Putting together the “New India”

Quite vociferously and vigorously, an expression “NEW INDIA” is being brought into public discourse over the last few months. A variety of signals for the “NEW” are being given out as a new spotlight on youth, women, public-life, technology, nationalism, Indian-identity, economic growth, internal-security, uplifting of the weak, reduced tolerance for corruption, and what not.

With India going for general elections soon, all political parties are paying attention to their election manifestos. Election manifestos are a list of promised governmental actions on which basis the party seeks the votes of the people. History tells us that most of the manifestos are usually hyped-up promises which fall short on delivery over the 5-year period that a party normally remains in government. But promises made 5-years back are easily forgotten and the next cycle of alluring the voters for next round of votes begins afresh by weaving new dreams.

On 29 October 2018, the Congress had launched a dedicated website to take suggestions from the public to prepare the party's manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections under the theme 'Jan Aawaz' (people's voice). On 02 February 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party launched a campaign to crowd-source ideas for its manifesto through its dedicated website as well other modes of communication. The party has decided to seek suggestions under 12 special categories like good governance, women empowerment, youth and sports, inclusive growth, farmers, economy, foreign policy, infrastructure.

As someone who is apolitical, I would not limit my suggestions to any one specific party but would put forward my ideas as “open-source” for all political parties.  If they find any merit in these ideas, they have the freedom of using what they find worthwhile.

Mechanisms to ensure equal opportunity, which ensure social inclusion, have fallen short. There is a need for “Reformulating an Inclusive India.” The government needs to prepare a new social contract through legislative processes and national consultations, aimed at improving social inclusion through fairness and equality.

Here are a few ideas to set the process in motion:

Do Away with Every Constitutional Segregation

• The first step is to dissolve the identity of the socially excluded group – which is to say that repeal the schedules defining castes, tribes and backward classes. Remove the column of caste (Jaati) from all government forms and lists.

Foster Aggregation

• While individual freedom and liberty in matters of caste and religion should be guaranteed, the public display of any one-upmanship on the basis of caste and religion should be banned. Make Practice of social exclusion punishable.

Make Religion and Caste as Private Identities

• Indian citizens have only one public identity which is their nationality; they are all Indians. Symbols of Indian identity should have precedence over all symbols of personal caste and religion.
• Public display of religious affiliations in the form and style of a ‘tilak’ or a ‘turban’ or a skullcap may be permitted subject to rules of public decency and in ways which do not over-awe others. If a ‘Digambar Jain’ who has given up all clothing may not be permitted to perform public duties wearing ‘nothing’ a Muslim woman cannot be   permitted to perform public duties wearing ‘hizab or burqua.’
• While taking out of a procession for religious celebrations may be subject to civic permissions, which may not be denied without reasons, use of community public spaces for holding religious events may also be subject to proper regulations and permissions. Use of public spaces for regular-routine religious prayers offered collectively or by individuals should not be allowed.
• Use of loudspeakers, fireworks should be regulated uniformly without exceptions being made on religious grounds.

Secular Means an Arm’s Length not an Atheist State

• Secular India should not mean that India is God-less or antireligious or irreligious. It does not mean that secularism itself becomes a position religion or that the state assumes divine prerogatives. The state shall take into consideration the religious sentiments of the people.
• Ensure that the state is at least an arms’ length from religion such that the state should have no concern with the actual profession of faith or belief,
• The state should “regulate or restrict secular activity associated with religion” but should not be participating in the people's religious affairs.
• While India would need religious values in politics but certainly not the politicization of religion; there has to be clear-cut opposition to communalism,

Promote Integration

• Implement Uniform Civil Code – If all citizens are subject to same social contract, they cannot have different civil codes to adopt.
• Limit the fundamental rights of religious minorities in establishing and administering educational institutions of their choice by putting in place a minimum model curriculum, systems of evaluation and rights of students and employees, which are at par with all other educational institutions. Offer them the freedom to include courses on their religion as additional subjects but not in substitution to the recommended minimum courses.

Attack the Causes, Not the Consequences of Exclusion

• Exclusion is caused because of economic poverty – as the saying goes – “Maya tere teen naaam, Parsu, Parsa, ParasRam” (माया तेरे तीन नाम, परसू, परसा, परसराम),
• Exclusion is implemented through denying opportunity to attain economic and social well-being, 
• Historical exclusion cannot be reversed by giving the right to partake the low hanging fruits of future opportunity to the excluded. The most direct way to provide fairness is to support early childhood development. Guaranteeing that every child has access to adequate nutrition, health, education and protection in her early years ensures a solid foundation for skills development in the future,  
• Create economic affirmation for generating capabilities and capacity to fight exclusion; basic human capital puts everyone on an equal footing to pursue their goals 
• Increase investment in the early years of children’s lives, particularly among economically weaker groups, level the playing field for skills acquisition. As skills acquisition is cumulative, returns to early investments is the highest.
  

• Set in place a guaranteed 3-component programme for every child like the ‘Pulse Polio Programme;’ the first component (from conception to 24 months of age) ensures that children have the essential inputs so they are healthy, well-nourished and stimulated during their first thousand days. The second component ensures access to quality early learning during their “next thousand days” (25 months to 60 months); which means at least one year of quality preschool so that they are ready for primary school. These pre-primary programs need to be designed for young children with age-appropriate curricula and qualified teachers. The third component is birth registration, whereby children are recognized by the State and equipped with the ability to access essential services throughout their lives.

Efficient and Effective Delivery of Justice

• ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ should be modified to read as ‘Delay in Justice is Injustice’,
• Failure to deliver the “right of redress through the court” in a time bound manner should lead to compensation for the aggrieved from the justice delivery system coupled with imposing of penalties on Judicial officers,

Deglamourise the Paid Public Service

• Employment in Public Service confers responsibility and authority larger than any other profession or employment. Power and Glamour can corrupt and reduce accountability. Stop public servants from behaving, acting and flaunting their status like the kings and Jamindaars of yester years.
• Rewards and punishments for above and below par performance must be institutionalised and given out as a routine and not as an exception

Reward Compliance and Punish Delinquency

• The idea of proportionality of punishment with regard to the magnitude of crime appears logical but has failed in practice. Similarly, the classification of offenders around first offence, repeat offence and habitual offence is again logical but counter-productive.
• As the saying goes – ‘nip the evil in the bud’ – increase in magnitude of punishment at the levels of minima is needed to act as a deterrent for first offence itself.
• Weak law administration is no deterrent to law-breakers. They don’t stop breaking laws and then try to escape the punishment.
• More than the awarding of punishment for breaking the law, compliance should be rewarded. And this is not difficult. Methods like reduction in effective Insurance premium through increasing ‘no-claim bonus’ is an example already in use.

Stop Exhibition of Public Functionaries as “More Equals”

• Driving around of Ministerial motor-cades, stoppage of traffic for giving them better rights of way and exemptions at toll-booths, are all examples of conferment of rights at the cost of denying the same to citizens.
• These are feudal practices which must stop. Arguments of providing for ease in work environment for efficient performance of public duties are a sham for rationalising such misplaced privileges. Such show-casing, display and exhibition by ‘people in power’ is imitated and replicated by the goons to exhibit their ‘power’ on ordinary people.

Reward Voluntary Public Service

• The role of voluntary and non-governmental organisations in supporting the state in delivery of its obligations towards the citizens under the social contract is a valuable contribution but needs a careful examination and clearance;
• All such organisations are private organisations with feeble public accountability. Most of them work in the areas of education, social upliftment, religion, charity, conservation, calamity-relief and so on. Their actions are driven and guided by the agenda of the donors. They should be made more accountable and transparent to the state. NGOs receiving foreign donations should be subject to serious scrutiny.
• Institutions to draw upon the rich and varied experience of superannuated public servants (not just the class-1 officers serving on the board os public sector companies) at all levels be created for delivery of Public service. With increase in longevity, they have many more years to serve the nation.

Reinvent Union and State Budgets

• Some simulations suggest that the component of building human capital, including early childhood development and support for literacy and numeracy by grade three, would cost around 3 percent of GDP. Costs for a more comprehensive human capital package are estimated at 12 percent.
• A new social contract would therefore require significant revenue mobilization by the Indian government. Pricing the public services appropriately would be one area.
• While free drinking water at its source is a human right – its delivery to the tap at the household is a public service. The government should penalise the polluters of water at source in exemplary fashion by treating such acts as attempts to mass-murder.
• If not profit from it, the government should recover the complete cost of delivery of drinking water to the tap and then be responsible for the quality of delivery. Treating water as a natural resource, government can lease some sources to private enterprises and allow them to operate in the area of supplying drinking water to households.
• Government should recover complete cost of delivery of public-service to the citizens and take on the responsibility of quality of delivery. There is no logic of offering public services free or at subsidised rates resulting into non-delivery or sub-standard delivery. This thinking and experience is there from public goods and services like education, healthcare, electricity, public transport and should be applicable to all public services and goods.

• Expenditures in building Human Capital should be treated as capital investments (plan expenditure) while expenditures on old-age pensions, medical support to the differently-abled and the old and the homeless and the unemployed should be treated as operating expenditure (non-plan) expenditure.
• Provide an unemployment dole to the economically weak but do not subsidise the service delivery. Free service delivery means a dole to the service provider and not the consumer of service. Such systems create spirals of payments, subsidies, cross-subsidies, corruption and leakages resulting into a vortex of inefficiency and poor quality.
• Changes to the nature of work and persistent informality of employment are not transitory. Public works activities may go beyond infrastructure. Reimagining a role for the state in reducing involuntary unemployment by providing services in several areas like childcare, disability and old-age care, psychological support to the long-term unemployed, supporting social kitchens and rehabilitation from drugs and violence.

These are just a few of the initial ideas.

The strategic direction behind these ideas can be summed up to make the Preamble of India to read as –

“WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SECULAR CASTLESS DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens ... ...”

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