 |
|
Pitfalls of Nehruvian model Profile |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Naked and unashamed In quest of a toy
made in India On Record
|
Pitfalls of Nehruvian model
Jawaharlal Nehru
was a great champion of rationalism but he did not believe in ethical neutrality. In formulating his economic policies, he carefully weighed their impact on social fundamentals. For him, development was not just about growth of incomes but promotion of human welfare. The development plans which India evolved under Nehru’s guidance tried to maintain a balance between development of material and non-material resources and sought to wipe out poverty. He thought this was “incompatible with civilisation”, as much through industrialisation as through redistributive reforms. Nehru was not for too much dirigisme — state control of economic and social matters. He looked for a system in which conflicting class interests could be reconciled through benevolent State intervention. This led him to adopt the “mixed economy” pattern which he defended in the Constituent Assembly on February 17 and April 7, 1948 as “the only right and practical approach” in the Indian setting. During 1951-91, when Nehru’s model was in operation, the country experienced neither much growth nor succeeded in evolving a social order based on justice and fair play. All through, the level of unemployment and poverty in the country remained high and inter-personal and inter-state disparities increased. Whatever growth took place could not be universalised. The system gave birth to a large class of vested interests which bled the economy without any strain on its conscience. There were large-scale institutional failures which later came to be associated with what Gunnar Myrdal termed as the “soft state”. It spawned mafia culture in which the levers of powers were usurped by unscrupulous elements whom the law of the land could not reach. It gave rise to organised labour and staff unions which frequently followed predatory policies and forced successive governments in the country to accept excessive wage settlements and increased public spending on unproductive employment. The practice of uneconomic user charges for public utility services to appease the interest groups became an accepted feature of the price tariff and substantially contributed to unsustainable deficit in several states rendering them incapable of playing an active role in the country’s development. Nehru did not have a theory of the mixed economy, at least not a fully worked out model. In fact, no one had it as it was for the first time that an experiment with such a system was being made. But Nehru had all the prescience to see its drawbacks. Apart from the pressure of rapidly growing population which made it difficult to create surpluses for further advance, political democracy hindered the pace of economic development. In 1991, when Nehru’s approach was abruptly abandoned, the government reported to Parliament that as on July 24, 1991 the country’s foreign exchange reserves stood in the range of Rs 2500 crore which were barely sufficient for a fortnight. Rather than trying to salvage the system through a corrective mechanism, which many people then thought was a visible option, the government panicked and decided to privatise the economy. The results are there for us to see. Except for the rate of economic growth almost all the indicators of social progress are moving in the wrong direction and at unpredictable speed. Corruption and misuse of political power have increased rather than diminished, and civic and democratic values continue to be eroded by all and sundry. Assault on unemployment to redress poverty is having a negative social impact because of the application of capital-intensive technologies by individual enterprises which find them more productive and also relieve them of labour conflicts. The shedding of surplus labour which remodelling of the economy requires has made market reforms unacceptable to labour unions, particularly in the public sector which is heavily overstaffed. Social services like health care and professional and technical education have gone almost out of reach of the ordinary people. Whereas reforms have raised the overall rate of growth of the national product, they have also changed its composition in favour of non-essential, non-functional consumption. A new middle class is emerging with a large stake in property, stocks and shares. Privatisation has speeded up the growth of the informal sector which is where the child labour is employed. Alongside the cost reduction, competition has also produced economic wastes, as on manipulative advertising which may soon rank as a major industry. Money and not virtue is emerging as the new measure of man. On the whole, it is not only the state that is showing signs of withering away but the economy was guided by Nehru’s mixed economy approach. If the present trends continue, India will have to think whether the market economy approach is going to facilitate or hinder her becoming a world power in the near future. It is not the ill-fated nuclear deal alone that has cast a long shadow over her soaring ambitions but the large landscape of dead ends of notices in every direction. The Prime Minister was recently described in a section of press as “a wounded reformer”. What is worrying many citizens is their perception that the economy is also in a similar state and with the system of governance the country has evolved it may not easily recover from its existing fatigue. Also, the obsession with the rate of economic growth overlooks the fact that the process of reconstruction of society goes well beyond economics and cannot be accomplished unless people’s concerns are addressed in a holistic manner. At present, the process of reforms appears to be totally hamstrung. There is a critical discord between the Left and Right over the extent of privatisation which is irresolvable. It seems the country did not draw an appropriate lesson from her colonial past. Viable economic policies cannot emerge from a framework that treats individuals as buyers and sellers and nothing else. India is home of some major religions. Her civilisation is notable for its antiquity and continuity. Her people are highly conscious of their caste, class and religious identity. Her value system has been shaped by diffusion of many cultures and is unique in many ways. It has divided her people into groups which are often at odds with each other. At the same time, her people have evolved certain values which are widely shared. No growth mechanism which is politically and socially not inclusive can produce wholesome results. Soon after India decided to open up its economy, Margaret Thatcher, the most successful practitioner of market friendly policies stressing this point, observed: “…each country has its own traditions and beliefs, its own history and characteristics, all of which have to be taken into account, especially when making system changes”. India’s First Five-Year Plan, parts of which drafted by Jawaharlal Nehru himself, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s budget speech in Parliament on July 24, 1991, reveal that they were fully aware of this requirement. Unfortunately, it is in the realm of implementation that both the approaches have been found wanting. Perhaps, India needs to evolve her own indigenous model of development which focuses on equitable growth rather than accelerated growth. n The writer is Emeritus Professor of Economics and former Vice-Chancellor, Punjabi University, Patiala
|
|
Profile Honoured with Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration last week, he was among the victims of 2002 Gujarat riots. His house was burnt but his 24-year-old daughter, Umanima, managed to escape, helped by Hindu neighbours. It all began shortly before the Godhra train burning incident. Prof Bandukwala was invited to speak at a function held to mark the
birthday celebration of Veer Sarvarkar. The organisers invited him as he was known for his liberal ideas and also no Muslim had ever addressed a meeting of this type. Paying tributes to Savarkar’s patriotism, he counselled the organisers to follow Mahatma Gandhi’s path. His concluding lines were: “There are only two paths before the country — the path of Mahatma Gandhi in which every child will feel that this country belongs to him. And the other is Savarkar’s path in which many Indians will feel this country does not belong to them”. To his misfortune, within 24 hours of his speech, the train burning incident took place. The VHP gave a call for Gujarat bandh. Around 10 a.m., about 15m boys, their faces covered, barged into his compound and in a swift operation poured petrol on his car parked therein, and just ignited it. The car burned very fast. Neighbors rushed to Bandukwala and his daughter’s rescue, and the mob disappeared from the scene. The Police Commissioner sent two armed policemen for his protection. He thought the crisis was over, particularly when RSS members sent a message that it was a mistake. Little did he realise that the next day would be the longest day of life. Around noon, panic broke again and his house was attacked for the second time. Strangely, all his immediate neighbours had closed their doors but a Hindu family gave him shelter, locking him in the bathroom. Within minutes a menacing mob came and burnt Bandukwala’s house. With his life threatened, Bandukwala flew to Mumbai and from there to New York where he son lived. He returned after three months, when a police inquiry was being held into the incident of burning his house, vowing to end communal frenzy and help those hit by riots. In early seventies, Bandukwala had gone to the US to do his doctorate. He wanted to settle down there with his wife (who died a
few years back) but a chance meeting with a nurse changed the course of his life. She told him he could do more for his people if he returned to India. “That conversation changed my entire life. I destroyed my green card and despite my wife’s strong protest, I decided to return to India”, says Bandukwala. Subsequently, he joined the University of Baroda and took to social work. His initiatives for social reforms among Muslims was disliked by the Daudi Bohra community to which his family belonged. He was ex-communicated from the sect. He continued vigorously promoting liberal and progressive thought among Muslims. In the wake of the Satanic Verses row, he wrote an article that the fatwa to kill Salman Rushdie was “un-Islamic”, saying that burning books and condemning the authors was simply not a civilised way. His views ignited the ire of Vadodara’s maulvis and peers who issued a fatwa against him, dubbing him as “an enemy of Islam”. The man, who came to his rescue was Haji Mastan, a don. He warned maulvis thus: “If you touch Bandukwala, I will not spare you”. The maulvis were silenced and Bandukwala carried on with his reforms, of which Muslim woman empowerment is the main plank. At the Indira Gandhi Award function, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh praised Bandukwala for taking up the gigantic of task of liberating women from oppression in the face of threat to his life.
|
|
— Reliance Chairman — A.R. Rahman, Music Director Ghazal is my priority and will always be. The rest is just a bonus. I still get many offers to sing and compose for films. I have politely turned them down. — Ghulam Ali, Ghazal king It is getting darker and darker for India, as sunlight is going down and the blanket of haze is growing thicker over the Indo-Gangetic planes, which may cause reduction in rainfall during the monsoon. — Dr V. Ramanathan, Climate Scientist, University of California Whenever the world’s tropical seas warm several degrees, Earth has experienced mass extinctions over millions of years. Earth is on track to hit that same level of extinction-connected warming in about 100 years, unless green house gas emissions are curbed. — Peter Mayhew, Ecologist, Indians are gifted. The interest is to see if you can make a difference. India has the potential to again be outstanding. Yet, it doesn’t seem to be able to galvanise its talent and resources when it comes to hockey. — Ric Charlesworth, technical Having successfully organised the World Military Games (October 18-22), Hyderabad is ready to host the Olympics. — Andhra CM Rajasekhara Reddy — Pakistani singer Tahira Syed — Hema Malini
|
Naked and unashamed Bob Dylan
was right. There are so many times, everywhere, when men turn their heads, pretending they just do not see. But there is no escape from the truth, for the answer is indeed “blowing in the wind”. And so it is in Gujarat where Tehelka has in a chilling exposure reconfirmed the gory, gloating details of the 2002 pogrom in the first person singular. BJP critics have cried foul, castigating the sting as entrapment. This it was not, as no money or allurements were offered. Tehelka’s Ashish Khetan won the confidence of the BJP, the VHP, Bajrangi and RSS actors by pretending to be an acolyte eager to learn and record the heroic deeds of the faithful. The ploy worked. The conspirators found catharsis in boasting of their exploits, their raw emotions uncorked for the first time in five years in what they thought was the safety of time and the subversion of truth and justice by their mentors in the party and the state. The BJP-VHP allegation of a dark media-Congress conspiracy to overthrow Narendra Modi's government was unsustainable and soon discarded in favour of the “democratic” argument that Modi had been re-elected with a thumping majority after 2002 and that the electorate would no doubt once again give a fitting answer to Tehelka’s latest sting this coming December. The argument is perverse. The Gujarat pogrom involves grave issues of criminal justice whereas general elections mandate political choice. None can commit murder and claim criminal exoneration if elected. Some have argued that the Tehelka revelations should not be pursued as this will reopen old wounds and revive communal tensions. This suggests that anybody able to evade justice should gain immunity on the plea that it is best to let sleeping dogs lie. This is specious reasoning. Still others have argued the case for imposing President's rule in Gujarat or at least launching proceedings against functionaries who stand self-condemned. That a Commission of Inquiry is sitting is irrelevant. It is no more than a fact-finding body and has no trial or penal powers whereas those caught on the Tehelka tapes have indicted themselves criminally and confessed on camera. Why President’s rule today if it was not imposed in 2002? No action was taken in 2002 because the Centre was not just supine but complicit, with the then Home Minister, L.K. Advani showering testimonials of good governance and law and order management on Modi. Every canon of administrative duty, the rule of law and common humanity were systematically flouted, with not a word of regret or restraint from the government. Prime Minister Vajpayee lamented the loss of Raj Dharma but backed down abjectly when the RSS intervened. Modi conducted a Gurav Yatra, trumpeting hate, and won an electoral victory. Modi spoke to the people of Gujarat over Prasar Bharati on February 28, 2002. He said, “Gujarat shall not tolerate any such (Sabarmati Express) incident. The culprits will get full punishment for their sins. Not only this, we shall set an example that nobody, not even in his dreams, thinks of committing such a heinous crime like this…” And later, “If raising issues of justice or injustice adds fuel to the fire, we will have to observe restraint and invoke peace”. In effect, he promised to teach the Muslims (who for him were the culprits) a terrible lesson, telling them that “peace” demanded their craven submission. That was the motto the administration adopted. In the interests of “peace”, FIRs were watered down and, rendered vague where specific, if registered at all. Parivar loyalists were appointed state prosecutors. Lawyers and witnesses were intimidated. Relief camps were discouraged. The economic boycott of Muslims was tolerated. Compensation was denied, delayed or minimised. Innocents were picked up on random charges while named criminals were granted bail. Indeed, the situation was so bad that the NHRC and the Supreme Court were compelled to take adverse notice. The UPA took office after Modi's re-election but could hardly intervene at that stage. Meanwhile, the derailment of justice and suborning of witnesses continued and the state has admitted to continuing extra-judicial killings during 2003-05, instances of which are before the Supreme Court. It is in this context of Modi's unremitting “peace” process that the Tehelka tapes must be seen. The horror of 2002 continues in 2007. This unprecedented and unremitting breakdown of the constitutional machinery surely merits President's rule. Elections should appropriately follow a clean up. Sadly, the Congress, like other political parties, has lost moral authority having tolerated all manner of disgraceful conduct in other states even by its allies. There is also a strange electoral calculus that trumps constitutionalism, good governance and decision making at every turn. The Liberhan Commission on the Babri demolition has been granted its 42nd extension since 1992! There is an inexplicable fear of elections on the part of the so-called democratic parties and leaders for whom power for pelf and grandstanding means more than principle or purpose. Never has politics in India fallen so low. We are all naked but unashamed. Beware, it is later than we think.
|
|
In quest of a toy
made in India MY
grand son Kabir’s request for a lion toy made in India set me off to a hunt for one. When I could not get one in any toy store in Delhi, I involved my friends also to find one that I can send to my grandson in Hong Kong where he wanted to show to his school friends Gir lion and how different it looked from African lion. Since I was hunting for a lion toy, I also sought other toys of the specific Indian animals -- Bengal Tiger, Assamese Hippo and Indian Rhino as they were also said to be endangered species. But neither my friends nor I could locate them in any store from metros to districts towns. Indian toys had merely vanished from the shelves in toy shops. But what struck all of us was that the Indian toy stores were flooded with toys that were made in China. These animal toys were designed and patented in America but were made in China. Some of these toys were shaped in the Chinese images of lions' look. So they were neither Indian nor African lions in shape or features or most other animals. But these toys were easily available in packs in plastic bags even at vendors' stalls outside zoological parks and in most toyshops across the country. This raised in our minds two striking issues. One related to campaigns that were underway in the country to bring about the awareness of importance of preserving ecology and environment and involving school children. But the second was even more striking about the soft sale of hard wares by India. Not only Indian toys stores were flooded with Chinese made toys but only made in China and not by or of China. Markets were also flooded with statues of Lord Ganesh and other revered Indian idols and icons as well as toys associated with other religious festivals in India — all made in China. From features one could immediate trace the Chinese influence. Despite the strong traditional base and skills for small things, India has not developed the art of making toys that could become replica of Indian species. The country has failed to motivate craftsmen to design and make toys of endangered Indian species like Gir Lion. Often artists put on display on roadsides in Lajpat Nagar in Delhi and in Noida their creative art of large size animal dummies made of cloth for sale. But these were rather home decoration pieces than toys for children. It proves talent in available but it has not been tapped by official agencies for making toys. Official agencies and NGOs have been talking a lot about endangered species as well as on importance of preservation of environ and natural habitat of flora and fauna. Efforts were apparently centred only on seminars in metros. We have been told the strength of Indian arts and crafts was in small but these small artifacts have not been developed. Intense efforts and some training can find men and women who were capable of making these toys. There is obvious growth potential here in terms of export markets and spreading awareness about animals. Secondly, India has succeeded in hard selling of its capacity to develop soft wares, but it has been low in its efforts to highlight its capacity to develop hard wares that could be manufactured by the inborn skills of millions of Indian artisans. Even designers have not taken interest in developing models and replicas that would represent the Indian species and thus help spread awareness expeditiously. This field has a great potential of generating and widening the employment base. Even lower middle class families could take advantage of the new global economy. Why is the Indian middle class supporting the sale of Indian products by insisting on buying only popular mechanised western toys? The shelves in toy stores are laden with toys of America’s imaginary heroes Super Man, Spider Man and Wonder Girls etc. The shopkeepers in every town admit that there was no demand for Indian toys. Thousands who could have earned sufficient to survive in life in the absence of other skilled trades have been deprived of an opportunity to use and earn through their basic skills. No design institute has or any exporter thought of developing this field which could have automatically helped in expanding employment for the class that needed it. Instead every effort seems concentrated and appreciated only in hard sell of soft ware because India has already acquired the ascendancy in the field. Or, can it also be attributed to the mindset of the creamy layer of not being concerned about the needs of the rest of India? Hence, they were hard on sale of soft ware and soft on sale of hard ware of India?
|
||
|
On Record
Founder
of Sulabh International, a social service organisation, Bindeshwar Pathak has been working for over three decades for the removal of untouchability and social discrimination against scavengers. Pathak is noted for achieving success in the field of low-cost sanitation. He has developed the two-pit pour flush toilet that is socially acceptable, economically affordable and technologically appropriate. This toilet system has been implemented in more than 1.2 million houses all over India and helped liberate over 60,000 scavengers, making 240 towns scavenging-free in India. Pathak has established a Museum of Toilets, first in the world. He has received recognition from various national, bilateral and international agencies. He is a member of various government committees and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1991. Excerpts: Q: What is the roadmap to ensure safe sanitation for all? A: Options available are sewerage, septic tank and other technologies. In India, Sulabh has developed the alternative technology of two-pit for individual households and community toilet attached with biogas plant for high-rise buildings like hospitals and hostels. The road map should also include training of unemployed, imbued with motivation creating awareness and conducting advocacy. Banks and financial institutions have to step in. Q: In India the national average of those having access to sanitation is only 33 per cent. Why? A: Viewed in absolute terms, it means coverage of nearly 330 million people. The government's effort has been tardy because of the non-availability of appropriate technology. Now that Sulabh has developed it, the results have quickened. The two-pit technology is appropriate, affordable and accessible. Q: Are you satisfied with the GoI's response? A: The pace of implementation has quickened. For example, the Nirmal Gram Puraskar Yojana has fired the people’s imagination and enthused them to create a competitive climate in sanitation. Starting with the award being given to 400 panchayats, the figure now stands at nearly 5,000. The target will be achieved by 2012 instead of 2015. If the progress of the programme is any indication, the GoI's confidence is not misplaced. Of course, the achievement is based essentially on efforts and participation of people and NGOs. There is greater scope for improvement. Areas that require special attention concern design developments and ways in which the implementation is taking place. It is heartening to know that today, in terms of technologies and ways of implementation, there is a basketful of options and choices. Q: Has the condition of manual scavengers improved? A: Today, there are about 3.42 lakh manual scavengers in India, according to the Union Ministry of Social Justice. The good news is that over 4.27 lakh have been rehabilitated. Conventional sanitation solutions like sewers and septic tanks are not appropriate and have not been able to check either open defecation or manual scavenging. There is a need to implement alternative sanitation technologies. Q: How to improve the current level of awareness on sanitation? A:
The present situation can best be summed up in Charles Swindoll's words: “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” As for myself and Sulabh, when we first implemented our ideas we were met with jeers and when the results started flowing they turned to cheers. Q: How difficult has it been for you to strive in the field of sanitation? A: When I entered the field, I found myself to be an oddity. I belong to an orthodox Brahmin family and was brought up in a social background that bordered on hostility towards sanitation work. I met with family opposition. I was not welcome in gatherings. I had no money and no family background to support. Shortage of money was made good by taking debts and even selling ornaments of my wife. I faced ridicule and humiliating experiences, best illustrated by an incident. When I unwittingly touched a scavenger woman, I was subjected to a purification ritual by being administered a potion of a mixture of cow dung, urine and sand. I still have not reached the destination but am going ahead in touching significant milestones.
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Well-known
If you had asked me in 1997 what we would be known for, I would have said petro-chemicals, in 2000 it would have been telecom, in 2005 energy security. Mark my words, by 2012, we would be known for rural transformation.
We always listen to songs from the West and say what a song. But do they ever say it for us? We also speak in English and why don’t we sing in it and have them say wow, this is from the East? We need anthems like Imagine by the Beatles. Even the West doesn’t have many today.
Indians are aware of good music and appreciate it. I love coming to India. I have lost count of the number of times I have been here, but each time the experience is more beautiful than the previous one.
Dance excites me. Plus, I think I’m still a child at heart and I never shy away from letting that child run free. Sometimes I act younger than my daughters. But that’s when they say, “Mama, stop it!” 