Nehru and the funda of Mixed Economy

Wishing all a very happy & prosperous New Year!!! A cliched line that will go on for at least the next couple of days. I was starting to wonder this time that the time is passing so fast, that expression of every regars over every occassion sounds so repetitive. With friends, colleagues, bosses, clients and with every second person that you meet on the street. I felt it was losing its relevance. This time I hence went on a "Satyagrah". No wishes to anybody. It really didnt make much difference anyways. Some friends did call up, but most didnt react clearly highlighting the boredom behind this entire concept.

I guess, one of the most beautifully written books on Indian history has come from none other than Free India's first prime minister, Mr. Jawahar Lal Nehru. Books like "Glimpses of World History" or "The Discovery of India" are a joy to read if you relish history. These days I am reading a book called, "As Nehru saw the World". For a long time I believed that we were led the wrong way in terms of economic development. And that, we wuld have done more justice to ourselves by opting for a "Market Economy". Ex- CEO of HLL, Mr. Gurcharan Das calls it, "When humans err, it is sad. When leaders err, its haunts a generation".A close reading of Nehru's ideas kind of broke the mental shackles.


Many of us still recall the Indian Independence from the famous speech of Nehru called, "A Tryst with the destiny". And some of us from the black & white footage of Nehru unfurling the tricolor. Its a wonderful feeling isnt? But the background to Indendence was rather traumatic. There were numerous areas which were pulling the nation seeking their attention. National security, Food security, formation of consitution, uniting the divergent culture and more importantly ensuring that the identity "Indian" remains firmly entrenched in the psychology of the members of the Union. You know today we take it for granted, the fact that outside India a Tamilian, a Punjabi, a Bengali, a Garwali, an Assamese, a Kannadiga, a Malyali, a Gujarati would always be known as an Indian. The concept of India & Indian have come to us from our fathers & grandfathers who saw the dream of Nehru of a Unified nation that had an identity which overshadowed the other regional disparities. We must thank Mr. Nehru for it. At the time of independence we were short of leaders & intellectuals who could have driven the country on a fast track. With his limitations, Nehru thought that given the limited resources an optimum allocation of them is the best idea. He wanted to build a nation for the future. Then came the concept of Planning & the Planning Commission. The Five Year plan extensively criticised, then & today, remained a formidable driver of economic growth for India for many post-independence years. Today, though we are entering the eleventh Five year Plan, its role is limited to allocation of resources with a societal focus. In those days, in the absence of economic activity, Nehru saw creation of wealth as part of the Government's responsibility. Interestingly, he says, " India is a poor country. A poor country cannot afford concentration of wealth with a few individials. The idea of development in a country like ours is to ensure equitable distribution of wealth." His idea was not to kill Private sector, but more liberal role for Public sector. He also goes on to say, "Socialism as it is catching up today will not fit in well in a poor country like ours. Socialism is concept which is more suited to countries who are already wealthy & developed. Socialism seeks to ensure equity of prosperity, but in the absence of prosperity, distribution of it is a mere Myth." ( Both the lines are not direct quotes of Nehru, but rather the version as I interpret it). Unfortunately, the concept fell on its face. He was also more concerned about concentration of wealth. It is not that he was averse to a vibrant market economy. Being a political leader, his thoughts were more directed towards a just society. In his address to the Indian Merchant Chambers in 1950, he says, "Planning is a crucial element to India's growth. For its execution, we need the support from all quarters" (Again my interpretation). He saw Planning as a major tool to implement projects whose benefits would accrue to our future generation. There was then the fear of "Imperialism" in its new form. Multinational Agencies highjacking the growth of the country & making it dependent on the MNCs whims & fancies. Nehru feared it & more than that despised it. His vision was that of self generated and indigenous growth (we came to realise it only 50 years hence as today we are the second fastest growing economy driven by internal demand). His insecurity was echoed across all sectors. Hence, we saw extensive governmental control & Public sector domination over all economic activities. For him, America & Soviet were more or less the same entities. He wanted to distinguish India as a country with its own disntict identity & voice. Thanks to that belief instilled in our system, today our views over geo-political scenario are construed as filled with individuality and non-prejudice. But I guess today we lament over the fact that the growth engine could have run faster had we done this or that. And that Nehru was a total failure. Today we look at what we lost out & not what we have achieved. History will always remind you more of lost opportunities & less of achievements. He did what he thought was best for our country. If there was any view point contrarion to him, then surely with a logically strong basis would have ensured a growth pattern different from what it is now. Since, there was none then we must applaud the efforts of Mr. Nehru. He had a dynamic vision that if people work for other people, Growth will will happen at a fatser pace & will far more evenly distributed. But the vision was not shared by everybody in India. As it has been rightly said, "Leaders are remembered because of their followers"...Seldom the fally is ever that of the leader....Mr. Jawahar Lal Nehru you did a great job...