Modi, follow not Indira !

Institutional autonomy in peril

The steps provided for in the Constitution for an ideal model of development within a somewhat westernized framework is based on the pursuit of four basic goals:
a) Promoting national integration and tackling the intricacies of India’s diverse social structure.
b) Raising people’s standards of living at different levels of income, including the poor, the disprivileged and underprivileged sections, tribals and minorities.
c) Ensuring social equality
d) Strengthening the politico-economic-social democratic instruments of governance.
These basic goals have had never a smooth sailing. Years of the Janata establishment, as of Indira Gandhi’s Congress before, have exposed the limitations of the Indian polity. And, the sort of politics pursued has not only thrown up a restless electorate but has given rise to wide-ranging socioeconomic conflicts.
Amidst manipulative politics of the powers that be, institutional erosion has followed, under the BJP-ruled NDA leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well. We are all familiar with the working of “caged parrot,” called the CBI and now the RBI, the Central banking authority, which recently saw the resignation of its Governor Urjit Patel, just months before his term was to end. This is an example of institutional erosion in the RBI after 48 years.

Urjit Patel It is a harsh fact that democratic institutions tend to decline and get eroded when things get politicized as part of vote bank politics and undue emphasis is placed on personalities, the loyalty factor, personal security as well as the attempt is made to use the public realm for selfpromotion and resolve personal or electoral matters. For the past several months we have seen precisely this trend.
There has been too much stress on personalized leadership, and too little on institutions, their integrity and functional autonomy. This has not only led to sharp erosion in the effectiveness and morale of crucial segments of the apparatus of several institutions. It has also given rise to arbitrariness and highly partisan interventions as in the case of Urjit Patel of RBI vis-à-vis the Finance Ministry.
I honestly believe that institutional erosion in the face of massive social, economic and political challenges facing the country and the rising expectations of the people is a major crisis we are faced with today. It must be said that the distinctiveness of the Indian model of nation-building lies in strengthening powerful institutional structures which could moderate individual drives and ambitions.

We are all familiar with the working of “caged parrot” called the CBI and now the RBI, the Central banking authority, which recently saw the resignation of its Governor Urjit Patel, just months before his term was to end. This is an example of institutional erosion in the RBI after 48 years.

Indira Gandhi Broadly speaking, the main features of this institutional structure include a party structure that derives its strength from the grassroots, rules and norms to guide the administrative and judicial system, socio-economic planning machinery that derives its thinking from the ground, backed up a network of autonomous institutions and voluntary bodies operating at various levels of society. An informed criticism and debate are part of this viable system.
Historically and culturally, Indians have shown a remarkable understanding of their plural identities. The Indian secular tradition has permitted considerable ideological fluidity, but with due stress on ‘an ordering mechanism’. In a way, this can be taken as an all India tradition which of late seems to be under strain.

Narendra Modi Regrettably, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Congress adopted a style that threw the old institutional order out of gear. She was unable to replace it by a new structure. Instead, she followed increasingly personalized politics that overlooked institutional traditions as well as established political norms. It is a pity that the BJP-led NDA regime of Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to be following the footsteps of the late Prime Minister Gandhi’s government. Viewed on a larger canvas, it needs to be appreciated that the main thrust of our founding fathers of the Constitution was to ever create a unified system sensitive to the country’s changing social and economic realities . It is a model for building unity amidst diversities. It also aims at moderating ideologies, politico-bureaucratic and personal power through pressures from below. But the system today is in a period of crisis in the absence of values, norms of behaviour and rules of governance.

Regrettably, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Congress adopted a style that threw the old institutional order out of gear. But she was unable to replace it by a new structure. Instead, she followed increasingly personalized politics that overlooked institutional traditions as well as established political norms. It is a pity that the BJP-led NDA regime of Modi seems to be following the footsteps of the late Prime Minister Gandhi.

As already stated, our democratic institutions decayed during the Indira Gandhi regime. N S Saxena, who was at the helm of affairs in the police, was a witness to that period. During the Indira Gandhi era (1966-1984) a system was built, in which her personalized politics was in total command. In the process, all principles of fair play in governance were given the go-bye in order to ensure the Congress monopoly over the system and concentration of power in the hands of the Prime Minister.
Equally disquieting was the fact that the successor Janata Party did not do anything to change the vicious system. No wonder, the effects of such a system on law and order and crime control have subsequently been disastrous.
Today, we have seen the same trend in the saffron-ruled states and at the Centre under the Modi regime. Prime Minister Modi needs to look back and learn from all undesirable happenings of the past.
He ought to realise the importance of an independent judiciary, free and independent media, autonomy of our institutions and democratic rights of citizens of all sections.
Finally, I must share with fellow citizens : “the price of freedom is constant vigilance”.



		EDITOR'S MAIL EDITOR'S COMMENT SAFFRON FALL SIGNALS FOR TELANGANA SAFFRON FALL FRANKLY SPEAKING LOK SABHA ELECTIONS STATE OF ECONOMY REALPOLITIK AGRARIAN DISTRESS BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY PAST IN THE PRESENT MUMBAI TERROR ATTACK GLOBAL AFFAIRS KARTARPUR CORRIDOR HITS & MISSES BOOK BAZAAR SIGNS OF THE TIMES BOOK BAZAAR POLLUTION FALLOUT FOREST MANAGEMENT PATRIARCHAL BIAS IRANIAN FILMS A MIRROR TO SOCIETY ON RECORD ART OF LIVING Issue:January' 2018 Subscribe Now	MATTERS OF PUBLIC POLICY Modi, follow not Indira ! Institutional autonomy in peril The steps provided for in the Constitution for an ideal model of development within a somewhat westernized framework is based on the pursuit of four basic goals: a) Promoting national integration and tackling the intricacies of India’s diverse social structure. b) Raising people’s standards of living at different levels of income, including the poor, the disprivileged and underprivileged sections, tribals and minorities. c) Ensuring social equality d) Strengthening the politico-economic-social democratic instruments of governance. These basic goals have had never a smooth sailing. Years of the Janata establishment, as of Indira Gandhi’s Congress before, have exposed the limitations of the Indian polity. And, the sort of politics pursued has not only thrown up a restless electorate but has given rise to wide-ranging socioeconomic conflicts. Amidst manipulative politics of the powers that be, institutional erosion has followed, under the BJP-ruled NDA leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well. We are all familiar with the working of “caged parrot,” called the CBI and now the RBI, the Central banking authority, which recently saw the resignation of its Governor Urjit Patel, just months before his term was to end. This is an example of institutional erosion in the RBI after 48 years. Urjit Patel It is a harsh fact that democratic institutions tend to decline and get eroded when things get politicized as part of vote bank politics and undue emphasis is placed on personalities, the loyalty factor, personal security as well as the attempt is made to use the public realm for selfpromotion and resolve personal or electoral matters. For the past several months we have seen precisely this trend. There has been too much stress on personalized leadership, and too little on institutions, their integrity and functional autonomy. This has not only led to sharp erosion in the effectiveness and morale of crucial segments of the apparatus of several institutions. It has also given rise to arbitrariness and highly partisan interventions as in the case of Urjit Patel of RBI vis-à-vis the Finance Ministry. I honestly believe that institutional erosion in the face of massive social, economic and political challenges facing the country and the rising expectations of the people is a major crisis we are faced with today. It must be said that the distinctiveness of the Indian model of nation-building lies in strengthening powerful institutional structures which could moderate individual drives and ambitions. We are all familiar with the working of “caged parrot” called the CBI and now the RBI, the Central banking authority, which recently saw the resignation of its Governor Urjit Patel, just months before his term was to end. This is an example of institutional erosion in the RBI after 48 years. Indira Gandhi Broadly speaking, the main features of this institutional structure include a party structure that derives its strength from the grassroots, rules and norms to guide the administrative and judicial system, socio-economic planning machinery that derives its thinking from the ground, backed up a network of autonomous institutions and voluntary bodies operating at various levels of society. An informed criticism and debate are part of this viable system. Historically and culturally, Indians have shown a remarkable understanding of their plural identities. The Indian secular tradition has permitted considerable ideological fluidity, but with due stress on ‘an ordering mechanism’. In a way, this can be taken as an all India tradition which of late seems to be under strain. Narendra Modi Regrettably, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Congress adopted a style that threw the old institutional order out of gear. She was unable to replace it by a new structure. Instead, she followed increasingly personalized politics that overlooked institutional traditions as well as established political norms. It is a pity that the BJP-led NDA regime of Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to be following the footsteps of the late Prime Minister Gandhi’s government. Viewed on a larger canvas, it needs to be appreciated that the main thrust of our founding fathers of the Constitution was to ever create a unified system sensitive to the country’s changing social and economic realities . It is a model for building unity amidst diversities. It also aims at moderating ideologies, politico-bureaucratic and personal power through pressures from below. But the system today is in a period of crisis in the absence of values, norms of behaviour and rules of governance. Regrettably, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Congress adopted a style that threw the old institutional order out of gear. But she was unable to replace it by a new structure. Instead, she followed increasingly personalized politics that overlooked institutional traditions as well as established political norms. It is a pity that the BJP-led NDA regime of Modi seems to be following the footsteps of the late Prime Minister Gandhi. As already stated, our democratic institutions decayed during the Indira Gandhi regime. N S Saxena, who was at the helm of affairs in the police, was a witness to that period. During the Indira Gandhi era (1966-1984) a system was built, in which her personalized politics was in total command. In the process, all principles of fair play in governance were given the go-bye in order to ensure the Congress monopoly over the system and concentration of power in the hands of the Prime Minister. Equally disquieting was the fact that the successor Janata Party did not do anything to change the vicious system. No wonder, the effects of such a system on law and order and crime control have subsequently been disastrous. Today, we have seen the same trend in the saffron-ruled states and at the Centre under the Modi regime. Prime Minister Modi needs to look back and learn from all undesirable happenings of the past. He ought to realise the importance of an independent judiciary, free and independent media, autonomy of our institutions and democratic rights of citizens of all sections. Finally, I must share with fellow citizens : “the price of freedom is constant vigilance”.