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By:

Abhijit Joshi

31 August 2024 at 10:09:24 am

When the Cockroach Enters Politics

Regardless of whether or not the CJP wins an election, its rise signals a changing relationship between young Indians and political power. It would be tempting to dismiss the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) as another internet curiosity destined to enjoy a brief moment of virality before disappearing into the digital ether. Politics, however, has a habit of taking jokes more seriously than their creators intended. Whether the CJP eventually becomes a political force, lends its energies to another...

When the Cockroach Enters Politics

Regardless of whether or not the CJP wins an election, its rise signals a changing relationship between young Indians and political power. It would be tempting to dismiss the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) as another internet curiosity destined to enjoy a brief moment of virality before disappearing into the digital ether. Politics, however, has a habit of taking jokes more seriously than their creators intended. Whether the CJP eventually becomes a political force, lends its energies to another party, survives as a pressure group or simply fades away is impossible to know. But its emergence has already exposed something worth watching: a section of young Indians is becoming increasingly comfortable turning political frustration into organised digital dissent. Edgy Satire The CJP began in the language of satire, irreverence and internet culture. Its appeal lies partly in refusing the solemnity with which conventional Indian politics often presents itself. Parties arrive with flags, slogans, manifestos and carefully choreographed leaders. The CJP arrived with a joke. Yet behind the joke is a familiar political instinct: the desire to puncture institutions that appear too comfortable, too self-important or too remote from the citizen. India has seen this impulse before, though usually in different forms. Political movements have repeatedly emerged from dissatisfaction with established parties, bureaucratic opacity or the sense that the political class speaks at citizens rather than with them. What is different now is the medium. A generation raised on social media does not necessarily distinguish between political communication, entertainment and satire. A meme can make an argument; a viral video can become a campaign; a joke can acquire a constituency. This is precisely why established parties should resist the urge to laugh too quickly. India’s political parties are still largely organised around structures inherited from another age: hierarchical leadership, local cadres, rallies, posters and television appearances. Young voters, meanwhile, inhabit a political ecosystem in which authority is fragmented and attention is scarce. They are accustomed to questioning institutions in public, challenging narratives instantly and moving between causes with remarkable speed. They may not want another party in the traditional mould. They may want politics itself to behave differently. Interesting Experiment The CJP therefore represents an interesting experiment, regardless of whether it survives electorally. Its first challenge is credibility. Satire is a powerful weapon against hypocrisy, but governing requires rather more than exposing it. It is relatively easy to ridicule politicians, bureaucracy or public policy. It is harder to propose workable alternatives, build an organisation, select candidates, raise money transparently and maintain internal discipline. Every anti-establishment movement eventually encounters the awkward transition from saying what is wrong to explaining what should replace it. That is where many insurgent political projects falter. The second challenge is endurance. Digital movements can acquire astonishing momentum and lose it almost as quickly. The internet rewards novelty, provocation and emotional intensity. Politics demands patience. A movement that depends too heavily on its ability to generate attention can find itself trapped by the very ecosystem that created it. Yesterday’s viral cause is easily displaced by today’s scandal, controversy or meme. Yet dismissing such movements because they are ephemeral would also be a mistake. Political influence does not necessarily require winning elections. A pressure group can alter the vocabulary of public debate; an online movement can force established parties to address issues they would rather avoid; a small organisation can become disproportionately influential if larger parties begin borrowing its language. This is perhaps the most interesting possibility for the CJP. Its ultimate significance may not lie in the number of seats it wins, but in the questions it persuades others to answer. That is also why its rise should be viewed in the wider context of India’s changing political electorate. Young Indians are not uniformly anti-establishment, nor are they naturally aligned with any particular ideology. But many are less deferential towards political authority than previous generations. They have access to more information, more competing narratives and more opportunities to organise themselves outside traditional institutions. They can be cynical, impatient and contradictory. They can also be intensely political. Traditional parties often misunderstand this generation by treating it as an audience to be targeted rather than a constituency to be engaged. A slick social-media campaign is not the same thing as listening. Young voters may enjoy memes, but that does not mean their political concerns are frivolous. Employment, education, housing, urban infrastructure, corruption and the quality of public institutions remain stubbornly material concerns. The CJP’s real test, then, is whether it can convert irreverence into relevance. If it can, India’s political parties may have to contend with something they are not accustomed to: political competition that does not begin in a party office, a caste network or a traditional ideological organisation, but on a phone screen. If it cannot, the CJP will join the long list of internet phenomena that briefly captured attention before vanishing. Either outcome would tell us something. For now, the cockroach has achieved the one thing every political movement seeks before it can hope to achieve anything else: people are talking about it. Whether it becomes a party, a pressure group, a political ally or merely a footnote remains uncertain. But the question has changed. The political establishment no longer needs to ask, “Who are these young people?” It needs to ask a more uncomfortable question: "What are they going to ask next?" (The writer is a political observer. Views personal.)

Indian Shipbuilding A Must Win Marathon

Shipbuilding

With a coastline of 7500 KM, it is hard to imagine, that for the first 20 years (1947-1967) India had no ‘shipping ministry’. In 1967 a Shipping ministry “coupled” with ROAD transport was established. Since then, this ministry has been on a name changing ride, not once, not twice but six times. In 2009 the “ROAD Transport and Highways” was de-coupled and ‘Shipping’ ministry was formed. Turning point came in 2015 with a clear maritime vision for 2030 and 2047. Ministry was re-christened, aptly to Ministry of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” in 2020.


Why is Shipbuilding important for a country?

a. A Shipyard becomes an opportunity hub and like a queen bee requires the support of an industrial colony to manufacture machinery and equipment.

b. National Shipyards support fleet renewal needs of the Navy.

c. Contributes to national GDP, increases inflow of FOREX.


Korea shipbuilding is 8% of GDP. Japan’s automobile industry is 2.9% of GDP. India’s shipbuilding a meagre 0.000578% of GDP. In context, India’s pharmaceutical industry, ranked third largest in the world is 1.72% of India’s GDP.


International Shipbuilding Market

The market is estimated to reach around USD 200 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.84%. While India is at bottom with 0.07% of world share, behind Philippines 1.5% and Vietnam 1%, however on the positive side, India has done well in taking care of its defence needs, with 37 of 39 Naval ships being built in India yards. Rear Admiral S Shrikhande researching on maritime as a Fellow at Wollongong University, Australia, says “Shipbuilding in India needs both, serious incentivisation and dogged determination and not harping on being a big ship breaking country. That Garden Reach shipyard has a $54 million order for merchant ships from a German owner, is a good sign.”


Were Shipyards of 20th century in Flight mode?

Prominent shipyards in India were built in the colonial period. Mazagon Dock 1774, Garden reach 1884, Hindustan shipyard 1941 to cater to British navy and merchant fleet needs. Cochin shipyard 1972, Adani Katupalli 2013, Reliance Naval and Engineering, Rajula Gujarat 1997 and others have limited capacity, hence a lot more work to do. Capt. Subhangshu Dutt (Singapore) a mariner and now a shipowner, says “GOI should hold hands in any collaboration till the marriage with the foreign entity is reasonably stable. He also suggests that “new shipbuilding sites should be given to existing successful shipyards since they have decades of experience and talent. Consortium of 3 or more parties may also be good idea”.


Shipbuilding GOLD

As per SPLASH report the demand for LCO2 carriers could reach 2,500 ships by 2050. As per other estimates, 40% of global fleet of ships could have wind propulsion by 2050. A surge in such vessels is due to an unparallel waves of decarbonization in the shipping industry. Demand for ships with ‘carbon neutral’ badges, such as Dual fuel, Wind assisted, Nuclear fuel ships, Hydrogen powered ships, Liquified CO2 (LCO2) carrier, is outstripping supply. A must in the ‘bucket list’ of every Shipyard. Pinning down a standard ROI in shipbuilding is not easy, but experts suggest it could range from 4% to 15% for the high demand ‘carbon neutral’ ships. While an LNG new build vessel could cost US$ 250 million upwards.


International collaboration

On China’s shipbuilding success story, Manoj Pandalanghat (Singapore) a mariner and ship owner believes that “China has around 50 active Shipyards. Each have a few large dry docks. In each dock two or more large vessels are built simultaneously. Thus, a single yard is able to roll out 2/3 vessels/month, 36 vessels/year and 50 shipyards roll out 1800 vessels/year”.


China could be a jaldi-5, but India needs a sturdy Mount Fiji. Besides technology, Japanese bring the most important hand baggage of soft-skills and culture, essential for success from keel laying to delivery. Maruti’s is a standing example.


Food for thought for New Delhi

a. Expertise: Hire Naval Architects and shipbuilding experts with current international experience.

b. Government assistance: Land, Financial support, subsidies and timebound clearances.

c. Monitoring: PMO should monitor the first 5 to 10 years till Shipbuilding takes-off on this long-haul flight to destination 2047.


India’s Shipbuilding is expected to grow to $237 billion by year 2047. On a back of the envelope calculations this works out to about 4% of India’s 2047 projected GDP of $ 5 trillion. While cars are driven on roads, however the Ministry of roads and transport has little to do with “Automobile manufacturing”. On a similar note, ‘Shipbuilding’ as an industry has little to do with Ports, Shipping and Waterways, thus it may be worthwhile to consider a separate ‘Ship-building’ wing in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways headed by a dynamic cabinet rank minister. Since 2047 targets are stiff and an uphill task, so in all probabilities, the officials in Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways are likely to push beneath the carpet, delays and failures of Shipbuilding with sweet success stories of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” and if this does happen then India will not only miss the Shipbuilding bus of 21st century but a lot more from a national security and strategic perspective.


(The author is a Shipping and Marine consultant. Member Singapore Shipping Association and empaneled with IMO as a specialist consultant. Views personal.)

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