Appu Soman is a perceptive writer but his article lacks substance, is short on logic and relies for the most part on unsubstantiated sweeping statements. The American habit of simplifying everything through coinage of new terms such as describing India as a ‘flailing state’ is certainly eye catching but hardly relevant in the context of India’s development paradigm. Whether the presidential or parliamentary form of government is better suited for a country as large and diverse as India is a matter of debate, but to attribute all our ills to the parliamentary system is stretching credulity to its limit.
It is fashionable to blame politicians for all our ills but at least they are accountable and can be removed from power with every election should they fail to perform. It is this element of accountability which must be put into the public domain if we are to address the various malaises which Soman talks off. We remonstrate when the manifestations of poor governance are apparent, but when it comes to substantive structural issues, there is somehow limited proactive engagement to shape governance norms.
Poor governance, mismanagement, inefficiencies and malpractices have eaten into our system like an all pervasive cancer due to lack of accountability. Our administrative echelons however are loathe to strengthen mechanisms which would compel accountability. If we continue to regard responsibility, blameworthiness, liability and other attributes of account-giving, the low level of importance they have been receiving, governance will further weaken and we will continue to face challenges, as we do presently.
Accountability is the unifying thread in governance. Enacting legislation and restructuring an institution should not be about change of name and an opportunity to structure space for maneuverability; instead it should be about substantively mainstreaming change that can strengthen governance. We need to exploit the potential of implicit transparency-building arrangements such as electronic procurement, electronic tracking of supply chains and the use of technology in public finance management - budgeting, accounting and auditing systems, and put all of this in the public domain.
Soman talks of corrupt governments but his remarks would have been better directed at corrupt government officials. If some of our Babus lack integrity and are willing to do the bidding of their political masters for personal gain, then no system of governance will ever work. How to promote integrity within the civil services is the challenge which we face and will continue to face unless both responsibility and accountability are fixed. As of now, too many people in the higher hierarchy of governance are not accountable for their actions. This suits the vested interest of both the bureaucracy and the political class. To blame the latter and leave out the former is merely an attempt to whitewash the malaise of corruption and non-performance in which we are steeped. If the heads of all our intelligence agencies were made to roll post Kargil, the likelihood of a 26/11 occurring would have been bleak. And if, along with the home minister of India and the chief minister of Maharashtra, a few bureaucratic heads had rolled too post 26/11, then the likelihood of another 26/11 occurring would be rare. In the event, I think it would be wise to assume that we have not seen the last of outrageous acts of terror in India and should be prepared accordingly. While the debate over the form of government best suited to India’s needs will continue, a broad-based agenda for systemic reform of governance, which can institutionalise accountability, must be accorded the highest priority if we wish to be taken seriously in the comity of nations as an emerging world power.
This appeared in The Straits Times, May 22, 2009
India: A 'flailing state' By Appu Soman.
The largest election in history involving more than 700 million voters has resulted in the victory of India's ruling alliance, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the Congress Party. The verdict disproved gloomy predictions of a hung Parliament and the further strengthening of regional parties. The new government will be far more stable than many of its predecessors.
But the fact remains that, like previous governments, the new administration will consist mostly of politicians unfit to hold ministerial office. While several provincial satraps have been cut down to size, new, aspiring ones have garnered significant support. Despite the manifest success of Indian democracy, its parliamentary system is not succeeding in providing good governance. Obviously, India is not a failed state. Professor Lant Pritchett of Harvard's Kennedy School has coined a new name for India: a 'flailing state' - a state where the government's extremely competent upper echelons are unable to control its inefficient lower levels, resulting in poor performance. But this analysis gives credit where none is due: India's problem is its top political leadership's lack of competence. The inability of its current political system to provide effective government places the country in a different category: a non-performing state. The idealism of India's freedom movement quickly evaporated after independence in the face of the opportunities for patronage that came with power. The way its political system evolved has made politics the surest path to wealth. The money spent to win elections - often including the purchase of a party's nomination - is recouped many times over once the winner is in office. Half of India's legislators who stood for re-election this time had tripled their assets in the past five years.
Given the country's religious, caste and linguistic divides, politicians saw how easily they could leverage even a small following into votes. Soon, political parties began to break up, giving rise to a large number of regional and caste-based parties. Most of these parties are led by political dynasties that prize loyalty over merit. Because of the splintering of political parties, India has had only one single-party government and eight coalition governments in the past two decades. Members of coalition governments have treated the ministries allocated to them as fiefdoms, to be milked for their benefit. Over time, India's government has become primarily a tool for advancing the personal interests of politicians rather than the entity responsible for running the country. The opportunity for personal gains through public office has made electoral politics an automatic career choice for politicians' progeny. Record numbers of sons and daughters of political leaders and millionaires - and people with criminal backgrounds - contested this election. We are seeing the formation of a new Indian caste - a caste of rulers different from the traditional Kshatriya caste - before our very eyes. Like existing castes, the new caste specialises in one occupation: political office. Just as someone became a carpenter or a trader in an earlier era merely through birth, members of India's ruling caste now become leaders of parties, members of legislatures and Cabinet ministers solely because of their parentage. And as with the older castes, there is no need for any qualification for the vocation. Lack of vocational competence never barred Indians from remaining in their caste; likewise, how well one performs in political office is not a criterion for politicians to continue in positions of power. India's parliamentary system requires ministers to be members of the legislature. Party leaders select family members and other loyal followers as candidates for elections, with absolutely no consideration of their abilities to fulfill ministerial responsibilities. The result is Cabinets that are simply not capable of managing the problems confronting the country's national and state governments. Even with the best political leadership, governing India is no easy task. Successive governments staffed with unqualified politicians have failed dismally to carry out the core governmental functions of maintaining law and order, providing the basic services expected of modern societies and promoting economic growth. The country's high-performing private sector has so far masked the failure of the Indian state. In its current form, India's parliamentary system can produce only non-performing, corrupt governments. It rewards ambition, promotes office-at-any-cost politics as well as devalues merit.
Taking away the prize of ministerial office from elected representatives might discourage wealth-maximising politicians from entering politics. It is time, therefore, for India to consider introducing a presidential system of government, which would reduce the scope for 'horse trading' and allow the country's leader to select competent people for Cabinet positions.
The writer is a fellow of the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
No comments:
Post a Comment