Without reservations

The perils of Arjun Singh arrogating to himself the power to make policy announcements that should have had the stamp of the Union Cabinet8217;s collective ownership continue to unfold. By blithely indicating that the Central government would facilitate a quota in educational institutions for students belonging to the Other Backward Classes, he has precipitated a series of confrontations. The faceoffs are significant: between members of the Cabinet itself, limiting the government8217;s capacity to forge consensus a major social policy issue; between government and industry, with the resulting suspicion inhibiting public-private partnership; and between the government and sections of the student community, creating an absolutely needless paranoia about curtailed opportunities.

This week we have heard the Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal cautioning against any policy that could dilute the competitiveness of Indian companies and the excellence of R038;D and educational institutions. Certainly, ministers joining debates in public makes for unedifying governance. But the point is this. By working around preliminary discussions and Cabinet consultations, the HRD minister sought to dictate government policy and pre-empt any opposition. That is not the parliamentary way. It is, more importantly, a way guaranteed to tarnish a noble objective 8212; of making opportunities accessible to the largest possible number of India8217;s citizens 8212; with flawed implementation. The country cannot, by the unilateral actions of one man, be spared the participatory debate that Cabinet meetings symbolise.

This has also compounded a wholly unwarranted fearfulness among students. Responsibility for that unease can be blamed on the HRD minister. But when medical students and resident doctors seek to strike work with nary a care about the consequences for patients, as they have at Delhi8217;s elite institutions, they cannot be immune to charges of callousness. They can only be participants of this debate if they exhibit the sensitivity and responsibility expected of healthcare professionals. Arjun Singh8217;s self-promotional follies can be no excuse for them.