On Wednesday, India and Thailand decided to work closely in building up their infrastructural linkages, specifically with a 1,360 kilometer highway passing through Burma. Also, with an eye on China, India is all set to secure some strategic leverage in the Andaman Sea as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered his visiting Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra support in the construction of a deep sea port at Dawei on the southwestern coast of Burma, a country which figures prominently in the Chinese “String of Pearls” strategy of developing assets in the Indian Ocean region.

India’s rationale for engaging Thailand and honoring the Thai premier as the “chief guest” for this year’s Indian Republic Day parade is to make its “maritime neighbor,” as Singh described Thailand, into one that is physically connected. No deadline has been set for making the promised India-Burma-Thailand Trilateral Highway a reality. The two sides need to set aside political hyperbole and get theproject completed as early as possible, perhaps as early as 2015 or 2016 in mind.

India and Thailand have injected a new vigor into their bilateral trade in recent years, with bilateral trade increasing six-fold over the past decade. The current bilateral trade figureof $7.5 billion is itself set to double by 2015. The Dawei port project would provide a shorter shipping route and would give India quicker access to Southeast Asian markets under the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement.

Singh and Shinawatra also agreed on the importance of preventing transnational crime and resolved to improve bilateral cooperation in security and sharing intelligence. By increasing the frequency of their interactions and increasing the amount of bilateral assistance, their law enforcement agencies are likely to forge stronger relations.

Last, but not the least, Thailand pledged support to India’s candidature for permanent membership of the United Nations’ Security Council.

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Pachauri, a TV journalist, was appointed last week with a brief to focus on social media, which has been utilized to good effect to bash the government by social activist Anna Hazare and his team since last year. Several ministries in the United Progressive Alliance government, including the Ministry of External Affairs, have been on Twitter and Facebook for quite some time. The MEA, in particular, used social networking sites during the Libyan crisis last year, with then-Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao using these sites to inform the world about the evacuation status of Indians who were stranded in Libya.

The PMO’s first tweet, uploaded Sunday, was: “‘You make all of us proud’ – PM tells young bravehearts at Bravery Award function.” The tweet also had links to Singh’s speech and photographs of the event. Pachauri is reported to have told PMO staffers manning the Twitter account to give near real-time updates on the prime minister’s program, arguing that the public should know what their head of government is doing for them. Pachauri’s move is also aimed at helping the media follow what is going on with the prime minister’s work. Sources said the PMO would soon be launching other social media accounts, including Facebook.

Pachauri’s predecessor, Harish Khare, also a journalist, resigned last week in exasperation over Pachauri’s induction. Although Khare’s job title was media advisor to the prime minister, Khare was frustrated that Pachauri was asked to report directly to the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Pulok Chatterjee, thus creating a parallel power center in the PMO.

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While his chastised team members have begun a raucous campaign in the five poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur by publicly stating that they aren’t for or against any particular party, Hazare himself has attacked the United Progressive Alliance government like never before.

Three weeks after his fast in Mumbai over the Lokpal (ombudsman) Bill issue ended in a whimper, a livid Hazare broke his silence on Sunday, penning another strongly worded letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in which he leveled two serious claims against the head of the government for: “betraying” the country, and “controlling” parliament. But unlike with previous letters, which were addressed only to the prime minister, Hazare sent a copy of the letter to Congress leader and heir apparent Rahul Gandhi, main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Gadkari and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.

Hazare also indulged in an unprecedented risk by calling Home Minister P. Chidambaram “corrupt” and questioning why the government acceded to Rahul’s demand to give constitutional status to the Lokpal, while ignoring Team Anna’s demand to include the Citizen’s Charter in the proposed legislation.

Hazare’s attack on Chidambaram revolves around a key demand of Team Anna, namely liberating the Central Bureau of Investigation from the government’s control. “Is it because it can protect corrupt leaders like P. Chidambaram or is it because you can arm-twist small political parties to garner support for your government?” Hazare wrote. “Do you support this logic? Two years back, you yourself said that the CBI is misused by all ruling parties. If that is so, then why not free it?”

A day before Hazare sent the letter, Team Anna started its campaign in the BJP-ruled Uttarakhand – the only state in the country to have implemented Hazare’s Jan Lokpal Bill without changes – and appointed a Lokayukta, bringing the entire state cabinet under his sphere of influence. This was the brainchild of new Chief Minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri, who was elevated to the position in September.

The move indicated the BJP’s belief that offense is the best form of defense. But Uttarakhand stands in sharp contrast with another BJP-ruled state, Gujarat, where there has been no Lokayukta for years. Gujarat Gov. Kamla Beniwal appointed a Lokayukta for Gujarat last year, an appointment that the government of Chief Minister Narendra Modi challenged in the High Court. The Modi government lost that challenge, but appealed to the Supreme Court, where the matter now rests.

The problem for Hazare is that the timing of the letter to the prime minister can’t be ignored in light of all these developments. And the reality is that it demonstrates once again that Hazare and his team have understood little about Indian politics, despite their recent inclination to meddle.

When Hazare began his anti-corruption campaign last April, the whole nation was mesmerized, and the story of his rise continued for months, largely because of strategic blunders committed by the UPA government. But now, the average Indian feels cheated because although Team Anna’s cause was undoubtedly a noble one, the group’s conduct has raised questions about Hazare’s judgment – he should have weeded out the problem voices when he had the chance.

In the end, Hazare may have overplayed his hand. And the people of India are ultimately the losers. 

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This was evident from the coverage in the Indian media, both print and electronic, of Noda’s visit. Had the U.S. or Chinese presidents been calling on New Delhi, the Indian media would have been all over the visit. Instead, there was little interest.

Although India and Japan have forged ahead on their push toward a global strategic partnership over the past five years, the two countries’ citizens seem to have little awareness of the significance of relations between Asia’s number two and three economies.

This is unfortunate. With the rise of China, and with the United States pivoting back to the Asia-Pacific, relations between India and Japan are taking on particular significance.  And with Noda’s India visit taking place less than two weeks after the first-ever India-Japan-U.S. Trilateral Dialogue in Washington DC, there’s clearly a broader geostrategic issue at play.

Meanwhile, on December 28, Indian Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma, in his address to a business delegation led by Nado in New Delhi, said Indo-Japan bilateral trade would double to reach an impressive $25 billion by 2014. During the visit, the Japanese government also committed $4.5 billion to the implementation of the $100 billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project. Sharma described 2011 as “a watershed year” in Indo-Japan relations, during which the two countries signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Japan, meanwhile, also pledged to help boost the plunging Indian rupee through a $15 billion currency swap deal.

Still, it wasn’t all plain sailing. For example, the Japanese didn’t take a step towards the civilian nuclear energy cooperation deal that India has long been seeking. The Japanese are well aware that this step would take the strategic partnership to a new level, but with the events surrounding Japan’s nuclear accident last year, it appears the Japanese government’s hands are tied.

Before the two Asian powers intensify their bilateral relationship further, it would be advisable for them to invest in more people-to-people contacts so that the two countries can develop a better understanding of each other. Both countries also need to do a better job of explaining to their citizens why improving ties is so important. 

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Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Singh said that his government doesn’t believe China is planning to attack India, observing instead that the Sino-Indian border has remained “by and large” peaceful despite some intrusions by Chinese forces.

The comments are the clearest statement yet of the government’s position, and come following an ugly behind-the-scenes diplomatic spat that resulted in the cancellation of the latest round of Special Representatives-level boundary talks that were scheduled to be held in New Delhi. The Indian side is reported to have cancelled the meeting after China pressured the Singh government to block the Dalai Lama from speaking at a conference being in held in New Delhi, or else halt the conference altogether.

“Our government doesn’t share the view that China plans to attack India,” Singh said during Question Hour after Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav stunned the House by claiming that he had information that China had made preparations to attack India, had marked areas close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) from where the Chinese attack would be launched, and that the Chinese attack was “imminent.”

Yadav, a former defense minister, also said China had diverted the Brahmaputra River. The prime minister sought to allay Yadav’s fears on both counts, adding that he had no information to suggest that the Brahmaputra had been diverted by China.

Singh explained that the United Progressive Alliance government was in touch with Beijing about rescheduling the 15^th round of dialogue over the boundary issue, and said that although there had been some incursions by the Chinese, that these were being handled at the level of area commander of the two militaries.

In response to a supplementary question, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said talks will continue with the Chinese to resolve all outstanding issues and that the two sides were exploring mutually convenient dates for the next round of boundary talks. Krishna confirmed to the House that China had expressed concern over the Dalai Lama organizing a global Buddhist congregation in India and that Beijing wanted India to either prevent the Tibetan spiritual leader from participating, or cancel the event altogether. He said, however, that India had informed China that it wouldn’t interfere with the conference.

Singh’s reassurances follow remarks on December 2 by Indian Navy Chief Nirmal Verma, who told a press conference that Chinese submarines with long-range nuclear capable missiles are a matter of concern for India. Verma also singled out the threat from China’s Dong Feng 21D, an anti-aircraft carrier ballistic missile. He said the Indian Navy is working to fill any gaps in its defenses and said the service was in the midst of a massive upgrading program.

Singh’s assurances aside, Indian military planners have expressed growing concern over the pace of Chinese military infrastructure development along the LAC. This, Indian officials say, has forced India to boost its own deployment along the LAC, moving from a defensive to offensive posture.

The Cabinet Committee of Security, India’s top body for government strategic, security and defense issues, is about to clear a $12 billion proposal to deploy about 100,000 more troops along the LAC. New Delhi has already deployed between 240 and 300 fighter aircraft in the eastern sector, including Arunachal Pradesh. 

The prime minister’s statement is a welcome effort to ease tensions and should go some way to taking the heat out of some of the recent rhetoric. It can only be hoped that China will now follow up with a similarly positive statement at the highest level.

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Straws in the wind suggest that the government may finally agree to offer two major concessions: bringing the prime minister as well as the 5.7 million strong junior bureaucracy of the central government under the ambit of the bill, with some safeguards. The bill will be moved in parliament on December 20, allowing lawmakers just two days to deliberate on the legislation before the winter session ends.

The UPA government is under immense pressure on the Lokpal issue from social activist Anna Hazare  and virtually the entire opposition, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Left parties and now the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Hazare has already threatened to start a new and much bigger protest at New Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan from December 27 following his one-day fast at the weekend.

The core Congress leadership is reported to have already met to discuss the issue, with Sonia Gandhi and Singh convening a meeting before UPA allies were invited to fine tune the Lokpal Bill to assist with its passage.

While the BJP has threatened to move an amendment motion if their demands are not met over the bill, the BSP has already indicated it won’t support the proposed legislation in its current form. BSP supreme leader and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has accused the UPA government of dithering on bringing a strong Lokpal bill because of its likely effect on the Congress Party.

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One highlight of the day was that opposition leaders from parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Samajwadi Party, Telugu Desam and the Shiromani Akali Dal offered their views on the bill, and assured Hazare that parliament would be passing a strong piece of legislation. However, they also advised him not to expect all points of his Jan Lokpal Bill to get through.

Hazare ended his fast with a long, aggressive speech that took potshots at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. According to IBN Live, Hazare called the prime minister “weak and powerless” and singled out Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram for allegedly conspiring to put down his movement and for throwing him in Tihar Jail. He also lashed out, again, at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of pressuring the parliamentary standing committee to dilute the Lokpal Bill’s provisions.

“Rahul Gandhi is a young man. I have nothing against him. He dreams of becoming prime minister, but he has to do a lot for that,” NDTV reported Hazare as saying. “He has to make sacrifices. It’s not enough to spend a night in a hut. He must spend many nights in a hut.”

The 74-year-old crusader also made a strong pitch for the decentralizing power by empowering village panchayats (councils). He said panchayats are superior to parliament and state assemblies and that parliament and state assemblies have no right to take a decision with respect to a village without obtaining the express permission of the village panchayat. In addition, he told his supporters that he had written a letter to Singh demanding that all donations to political parties, even a single rupee, should be audited.

Hazare threatened to intensify his anti-corruption protests by risking arrest if the government failed to do what he is asking, adding that it was up to the government to ensure that he doesn’t have to restart his agitation from December 27, as settled on by Team Anna.

“We will take this agitation into the new year,” he said. “It will be such a new year that our country has not witnessed for the last 64 years.”

The BJP point of view, as articulated by Arun Jaitley, was significant. Jaitley was at complete variance with Team Anna on the issue of putting the Central Bureau of Investigation under Lokpal, a demand that Hazare has been extremely vocal about. Still, the BJP leader advocated the need for freeing the CBI’s investigative powers from government supervision.

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Singh had already last week attacked former Union Minister Sukhram when the 86-year-old ex-telecoms minister was sentenced to five years imprisonment for corruption. Singh reportedly brandished a small knife and expressed regret that he wasn’t carrying his kirpan (a long knife that Sikhs often carry on their person).

The controversy was fuelled further a few hours later, when sound bite hungry TV reporters asked Gandhian social activist Anna Hazare for his reaction to Pawar getting slapped. Hazare laughingly asked: “One slap only?” before walking away. The comment sparked widespread condemnation and has painted the 74-year-old anti-corruption campaigner in a poor light. Hazare sought to wriggle out of this repeatedly televised remark, saying that actually he was simply trying to confirm how many times Pawar had been slapped, and whether he had been injured. Uncharacteristically, Hazare also said he was willing to apologize to Pawar.

The Slapgate scandal continued to be felt in parliament today as condemnation of the attack among lawmakers cut across party lines. Perhaps more importantly, a large number of MPs from parties including the Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) castigated Hazare for his intemperate remarks.

Such criticism of Hazare is unprecedented, and has a number of implications. One is that Hazare is not seen as the second Gandhi his supporters would like to believe he is. Complicating things for Hazare is the fact that Slapgate follows another controversial statement only a few days ago, when Hazare suggested that those who consume alcohol should be beaten up. Second, the latest furor underscores the reality that Hazare does not speak for the entire country, despite the tone of his pronouncements.

The Pawar episode couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for the UPA government, as it gives it an opportunity to close ranks with its ally, the NCP. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lost no time in telephoning Pawar, condemning the attack and expressing his solidarity with Pawar.

The impromptu parliamentary debate on Slapgate, meanwhile, focused on another foible in the Indian system: the electronic media’s fixation with trying to improve their Television Rating Points. Many MPs assailed the media for blowing things out of proportion and sensationalizing the event by showing the clip hundreds of time.

Certainly, the incident has given the country some food for thought over how both the media and Hazare have been conducting themselves. It’s ironic that while the media was quick to inflate Hazare’s importance by jumping on the activist’s bandwagon, it may now be the undoing of his reputation.

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India’s nuclear liability laws were the focus of talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Bali on November 18. Singh did a lot of explaining to Obama on the issue, telling him that India had “gone some way to responding to concerns of American companies and within the four corners of the law of the land, we are willing to address any specific grievances.” But the problem is that the Americans are unconvinced. 

Several global atomic energy companies have registered their protest against the tough Indian nuclear liability law. Indeed, following the passage of the law, some potential suppliers have raised concerns mainly relating to the application of the “operators’ right of recourse” as provided in Section 17. Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V. Narayanasamy had told the Lok Sabha in August  that the government was aware of these difficulties, and was taking “necessary action to implement India’s nuclear energy program, including nuclear power projects in technical cooperation with other countries.”

India’s new rules effectively limit liability on foreign suppliers to less than $300 million, while time constraints are imposed on claimants seeking compensation. But companies like GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Westinghouse argue, not unjustifiably, that international norms put the onus on the operator of nuclear power plants to maintain safety, not the suppliers of equipment. The United States and many other countries have therefore been pressing India to bring its civil nuclear liability law in conformity with international conventions.

Importantly, Singh has faced stiff opposition from all major opposition parties on the right and left over the prospect of diluting the nuclear liability laws, making changes nigh impossible. This means that the logjam will continue, and that as a result, there will be hardly any takers in the $100 billion Indian nuclear market.

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