The Hindu Business Line : Where are we headed?

It is cynical to suggest — but probably this is the way we are going — that “cash for votes” is going to become the hallmark of coalition politics in the coming years.

Ranabir Ray Choudhury

We have just entered our 62nd year of Independence from British rule, and it is perhaps one of those occasions which comes around periodically when it is time to take stock of what has been achieved and to think about where we are headed. To some people, this is a pointless preoccupation because such exercises have been undertaken religiously ever since we turned 25 as a free nation, if not earlier, and there is precious little to show that, as a nation, we have gained any thing concrete from such introspection. Indeed, this attitude in itself provides an answer to the two questions posed above, and if it is taken seriously the point can perhaps be made that the future of the nation is not as bright as some of us would like to think it is.

Let us examine the issue under three broad heads, namely, the intellectual content of the nation, its economic prowess, and its politics. The point can easily be made that, at the intellectual level, the Indian nation has maintained its rich profile, for which it has been known (in a focussed way) since the 19th century. The latest information-technology revolution is actually an offshoot of this very strong base, for it is only by standing on that foundation has the country’s software engineers been able to exhibit to the world at large their flexibility and dexterity in the area. In a philosophical sense, it is perhaps also an indication of the Indian mind’s great (and age-old) aptitude to get to the root of things, understand it thoroughly and then — in modern times at least — utilise it to get at new solutions.

Intellectual pursuits

If this reading is correct, it must follow that its footprint should be seen in every sphere to which the Indian mind has applied itself. And this is exactly what has happened in spheres where “Indian intellectualism” has had a free run, unhindered by administrative and bureaucratic controls. Take, for example, the developments in the fundamental sciences where big strides have been taken in the respective fields, progress which has been recognised and lauded by the international fraternity. If Indians have been able to “flower” more profusely abroad in their intellectual pursuits, it only means that the same performance could have been registered within the country if the prevailing administrative and bureaucratic hurdles in the way of freer functioning were removed.

Even in the economic sphere, this facet of Indian intellectualism has stamped itself as a great asset provided the operating environment is conducive to unhindered functioning in the truest sense of the term. As one Japanese multinational company working in India has found out to its great advantage, Indian management practices have provided its units in this country with such good results that the company’s Indian units have become some sort of an example to be emulated by its other units spread out all over the globe. As this writer has been told, the core Japanese production practices have not been tampered with in their basics, but amendments have been introduced which have merged efficient Japanese human resources technology with the Indian variations as revealed on the shopfloor to produce an amalgam which has become a model for worldwide operations. What makes these changes important from the Indian perspective is that nearly all the changes suggested (and incorporated by an alert and perceptive management) have been generated by Indian employees who have located the problem-points while at work and have suggested solutions which have been implemented by their bosses.

Economic capability

This lead us on to the broad economic sphere in which our Republic has begun to make its mark in recent times. Indeed, since the 1990s, the national economy has begun to perform differently in the sense that not only has it managed to break out of a “stagnation-low growth” vicious circle, it has been able to establish its presence on the world stage to such an extent that it has triggered a total restructuring of international economic relations towards a regime no longer West-centric. (The present course of the WTO Doha Round of negotiations is a direct result of this change, which is still evolving.) Briefly, domestic economic reforms have been wholly responsible for this assertion of Indian economic capability, the basic explanation perhaps being that Indian entrepreneurial excellence has been given a freer hand by the Government of the day, resulting in Indian competitiveness in its broadest manifestation being able to come into its own in the international marketplace.

The question will, of course, be asked whether we are really all that well off economically when we are currently having to face a 12 per cent-plus inflation rate and the national economy is still critically dependent on world crude prices, which are quite unpredictable? Admittedly, these are important problems which the national economy has to tackle, but the overbearing fact is that the mainsprings of the Indian economic miracle, which lie more in the mind than anywhere else, have begun working at last, thanks to a set of reform policies which have, to a great extent, removed the fetters which had shackled the Indian competitive spirit for more than 40 years following Independence.

Will reforms continue?

The big issue is: Will these reforms continue in future, which is perhaps the only way in which the Indian Republic can rediscover its true position in the comity of nations and also provide the best deal to its own impoverished populace? There is one school which maintains that the reforms cannot be rolled back, which is a reassuring thought to begin with. But, then, reform policies depend on Governments in New Delhi, and Governments depend on their stability to keep the reforms going. It is axiomatic that only stable Governments can get through reform policies because such policies are bound to come up against stiff political opposition which has to be overcome. It is cynical to suggest — but probably this is the way we are going — that “cash for votes” is going to become the hallmark of coalition politics in the coming years (it probably has been so in the past but without the attendant publicity). If this is acceptable, what, then, is the future of reforms. In fact, where are we headed?