Why India is turning to Populism
by Sudheendra Kulkarni
Not being an expert in etymology, I do not know how the word ‘populism’ originated. However, keen observers of and participants in the discourse on India’s political economy know that ‘populism’ has travelled an interesting journey in our country. From being reviled as ‘bad economics’ since the advent of liberalisation in the early 1990s by a section of the intelligentsia that had embraced the credo ‘West is Best’, it has now been honourably enshrined as an indispensable part of ‘good politics’ by mainstream political parties.Populism can be understood as popular pro-people, especially pro-poor, governmental measures with direct benefits to individual citizens or families unmediated or less mediated by market forces. However, it did not find favour with the high priests of free-marketism, who insisted that liberalisation and globalisation as defined by American capitalism were a model to be adopted by the rest of the world. Known as the Washington Consensus, its votaries frowned upon populist measures. Like socialism, populism too came to be equated with outdated thinking. What was hailed as ‘Manmohanomics’ in India was not free of this intellectual arrogance either, although it must be said to the credit of Dr Manmohan Singh that the reforms he introduced as finance minister freed the Indian economy from many shackles of the licence-permit-quota raj.
Now that the Washington Consensus is dead in Washington itself, benign populism is back with a bang. Look at the election manifestos of the BJP and Congress. The Congress promised 25 kg of rice or wheat a month at Rs 3 per kg to families living below the poverty line. The BJP has gone several steps further. It has promised 35 kg of rice or wheat a month at Rs 2 kg to all BPL families. The scheme was first mooted in the early 1980s by the late N.T. Rama Rao, the superstar of Telugu cinema who became the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. It has taken 25 long years for it to travel from provincial politics to national politics. At the very least, this proves that national political parties are not the sole repositories of knowledge about good governance. In a diverse country like India, regional parties, headed by responsible leaders, can contribute a good deal to the emergence of a pro-people governance paradigm.A comparison between the manifestos of the Congress and BJP clearly shows that the latter has given a far broader populist thrust to its governance agenda. It has made specific promises to almost every section of society—kisans (farm loans at 4 per cent interest rate), jawans (complete exemption from income tax plus one rank, one pension for ex-servicemen), income tax payers (exemption limit raised from Rs. 1.2 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh), students (education loans at 4 per cent interest rate), and senior citizens (IT benefits to be made available at 60 years, instead of 65 years as is the practice now). Women’s economic empowerment has received special focus: Ladli Laxmi Yojana to reduce school dropout among girl children; a universal financial inclusion scheme to make every BPL woman have a bank account with an initial governmental deposit of Rs. 1,500; and a promise to double the abysmally low wages of 28 lakh Anganwadi workers and helpers, who are the backbone of the Integrated Child Development Scheme.
Why did the BJP give its manifesto such a strong populist focus? The reason is simple: learning from past mistakes. After the party’s unexpected defeat in the 2004 parliamentary elections, a committee was set up to study the reasons for electoral defeat. I was a member of the committee. Based on the feedback from a large cross-section of the party’s grassroots workers, the committee identified several factors. Amongst them was the paradoxical response that, although all sections of the people appreciated the long-term benefits that would accrue from the Vajpayee government’s thrust on infrastructure development, the poor and the middle classes felt that it did not promise anything specific for their benefit. This finding was truly an eye-opener for me.
When the poor go out to cast their vote, it is perfectly understandable if they ask themselves: “What’s in it for us?” Don’t businessmen and professionals do the same? The difference is that, whereas the rich get from the system all that they want even without voting, the poor, who vote almost as if it’s their religious duty, get very little in return. Thus, it is the aam matdaata (common voter) in India’s increasingly maturing democracy who is forcing political parties to learn what good politics is and, by implication, what good economics is. While pressure for pro-poor economics is building from below, there is also growing responsiveness at the top. Today there are many people in the BJP, Congress and other parties who realise that it is the moral and Constitutional obligation of our governance system to first bring immediate succour to the poor.
Having said this, I must hasten to add that populist promises by themselves are no proof of the maturity of a political party. By and large, our voters are becoming astute enough to judge parties and their leaders on the basis of their performance and not promises alone. Performance depends on parties’ and leaders’ commitment to the canons of good governance.
Three different political formations are making a bid for power in the coming Lok Sabha elections—BJP-led NDA, Congress whose UPA arrangement has collapsed, and an amorphous Third Front. Parties in all the three formations have made populist promises. It is now up to the voters to give a decisive mandate to that configuration which is most committed to the requirements of good economics, good politics and good governance.
(This article was first published in the Indian Express on April 5, 2009.)
Comments
3 Responses to “Why India is turning to Populism”
Comment is irrelavant to the article itself so I do apologize. However, thought I should point out to three good artcles as below:
1. Nostradamus sees saffron! by Francois Gautier in the New Indian Express.
2. England in India goes to polls by Tarun Vijay in Times of India.
3. Roman revenge on Gandhi by Tarun Vijay in the last issue of the Organizer (RSS publication).
Have a great day!
Yes it is possible to implement this agenda while at the same time reducing the fiscal deficit. The answer lies is making use of IT to sharply target the subsidies to only the deserving people while reducing the corruption and transaction cost. Assuming that the 85% of the subsidies are lost in the chain due to corruption and transaction costs, doing it this way can make a lot of money available for such schemes.
Promises in the BJP’s manifesto have to be seen along with the reforms like introduction of ITsystems (Smartcards etc.), disinvestments, targeted subsidies etc.
In the end such a manifesto can be best implemented with honest, positive and capable leadership (which I think the BJP has).
The manifesto takes the wind out of poor Rahul Gandhi’s sail who till yesterday went around the country saying BJP doesn’t understand the grief of the poor.
Election Manifesto for Hindu Voters! - 1
Cast your vote for a candidate who is ethical and who will look after Hindu interests!
Dear Hindu Brothers and Sisters,
The politicians, who we Bharatiyas so confidently handed over the reigns of our country to after Independence, have made it worthless. We have experienced extreme deterioration of our country over the last 61 years, even though political parties of all hues were given chance to rule.
The Nation has deteriorated because of Adharmi (unright-eous) politicians!: During ancient times people used to be happy, fearless and prosperous because the Hindu Kings then followed their duty and Dharma. The politicians and rulers today are unrighteous and misuse power for their own interests. This has led to deterioration of Bharat at all levels. The people are overwhelmed with poverty, unemployment, corruption, crime and misconduct.
The ’secular’ rulers themselves are responsible for the pathetic state of Dharma!: Activities against the Hindu Dharma and appeasement of Muslims & Christians has become a permanent feature of the ’secular’ politicians. Therefore, in a Hindu majority Bharat the very faith of Hindus on Dharma was hurt through various media of denigration of Hindu Deities, killing of Hindu leaders, anti-Hindu laws etc. Eighty-five crore Hindus who are not united on the lines of Dharma, saw harm being caused to their Dharma; while non-Hindus were united and therefore, were appeased by the politicians for their votes. To arrest the present pitiable condition of the Nation and Dharma, it is essential to elect candidates who are patriotic, followers of Dharma, care for the people, have a warrior attitude, are morally strong and have a sacrificing nature. For that it is essential that the Dharma Shakti of Hindus manifests through the medium of the ballot and that is our collective responsibility. Therefore, seriously think who will you give your invaluable vote to!
Do not vote for such candidates!
1. Corrupt, criminal, uneducated and those who hop from party to party
2. Those who offer drinks, parties, money, clothes, picnics and luxury items in exchange for votes
3. Those who play caste-politics by encouraging the reservation culture and thus divide the society
4. Parties who appoint defeated candidates to the posts of Governors or Chief of some Corporation etc.
5. Those who have amassed unlimited wealth after being elected, kept crores in Swiss / other banks, have hidden their black money and have evaded taxes
6. Those who disrupt the working of Parliamentary or Legislative sessions and thus cause loss of public money
7. Those who spend public money on advertisements, when there is a debt of crores of rupees on the Nation and when 30% of our population lives below the poverty line
8. Those who spread such denigrating history - ‘Sri Ram is a myth’, ‘Lokmanya Tilak, Savarkar, Bhagat Singh were terrorists’ and ‘Shivaji Maharaj was wicked and deceitful’
9. Those who pretend to be Hindutvavadis, after sensing the oncoming wave of Hindutva
10. Those involved in preparing anti-Hindu laws and those who hate Hindu Dharma, Deities, Hindu Holy texts and Sanskrut language
11. Those who distribute the donations of Hindu devotees to Churches, Mosques, Christian Schools, after taking over the temples under Government management
12. Those who participate in programmes of Muslims and Christians, but do not participate in Hindu agitations for the defense of Dharma and ignore undesirable practices taking place during festivals in their own constituency
13. Those who out of their fanatic mentality, give tickets to Muslims and never lose a single opportunity to appease them
14. Those who provide reservations to minorities in jobs, educational field, give subsidy of crores of rupees for Haj pilgrimage and donate thousands of acres of land for building Mosques and Cemeteries
15. Those who try to destroy the places of Hindu cultural heritage - Ram Setu, Bham hill (where Saint Tukaram did penance) and those who do not allot permanent land for the Amarnath pilgrims
16. Those who never register a simple protest even when Hindu leaders are murdered, or when Muslims instigate riots, when vandalism of Hindu Deities Idols takes place or when the Hindu-hater MF Husain paints nude paintings of Bharatmata and Hindu Deities
17. Those who have neglected the rehabilitation of four and a half crore Kashmiri Hindus, who due to Muslim atrocities had to leave their lands, and thus have subjected them to a miserable life in refugee camps
18. Those who arrest a Dharmaguru of Hindus and torture Him, but do not dare to touch Imam Bukhari (who has many times given Nation-dividing incendiary speeches and also has many criminal cases against him)
19. Those who have allowed the infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims and also have granted them Bharatiya nationality
20. Those who have delayed execution of the death sentence to terrorist Mohammad Afzal and those who do not intend to find a permanent solution to the menace of terrorism
(Hindus should remember that their vote is important for pulling the ’secular’ politicians down and establishing a rule based on Dharma!
‘Who to vote for’ is taught to Muslims in Mosques and to Christians in the Churches. What is wrong then, to tell Hindus that they should vote only for a candidate who is interested in Hindu welfare? - Editor)
Remember this too!
1. If no candidate in your constituency is eligible as above, then boycott the election! Besides, if more than 50% of the voters in a constituency are boycotting the elections, then send a letter to the President to pass a law for such candidates to be declared ineligible and elections be held again!
2. Compel the rulers to pass a law whereby the voters in a constituency can call back an elected candidate, if his work for public welfare is unsatisfactory!
3. Let the candidates know beforehand that public can take tough action against them if they fail to act according to their promises! (To be Continued)
(Ref: ‘Dainik Sanatan Prabhat’)