Two Big Bangs, Two Gaping Holes - One Giant Opportunity

Two Big Bangs, Two Gaping Holes - One Giant Opportunity

 As Mr Narayan Murthy celebrated his 60th birthday last week, the nation rightfully acknowledged a remarkable leader. While we celebrate his achievements, we can also view Mr Murthy’s success through another prism, for lessons on the work that still remains to be done in our country.

Mr Murthy’s personal landmark also marks one for the new India: as he himself has stated, “Infosys is a shining example of all the good that came out of liberalisation”, referring to the “Big Bang” of economic reforms in 1991. At its heart, this Big Bang was about putting control of our economic future into our own hands, and for government to allow the entrepreneurial energies of Indians to be unleashed. Over the past decade, we have seen the impact of this on thousands of Indians, believing in themselves, and willing to take control of their destinies.

 However, many of us in urban India have overlooked another Big Bang in 1992, a political one – that of decentralisation: the passage of the 73^rd and 74^th Constitutional Amendments for Panchayati Raj and municipalities. Before these amendments were passed, Rajiv Gandhi remarked that while India was “the world’s largest democracy”, it was also “the world’s least representative democracy”, with 80 crore (then) people being represented by 500 MPs in Parliament and 5000-odd MLAs in the states.

The situation is dramatically different today, with 3 million Panchayat representatives. Over the past fourteen years, we have seen a remarkable wave of change in rural India, creating tectonic shifts in the power structure between state governments and Panchayati Raj institutions, between MLAs and Panchayat representatives. Mani Shankar Aiyer, Minister for Panchayati Raj says, “(Now) we are not only the largest but also the most representative democracy in the world”.

In addition, every registered voter in rural India is a member of a Grama Sabha, having an opportunity to participate in public issues. In their recent report, the Expert Group on Decentralisation said, “There is enough empirical evidence that the people are quite capable of participating in governance. Experience has also demonstrated that it is best to avoid detailed instructions from the top; that the people know and can prioritise their needs. The ultimate objective is the empowerment of people and to bring the reins of the power closer to them.”

 As can be seen, the central thrust of both the Big Bangs is remarkably similar – that of unleashing the energy of the average Indian – economic on one hand, and political on the other. It is astonishing that these two sweeping changes in the country happened within a year of each other, despite being driven by vastly different impulses. Finally, it seems, the “Indian” has taken the baton from “India”.

 However, there are challenges on both fronts. On the economic front, there is still much work to be done to support small and medium firms, improve the labour market, increase credit flows to micro-enterprises, etc. On the decentralisation front, panchayats are still fighting to get their share of funds and administrative support.

 But the real challenges to both these reforms are bigger than these tactical issues. The challenge to the economic Big Bang is that liberalisation has not touched rural India. Conversely, on the political front, decentralisation has left urban India behind. City governments are still treated as departments of the state government; most disturbingly, urban residents have no say in matters related to their cities, unlike their rural cousins. Here again, strangely, there is a yin-yang quality to the symmetry of issues. We therefore have two gaping holes remaining after our Big Bangs: rural governance structures that are not fuelled by economic energy, and urban economic engines that are not supported by robust governance structures.

 And this is where Mr Murthy’s story comes in. Last week, as he celebrated his 60^th birthday, he also participated in a nationally-televised debate about the challenges of Bangalore, in which the panelists had vastly divergent views. Many questions could be asked: what would ultimately come of Mr Murthy’s ideas; how could thousands of other Bangaloreans express their own views; would this become part of the city’s formal plans; could this be done in a politically legitimate manner, and so on. Unfortunately, the answers don’t instil optimism – our cities seem beyond our reach.

And Mr Murthy epitomised this paradox last week. Here was the symbol of India’s economic Big Bang, yet untouched by the country’s political Big Bang. If the icon of economic liberalisation cannot be politically relevant – as a citizen, not as a business leader - what hope is there for the millions of ordinary urban residents?

 Is it possible to have these two Big bangs converge? Is there a way to combine the economic energy of urban areas with the governance structures of rural decentralisation? The answer is yes. There are roughly 5,000 urban centres spread across the 600-odd districts in the country – on average, 7-8 urban centres per district.

Rural-Urban Partnerships could let urban economic engines become the flywheel of rural growth, and allow rural governance structures to permeate urban management. India is sitting on the cusp of unleashing a grand wave of economic prosperity and sustainable development.

 The good news is that this isn’t the stuff of dreams. With the launch of the Jawarharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), a slew of urban reforms are under way - including giving every citizen an opportunity to participate in neighbourhood platforms called Area Sabhas. The Ministries of Panchayati Raj and Urban Development have established a Working Group for Rural-Urban partnership. The Planning Commission’s Eleventh Plan will emphasise decentralised planning, pushing decision-making closer to the citizen. These are significant positive conditions for closing the gaps in the two Big Bangs.

I am looking forward to the day when Mr Murthy can attend a local Area Sabha meeting, contribute to a collective vision for his city, and become a symbol of economical AND political empowerment for millions of Indians.

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The author is founder of Janaagraha. He can be reached at ramesh@janaagraha.org