Dear Respected Prime
Minister Manmohan Singhji,
Our nation is going
through turbulent times and therein lies an unprecedented opportunity for you
to set things right. These problems are opportunities and the current situation
can be viewed as a curse or an unintended “gift” for you to respond in a manner
that will enable you to establish your legacy as the “Lion of Punjab”.
Your accomplishments
are many; to note a few:
- The chief architect of the Economic Reforms
- RTI
- Nuclear Deal
- Aadhaar (UID)
- NREGA
You now have the
opportunity to:
- Introduce legislation to throttle corruption
- Embark on more economic reforms that
facilitate jobs
- Push for legal and land reforms.
You have said so on
many occasions and undoubtedly, you are pushing for these reforms to take
place. What is needed is tying all these together with the appropriate PR and
bi-partisanship with the express intent of Nation Building.
Liberalization
unleashed the entrepreneurial and business talent in our country and changed
the nature of the game without equipping the nation to deal with the unintended
consequences. It is like asking a boy who is very good at gully tennis ball
cricket to go play hardball cricket without pads, ball, gloves and proper
protective equipment. As a result of this “game change” the Nation’s resources
were sold for a pittance with the middle men raking in the profits. Mining and
2G scams are instances. Land acquisition is another.
At the risk of
digressing, bad news can be turned into good by expedient responses. There are
many instances of this in the commercial world. When a single instance of
tainted Tylenol was discovered, the company recalled all the outstanding stock
and introduced a new tamper proof bottle. The New Coke and Classic Coke episode
is another example. Intel too faced a problem with an initial version of the
Pentium and did a total recall. In all these instances, the companies emerged
stronger with a more loyal customer base.
You have indicated
that “coalition compulsions’ and putting up with “coalition politics” imposes
limitations. However, it is not a license for the coalition partners or for
that matter, party men, to indulge in corrupt practices.
While you have said
that you are "dead serious" about
punishing all wrongdoers in the various scams exposed by the media, you have to
ensure that your administration
will conduct the investigations unfettered by political, bureaucratic or other
vested interests.
Your personal
integrity is unquestionable and at most as you yourself have stated, it could
be said that you have erred in some issues. These lapses are easily
forgiven. The need of the hour is pursuit of truth and let the chips
fall. Recent events are indicating that you are holding to your commitment.
This is the time to make a clean sweep of things.
The initial reluctance
for a 2G JPC could be attributed to “coalition politics”, but with the
relentless barrage from the Opposition and Media, your administration’s
relenting on this is admirable. Let it include the NDA era as well. This will
take the wind out of the Oppositions sail and bring them under the
investigation process as well.
The situation India faces is akin to the
cold war situation that Reagan faced when he was President. He upped the ante
by increasing defense spending to a point that Russia couldn't cope and
they had to capitulate. When Reagan initially proposed Star Wars, people
laughed. When the Russians realized they would loose their first strike
advantage, it became a negotiating point and ultimately the Cold War ended.
In India's case corruption has
increase to such a level and there is such a hue and cry that this is time to
enter into bipartisanship and institute strong anti-corruption laws that
throttle corruption. This has to be an all encompassing reform that can be
effectively executed and is easy to communicate and be understood by the
masses.
For instance:
- An independent body of outstanding citizens
should be formed that cannot be meddled with by politicians, bureaucrats and
vested interests. Citizens like Kiran Bedi, Santosh Hegde, Gurcharn Das etc.
should be nominated after a confirmation hearing that scrutinizes and validates
their standing.
- In future cases strict penalties based on the
number of proven offences and the amounts involved should be specified. Jail
terms that would be from days, to weeks to life imprisonment, based on specific
quantifiable misappropriations. Multiple small offences would lead to longer
incarcerations. Corruption has to be tackled at all levels.
- Easy to report cases where the identity of the
informer is kept confidential for their safety and prevent "hostile"
witnesses.
- A special court set for such cases.
- Disproportionate assets escrowed till case is
pending and confiscated if proven guilty.
- An amnesty clause a la Presidential Pardon can
be included to give relief to some individuals after serving part of their sentence.
Besides corruption
which is a cancer and a bigger threat to the country than terrorism, there are
other key things to do. Dear PM you have nothing to loose and India has everything to
gain. You can pretty much push hard for the next three years.
Regarding your style
of leadership, that is being criticized, I beg to differ. The TOI
commentary on you today was rather biased and it
does not grasp your inherent and intrinsic nature. Unlike Andy Grove, who had a very
aggressive and assertive style of leadership, that I had the opportunity to
observe while I was at Intel, you are calm (too calm) and meticulous in
your follow through and very persistent in getting your key agenda items pushed
to fruition. Unfortunately, this is not perceived that way by the public
because you articulate your intentions in a very unemotional and dispassionate
manner. The lack of PR compounds this perception. What is lacking is coming
across as a visionary.
Your intent to
implement the necessary reforms has been reported numerous times by the
Press. What is lacking is
the PR and the sense of urgency needed to rally the nation and the opposition
to support these initiatives in the interest of Nation Building. These are:
- Economic reforms that will accelerate Job
creation. The focus should be Jobs, Jobs and more Jobs. It is easier for people
to move to jobs than the other way around. There needs to be a holistic policy
that makes it easy for a villager to procure a job and relocate. NREGA is an
excellent stop gap program. Development can only occur with expedient
Urbanization such as SEZs to take the pressure of current Cities.
- Legal Reforms that expedite the judicial
process. Today our legal system is stacked against the law abiding citizen. It
is more efficient to break the law and let the legal process take its time.
Things like enabling people to exercise their ownership rights and
evict encroachers should be expedited and executed.
- Land reforms that protect the usage of the
land as opposed to who can buy what. Currently, this is the biggest money
spinning machine for politicians and bureaucrats.
- Marginal Farming is dead. Small farms could be
productive if properly managed, when supplemented with non-farming income. But
the small farmer in India is ill equipped to
deal with the current situation. One major medical expense or crop failure
wipes them out. Not to mention getting a daughter married. The farmer today has
to be an astute entrepreneur. More so now, than ever. Not everyone is capable
of being an entrepreneur. With successive partitioning of farmland over
generations, some families cannot support themselves through farming and are
giving it up all together. Only changes in our land acquisition policy can save
this situation that is heading for catastrophe.
Dear Manmohanji, I
have been peppering you with suggestions since 2009, ever since I found the
feedback section on the web site.
I am not sure if my
communications have reached you. Nevertheless, I am happy to see that progress
is being made and despite the gloom and doom that is being projected I am
optimistic that the future holds great promise and that you will lead our
country through these troubled times on the path of righteousness.
Sincerely,
