HVK Archives: From a socialist dogma to a glimmer of hope
From a socialist dogma to a glimmer of hope - The Pioneer
Gautam Mukerji
()
5 June 1996
Title : From a socialist dogma to a glimmer of hope
Author : Gautam Mukerji
Publication : The Pioneer
Date : June 5, 1996
Significant beginnings tre harbingers of the future. What=
"Rosebud" was to Citizen Kane, The Meiji Restoration to Japan,=
The "Long March" to China, "The whiff of grapeshot" to Napoleon,=
"Anand", to the future of Amitabh Bachchan, the first five years=
of liberalisation will be, to the future of India. In these five=
years, economics emerged as a political statement so powerful=
that the future will not be able to ignore the brief season when=
the reforms policy was introduced. The voter has spoken =
in
several voices but the final tally consists of one part in favour=
of Hindu resurgence, one part in favour of modernisation, and =
a
third, which is a fractured amalgamation of regional aspirations=
trying to meld itself into one entity.
The question before the country today is should secularism =
be
upheld at great cost by an ostrich-like denial of tlle three-
pronged popular mandate or should it be tempered by the=
compelling logic of blending all three verdicts of the voter?=
The United Front combined vote means that the states want more=
autonomy and they will have to be given it. Resources will have=
to be more equitably distributed. Decision-making will have to =
be
decentralised.
The majority Hindu community will have to be given its demand for=
a pre-eminent position so that the insecurity bogey of becoming=
second class citizens in their own country is removed. Denied,=
this groundswell has taken the BJP from a negligible two seats =
to
195 along with its electoral allies. Denied some more, it will=
ensure the full manifestation of a saffron regime with a hard=
right agenda come the next election!
The country must continue on its path of modernisation initiated=
by the Narasimha Rao Government. Under big courageous
leadership
the Congress party jettisoned the creaky socialism that might=
have garnered more votes but does nothing for the modernisation=
of the country or its hopes to play a significant role in the=
community of nations. It is not surprising that with the=
disturbance of the status quo brought about by the Rao=
administration. the other unresolved problems of over=
centralisation at New Delhi and the paranoia of the 82 per cent=
Hindu majority vis-a-vis the minorities, should also appear to =
be
addressed.
The apprehension that the century plus old Congress party could=
dissappear because of its departure from its original principles=
of socialism and swadeshi brings an example to mind. For the=
entire 19th century the British parliament saw governments run =
by
either the Whigs or Tories. The 19th century was a time =
of
remarkable economic stability with the inflation index for the=
entire century pegged at four per cent! Then the new century=
produced the upheaval of two World Wars, and after that, the=
world changed completely.
The old Whigs virtually disappeared to be replaced by the Labour=
Party. Since we have based our parliamentary democracy on the=
Westminster model, is there a case in point for us to expect=
elements of the BJP and Congress to merge into a party of the=
right while all the regional forces and other like- minded=
entities coalesce into a party of the Left? It would certainly=
shrink the ballot paper from its bed-sheet like proportions and=
provide the electorate with clear cut alternatives hitherto=
denied.
Polity has grown
Will this new formation which some people see emerging from the=
historic verdict of the people become the shape of things =
to
come? It is interesting to note Mr HD Deve Gowda's outburst after=
being denied the oppotunity to form a Government at the Centre =
on
May 16, 1996. He said, 'I am leaving for Karnataka, we will not=
bother to vote against BJP. After all, it's a Congress-BJP=
coalition." Has he prophetically articulated the future? More=
importantly, is it after due consideration, the appropriate=
response to the verdict of the people for the 11th Lok Sabha?
On the matter of economics becoming a political statement let =
us
examine some recent history. After decades through which =
no
Indian dared to visualise a strong and resurgent economy on par=
with the best any- where, today we are witnessing a growing band=
of industrialists asserting they will create transnational=
corporations, that they can modernise and compete=
internationally, that there is no need to hand over the country=
to wholly owned subsidiaries of foreign companies. They might=
have an ulterior self-serving motive of course, but several =
of
them mean what they say. It was not so long ago that many of the=
same worthies moaned endlessly of inferior manpower, inferior=
infrastructure, red tapism, political interference, lack =
of
commitment, constraints on growth owing to dogma, and ended =
up
saying that India would therefore remain a Third World backwater=
for close to eternity. They implied then that they were=
thoroughbreds constrained and if the shackle were to be removed=
they could fly like the wind. Perhaps it is time to call their=
bluff and then we can see who is part of the wheat and who =
is
only chaff.
The socialist years were like a long session of study and=
preparation for the day we would come out to claim our destiny.=
If we really could not stand the cant in that period we could=
join the bully-boy bureaucracy at home, or skip to foreign shores=
and become "clever Indians". There was a virtue made out =
of
mediocrity that coloured our thinking.
Internationally, we saw for ourselves the failure of systems that=
denied their citizens the goodies of life. They did not grow=
strong. In time, they were hard pressed to provide eventhe onions=
and potatoes of daily existence. The amazing thing is that we saw=
ourselves as a variation on this theme of deprivation, thanking=
God for the fact we had enough to eat, that we could at least buy=
inferior goods, that we could avail of indifferent education and=
health services. We gradually gave up on expecting anything=
more, thinking it would not even come to pass.
Now all that is changed. We know now that there is no glass=
ceiling we cannot break through, if we try. The country has=
taken out its notebook and pencil to make its wish lists. The=
bourses indicate a yearning for economic growth never before=
witnessed and a pessimism about retrograde steps that could =
be
taken in support of socialist dogmas.
The Indian polity has grown up. We now no longer ally ourselves=
with the post-colonial have-nots in celebrations of non-
alignment. We do not shrug and say we just do not have the money=
to improve things and so must lump it as it is, resigned =
to
deterioration and decay in the name of principle. We have been=
talking seriously of an integration with the world economy, of =
a
free floating currency, of untold billions pouring in, to give =
us
a chance to catch up, and be second to none.
Why has this happened? Is it because the polity is reflecting =
a
broad consensus on this bid for prosperity? Has the evidence=
already before us convinced the electorate that there is every=
chance of becoming a first rate nation after all? If this is so,=
we should be suffused with hope for the future, because once =
we
have dared to believe In our destiny, we have destroyed the=
mental shackles of a Third World apology forever. All that=
remains is to build detailed consensus on issue after issue =
as
they hurtle past us towards implementation.
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