War on corruption akin to 1962 China conflict, says Prof Johl

Charu Chhibber

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 3

“The war on corruption is like the 1962 war against China. We were unprepared then, we are unprepared now.”

This was stated by Prof Sardara Singh Johl, internationally acclaimed agriculture economist, policy adviser, Padma Bhushan awardee and first Chancellor of the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (CUPB), during the first annual lecture of The Tribune National Security Forum at Panjab University here today. He was presiding over the lecture, ‘Defence at 70’, delivered by General VP Malik (retd), 19th Chief of Army Staff.

Also present on the occasion were Dr Harish Khare, editor-in-chief, The Tribune Group of Newspapers, and Gurbachan Jagat, former Governor of Manipur, former director-general of police and a trustee of The Tribune Trust.

Elaborating upon the point, Professor Johl, who also holds the distinction of being the first senior officer in the NCC, Punjab, said: “In 1962, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had made a mistake of ordering the Indian Army to throw out the Chinese without preparation for the attack. There was no logistics, no equipment, soldiers did not know where they were and as a result, we lost.”

He said the war on corruption is similar. “Before waging the war, we did not have sufficient currency, we did not take time to develop the logistics to deliver the currency.”

“Without adequate preparation and equipment, it is always a danger to start a war whether it is a monetary war or a war on the field,” he opined. Professor Johl termed any war as a failure of political diplomacy.

He quoted General Malik and emphasised that the importance of working together and keeping the morale of the forces high were of utmost importance.

“Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had given a very good solution to resolve the Pakistan problem. He said let us make the animosity between the two neighbours irrelevant by opening up the routes of business. Let people come and go. But unfortunately, we did not pursue that,” said Professor Johl.

He added as an economist, his approach was to give due importance to diplomatic strength and to avoid war as much as possible.

“There has to be coordination in diplomacy, only then can we be ready for war,” said the Padma Bhushan awardee. He added that internal governance and security must be made very efficient because a nation that is internally strong is strong externally as well.

“I hope better sense will dawn on the rulers of our nation. And I’m glad that The Tribune has initiated the series, which promises to impact us and make us better than we are today,” Professor Johl remarked.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Khare pointed out: “National security is no longer the subject to be discussed, calibrated and bifurcated on by distinguished generals and diplomats. It is extremely relevant to each of us.” He welcomed General Malik, Professor Johl and the gathering. Earlier, addressing the august gathering, Gurbachan Jagat introduced the key speaker of the evening, General Malik and Professor Johl.

He elaborated upon one of the biggest problems being faced by the country at the moment. “The problem in J&K is to get all forces to work towards achieving a common objective. All forces, including the Indian Army, CRPF, ITBP, Home Guards and Volunteer Forces are deployed there. There are egos functioning at all levels. To break this is our prime duty.”

He laid stress on the significance of the state, which he said was of paramount importance. He added that today’s security situation and security demands were not limited to territory or to the disputes of that nature. “Wars of tomorrow could be over water sharing or anything else. The economy of the country, its self-sufficiency and ability to last longer in harder times which war brings along, all these and more, Professor Johl will highlight,” Jagat said.