India Sixty: the glass is half full

Unfortunately, the political system at the level of political parties is not worthy of similar praise, and that it is the other side of the political coin. Indian political parties seem to shun any notion of internal party democracy 8212; I cannot remember the last time a major political party held free and fair elections to elect its leader. The leadership of political parties is normally decided by a feudal succession of one kind or another. Politicians are also notoriously incompetent, corrupt and disdainful of merit although there are some exceptions which perhaps hold the system together. And in a country where a majority are under 40, the politicians are mostly geriatric. The notable young ones are, unfortunately, children of political parents. In sum, there is an interesting dualism in the way the rulers and the ruled view democracy and the polity. But we are still one country.

Now take the economy, the performance of which has been much lauded the world over. Indeed, India has done remarkably well since 1947, averaging a growth rate between 3-4 per cent from 1947-1980, and then upping it to around 6-7 percent in the quarter century that has followed. After a long stagnation under 200 years of British colonial rule, this is impressive. There have been no major economic crises like those affecting developing economies in Africa and Latin America. Human development indicators, while still below potential, have also improved significantly. There has been consistent progress, even if painfully slow on occasion.

Unfortunately, the fruits of economic growth have yet to be tasted by a majority of India8217;s one billon people 8212; the less known side of the economic coin. Outside the rather large middle class of around 200 million, India still has around 800 million living in difficult conditions, at least 250 million of whom struggle to make ends meet. At the same time, inequalities between the rich and poor have increased dramatically over the last two decades of economic liberalisation and integration with the world economy. In a nutshell, India is a great place to live in if you are urban, English-speaking and rich, but a rather less attractive place if you are rural, vernacular-speaking and poor. It is like living in two different worlds.

India8217;s journey towards its centenary will be determined by the interaction between these dichotomous worlds. Political democracy, which empowers each of India8217;s one billion people demands that economic prosperity is delivered to all, especially those excluded from the fruits of globalisation. The logic of a booming market economy doesn8217;t include the excluded. It is left to the political class, ineffective as it currently is, to take proactive measures to ensure that all of India8217;s masses are embraced by the market economy. Investing in quality education and health care and building better infrastructure 8212; roads and power stations, for example 8212; may help the cause. It is a tall order, but there is time. After all, where did even that other great democracy and economic superpower, the United States of America stood in 1836, 60 years after its own independence? It still had miles to go.

I would argue that India8217;s glass is half full, rather than half empty. It is for India8217;s leaders and people to jointly determine a path which will fill it up rather than drain it and reconcile India8217;s different worlds.

The writer8217;s doctoral thesis is on India8217;s political economy at Trinity College, Cambridge