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Politics and Public Policy in India

December 12, 2011 • 6:36 am 4

Looking to 2012 and beyond – Why “Trust” must become the overarching political narrative

Originally published in The Pioneer. As we bid good bye to 2011 and embrace 2012 a look ahead to why restoration of “Trust” within our public discourse will have to be the dominant political theme, the defining trait in the quest to discover the next Vajpayee. 

The most bizarre of controversies to plague India in recent times is playing out down south between the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. No it is not over the new rage on YouTube – “Why this Kolaveri di”. But you could as well say that of the mood down south over the Mullaperiyar Dam and of the political atmosphere across the country in general.

While facts have been a casualty in the political debate over the Mullaperiyar Dam, much anxiety and paranoia has been fuelled by rumors and speculation. The lack of trust between the people of the two states is so wide today that it has affected vehicular trade across their state borders while also leading to stray incidents of political violence. Many open letters and public statements by leaders on both sides and from Delhi notwithstanding, the trust deficit remains undiminished with perhaps fatigue over the issue being the only near term hope for it to fade away into the background.

The Mullaperiyar episode in many ways is symptomatic of the larger malaise that has afflicted both politics and much of governance in India over the past few years. The abject lack of Trust in the public space is the single most challenge to Political Parties both in Government and outside it if they nurture any hope of advancing their agenda.

It is this same lack of Trust that manifests itself routinely today in the name of “Civil Society” activism that has lead to a second guessing of the agencies of the State be it in the area of investigative law enforcement or in the process of Justice Delivery. Every incident is an encounter, every encounter is suspect, every agency is compromised and just about every aggrieved soul needs an “Independent” investigation.

The lack of trust is so pervasive within our public discourse that we have a glut of conspiracy theorists on just about any issue. The recent FDI in Retail debate was illuminating for the number of conspiracy theories it spawned from allegations of massive lobbying by Walmart to the Congres’ dire need for funds for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections. The decision was simultaneously a conspiracy of foreign forces against Indian middlemen, a conspiracy of Indian farmers against the Indian consumer and lastly a conspiracy of Indian Retailers against Indian Retailers. It is no surprise that in this environment of trust deficiency, common sense has become the casualty. In its extreme avatar the death of common sense has manifested itself in Swadeshi theories that celebrate the sanctity of informal barter while exorcising the evil of Legal Contracts.

The long list of stalled legislation, rolled-back or suspended Executive Decisions and Projects stuck in a limbo is often blamed on a lack of consensus when in fact the real reason is the atmosphere distrust within which such consensus building is apparently attempted. Every contentious issue today has become a matter of perceived Rights and imagined Wrongs. The deep sense of entitlement with which every impacted group of a given decision have been encouraged to politick has created a culture where nothing on offer is ever enough, there is always something more to be asked and last but not the least someone is always out to get you.

It must be asked of the Sonia Gandhi lead Congress and its assorted eco-system of Left Lib NGO Activists on the degree to which their “Rights based Entitlements” agenda has actually contributed to this deep Trust deficit as they fostered a sense of victimhood in almost every electorally significant demographic segment. The deeply flawed Forest Rights Acts and its highly contentious process by which community claims are made on land has had the net effect of sowing deep distrust over major Industrial projects like POSCO and Vedanta in Orissa. The inflationary MGNREGS scheme now has the dubious distinction of sowing deep distrust between Local governments and state governments on the one hand and state governments and the central government on the other paving the way for anti-federal interventions by agencies of the State and Civil Society busybodies. The RTI activism cottage industry has not resulted in any significant change in the processes of Government but has instead ensured an air of permanent distrust prevails where all decisions are suspect and there is always a scam lurking in the background.

For every report there is a counter-report, for every claim there is a counter claim while leaks have become the routine norm. There is no longer a single version of the Truth. Nothing exemplifies this better than the manner in which the credibility of the CAG as an Institution has been diluted with the competing claims on the size of loss to the exchequer in the 2G scam. Truth has become the casualty in this climate of competitive politics and it has come to affect the judicial process. The many false claims that have come to light in the Amit Shah episode in the Supreme Court are a sad commentary on how aspersions have been cast on the Judiciary of a state to settle political scores.

Pratap Bhanu Mehta in comments to the Indian Express recently lamented, how the Law and Order process had been vitiated in almost every episode with a communal angle. The lack of trust between extreme activists on either end of the Communal spectrum is not new. But the manner in which the Delhi based media and Left leaning intellectuals have politicized the investigation process in so many cases has now lead us to a situation where no verdict at any level will be taken as the last word. This malaise has now extended to the judicial process straddling other parochial fault-lines as well from Kashmir to Punjab as we recently witnessed the ridiculous political grandstanding over commuting of death sentences awarded to convicted terrorists.

Trust is dangerously close to becoming extinct from our public space. We may regale ourselves over clever by half political games being played by our favored side little realizing that we are now collectively in a quicksand. It no longer matters who steps on whom, we are all set to sink.

Consensus needed for radical change cannot be negotiated in this environment of distrust.  The tune “Why this Kolaveri di” may have united a nation by capturing the sentiment of the moment. We are yet to see leadership emerge that can overcome this murderous rage of distrust.

Come 2014, far more than the arithmetic of feel-good acceptability in coalition politics, the dire need will be for Leadership that can inspire Trust across the many political fault-lines that have fragmented this nation.

Filed under: Anna Hazare, उत्तर प्रदेश २०१२, betrayal of aam admi, Left Liberalism, Local Governance, Mayawati, Narendra Modi, Nitin Gadkari, Offstumped, OpEds on Uttar Pradesh Polls 2012, Two Indias, UPA-II Critical Appraisal, Uttar Pradesh Polls 2012

December 9, 2011 • 8:07 pm 5

Weekend Pop Quiz on Fire Safety

The tragedy in Kolkota is a stark reminder of how few lessons have been learned on urban local governance despite Kolkota suffering a massive fire at its Burra Bazaar just 3 years back in 2008. The tragic irony of course is that both the previous CPM government and the present Trinamool government of Bengal have a full time Fire Minister.

Here is a pop quiz on a fire safety code – guess the year, country and name of the author of this Fire Safety Code:

- Kindling of fire shall be prohibited during the hottest hours of the day during the summer. A fine shall be imposed for kindling fire at such a time.

- Cooking operations involving fire shall be performed in the outdoors

- The Owner of a building/home shall provide for 5 storage units of water, multiple discharge containers, a ladder, an axe and other tools for extinguishing, rescue and recovery. Failure to provision these will incur a fine.

- All industrial works involving fire shall be zoned together in a separate part of the Town or City away from the rest of the dwellings. Inflammable materials shall not be used in the construction of such units.

- Owners of buildings/homes shall be responsible for maintaining minimal physical security of their Units during the nights

-  Water Storage  in the 1000s of Units shall be maintained along milestones of Major Roads, at Cross-Roads of Major Roads with other streets and near all major government/public buildings.

- Failure to provide aid to a neighbor during a Fire Emergency will incur a fine. Even Tenants can be held liable for a Fire emergency. Individual Responsibility shall be fixed for both Accidents and intentional acts of Arson with varying amounts of monetary fines imposed for the same.

Clue: It is ok to guess the century if not the year of authorship :)

Answer: No that Fire Safety code is not from the USA or the 21st century, it is from this country and at least 2500 years old. If only we paid more attention to the essence of Kautilya’s Arthashastra, perhaps we would govern ourselves better …..

Filed under: Local Governance, UPA-II Critical Appraisal

December 8, 2011 • 8:00 am 3

MNS’ Raj Thackeray attempts a radical innovation – OpEd in Mid-Day Mumbai

Originally published in the Mid-Day Mumbai

Politics in India never ceases to surprise and Maharashtra is no exception. In a radical move, Raj Thackeray and his MNS have subjected all aspirants to upcoming local body polls to a written test. The test a 90-minute exercise was to have both objective and descriptive questions. Conducted across the state, the test was mandatory to both new aspirants and sitting MNS corporators. While the exam paper was not leaked, as is customary with many exams in India, one did get a glimpse of the kind of questions that were asked on the functioning of local bodies.

Much debate will likely ensue on the fidelity of the evaluation and on the meaningfulness of using the performance in this test as a benchmark for selecting candidates in the upcoming polls. Parallels will be drawn with other methods of candidate selection for a general election such as holding Primaries based on Ballots and conducting Caucuses. There is very little appreciation though on how democracy based on the party system has evolved in other mature democracies and the time horizon over which such an evolution happened.

As an example for nearly the first 50 years of Presidential Democracy in the United States, the Presidential candidate was chosen by the Legislators of the respective parties in Washington DC. That system changed to nomination by representatives within a National Convention sometime in the mid-1800s. It was not until the early 1900s that we see the first instance of the present-day Primary system. Even then adoption was spotty and it was not until the late 1960s that there was nationwide ubiquity in how candidates were selected based on grassroots democracy. Grassroots democracy for candidate continues to be work in progress even in the US as individual states jockey to move the calendar.

When we lament the dysfunctional state of the Indian democracy we forget that we comparing an evolution in the West that happened over nearly a 200-yr time period with what is essentially a young democracy in its toddler days. Technology has no doubt allowed India to leapfrog on several fronts. In some respects political innovations unique to India like a Federal Election Commission that efficiently executes a 100% electronic election can put even some of these more mature democracies to shame. However to expect a social change of the magnitude that occurs over two centuries to be achieved within a short 60-odd years is a reflection of our impatience for change more than anything else.

Many forget that the American Republic nearly 100 years after it came into existence had a near death experience in the form of the Civil War. Some may compare the Indian Emergency of the 1970s with that near death experience but it was not quite on the same scale. Our seemingly dysfunctional democracy has a long way to go, growing out of its Toddler years into Adolescence and eventually into Adulthood. A written examination for candidates may not reflect grassroots voter sentiments. The many flaws in its execution will likely end up doing more damage than good. Nevertheless it says something that for 90 minutes all budding and sitting politicians at the local level were humbled into quiet introspection and reflection on the task they have set themselves about.

In a country that has taken “test taking” to a level of professional sophistication to spawn a mini-economy around “test taking”, this MNS Test may not be a big deal. In the years to come every possible trick in the book that has been applied to guile the unsuspecting examiner, will likely get applied here. But nevertheless a beginning has been made to drive home the point that a basic democratic temperament on the nature and functioning of local government is a pre-requisite for those seeking to represent their wards. In this context it must be said that Rahul Gandhi’s Youth Congress experiments deserve credit too despite the process resulting in flawed electoral outcomes. While Rahul Gandhi may not have succeeded in leveling the playing field within his Youth Congress elections, a beginning has been made. As a first step the process of holding ballots has been institutionalized. If not in the first iteration, subsequent iterations will likely yield the desired outcomes.

Where the MNS’ test will go from here will depend on the kind of institutional leadership Raj Thackeray provides to it in the days to come. Politics in Maharashtra has for long been fragmented resulting in the re-election of NCP-Congress combine despite the monumental incompetence of its previous Chief Ministers. The BJP and the Shiv Sena are attempting a new kind of consolidation with their new found alliance partner Ramdas Athavale of the RPI. In this mix Raj Thackeray continues to be the wild card. He may have taken time out to study Narendra Modi’s Gujarat but it is far from clear if he has come of age to become Maharashtra’s Narendra Modi.

Raj Thackeray’s creative side came through with this radical experiment to set entry criteria for aspiring candidates. It will be interesting to observe his evolution along other leadership dimensions, as he looks set to challenge both status quo and conventional political wisdom in Maharashtra.

Filed under: Local Governance, Mumbai BMC Polls 2012, Offstumped, OpEds on Mumbai BMC Polls 2012

June 8, 2011 • 10:46 pm 4

White Umbrella Revisited – how we forgot the Chhatra in Chhatrapati

Had initially thought of titling this post as “Down with the Anarchists” but ….

http://twitter.com/offstumped/status/78430384173498368

http://twitter.com/offstumped/status/78430517975990273

instead decided to go with a positive theme before taking a Summer blogging break.

Much has already been written and said on the anarchist streak within the so called “civil society movements” from either end of the ideological spectrum.

This blog has analyzed the dangers posed by Left Liberalism ad-nauseam.

This blog has also on multiple occasions advocated on why the counter political movement to the Left Liberalism of the Congress has to be based on a Triangulation of the three principles of

#1  Constitutionalism (Dharma in the public context)

#2 Enlightened Pursuit of Self Interest (Artha in the socio-economic context)

#3 a Socio-Cultural Value System or a Personal Moral Compass (Dharma in the individual context).

Building on the above 3 principles this blog has also hypothesized how such a Triangulation can bring together the three constituencies in the broad space to the Right of Center combining

#1 those who believe in a Strong Republic and stand for its strategic interests

#2 those who stand for a limited role for the State in Socio-Economic Decision Making and stand for economic freedom and the pursuit of Enterprise

#3 those who stand for Socio-Cultural Values drawing inspiration from them as a Personal Moral Compass in the conduct of our Public Affairs

These three constituencies however are not without inherent contradictions for we often trip because:

#1 there are many who put Moralism of different kinds over Realism in the pursuit of Strategic Interests

#2 many more who put more Faith in the Wisdom of the State over the Individual and Private Enterprise in socio-economic decision making

#3  a significant, vocal segment who put Cultural Identity above personal freedoms

It is unfortunate that all three of the above often come together in a reverse traingulation of sorts in the political responses of some within the broad political movement that swears by Hindutva and identifies with the Bhagwa.

Describing this process of  reverse triangulation as the “Saffron Left” as this blogger has often done perhaps doesn’t quite do justice in understanding this phenomenon accurately. Much of this phenomenon can be traced to

#1 Unresolved emotions over an unfinished Culture War and….

#2 a superficial understanding of native traditions of political science and statecraft

Hence we have this periodic hijacking of the broad political space to the Right of Center by those who are in awe of the Bhagwa to the degree it reminds them of Shivaji’s guerrilla tactics against a cultural onslaught of that era while being blissfully ignorant of what the Chhatra stood for when Shivaji became Chhatrapati.

Media reports quote RSS Chief Shri Mohan Bhagwat mentioning that he believed in Shivaji’s Model of Governance. Now we dont know what exactly he meant by Shivaji’s Model of Governance:

Small Government – Shivaji only had a Cabinet of 8 Ministers

Flat rate of taxation

Openness to Foreign Trade – Shivaji negotiated trade routes with the British, transacted with them through his conquests

The problem is beyond the feel good sloganeering on the romantic notion of a Welfare State aka “Ram Rajya” this movement has failed to define itself on the guiding principles of statecraft and on the role of government more specifically limits to government. Th

The culture of anti-intellecutalism that has seeped into this movement has ensured that half baked ideas and feel good slogans have become a substitute for a sound guiding philosophy on political issues.

If only the movement’s leading lights were to rest Bhagwa back in its sacred corner and remind themselves of what the Chhatra in Chhatrapati stood for we would all be far better of with

a political movement that while drawing its moral compass from Hindu Values does not lose sight of both Constitutionalism and the Enlightened Pursuit of Self Interest.

Ending this post with a quote from this out of print book on the rich ancient Indian Tradition of Political Science on what the Shveta Chhatra or the White Umbrella stood for:

 the core of the tradition as symbolized by the “White Umbrella” is essentially this: The problem of government is the ethical problem of the individual projected onto the field of the State. Its solution lies in Dharma.

Offstumped will be on a break for the next few weeks.

Filed under: Ambedkarite Constitutionalism, Anna Hazare, उत्तर प्रदेश २०१२, Baba Ramdev, betrayal of aam admi, Local Governance, Narendra Modi, Nitin Gadkari, Shveta Chhatra

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