Independence blues

Even as he talked up the UPAs record,the PM sounded unwittingly wan,in a context where his chief commitments,on foreign policy and economic growth,are being undone. His emphasis on a peaceful equilibrium with Pakistan was clear from the first few months of his first term. He ventured beyond his partys cautious views at Sharm el-Sheikh,and pressed for a durable dialogue,deeper ties and economic integration between the two countries. That now seems like a distant moment,as Singh himself has repeatedly disavowed his own instincts. He has given in to loud,angry voices demanding payback for incidents on the border,to the extent of endangering the bilateral dialogue.

Singh also dwelled on the economic situation,and the fact that last year,the growth rate came down to 5 per cent,a full circle to the pre-1991 years. He gave rare credit to P.V. Narasimha Rao for leading the way out of the economic crisis then,and for seizing the initiative to reform. Singh tried to place the current slump in the global context and suggest that Indias experience is not unique. But there is no getting around the irony of Manmohan Singh,main driver of economic reforms,now trying to finesse the bad news. This,even as the RBI announces a return of capital controls to protect the rupee,a licence-permit raj thrives in environmental clearances,and important reforms in pension and insurance continue to moulder. While Singh made a last-ditch attempt to moderate the fuel subsidy,open up retail and aviation to foreign direct investment,and prioritise big infrastructure projects,he cannot claim results on these fronts yet. We are working hard to remedy the situation, Singh repeated every time he mentioned the economy. No matter who inherits these circumstances after the next election,UPA 2 has shown it has little to offer beyond broken promises and rueful platitudes.