Modi Government .. A balanced view

    Photo Credit: newsbugz.com


With the election fervor up all around in India, I thought it would be a good time to put down a non-tribal view of the NDA government and its achievements. This is an opinion piece, and not a piece of investigative journalism. However, I've made all attempts to stick to facts.

Here's my read on the past 5 years:

Hits

  1. Structural Reforms: 
    1. Undoubtedly the single biggest credit that can be given to the NDA government is its willingness to tackle large problems areas and undertake structural reforms that have been pending for quite some time. Chief among the wins would be:
      1. Introduction of GST
      2. Bankruptcy laws
      3. Direct fund transfer
  2. Foreign Diplomacy
    1. Clearly, our engagement with the world has improved. It has tangible benefits. The response to our response to Pulwama was largely supportive for the first time in a long while. This would not be the case a few years ago. Clearly, the focus on this area has enhanced our standing in the world. One can argue on how much tangible has been achieved but no one can argue against the need for this engagement to continue. 
  3. Focus on development agenda
    1. We've taken a big step on renewables and embraced climate change goals. That's a big achievement. solar output in India has grown beyond anyone's best case assessment in 2013. 
    2. Electrification and core infra improvement has been a focus area. Results will never be enough for us, but there is significant progress and an unrelenting focus from the government.
  4. No major corruption cases
    1. The party can be lauded for not having been part of a major scandals on the economic front. This might be due to better media management or running a tighter ship, we'll find out in time. Right now, they deserve credit for keeping their names out to unnecessary corruption cases. Not only is corruption bad, being caught in the allegations itself can be debilitating, as the UPA government found out to its peril. Staying out of that quagmire is an achievement in itself.
Misses:
  1. Politics of division
    1. The divisive rancor has never been higher in India, whether in official politics of the governing party or the media or the mainstream discourse, the idea of an inclusive India is losing out to a hatred filled alternative that is extremely dangerous to it's future. 
    2. The politics of fear and propaganda is never good for the country and it is coming for the first time from voices within the government.  Yogi Adityanath's promotion from relative obscurity to the CM of the most populous state is prime example of divisive politics taking over the development agenda. Mr. Adityanath has no administrative or development wins on his resume. His selection is purely political and from the most vile form of politics. 
  2. Propaganda over data
    1. The introduction of fake facts and deliverable obfuscation at the central government level is worrying.  When the PM is caught lying on an on going basis, it's not a great sign. Other governments in the past have been guilty of obfuscation, they have also been guilty of glaring mistakes, but this government has misappropriated facts systematically. 
  3. Poor strategic clarity
    1. The government has been decisive, but the decisions themselves have been lacking a strategic cohesion and have an almost off the cuff feel to them. Whether it's Pakistan policy to demonetization, a clear strategy seems to be missing. 
  4. Lack of accountability
    1. No press conferences by the PM of the largest democracy in an entire tenure is shameful and unacceptable. Simple as that. Even the silent PM gave regular press conferences. Equally, when there is no room for dissent or questioning, it's a direct threat to the core of democracy.
  5. Broken promises
    1. Finally, if one looks at the manifesto from 2014, it makes for sobering reading. Not much that was promised has been achieved. Even more so, the case for change in 2014 was made over high interest rates, high prices of consumer goods, poor state of farmers etc. Today, the same issues remain. Petrol is higher than ever, so are food items. The job situation is dire. Farmers continue to be in extreme distress. This is partly the electorates fault also. Expecting parties to make lofty promises and giving mandates based on them is stupid. No party can deliver on the promises they are forced to make. However, the NDA government has been below average on their manifesto achievements even by the standards of Indian politics. 
  6. Campaign finance law
    1. Shameful law passed that basically makes the already murky campaign finance world even more opaque will lead to nothing good. This single change is nothing but a  disgrace. 
  7. Weakening of institutions
    1. The NDA government has not responded well to dissent, both inside and outside the government. The institutions of government that are best left independent have been challenged and compromised. Case in point, the RBI. This is again perilous and the commencement of a particularly slippery slope. 

Opportunities lost: 

  1. Youth energy
    1. The development focus was tied to the huge opportunity and risk India has uniquely with itself, the largest young population in the world. This is a one-time,  20 year opportunity to transform India into the leadership quadrant of nations. Sadly, this opportunity has largely been missed. 
  2. Historic Mandate
    1. India is also significantly anti-incumbent. A historic mandate like the one the NDA achieved is rare. Even the government will admit they're unlikely to get the same mandate in 2019. This was an opportunity to do more, push the envelope more. to be bold. Sadly it was missed due to lack of direction and the heady state of arrogance that didn't allow the government to work more effectively with the opposition and other partners.  


Summary:

Short term: 

The NDA government has been vigorous to say the least. There's been a flurry of activity. The media management has been impressive. Under the covers though, systemic problems have not been resolved. They've tried to paper over cracks and tried to do diligent work and can claim some key wins legitimately. I would give them a solid B for the work done. This is grading on a curve for sure. When others are inept, you look better by comparison. The political environment on the other hand has suffered immensely. It's hard to pin it accurately, but the overall feeling of authoritarianism is high in the air, perhaps the highest since the emergency. There is a feeling of distinct censure of dissent.


Longer term: 

The systematic undermining of the secular idea of India, the propagation and promotion of a hate filled narrative are dangers to the unity of India.
The subjugation of free speech, dissent and the complete take over of the narrative are extremely worrying signs. Continuing on the same path will lead to the weakening of the democratic structure and identity of India and will negatively impact everything, including the development agenda the government so craves.

In what i can think of as the the most damning statement I can make on the state of Indian politics, I'd say even with the systemic long term threats the NDA government has posed to the idea of India, it's hard to see a credible alternative. That is as damning a statement about the incompetence of the opposition you're ever likely to hear.

There is almost a complete lack of an opposing vision that captures to the needs to this country. An alternate leadership that commands trust and following is completely absent for the first time in India.


That, is most worrying fact of all.










Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The place i wanna be...

Dearest Pepper,

kissing the rain ...