The Kashmir factor in UK–India relations

Since the revocation of Articles 370 and 35A by India in August 2019, the Kashmir issue has become an obstacle in India–UK relations. Rahul Roy-Chaudhury explains how the new UK government could provide opportunities to ‘de-hyphentate’ relations between India and Pakistan.
 
Despite the many strengths of the UK-India bilateral relationship, there remains an ‘elephant in the room’ – the Pakistan/Kashmir issue. The Indian security establishment perceives the UK government as favouring Pakistan diplomatically and being critical of India’s governance over Jammu & Kashmir. But, the UK government denies such a bias and maintains that Kashmir is a bilateral dispute between India and Pakistan. Crucially, Boris Johnson’s new post-Brexit government could seek to further ‘de-hyphenate’ its India-Pakistan relationship. On 6 February, it announced that Sir Philip Barton will be the next British High Commissioner to India; as the first British High Commissioner to have served earlier in India, Sir Philip takes up this appointment with considerable experience on security issues.
 
Kashmir in the UN Security Council
 
On 16 August 2019, China made the first of three attempts in the UNSC to criticise India’s controversial decision of 5 August 2019 to revoke Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution and end the semi-autonomous special status of Jammu and Kashmir and merge it fully into the Indian Union as two union territories. It is alleged that the UK supported China (and Pakistan) in calling for such an informal session as well as supporting a formal UNSC statement. Although the British High Commission in New Delhi formally denied both these allegations, Indian security officials remain unconvinced. In the event, an informal closed session on Kashmir took place in the UNSC for the first time in nearly 50 years, but failed to come up with a joint statement to the press; the Chinese and Pakistani envoys subsequently briefed the media.
 
However, in December, another Chinese attempt to discuss Kashmir at the UNSC was foiled by the UK, along with the US, France and Russia. Although a discussion on Kashmir took place in the UNSC in mid-January 2020, the UK, along with the US, Germany and France, made it clear that the UNSC was not the forum to raise the Kashmir dispute, which was a bilateral matter for India and Pakistan to resolve.
 
The Indian foreign policy establishment also perceives UK parliamentary debates on Kashmir, most recently in September 2019 and January 2020, as a ‘victory’ for Pakistan in a classic ‘zero-sum’ game. But, this should not be seen to be the case; British MPs of diverse ethnic origins represent diverse political causes for their constituents, without any official UK government endorsement.
 
More important are the official UK statements made during these debates. On 10 February 2020, for example, Heather Wheeler MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Asia and the Pacific), stated: “HMG’s longstanding position is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution on Kashmir, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people…it is not for the UK to prescribe a solution or to act as a mediator”.
 
At the same time, the UK continues to raise concerns over the human rights situation across India, including calling for ongoing restrictions and detentions in Jammu and Kashmir to be lifted as soon as possible. One can assume there is also private official UK concern over the protests taking place in India over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and their implications for India as a democratic and secular state.
 
The Pakistan factor
 
The Indian security establishment remains concerned of the series of anti-India protests by Sikh and Kashmiri separatist groups that have taken place recently in London (including the violent anti-India demonstrations outside the Indian High Commission on 15 August and 3 September 2019). But, the UK continues to support India in calling for Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack to justice; to take decisive and concerted actions against Pakistan-based terror outfits including the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM); and in May 2019, the UK, along with the US and France, successfully co-sponsored a resolution in the UN to declare JeM leader Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist.”
 
Although the Indian security establishment believes the UK could do far more than it is currently doing to curb cross-border terrorism against India emanating from Pakistan, the UK feels Indian perceptions of its influence over the Pakistan army and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) are exaggerated. Notably, the official Pakistani narrative is that the UK has a distinct ‘pro-India bias,’ as it has not been sufficiently critical of India’s actions on Kashmir, post 5 August.
 
‘De-hyphenated’ relationship
 
The UK’s ‘enhanced strategic dialogue’ with Pakistan will continue to focus on intelligence sharing, security and military cooperation, stability in Afghanistan and trade relations, keeping in view the influence and impact of the 1.5-million Pakistani-origin diaspora (now, reportedly, nearly as large as the India-origin diaspora) on UK domestic politics. The UK will also remain a ‘safe haven’ for Pakistani political leaders of all hues.
 
At the same time, India has a much larger multi-faceted and multi-stakeholder relationship with the UK focusing on trade and investment, Indian-origin diaspora and cultural relations, technology, and security and defence. In view of the unique opportunities and advantages for India in its relations with the UK post Brexit, including on a future trade deal, it would be short-sighted for New Delhi to perceive the UK’s relations with Pakistan on an emotional basis, or indeed, as a ‘zero-sum’ game for India. Indeed, pragmatically, these do not directly affect India’s security, even though they may not always be aligned with India’s immediate interests (as in Afghanistan).
 
Moreover, Boris Johnson’s new post-Brexit government could provide further opportunities to ‘de-hyphenate’ relations between India and Pakistan. It will also be far less influenced by the traditional Labour-leading Pakistan-origin diaspora. Moreover, two of its top three Cabinet posts are held by British Indians, Rishi Sunak as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Priti Patel as Home Secretary; and four of seven Indian-origin Conservative party MPs are Cabinet Ministers/attend Cabinet meetings.
 
This commentary was originally published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
 
Rahul Roy-Chaudhury
March 11, 2020

source https://indiaoutbound.org/the-kashmir-factor-in-uk-india-relations/

India’s tryst with the startup ecosystem

Startups, both in India and other parts of the world, have attracted considerable traction over the last couple of decades. From government to academic institutions to media, all are overtly focused on startups and entrepreneurship. And for the right reasons, it seems. To lay credence to this is the fact that massive wealth creation happened in the ecosystem, with figures close to $2.8trillion in economic value. This is at par with a G7 economyand is bigger than the annual GDP of the United Kingdom.
 
Interestingly, the Indian startup space has evolved over the last two decades. While startups got conceived as early as 2000s, the ecosystem was nascent for a long time, as only a few investors were active and there existed only a handful of support organizations, including incubators and accelerators. But the last decade has witnessed significant activity on multiple fronts, including the setup of new startups, influx of global investors and capital inflows, development of regulatory infrastructure, global mergers, acquisitions and globalisation. As the vision for a $5trillion-dollar economy in India is laid out, it is amply evident that start-ups will be one of the strongest force-multipliers of this economy.
 
For instance, the recent Budget 2020 is replete with favourable instances and policies. Besides an adequate focus on developing the tech infrastructure, which saw investments in machine learning, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, the budget introduced measures aimed at mainstreaming the startup economy. Measures such as deferment of the tax incidence on the Employee Stock Options (ESOP), tax holiday on profits for startups, among others are welcome moves. Further, the fact that these measures are applicable for companies who qualify under section 80-IAC means that it will allow more startups to get incorporated, expand their operations, hire more talent and in turn boost employment prospects. Indiais already home to more than 40,000 startups and 33 unicorns and qualifies as the third largest market for startups.
 
Nevertheless, India’s policy approach does suffer from certain shortcomings. One,it mostly focuses on bringing more people into start-ups and in turn, encourages need-based rather than opportunity-based entrepreneurship. This translates into putting emphasis on self-employment rather than large and scalable ventures. As our policy prioritises on bringing in more ventures that are past the startup phase, they often fail to hit the spot due to lack of working capital and resources available to the startups.
 
Second, in general there exists an information asymmetry between the founders of startups and the customers for whom they aim to build products. Given the prevalence of different living environments in India, it is difficult to envisage a startup that would cater to a pan-India audience. Other significant challenges include certain regulatory hurdles and access to the market by startups.
 
A broader emphasis is often placed on innovation and developing R&D capacities. But, India still suffers from a maze of laws and regulations that stifle an entrepreneur’s options to start a business here. So, to foster the growth of startups, we need to comprehensively create a self-sustaining cluster of innovation economies, for instance, through the Smart City mission and innovation labs. Also, policy reforms that improve economic conditions as well as investments in physical and digital infrastructure are expected to benefit startups. Along with simplification of existing policies, the government should also aim to reduce structural inefficiencies and pave the development of the ecosystem.
 
With the proliferation of smartphones and technology and the prevalence of a rich demographic dividend, the opportunities in the startup space remain unparalleled. Another catalyst for innovation is urbanization. From a consumerist point of view, this creates a young middle-class with increased spending power and a heightened interest in digital innovation. The large diversity along with challenges in the social sphere such as education, health etc. makes a strong case for a rich economy of products and services. While the opportunities are immense, the challenges are many. Hence, the path to being a global player in technology and innovation would require a combination of government support, funding from both domestic and international firms to enhance India’s position in the startup space.
 
India Outbound
March 9, 2020

source https://indiaoutbound.org/indias-tryst-with-the-startup-ecosystem/

Woes of the Home Secretary Priti Patel

Lutyens London: A View from the Westminster Bubble

In an unprecedented move, the Permanent Secretary of the Home Office, Sir Philip Rutnam resigned last week making a statement to the BBC (right on time before the Sunday columnists finalised their pieces for the next day’s papers) accusing the Home Secretary Priti Patel of bullying and being abusive not only to him but also to the wider staff at the Home Office. Refusing a financial settlement from the Cabinet Office, Sir Philip will be taking the government to court citing “constructive dismissal.”
 
Since then, other reports of bullying by the Home Secretary in her previous stints as minister, in other government departments have surfaced. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has backed his Home Secretary although he has instructed the Cabinet office to ascertain facts around the issues of ministerial misconduct. The Conservatives have rallied around the embattled Home Secretary, while the Labour party and other opposition parties along with the “left” media have already judged Priti Patel of being vicious and guilty.
 
However, there is a tinge of hypocrisy in how this is being played out in an openly partisan basis.
 
Usually, publications such as the Guardian and its columnists would throw in their support behind a non-public school-educated woman of colour, against the accusations of a public school and Oxbridge educated senior civil servant who is a Knight of the realm. However, Priti Patel is a Conservative Brexiteer and has no time to play the victim card of race or gender. Hence, she is ‘unworthy’ of the support from the liberal left. Dianne Abbott, the Shadow Home Secretary and other senior Labour figures have called for Patel’s removal from office. However, the conservatives have argued that mere allegations of this kind must not lead to a politician being removed from one of the great offices of the state.
 
This position exposes the Tories to criticisms of hypocrisy as well. The party’s opposition, which this columnist shares, to erstwhile Speaker of Commons John Bercow’s elevation to the House of Lords is supposedly based on the reports of bullying and abusing his staff. There are indeed serious allegations against the former Speaker, however, critics suggest that it was due to John Bercow’s role in blocking the expressed public will to exit the European Union in the last Parliament.
 
By all reports, Patel is a good Home Secretary focused on securing our borders and keeping our streets safe. She also enjoys the confidence of the Prime Minister and the Tory backbenches. However, bullying and abuse at the work place just as much as in the school playground are scourges that must be eradicated ruthlessly. Any minister facing those charges must be thoroughly investigated and if proven true should be sacked. Until then the minister in question must be allowed to serve the public, following the common legal maxim “innocent until proven guilty.”
 
That is exactly what Prime Minister Boris Johnson has done and it is time for all sides to respect the process and not prejudge the situation.
 
India Outbound
March 4, 2020
 
 

source https://indiaoutbound.org/woes-of-the-home-secretary-priti-patel/