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EDITORIAL
Leading
to a Logjam
Governance
is a hostage to pressure groups, thanks to the march of populism
 Despite
the excruciatingly long wait she had to endure, Railway Minister Mamata
Banerjee can be proud that her threats and tantrums managed to secure
a minor rollback in the prices of LPG and kerosene. It is, of course,
an entirely different matter that more responsible sections of society
will not share her enthusiasm. But that will be a minor irritant in the
ongoing, triumphant march of populism. Whether it is the people the Supreme
Court dubbed "hooligans" in Delhi or the more restrained practitioners
of vote-bank politics, populism has become a national disease. So pernicious
is its impact that all politicians, cutting across the ideological divide
and party lines, are inhibited from taking tough decisions for fear of
an electoral backlash. And with one state or the other going to the polls
each year, the fear has become permanent. Consequently, effective governance
has been paralysed.
Arguably,
short-term decisions prompted by expediency is the price India must pay
for democracy. There is no escaping it. The question that has to be asked
is: can the impact of populist politics be minimised? The situation does
not appear too encouraging. From the guaranteed price to be paid to farmers
for producing inedible wheat to the generous emoluments doled out to many
employees in loss-making public-sector units for doing nothing, Indian
economics is a hostage to pressure groups. The Government may want to
embark on a more responsible course but the hard realities of an over-subsidised
state act as a deterrent. For all his commitment to reforms and modernity,
the Andhra Pradesh chief minister isn't too far behind the Trinamool Congress
chief in pressing for short-term measures. The situation can at best be
eased if the Government is resolute in gradually reducing the involvement
of the state in the economy. There are no quick-fix solutions to persistent
quick-fix demands.
Burmese
Days
Cosying
up to the junta in Yangon is a realpolitik necessity
 The
visit of the vice-president of myanmar to India has raised the hackles
of many who feel that a democratic government should not be supping with
representatives of a military junta. Although foreign policy is centred
on the principle of self-interest, the critics of the new Myanmar policy
feel that ethical norms should not be abandoned altogether. More so when
India has been in the forefront of pressing for democracy in multilateral
fora such as the Commonwealth. It is a troubling issue that needs to be
addressed. Not least because the democracy issue is certain to crop up
repeatedly in the troubled neighbourhood.
To begin
with, it is well worth noting that there is hardly any country that has
allowed its avowed commitment to an ethical foreign policy to override
its larger strategic goals. For many years, India maintained a certain
frostiness towards the military rulers of Myanmar in the belief that it
was only a matter of time before democracy prevailed. That didn't happen
and Delhi's relative non-engagement left the field wide open for China
to have its way in Myanmar. For India, the consequences were damaging
because insurgent groups in the North-east took advantage of India's doctrinaire
approach to strengthen their bases in Myanmar. It is only in the past
five years that contacts with the junta have been established and it has
resulted in the Myanmar authorities being very supportive of India's security
needs. Having secured the destruction of many camps set up by Naga insurgents
and ULFA, the Myanmar Government is right in expecting India to allow
pragmatism to prevail. By reciprocating generously, India has fulfilled
its primary foreign policy commitment-to itself. It may sound unduly harsh
but, perhaps, there isn't enough justice to go round.
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Orthodoxy in economic thought is as odious as obscurantism in the socio-religious context. INDIA TODAY Associate Editor, V Shankar Aiyar, offers a contrarian take on the stock markets and the cause and the impact of policy and practice. 
