The Hindu Business Line : Maturing of Manmohan Singh

THOUGH Dr Manmohan Singh has spent a number of years in public life, it is said of him that he continues to remain at heart an academic, an economist to be specific. An attempt is made here to probe the truth of this observation and, in particular, to ascertain whether his time in office as Prime Minister has brought about any change in his outlook on Indian society and its governance; whether, specifically, he has become more of a politician than an economist, or whether he is inclined to go back to the economist he was in the early-1990s when he became P. V. Narasimha Rao's Finance Minister.

The means of this analysis, rudimentary as it must be, is to sift through the two Independence Day speeches of Dr Manmohan Singh and try to divine from the emphasis he has put on certain thoughts and issues which way he has gone the past 12 months — a time when, unlike any other period in his life, he has found himself in the thick of political battles and in the midst of policy-making at the highest level of Indian governance. The basic assumption here is that, like every other normal human mind on the threshold of a new responsibility, Dr Manmohan Singh must have set for himself certain targets, and given vent to certain thoughts that were uppermost in his mind, in his first August 15 address from the ramparts of Red Fort. Twelve months later, his second speech should be seen through the same glasses, the omissions and commissions vis-à-vis his 2004 address yielding some insight into the workings of his mind at this point of time.

From the perspective of his Independence Day speeches, the question to ask is: How did Dr Manmohan Singh begin his stint as head of government? A careful reading of his 2004 speech tells us that his focus was on the ability of the average citizen to give of his best in the general effort of nation-building. It is in this broad sphere that his exhortations were the strongest. Among other things, he quoted Jawaharlal Nehru's words uttered on the first anniversary of Independence (1948): "... All of us talk of India and all of us demand many things from India. What do we give her in return? India will ultimately give us what we give her of love and service and productive and creative work. India will be what we are: our thoughts and actions will shape her... "

Dr Manmohan Singh's comment was: "... Friends, I ask each one of you to remember these wise words of Panditji as you go about doing your work, be it on farms, in factories, in schools, in colleges, in government offices, in shops, in research laboratories. Our nation is what we are. It will become what we make of ourselves.". He went on to add: "It is one brick after another that helps make a building. Millions of bricks go to make a great building. In the same manner, the efforts of millions of people go into the formation of a nation. The process of nation building is a great enterprise of adventure and creativity. It requires all of us to work together, bonded by our love for our Motherland... "

The same strain can be detected in the following passage also, clearly suggesting that here was an "ideal-bound politician" — if a politician at all — who, finding himself at the "controls" of the nation, appeals to the citizen to give his heart and soul to the cause of nation-building, a task which he has set for himself in the discharge of his new duties. Addressing each fellow-Indian, his family and his community, Dr Manmohan Singh said that "if we can all cooperate with one another and work together as a community, there is much we can do without looking for intervention by the government... " He wrapped up his message with the following appeal: "Let us all work together to revive that spirit of idealism, self-sacrifice, discipline and unity of purpose that characterized our freedom struggle. I am confident that the people of this great nation have the will, determination and the resources to meet this challenge. India's destiny beckons us to pool all our wisdom, experience and knowledge to make this future happen".

Of a piece with all this was his reference to ethics in public life and a code of conduct. Dr Manmohan Singh said that the time had come "to consensually evolve a code of conduct for all political parties, a code of ethics for all individuals in public life, and a code of best practices for the Government at all levels," his specific exhortation being to "to work together to develop such a code of conduct in a consensual way so as to uphold the values enshrined in our Constitution." He did not mince words when he referred to "the decline in values in public life," and gave a clear indication that he would work towards "reform of our public institutions, our political parties, and our government at various levels."

All this is not to suggest that the 2004 Independence Day speech did not contain the usual economic content, which all such speeches are usually burdened with in liberal measure. It did, but the central point is that the focus was on a new beginning where idealism took pride of place. This year's Red Fort speech suggests a different framework altogether, where idealistic exhortations are not absent altogether but where, for the most part, a classical discourse on economic development holds centre-stage, more suited to the requirements of a budding student of the subject than to the average citizen who does not aspire to leadership but still strongly harbours some of the values which make worth living after all.

This year the emphasis has been on India taking its rightful place in the comity of nations as an emerging economy, the awesome potential of which has been recognized by the world. As the Prime Minister said: "It is not only us but the entire world, which is viewing India as an emerging power of these times. The whole world is eagerly watching the manner in which India is making rapid economic progress. And this economic growth is happening within the framework of a liberal democracy".

Or again: "It is my belief that India's future is extremely bright and that this future is, indeed, possible. In order to achieve this, we need to focus on achieving rapid economic growth and on ensuring social justice. It is only by walking on these two legs will we be able to ensure that the benefits of growth reach all sections of society".

In fact, the one rather strong point of emphasis in 2005 has been that economic development is being promoted by the UPA Government with the objective of improving the living standards of the average Indian. In Dr Manmohan Singh's words: "In order to fulfil the promises, we have taken many important steps and have taken major decisions which will contribute to our nation's progress. While taking these decisions, the focus of our thoughts and attention has always been the aam aadmi. The effort of our government has been that while we continue to make rapid economic progress, the benefits of this progress and growth must reach all sections of society in a fair manner. Our vision is not just of economic growth, but also of a growth which would improve the life of the aam aadmi."

The closest that Dr Manmohan Singh came, in his 2005 speech, to the spirit of his 2004 oration was his exhortation to the "political system and leadership" to "show sagacity, wisdom and foresight so that we are able to make the best of this moment and make India a truly great nation". This is just a pale shadow of the fervent calls to patriotism and community service made in the earlier speech, another example of which is the reference made to "the sacrifice and commitment" of Mahatma Gandhi" and the need "to reflect on how far we have been successful in fulfilling his dreams". Summing up, can it be said that, as Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh has "matured" over the past year and has realised that the road ahead of him is strewn with political explosives which are liable to blow up in his face (as they have already done on occasion) if he gives unguarded vent to his idealism. Is he then becoming more of a politician than an economist, like the one he has been all his life, that is, till the middle of last year when he was catapulted to the top Government job? There is of course no harm in his doing so. In fact, some may say it would be preferable because he would then be in a position to counter more effectively the disruptions in governance caused by misguided elements both inside and outside the Government. The problem is that, in the process, his patience may be tested beyond a point where he can take it no longer, with the result that the nation may lose a Prime Minister — in fact, the best it could have had at this particular juncture of its 58-year-old history.

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