Bharat experienced slow economic
& social progress, often described as a Hindu rate of growth, for most periods
since 1947, when the British left India, until the present PM of India Dr Manmohan
Singh, an economist, was discovered by distraught political leaders &
handed over the critical task of managing economy. Since 47, the caste-religion minded political
class in India thought it imprudent to hand over the important ministries in union
cabinet to professionals on merit alone without factoring in their social class.
The Chalta-hai & Aya-Ram-Gaya-
Ram approach to politics in Bharat pushed it into turmoil by a staccato fix it style
handling of economic policies. The trial & error attitude adopted by ruling
elite led to chaos and brought it on the verge of exploding internally due to
poverty, hunger & slow haphazard growth, as if the socio-political leaders
had no choice available in front of them in operation in the West & Asia. Since
the political elite were busy managing vote banks, the three other pillars of
democracy decided to serve their own selfish interests than that of the citizens.
Bharat experienced rapid economic
development much later than even south-Asian countries, due to reforms
introduced by Dr Manmohan Singh & emulated by others. But this growth has
tapered once again & may soon degenerate into pre-Manmohan- Singh- era
level. Growth by itself is useless unless it is in right direction. Cancerous growth looks amazing, in color pictures.
A growth movement without direction does serious long term damage to a society because
it can’t help one arrive at the desired destination.
The world has long accepted &
imbibed the truth of best man for the job approach but Bharat continues to live
by the rank opposite philosophy of any adult can do every job. That’s why you
see exponents of yoga, a traditional physiotherapy regimen, lecture seasoned economists
& industrialists on how to run economy & industry. That is sure recipe for a long period of
directionless Hindu rate of growth in Bharat. Never been to school brand of swamis are not
the major reason for chaos in Bharat. It’s the lack of right quantity of
quality leaders that hurts most.
Though INC would have preferred
to have another PM in 2009, in place of Dr Manmohan Singh, to balance various
religious identities for compulsions of electoral politics, but Sonia Gandhi
perhaps had limited choice to replace Dr Singh. But the second term as Prime
Minister to a humble honest clean scholar from Sikh community has not helped political
fortunes of Congress Party in mainly Hindu-heartland states in Bharat.
Political parties In Bharat seems
to have divided along secular versus communal chasm. But this divide is facile
as most political players keep trotting to either side as per convenience. The Congress
party often calls its opponent BJP a communal party, but the majority population
doesn't see much difference between the two. Bhajpa became a formidable
political force by leveraging the Hindu pride. LK Advani led movement for
construction of Hindu temple at the place of Mosque bore sweet fruits in India
that prided itself of being a secular state different from religion based Pakistan
& Nepal. Advani & Vajpaye didn’t
spend a single day in jail for leading the Hindu pride movement of Ram Temple and
were rewarded by top leadership positions in the secular republic of Bharat. On
the contrary, Shiromani Akali Dal, a party of Sikhs in Punjab, has not been lucky,
as its leaders had to suffer a lot in the politics of Sikh pride.
It is incorrect to credit BJP for
resurrection of Hindu pride movement. The seeds of it were sown much earlier
during the British raj. If triumvirate of Gandhi, Nehru & Patel had shown foresight
by refusing to undertake construction of Somnath temple on priority in newly
independent India and focused on economic matters alone perhaps India would
have been a super power by now ahead of China? It confounds many why they took
such a step when Europe & Asia were into thick of anti-religious sentiment
fuelled by socialist revolution? Did India err in anger management of Hindus
who were forced to live under non-Hindu empires for thousands of years?
Hindu supremacist organizations
like RSS [Sangh] don’t condemn demolition of Babri mosque, Operation Bluestar,
major riots of 84, 92 & 2002 etc in which minorities of Bharat suffered
enormously. Most often such incidents are justified by Hindu political class as
genuine acceptable reactions to atrocities inflicted on majority Hindus by
minority Sikhs & Muslims. No Hindu politician has ever gone to jail for participating
in such tragic carefully planned attacks on minorities in Bharat, though
leaders & professionals from minorities have been routinely punished by
various courts or mere suspicion alone. Chief Minister Punjab S Parkash Singh
Badal has spent 17 years in jails as political prisoner, second only to Nobel
laureate Nelson Mandela.
While India was busy managing the Hindu-angst,
China raced ahead to become a global power of enormous magnitude. Despite huge
population, equal to China, Bharat wins far few Olympic medals, Nobel awards
and Oscars etc. Wonder why don’t Bharat
use available fora to stamp its strength on global scene? The
industry, with exception of few, still find it difficult to inculcate competencies
required for success despite decades of protection, catalyzed further by
liberalization ushered in by Dr Manmohan Singh. Failure of domestic industry
majors, despite protections against global competition, in organized retail is
clear proof of their lack of managerial strengths.
History is not created by those
students who want stars on each page they write from every teacher no matter
what. But by those who study very hard & work harder. Narendra Modi, CM Gujarat,
a representative of RSS-BJP Hindu philosophy wants to be next PM of India in 2014
to, as he says so loudly and repeatedly, to rid India of economic mess created
by Dr Manmohan Singh led government & put an end to pseudo-secular politics
in India. He wants to make India like Gujarat that he claims is a model state
in the world.
But is he the best man for the
job or an average guy who will ask others to work for him & produce
excellence? Can a good administrator be a great inventor or economist or
engineer? Media has projected N Modi as a control freak, certainly not known
for giving freedom to the team, a prerequisite for germination & nurture of
excellence. Will Bharat once again opt for placating ‘outraged Hindus’ looking
for suitable route for anger management by electing N. Modi? Could emergence of
Aam Admi Party provide an alternative to India to vent its frustrations and take
India forward towards a respectable image of a global democracy? Perhaps the Congress party understands that India
& Bharat are angry but it doesn't seem to appreciate who is more & why.
