Jan 11, 1999

Be assertive. Be audacious. But don't force another mid-term poll.

Some years ago, Hollywood threw up a frothy tale about time travel called Back to the Future. The distinction between fiction and reality being ever so thin in India, the film's title could well sum up the national mood as the new year dawns. This time 12 months ago, India was disgusted with its politicians and was looking ahead with no great exuberance to a general election. Today, India is even more -- if that is possible -- disgusted with its politicians and is looking ahead with no great exuberance to yet another general election. There are times when a mid-term poll appears an arresting and even inviting prospect: let the people decide, they know best. Nevertheless, democracy calls for more than just stamping ballot papers. It is equally about responsibility -- responsibility of the elected. By persistently passing the buck to the voter, the political class is simply refusing to accept a fractured mandate.

In some respects, 1999 could be the year of reckoning for this republican dream called India. There is drift amid fitful decision-making. Wagers are being laid as to whether the 12th Lok Sabha will outlast the summer. The auguries are worrying; the defeatism is even more so. Is there anything though that can't be remedied? Atal Bihari Vajpayee can yet fulfil the aspirations of March 1998. There is no better response to doubt than a barrage of decisions. People may disagree with Vajpayee but they will respect a prime minister who is assertive. In the eventuality of his Government falling, it is the legislature which will have to show some gumption. The easiest way out is to trudge back to the hustings. The more audacious alternative is for the Lok Sabha to elect a leader from among its members, hand over the prime ministerial reins to him or her and then take constructive criticism beyond the realms of a cliche. It may be only a pie in the sky -- or it may be the stairway to heaven.

Competition on Wheels

Maruti's price reduction is the best advertisement for economic reforms.

December 30 was the second last day of an eminently forgettable year for the Indian economy. Strangely, it has the potential to go down in history. With the threat from Telco's Indica imminent, Maruti Suzuki slashed prices in an action fairly unprecedented in Indian business. It was a victory, albeit a small one, for competition over incompetence. Maruti's measure proved two things. One, genuine liberalisation can only be to the consumer's benefit. Two, in a protectionist economy the public sector -- and many in the private sector -- don't profit; they profiteer. Maruti is only an example. The list of those companies which smugly pass on the cost of inefficiency to the hapless -- and often choiceless -- consumer reads like a corporate directory. In the car sector at least, given Daewoo's price trimming earlier and given the arrival of options in every size segment, this may be history.

More important, the frenzy in the car market may also convince those doubting Thomases who disparage economic reforms as an arcane exercise unconnected with everyday living. The opening up of the economy, the removal of trade barriers, the dismantling of monopolies don't just spell magic for those buying cars or purchasing television sets. They also ensure that the moment there is the first hint of an onion scarcity, the agro-commodity trade will spring to work and flood the market with imports. No longer will dinner table conviviality be destroyed by a purblind Food Ministry and a lethargic State Trading Corporation. Having said that, it would be prudent not to get carried away. It is nobody's case that capitalism can mature in India overnight. The Maruti lesson is no more than a straw in the wind. If it is to lead to a more substantial change in mindsets, the breeze of change has to blow into other sectors, slowly but surely. How about airlines for a start?

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