A year after the 1857 revolt had been well and truly quelled, the British in India embarked upon their first major administrative voyage, the Act for the Better Government of India, 1858, a legislation of far reaching import.
It made changes at three levels in British India’s governance policy, first at the imperial level in London, the second at the capital of India in Calcutta and the third at the level of states or provinces. This approach introduced by the British – and subsequently carried on in toto by the Indians – deftly divided Indian polity into two pillars. The first pillar was Politics which comprised elections, legislation, representations to the government, dissent, drama and all activities which personified democracy.
The second was more complex. It laid down Policy, the execution of government plans, development initiatives, a bureaucracy to oversee and meet targets and objectives and to ensure that what the politician promised, reached the people, at least in theory. So in effect, while Politics in India is flexible in terms of who or which political party comes to power, on the question of Policy there can be no real changes, except those brought about by legislation and common consent.
A Policy introduced by, lets say, the Congress will be carried on by the BJP and vice versa. Globalisation as Policy was adopted by the Congress government in the early 1990s. But it was pursued equally vigorously by the BJP-led NDA government. While Politics is flexible and in the hands of generalists in which any member of the public can participate, Policy is cast in stone, and in the hands of specialists, either bureaucrats or technologists. Thus was laid down the concept of governance.
It is common for experts and laity alike to prophesise that in India it is only politics that works, that the alignment of caste and religion and other emotional strings ultimately decide the fate of politicians in elections.
While this may be partially true, it does not provide all answers. Increasingly, voters are asking more questions than those relating just to ethnic affinity.
A candidate contesting polls at the national or the state level now has to have at their finger tips a list of development activities that he or she intends to pursue. If a legislator has served a full term, then a listing has to be made of the targets promised and met. One good example of this growing awareness of the importance of Policy is the office of the Ministry of Power in Delhi.
At any given time of the year, there are a horde of MPs waiting to meet the power minister with one fervent request: please allocate some megawatts from the central or state power grid to my constituency, no matter how meagre. Apparently the first question people ask these days is electricity shortage and politicians seeking a second term have to know all the right answers or be prepared to face the consequences.
It is this triumph of democracy that The Sunday Indian seeks to reflect through this edition which will be on stands once every two months.It will look at the biggest topics around which the Indian growth and power devolution story revolves. The executive, judiciary and the legislature will in focus as will be the increasing role of activists who have an influential voice when it comes to introducing amendments in Policy matters.
There is no greater evidence of this clout than the National Advisory Council (NAC) which has had an important role to play in the two UPA-led governments since 2004.By its very nature, Politics is populist and impulsive, but Policy or governance is more steady, has to keep an eye on detail and not give in to sudden flights of imagination, fancy or enterprise.
The Sunday Indian’s Governance Watch is going to do just that – keep an eye. It will also meet a critical need. While the media is filled with so-called political stories, based on palace intrigues and personal likes and dislikes, this issue will examine how India is being run and bring readers close to home truths, to the nuts and bolts that actually move the country and its sytems.
