Manmohan146;s musings

Jawaharlal Nehru, as prime minister, used the format of a regular letter to chief ministers as a tool to forge meaningful links between the Centre and the states. The topics he chose to address straddled the local and the global; the administrative and the strategic. They ranged from the challenges before the new republic and the central role of the planning process, to the Chinese aggression of 8217;62 and the importance of building healthy ties with Nepal.

The country has, undoubtedly, changed since those relatively uncomplicated days, when the Congress party dominated the scene both at the Centre and the states. A more recent example of such primeministerial attempts to reach out was Atal Bihari Vajpayee8217;s annual musings. Possibly because they were less frequent, they bore a distinctly more philosophical stamp, dealing with broad themes rather than with the minutiae of political events and concerns. Manmohan Singh, if one were to judge by his recent missive to chief ministers, is attempting an exercise more in the Nehruvian mould. The spirit it reflects is that of 8220;cooperative federalism8221;, as he puts it; the message is essentially about good governance, the importance of reform, and the necessity to respond to the serious charge of uneven development.

All of this is unexceptionable, needs to be reiterated and the letter format is as good as any. However, if they are not to become dead letters of good intent, they will have to initiate a two-way process. It is important that the prime minister appears impartial in these communiques, concerned about the welfare of all states, regardless of the party that is in power. But it is just as important that he is not seen to be talking down to them and that can only happen if the feedback they convey eventually informs the Centre8217;s thinking and policy-making. The synergy between the Centre and the states that Manmohan Singh seeks hinges crucially upon this. Indeed, if this experiment in political communication works, it could play a useful role in the days ahead when several hard-nosed decisions would need to be taken 8212; and implemented.