Do it yourself

Friday, December 16, 2016

In search of solutions - 9&10

Thought for the day

"We do not learn; and what we call learning is only a process of recollection."

—Plato (Greek, 427-347BC)

Word for the day

Clarion (adj)

Clear and shrill, e.g., the clarion call of a battle trumpet.

Malice towards none

Did Mahesh Shah or any of his accomplice know about impending abolition of HDNs, and just created a bucket where Rs13800cr worth of old currency could be washed, if needed?

First random thought this morning

The popular narrative these days is straight copy from the blockbuster Deewar - "भाई पहले उसका sign ले कर आओ, मैं तभी sign करूंगा."

Politicians are busy highlighting misdeeds of each other.

Tax evaders are justifying their deeds, on the pretext of corruption in administration and leakages in the public spending and delivery system.

No one is willing to admit their own failings.

In search of solutions - 9&10

“History shows that where ethics and economics come in conflict, victory is always with economics. Vested interests have never been known to have willingly divested themselves unless there was sufficient force to compel them.”

—B. R. Ambedkar

In my view, the sustainable solution for India’s economic problems could be found only by looking within. Borrowing from the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi, economics needs to follow ethics and not the vice versa. The primary consideration needs to be “man” and not “money”.

To achieve this means Gandhi advocated trusteeship, decentralization of economic activities, labor intensive technology and priority to weaker sections. Many criticize Gandhian economic ideas based on altruism, self reliance, and non-violence as an impractical alternative to free market economics. I believe this criticism is unfair and suffers from prejudice.

I believe borrowing blindly from the western economic models would not work in Indian context. The Indian model will have to be quintessentially Indian. It has to effectively tackle the problems of class conflict, unemployment and poverty while attempting to preserve the lifestyle and values of rural Indians, which are eroding fast with unmindful urbanization, industrialisation and modernisation.

A self-reliant, free, just and progressive society is integral to the idea of Swaraj. Self-reliance in no way violates the need for technological advancement in the areas like healthcare, communication, etc. It just wants the scale to tilt in favor of ethics and ecology conservation if a conflict arises. Self-reliance also does not infringe the idea of free market. It just promotes a non-violent and non-exploitive trade and commerce.

For those who find Gandhi completely irrelevant in the current context, it is pertinent to note that “the literature survey of Gandhian economic ideas gives similar conclusions. 258 thinkers, who have reviewed his economic ideas, have been taken into consideration. Among them, London group of Professionals and The Club of Rome are considered as individual thinkers. Even the opinion of 53 noble prize winners is also considered in this literature survey. 96% of these thinkers admire his economic thoughts. They consider his ideas practical, useful and relevant in the present world.

A growth model for economic development is shown on the basis of Gandhi economic thoughts. This model is applicable to developing economies and India. His ideas are helpful for backward and developing economies in the world. His ideas are also useful for solving problems in capitalist economies. This proves Gandhi as a unique and practical economist of the world”. (see here for more details)

In short, the economic model of India, in my opinion, should be based on the following three principles:

(a) It should develop an environment of equality and mutual trust through decentralization.

(b) It should focus on the strengths on Indian economy rather than overemphasizing the weaknesses.

I strongly feel that the most valuable resource for India is her people. In not implementing the recommendation of Balwant Rai Mehta committee (1957) on local self governance, our political system has failed in developing an environment of mutual trust and transparency and thus failed the people of India. Despite, Narasimha Rao government ensuring 73^rd constitutional amendment in 1992, the political establishment has obdurately refused to share power with the local bodies and common people.

As per NCAER Devolution of Power Index – only a handful of States have done meaningful devolution of power to Panchayati Raj Institutions - Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala being the notable one.

A series of irregularities that have come to light in past two decades suggest that lack of transparency in government functioning and substantial discretionary powers enjoyed by elected representative in appointments, procurement, resource allocation etc. have been the primary reasons for governance deficit.

In my Utopian (though certainly not out of the realm of possibilities) view, the following should be done:

(a) The ownership of public resources should be earnestly handed over to “the public”. Instead of few federal ministers controlling the resources in feudal manner, the trusteeship of all the natural resources should be vested in the District Council (see here). The local people should determine how these resources should be exploited, given their sustainability and development requirements. Industry based on these resources should be developed on co-operative model with equitable ownership of local people, the financier and the entrepreneur.

(b) Urbanization (provision of adequate civic amenities and connectivity) and industrialization (employment) should be managed at town/village level instead of further promoting India-Bharat divide. 6,60,000 urbanized villages would be much more productive than 500 smart cities with inadequate infrastructure.

(c) District councils should be empowered to decide appropriate direct taxation structure and incentive formulae to achieve the objective of social, economic and gender equalities, sustainability and development.

Each local council shall determine which are the minority communities, or socially and economically backward classes in that locality and extend reservation accordingly. Similarly, each local council shall determine the development priorities and allocate resources accordingly.

Given the diversified demographic, ecological and socio-economic profile, efficient policies for energy, education, employment, industrial development, ecology conservation etc could be worked out only at the local level.

Districts with 1% Schedule Tribe population and 89% Schedule tribe population cannot have same reservation criteria.

As per the census data, almost one fourth villages in India do not have any Schedule Caste population. In another one third villages the Scheduled caste population is less than 20%.

We have seen a large number of instances in past three decades where the so called upper caste people have protested violently against the reservation formula enshrined in the Constitution.

The litigation on the matter is also endless.

It would only be appropriate and more productive if the issue of reservation is decided at the Local Council (see here) level, in accordance with the socio-economic conditions of that region.

(d) The role of the National Council (see here) should be restricted to managing national defence, foreign relations, Trans District Rivers, dispute resolution, and developing model rules and regulation that may be adopted by the Local and District Councils with appropriate modifications.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

In search of solutions - 8

Thought for the day

"States are as the men, they grow out of human characters."

—Plato (Greek, 427-347BC)

Word for the day

Vainglory (n)

Excessive elation or pride over one's own achievements, abilities, etc.; boastful vanity.

Malice towards none

As per Expedia's 2016 global vacation survey - "India is the fourth most vacation deprived country in the world."

The joke ended up there.

First random thought this morning

As a deeply religious community, we strongly believe that our Gods are always there to help us out of any trouble. Gods on their part have not disappointed us. Indeed, Lord Krishna (Gita), Mother Durga (Durga Saptshati) et. al. assured us that they will incarnate themselves in human form, whenever there is any threat to our survival.

The problem that has arisen out of this assurance is that we are always searching for God's incarnations, even during normal times. We want all our leaders to be God like. Be it Indira, Rajiv, Modi, Dhoni, Tendulkar, or Bachchan - we cannot tolerate their failing in any test.

In search of solutions - 8

As indicated yesterday (see here), in my view, the root of the economic problems of India could be easily traced to the continuation of the exploitive colonial economic model post independence. We have consistently failed in exploiting our strengths and allowed outflow of precious resources both natural and human.

Even after 69years of independence from British rule, India continues to be mostly an exporter of raw material and cheap labor and importer of technology and end products. Though in recent past we have excelled in a few areas like automobile, pharma and space research, still most of our industry is built around arbitrage opportunities available in terms of natural resources and abundance of cheap labor.

Consequently, a strong structural base for the Indian economy is yet to evolve. We have not been particularly successful in the areas such as technological advancement, productivity gains, innovation and localization and mostly continue to be an economy largely dependent on labor & resource arbitrage and trading.

In my view, we have focused too much on our weaknesses and tried hard to overcome these weaknesses by importing technology, energy, intellectual property, capital and consumption patterns. As noted Swadeshi economic thinker S. Gurumrthy highlighted in one of his writings, the primary cause of structural imbalance in trade account appears to be humongous capital goods import in past decade or so rather than gold or oil import as widely believed.

In particular the following five “mistakes” have created many structural problems for Indian economy, in my view:

(a) “Feudal ownership” of resources in the garb of “public ownership” has led to criminal waste, misuse and misappropriation of scarce resources.

(b) Neglect of sustainability concerns in developing industry has led to concentration of economic power and therefore political power. Besides, the accelerated environmental degradation has caused serious damage to the ecology and livelihood of millions.

(c) Lack of a holistic education and training policy has created serious demographic distortions. On one hand we have a huge pool of unemployed youth, while on the other hand entire industry is facing shortage of skilled workers.

(d) The colonial mindset has destroyed the traditional knowledge and skills. Lord McCauley still successfully rules the education system, making India a perennial importer of technology and other intellectual property.

(e) A faulty approach to urbanization has created immense inequalities. The famous India and Bharat divide is now part of folklore in international studies. Instead of providing civic amenities to the quintessential Indian village that was center of traditional industry, the industrial policy has caused destruction of rural economies causing large scale migration.....to continue tomorrow

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

In search of solutions - 7

Thought for the day

"He who steals a little steals with the same wish as he who steals much, but with less power."

—Plato (Greek, 427-347BC)

Word for the day

Festschrift (n)

A volume of articles, essays, etc., contributed by many authors in honor of a colleague, usually published on the occasion of retirement, an important anniversary, or the like.

Malice towards none

The rise in currency demand in the economy in past 25years is not exclusively due to rise in corruption and other illegal activities.

It is also outcome of rise in trade and commerce without matching growth in banking infrastructure and financial literacy.

There were obviously better ways to achieve the objectives of HDN abolition.

First random thought this morning

After 35days, I wonder this morning - How currency notes could be the cause of naxalism, terrorism, drug trade, corruption and other vices in the society. Hoard of currency at best is the outcome of loot, plunder and illicit trade. In many cases it could be tool of execution. But seldom it is the cause of such activities. Are we ready for material rise in crime that the abolition of old currency may entail?

As a businessman in Bihar tells me - with no currency to feed their army of misguided youth, the mafia dons will accelerate their activities. Get ready for 3x the number of kidnapping and extortion cases and much larger amount of ransom per case!!

I seriously wish the government had invoked Article 352 of the constitution and revived MISA before taking this step.

In search of solutions - 7

Before we discuss the India's economic problems any further and begin exploring for solutions to these problems, I would like to narrate a short story.

It was a beautiful afternoon. Spring had just handed the baton out to summer. Farmers fresh from celebrating their harvest were preparing the fields for sowing the next crop. Everything seemed perfect.

A young man was lying idle under a banyan tree when a wise man passed by. He wondered why such a young man is wasting precious time when everyone else is working in the fields.

He approached the young man and queried “why are you sitting idle?” The young man countered with an assuring grin on his face “what am I supposed to do?” “Do not waste time. Go, find yourself some productive work”, the wise man suggested. “Why should I do that?” the young man asked nonchalantly. Taken aback a little, the wise man continued “you could earn some money, buy means of comfort and luxury, feel comfortable, be happy and rest peacefully”. “That is exactly what I was doing before you came here”, the young man answered exasperatedly and dozed off again.

Stated above is an old bedtime story. Various people derive different inference from it. My conclusion is that each individual or group of individuals have different social, psychological and physical needs and therefore respond differently to similar economic conditions.

For some, money beyond a point becomes a passion. For some other, it completely ceases to be a motivator beyond the same point. Yet for some others, it becomes a negative stimulus beyond the very same point.

From my experience gained through my extensive travels through hinterlands of India, I understand that many Indians, due to a variety of religious, social, cultural, historical, traditional, behavioral and/or economic reasons are akin to the young man in our story. Most of these are hard working, intelligent, and complacent. For many accumulating “excess” wealth is a sin. Passion for money is mostly an urban upper and upper middle class phenomenon.

When asked “why don't you expand your business?” many SME owners, traders and shop owners, responded “what will I do with more money?”

The roots of this detachment with money, in my view, could be traced to agrarian culture and traditions of India. All our religions proscribe accumulation of excess money as sin and strongly advocate sharing of wealth with society.

The agrarian mindset makes most of us work hard and pray to God for rains; wish only for a good crop so that we get enough food and seeds for next crop. We consider growing good healthy crop as our pious duty. We treat the land on which crop is grown, river and clouds that irrigates the land, and mountains and woods that make the conditions conducive for cultivation as sacred deities. Altruism, socialism, austerity, and concern for environment are at the core of Indian society.

However, it cannot be denied that a there are significant number of youth, especially those who were born in late 80s or later and have not seen long queues for kerosene, cement, food, two wheelers, telephone connection, LPG etc.; who could get forex easily to travel and study abroad; and who have worked in developed countries as engineer, manager, banker and not as construction labor, driver and nurse.

These young people have a mindset different from the traditional agrarian mindset. These are easily able to think in terms of billion dollars, global businesses and comfortable factoring "high leverage", "failure", "bankruptcy" and "default on repayment obligation" in their business plans.

Some of these young people have done well for themselves. But since the most follow business models & ideas which are poor copies of the existing businesses in the developed countries, and lack originality and innovation - I am hesitant in accepting it as a sustainable trend as yet.

In my view, any economic model that violates the core principles of the Indian society is bound to fail.

The Industrial development model adopted post independence era, which is mostly an extension of the exploitive colonial model used by British Empire, has promoted inequalities, injustice and unsustainability. And that is the economic problem we need to address first and foremost.

...to continue tomorrow

Friday, December 9, 2016

In search of solutions - 6

Thought for the day

"The curse of me and my nation is that we always think things can be bettered by immediate action of some sort, any sort rather than no sort."

—Plato (Greek, 427-347BC)

Word for the day

Asomatous (adj)

Having no material body; incorporeal.

Malice towards none

President requests MPs to do their job!

Did someone told MPs - what's their job!

First random thought this morning

After the Supreme Court became the tyrant mother-in-law of BCCI, the Kerala High Court has dictated that female devotees cannot enter the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvanthanpuram wearing Chudidar salwars. 10 Days ago, a bureaucrat, KN Satheesh, had allowed churidars to be worn in the temple.

Are you wondering why I am discussing these frivolities this early morning?

Well that is exactly the point!

In search of solutions - 6

Indian markets and economy have always surprised the experts and investors alike. Many investors are attracted towards the fabled India story, given the favorable demography and abundance of natural resource. But most of them fall short of their own expectations.

Despite showing resilience to many external shocks; many rounds of liberalization, stable democratic administration, consistent and positively evolving policy framework, Indian economy has not been able to enter the orbit of sustainable high growth.

Though many things have changed dramatically in past one decade, but we are far from rising above the colonial setup - in which we supply cheap resources (now notably skilled workers) to the global markets and provide a large captive market for their final produce. We welcome polluting industries of developed nations and happy to lower our compliance standards for a few dollars more.

Before discussing anything about economic solutions, it is therefore important to assimilate the economic problem of the country.

Understanding the economic problem

Have you ever wondered:

· Despite having a rich culinary tradition for centuries, millions of connoisseur consumers, and thousands of great eateries – why we could not create a McDonald, Dominos or Pizza Hut in India?

· Despite having over 2000yrs of rich tradition of fashion, fabric manufacturing, dress designing and abundant raw material availability why no Indian textile or fashion brands figures prominently in global fashion and textile industry?

· Coke quit India in 1977-78, leaving behind all manufacturing facilities, customers with taste for soda based drinks, distribution and marketing channel and sales infrastructure. For 14yrs Indian manufacturers had no competition whatsoever, till Pepsi and Coke re-entered India. Why did Campa cola, Parle and Duke not survive the competition from Pepsi and Coke even for a decade?

· Despite being one of the oldest civilization, tradition of living and networking in communities, spending considerable time in chaupals and doing Adda till late night, availability of tremendous IT skills – no Indian thought of creating Facebook – an e-chaupal with over US$340bn in market cap.

· Despite slavery of many centuries, why we still depend on those very foreigners for supply of equipment, arms and ammunition for our armed forces?

· Why failing to win an Olympic gold medal is a subject of national shame; failing to get nomination in Oscars is subject of national disappointment, but not getting a single Nobel for mathematics, science or literature post independence does not evoke any regrets or discussion? Remember, we always proudly claim ourselves to be pioneers in fields of mathematics, physics, astrophysics, metallurgical & medical sciences etc.Why we derive pride from the success of emigrated Indians who quit their motherland to take foreign citizenship?

· Despite being the largest producer of milk, and huge surplus food grain stock, why India is bracketed with some poorest third world countries in terms of child malnutrition?

· Why an average Indian male feels proud in being sexist when our religion, culture, and traditions propound supremacy of feminine power (The Mother Supreme)?

· Why an average Indian feels proud in being racist when our religion, culture, and traditions preach universality of human (Vasudeva Kutumbakam)?

· Why we Indians love to celebrate our Jugaad mindset, which reflects poorly on almost every aspect of the socio-economic life in India. This has severely impacted the pursuit of excellence, a hall mark of Indian art, culture, engineering, architecture, industry till 19^th century, at least. Today, “Quality” is something India and Indians are not particularly known for globally. This ‘jugaad’ mindset has also doggedly constricted the vision of an average Indian entrepreneur. Except for a handful of Indians, most of whom have the benefit of studying and/or working overseas, not many have thought about scalable business models. Even a large number of so called knowledge business businesses and modern retail are blatantly modeled on the popular global models.

· Almost all the popular realty TV shows; an overwhelming proportion of music scores; and popular cinema is poorly and blatantly copied from the west.

These are some of the inquisitions that may help us in understanding the economic behavior of Indian population and also highlight the contours of our economic problem…to continue on Tuesday

(PS: I have raised these issues many times earlier, almost in the same words. Hence it is natural that readers find it repetitive. However, given the relevance of the subject, in my view, I do not mind the reiteration)

Thursday, December 8, 2016

In search of solutions - 5

Thought for the day

"The measure of a man is what he does with power."

—Plato (Greek, 427-347BC)

Word for the day

Campanology (n)

The principles or art of making bells, bell ringing, etc.

Malice towards none

I knew this ultra Hindu Rashtra chauvinist from my college days. He later turned coat and became ultra secular and self-proclaimed Rahul Gandhi enthusiast.

Insiders tell me that for past many weeks he is sitting at back door of BJP office, waiting for permission to enter.

First random thought this morning

A number of experts have already started to rehearse the obituaries of globalization. From their writings I find that seemingly they have nothing against the globalization per se. They just want to be recognized as someone who first saw the end of it. The gratification of telling the common public "I said so" with a mean grim on your face, is so special.

Almost all of these experts see the Italy vote against proposed reforms as the second step towards the end of the project Europe, after Brexit. To them, inauguration of president trump; German, French, Italian elections; and beginning of the Brexit project next week will tick all the boxes pre-requisite for de-globalization of the global economy.

I beg to strongly disagree. I believe, we will just see a change in the format. The euphoria over the success of new format will provide the necessary escape velocity to take the world out of the current stalemate.

In search of solutions - 5

As suggested yesterday (see here), my solution to the political problems being faced by our country is predicated on our ability to build a political structure based on strong communities that live in harmony with nature and each other. Mutual trust, equality and sustainability are naturally at the core of my utopia.

I may now present the broader contours of my utopian socio-political structure. Some may want to draw prima facie similarities with the Communist State. But trust me it has nothing to do with a Leninist, Maoist or even Marxist state. My utopian structure does allow equal opportunity to all, but through "democratic election" and not by "arbitrary nomination". Moreover, commitment to community (communalism), culture (religion & traditions), and reverence to the Mother Nature (sustainability) are the core and non-negotiable elements for me, whereas in a communist state these are mostly redundant.

The primary governance unit — Local Council

(a) The primary unit of the country should be a democratic assembly of people in a town or village (Town or village council).

(b) Each town or village should directly elect a suitable number of representatives on a periodic basis. The winning candidate must win at least 51% of the eligible votes (not just the votes cast).

(c) Every adult citizen domiciled in that town/village for at least 10years, should have an equal opportunity to get elected for a term of 3years. No person shall be elected for more than 3 terms.

(d) Election expense of all candidates who could show support of at least 10% of eligible voters should be funded by the state. Other candidates may be required to fund their own expense. The spending limit may be fixed, say Rs10, per eligible voter in the constituency. All expenses should be paid through the designated State office only.

(e) The performance of each Local Council member should be evaluated on annual basis by an independent agency. A member failing to score the passing grade should be barred from politics for a period of 6yrs.

(f) The chairman of the Local Council should be elected by the members elected by the public, through a transparent secret ballot. The winning candidate must have a minimum of 51% of elected Council members supporting him/her. Each such Chairman should constitute an advisory board of local experts to advise him on governance matters. Members of the advisory board should not be paid any remuneration.

(g) Primary health, education, scientific research, art, culture, law & order are governed exclusively by the Local Council. All local civil disputes must be first resolved through mediation at the Council level only.

(h) All citizens are accorded a right to uniform education and primary health services, to be implemented by the Local Councils. Private, for profit, investment is allowed only in technical education, and specialized health services.

The secondary governance unit — District Council

(a) Town and villages with largely homogeneous demographic characteristics should be grouped in various Districts. Each District should have an independent governing council. All such District Councils should be empowered to impose & collect direct taxes; frame rules for engagement with other District Councils in the country, including exploitation & sharing of natural resources; movement of labor & capital etc.

(b) Local Councils falling within a District should elect from amongst their present and past members, who have served at least 2 complete terms, to the District Council.

(c) The number of members representing each Local Council should be in proportion to the population, area and social indicators of each such Local Council. Areas with stronger social indicators get to elect few extra members. This should promote healthy competition amongst Local Council to improve the social indicators.

(d) The district council should have a fixed term of 6years, with half the members retiring by rotation every 3years. No member should be elected to the District Council more than once.

(e) The performance of each district council member should be evaluated on annual basis by an independent agency. A member failing to score the passing grade should be barred from politics for a minimum period of 10yrs.

(f) The chairman of the District Council should be elected by the representatives elected by Local Councils, through a transparent secret ballot. The winning candidate must secure a minimum of 51% elected representatives members supporting him/her.

(g) Each such Chairman should constitute an advisory board of experts to advise him on governance matters. Members of the advisory board should not be paid any remuneration.

The third tier — National Council

(a) Each District Council should elect members to the National Council, in proportion to population, area and social indicators.

(b) Districts Councils should elect from their best performing past and present members who have served at least one complete term on the District Council.

(c) The Chairman of the National Council should be elected through a transparent secret ballot. The winning candidate must secure a minimum of 51% elected representatives members supporting him/her.

(d) Each such Chairman should constitute an advisory board of experts to advise him on governance matters. Members of the advisory board should not be paid any remuneration.

(e) The National Council shall deal only with common matters of national interests, such as foreign relations, national defense, etc.

Next I shall present outline of an economic model to go with this.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

In search of solutions - 4

Thought for the day

"No one knows whether death, which people fear to be the greatest evil, may be the greatest good."

—Plato (Greek, 427-347BC)

Word for the day

Quondam (adj)

Former;

Onetime, e.g., his quondam partner.

Malice towards none

How death ends animosity, enmity, hatred, rancor, acrimony, everything?

Or does it?

First random thought this morning

After Brexit & Trump now the dreaded Italy 'No' vote also has not impacted the global markets as most experts would have expected.

What could be the reason?

(a) Markets are too complacent, and would eventually explode sometime in 2017.

(b) Experts are completely out of synch with the popular mood on the street.

In search of solutions - 4

“It is Swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves. It is, therefore, in the palm of our hands. But such Swaraj has to be experienced, by each one for himself. One drowning man will never save another.”

“I believe that you want the millions of India to be happy, not that you want the reins of government in your hands. If that be so, we have to consider only one thing: how can the millions obtain self-rule?”

[M. K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj]

Over the past seven decades, the political structure has taken the shape of a pyramid form, whereas the social structure in the country continues to be in a ladder form.

In a pyramid structure, the space at the top is limited. The people are continuously at struggle with each other. Those who have reached the top fight with each other to stay there. They have also to fight with a multitude of other people who are trying to reach the summit. To survive at the top, you need to push all others down. The concepts such as mutual trust, harmony, cooperation, equality, justice, etc. have little relevance under this structure. The laws of the jungle prevail - the strongest survives and his interest is accepted as justice. This intense and consistent struggle to survive, seldom allows the leaders at the top to bother about the people below.

To the contrary, traditionally the Indian society is structured in ladder form. The ultimate goal is well defined as salvation from this material world. The space at the top is unlimited. There is no competition. Mostly people wish that the person ahead of them moves higher faster so that they could also move up. It's like a queue in the temple. You want the people ahead of you to move forward faster, so that you could also get to worship the deity sooner. No one pulls anyone back. Everyone pushes the others forward.

I have been highlighting since ever that one of the best things India has got in past 150years is Mahatma Gandhi. And the most unfortunate thing to occur since independence from British rule in 1947 is brazen desertion of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian politicians. To my mind hanging his pictures in government offices or currency notes and naming roads after him is even more contemptuous given the blatant irreverence for his principles and ideas.

Mahatma Gandhi understood the Indian society as no other Indian leader in modern India did. Based on his understanding, he suggested the model of Swaraj (self rule). Trust me, the Gandhian idea of Swaraj could have been proposed only by a person like him who had experienced India so intimately.

(It may be pertinent to recall here that in my view Arvind Kejriwal’s idea of Swaraj is at best a perversion of Gandhian concept of Swaraj and deserves to be rejected with due contempt.)

M. P. Mathai explains the Gandhian idea of Swaraj very succinctly as follows:

“Although the word swaraj means self-rule, Gandhi gave it the content of an integral revolution that encompasses all spheres of life. “At the individual level swaraj is vitally connected with the capacity for dispassionate self-assessment, ceaseless self-purification and growing swadeshi or self-reliance".

Politically swaraj is self-government and not good government (for Gandhi, good government is no substitute for self-government) and it means continuous effort to be independent of government control, whether it is foreign government or whether it is national.

In the other words, it is sovereignty of the people based on pure moral authority. Economically, poorna swaraj means full economic freedom for the toiling millions. For Gandhi, swaraj of the people meant the sum total of the swaraj (self-rule) of individuals and so he clarified that for him swaraj meant freedom for the meanest of his countrymen. And in its fullest sense, swaraj is much more than freedom from all restraints, it is self-rule, self-restraint and could be equated with moksha or salvation."

In one of his letters to Leo Tolstoy Gandhi explained Swaraj as follows:

“Independence begins at the bottom. A society must be built in which every village has to be self sustained and capable of managing its own affairs. It will be trained and prepared to perish in the attempt to defend itself against any onslaught from without. This does not exclude dependence on and willing help from neighbors or from the world. It will be a free and voluntary play of mutual forces. In this structure composed of innumerable villages, there will be ever widening, never ascending circles.

Growth will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But it will be an oceanic circle whose center will be the individual. Therefore the outermost circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle but will give strength to all within and derive its own strength from it.” (as cited in Wikipedia)

Thus, the individual is the sole basis of Swaraj. Swaraj is unfathomable without dispassionate self-assessment, ceaseless self-purification and growing self-reliance at individual level; and sovereignty of moral authority, as against the political authority.

Swaraj encompasses fiercely competitive free market, moral duty to be free, fearless, truthful, fair, just, self reliant, nationalist, and religious.

This Swaraj, many argue is Utopian in current context. Some argue that it is desirable but we have traveled too far down the road we took post independence from British rule; and it is too late to go back and begin again.

In my view, this defeatist and fatigued attitude is unwarranted. What we need is a zero base discussion on the subject and solutions will emerge that would lead us to the desired goal of making 1.3bn people free, fearless and happy. An incremental approach howsoever sincere might not yield the desired results.

With this in mind I dream of a free, fearless and fair socio-political organization for the country."

During my various visits to the hinterlands of the country, I found strong evidence of numerous democratic assemblies within various communities and localities. From my experience I know for certain that most Indians not only feel comfortable working with the members of their own community, but are usually most productive when operating within the network of their “Own people” or "Community".

This “communalism” is arguably a key strength of Indian society. Therefore, in my view, the social ecology model suggested by author and activist Murray Bookchin which advocates a “stateless, classless, decentralized society consisting of a network of directly democratic citizens' assemblies in individual communities/cities organized in a confederal fashion” appears relevant in our context.

Unfortunately, our politicians and social activists have dissipated the term “communalism” to mean intolerance and hatred towards other religions, especially amongst Hindus and Muslims. This debauchery has introduced many distortions in our socio-political order. In my view this needs to be corrected as pre-condition before we begin working on any course correction.

Religious fundamentalism (which is usually referred to as “communalism” in Indian context), is mostly a political problem in India. A secular political system, as envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi and incorporated in the soul of our Constitution, would automatically weaken these miniscule elements leading to their eventual extinction.

My solution to the India's political problem is thus predicated on our ability to build and nurture strong communities that live in harmony with the nature.

Tomorrow I shall present the broad contours of the political structure that in my view can rid our country of nepotism; conflicts between various interest groups that undermine the national interest; mediocrity at the expense of meritocracy; promote communal harmony, equity, and cater to the aspirations of all the people.