May 25, 1998

Use the present euphoria to push ahead with tough economic measures

Five nuclear explosions have helped the BJP-led Government kickstart its honeymoon with the people. Suddenly, the ruling coalition's bickering and dithering lie forgotten. Suddenly, the prime minister is a resolute leader, ready to take on the world. The country is euphoric, there is an extraordinary political unanimity -- and a patriotic fervour which many thought only cricket matches could evoke. The deed is done but, in many ways, India's challenge has only just begun. The unbridled mass ecstasy evident over the past week cannot be frittered away. It must be harnessed for an enduring national rejuvenation. Having made his point on security, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would do well to train his guns on the economy. If a nuclear weapon has long been part of the BJP's agenda, so has an economy which exemplifies the spirit of free enterprise. It is now time to make this second promise a reality as well. True, this will call for some tough decisions -- but the Government cannot seek a better cushion than the prevalent mood.

There is no quarrel with the argument that India was forced into the Pokhran tests by a hostile neighbourhood and a discriminatory international nuclear regime. Equally, there is no getting away from the fact that since the end of the Cold War a country's economic indices, rather than its military might, have come to indicate its true strength. India's vulnerabilities are well-known: excessive bureaucratic control, an irrational revenue structure -- too few people paying too large a share of the taxes -- wasteful subsidies, a money-guzzling public sector, and so on. To take care of any of these would be to anger entrenched lobbies and court public anger. This is why successive governments have only tinkered with the problem. Given his post-Pokhran goodwill, Vajpayee now has a chance to do better. He may not get another opportunity. Sadly, nor may India.

Backdoor Control

Prasar Bharati can never be free if a panel of MPs pokes its nose into its affairs 

India certainly has an incredible definition for the word "autonomy". In theory, the Prasar Bharati Corporation is an autonomous public broadcaster. In practice, should a bill in the upcoming session of Parliament be passed, Prasar Bharati will be the most watched over autonomous body in the world. It will be monitored by the Parliamentary Consultative Committee, Standing Committee and Public Accounts Committee, not to speak of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry. There will also be a separate 22-member parliamentary panel with the sole task of keeping an eye on Prasar Bharati. Provision for this committee had been made in the original Prasar Bharati Act (1990). The relevant clause had been revoked by the United Front Government in 1997. The BJP-led coalition is now seeking to reinstate it.
This is a recipe for disaster. Prasar Bharati's governance should be left to its board and its chief executive who should be a person of integrity and ability. In an age when India is seeking to depoliticise administration, in fact, civic life, to give politicians fresh opportunities to run a patronage network is plain regressive. There is reason to fear that news bulletins will be interfered with, committee members will seek favours for specific producers and the public broadcaster's fledgling professionalism will be throttled. Prasar Bharati will also become the only public undertaking to be blessed with its own panel of supervisory MPs. The idea of conferring operational freedom on All India Radio and Doordarshan was first mooted by L.K. Advani as I&B minister in the Janata regime in 1977. It will be a tragic irony if the BJP-led Government, of which Advani is a senior member, now effectively muzzles the voice of Prasar Bharati.

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