India at Sixty- I

A man gets old in sixty years but India at sixty is a nation of a young and vibrant people given its demographic profile. While celebrating the completion of 60 years of independence we can be proud that ours is still a functioning democracy no matter how shallow or dynastic it is. It is time to ruminate over the path that we have traversed and take stock of the situation.

Despite the fact that Gandhiji was instrumental in getting freedom, when it did arrive on August 15, 1947 he was busy extinguishing the communal fire that was raging in Bengal’s hinterlands (Naokali) than becoming a part of the jubilations. Thanks to the visionary ambition of Pandit Nehru and his unquestioned authority for 17 long years, a diversified industrial base could be built up keeping the secular and democratic framework intact. Regardless of the criticism which has been voiced against his command model and his love for socialist ideals which came to be branded as Nehruvian post office socialism or Congress brand of bureaucratic socialism later, the inward looking, protectionist, import substitution model, dominated and frustrated by the state, had its own rationale in building up our economic strength.

Mrs Gandhi’s elevation to power against the backdrop of revolt by a bandicoot of syndicate, made her embrace a socialist policies like bank nationalization and abolition of purses and privileges. With the creation of Bangladesh under her preponderant show of strength virtually made her the modern incarnation of Goddess Durga at least in the mind of the generation of 1970s. However, with the passage of time this Goddess turned dictatorial and imposed emergency when she thought she was losing the unquestioned hold of power. Indian illiterate people showed the power of democracy by unseating her when the election was conducted. In her second innings at the helm of affairs she was found wanting in not resolving the communal question and religious extremism. The Kashmir and Punjab problems acquired communal and religious content under her dispensation which was neatly taken to its logical conclusion by her successors. Her son Rajiv Gandhi pandered to Hindu religious extremism by unlocking the locks of Babri mosque and then in an attempt to pacify Muslim extremism reverted back the Supreme Court’s indictment in the Shah Bano case and finally, Narasimha Rao who did everything under the sun, not only to hold on to power by horse trading but also becoming a party in the demolition of Babri mosque.

The greatest tragedy of this era of Nehruvian dynasty was that no concerted efforts were made to introduce basic structural reforms like land reform and no serious attention was paid to provide basic education, health care, connecting roads, affordable drinking water and so on to the bulk of the population in both rural and urban areas. The list of problems plaguing India is long, never ending and if one single reason is to be given for the plight of common man it would be a grand betrayal by the politicians and bureaucrats. The image that most of us have about them is not that pleasant to look at. There is a deep seated feeling and apprehension that a majority of them are not just honest and hence steeped into a sea of corruption and the current form of political democracy is becoming a source of irritant in the dynamic functioning of market based economic order. Politics has become business; education and health have too not remained untouched by it. There is a gross indifference by the vocal elites and the educated towards the elections and the poor people (the silent majority) increasingly come forward to change the destiny but alas they are caught between the devil and the deep sea as there is no better alternative for them. Indeed the honest and the decent will abhor politics when muscle and money power predominate over everything else and politics becomes a family business. Unlike corporate sector no special skill is needed here except the blind loyalty by the committed party cadre subservient to caste ridden political parties. You stretch this loyalty a little, it turns into sycophancy. Those who have mastered the art of conducting exhibition in the game of flattery have reaped rich dividends in the field of politics.

You may ask where is the young blood, the student community which stirred the conscience of the society in the swirling sixties. They are too busy in the IT and BPO world trying to chase the chimera of green card and/or getting those benefits by remaining within the country, thanks to internet revolution, digitizing work and changing the very nature of work.