Coming out from an era of colonialism, India tended to be statist or socialist in outlook, as capitalism was looked down upon with suspicion and linked with the past.
India as a country has had a very interesting journey since independence and while this may hold true for most nations, the ideological transition stands out in the case of India. Coming out from an era of colonialism, India tended to be statist or socialist in outlook, as capitalism was looked down upon with suspicion and linked with the past. But these views have evolved over the last seven decades, and this is the core of Amit Kapoor’s book, The Age of Awakening.
Kapoor starts out from the eve of independence and brings us up to date with the present government in power in around 270 pages. The effort is very comprehensive in the sense that it covers all the important phases of political history and the economics that went with it. Readers of all ages should find this interesting, and while it is sheer nostalgia for those who lived through independence, it brings up several facts for the millennials who are associated with the post-reforms period.
We get to know that independence was an exercise done in haste and Cyril Radcliffe, who was responsible for drawing the border of India and Pakistan, did a hurried job, given the lack of time and his unfamiliarity with the intricacies of the subcontinent. As a result, Partition was a messy affair, with millions of people suffering loss of life and property.
Hence, the glamour of the midnight hour, which history books extol, is the only bright side of the story. The conflicts between various leaders were palpable, leading to Gandhi’s assassination and later to Nehru’s debacle with China. Reading the narrative, we do get the sense that those who were good in fighting for independence were not the best rulers and, hence, even economic ideology formulated based on such baggage became irrelevant with time.
Planning was an offshoot of socialism, which has pervaded through the ages, and while different governments have deviated at times, as under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, the roots in socialism remain virtually intact for various political reasons.
Kapoor and Chirag Yadav take us through the political turmoil over time, and the rise of Indira Gandhi is quite significant. As a novice in politics, she used a lot of guile to break through various groups that tried to use her as a puppet, or those who wanted her out, to emerge stronger. The picture we get is that she was a ruthless leader and the concept of corruption and cronyism started in her time and got entrenched. The rise of Sanjay Gandhi and all the excesses that a number of readers would have been witness to actually serve as a warning of what happens when power corrupts. It is also shown how Sanjay Gandhi tried to squeeze the banks for finance for the Maruti project, which never took off, and the RBI governor who opposed it was not given an extension.
Another factor that we see through our history, which holds true even today, is that whenever a party, especially the Congress, has fallen through, the opposition gets united only for removing the incumbent, but is rarely on the same page. This rings true even today when we see the opposition parties trying to unite against the Modi government having nothing in common. History, as revealed by the authors, shows that these coalitions do not last.
The authors do, in a way, applaud Narasimha Rao for managing power for five years, and the way he handled all the forces was quite remarkable, starting with reforms. By keeping issues like Ayodhya in the limelight, he did manage to pass through some tough reforms on private banks and FDI while attention was diverted.
The constant dilly-dallying with opening up the economy is evident even today, which tells us that history follows a pattern, and either out of ideological conviction or political motivation, all parties do oppose anything foreign. Though at the end of the day, things do work out. Presently, this is evident when we look at which party supports FDI or e-commerce or even GST. When in the opposition, there is a tendency to oppose, but to drive the same when in power. This is real politics.
The authors also take us through some of the worst carnages with the Sikh riots of 1984 and Godhra of 2002 and their strong political associations. The others look quite minor and routine even though communal hatred has been an important tool used by all leaders to fragment society. The political machinations in Punjab to destabilise Akali Dal by Indira Gandhi created the Bhindranwale phenomenon, which finally resulted in her assasination. The same held for Rajiv Gandhi, who went too far in Sri Lanka.
The book also covers financial scams, and we understand that defence deals are always murky and have a lot of political preference. Quite clearly, governments need to also streamline such purchases, just as it has been done for coal, telecom, mining, etc. This will reduce the noise factor in deals, but if kickbacks are large, no one would be willing to let go of this lever.
Notwithstanding all these ills, there is definitely hope for the country, and that is the message the authors would like to give the reader. Economic ideology is now almost set in the right direction and while bickering can slow down further progress, the direction is unlikely to change. Globalisation will probably be the anchor, and the fact that all parties finally have very strong corporate inclinations will ensure that policies are not reversed. This has also been the theme since we moved away from thinking that anything private was evil. The links are quite strong today and while the players may change, the control room may still be outside the Parliament.
This book can be considered a quick lowdown of Indian history post-independence, albeit in a comprehensive manner. The title, however, may not go well with the narrative, which is more descriptive. It may be argued that with hypocrisy typifying all political doctrines, the progress we see could be more a result of jugaad than an awakening.
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