Two articles in two days take a look at the Swatantra Party in the context of India today.
Andy Mukherjee writes in the Bloomberg news (28 June 2007) that India's Markets Need to Hear From Conservatives: The Swatantra Party
"The Indian middle class has over the past 15 years benefited greatly from economic freedoms grudgingly granted to it by the same politicians and bureaucrats who had for four decades run a ``license-permit raj'' under the garb of socialism. "It was only when the controlled system collapsed in a balance-of-payments crisis in 1990 that economic planners realized their mistakes and sought to correct them. Yet, the embrace of free markets is a reluctant one in India, as is evident in the ruling Congress Party's ambivalence about, among other things, selling government stakes in business enterprises."... ...
"It was only when the controlled system collapsed in a balance-of-payments crisis in 1990 that economic planners realized their mistakes and sought to correct them. Yet, the embrace of free markets is a reluctant one in India, as is evident in the ruling Congress Party's ambivalence about, among other things, selling government stakes in business enterprises... ...
"Without job creation, economic inequality is bound to rise in a country where half the people can't read or write and even more haven't been taught the skills needed for participation in the rapidly growing modern economy.
That, in turn, is fertile ground for left-wing extremism, which is already recognized by the government as probably the largest security threat facing the country today. ``It will require a traumatic shock to move the Generation Next,'' S V Raju says.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aDNHH6F8.fOk&refer=home
In the second article, Ashish Sharma and Pragya Singh analyses why "Everyone’s a socialist in one of the world’s fastest growing economies" in the Mint (26 June 2007) . The 1989 amendment to the Representation of the People Act says only political parties that swear their ideological allegiance to secularism, democracy and socialism can be registered. S.V. Raju has been waiting since 1994 for the Bombay high court to hear his case. He approached the court after failed efforts to convince the Election Commission of India to register his party, the Swatantra Party.Raju says that his friend and fellow litigant L.R. Sampat died without the case coming up. “I sometimes joke that the courts are now waiting for me to go,” Raju says.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, a national spokesperson of the BJP, says the Constitution of India has left socialism open to interpretation. “Historically, from Stalin and Pol Pot to Gandhi, socialism has embraced an array of approaches. To us, socialism means equity above all else. While the Congress debates how to distribute the bread, we want to increase the quantity of bread available for distribution,” he says...
Subhash C. Kashyap, an expert on the Constitution and a former secretary general of the Lok Sabha, says: “By no stretch of imagination or any dictionary definition can the policies of the present government, for instance, be called socialist.” The legal requirement to attest to socialism, he adds, is “fraud” and “poppycock”...
“We are hypocritical,” says Suresh Prabhu, a member of Parliament who belongs to the right-wing Shiv Sena party. “What we say we do not mean and what we want to say we never ever truly do. This is best manifested in our swearing by socialism,” he adds...
Historian Ramachandra Guha says this could be because with millions of poor in the country, no party wants to be identified as pro-rich...
Please read the complete article here.
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2 comments:
i find ramachandra guha's point nonsensical: in reality, many of us have been consistently upholding free enterprise as in the best interests of the poor - like street hawkers and vendors.
Similarly, we have been advocating unilateral free trade as in the best interests of the poor - who will gain as consumers: as in the case of duty-free second-hand car imports that will, in time, enable every Indian to own a 4-wheeled vehicle to ferry him, the wife and all the kids around in safety and comfort.
Lastly, I find SV Raju's 'the courts are now waiting for me to die' to be a wake up call. Our 'committed socialist judiciary' (as Indira Gandhi called them) is not delivering justice, timely or otherwise. It is not protecting the lives, liberties and properties of the people. Indefinitely postponing a hearing of the ILG petition is a sign of judicial apathy and it demands a strong response. I recall Sharad Joshi once talking about a 'jail bharo andolan' against the Bombay High Court's apathy. This kind of civic activism is urgently required. Otherwise, why just Raju, the courts will be happy to wait for all of us to die! I am not getting any younger myself. This year I turn 50.
Why just wait and wait in vain for justice?
When it does not come from the judges, we must fight for it, and take the battle to the streets.
Only that will fix them.
I think Ramachandra Guha's point is totally incorrect, for many liberals have been consistently advocating free enterprise for the benefit of poor people, like street hawkers and vendors, who are a persecuted lot today.
Similarly, we have been advocating unilateral free trade as in the interests of the poor: for example, with duty-free second-hand car imports, every Indian will soon be able to afford a modern 4-wheeled vehicle with which to ferry the wife and all the kids around, in safety and in comfort, with the music playing and maybe even some airconditioning in the hot indian summer!
However, it is SV Raju's comment that 'the courts are waiting for him to die' which really shook me - and should wake us all up. From 1994 - 2007, and not even a hearing of the ILG petition! If we leave things as they are, in due course, why Raju, we will all be dead!
I recall Sharad Joshi once telling me that a 'jail bharo andolan' should be organized outside the bombay high court to protest their inaction and apathy - and their part in a continuing tyranny. the time has come to seriously consider such a step, and others as well, to take the battle to the streets.
when there is no justice, the righteous must fight for it.
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