‘Jugaad’ has run out of steam
16 April 2015 11:06 PM GMT
We Indians are condemned by our own collective genius for ingenuity. For us-the original authors of the ‘jugaad’ philosophy, the solutions designed for the short run are now coming apart at their seams and beginning to haunt the very fundamentals of our governance mechanisms ; this is in turn affecting the social and economic framework of our country. Over time we somehow forgot that a quick fix can never be the lasting solution to any problem; it is only a transitory space to take another breath and work out the long term answer. Many generations of our countrymen have been schooled in a basic lesson: India is a poor country but rich in natural resources. This apparent paradox was difficult to work out during one’s adolescence at school. Sixty eight years after Independence, the paradox has become the paradigm, ever more complex and ever more intractable. The feeling of helplessness seems to have become palpable.
There is always a temptation to dwell on what has gone wrong. Sure, so many things could have been possible, if only we had the courage to change course at the opportune time. We persisted with a failing economic model built around public sector-led industrial growth, stayed with the recognition of mediocrity as the benchmark of acceptable performance standard in every endeavor, placed the highest premium on the lowest levels of public service delivery and made it into our religion of national interest. We were not damned in the beginning, as we were struggling to put the country together territorially; struggling with the lack of resources and putting in place a philosophy of administration, which would be just and fair. We got damned when we could not decide whether we want the rule of law applicable universally to all our citizens or rule by exception. Eventually, the exceptions got bigger and bigger and as a result now everybody wants to be an exception rather than the norm.
To cite an example, Very Very Important Persons (VVIPs) will move ahead of Very Important Persons (VIP), who will in turn be ahead of merely Important Persons and the ordinary citizen will be left at the very end of the line. Preferential classes and categories emerged with facile claims to state patronage to the point that even leftovers had a lien marked for appropriation by discretion. We got damned when accountability protocols fell by the way side, desolate and abandoned through the collusion of constitutionally mandated law enforcement bodies. The tragic result is that 99 per cent of our citizenry is struggling with the fundamentals of living: whether it be access to civic amenities, quality workmanship, school, college and university admissions or much needed medical care. Just getting to work in time is an uphill climb for many on a daily basis. Forget the thought of seeking excellence; it is the average that commands a premium now. This is the size of the dragon that we have to combat.
The widespread anguish amongst the public is that we can do better. We can do better only if we accept that historical solutions are now a part of the problem. The famed varnas, which may have had justification in a perfectly ordered society, have no relevance today and the sooner we focus on equitable access to opportunities, the easier it would be for the rule of law to prevail. Historical injustices need fair settlement but political manipulation of sectional interests, which has the potential to distort future social dynamics, need to be discouraged. Re-writing the past is a waste of time, as we need to put all the energies into securing the future. The instruments of delivery of public policy are broken and completely out of date. No matter how strong the political intent-if that can be said at all-the micro management systems for public policy implementation are deeply flawed and this is where the populace really suffers. However our policy architecture may still be redeemable; it is translation into reality that does not happen. This is largely so because governance is driven from the state capitals with only macro perspectives.
Our system of administration is no longer workable on a micro-level and this has to change. The local context and geography has to be the fulcrum on which all governance coordinates should converge. The best bureaucrats must be posted in these geographies and spend at least 20 years plus on this platform rather than in state capitals, where they ostensibly make policy. And frankly, we appear to be policy affluent. The focus has to be on policy delivery and this can happen only when those invested with responsibility are both empowered and accountable. Electorates universally hope for a government that works better and costs less, reduces red tape and empowers its employees to get results. Every party seeking power promises just that and so far every single one of them has failed to deliver this utopia. Sure, it is the hardest part, but the usual ‘jugaads’ will not work because institutional structures are falling apart. Yes, induction of human resources, methodologies and processes need transformation and have to be aligned with current context.
However it is really the functional environment that needs a drastic overhaul. The ‘doer’ has to be respected and protected. True, the government is an impersonal employer but organisations must show the highest premium and preference to competence and integrity. These two have to go together. One to the exclusion of the other cannot be accepted and may indeed be detrimental to the ‘common good’. This will be better than any full-page ads in our dailies of the government’s achievements. Till that happens, we will continue to bemoan a la Rajiv Gandhi that only fourteen or less paise in a state’s rupee reaches the poor of the country.
The starting points are all right here and right now. Some of the givens in the country need to be accepted: That India is a multi-cultural society and we need not paint it in one uniform shade. We need to accept that there is no yardstick of governance except the rule of law. Also, let us not make compliance optional for the privileged and compulsory for the under privileged. Let us accept the reality that the world does not owe us a living and we need to take care of ourselves. We need to ensure the defence and civilized growth of the poorest while making sure that our venerable ancient traditions are not used for re-plantation but for synthesis of modern trends. Lastly endurance means building our pillars so strong that they will hold up and support the ambitions of the ‘coming generations’ into the next century.
Economic engineering will equalise society faster than any manually assisted social engineering. There are many dragons to be slayed before we transcend both internal and external conflicts, so why do we fabricate newer dragons, each fiercer than the other? The reality is we can’t slay them all or make them disappear at will. This simply will not happen and this fact should be accepted as a given. Quick fix dragons should be left behind. Only enduring change can strengthen the fundamentals of our great nation.
There is always a temptation to dwell on what has gone wrong. Sure, so many things could have been possible, if only we had the courage to change course at the opportune time. We persisted with a failing economic model built around public sector-led industrial growth, stayed with the recognition of mediocrity as the benchmark of acceptable performance standard in every endeavor, placed the highest premium on the lowest levels of public service delivery and made it into our religion of national interest. We were not damned in the beginning, as we were struggling to put the country together territorially; struggling with the lack of resources and putting in place a philosophy of administration, which would be just and fair. We got damned when we could not decide whether we want the rule of law applicable universally to all our citizens or rule by exception. Eventually, the exceptions got bigger and bigger and as a result now everybody wants to be an exception rather than the norm.
To cite an example, Very Very Important Persons (VVIPs) will move ahead of Very Important Persons (VIP), who will in turn be ahead of merely Important Persons and the ordinary citizen will be left at the very end of the line. Preferential classes and categories emerged with facile claims to state patronage to the point that even leftovers had a lien marked for appropriation by discretion. We got damned when accountability protocols fell by the way side, desolate and abandoned through the collusion of constitutionally mandated law enforcement bodies. The tragic result is that 99 per cent of our citizenry is struggling with the fundamentals of living: whether it be access to civic amenities, quality workmanship, school, college and university admissions or much needed medical care. Just getting to work in time is an uphill climb for many on a daily basis. Forget the thought of seeking excellence; it is the average that commands a premium now. This is the size of the dragon that we have to combat.
The widespread anguish amongst the public is that we can do better. We can do better only if we accept that historical solutions are now a part of the problem. The famed varnas, which may have had justification in a perfectly ordered society, have no relevance today and the sooner we focus on equitable access to opportunities, the easier it would be for the rule of law to prevail. Historical injustices need fair settlement but political manipulation of sectional interests, which has the potential to distort future social dynamics, need to be discouraged. Re-writing the past is a waste of time, as we need to put all the energies into securing the future. The instruments of delivery of public policy are broken and completely out of date. No matter how strong the political intent-if that can be said at all-the micro management systems for public policy implementation are deeply flawed and this is where the populace really suffers. However our policy architecture may still be redeemable; it is translation into reality that does not happen. This is largely so because governance is driven from the state capitals with only macro perspectives.
Our system of administration is no longer workable on a micro-level and this has to change. The local context and geography has to be the fulcrum on which all governance coordinates should converge. The best bureaucrats must be posted in these geographies and spend at least 20 years plus on this platform rather than in state capitals, where they ostensibly make policy. And frankly, we appear to be policy affluent. The focus has to be on policy delivery and this can happen only when those invested with responsibility are both empowered and accountable. Electorates universally hope for a government that works better and costs less, reduces red tape and empowers its employees to get results. Every party seeking power promises just that and so far every single one of them has failed to deliver this utopia. Sure, it is the hardest part, but the usual ‘jugaads’ will not work because institutional structures are falling apart. Yes, induction of human resources, methodologies and processes need transformation and have to be aligned with current context.
However it is really the functional environment that needs a drastic overhaul. The ‘doer’ has to be respected and protected. True, the government is an impersonal employer but organisations must show the highest premium and preference to competence and integrity. These two have to go together. One to the exclusion of the other cannot be accepted and may indeed be detrimental to the ‘common good’. This will be better than any full-page ads in our dailies of the government’s achievements. Till that happens, we will continue to bemoan a la Rajiv Gandhi that only fourteen or less paise in a state’s rupee reaches the poor of the country.
The starting points are all right here and right now. Some of the givens in the country need to be accepted: That India is a multi-cultural society and we need not paint it in one uniform shade. We need to accept that there is no yardstick of governance except the rule of law. Also, let us not make compliance optional for the privileged and compulsory for the under privileged. Let us accept the reality that the world does not owe us a living and we need to take care of ourselves. We need to ensure the defence and civilized growth of the poorest while making sure that our venerable ancient traditions are not used for re-plantation but for synthesis of modern trends. Lastly endurance means building our pillars so strong that they will hold up and support the ambitions of the ‘coming generations’ into the next century.
Economic engineering will equalise society faster than any manually assisted social engineering. There are many dragons to be slayed before we transcend both internal and external conflicts, so why do we fabricate newer dragons, each fiercer than the other? The reality is we can’t slay them all or make them disappear at will. This simply will not happen and this fact should be accepted as a given. Quick fix dragons should be left behind. Only enduring change can strengthen the fundamentals of our great nation.
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