The Anti-Robin Hood

I was going to write about the lovely time I had at the garba dance at NID tonight, but that can wait for another day. I just finished reading a piece by Shekhar Gupta in the Indian Express "Our poor little rich." (Read it here). It is actually a standard argument raised by him and likeminded people time and again. But the message is still worth remembering.

The manner in which the rich of this country have perverted all institutions and policies to their own ends is sometimes beyond belief. Subsidies are extended on many goods with little or no economic or social rationale - goods like LPG, petrol, electricity, fertilizers, higher education, etc. The LPG subsidy in particular, is the equivalent of the Rowlatt Acts and the Salt Act during British rule - symbolising starkly a government which is not "for" the people. The precious resources of the state are wasted in supporting bloated bureaucracies, subsidising the rich, bailing out inefficient public sector firms and designing anti-poverty schemes which mostly divert money into the hands of the privileged classes. Imagine if these resources had been utilised in building roads and other public infrastructure, expanding and improving primary education and providing health care to all.

The current UPA government has been a big disappointment. I was very happy to see the back of the BJP last May, but the performance of the Manmohan government has been painfully pathetic. Barring the commendable introduction of the VAT, there have been few measures taken to advance economic reforms in the country. The high growth rates are mostly the result of reforms initiated by the NDA government. Future growth will undoubtedly require further reforms. Nor have there been any notable achievements on the social front. In foreign affairs, a good buildup has been made on the performance of the previous government, though. Chargesheeted ministers like Laloo have been an eyesore for those seeking higher standards of public officials. And the Supreme Court's verdict declaring the Bihar assembly dissolution unconstitutional has been a major smack on the government's face. I only hope that just like Vajpayee really took charge only in the last 2-3 years of his tenure, Singh will be able to do the same.