Some plane truths

It was so easy to revive political consensus over the private institution quota bill; the NDA8217;s opposition didn8217;t survive the fear of appearing anti-reservations. But it8217;s tough trying to modernise the Delhi and Mumbai airports; the prime minister has had to step in to prevent a re-run of the bidding/evaluation process. This contrast says something fundamental about our system. Even if one agrees 8212; and this newspaper doesn8217;t 8212; that reservations in private institutions is good policy, one can8217;t argue that the choked airports at Delhi and Mumbai represent a far lower priority. Politicians should be keenly concerned about the fact that our premier airports are in such a state that India may not be able to take advantage of the growth surge in civil aviation. It should also worry politicians that to foreign visitors intent on doing serious business, India8217;s airports offer the first and one of the gravest doubts about this country8217;s economic potential. But neither Parliament nor 8212; with honorable exceptions 8212; the government, seems to be in a hurry to get airport modernisation going.

The explanation goes beyond the accusation that politicians love populist policies like quota extensions. Populism isn8217;t special only to India. But in democracies that make better policies, politicians often operate on a rough consensus on issues that may not excite some voters but do all of them a lot of good. That recognition of greater public good is frequently missing in Indian politics. And it is made worse by the wholly illogical elitist/egalitarian distinction our politicians make.

Modern airports, good highways, cities not hijacked by builders8217; mafias, better communication facilities 8212; all these are supposed to be pandering to the rich. But are the poor worse off if the better off have access to better facilities? More important, many of today8217;s 8220;fancies8221; are tomorrow8217;s development tools. Ten years back, mobile phones were considered a rich man8217;s toy. Now, they offer cheap communication to low-income groups. If airports are modernised quickly, we will see the results in less than ten years8217; time.