There are many types of Colonial Hangovers that India suffers from. Many of us are closet anglophiles and have a sneaking admiration for the language and customs of an England, all but forgotten by the English themselves. Brexit is an example of a classic muddled English mess, not to be confused by the food they eat which is messy enough. Having said all this, one of the most pernicious colonial hangovers is our system of Government.
Parliamentary democracy originated in the 'Mother of all Parliaments' in Westminster and was probably appropriate for a small, rain soaked medieval island, struggling to free itself from capricious kings, an effete aristocracy and a dominating clergy. The necessity of an 'Upper House' where the offspring of dukes and earls could be accommodated was probably necessary if you had to maintain a semblance of a monarchy with the attendant trappings of an aristocracy. Why is it necessary in India? Here the Rajya Sabha is full of irrelevant nominees and it's only purpose seems to be to act as a check on the legitimately elected Lok Sabha. Why is such a check necessary? Carrying on the same theme, why must we have a ceremonial President who lives in a 350 room mansion and mimics the ceremonial duties and functions of the Queen of England? It seems totally absurd.
Even more absurd is the relationship between the States and the Centre. Our states are big places with populations of 100 Mn or more. Yet, in our legislation we have a Central list, a State List and hold your hat a Concurrent List of areas where the State, Centre or BOTH can create legislation. If this is not a mess what is? The pathetic situation in Delhi is a case in point where an elected Chief Minister who won by a record margin has to kow tow to a mid level bureaucrat. Surely the States should be competent to run their own affairs and we should not have situations like the GST where we have 3 types of GST to cater to the States and the Centre's wishes.
I could go on in this fashion. What we clearly need is a rethink on the way that Government works in our country. Specifically:
India deserves better.
Take a look at my book 'Journey to the Hills and other Stories'. This nostalgic collection of short stories has reached the Amazon bestseller list for travel writing and has been highly acclaimed by readers.
You can buy the book from Amazon. Just click on the Link
Parliamentary democracy originated in the 'Mother of all Parliaments' in Westminster and was probably appropriate for a small, rain soaked medieval island, struggling to free itself from capricious kings, an effete aristocracy and a dominating clergy. The necessity of an 'Upper House' where the offspring of dukes and earls could be accommodated was probably necessary if you had to maintain a semblance of a monarchy with the attendant trappings of an aristocracy. Why is it necessary in India? Here the Rajya Sabha is full of irrelevant nominees and it's only purpose seems to be to act as a check on the legitimately elected Lok Sabha. Why is such a check necessary? Carrying on the same theme, why must we have a ceremonial President who lives in a 350 room mansion and mimics the ceremonial duties and functions of the Queen of England? It seems totally absurd.
Even more absurd is the relationship between the States and the Centre. Our states are big places with populations of 100 Mn or more. Yet, in our legislation we have a Central list, a State List and hold your hat a Concurrent List of areas where the State, Centre or BOTH can create legislation. If this is not a mess what is? The pathetic situation in Delhi is a case in point where an elected Chief Minister who won by a record margin has to kow tow to a mid level bureaucrat. Surely the States should be competent to run their own affairs and we should not have situations like the GST where we have 3 types of GST to cater to the States and the Centre's wishes.
I could go on in this fashion. What we clearly need is a rethink on the way that Government works in our country. Specifically:
- What should be role of the States vs the Centre. As our Economy grows, each state has become a powerful economic entity. Socio-Cultural differences are stark between one State and another. Surely, they should be allowed to manage their own affairs with only a limited role for the Centre?
- What should be the Governance Structure? Roles and responsibilities need to be defined and the public should be clear about what they can expect from their elected representatives. Are any of us clear about what we should expect from our MPs or MLAs vs the bureaucracy? I for one am not clear at all. If political parties wish to claim that they are the ones who deliver economic prosperity in a physical sense to people as opposed to merely legislation let them define their roles and responsibilities clearly for the public.
- Delayering and role clarity are some of the mantras of modern management practice. Sadly the reverse seems to be the case in Government. Instead we have multiplicity of roles, lack of clarity of objectives and so forth.
- What is the role of the IAS? This is a generalist cadre who magically become MDs in highly technical enterprises. They also become Economists almost by osmosis and take on important roles in Finance. Many elected MPs and others complain of the stultifying attitude of the IAS. Surely we need to rethink the role of 'Collectors' - another Colonial Hangover.
India deserves better.
Take a look at my book 'Journey to the Hills and other Stories'. This nostalgic collection of short stories has reached the Amazon bestseller list for travel writing and has been highly acclaimed by readers.
You can buy the book from Amazon. Just click on the Link
Valid points Debu. The colonial hangover is not just cultural but structural and begs the question can India afford the top heavy Rajya Sabha ? Generalist IAS officers have created a web of over regulation that has stifled all economic activity and progress.
ReplyDeleteThanks! We seriously need an overhaul of our governance structure
DeleteHi Debu, There are some interesting comments made by Mr Vinod Dua, a prominent journalist, on the Youtube. The real colonial hangover is in the minds of the citizens of India. He says, we Indians are yet to become citizens, we are still subjects. By citizens is meant that we should engage in equality of status with the Govt and the elected leaders and not defer to them in anyway.
ReplyDeleteAs subjects we rely on the Govt for every item of our livelihood, or at least expect the Govt to do something for us.
Some important signposts show that we Indians have begun our journey to full citizenship are
1. Growing intolerance of perceived wrongs by either the Govt. or the powerful interest groups. There are mass gatherings, mass marches and forcing the Govt to make decisions on issues affecting a large number of people.
2. The RTI Act being increasingly used to get information and given wide publicity in social networks and the print media.
3. The Institution of the PIL which is now forcing the local powers to act quickly under public pressure.
4. The vogue for transparency: Falsehoods, lies and fraud being exposed as soon as they are spread.
It may still take a lot of breaking down of the old ways of doing things to get replaced with new ways dedicated fully for citizens.
This is an interesting approach. That citizens need to become equal to governments. In India the sarkar has always been the mai baap. This needs to change
DeleteI think we, the citizens choose to be subjects rather than active participants in running the country. The arm of governance which has the biggest impact on our day to day lives is the municipal corporation/local body. Rather than actively taking up issues with local representatives, most citizens will blame the PM for bad roads in his or her city and accept it with with a sense of resignation. Participating in better our country with active involvement is not something for us.
ReplyDeleteThis needs to change, especially amongst the middle class. We need to shed our apathy!
DeleteWell written.there should be mutual respect and teamwork.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes that is the need of the hour.
DeleteThought provoking, Debu.
ReplyDeleteI can think of one reason why the fathers of the constitution wanted to tie in States closely into the union: to prevent the fissiparous tendencies that were a real threat at the time : and have threatened the nations integrity for decades later. Our generation has lived through the Tamil issue, the north east issue. The Khalistan issue, and of course the Kashmir issue remains.
But i for one view our last 70 years with pride and with hope for the future. We take it for granted that within the current borders we’re a nation and the thought of Balkanisation has faded. But it is useful to recall the circumstances that prevailed in 1947- there was no certainty that our borders would prevail. India has not existed AS A POLITICAL ENTITY ever in its current form. As a civilisation, yes, but not as an empire or a state until the Brits made it so.
It is normal to find an explanation in the proximate causes of a problem, in this case you have homed in to the Brits. But our attitudes reflect more than just the era of colonialism. It goes further back. But that’s for another day.
That doesn’t take away from the fact that some of the institutions need a serious rethink : the point you’re making.
As I began by saying - thought provoking, old chap. Now that is from the Brits!!
Vijay, your point about the 'proximate cause' is valid. Maybe 'blame it on the Brits' is an oversimplification. However the point remains. Our governance structure needs an overhaul. The Govt and bureaucracy are too heavily invested in the status quo. How will it change?
DeleteGreat article sir. The current governance structure is absolutely not helping the execution prowess of this nation. Look at China only from this stand point. It needs a definite re-jig. We must create a structure that is needed for us. Complicated. Can't imagine where to start from, Can't understand the business of politics either.
ReplyDeleterohtash mal
ReplyDeleteFri, Apr 19, 10:35 PM (3 days ago)
to me
Thanks Debu, for a massive Colonial Hangover!
Spot on. Ignited a few thoughts. Here goes.
I can’t help but conclude that the purpose of most of this governance structure which we 'inherited' (and internalised) was in any case an elaborate way of perpetuating the power of Her Majesty in a far away dominion called India, as indeed within England itself.
The complicated governance structure in England was in fact to create a set of counter balances between the power forces to keep the monarchy alive and yet have a patina of democracy and representation.
The Brits roughly followed it up in India using a similar blended governance model in India through the ICS (using the Anglophile Indians against themselves). At the time of partition , presumably Nehru Jinnah and Gandhi knew no better ( all England educated)and that being the frame , things just took on a life of their own. (BTW the education system created the raw material for the perpetuation and massification-it still endures).
All said, we knew no better.
Given the rapidity of the political siesmics in the forties,and the fact that most of our leaders were in jail, I doubt whether anybody had the time to dream up another model which would be more representativeand inclusive .Given the fact that most of the world was under the British flag, perhaps there were not many models to choose from. Doubtless, copying it wholesale was a mistake. Worse still, to persist with it.
ReplyDeleteOnce copied, as the venality of the political structure in India grew and grew till around the mid seventies, the entire structure was cynically exploited to keep the politicians and the bureaucrats in power. Essentially, share power to the least extent possible(the concurrent list for example is the 'accomodation" way of retaining your satellites in your orbit).
The ICS has been replaced by the IAS and IPS : essentially it is the means of control over the populace and to support the power structure to keep steady, and the collector is essentially the local 'agent"of the centre.
An aside. I once had a chat on this with my boss at Maruti, Jagdish Khattar MD (IAS, no less). He airily dismissed the question on the governance model and I remember his words accurately. "Its a perfect system" , he said. "Indians needs patronage, and we (the politician-bureaucrat combine) provide it".
The elites were back in full force. The compelling logic of power is to perpetuate itself, which is exactly what we are experiencing. There are no ideologies, no differentiation. Just a unanimity of objective-power. Retain or grab.
What now? The first would be imagining what it should be, and the other would be making it happen.
ReplyDeleteOn the part of imagining it, given that the monarch power management model was/is a top down approach , perhaps the way to look at it is a bottom-up approach.
Starting it with what a panchayat can do, what a cluster of villages can do, what a district can do by itself, would be a good idea.Basically , delegation.
Essentially this is what in all seriousness Rajiv Gandhi began with (to give a punk his due) Mani Shanker. This is what Kejriwal has been crying for (another disgusting punk, and a disgrace to brand IIT), albeit at a Delhi level.
The cruel joke was/is that having begun the implementation of Panchaayati Raj,the political system throttled resources, and we circled back to origin. Clearly, the power structure did not want any madcap idea like this 'clipping' its wings . And the patronage it provides.
As you alluded, this solution needs a managerial look. An approach much like building an organisation, bottom up. The foundation first- panchayats responsible for a whole host of their own needs. Give them the funds, and let them manage their own finances. They will learn rapidly.
With the panchayat looking after itself cluster, district looking at it as a cluster of clusters, it now goes to the level of saying what’s left for state and centre to do.
The next stage would be to carve in what need not concern the centre at all, which means the local industry, agriculture,state level finances, state level development etc. leaving the centre with only defence of the country, country level issues , monetary policy etc in order to balance out development, so to speak, and any law making if at all that is necessary for this .On the subject of law making, I think the fact that if we see our Lok Sabha as lawmakers(valid in 1947, much less valid today), as the problem. Essentially all they would do is end up making unnecessary and stupid laws. We need less , not more laws. We need more reviews at each level of ministry/ state/panchayat/district level performance), and course simultaneous correction alongside. Are we spending on the right things, and spending it right.
The Lok Sabha should , for a few years, spend time in dismantling laws (as Modi had promised). We already have a law surfeit, which is why nothing moves.The Lok Sabha should become a review structure, a board of directors so to speak, which reviews progress, comes up with exception management, and more importantly, becomes a place to reflect on the concerns of the moment- and deeply plan for the morrow. Utopian, I know. I knowwww.
More importantly, can it happen. Will it happen.
ReplyDeleteThe second one first-not in my lifetime.
I am convinced that the present power structure has no inclination to effect any change. Any such will strike at the root of their raison'd'etre. This needs statesman, and we have none anywhere near the levers of power.
A serious worry now....
I strongly believe , as in Animal Farm, Napolean and his pig cohort will do whatever it can to keep themselves in power. It needs a tipping point. I doubt whether this tipping point is anywhere near, where a mass civil uprising will force the change. Having said that, we are inexorably moving that-a-way. It will need a wave of tidal strength to move reforms in this general direction.
A step by step "how to" achieve a new Governance format escapes me presently. The IIM14 Barcelona summit , perhaps.
My single malt beckons.A great cure for any hangover, however colonial.
ReplyDeleteRahul Kansal
Thu, Apr 18, 10:37 AM (4 days ago)
to me, iimc14
Very nice, Debu! Most of your points - the unclear role of the rajya sabha and the president, need for change in centre-state relations and the job definition of the IAS, are quite valid.
An original thesis, this. At least I’ve not heard it argued before.
ReplyDeleteNandu Kulkarni
Thu, Apr 18, 11:06 AM (4 days ago)
to me, iimc14
Good one, Debu.
I wonder if there is any democracy in the world that can be considered a model democracy. I think the US version is closest (despite the horrendous state of affairs right now) especially when it comes to division of roles and responsibilities between the states and centre.
I think the role of the Rajya Sabha is fairly clearly defined in the constitution. It is another matter that it has now become a means for parties to reward loyalists and for politicians to bypass the election process when they are not up to it.
And of course the whole IAS structure needs to be dismantled asap.
Regards, Nandu
ReplyDeletemg parameswaran
Thu, Apr 18, 8:41 PM (4 days ago)
to Nandu, me, iimc14
Debu
Thanks and you make a good argument. Unfortunately in every country the intelligentia think their political system is broken. True in the US, UK and true in most parts of Europe. May be the Chinese system is the best of all? The benevolent dictator for life model:)
Thomas Pinketty and Stephen Pinker in their respective books (Capital / Enlightenment Now) do not give the rise of China and its unique model the attention it deserves.
Cheers
Ambi
ReplyDeleteSesh R
Thu, Apr 18, 11:53 PM (4 days ago)
to me, iimc14
Good blog, great set of arguments. While I am not qualified to judge how well the Indian system is doing I agree a continuous re-think and audit of what is working and not working is always good and should change - big question is How? Who will make the change while not disrupting what seems working for most part and is a far cry from many other dictatorships. (Africa / Venezuela)
As to Ambi’s argument that intelligentsia in every country think their political system is broken even a dunce knows something is wrong when the President of the largest power in the world claims he can shoot anybody in middle of a busy city and no one can do anything.
[8:01 PM, 4/17/2019] +1 (778) 898-1956: Very thoughtful Debu.
ReplyDelete[8:04 PM, 4/17/2019] Divyaroop Bhatnagar: Thanks Shailesh! I feel strongly about this issue. There is so much drama and energy spent on elections. Without fundamental change, much of that is wasted
[8:06 PM, 4/17/2019] Ashok Bhandari: Bhattu, next time we meet, would like to debate so of the points you have raised.
[8:08 PM, 4/17/2019] Divyaroop Bhatnagar: Certainly Bhandu! Look forward.
[8:58 PM, 4/17/2019] +1 (778) 898-1956: Debu my thoughts go back to talk by JP in L7 just before emergency. He strongly advocated party less democracy to make sure that elected MP does not need to be loyal to party. He gets elected on his / her capabilities. Presidential system where you elect president directly like in USA. Under present conditions this will be better than mess we have in India. However India is too averse to reforms. No hope to make such big changes
Debu, our government structures definitely need a thorough review /overhaul.
ReplyDeleteStory of Delhi is similar to many capital cities (e.g., Washington DC, Paris) that are struggling for autonomy from national governments.
[6:35 AM, 4/18/2019] Arijit Bose: Bhattu, George Bernard Shaw’s line comes to mind:
ReplyDeleteA reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
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