Letter from the Editor

Dear reader, The first 100 days of the Trump administration are coming to a close with the launch of a new health care bill in Congress that changes key parts of the Affordable Care Act, and continuing controversy about the Russian involvement in the U.S. presidential election. Sensational news driven by Twitter statements of Trump continued with the allegation that president Obama ordered wiretapping of Trump's campaign offices in Trump Tower, leading to a rift between the current and former president. The roll back of the Medicaid expansion to cover other low income people is one of the changes under the Speaker Ryan formulated American Health Care Act in Congress, with funding to states reduced in stages after 2020. Other changes in the AHCA would reduce the subsidies offered for health care to lower income people and not base them on income. Writing in the WSJ Peggy Noonan, a former spokesperson for president Reagan, says this will have negative consequences for the new base of working class support that has shifted to the Republican Party. In international news President Trump's acceptance of One China Policy reduces any possibility of increasing tensions with China. Merkel's carefully planned meeting with Trump also showed the will on both sides to maintain strong relations with some differences on trade policy and NATO contributions. The Dutch elections, followed by elections in France in May, and in Germany in September, are the backdrop for meetings in Brussels of EU members, and meetings of G-20 in Germany. Analysis in the Economist magazine combining several polls shows Le Pen's nationalist National Front party not winning in the second round, yet there is considerable uncertainty about the final result if some adverse event were to affect the other candidates. Schulz of the SPD and Merkel of the CDU are likely to draw most of the support for Chancellor in German elections, keeping Germany a beacon of hope and stability in Europe. The Dutch election showed the new role of issues such as identity and immigration playing out in unexpected ways. By moving to the right on the identity issue the centre right party of premier Rutte did not lose as much support as expected, and is likely to form a new coalition government. Most of the support of the left Labor Party went to the Green party, leaving the far right candidate Wilders with only about 20% of the vote. The tough stance with Turkey by the Rutte government also helped to sway Dutch voters. As one voter put it in DW.com- the Netherlands was a quiet place before and we would like to keep it that way. Something like this can be expected in Germany, and it sets the stage for the French elections next month, as both Hollande and Merkel pointed out. The European Union can rebound as its people look to the future. The new tone is set in the way the outgoing popular president of Germany, a pastor from the former East Germany, Joachim Gauck, made a commitment for Germany- "we will preserve, develop and defend what we have achieved and what we hold dear to our heart." Also rejecting nationalism- "although voices may praise the fool's gold of long-outdated nationalism, we will remain Germans- as Europeans." India's state elections show consistently high support for prime minister Narendra Modi's government. Modi's BJP party won election in the largest state of Uttar Pradesh taking 325 seats out of 403, and developing a national base of support for modernization plans. Indian National Congress party leaders Jawaharhal Nehru and Indira Gandhi had their major base of support in Uttar Pradesh, which has now dwindled down to 7 seats in the state assembly. A new demographic of over 100 million young people was added to voting age public in this and the previous national election. Young people look to modernization as a way to fulfill rising aspirations. Nowhere was the caste system so prevalent than in Uttar Pradesh and the neighboring state of Bihar in the Gangetic river plains of northern India, making up with West Bengal most of northern India's population. BJP leaders, Modi, Rajnath, Jaitley and others are focussing their efforts under the twin themes of "Sabke Saath," and "Sabke Vikas," translating to development with all and for all, to overcome the caste based politics and lack of development. In 1960 the per capita GDP of Bangladesh, China, and India was $89, $89 and $83, by 2015 the per capita GDP figures from the World Bank and OECD show GDP of Bangladesh $1211 up 14 times, China $8027 up 90 times, and India $1598 up 20 times. For all the optimism India has clearly lagged far behind, and badly lagging development in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are a big part of the story. The BJP led modernization looks to managing Uttar Pradesh by appointing a state administration that is driven by New Delhi, and BJP leaders say doubling the GDP of India will require doubling per capita GDP level in the state which at $730 is a third of the $2100 in the state of Gujarat, according to India's Central Statistics Organization. This would also provide a big boost to the world economy and reduce protectionism as the U.S., Germany and Japan compete for machinery and other exports to India. The Indian story is sparsely covered in the American and European media, with the Uttar Pradesh story receiving less attention than the Dutch election. We would like to fill this gap, as it is now becoming what China was for most of the last 2 decades. About 10 million people are migrating from the countryside to the cities in India each year, according to the World Bank, in a migration that is similar to the one that helped urbanize China. As the U.S. and European Union pause to reflect on the way forward, as China reflects on its relationship in a changing world and how it can continue development beyond the current stage of a middle income country, and India reflects on the best way to modernize the entire country and South Asia, below are some thoughts on the way forward. THE WAY FORWARD Germany's outgoing president Joachim Gauck, undoubtedly someone who is listened to with great respect throughout Germany and outside his country, correctly touched on many of these points by asking the question- what kind of society or country we should be like? Because no other nation has taken a lead in tackling the issues facing us today, and no other nation has the will to do it born of difficult experience, and few have shown the leadership qualities and genuine concern of president Gauck in bringing people and nations together, I am unabashedly drawing from some of his immensely valuable insights. It also answers the question of what kind of society we in the West and other parts of the world would want to see. Gauck said Germany should find "the courage to conduct discussions that include the majority to a far greater extent than has been the case to date," and to not only "encompass those who regularly take part in political discourse." Exchange and discussion, even heated discussion without resentment or prejudice, were "the oxygen of an open society and argument its enlivening element." For this to happen in Europe and America one has to accept that the plurality that existed in communication between different groups has been fractured, because of a divide developing- rural vs. urban, gainers from globalization in large urban centres and those left behind in areas outside, those in tech centres and those outside, isolated communities talking in opposition to other groups. It is important to counteract this fragmentation, by making contacts with people thinking differently or in different circumstances than one's own- "genuine discussion is often the first step on the path to compromise and the starting point for change- and thus for the development of democracy." Democracies learn, this is the essential point, and arguments based on truth, the outcome of discussions based on truth guide democracies. Fake news simply has no place here. Identity has emerged as an issue within Europe and America, as the fracturing in communication coupled with immigration has tended to create fears for identity as a people. Europeans or Americans, or Indians can value their constitutional freedoms, and still live and treasure their landscapes, culture, history, language and literature. A sense of respect for the constitution and its founders fits well with one's culture- Gauck adds "respecting democratic constitution with universal values naturally does not mean shrugging off one's culture or ignoring traits that have developed over the course of history." Democracy lives and learns, and it is continually in the process of BECOMING, changing with new responses as new generations and new periods with their new issues emerge. The process may take time or be slow at first, this adaptability comes from exercizing political citizenship and bringing out the potential within every person. Citizenship education needs to advance to ensure respect for others and other viewpoints to enlarge the discussion that drives democracy, and for assuming responsibility for the future of the community, and for shared international norms and values. Not opposing the most egregious acts of inhumanity citizens and communities lose credibility, creating room for doubts and dissension that lead to "becoming morally jaded, or cynical," as the universality of human rights is diminished. Choosing to wait things out, the lack of prudent and decisive action, is not a default option. Here Gauck pointed out that the consequences of the U.S. limiting its action in the international sphere and allowing situations to develop had profound negative consequences for Europe, and also in America, allowing cynicism to develop. This means stabilizing the European Union and taking action to counteract internally and externally, and working with partners is a must. Even as the situation in one part of the world the Middle East has slipped, there are positive developments that give hope in other regions. India (and South Asia) with over 1 billion people is taking on the next stage of modernization, with vibrant democracy in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This offers new hope for democracy to expand and grow and constitutional freedoms to progress. It also provides an opportunity to boost growth in the EU and the U.S. through increased trade and economic relations with India and South Asia as a whole for a shared future. Just as Germany has shown a better direction for Europe, India can show a better direction for South Asia, including areas such as Iran and Afghanistan, in peaceful coexistence and modernization. China has so much at stake in today's international order as it continues its drive for economic progress beyond that of a middle income country. Russia has responded in various ways feeling encircled by NATO expansion to its eastern borders and the situation in Ukraine, and from reduced foreign investment in the economy. This has given a feeling that things are "out of joint" or unsettled. With patience and resilience the people of the European Union and the U.S. can overcome this period of tangled international relations, as the basic foundations laid by predecessors in the last 70 years are sound. New challenges can be met with the same courage shown by exceptional leaders in the past. George Washington reminded Americans in his draft of the First Inaugural Address, Jan 1789, that "should hereafter those who are intrusted with the management of this government, incited by the lust for power, and prompted by the supineness or venality of their constituents, overleap the known barriers of this Constitution and violate the inalienable rights of humanity: it will only serve to show that no wall of words- no mound of parchmt can be so formed as to stand against the sweeping torrent of boundless ambition and the sapping current of corrupted morals." Every generation has to find new meaning, and breath new life into it, by living true to the values and democratic way of life- "provident in its construction and sacred in its ratification." This is true as well in other countries, for the Basic Law in Germany, and the Constitution in India, to cite just a few, with genuine pride and respect for the spirit, wisdom and efforts of those who worked hard to write it after years of difficulty and struggles.