In the seven decades since India gained independence, how has the nation fared politically, economically and socially? This is the question Meghnad Desai addresses in The Raisina Model: Indian Democracy at 70 .
For Desai, the defining moment in the nation’s history came in 1989, when Indian democracy was truly ‘Indianised’ and the Westminster model, which we followed until then, morphed into the ‘Raisina model’. This is important, because, Desai feels, democracy was a more binding glue in holding the country than secularism. But “Was there ever an India united?” Desai answers: “India as an old civilisation is a cultural idea, a religious community, but it was not a territorial idea, not a nation-state till independence”.
In fact, Desai feels, it was the varna system of the Hindu society that kept India together in the absence of a single powerful political authority. Even the Muslim rulers in North India “did not seek to transform the caste system”. Ironically, it was the British rule that equality began to take root and the caste system came under pressure. Desai explains that one of the recurring political themes of independent India is the way the “tension between democracy-based universal adult franchise and hierarchical social structure in the majority community has to be managed.”
Despite some parts of the country rebelling against the Centre since Independence, democracy has held India together. When the States were being divided on linguistic lines in the 1950s, there were fears of Balkanisation of the country. But instead of being divisive, paradoxically, it ended up uniting the country further, perhaps because the financial levers were in the hands of the Centre, and the States had no option but to cooperate.
A new era
According to Desai, the first signs of a shift towards the ‘Raisina model’ appeared in the 1967, when, for the first time, the Congress Party’s hegemony over power was broken and non-Congress parties came to power in several States.
But the decisive shove came in 1989, when VP Singh’s coalition government adopted Mandal Commission’s recommendations, giving reservations to OBCs in government jobs and educational institutions. Desai says Mandal politics has added another dimension to caste politics in India with more communities fighting to be added in the OBC list to enjoy entitlements; that was seen in the recent Patidar and Maratha agitations in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The concept of India as a territorial nation, says Desai, was conceived only after 1857. Religion came to play an important part in polity and both Hindus and Muslims had differing visions of the nation. In fact, Desai argues, India has followed an ecumenical version of secularism, where the accent was on tolerance and less on separation of religion from the state. This was a fallout of the trauma of Partition, but one tragic consequence of this was that the Muslim clergy ended up becoming the sole spokespersons of the community, forestalling any attempt at social reform.
But this version of secularism has come under strain over the last three decades, ever since the BJP rode to ascendancy on the back of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Even the Congress has become defensive on secularism, as Desai says, “Secularism is part of the Congress ideology but its salience is no longer as strong”.
Desai points out that “there are few sharp ideological differences between parties”. There is a consensus among political parties in India over the state’s role in bringing about socio-economic change. On why ‘dynastic politics’ has taken root in India, Desai says, “family is a key to political imagery in India”. The terms that Indians use for their political leaders are illustrative: Bapu for Gandhiji, Didi for Mamata Banerjee, Amma for Jayalalithaa and Behenji for Mayawati.
Missing mission
On the economy, Desai is scathing in his criticism of the Nehruvian model of state-led, heavy industry command economy. The real objective of planning in India, he reckons, was to create a capital goods industry and not to eradicate poverty.
This not only impacted the growth rate but also led to poor employment generation. Though Nehru is known for creating centres for higher learning (IITs, IIMs, AIIMS), he ignored primary education and public health, which left the bulk of the population in the informal sector living precariously.
Though Desai gives his full-throated support for reforms, which raised growth rates significantly, he says India still has miles to go. He calls for whole-scale reforms in the administrative system, especially the bureaucracy.
Desai mentions three major dissensions plaguing the country — the Kashmir issue, the Nagaland insurgency and the Maoist violence.
Though he doesn’t have any readymade solutions for these issues, he does dissect them skilfully to tell us why we got into this mess. Crucially, he says, both the Nagaland insurgency and the Maoist violence have not captured the public imagination the way Kashmir has. The reason: Kashmir lies in the border with Pakistan with a diabolical mix of religion and armed violence.
Despite the success of democracy in India, social equality has still been elusive. The Hindu Code Bill, brought in by Nehru and Ambedkar, left the caste system unreformed. There seems to be a remarkable unity between the Muslim, British and post-Independence rulers on this aspect. This was to have far-reaching consequences for social equality where caste and gender inequality is still rife.
So in these seven decades, India has proved naysayers wrong on its survival. That said, there remain challenges and the path ahead is daunting. Desai sums it up, “India will stay as one, but it needs work”.
The book is a breezy read and gives a glimpse of India’s journey since independence. Crucially, Desai tosses several perceptive ideas which can keep researchers busy in the years to come.
Meet the author
Meghnad Desai taught economics at the London School of Economics 1965-2003), where he is a Professor Emeritus now. He has authored over 20 books. Desai was made the Lord of St Clement Danes in 1991.
(The article first appeared in The Hindu BusinessLine.)