Change is nowhere to be seen
28 March 2015 9:49 PM GMT
The first step towards change is awareness, said Nathaniel Branden. When Narendra Modi came on to the national scene, one reason why people were enthusiastic about him was his articulation of the need for change. To give him credit, even his worst critics will accept that change has been his sole focus, ever since he assumed charge. Interestingly Branden had also articulated a second step. According to Branden that step was “acceptance of the change”. Has the change that Modi had been waxing eloquent about been accepted by the masses of this country?
Prima facie there are some visible changes which have taken place. There has been some splutter noticed in the Indian economy; an economy that was mostly dormant during the second part of former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s tenure. Asian Development Bank has predicted a 7.8% growth rate of Gross Domestic Product for India in 2015-16, one of the highest expected growth rates in the world. The Government has successfully auctioned spectrum and coal mines, two issues where the previous Government fared disastrously. Many can see that Modi is sticking to his promise of change.
On closer look however things do not look so rosy. The government is often caught on the wrong foot on a critical issue-the protection of minority rights. The sister affiliate organisations of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) embarrass the Government with their stock messages about Hinduism; which ironically end up generating stock counter reactions from the opponents of the Hindutva groups. This results in a fierce dose of irrationality on issues which are best settled quietly behind the doors. The change in messaging over India’s socio-religious balance has yet to settle at the desired level of equilibrium.
The fault lies not only with those who find the electoral change unacceptable but also those in BJP who came to power. Take the issue of political messaging for instance. The ruling party used to have a daily media brief where the party spokesperson used to answer questions posed by media. Not anymore. In contrast the opposition Congress keeps attacking the Government almost daily. With no BJP spokesman responding to the charges the arguments in favour of the ruling party are missed.
A case in point is the amendment to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Few had any idea if there had been discussion on the need for such amendments. Even fewer knew what the amendments are and why these were needed. On the last day of 2014 an Ordinance on the land law amendment was hastily issued.
Interestingly, if one reads the objection to the amendment issued by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, one will wonder why the amendment bill had to come at all. The note of the Congress president in effect admits the absence in the original act of the points the government amendment is said to have introduced. If that is so, where is the dispute? Even now the ruling BJP is not countering the points raised by Congress. To bring any change one must convince people to accept those changes. The Modi-led government has failed in this.
Second and no less important is the change in the style of governance. The new ministers are viewed as transparent and active. The signs of transparency and activity are reflected in their promptness in responding to the issues raised by various stakeholders. The experience of the last one year is that ministers are prompt merely on tweeting inconsequential messages. Their reluctance to meet senior industry leaders, domestic or foreign, gives the impression either of uncertain knowledge or fear. Either does not bode well for the government. Initially there were several reports about interference in the appointment of personal staff of ministers. It was presumed that like the hand-picked ministers, the carefully chosen ministerial support staff will be prompt and polite. They are neither, hence the lack of response from the ministers on even courtesy meetings from industry captains.
Third, change was expected was on the issue of government advertisements. It was believed that such advertisements are a waste of public money used by the political establishment to buy favour from the media outfits. The flow of advertisements continues and they seem to have perhaps increased, most carry just photographs and no messages. The only change visible is the larger photo of the Prime Minister in all such print ads.
The other change that most were looking forward to was prompt filling up of vacant positions so that government work is not affected. What we have seen so far is announcements on postings coming in at midnight before the supposed deadline is up; with major positions filled up by people on extension. Linked to the postings is the hope of prompt and work friendly decisions. This is another area where the government has not delivered. The same red tape rules the roost; while the Prime Minister keeps harping on about ease of doing business. Visa on arrival is not what helps ease of doing business, issuance of passport to Indian citizens without delays and bribe is also important.
Hardly any change is noticed here. But the government seems to be happier in collecting accolades from abroad. For example Fortune magazine ranked Narendra Modi 5th in the list of 50 greatest global leaders. The magazine felt that the leader has “actually” begun to deliver on his election promises and is “making genuine progress” in his efforts to make India more business-friendly and less regulated. It credited him for addressing violence against women, improving sanitation and “patching up relations with other Asian countries and the US”. While the last part on foreign relations has indeed seen a quantum leap, the issue of improving sanitation is still confined to a high-pitched campaign with erratic results on ground. On women’s safety the Government has not done anything new, nor was it expected to. The changes visible to Fortune, unfortunately, do not satisfy the ordinary Indians busy in their daily struggle for existence.
One year is 20% of the time given to Narendra Modi by Indian voters. If he learns from his weak points and plugs those during the next three years, he may safely launch his re-election campaign in the fifth year of the term. But he, too, must change his style of governance. He must remember that change is the only constant in life.
Prima facie there are some visible changes which have taken place. There has been some splutter noticed in the Indian economy; an economy that was mostly dormant during the second part of former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s tenure. Asian Development Bank has predicted a 7.8% growth rate of Gross Domestic Product for India in 2015-16, one of the highest expected growth rates in the world. The Government has successfully auctioned spectrum and coal mines, two issues where the previous Government fared disastrously. Many can see that Modi is sticking to his promise of change.
On closer look however things do not look so rosy. The government is often caught on the wrong foot on a critical issue-the protection of minority rights. The sister affiliate organisations of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) embarrass the Government with their stock messages about Hinduism; which ironically end up generating stock counter reactions from the opponents of the Hindutva groups. This results in a fierce dose of irrationality on issues which are best settled quietly behind the doors. The change in messaging over India’s socio-religious balance has yet to settle at the desired level of equilibrium.
The fault lies not only with those who find the electoral change unacceptable but also those in BJP who came to power. Take the issue of political messaging for instance. The ruling party used to have a daily media brief where the party spokesperson used to answer questions posed by media. Not anymore. In contrast the opposition Congress keeps attacking the Government almost daily. With no BJP spokesman responding to the charges the arguments in favour of the ruling party are missed.
A case in point is the amendment to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Few had any idea if there had been discussion on the need for such amendments. Even fewer knew what the amendments are and why these were needed. On the last day of 2014 an Ordinance on the land law amendment was hastily issued.
Interestingly, if one reads the objection to the amendment issued by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, one will wonder why the amendment bill had to come at all. The note of the Congress president in effect admits the absence in the original act of the points the government amendment is said to have introduced. If that is so, where is the dispute? Even now the ruling BJP is not countering the points raised by Congress. To bring any change one must convince people to accept those changes. The Modi-led government has failed in this.
Second and no less important is the change in the style of governance. The new ministers are viewed as transparent and active. The signs of transparency and activity are reflected in their promptness in responding to the issues raised by various stakeholders. The experience of the last one year is that ministers are prompt merely on tweeting inconsequential messages. Their reluctance to meet senior industry leaders, domestic or foreign, gives the impression either of uncertain knowledge or fear. Either does not bode well for the government. Initially there were several reports about interference in the appointment of personal staff of ministers. It was presumed that like the hand-picked ministers, the carefully chosen ministerial support staff will be prompt and polite. They are neither, hence the lack of response from the ministers on even courtesy meetings from industry captains.
Third, change was expected was on the issue of government advertisements. It was believed that such advertisements are a waste of public money used by the political establishment to buy favour from the media outfits. The flow of advertisements continues and they seem to have perhaps increased, most carry just photographs and no messages. The only change visible is the larger photo of the Prime Minister in all such print ads.
The other change that most were looking forward to was prompt filling up of vacant positions so that government work is not affected. What we have seen so far is announcements on postings coming in at midnight before the supposed deadline is up; with major positions filled up by people on extension. Linked to the postings is the hope of prompt and work friendly decisions. This is another area where the government has not delivered. The same red tape rules the roost; while the Prime Minister keeps harping on about ease of doing business. Visa on arrival is not what helps ease of doing business, issuance of passport to Indian citizens without delays and bribe is also important.
Hardly any change is noticed here. But the government seems to be happier in collecting accolades from abroad. For example Fortune magazine ranked Narendra Modi 5th in the list of 50 greatest global leaders. The magazine felt that the leader has “actually” begun to deliver on his election promises and is “making genuine progress” in his efforts to make India more business-friendly and less regulated. It credited him for addressing violence against women, improving sanitation and “patching up relations with other Asian countries and the US”. While the last part on foreign relations has indeed seen a quantum leap, the issue of improving sanitation is still confined to a high-pitched campaign with erratic results on ground. On women’s safety the Government has not done anything new, nor was it expected to. The changes visible to Fortune, unfortunately, do not satisfy the ordinary Indians busy in their daily struggle for existence.
One year is 20% of the time given to Narendra Modi by Indian voters. If he learns from his weak points and plugs those during the next three years, he may safely launch his re-election campaign in the fifth year of the term. But he, too, must change his style of governance. He must remember that change is the only constant in life.
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