Indian electorate – the largest in the world – will be choosing a new government by the middle of May. Liberalisation and globalisation have brought prosperity to the middle-class in the last two decades but now, unemployment and uncertainty looms large in the country. How to prevent the slide in the economy and extend the benefits of growth to all people is a challenge for the new government which would be sworn in after the elections. The collapse of communism as well as capitalism has highlighted the need for pragmatism for our economic development.
India has made progress in many fronts in these years – preserved its democratic polity, ensured food-security, promoted high growth in industry, exceptional progress in service industry ( software, banking, insurance etc), tested atomic weapons and ensured the supply of uranium for atomic energy, put satellites in space and even reached the moon.
However, there is much to be achieved – uplift the poor 25 percent of our people, universal primary education and primary health-care, empowering people through education, promoting accountability among the elected representatives and the bureaucracy. Wide-spread corruption, farmers' suicides and death due to under-nourishment in certain areas in the country are the blots on our progress.
We have failed in these tasks as we have not followed the vision of equality, liberty and fraternity enshrined in our Constitution. The politicians have divided our people for political purposes. While the Constitution envisages a caste-less society and a secular state, politicians have promoted caste-consciousness and religious divide. It is time that we as a nation have to come up with a new vision of development, economic, political and social, based on the vision of our Constitution.
President Barack Obama's 'audacity of hope' was based on the ideals of the US Constitution that all men are created equal with equal rights and obligations. His theme of 'change' was in contrast to the divisive principles and practices of the Republicans and the Democrats. He rose above the division in US society and polity. A similar change is necessary for India as well.
1. The economic vision should focus on agriculture, infrastructure, health and education.
(a) Agriculture : India still lives in the villages though almost one-third of our population is in the cities and towns today. Sixty percent of our population still depends on agriculture though its contribution to GDP is only 20 percent. Any economic development which does not touch their lives cannot be called economic development. The irrigation dams built during the last 60 years, and later, technological changes (hybrid seed, fertilizers, extension services etc.) made during the Green Revolution have transformed the lives of many farmers in various parts of the country.
However, it has not made any difference to the vast majority of the farmers who have small farms and no irrigation facilities. Dairy farming has not covered many areas in the country. Horticulture, which has a vast potential, has yet to taken-off. Dr.M.S.Swaminathan, one of the founders of the Green Revolution, has been advocating Special Agricultural Zones to promote agriculture in some specific areas - such as kuttanad in Kerala and Indira Gandhi Canal Area in Rajasthan - with common facilities for cultivation to help farmers to grow more. He has suggested mobile soil-testing vans, rain-water harvesting, credit & insurance, technological inputs and remunerative markets to make farming prosperous. The food processing industry should be harnessed for this purpose. Aim should be to make small farms profitable. Every farmer should be encouraged to use modern methods of cultivation and every artisan should be encouraged to upgrade his skills with incentives and easy credit.
Our former President Dr.Abdul Kalam has offered an excellent idea – PURA, providing urban facilities in rural areas through physical connectivity (roads,railways etc.), electronic connectivity (telephone, internet etc.), knowledge connectivity (enhancing core competency of villages). If village life becomes more productive, exodus to towns and cities would be reduced, and this in turn would eliminate the ugly slum life in the cities. PURA indeed is the revised version of the vision of Mahatma Gandhi for the 21st century.
(b) Industry and Infrastructure:
Manufacturing industry and services industry do not require much assistance from the government except one-window clearance for setting-up industry, moderate taxation, legislation to protect consumers, and policies which promote initiative and enterprise. The real issue before the country now is the infrastructure – electricity, roadways, railways, airways and ports- which have become a constraint on India's economic growth. Here the public-private partnership is the only way forward. Infrastructure is labour-intensive and it can generate employment. Housing is another industry which has multiplier effect – it not only generates employment but gives boost to many other industries. All these sectors require proper enabling legal structure and fiscal incentives.
Electricity is one of the most important infrastructure which has become drag on India's economic growth. There is a perpetual shortage of power supply in many parts of the country. The politicians have used it to cultivate vote-banks with tariffs lower than generating costs for some sections of our population. The lower PLF (plant load factor) and coal of high ash content have increased the generating cost. High transmission and distribution cost plus rampant theft of electricity have compounded the problem. Though the government has given up the monopoly of generation, it has still kept the monopoly of distribution except in Mumbai and Kolkatta. This has prevented many private sector companies from investing in this industry. The only solution to the shortage of power is to allow both private and public sector companies to generate and distribute power. A tribunal headed by a retired high court judge to determine the cost and price of electricity is imperative to prevent monopoly and ensure fair price for the consumer. If any state wants to give subsidy, the same should come from the budget of the state, not from the power company.
The state should promote non-conventional energy – solar, wind, wave, bio-gas - in every possible way. Every new construction – housing, commercial, industrial – should use non-conventional energy to the maximum extent. The construction law should prescribe the necessary guidelines. A country with 250 to 300 days of sun-shine should have been a pioneer in solar energy. It has the potential to give the country energy-security. Moreover, energy-conservation has not received the attention it deserves both among the people and the state.
Another major decision which any liberal government has to take is with regard to PSUs – public sector undertakings. Many of them have become white elephants. Now the time has come to take a bold decision to exit from all business enterprises by the government and use the proceeds for the primary task of any government – universal primary education and primary medical facilities in every village. .
II. Social and Political Vision.
The social and political vision should focus on equal opportunities for all people irrespective of their caste, creed, religion and gender. If the state can provide facilities for education, employment and enterprise to all, we can find solutions for some of the major issues such as reservation, lop-sided development of states and internal security. Everybody should feel that he has an opportunity to grow. Every citizen should feel he has stake in the future of the country and is a partner in progress.
(a). Reservation :
The reservation which was envisaged by the architects of our Constitution was to empower neglected sections our people for centuries. With the demand for extension by more sections for this facility, reservation has lost its purpose. Now the time has come to change the emphasis from 'reservation' to 'opportunity'. This is a challenge to the statesmanship of the political leadership. The government has to take a bold decision to extend primary, secondary, vocational and college education in every nook and corner of our country without any discrimination. Education should be employment-oriented, and here the government should seek the co-operation of the organised industry. Entrepreneurship should be encouraged. Every young and educated person should be able to access credit at a low rate and even get a subsidy if he starts an enterprise. Banks should be equipped to guide and monitor young entrepreneurs.
(b).Smaller states :
People in bigger states have always complained about lack of development in certain areas either due to lack of resources or willful neglect. Smaller states would be a solution as they have shown economic progress, whether it is in Punjab, Haryana or Goa. In view of this, forming smaller states should be pursued – not merely in Telangana and Vidarbha, but elsewhere as well. The smaller states bring government and governance to everybody's doorsteps. To ensure political stability, all defections should be banned and all defectors should be disqualified for five years immediately. There should not be any mid-term elections, but only the President's rule.
( c ) Naxalite & Jehadi violence :
Naxalite menace and jehadi terrorism has weakened the Indian state. Both require two-pronged strategy – eliminating the groups that indulge in violence and to solve the social/political causes that give rise to them. State has to be firm in punishing perpetrators of crime against innocent people everywhere. It should equip police with adequate fire-power as well as legal support. Speedy trial and punishment would be a good deterrent. Land distribution, empowerment of people through education and employment generation would give a stake to the people who feel left-out of the economic progress of the country.
( d ) Kashmir :
Kashmir problem has allowed many powers ( USA,UK,USSR,China,Pakistan) to meddle in the internal affairs of India. This should be stopped. Terrorism should be curbed with an iron hand. Everybody knows that Jammu and Ladakh have no problem with India. It is just the Kashmir valley. Let the valley be a state with the maximum autonomy. Ladakh can be given the status of Union Territory and Jammu can be merged with Himachal Pradesh. All this should be done only after consulting the people. Kashmir problem should be solved once and for all.
( e ) Secularism or sarva dharma samabhava :
India's constitution assures equality,liberty and fraternity to every citizen. It does not recognize any community or caste. It envisages a secular ( separation of the state and religion) society. However, secularism has been misused by politicians to divide Indian people. ( 1 ) Educational institutions : Special privileges such as non-interference in educational institutions of religious and linguistic minorities should be extended to all educational institutions to promote diversity.( b ) Administration of Temples should be on the same lines as that of Churches and Mosques without any state intervention Politicians should be debarred from the administration of these institutions.( c ) Mutual understanding : Secularism has been well-defined by Mahatma Gandhi and the former President Dr.S. Radhakrishnan as " sarva dharma sama bhava " - equal respect to all faiths. If India has to become great country, it has to inculcate respect for all faiths among its citizens. This can be done only by educating our children ( and others) on the fundamentals of all religions and their contribution to the Indian civilization. Our children and their parents have to be told about basic values promoted by religions – brotherhood of man and fatherhood of God, love, truth, charity, restraint, non-violence etc. When people realise that religions stand for some basic values of humanity in spite of expressing the same in different languages and idioms through different religious rituals, they would shun quarrels on petty issues and follow the old dictum – live and let live. The Indian state has to be truly secular.
Vision of India.
Sarvodaya ( welfare of all ) of Mahatma Gandhi, modern India (scientific temper & rational outlook)of Pandit Nehru, the dream of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore ( " where the mind is without fear and the head is held high") and the benediction of ancient India ("sarve jana sukhino bhavantu" - let all people be happy ) have found their expression in the preamble of our constitution : " We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign, Democratic, Socialist, Secular Republic and to secure to all its citizens : Justice, social, economic and political ; Liberty of thought, expression and belief, faith and worship ; Equality of status and of opportunity ; and to promote among them all Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the nation."
The vision of our Constitution is liberty,equality and fraternity to all irrespective of caste, creed and religion. This should be the vision of our new Parliament.
March 25,2009.
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