communist parties that voters support. Less than a year ago, observers predicted that Kerala’s LDF government, led by the CPI(M), would be decisively defeated in state elections. That was the fate of the CPI(M) in West Bengal, thrown out of office after 34 years in power.
A remarkable comeback, inspired by an 88-year-old chief minister, brought the CPI(M)-led Front to within a whisker of retaining office in elections held in April 2011 but whose results were announced on 13 May. The LDF won 68 out of 140 seats, only four behind its Congress-led rival, the UDF.
True, the CPI(M) had lost 16 seats – down to 45 from 61 seats in 2006. True, also, that the UDF, led by the Congress Party, will form the next Kerala government. But with a majority of only four seats, the stability of the UDF government is uncertain. Only a reckless punter would bet on its completing a full five-year term.
The CPI(M), which controls a number of wealthy institutions, including a newspaper and a television channel, is well-placed not just to survive, but to be back in power inside five years. Far from being swept away, as many had predicted six months ago, the LDF won 45 per cent of the vote, only one per cent less than the UDF. It lost five seats by fewer than 500 votes.
Table 1: Kerala Assembly, Seats Won, 2011 and 2006 elections
|
Party |
Seats 2011 | Seats 2006 |
| Left Democratic Front (LDF) | ||
| Communist Party of India (M) |
45 |
61 |
| Communist Party of India |
13 |
17 |
| RSP |
2 |
3 |
| Janata Dal (Secular) |
4 |
5 |
| National Congress Party |
2 |
1 |
| LDF-backed Independents |
2 |
– |
|
68 |
87 |
|
| United Democratic Front (UDF) | ||
| Indian National Congress |
38 |
24 |
| Muslim League Kerala State Committee |
20 |
7 |
| Kerala Congress (M) |
9 |
7 |
| RSP-B |
1 |
– |
| KC-B |
1 |
– |
| KC-J |
1 |
– |
| Socialist Janata (Democratic) Party |
2 |
– |
| Others |
– |
15 |
|
72 |
53 |
|
|
140 |
140 |
Source: The figures have been extracted from Mathrubhumi-Malayam Daily (14 May 2011).
The pre-election predictions were dire. The CPI(M) had been pulverised in Kerala’s local- government elections in 2010 and in the national elections in 2009. Indications were that the same fate awaited the party in state elections.
The Congress Party has reason to be disappointed. It won only 38 seats and will need to be especially solicitous of its alliance partners, the Muslim League (20 seats) and the Kerala Congress (Mani), a Syrian Christian-based party strong in central Kerala and revolving around K.M. Mani (born 1933), which won nine seats. The Muslim League’s tally was the best in its 60- year history.
For 40 years, Kerala politics has been built around rival alliances, one anchored to the Congress Party and the other to the CPI(M). The two parties provide a relatively stable core with only occasional deserters. But minor parties scurry in and out of alliances as chance presents itself.
The new Assembly provides plenty of opportunity for scurrying. Five of the UDF’s 72 seats are held by ‘parties’ that in fact are individual enterprises and travel under names such as the Revolutionary Socialist Party (Bolshevik) [one seat] and Socialist Janata Dal [two seats].
The two top Congress leaders come from different religious backgrounds but the same social circumstances and locality. The new chief minister will be Oommen Chandy (born 1943), previously chief minister from 2004 to 2006. He is a Syrian Christian, the most aristocratic Christian tradition in India which traces its origins to the time of Christ and comprises about 10 per cent of Kerala’s people. Chandy received his higher education at Church Missionary Society (CMS) College, Kottayam, founded by the English CMS nearly 200 years ago.
Ramesh Chennithala (born 1956), president of the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee, is a Nair, the largest high-status caste in Kerala, perhaps as much as 15 per cent of the population. He is a product of Nair Service Society (NSS) College, Changanacherry, the flagship educational institution of one of India’s most successful caste associations, the NSS founded in 1914. It is half an hour down the road from Chandy’s CMS College.
Achuthanandan, the remarkable 88-year-old, has a different but impeccable pedigree for a Kerala communist. He is an Ezhava by caste. In the old days, Ezhavas were held to be a low caste (but not the lowest), associated with the cultivation of the coconut palm that abounds in Kerala. They constitute perhaps 20 per cent of the population, and their struggles for civil rights in the twentieth century drew many to the Communist Party. The unions that formed around the coconut industry, particularly the manufacture of coir, became a communist backbone. Achuthanandan worked in coir production as a youth, joined the party and spent five years in jail in the 1940s and 1950s, when the Communists attempted unsuccessful revolts against Indian governments.
Today, partly as a result of its fiercely competitive two-alliance system, Kerala has the best social statistics of any state in India. It has high literacy rates, both for men and women, long life expectancy, low infant mortality and a low birth rate. Virtually every child goes to school.
But Kerala’s most profitable exports are its people. Kerala nurses work all over the world, and the Arab states of West Asia have been serviced by hundreds of thousands of Kerala workers for
40 years – the past two generations. In Kerala itself, the economy in the twenty-first century has grown at a slightly faster rate than India’s as a whole, but the state retains its reputation for sluggish growth and as a tough site for investors, tested by aggressive unions and litigious citizens. The state’s worthy social and medical systems are underpinned by remittances from Kerala people working overseas. There is little budget room for infrastructure. The state of Kerala’s roads is abysmal, though a blitz on road repair early in 2011 may have helped bolster the government’s reputation sufficiently to keep it close in the recent elections.
Two vital questions arise from these elections. How will the result affect Kerala’s (1) economy;
and (2) social cohesion?
It is difficult to see the new government making economic breakthroughs. Though Kerala’s education system creates a highly literate population, higher and technical education are undistinguished. Kerala is a long way from being seen as a knowledge hub like Bangalaru.
The UDF’s 44-page election manifesto is a long checklist aimed at ticking the dance programme of every group in the state. It contains few ideas, but plenty of undertakings such as:
1. Procurement price of agricultural products will be raised proportionate to cost of production (p. 5);
2. Public Sector Units will be strengthened (p. 11);
3. Rules will be framed to entrust ownership right of Public Sector Units with the public (p. 11);
4. Due to high density of population and scarcity of land, service sectors like tourism and information technology offer better development prospects to Kerala than agriculture and industry. To achieve development in this sector, dearth of infrastructure needs to be solved expeditiously (p. 14);
5. The pay and pension of State Government employees will be revised ensuring Central parity (p. 36)
6. A free medical scheme will be introduced to the State Pensioners and their dependents (p.36).
It concludes that ‘the most suited industry for Kerala is information technology (IT)’ (p. 13) and places much hope on being able to expand Kerala’s IT capacity. But there is little suggestion of breaking with the long-standing Kerala pattern of promising more government services, even if they are often under-funded and patchily delivered.
Kerala is socially complex. Muslims make up about 23 per cent of the population, concentrated in the north of the state. Malappuram is one of only about 20 districts in India where Muslims are a majority. The Muslim League won 12 of Malappuram’s 16 seats, and the UDF took 54 per cent of the votes cast, the highest score in any district.
Christians make up another 19 per cent of the population, and the other successful partner in the UDF is the Kerala Congress (Mani), a Christian-based aggregation that revolves around the wily K.M. Mani, a fixture in Kerala politics, playing both sides against the middle, for 50 years. Mani’s Congress won nine seats; eight of his winners are Christians.
Castes and religion are explicit, understood and integrated into Kerala’s politics, and they have not led to significant violence for more than 80 years. One has to go back to the Mapilla, or Malabar revolt, of 1921 to find such events.
In the past few years, there were allegations that the CPI(M) was flirting with radical Muslim organisations in an attempt to win favour with Muslim voters. If this were so, the idea was disastrous. The Muslim League has never done better than in these elections, and the three biggest majorities all went to Muslim League candidates. The largest margin in the state was
44,500 votes in the district headquarters town of Malappuram.
Political affiliation has been more likely to lead to violence. Indeed, on the day the poll results were announced (13 May 2011), a CPI(M) worker in north Malabar was murdered and a local Congress leader taken into custody, allegedly as the killer.
Kerala confronts substantial social problems. Because it is highly literate and effectively administered, it records data more reliably and publishes its problems for all to see. On the basis of such data, the state has the highest per capita alcohol consumption and second highest suicide rates in India. Alcohol production and consumption connect with powerful political interests in the liquor business; suicide appears to be linked to the large numbers of migrants and resulting dislocation of households and personal relationships.
The most significant result of the 2011 elections is the survival of the CPI(M). That is not a bad thing. In spite of the puzzling devotion of intelligent people to graven images like Lenin and Stalin, party members often display a rare dedication, honesty and courage. The All-India
Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) is one of the bravest organisations in the country. In the Kerala survival story of 2011, much appears to be owed to the old proletarian battler, Achuthanandan. Whether men and women half his age can construct a radical party for the twenty-first, and not the nineteenth, century is a question that Kerala’s future will answer.
Synthetic DNA
Authored By Sangeeta Rakesh Goswami:
On hearing the news about synthetic cell I recalled the 3D version of movie T-Rex. Just imagine we have dinosaurs’ eggs preserved in the laboratory, by studying the DNA pattern of them with the help of computer, we synthesize the similar DNA from chemicals and after re-sequencing them we insert them into modified cell of peacock or a crocodile and there you make dinosaurs live…. and think if tigers and leopards which are being extinct in Asia can be reproduced by creating artificial genes without going to Jungle of Africa, or we may produce an apple from a seed of a berry. American biologist Craig Venter and noble award winner scientist Hamilton Smith are at the verge of doing these wonders which, till now, have been seen only in Hollywood movies. They have created the largest synthetic DNA structure by synthesizing and assembling the base pair genome of a tiny bacterium called Mycoplasma mycoides) and synthesized the gene sequences from chemicals as needed and put them together. This synthetic genome was then transplanted into another modified bacterial cell (Mycoplasma capricolum) of a goat germ, and left to its own devices. Soon the recipient cells integrated the synthetic genome and immediately began to carry out the instructions encoded within. It flourished there and man had computer-generated life, the first self-replicating species on the planet with its parent as computer.
This was the first time when on 20th May 2010, Dr. Craig Venter, President and Founder of JCVI and his team made a synthetic cell by starting with genetic data stored in a computer, as science says he has not created life itself, but a new synthetic species. He produced the DNA of an artificial bacterial cell in a test-tube, and then placed it into the already living cell of a different kind of bacteria, transforming it into the new species. To understand this complex and confusing scientific matter lets take an example of test tube baby or IVF technique, they can give birth to a baby by external or internal fertilization of a sperm and an ovum but the sperm and ovum are definitely not artificial. Craig Venter is now a step ahead in biogenetics by this revolutionary achievement. Different species of plants and animals differ from each other by various arrangements of their genes or chromosomes. In human beings there are 46, chromosomes 23 from each parent. The scientific study of these chromosomes is called genome science. The pattern of genes is so unique, complex and critical that it is too difficult to copy these designs. After 15 years of genetics research and spending $40 million, this team of 46 scientists constructed 1,078 specific cassette of DNA that were 1,080 base pairs long. These cassettes were designed so that the ends of each cassette overlapped each of its neighbors by 80 base pairs perfectly to create a synthetic cell. To represent them as a plate they marked them through the computer and successfully showed it to the world. They have proved that despite consisting artificial DNA the cell can live for predefined time period, and can generate power and energy. These cassettes were made by the DNA synthesis company, Blue Heron Biotechnology according to JCVI’s instructions. The fact, that Dr Venter has simply re-created the existing life might look realistic today but just a few years ago, it was a nothing but a wild dream.
Will this marvelous invention make human capable to compete with nature? Can these experiments ever create a new life? That’s a million dollar question. Only time shall answer it, but then this stunning achievement does undeniably have the assurance of being extensively used for many positive applications, Lets take a glance:
1.Diseases like night blindness, hemophilia, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, and mental disorders which are believed to be incurable would be treated with genetic science; Like People with hemophilia (a rare bleeding disorder) are deficient in clotting factors (special proteins) due to their abnormal genes and, as a result, their blood can’t clot properly hence they can’t go for any kind of surgery, but in future the disease can be controlled by replacing the abnormal genes with the synthesized genes. For diabetic patients genes which produce Insulin can be injected, for patient of muscular dystrophy joints can be reactivated.
2.Various types of vaccine development would be accelerated to control and eradicate emerging microbial diseases, like chicken pox is eradicated from all over the world after the invention of the vaccine.
3.By successful genetic technology or bio engineering barrels of petrol and bio diesel would be produced, without waiting for thousands of years of decomposition. Petroleum products can be obtained directly by creating new bacteria which can produce bio fuel and most interestingly the Craig Venter Institute has achieved 600 million dollar contract from Exxon to generate bio fuel from algae.
4.The genetic causes of human disease shall be indentified and it would be easier to understand how the process of evolution works when species are being formed.
5.The database of human genome project may prove as an enormous warehouse to find the roots of tiniest virus to huge banyan tree, good crops would be yield with less water, water can be purified, carbon dioxide can be extracted from the atmosphere, new designer genome can be created, list goes on…
14 years ago in 1996, the team led by Dr. Craig developed synthetic genome and mapped it with yeast genome. Today they have put it into another bacterium and rebooted a live cell. Yep, its a fact. They have achieved it. However, on the other hand, an invention of this magnitude comes coupled with so many questions. Each time man has tried and pushed the boundaries of knowledge, questions have been raised on the legal, ethical and moral implications. The Hiroshima-Nagasaki mayhem of the Second World War is one such example. That apart, the behavior of these species coming out of such inventions shall be a case study. Remember the tiny box containing deadly viruses in the movie Dashawtaram? There is no guarantee that these species would behave in the same manner as it does in the labarotary. Who knows if the ones coming out of these DNA’s later pose threat to the very existence of Human Species itself. As they say ‘Science can serve us as a good servant, but it is indeed a bad master’. Come what may but these inventions are definitely going to take us to take the planet to a new era.
President Barack Obama had ordered the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues to make artificial DNA a top priority of research and also to consider the benefits of this latest progress as well as the ethical limitations and threats involved. Aware of the ethical and security concern involved Experts say being a very sensitive invention, care must be taken to use it wisely and ensure prosperity and growth.
Of course there’s a long way to go with this innovation, but for sure this can become a link between nature and human, a positive outcome for the society and from it we may see new perspective in genetic science. It may provide exceptional opportunity to learn about life and how life works.
“Take strive until breath ends.” – mohamed asik;
Shaky Hand at Home Mars External Drive
Kanwal Sibal
29 December 2010
India’s core foreign policy challenges in 2011 will be no different than in 2010, but we enter the New Year with a somewhat strengthened diplomatic hand. Coincidentally, leaders of all P-5 countries visited India in 2010 in quick succession and all, barring China, gave us political support in varying degrees on Pakistan related terrorism issues, UNSC permanent membership and our inclusion in various non-proliferation regimes, in recognition of our growing international stature on the back of our economic performance. Despite more international responsiveness to our concerns, 2011 will not produce any major breakthroughs in resolving our outstanding problems.
In 2011, the terrorist threat facing us will not lessen, as appeals to Pakistan and pressure on it to eradicate terrorism from its soil have not yielded any significant result. Pakistan is delaying bringing to justice those involved in the Mumbai terrorist attack, the jihadi organizations are not being suppressed, even as local extremists stage at home brutal terrorist attacks incessantly. With growing instability in Pakistan, the uncertainties surrounding Afghanistan’s future, Pakistan’s destabilizing strategic ambitions there, its unyielding hostility toward India, the inability of the US to compel it to abjure reliance on terrorism to further its political interests etc, 2011 will not bring relief to India on terrorism.
Other factors too lower expectations. The India-Pakistan dialogue is stalemated, with India proposing a step by step engagement on all outstanding issues and Pakistan insisting on the centrality of the Kashmir question. Pakistan’s rhetoric against India has become more shrill in recent months, with Foreign Minister Qureshi spurning the invitation to visit India unless his terms on Kashmir are accepted. Unless India yields in some measure- which would be unfortunate- it is not clear how the stalemate can be broken. Meanwhile, the Centre’s Kashmir interlocutors, with an unclear mandate, are eroding India’s long standing positions on the Kashmir issue to Pakistan’s advantage.
The disconnect between our external security needs and domestic political rivalries, if continued, will further damage prospects of prodding Pakistan on the terrorism issue in 2011. Seeking to equate jihadi terrorism with “saffron” terrorism and drawing attention away from the external source of the terrorist menace to the country by stoking controversies over internally inspired terrorist attacks plays Pakistan’s game by giving it propaganda fodder to mislead world opinion and its own public on the reality of its culpability in promoting terrorism against India.
President Obama is committed to a draw-down of US forces in Afghanistan beginning in July 2011. Even a token reduction will be construed by Pakistan and its accomplices that their curent strategy is yielding gains. Unless the US puts sticks ahead of carrots in dealing with Pakistan- which it seems disinclined to do as it cannot find an answer to Pakistan’s consummate tactics in offering cooperation and simultaneously supporting the depredations by Afghan Taliban groups, which only underscores, in turn, the value and the indispensability of this cooperation in US eyes- we will remain dangerously exposed to the uncertainties of the regional situation. We may have the goodwill of the Afghan people, even in the Pashtun belt, but this will not guarantee protection of our long term interests in Afghanistan unless its eventual power structures reflect the weight of majority public sentiment.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s 2010 visit to India does not augur an easier India-China relationship in 2011. China is steering India toward subscribing to its strategy in dealing with the bilateral relationship. It intends to keep the border issue alive as a pressure point, under cover of which it has begun to question India’s sovereignty over J&K and consolidate further its relationship with Pakistan, including its presence in POK, for vital resource-linked connectivities to the Arabian Sea, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
While keeping its political options toward India open, it seeks to disarm Indian resistance by shifting the focus to economic ties, for which it is mobilizing powerful Indian private sector interests. Thus, Wen Jiabao comes to India with hundreds of businessmen, but tells us that it will not be easy to completely resolve the boundary issue and that we should be prepared for a long wait for this. With the stapled visa issue China has opened a breach in India’s sovereignty over Kashmir, for it to exploit to the degree it needs. India has to counter it by opening a similar breach in 2011 in China’s position on Tibet and Taiwan.
Our problems elsewhere in our neighbourhood will continue in 2011. India has interest in unblocking the current impasse in Nepal, but how to find a balance between self-interest and respect for Nepalese sovereignty in what we do vis a vis a prickly neighbour under insidious Chinese influence. Similarly, to what degree can we channel the truimphalist mood in Sri Lanka in the direction of a constructive, long-term solution to the ethnic issue that stabilizes Sri Lanka internally, as well as its relations with us. Here too we have to contend with the Chinese factor.
We need to rapidly progress projects in Myanmar that promote land connectivity through that country to Thailand and beyond as an integral part of our Look East policy, once again keeping China’s challenge in mind. With Iran relations took a downward turn in 2010 despite our desire to engage it for energy security and other reasons. UN/US/EU sanctions, Iran’s nuclear ambiguities and the provocative statements of Iran’s Supreme Leader on Kashmir have been the cause. Our relations with Bangladesh, happily, present a reasonably positive prospect for 2011.
On the larger international canvas, 2011 should see a steady consolidation of our ties with the US, but without any dramatic developments. The next round of the Strategic Dialogue at Foreign Minister level will be held to oversee the implementation of the existing wide-ranging agenda, though misgivings about US policies in our region will not disappear.
Prime Minister’s visit to Russia in 2011 for the annual summit should consolidate the positive momentum imparted to bilateral relations during President Medvedev’s recently concluded visit. German Chancellor Merkel’s expected visit to India in 2011 should boost relations with another European power after a very successful visit here by the French President.
The support India has received for its permanent membership of the Security Council during recent visits will not get translated into concrete results any time soon. Meanwhile, how India conducts itself as a non-permanent member in the next two years will be under scrutiny by the US in particular, with India being expected to be “responsible”- a euphemism for aligning itself with western positions.
India, with its impressive growth rates, will continue to have an important voice in the G-20 in 2011. On Climate Change our recent Ministerial level policy excursions that seem to be consensus-breaking will not, hopefully, impose unwarranted costs on us eventually. Much will be said in 2011 on our civil nuclear liability legislation that has irked our would be nuclear power partners.
Ultimately, a strong, purposeful foreign policy has organic links with a commitment to good domestic governance. A key challenge for us in 2011 and beyond is that of wielding a strong external hand when the domestic hand is faltering. We cannot control our external environment when the internal one seems adrift.
(The writer is a former Foreign Secretary)
Japan's New Defence Policy: A Shift from the Past?
Rahul Prakash
28 December 2010
Japan announced its new military policy changes on 17 December, 2010 amidst escalating tensions, particularly in Northeast Asia. In a major military policy shift, Tokyo has announced its new National Defense Programme Guidelines (NDPG), calling for a shift of forces from the northern islands of Hokkaido, stationed to counter “threat from Soviet Union” during the Cold War period, towards the southern islands around Okinawa, focused towards China. According to the new document, Japan plans to increase the current number of submarines from 16 to 22; strengthen the AEGIS destroyer fleet from 4 to 6, along with the placement of Patriot missile batteries across the country, increase its naval capabilities to counter rising Chinese presence in the region. There are also plans to equip the Self Defense Forces (SDFs) with early warning systems and advanced surveillance equipment for monitoring the Japanese waters. The new guidelines also called for increased military cooperation with U.S., South Korea, Australia and India.
The new concept, called “dynamic defense force” ? changed from the earlier the “Basic Defense Force” concept ? aims to make Japan’s SDF troops more ready, mobile and flexible to address modern-day security concerns. This shift in policy can be termed as a major step as Japan has mostly restricted its military development mainly due to the Post-World War II Constitution (Article 9), which renounces war as sovereign right of the Japanese nation. However, there have been rising calls in the recent years for amending the constitution to face contemporary realities, although no political party has yet shown the will to go ahead with the amendment of Article 9 fearing uncertain public reaction.
While there is growing number of challenges to Japanese security, two factors ? Chinese military adventurism close to Japanese waters and the recent North Korean actions ? appear to be driving the changes in Tokyo’s defence policy.
The Chinese navy’s visibly growing presence near Japanese waters has caused some serious concern for the Japanese military strategists lately. In April 2010, there was an incident where a Chinese helicopter came within 100 meters of a Japanese surveillance ship while monitoring a Chinese naval exercise. The People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) ambition to induct an aircraft carrier also emphasizes Chinese plans to increase its off-shore operational capability, which raises security issues for Japan. Should China acquire an aircraft carrier, Japan would have to rethink its stance of considering an aircraft carrier as an “offensive” weapon. “Insufficient transparency” in Chinese military affairs remains a cause of concern for Japan and in the light of such events, China is now being perceived as a threat by the Japanese government.
The recent incident near the disputed Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu in Chinese) (when the captain and crew of a Chinese fishing trawler were detained after their boat collided with Japanese coast guard vessels patrolling the area) led to a diplomatic stand off between the two countries. Japan released the detained crew and the captain only after China took some hard steps in retaliation (halting the export of rare earth metals to Japan). The manner in which the crisis ended might have led the Japanese government to rethink its policies, in dealing with the growing Chinese military power.
North Korea too has posed serious issues for Japan. Since the Yeonpyeong shelling incident, war clouds have been looming over the Korean Peninsula. The incident escalated the tensions, and the chances of a conflict after an aggressive stance taken by North Korea (DPRK) cannot be ruled out. The new policy is aimed at protecting the Japanese interests in the event of a Korean War, going beyond the peninsula to affect the larger interests of the region. Moreover, the revelations by Stanford Professor Siegfried S. Hecker about the sophistication with which the DPRK is pursuing its nuclear programme could have been an added reason for the military policy restructuring in Japan.
Although Japan’s alliance with the U.S. remains the backbone of Japanese security, there were recent reports indicating a rift between the two countries. The pullback of troops from the Okinawa base to the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam was one of such issues when the alliance came under pressure. There are questions raised in Japan about a situation wherein U.S. may not be able to guarantee Japanese security. This could have very well been a strong reason why the NDPG aims at making the Japanese Self Defense Forces capable of “dynamic defense.” In essence, while Japan continues to be under the security blanket of the United States, they would like to get more ownership of the security, particularly as it relates to responding to a crisis. For instance, if there is a missile fired from North Korea, Japan does not have the luxury of waiting to get back to the US for an appropriate response.
Japanese security concerns about China appear similar to what India has been dealing with recently. China has territorial disputes with both the countries, for which the existing mechanisms do not seem to be making any progress. Nonetheless, China is the biggest trading partner for both Japan and India. Under such circumstances, increasing cooperation between both New Delhi and Tokyo can be a good strategic move to thwart Chinese influence, be it on the borders, territorial waters or in the Indian Ocean Region, which is again of great importance to both India and Japan. Indo-Japanese military cooperation, particularly in the maritime domain, could compel Beijing to mend its aggressive stance which would benefit not only both the nations but also the region.
It would be interesting to see how far Japan’s policy restructure would change the strategic balance in Asia.
(Rahul Prakash is an intern at Observer Research Foundation, working on Asian security issues)
Shifting Perceptions of Power: Soft Power and India’s Foreign Policy
Abstract
Soft power’s importance has increased in the context of globalisation and the growing disquiet over theuse of military power for achieving foreign policy objectives. This paper focuses specifically on softpower in India’s foreign policy and sources of India’s soft power like the Indian diaspora, Indianculture, etc. It also looks at what affects India’s soft power inimically and how to increase its soft power.
Traditional approaches to security studies in international relations have always laidemphasis on the concept of power. Power is the ability to achieve one’s purposes or goals andat the most general level, it is the capacity to influence the behaviour of others to get theoutcomes one wants. There are several ways of influencing the behaviour of others. To achievethe desired outcomes, one can coerce with threats, induce with payments, or attract and co-optto get people to want what one wants. The concept of power comprises everything from theability to keep oneself alive to the ability of a government to promote economic growth. Theability to obtain the outcomes one wants is often associated with the possession of certainresources like population, territory, natural resources, economic strength, military force andpolitical stability. This has been the traditional concept of power (‘hard power’) in internationalpolitics, especially for the Realist school.
Power and statecraft are essential elements of Realism. This tradition can be traced to ThomasHobbes and his assertion of the basic perpetual and restless human desire for ‘power afterpower’. Classical realists suggest that States increase their power in order to ensure their ownsecurity and to survive as independent entities. The realist tradition portrays internationalpolitics as a ‘state of nature’, an essentially anarchic system in which each State is forced to helpitself and give priority to its own national interests.
According to the realists, security of the State is attained and preserved through themaximization of power and the elements of national power include: geographical boundaries,large territorial size, the capacity for self-sufficiency in natural and industrial resources and astrong technological base, all of which contribute to a strong military capability. KennethWaltz’s structural realism employs the notion of international anarchy and sees States as basicunits of the international system. The central concern of an anarchical international system ispower. It is conceived as a self-help system with States primarily seeking survival and security. Wars and conflicts are the usual consequences of this state of affairs as states seek power,resources and territory, often at the cost of other States. The desire to dominate other Statesincreases as a State’s power capabilities grow. Power indeed is the key factor in States’balancing behaviour.
However, the level of threat that may arise from an external source is another importantvariable in determining the States’ behaviour in international politics. In this regard, StephenWalt suggests ‘threat’ to be more significant than ‘power’ and his ‘balance of threat theory’initiated an expansion of applications pertaining to traditional realist and neorealist theories. Several theoretical as well as historical case studies focusing on power and the balancingbehaviour of the States gave rise to more severe criticism of realist and neorealist theories. Someof them challenged the notion of power and the idea of balance of power because theyexplained only the grand strategy of the major States of the twentieth century. However, post-Cold War international politics is characterized by major shifts in approach from the traditionalrealist perspective on ‘power’. This paper focuses specifically on the shifting perceptions ofpower in India’s foreign policy. Apart from analysing the dynamics of hard and soft power inIndia’s foreign policy, the paper also attempts to identify the role of soft power and its impactand influence on the foreign policy decision-making of India.
Soft Power in International Politics
A new form of power—‘soft power’— has become increasingly discussed in the post-ColdWar era. The term ‘soft power’ was first coined by the Harvard University Professor, JosephNye (1990), in his book, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power. Nye (2004)developed the concept further in his book, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics.Soft power in international politics arises from factors such as the dominant values, internalpractices and policies, and the manner of conducting international relations of a State. Softpower is the ability to obtain what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments. It arises due to the attractiveness of a country’s culture, political ideals, and policies,that is, through elements which are ‘real but intangible’
The success of soft power heavily depends on the State’s reputation within the internationalcommunity, as well as the flow of information between States. Thus, soft power is often linkedto the rise of globalization and neoliberal theory. Popular culture and media is often identifiedas a source of soft power, as is the spread of a national language, or a particular set ofnormative structures. A nation with a large amount of soft power and the goodwill so won caninspire other countries to acculturate, thus avoiding the need for expensive hard powerexpenditures.
Power in the post Cold War Era
Hard and soft power can be regarded as two extremities on a continuum of power. Theyinvolve different ideas, interactions and institutions for foreign policy whether in the areas ofsecurity, politics or economics. Ideally, hard power strategies focus on military intervention,coercive diplomacy, and economic sanctions in order to enforce national interests resulting inconfrontational policies vis-à-vis neighbouring countries while soft power strategies stress oncommon political values, peaceful means for conflict management, and economic co-operationin order to achieve common solutions. Though soft power cannot produce results as fast ashard power, its effects are more long-lasting and it is less expensive than hard power. Theimportance of soft power is due to its ability to influence others unintrusively andunconsciously. It is thus an indirect way to get what you want and hence has been termed the‘second face of power’.
Power is becoming less fungible, less coercive and less concrete today. Co-optive behaviouralpower and soft power resources are not new. However, recent trends and changes in politicalissues have made them more significant. Today’s major powers are not as able to use theirtraditional power resources to achieve their purposes as in the past. Private actors and smallstates have become more powerful on many issues. At least five trends have contributed to thisdiffusion of power: economic interdependence, transnational actors, rise of nationalism in weakstates, the spread of technology and changing political issues.1
The developments in communications and transport in recent times have had a revolutionaryeffect on economic interdependence. The declining costs of transportation and communicationhave revolutionized global markets and accelerated the development of trans-nationalcorporations that transfer economic activity across borders. The process of modernization,urbanization and increased communication in developing nations has also diffused power fromgovernments to private actors. Social awakening has increased nationalism in poor or weakStates and this, in turn, has reduced the scope of applying traditional military power as this hasmade military intervention and external rule more costly. The spread of modern technology hasalso enhanced the capabilities of backward states. The ability of great powers to control theirenvironments despite impressive traditional power has also been weakened due to thechanging nature of issues in world politics. According to Nye, in the information age, threekinds of countries are in a good position to gain soft power: (1) ‘those whose dominant cultureand ideas are closer to prevailing global norms (which now emphasize liberalism, pluralism,and autonomy), (2) those with the most access to multiple channels of communication and thusmore influence over how issues are framed, and (3) those whose credibility is enhanced by theirdomestic and international performance’.
The importance of soft power in the contemporary world can be seen if we look at why Chinapulled out all stops to hold a successful Olympics. The success of the Beijing Olympics hashelped increase China’s soft power around the world with the associated benefits. The successhas showcased China’s strong capabilities, enhanced mutual understanding between theChinese and foreign citizens and will in all probability encourage its further opening up. This isevident in the words of Zheng Yongnian, Director of the East Asian Institute of the NationalUniversity of Singapore: “After the Olympics, more attention would be paid to changes inChina … because China has become a power in the eyes of the West. They would monitor orsupervise the development of this important country”. The need to increase its soft powerexplains why China is promoting the study of the Chinese language and culture by establishingConfucius Institutes on the lines of the Alliance Francaise and the British Council across theworld. Another example is the Unites States’ increased funding and emphasis to publicdiplomacy post 9/11 and the Iraq War because its unilateral use of hard power in Iraq andAfghanistan has led to the growth of anti-Americanism in many parts of the world anddecreased its soft power significantly.
Soft power grows out of the ‘cultural milieu of society’ and can only be created by the people;the State has little or no role to play in its creation.16 However, the State can accentuate its softpower through various means like public diplomacy. Public diplomacy is the process by which‘direct relations are pursued with a country’s people to promote the interest and values of thosebeing represented’.17 The soft power of a country rests mainly on three resources: ‘its culture (inplaces where it is attractive to others), its political values (when it lives up to them at home andabroad) and its foreign policies (when they are seen as legitimate and having moralauthority).’
Sources of India’s Soft Power
India has always been a country with tremendous ‘soft power’—as can be seen from the factthat unlike the rise of China, its ‘rise’ is not being viewed with trepidation and alarm in manycountries. India’s soft power is very high in the countries of South East Asia due to their sharedheritage and civilization and they are now called its ‘civilizational neighbours’. Unlike the otheremerging Asian powers like China and Japan, India has a unique advantage in these countriesas India does not have border disputes with any of them. Indian culture is appreciated in itsimmediate neighbourhood in South Asia. India has influenced countries both in its immediateneighbourhood and extended neighbourhood like Persia (now known as Iran) for centuries.India continues to have tremendous potential for soft power because of its culture andcivilizational links—its large diaspora, popular films, music, art and historical and culturallinks with several countries around the world all contribute to its soft power.
Culture
Culture is the most important source of soft power. India is at a very advantageous positionas far as culture is concerned and has historically enjoyed much soft power. According to T.V.Paul and Baldev Nayar, Indian culture offers one of the most dynamic alternatives to Westerncultural values.19India has had a long history of civilizational and cultural links with countriesas far-flung as Iran, Rome and South East Asia. Its riches and splendour have attracted tradersand travellers for thousands of years. Countries in Southeast Asia still have remnants of Indiantraditions: the Angor Vat temple in Cambodia, temples and pagodas in Thailand, Myanmar aswell as the presence of several Sanskrit words in languages like Bahasha Indonesia prove theinfluence of Indian culture on these countries. India, as the land where the Buddha preached,has positive connotations for Buddhists all over the world. Buddhism spread from India toChina and other countries through Buddhist monks and scholars came to India to study at itsuniversities leading to a healthy exchange of ideas right from ancient times the influence ofwhich is apparent throughout Asia even today.20 India’s continued soft power in the Asia–Pacific can be seen in the proposal by India to revive the once world famous NalandaUniversity in partnership with China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. This initiative is anexample of the convergence of the soft power agendas of five different countries. Islamicpreachers from India are believed to have spread the religious and cultural values of Islam inSingapore and Malaysia. Also, as one of the few places in the world where Jews werewelcomed and not persecuted, India enjoys much soft power in Israel.
India’s diaspora is a huge soft power asset. There are millions of Indian diaspora spreadacross countries as far as Fiji, Guyana, Malaysia, Mauritius, Surinam, South Africa, Sri Lankaand Trinidad. While Indians were taken over as indentured labours to far-flung parts of theBritish Empire in the nineteenth-century, a professional elite from this expatriate communityhas found its way to the United States (US), Canada, Australia, and other nations of the West inthe twentieth century. They have contributed immensely to the countries they have settled inand command influence and respect in these countries. In fact, the Indo-American communityin the US has been found to be the most educated immigrant community in the US. The recentupturn in Indo-US relations has a lot to do with the lobbying, influence and reputation of theIndo-American community. Countries like Fiji and Mauritius have large Indian communitieswith people of Indian Origin holding important political positions.
One of India’s most successful and enduring imports—yoga—is practised all over the worldboth as a form of exercise and as a stress-buster by millions of people. Yoga is already a globalphenomenon and is rapidly becoming part of mainstream culture, particularly in the West.Indian cuisine with its subtle use of spices and herbs grown across the Indian subcontinent isalso becoming popular in the West, particularly in the United Kingdom (UK) which is home toa large Indian diaspora. In fact, Shashi Tharoor claims that in the UK today, Indian curryhouses employ more people than the iron and steel, coal and shipbuilding industriescombined.21 Indian food has also gained popularity in other Western countries and there aremany Indian restaurants in the larger cities of the US and Canada.
Elements of popular Indian culture like music and movies have a wide following in manycountries. The power of music can bridge borders and bring people closer. Indian music andmovies have a large international market and have become increasingly popular abroad,particularly in Asia, Europe, Africa and West Asia. Even in countries like Russia, Syria andSenegal, Indian films, particularly Hindi (Bollywood, which is the most important movieindustry after Hollywood) movies, have a following. Indian movies are popular and watchednot only in South Asian countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lankadue to their close proximity with India and due to certain similar cultural outlooks present inthe movies but also in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. South Asia is already dominated byIndian music and movies to the extent that at times it has even bred some resentment againstIndia. In fact, Pakistan had earlier banned Indian television channels and films though recentlythere have been some collaborations between Bollywood and the Pakistani film industry. Waxstatues of several actors from the Indian film industry at Madame Tussaud’s in London beartestimony to the influence of Indian cinema and India’s soft power. The overwhelming Oscarsuccess of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, where three Indian artists/technicians won individual Oscars,shows the potential for Indian films and artists to contribute to India’s soft power. When Indianwriters win international awards like the Man-Booker prize, when India becomes the guest ofhonour at international book fairs like the Frankfurt Book Fair, when Indian movies arescreened at International Film Festivals like Cannes and when Indians win awards like theNobel and Magsasay awards, India’s soft power is built.
The success of Indian companies like Infosys Technologies and Wipro Technologies in theInformation Technology (IT) sector; success of other multinational companies like the TataGroup and Reliance Group; and the worldwide recognition of the academic excellence of theIndian Institute of Management (IIMs) and Indian Institute of Technology (IITs)—the centres ofexcellence for higher training, research and development in science, engineering andtechnology in India—have contributed to the new image of India as a country with Englisheducated, enterprising people. In the US, for example, the stereotypical Indian is no longer astarving peasant, but a highly professional IT specialist who tells helpless Americans how towork with their computers. Indians constitute the epicentre of the Silicon Valley revolution andIndia have moved from being a job-seeking economy to one that is being driven by demand indeveloped nations for services and migrant workers from developing countries.
India’s spirituality is much needed in these days of conflict and strife. India’s tolerance fordifferent religions and cultures is legendary. This is the land which has preached ‘VasudhaivaKudumbakam’ (the world is my family) and Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu (let there bepeace in the whole world) after all. India’s message of secularism which actually meansdifferent religions co-existing in harmony with each other, rather than the Western concept ofseparation of religion and the State is a valuable lesson in these days when there is so muchstrife in the name of religion.
India’s diplomats have also played a role, though how big it is cannot really be measured thatbeing the nature of soft power itself, in increasing India’s soft power. India’s diplomats haveplayed important roles in international for a in the 1960s and 1970s and continue to playsignificant roles in international negotiations like climate change. India’s diplomats are trainedin India’s culture and values, communication skills as well as the work in the media and IndianParliament.22 This helps them connect with governments as well as people of other countries.With increasing globalisation in culture as well as the media, India’s influence through itsculture is likely to increase in the future.
Foreign Policy
A country’s foreign policy is defined as the basis and framework of its relations with othercountries.24 The behaviour of one State can either have a favourable or adverse effect onanother. This prompts every State to minimize the problems of adverse action and maximizethe favourable actions of foreign States. Joseph Nye says that a country’s foreign policy canincrease its soft power if its foreign policy is perceived by other countries and people to be‘legitimate and having moral authority’.25 India’s foreign policy has been based on moral valuesfrom the time of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who remains a tremendous influence onIndian foreign policy even today. India’s soft power, in any case, got a major boost with theway it achieved independence. The legacy of the Indian freedom movement and that of itsleader, Gandhi, certainly built India’s soft power from the very beginning as a country whichhad achieved independence with non-violent methods. This soft power was consolidated bythe foreign policy agenda set by Nehru.
Moreover, even before independence, leaders of the Indian National Congress supported thefreedom struggles of people under colonial rule in Asia and Africa. This support, both politicaland material, continued even after independence.26 Many thousands of Indian soldiers also losttheir lives in the fight against Nazism and Fascism in World War II. India also strongly decriedApartheid and racial discrimination at international fora. Its refusal to join either bloc duringthe Cold War and sending a medical contingent rather than armed combatants to the UnitedNations (UN) force in Korea in 1950 also enhanced its standing in the world community,particularly the countries of the Third World. This is proved by India’s getting thechairmanship of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission (NNRC) set up in 1953 after theKorean War and India’s mediatory role in bringing about the Indo-China Peace Agreementafter the French were defeated by the Vietnamese.27 As J.N. Dixit argues, ‘India’s acceptabilityas a reconciliatory and mediator was both remarkable and illogical because this credibility anddiplomatic success of India had nothing to do with its economic resources or military power’.28In fact, it was an expression of India’s soft power and the respect Nehru commanded in thenewly-independent countries of the world as leader of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM).Nehru was determined to “forge a world order that eschewed, or at least hobbled, the use offorce in international politics”.29 India even supported China’s claim for a permanent seat onthe United Nations (UN) Security Council. Thus, till the 1962 Sino–Indian war at least, India’ssoft power especially among Third World countries was tremendous and India was the rallyingpoint for many of these countries.
The 1962 Sino–India war marked a turning point in Indian foreign policy to one shorn ofmost of the idealist rhetoric and moral grandstanding of the Nehruvian era. This shift was alsoin part due to the realization among Indian policy makers that all the trust (soft power) thatIndia enjoyed in the Third World was of little use as few of these countries came out in supportof India. The Sino-India war, the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971 and the integration of Goa,Daman and Diu in 1961 into the Indian State were instances where India used hard power toachieve its objectives, though these two wars were admittedly forced on India. Indira Gandhi’sstrong personality was reflected in her foreign policy making. Unlike her father, she was apractitioner of realpolitik. She believed that India’s foreign policy should be tied to thecountry’s economic, political and security interests and that these interests primarily dependedon India becoming strong and self-reliant though she continued to support the NAM.30Subsequently, she established a strategic partnership with the Soviet Union, upgraded India’sdefence capabilities, won a war against Pakistan in 1971 (dividing that country so as to secureIndia’s strategic environment among other reasons) and even tested a nuclear device in 1974.However, the 1971 Bangladesh war was also framed as ‘humanitarian intervention’ to maintainIndia’s standing in world politics and to ensure that there was minimal effect on its soft power.
Both of Indira Gandhi’s tenures as Prime Minister saw a return to traditional concepts ofInternational Relations like realism and balance of power and the dominance of strategiesidentified with hard power. All this certainly did nothing to add to India’s soft power. TheMorarji Desai government took several initiatives to improve relations with China, the US andPakistan, thus improving the country’s image in the world. Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to China in1988 again showed India as a State committed to improving relations with its neighbours. Butthe deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka was largely seen acrossthe world as ‘interference in another country’s internal affairs’, something which is almost asacrilege in international relations. Thus, India was seen as a hegemon through much of the1970s and 1980s, particularly by its neighbours.
In the post-Cold War era, particularly after liberalization, privatization and globalization,there has been a shift towards more conciliatory relations with the world at large throughshedding of some of the Cold War ideological baggage so that the West was no longer seen asan adversary/imperial colonial power to be resisted at every point. India has moved closer tothe US than ever before in history while maintaining robust relations with Russia and China.After the 1990s, India has tried to play down its ‘big brother’ image in South Asia by takinginitiatives to resolve disputes with its neighbours and scrupulously avoiding interference in theinternal affairs of its neighbours. Wagner argues that India’s regional policy after the 1990s hasbeen characterized by greater emphasis on soft power strategies.31 One example of this is the‘Gujral doctrine’ which introduced the principle of non-reciprocity, emphasising that India notonly had a bigger responsibility, but should give more to the smaller neighbours than shewould receive.32 This doctrine echoed domestic changes in India, especially the economicliberalisation post–1991. This shift towards soft power was not caused due to altruistic reasons,but due the fact that India’s hard power approach of the 1970s and 1980s was not very effectivein achieving its goals.33 Despite having more sources of hard power, India was not able totransform the military victory of 1971 over Pakistan into a long-lasting solution of the Kashmirissue.
The limitations of the hard power strategy also became evident in the 1990s when the conflictover Kashmir continued and sparked off bilateral crises. Moreover, with globalization andliberalization of the economy, as countries became more interdependent, India could not affordto antagonise other countries by stressing on its hard power capabilities. It is in this context thatIndia has strengthened its soft power strategies like moving towards closer economiccooperation through initiatives like the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation(SSARC) and proposals for confidence building measures (CBMs) with other countries. Thisnew emphasis on ‘soft power’ continued even when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)government led by the hawkish Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power and despite the1998 Pokhran tests. In fact, even after the tests, India adopted the policy of unilateral selfrestraint and imposed a unilateral moratorium on further tests to assuage worldwidecondemnation of the tests and salvage some soft power. The NDA’s initiatives to increasepeople-to-people interaction between India and Pakistan and other CBMs that it initiated withPakistan were also attempts to improve India’s image in Pakistan and increase its soft power.India has also shown interest and taken the initiative in solving long-standing border disputeswith its neighbours like China and Bangladesh in recent times.
The Kargil war between India and Pakistan of 1999 was important in terms of soft power dueto two factors: it won over world support for India as most countries accepted India’scontention that Pakistan was at fault for initiating the intrusion and India won global respectfor its restraint in not crossing the border; second, it proved the limitations of hard power asbeing nuclear powers, neither of the two countries could attack each other for fear of a full-fledged nuclear war. India’s support for the Palestinians at the UN has also ensured that its softpower is intact in the Arab countries even while its relations with Israel are growing.In an ironic situation, even the Indian Army has shown that it is not averse to using softpower. India’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations can be interpreted as an attempt toincrease its soft power in countries around the world. The Indian Army has also attempted touse soft power in militancy-affected states like Jammu & Kashmir to win the ‘hearts and minds’of people in places where there is insurgency. ‘Operation Sadhbhavana’ in Jammu and Kashmirand other operations in which the Indian army has built infrastructure, refugee camps andgiven medical aid to people in militancy-infested regions are good examples for this.
The best example of India’s successful use of soft power can be seen in its relations withAfghanistan helping it steal a march over its traditional rival, Pakistan in the hearts of thecommon Afghans. Since the fall of the Taliban, India has focussed on the reconstruction ofAfghanistan through aid for building infrastructure like dams and roads and providingscholarships for Afghan students. Indian television operas and Hindi movies have become theprimary source of entertainment for Afghans, particularly those in cities and towns.35Another recent instance was India’s restrained response to the 26/11 terror attacks inMumbai. Despite much jingoism among the general public as well as the media, India chose notto go in for military mobilisation or air strikes, but instead chose to focus on terror cells inPakistan. The sole surviving terrorist who was captured has also been given legal rights and alawyer to argue his case. Compare this with what happened in Guantanamo Bay with prisonerswho have not even been proved guilty in a court of law in the world’s oldest democracy, theUS!
India’s high economic growth after the Cold War has also contributed to a positive imageabout India globally. India has been one of the best performers in the world economy in recenttimes with an average growth arte of around 7 per cent annually. India is seen as a best foreigndirect investment (FDI) and joint ventures destination and its achievements in some sectors ofthe economy have propelled it to the status of an economic power to be reckoned with. Quite afew Indian companies are today listed on the National Association of Securities DealersAutomated Quotations (NASDAQ) index and the global recession has not affected India in abig way, pointing towards the strong fundamentals of the Indian economy.At the institutional level, India quite a bit of institutional power due to its leadership of the G-77, G-22 and NAM.36 However, a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, which continuesto remain on India’s wish-list, will add significantly to its soft power.
Political Values
India is the world’s largest democracy. India’s biggest asset in terms of soft power is itssuccessfully-functioning democracy which has survived despite many challenges. Unlike mostother developing countries, India has established democratic traditions. In any case, ademocracy would have more soft power than a military dictatorship and an authoritarianregime. The fact that India has never had a military dictatorship and yet has managed to solve,to some extent, many of the problems it faced at the time of its independence has beenappreciated all over the world. India has proved that democracy can work even in a poor,illiterate country and is not the exclusive preserve of the rich Western countries. India has hadfree and fair elections since independence. India’s democracy has allowed traditionallymarginalized sections of society like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women toparticipate in governance. In fact, Bhutan’s and Nepal’s recent shift towards democracy wasencouraged by its neighbour India’s example of a thriving democracy. India’s commitment todemocracy builds India’s moral power as well as soft power. India’s support for democracyand freedom are other values which enhance its soft power.
The presence of a free press in which all shades of opinion are allowed to be expressed alsocontributes to India’s soft power. India has a thriving civil society which has never shied awayfrom trying to solve social ills. It works in areas ranging from poverty alleviation toenvironmental issues often challenging government decisions by taking recourse to the courts.India, unlike most Asian countries, also has a fiercely independent judiciary which has oftenplayed an activist role in taking up many issues important to the public, but neglected by thegovernment. Though court cases may take years to reach a judgement, the public continues tohave faith in this organ of governance.
What Erodes India’s Soft Power?
While some initiatives like ‘Operation Sadhbhavana’ are being mentioned here as increasingthe soft power of the Indian State among its own people, several other initiatives like SalwaJudum initiative in the state of Chhattisgarh have, in fact, alienated the people from the State bystressing on hard power to fight radical Leftists (Maoists) who are carrying out an armedstruggle against the State in several parts of India. In this case, the state itself armed one sectionof the people—mostly the village youth and tribals—against the radical Left (thus falling backon hard power) and lost credibility with the people not only by ‘outsourcing’ its functions tothe local people, but also by resorting to hard power (arms and police) to quell resistanceleading to numerous incidents of human rights violations. Moreover, the Salwa Judum itselfhas been accused of rape, torture and extortion.
Human rights violations by instruments of the State like the Police and the Army reflectbadly on a country which has a very liberal Constitution, thus eroding its soft power. The useof torture to extract confessions and continued use of the capital punishment (though used veryrarely) when most countries have abolished these practices also affect the country’s soft powernegatively. India needs to ratify the 1987 UN Convention against Torture to prove itscommitment to civil rights. India’s poverty, the increasing gap between the rich and the poor,communal tensions and riots are other factors which build a negative image of India abroad.Unhygienic conditions, dirty roads, bureaucratic red tapism, delays at airports and railwaystations, etc. are some other factors which affect India’s soft power.
India is ranked a dismal 134 out of 182 countries in the Human Development Index of the UNHuman Development Report FOR 2009; this is something which seriously affects India’s softpower bringing back the earlier images of the 1950s of an overpopulated, poor country withunderfed people. Economic reforms have led to high growth rates, but this growth is restrictedonly to a few sectors like Information Technology, Communi-cations, etc. The liberalisation ofthe Indian economy has arguably not brought in ‘trickle-down’ benefits to many poor, ruralparts of India and has instead widened the gap between the rich and the poor. This, in turn, hasled to the evolution and growth of Maoist groups operating in as many as 170 districts in thecountry. In fact, so deep and widespread is the poverty that unless India can realize a sustainedeconomic growth at approximately 7 per cent per annum for the next decade, it will not be ableto significantly reduce endemic poverty.37 Corruption is also widespread in the country andadds to the misery of the poor. Transparency International’s 2009 Corruption Perception Indexput India at the 84th position out of 180 countries. A large number of Indians are also illiterate.While on the one hand, India boasts of world class institutes like the IITs and IIMs, India hasfailed to provide even primary education to large sections of its population. Child labour is alsowidespread in the country. India has millions of malnourished, hungry people. It ranked 65 inthe Global Hunger Index developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI),showing a level of hunger that has been described by IFPRI as ‘alarming’.
Unresolved disputes with its immediate neighbours also affect India’s soft power potential.India needs to resolve these disputes reasonably if it wants to be seen as a global powerdeserving a seat on the UN Security Council. Relations with authoritarian States likeMyanmar’s military junta, however strategic they are, can erode India’s claims of promotingdemocracy and thereby its soft power. Again, while India can justifiably claim that it helpedpush Nepal and the Maoists there towards democracy, peace and stability in 2008, its allegedinterference in Nepal’s internal affairs in May 2009 has lowered its standing in Nepal and otherneighbours. Instead of upholding the principle of supremacy of the civilian power over themilitary, India allegedly chose to support a general, whose loyalty to the deposed King is wellknown. Moreover, even earlier, India’s attempt to save the monarchy by sending Karan Singh,a royal himself, as an envoy to Nepal in 2006 in the midst of the democracy movement, raisedeyebrows in Nepal. It seemed that India believes in civilian supremacy and democracy only inits own country and is willing to sacrifice these principles at the altar of its larger strategicinterest of undermining the Nepalese Maoists to prevent Nepal from becoming closer to China.India’s nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998 also affect India’s soft power. India is one of the fewcountries which has refused to sign the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). While on the one hand,India purports to be in support of nuclear disarmament, it possesses nuclear weapons and is ade facto nuclear weapons state. This is seen as double standards by many developing countries,countries which have been India’s friends since its independence. India needs to negotiate thistricky situation to restore its credibility in these nations. India’s shift to a ‘realist’ foreign policyafter the Cold War has alienated many traditional friends. For instance, there is disquiet in theArab states about India’s increasingly warm ties with Israel, which is based on arms sales andintelligence cooperation. The improvement in Indo–US strategic relations at a time when USsoft power is at its lowest in most countries also erodes India’s soft power in countries that arenot part of the Western bloc.
The lack of success in sports and a non-existent sporting culture are also impediments in thegrowth of India’s soft power. No other aspect of culture has the capacity to bring togetherpowerful tool for international engagement as sports does. For instance, China, having held anextremely successful Olympics and having topped the medals tally, has gained new-foundrespect from countries across the world.Unresolved disputes within India, like the ones in Kashmir and the North-East also affectIndia’s soft power. The very fact that these disputes continue despite years of democracy areproof that the benefits of democracy and development have not reached people in theseregions.
Conclusion
Soft power can be increased by augmenting funding for cultural activities in embassies,promoting India aggressively and starting India study centres all over the world on the lines ofBritish Council, American Information Resource Centers, Alliance Francoise and the ConfuciusInstitutes started by China. These institutes increase their respective countries’ soft power byprojecting a favourable image of their countries to the outside world through public relationsexercises. The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) should give more emphasis to public diplomacy andmore initiatives like friendship years with different countries should be started. More fundingshould be given for public diplomacy. India should also hold more cultural festivals abroadshowcasing different aspects of its culture. The doors of Indian universities should be openedto foreign students through scholarships and student exchange programmes so that theyunderstand Indian culture, interests and values by the time they go home and propagate afavourable image about India. For this, more funds should be allotted to the Indian Council forCultural Relations (ICCR). Tourists must be welcomed to India so that more people see thebeauty and varied culture of India. Indian tourists abroad also convey the image of a new, richand confident India. They must also be advised to be polite and to respect the traditions of thecountries they visit. There should be more focus on sports infrastructure development inschools so that the world gets to know India as a sporting nation. The Pravasi Bharatiya Divasinitiative by the Indian government is a laudable attempt to tap into the economic and politicalresources of the Indian diaspora all over the world. But India needs to do more so that thediaspora feels welcome and wanted by India.
Foreign aid is another factor which can enhances a country’s soft power. With India projectedto be one of the largest economies of the world by 2025, it will certainly have enough economicpower to help other poorer countries. So, India must put in place a well-coordinated foreign aidpolicy and needs to increase its aid to poor countries, particularly African countries. This aidmust be well targeted and must be purely humanitarian in character so as to increase India’ssoft power. Towards this end, an agency on the lines on US Agency for International Development (USAID) must be established.India needs to ensure that the benefits of democracy and economic reforms reach the needy.This would help bring those fighting the Indian State into the mainstream. It has certainly takensome steps towards this by encouraging those fighting against it in Kashmir and the North Eastto engage in the political process. This effort seems to be working and must be encouraged.
India has a huge population, vast territory, has high military expenditure, has the thirdlargest number of armed personnel in the world and has well-quipped army, navy and air forceand is a de facto nuclear power as well as a space power thus establishing its hard power. Indiais also rapidly emerging as an economic powerhouse in terms of growth rates and gross domestic product (GDP) and is projected to be the third largest economy by 2025 after Chinaand the US by the World Bank. India’ huge middle class and their purchasing power, its hugepool of skilled workers and the fact that it has one of the largest pools of scientists in the worldadd significantly to its economic potential and hard power capabilities. Thus, India has both theelements needed for hard power—military strength and economic power. As seen above, India also has a substantial amount of soft power and has the potential to augment it. India needs togive more emphasis to soft power and rein it to achieve foreign policy objectives as soft powerresources like state capacity, diplomatic or strategic strength and quality of the nationalleadership are very important to a country’s “latent capabilities into actualized power”.
India, at various points in its history, has used both hard power and soft power. However, areliance on one or the other exclusively would not help in achieving foreign policy objectives.Soft power cannot be used in all situations just as hard power cannot be used in allcircumstances. But if used effectively in conjugation with hard power, it can yield better resultsthan if only hard power is used. This use of a judicious combination of soft and hard power hasbeen termed as ‘smart power’ by some scholars like Suzanne Nossel. India has a lot of potentialfor this ‘smart power’, blessed as it is with abundant soft power as well as hard powerelements. The Indian State needs to wake up to this potential and tap into it to achieve its globalambitions and foreign policy objectives.
Google TV – Demystified
Authored By: Harish R:
Image Source :Google Images
Every firm is started with a specific target market and it caters to the needs of that segment. Once that is satisfied and the firm is established as a market leader or a monopoly, they move on to cover other market segements or entirely different markets even. One such example is Google TV. Read on to find out more.
Google as we all know started as a simple search engine project of two graduate students in Stanford and later got developed into the most dominant IT firm ever that reached a place like no other company by becoming a verb in the Oxford dictionary. Now that they have conquered the search engine market, they decided to add other products to their catalogue. Some of these products were created by themselves while others were taken over from smaller firms. Most of these were largely successful like Gmail, Picasa, Labs, Codeplex etc while it has its own share of bad products like Google Wave, Orkut etc. All these products are purely aimed at covering the user’s complete web requirements.
Similar to Google, Apple also started with one product and later branched out into several other products. It started with Mac and now it offers several devices like Ipod, Iphone etc. Apple has earned its own medal like Google by being a style and sophistication statement. As expected, both these companies started to engage in a profolio war. It started off with the browser war – Chrome vs Safari. Then to the OS war – MacOS vs ChormeOS. The most famous mobile world wars iOS vs Android and iPhone vs Nexus One. In all these battles on new frontiers for both companies, several other players were existing. They were getting challenged as well as these two managed to raise the benchmark by several notches at a very rapid pace that few of the native players got totally lost while others still continue fighting.
Since both these companies are engaging in several battles simultaneously at a very rapid pace, they have to use agile tactics, copy each others strengths (and file patent infringements against each other), use their unique marketing tactics and try making them better for their use and similar interface which in other words translate into the same software. Of course, several reasons can be given for such methods used but it is my humble observation that though the standards have been raised in all of these arenas, innovation which both of these companies are known for very long is almost missing nowadays. Take for example a new battle ground of television. Apple TV vs Google TV.
Apple TV has been in existence from the end of 2007 and Google TV and its features has just been announced. No information on pricing or when it will be available to the public is announced. Like I said, innovation is nearly missing in this product. It integrates your TV and a computer into a seamless entertainment experience as they call it and creates some sort of a hybrid product that helps you browse the internet on your TV, get TV shows easily and access the specially made YouTube application. Google TV can be bought preinstalled in a Sony HDTV, bluray player or bought as a seperate set-top box. Bluray playing, HD videos, Twitter and Facebook are available by default. Google uses its own marketing strategy for it by giving away 10,000 free Google TV devices, made product purchase possible from several sources by deafult like Amazon, Shoutcast, Rhapshody and YouTube’s new yet to be launched service of Pay-per-view. Apart from these, Google TV appears to be a better hardware compared to Apple TV by including HDMi from cable/satellite box, stronger GPU, dedicated DSP, keyboard and pointing device. It runs on the latest Android OS and so all Android apps run on it (yes, iTunes and iApps rival here). It can be controlled from an Android smart phone and a web page can be pushed from the phone to TV for better viewing. They have roped in some good partners for harware like Sony and Logitech too.
Overall, I think Google TV is a very good product that I would love to own compared to Apple TV or other similar products like Boxee for now. I am sure in the next release of Apple TV or Boxee or some other similar product, the hardware advantage of Google TV will be nullified and the software part of it will be dealt in their own unique ways. Like I said, unless some terrific innovation which both these companies are known for is made in this sector, these products will only remain to be a rat race with each release better than the other with little or no difference and the customer will never feel complete or will be able to make a good choice based on the idiosynchasies of the products.
Sixth Sense: The Latest Trend in Technology
Authored By Peeyush Kheria:
How would you feel to manipulate things with just the movement of your fingers? How do you feel of a state where you just look at a person and you get all the information about him? What if you are able to see the videos while reading the newspaper? Yeah, I am going to take you on a roller coaster ride. What if your mind becomes a knowledge center as powerful as internet and you have information on anything and everything in hand. When I say so, I mean the human mind coupled with as much resource as the internet itself has and when the power of whole internet resides within you. It might look wild but Sixth Sense is one such application being developed by Pranav Mistry from TED( Technology Entertainment Design) which envisions to make this distant dream come true in near future.
This technology which talks of seamless implication of inherent capabilities of human intellect in day-to-day life is based on the prototype which is nothing but a combination of hand gesture recognition application using computer vision based technique of a camera, a map application which is displayed to the user at their will and user can navigate through it on a nearby surface by using hand gestures similar to multi-touch system supported gestures and a drawing application which lets user draw shapes in air using his/her index finger. Sixth Sense is still under development phase and probably it would take around 10 years for it to come completely into existence, but this technology will surely change the way we live today.
Sixth Sense system functioning is based mainly on two things, one is a camera and the other is cell-phone. There is a projection (either on an object or on a plain surface) which is made by the camera tied round the corner of the head of the person. The camera here captures the objects around us and identifies them and with the help of micro projector, it projects the information on any surface about that object. The information (which needs to be projected) is gathered with the help of a cell-phone which acts as a computer. This cell-phone provides the connection to the cloud (where all the information of the web is available). Further one can control the amount of information that needs to be shown, and all this can be done just by the movement of our fingers.
That apart, the system not only projects information about any object on which it is focused but also recognizes hand movements to maneuver digital objects, to zoom in on maps, shift objects from one place to another, and dig for further information about that object. If a call needs to be made, the camera will project the number pad on the hand and from there itself any number can be dialed. If one needs to know the time, just by drawing a circle on the wrist the clock can be projected showing the current time. And if this is not enough one can click pictures just by making a frame from fingers and the system stores the pictures. It might sound like a movie, but this is what Sixth Sense promises us in near future.
These are just the applications that we have seen and what Sixth sense can really do, but the power of this application resides in the connectivity that it provides, reducing the gap between the real and the digital/internet world. So suppose you are in a music store and are looking to buy a movie DVD, and you can no longer afford to buy any flop ones then come out of dilemma and use your sixth sense. Now all that you have to do is to just hold the DVD object in front of the camera and information as to how it performed on the box office, what ratings had it received and how critics had reviewed about the movie etc would be displayed on the DVD itself.
When we meet a person, we feel like knowing him, Sixth Sense does exactly the same. It captures the person’s image and looks up for relevant information about him on the internet and displays the same on his body or clothes at your wish. His educational qualifications, where is he currently working, his blog URL and what posts, what are his interests, in short everything that is available about him on the internet. Though this might sound like poking into someone’s private life but as long as the information is picked up from the internet, privacy issues shouldn’t creep in. To have an even clearer concept, you might like to see a demo of this intriguing concept here.
Scientists have been working on turning fantasies into realities. There was a time when making things invisible seemed impossible. Then scientists worked out to make a cloak invisible but when seen only from a single point (the direction of light falling on that object). Now they have worked a 3D cloak which can hide any object irrespective of the direction of light and irrespective of whether that object is being looked from a single point or multiple points. Google goggles is another amazing product where the cell phone acts as a source of information, currently they are being offered free with the Google phone. One just needs to click picture of any object, heritage site, or anything, and upload to Google goggles (well not to mention, internet connectivity is must). The application is so powerful that any information that is available related to that object becomes the search result. To talk more about inherent features of upcoming technology, when we see any object using camera, we can get the name and other related details displayed on the screen. As of now, it is still in nascent stage but days are not distant when it shall take the world with a storm.
TED people only have made some extremely useful equipments which can be utilized in our day to day life and which helps in making real time connectivity with the real and digital world. One such equipment is a digitized pen which helps in visualizing a design in a 3D space while still drawing on a 2D paper plane (paper). Here the intuition of pen and ink are present and hence it is named inktuitive. This project aims at bridging the gap between the real and digital world of design.
Another project by TED is TaPuM (Tangible Public Map), it is a digital map which allows us to get relevant information on any of the objects that we desire. Say if we have a mobile phone and we need to get more information (like features, price, etc.) about it, we just need to place the phone on TaPuMa screen and the application instantly picks up the image of that phone and searches for it on the internet and finally displays that information on the TaPuMa screen.
There is much in store for us than we have imagined, may be tomorrow we have the flying carpet of Aladdin, or a super computer to foresee the future like in Paycheck, or even a machine which transfers us into a different space much like the famous Matrix. Let’s keep our fingers crossed on how technology can change the wildest of dreams into reality.
Smart Technologies Smarter Homes!!
Authored By Maheep Gupta:
Have you ever noticed how technology is affecting our day to day lives? You might not even realize but we are actually surrounded by small yet smart technical marvels all over. In our homes be it a microwave, a television or a music system, all are smart technical wonders in one way or another. They have their own brain, however preliminary and basic, which lets them think, learn and do the actions which were not imaginable till few years back. Here we are not just talking about the electronic circuits and equipments but the smartness of these gadgets. A television these days can offer you reminders for your favorite show or record it when you are not there. How do you think that is possible? The washing machines can learn how actually you want to wash your clothes and manage the cycle on their own. Why? Coz it has a small brain of its own. These might look like small things but involves a very sophisticated circuitry which we call a microprocessor. In heart of all these smart appliances, there is this small chip or microprocessor which processes your instructions as per the given commands or how it has been programmed to do the things. These are the things which we didn’t even think of few years back but now we cannot imagine our lives without that.
That been said, this is just a starting and there is a long way to go. Have you ever noticed how internet has changed our way of living drastically? I consider myself fortunate enough that I am using the internet right from the days of its evolution in India and have seen it becoming an essential part of my life, but like I said this is still just a start, it has to go a long way when it will become an indispensable asset from our lives. We are talking here about the internet of the things. The days are not far when a computer or a smart device will become the center hub of our homes. All of the equipments will stay in a network and will be able to talk to each other, make decisions and to some extent control our lives. The idea is to have a connected mesh up of the things which will exchange data, analyze it and make decisions on the basis of this central pool of data. Think of the smart refrigerators which can determine the contents stored within and then can remind you of the items you need to shop coz you don’t have enough stock with you. That is very much possible and there are prototype versions of these but that is the 1st step. The ultimate stage is a connected world where refrigerator can automatically communicate with your local grocery store and order on your behalf for the things you need. Not only that, it will have the access to your medical records and thus order the right cheese or low fat butter or milk which is appropriate for your increasing cholesterol levels.
Think of the music systems which can play the tracks as per your mood which it will learn on the basis of your listening pattern or your day wide activities in your office or social circuit. Music will go wherever you are moving in your house and you won’t have to worry about increasing the volume levels coz you are in a different room from where your music system is. It will essentially know about your presence and control the inter-connected speakers throughout the house. Someone rings your doorbell and you will be able to see the guest right on your mobile phone screen. If its just a courier boy, you can sign the receipt from your mobile itself instead of going to the door and if it’s a guest, it will unlock the door for you. All these are not my weird imaginations but something where work is actually being done upon. The first step is essentially a wire free network where each and every thing is connected and the next step is of course even smarter chips and gadgets which will make this happen at an affordable cost.
The microprocessors have come a long way in past decade and now there are chips which work on really low power but can process thousands of instructions in fraction of seconds. Arm, which is a leading company in this domain, has developed a chip which can work on a small battery for 20 years without needing to replace it. Qualacom is another market leader and most of the mobile devices these days use a processor from the company. The future is of course interesting so stay tuned!!
MANAPPARAI 