Initially, when Brazil, Russia, India and China got together at New York City in September 2006 and thought of pooling all resources for creating a better life for their citizens and formed an organization titled BRIC, the intention was primarily to focus on economic development. All these four nations were, at that juncture of history, considered to be on par in their respective economic development. Next,these countries formally met again at Yekaterinburg, Russia on 16 June 2009 and launched BRIC as an organization aimed at creating a great economic force that could, possibly, propel the initial four participating nations as well as other countries to greater economic development and all round prosperity for the peoples. South Africa joined this group in 2010 and the name was changed to BRICS. Representing nearly 3.6 billion population on this earth, all these countries are distinguished by their large, sometimes fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional affairs.
The idea behind the formation of this international forum was and is still very clear. With no ambiguity left in its purpose, it was considered a forum that a nation like India could use to get double promotion in its economic and other growth parameters.
These five countries are reputed to have had a nominal combined GDP of US$16.6 trillion equivalent to approximately 22% of the gross world product. Sadly, in the 9th Summit held at Xiamen in China earlier this week, India seemed to be the only country that had lost its bearing. Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi seemed to have gone gung ho in influencing the other countries to tweak the agenda to include Terrorism as a prime subject. China, in a smart move, seemed to have played along to create an international image that it has supported India while in reality breathing down our necks at Doklam. Meanwhile, it has virtually succeeded in tearing Bhutan away from India, maybe for ever. Yet, after all that we saw happen in those three days at Xiamen, it is time for Indians to realize where exactly we are headed in the international arena.
This BRICS summit did give us a golden opportunity to even out on the OBOR grouping that India has kept itself aloof from, maybe rightly so. Unfortunately, historical time, social and economic opportunities do not come again and again for a race or nation. Especially in the 21st century, India has to play a smarter game if it indeed desires to catch up with the rest of the world in all the spheres that modern human race and its survival depends on. We can no longer claim that our environmental damages due to growth be paid for developed nations. Gone are the days of food and financial aid from donor countries. No one is interested to invest in India if we ourselves are unwilling to invest in our future. We cannot carry on being unaware of what we need to do. In other words, our priorities must change with the changing times.
Our obsession with Pakistan, BJP’s Islamophobia and our citizens living like frogs in wells will not bring about deliverance. We need to ask questions to ourselves. Are we truly bothered with inpidual terrorists hiding in Pakistan that we forget all we aim to achieve? Have the recent deaths of hundreds of infants in our country not awakened us to our non existent health care system? Has the education system not collapsed in India? What good are our IITs, IIMs and IISERs if basic primary education cannot be imparted to the bulk of our children? It is an irrefutable truth that India’s social indicators have gone for a toss. Except a certain section of the rich and upper middle class, the majority of the country’s population is sinking below sub human existence.
It must be noted that terrorism as was known a decade or so ago has been gradually declining. With petroleum prices dipping in the Mid East because of the US and other western nations investing time and energy for alternative fuels, the Moslem terror outfits have been running out of financial strength.present day terror is fast shrinking to inpidual gunmen on shooting sprees in night clubs or a single truck driver mowing down a few people in a crowded walkway. We certainly have not seen organized simultaneous terror attacks like yesteryears. Times have probably changed for those desperadoes too.
With this background, it is difficult to understand the prime agenda of our Prime Minister Modi at the recently concluded BRICS summit. Whether India, by forcing the other four nations to accept terrorism as a major challenge, has made a great stride in its efforts at all round economic growth or whether, by this insistence, it has amplified its irrelevance in the growth of the other participating nations is for the future to tell us.