History is replete with the stories of great leaders who have led their nations to higher heights and fulfilled their dreams of doing so. At the same time, there is no dearth of examples of leaders who have led their nations astray and fled the country when the chips were down.
In modern times, the name of Singapore’s leader, Lee Kuan Yew (born September 16, 1923, and died March 23, 2015), comes to the fore. The success story of Singapore under a somewhat authoritarian rule appears to be a Hollywood movie. On August 9, 1965, through a unanimous Parliamentary vote, Malaysia removed Singapore, and it had to stand on its own feet. The tiny state was strategically located in the Malay Peninsula, dominating the Straits of Malacca; however, it was deficient in land, water, and resources. The answer came from the leadership of Lee, who concentrated on education, nation-building, and capacity development, laying the foundations for a robust economy and making the best use of its strategic location for the world’s trade and shipping routes. Today, Singapore has one of the highest per capita incomes, the world’s busiest port, and the world’s best airport.
The successors of Manmohan Singh did not continue with his political and economic philosophy and have led the country into a sham democracy
Contrarily, Saddam Hussein, who ruled Iraq for nearly three decades with an iron hand, led his country to ruin with his decision to invade a small brotherly neighbour, Kuwait, in 1991. The decision not only led to the destruction of Iraq but also led to the US maintaining its presence in the Middle East, perhaps permanently.
Closer to home, initially as Finance Minister and then as Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh transformed an inward-looking India into a shining and rising state. India, under Manmohan Singh, was widely regarded as a secular state that opened its economy for global trade and placed the country on the world map as a technology hub. What Manmohan Singh did in India was similar to what Deng Xiaoping did in China after Mao. Deng opened China to investments by global players to bring the country out of abject poverty. All subsequent leaders of China have religiously followed Deng’s model of liberal economy, while maintaining strict political control of the Communist Party of China (CCP).
However, the same did not happen in India. The successors of Manmohan Singh did not continue with his political and economic philosophy and have led the country into a sham democracy. India, under the third term of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government, has been turned into a Hindu State. Modi, pursuing RSS’s Hindutva philosophy, has tarnished India’s image as a secular state and made religious minorities insecure. India has fast become a ‘no-go’ place for non-Hindu tourists where it is common to loot and gang-rape the foreign tourists by Modi-force.
Modi has successfully developed enmities with all his neighbours, including China, Nepal, Bangladesh, and even Myanmar. Pakistan has always been a thorn in Modi’s side, whom he has desperately tried to teach a lesson, first in February 2019 and then in May 2022. However, on each occasion, he was given a befitting response, for the historians to record how a four-times stronger Indian Air Force (IAF) was forced to stay on the ground after it was shot out of the skies by a modest but resolute Pakistan Air Force (PAF).
Indian media, to please Modi, has lost its credibility and the same was demonstrated during the May 2025 limited war with Pakistan, which was started by India and finished by Pakistan, with India requesting the US to broker a ceasefire. According to Indian media, the Karachi Port had been destroyed and four major cities of Pakistan, including Lahore and a nd Islamabad, had been overrun by the Indian forces, only to find out that the IAF lost at least six aircraft in an 86-hour-long war.
Today, if India has something to its credit, it is its dynamic and passionate diaspora. Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), as they are commonly referred to, are making significant gains for their country, only to lose due to Modi’s hardline policies.
It is my sincere advice to India’s leadership that if it wants to regain its lost glory, it must rebuild its relations with all its neighbours in the spirit of SAARC, because the regional organisation is dormant due to Modi’s arrogance and apathy towards its relatively minor neighbours. By reactivating SAARC, India will gain the most from intra-regional trade, extending from Afghanistan to Myanmar. Pakistan will certainly invite India to invest in CPEC and let the two gas pipelines (TAPI and IPI) route through its territory into India.
It is now up to India to decide whether it wants to continue falling or fly again. As a peace-lover, I could only suggest this much. Most of these proposals were published in my international book, South Asia Needs Hybrid Peace, by Peter Lang in January 2022, which is available on all Online Stores.
The writer of this article has authored four international books: Nuclear Deterrence and Conflict Management Between India and Pakistan, South Asia Needs Hybrid Peace, Understanding Sun Tzu and the Art of Hybrid War, and Diplomacy and Deterrence.”
The writer of this article has authored four international books: Nuclear Deterrence and Conflict Management Between India and Pakistan, South Asia Needs Hybrid Peace, Understanding Sun Tzu and the Art of Hybrid War, and Diplomacy and Deterrence.”