The Hindu Business Line : Youth power in India's resurgence

The senior citizens of today would recall the romanticised view they had of the country's future soon after Independence. The film Rang De Basanti seems to have kindled in the youth the passion to contribute to the country's resurgence. A. VASUDEVAN looks at whether they will be able to make a qualitative difference.

INSPIRING THE youth, Rang De Basanti. — V.Ganesan

The film Rang De Basanti appears to have captured the imagination of the youth in India as well as some non-resident Indians (NRIs) about the country's resurgence potential as an economic and socially responsible power. Those influenced by the film seem to believe that they can contribute to the resurgence, leading to increased productivity and higher growth. And also that they can help bring about economic justice by involving the economically disadvantaged sections in the growth effort.

The spirit kindled by the film is akin to that which prevailed almost immediately after Independence. Senior citizens would recall the highly romanticised view of the future and the belief that it was within their grasp. They thought that the nation would be truly casteless, religion-neutral and flourish under a `mixed' economy, wherein the state would be essentially welfare-oriented.

The state's role, in their view, was to provide education, healthcare, public sanitation, infrastructure and a sound postal and communication system. They also opposed the system of dowry, child marriage and prostitution, and strongly favoured prohibition and widow remarriage. Some of them went to the extent of marrying outside their caste/community/linguistic groups to set an example. The romanticised view was that the country would be united and economically strong with no social evil.

Success stories

This view in the early years of Independence may be partly because of the great success stories — which included among others the construction of the huge Bhakra Nangal dam, the quick move towards becoming a Republic, the setting up of a machinery for the development of a `mixed' economy ( the coexistence of public and private sectors), the successful Etawah experiment of community development project under the inspiring leadership of S. K. Dey, the unveiling of such social movements as Bhoodan, Shramadaan and Sarvodaya under the leadership of Vinoba Bhave and Jaya Prakash Narayan, and the setting of the Atomic Energy Commission.

Also, the political leadership at that time was made of sterner stuff. Names such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, J. P. Narayan, Vinoba Bhave, Ram Manohar Lohia, Acharya Kripalani, Violet Alva, Sucheta Kripalani, N. G. Ranga, C. Rajagopalachari, S. A. Dange and Minoo Masani conjured up visions of hope and fairness.

Dreamers, talkers

Sadly enough, we did not realise that we were mere dreamers And little did we realise that we were talkers, not doers, as John P. Lewis described Indians in the early 1960s. Nor did we take well the famous remark by John Kenneth Galbraith that India's social and economic justice programmes represented only post-office socialism.

The fact was that Lewis and Galbraith were right; we just did not work out the instruments to fulfil our dreams. As a result, by the early 1960s, it became clear that the society had become stratified. Linguistic States and caste conflicts surfaced first; these were followed by communal and community conflicts. Over time, even the fairly well-entrenched public institutions, such as the Railway and postal systems, started to crumble.

The great tales about the postman and the village teacher over which our childhood and adolescent years were built turned out to be part of folklore in the 1970s. Gradually, by the end of the 1980s, India's socio-economic problems became complex, inciting fractional approaches to corrective actions.

What if the present expectations about the spirits evoked by Rang De Basanti turn out to be no different from the experience of the 40-odd years? Or, to put it differently, will the present spirit of potential resurgence be different from the romanticised view of the 1950s?

New economic regime

It is difficult to, a priori, give a definitive answer. But there are indications that the experience this time around could be different. Any serious student of Soviet economic history knows that the stock of initial capital matters to spur growth. In real terms, the stock of capital, at present, is much higher than in the 1950s.

We are also fortunate enough to have switched our economic regime from centralised policymaking to a market-oriented one, with incentives and de-regulations occupying the pride of place since 1992. Reforms have been broad-based and to a large extent implemented.

There is also greater appreciation of the economic and financial problems, thanks to freedom of speech and the coming of age of financial journalism.

The macroeconomic balance, along with productivity-oriented growth which was the mantra of the 1990s, has now a touch of fairness and justice, with employment, infrastructure and provision of basic requirements such as sanitation, public healthcare and education being given emphasis.

Thus, faster social and economic progress is essential for India to be a power to be reckoned with in the comity of nations. In other words, the influence of Rang De Basanti should not be considered a mere syndrome: it has to be consciously converted into an advantage.

The NRIs and resident Indians influenced by the movie may not be many, but this should not matter, for, together they could make a qualitative difference provided some conditions are met.

The enabling conditions

Macroeconomic policies and inducements to productivity would have to continue and be intensified. In addition, the legal and institutional environment would play a major role in the social and economic transformation.

The public sector must attune itself to the current-day circumstances. The institutional framework, such as the rule of law, property rights, and enforcement of contracts besides elimination of information infirmities and moving towards adoption of transparency practices would have to be set in place for such a transformation to materialise. Here too the public sector would have a critical role to play.

The private sector, on its part, would have to constantly monitor public action and reduce chances of market failure arising out of information asymmetries. In addition, a conscious social movement that helps to broaden the knowledge base and provide empowerment to all classes of people would be required to improve economic opportunities and drastically curtail inequities, both social and economic.

Those influenced by Rang De Basanti may not be able to handle the social movement themselves. Nor can they make sure that a comprehensive legal and institutional environment is created for fostering growth . They would have to interact with civil societies and government organisation and work as active agents for bringing about change.

Challenging process

However, the process of bringing about transformation is long and complex and strewn with many challenges, including management of conflicts among social and economic groups.

At times external factors such as oil uncertainties, threats to the country's security and repeatedly hostile weather and ecological imbalances could intervene and strain the delicate and the already complex transformation processes. As a result there could be temporary setbacks, but that should not deter them from their commitment.

Fortunately, the current knowledge base of society, as also the experiences of the past, is broad enough to help the present generation overcome the challenges with confidence.

If this is combined with sound political leadership and consensual social and economic environment, there is no reason why the country cannot realise its true potential and enjoy the colour and peace of spring forever.

(The author, a former Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India, can be accessed on asurivasudevan@hotmail.com)