Petty politics of the politicians, and not statesmanship, has slowed down economic development
Empirical researches have propounded, and is acknowledged globally, that in the absence of a better system, democracy is the best option for the governance of a society. Over a period, it does deliver greater good of the largest number; the boon of democracy. Democracy allows space for debate, voice of dissent and options in the larger interest of the community. However, sometimes, these weapons of building consensus turn into procrastination, narrow thinking and self-serving, leading to delays and abandoning good decision-making, eventually turning democracy into a bane.
It goes to the wisdom and courage of the first set of elected leaders of independent India to choose democracy (parliamentary) with universal suffrage as the instrumentality of governance. Through the tumultuous journey of liberated India, democracy has survived and thrived. Every democracy has politicians and statesmen, so do we. The political literature distinguishes a statesman, who works for the principles from a politician who is more engaged in fostering interests.
Amongst the most significant promises of independent India was economic emancipation of teeming millions. The progress has been slow, inadequate and disappointing. Young India is impatient, no more forbearing and in fact, intolerant. Apparently, wait is not an acceptable preposition. The results of the May general election seem to validate the assertion. The new Government got elected with the mandate to usher in prosperity, eradicate poverty and deprivation. Even though it does take time and effort to lift up a derailed economy, which has been under seize by the burden of macro-economic instability, fiscal profligacy and governance deficit, the traces of impatience are discernable in the growing social narrations.
The political executive, instead of quickly creating an island or two of success to reassure the electorate of urgency and its earnestness, pursued the path of a holistic approach to building orderly and sustainable economic growth. In the context of the state and seize of Indian economy, a holistic approach is taking longer to deliver and in the meantime, scepticism about the earnestness and ability of Government is building up.
The Government is working on multiple fronts and has introduced number of measures, which include a set of proposed legislations to, inter alia, transform the environment of doing business. The last Winter Session of Parliament having been a washout, the Union Government, possibly to quell the growing disenchantment of impatient India, tried to step up the pace of reforms through the route of ordinances in the area of land acquisition, sale of national assets like coal, mines & minerals, FDI in insurance etc. Debates on ratification in Parliament are becoming a test political nerves. Unfortunately, politics and politicians are taking better of it. And attempts to derail the process with a view to promote their own narrow political interests by some sections appear to be the apparent philosophical underpinning in the debates.
In fact, it is the politics of the politicians and not the statesmanship, which has slowed economic development and at times derailed. India is at the cup of unique opportunity. In the gloom of slowing economies across geography, India stands at the height of hope. Global capital shopping around the world in search of returns is looking at India with eager eyes. Some changes in the way India handles governance of business, predictability of its policies, in particular tax regime, enforceability of contracts, exit policies etc. are necessary for the financial capital to pour in. Currently, the private and the public sector banking balance sheets are reeling under the burden of non-performing assets. In fact, India's fiscal resources are woefully inadequate to build hugely deficient infrastructure, manufacturing frame and high GDP growth trajectory essential to convert large and young demography into a land of prosperity.
The electoral profile has undergone a transformation, and newer voters are much less motivated by promotion of social engineering and/or regionalism. The aspirational India is by and large convinced that these themes including command economy have not served them well; possibly outlived their utility as politico-economic philosophies. The media has exposed this class to stories of economic prosperity of geographies through liberalisation, globalisation and modernisation. They want India to pace up the GDP growth to a level, which can proffer them ample and varied opportunities for economic engagement and good life. A lost opportunity has the propensity to create albeit spread beyond Naxal affected areas social disquiet and disharmony, which is brewing in the pots of inequality and deprivation. The defeat of the last Government in the May election holds a light for re-engineering the political agendas.
The relevance of the political order is tested on firmament of its ability to meet the aspirations of the society. Deficit in delivery leads first to change of the actors then the political order. Currently, India is at the stage of changing actors. let’s pray and hope that the fire of social disquiet that may emerge from the consequences of missed opportunity of building inclusive economic growth, does not threaten the democratic order. Future elections will test the surmise that the interest of politicians will lie in growing up to be statesmen and help in ensuring high economic growth with distributive justice.
(The writer is former lIC and Sebi Chairman)