China has humiliated India through the February, 11 agreement about North & South of Pangong Lake in Eastern Ladakh. One can understand that the territory in the joint possession of China & India (between finger 4 & finger 8) was earlier patrolled by both India & China and now both have agreed not to patrol it (thus making it as good as buffer zone) but why India agreed to do no activity in or to pull out from the territories of its exclusive possession between finger 3 & finger 4 and in Kailash range (where India went in the end of August 2020) ? This is a plain & simple military surrender of India to China which is already adversely affecting and will further adversely affect the Indian military position against China in other sectors too (if India does not become at least equal, if not better, economic power than China, without any further delay).
China achieved what it wanted namely to remove India from strategically & tactically important Kailash range without China so far pulling out from other areas (Depsang etc). China could inflict this humiliation on India for the simple reason that India is poor vis-a-vis China hence Indian military capacity is no match to China. But what is most unfortunate and shocking is that the military veterans of India (in the present situation of nationwide farmer’s agitation and especially when hundreds of thousands of agitating farmers have encircled India’s capital Delhi) are also not taking any interest in making India equally (if not more) economically powerful than China (though it can be done easily). The military veterans are doing nothing about it, as mentioned below [though they periodically carry out demonstrations (which they should) in Delhi etc on the issues of their personal interest like their pensions etc and are in active politics too including Ministers in the Union & State governments) :-
(1)- The people who are fully or partly dependent on income from agriculture are two thirds of India (farm laborers + 14.6 Crore land holding farmers hence about equal numbers of households) and 99.6 % are with marginal & small (up to 2 Hectares) and medium land holdings (up to 4 Hectares), hence economically humble and hundreds of thousands of farmers have committed suicide during last few decades due to nonremunerative prices of agriculture produce.
(2)- This is the reason the legally enforceable ‘Minimum Support Price’ (MSP) has become the first priority in on-going farmer’s agitation (because most of the farm produce are purchased by private players and they don’t pay equal to MSP) and the repeal of 3 newly legislate farm laws has been relegated to second priority (because as many leaders of agitating farmers have also said that with legally enforceable MSP these 3 farm laws will become meaningless).
(3)- But what many farmers are not trying to understand is that even the legally enforceable MSP will not solve the problems of the farmers because being economically humble they don’t have holding capacity & bargaining power and their fate will be like of poor laborers who despite ‘Minimum Wages Act’ do not get minimum wages as private contractors etc get their signatures on minimum wages but in fact give less than that.
(4)- Therefore the only solution to the problems of farmers is not only the legally enforceable MSP but a ‘Comprehensive Public Distribution System’ (CPDS) where the Government of India itself will purchase these MSP items (presently 23 which should be increased to about 40 including fruits, vegetables etc). This CPDS will require about 14 Lakh shops / outlets (one for every 1,000 people) all over India which will require a commensurate network of godowns, cold-storages, purchasing centers, transport facilities etc. This will require huge State-capital and competent Ministers to manage this CPDS efficiently.
(5)- As far as running this CPDS efficiently, if the Ministers can’t run a business efficiently then how will they run the country ? Hence the farmers should not listen to this excuse of the politicians. As far as as huge State-capital for financing this CPDS, it can easily be provided by the government if it recovers about 1,000 Lakh Crore income tax from about 10 Lakh fake farmers (45 % of more than 2,200 Lakh Crore and increasing) as discussed in Parliament also in 2016 as reported at https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Prominent-people-hiding-taxable-income-Jaitley/articleshow/51408323.cms .
(6)- The government is legally expected to recover this income tax as per section 276, 277 etc (and their sub-clauses) of the Income Tax Act (because for example a farmer can’t show hundred crore of profit from 1 hectare of farm-land as it can’t be agriculture income hence taxable especially when per Hectare agriculture produce and its maximum sale price is known). But like the Congress led earlier government the BJP led present government is also not recovering said about 1,000 Lakh Crore Income-tax due to the pressure of politically powerful these about 10 Lakh fake farmers.
(7)- The government does not understand that if income of economically humble farmers, the two thirds of India is increased then it will boost demand in the manufacturing and service sectors and which will tremendously boost Indian economy. This huge State-capital of about 1,000 Lakh Crore can be deployed profitably (almost no profit no loss) for other programs of the government (welfare, infrastructure etc) which will solve all the economic problems of India and will bring India economically at par with our neighbor China (which was almost equal to us in every respect up to eighties) but now has become a world power (causing formidable challenge to military of India in which mainly the children of farmers are giving their services).
(8)- Despite talks & slogans of ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ the agitating farmers are not demanding recovery of said Rs 1,000 Lakh Crore of Income tax though it will solve all the problems of Kisans & Jawans. The military veterans are also a part of this farmers agitation all across India but they are also behaving as irresponsible and give only lip service to sovereignty of India and are uninterested in a robust Indian State (with a political will to recover said huge Income tax from fake farmers).
(9)- The military veterans are not realizing that China will be the ultimate beneficiary the way farmer’s agitation is taking shape in India. In the short-duration agitations, the crowds / mobs can be effective but in prolonged nationwide agitations (as farmer’s are envisaging in pursuant to their electoral approach) only well organized groups can take it to its successful end. In the on-going farmer’s agitation (where political organizations are not directly participating in this agitation) the only other organizations left are the trade unions of farmers. Hence any trade union or group of trade unions which has more members will obviously have more influence & clout in this nationwide farmer’s agitation and this is precisely here that China will have a say in this matter through Communists of India, as mentioned at:-
https://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/opinion-details/3774 or
China will be the ultimate beneficiary of farmer’s agitation in India
(10)- It is expected from the military veterans that they will persuade rather constrain the leaders of the agitating farmers to give-up their said electoral approach and instead should carry out agitation and demonstration (by hundreds of thousands of agitating farmers at the border of Delhi) before Income Tax Office, the ITO, New Delhi for bringing pressure on the government for recovering income-tax of Rs 1,000 Lakh crore from about 10 Lakh fake farmers (who are criminally enjoying luxurious lives by misusing the name of the genuine & economically humble farmers) so that not only the said CPDS can be launched immediately but India can be made economic super power (equally rather more than China).
It is hoped that the military veterans will take the sovereignty of India seriously and will ensure (as mentioned above) that Rs 1,000 Trillion Income-tax is recovered from fake farmers which will solve all the economic & military problems of India and which will impart some meaning to ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’
Regards
Hem Raj Jain
(Author of ‘Betrayal of Americanism’)
Shakopee, MN, USA
