Land Ho!
In the days of sailing ships, a reliable sailor climbed up
and sat high up the main mast in a “crow’s nest” perch, and it was his job to
look out for dangerous reefs, shoals, other ships, anything unusual in the
weather, and essentially, land, as soon as it appeared on the horizon at the
end of a spyglass, the one- eyed gadget used by seafarers then.
What is the economy of Bihar about, says the man in the
metaphorical crow’s nest? Is there
anything objectively worthwhile in the so-called Bihar model of development, in
the workings of a poor state, compared to say, Modinomics, as applied to the
already relatively prosperous state of Gujarat?
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of Bihar is sometimes mentioned
as a prime ministerial aspirant and
doesn’t think much of either his erstwhile BJP deputy Sushil Modi, or the more famous and dynamic NaMo
being projected by the BJP.
He implies, echoing the ruling UPA, that Modinomics is not
what it is made out to be and the Gujarat development model is not suitable elsewhere
in India because it does not carry all sections of the population along. The
BJP has accused him of treachery openly, now that the JD(U) has pulled out of
the NDA, but has for long felt uncomfortable with Mr. Kumar’s barbs and
assertions.
Mr. Kumar implies that Mr. Narendra Modi is less than
secular, even though the definition of secular as applied here means a pronounced
pro-minority tilt rather than the even-handedness to all sections that NaMo
favours.
In Gujarat, the
Muslims who constitute the largest minority as they do in Bihar, are by no
means used at election time and ignored at other times. The Gujarati Muslims
have seen the benefits of Narendra Modi’s development economics and voted
solidly in several instances for his Government and Party. They do not seem to be
haunted by the ghost of the Godhra Riots of 2002, much as some people would
like them to be.
In Bihar, the old politics of caste and community continues largely unabated, with a fresh overlay of entitlement politics for economically backward people added to the mix.
Bihar is economically backward because of step-motherly
treatment from the Centre, claims Mr. Kumar, blithely ignoring the gross
inefficiency and corruption that the state has long suffered, along with
horrific law and order problems. This is the same thing that neighbour Ms. Mamata
Banerjee of West Bengal, as well as the preceding Left Front Government there
have always claimed.
Mr. Kumar has done relatively better, improving both
governance and law and order compared to his predecessors, but the Bihar
situation, economically and politically, continues to suffer from its legacies.
By way of contrast, Mr. Narendra Modi has made a reasonably
good thing better over his successive terms in office in Gujarat. He is
therefore sometimes accused of taking undeserved credit by the UPA.
Narendra Modi, as the
BJP’s most likely prime ministerial candidate, and current head of the election
strategy for the party, is seen as a political threat to his survival by Mr.
Kumar . Hence the JD(U) pull-out of the NDA after 17 years, and a possible realignment
with the emerging “Federal Front” or the UPA is on the cards.
The UPA however is already loosely allied with Lalu Prasad
of Bihar as well as Ram Vilas Paswan who both expect a political windfall out
of the parting of BJP and the JD(U) at the state level in particular.
But after all is said and done, Bihar and UP are inordinately important to the general elections coming up in a few months. They together account for about 160 seats in the Lok Sabha. Both states are renowned for their politically savvy populations, and willingness to be counted. They are also largely backward, economically speaking, and the populace and the state government seem to be in denial about their continued inefficiency.
Mr. Kumar sees political capital in this very backwardness of Bihar, and emphasises works to uplift the poorest and most underprivileged from their mire of poverty. He does not so much rely on market- based or private-public sector collaboration or strategies, as entitlement funding.
He relies on the World Bank. He calls for special status for
Bihar as a right from the Centre. He tries to join hands and make common cause with
other economically backward states. He implies that he is trying to right a
wrong of historical neglect suffered by Bihar and others.
Mr. Kumar thinks Modinomics is for the rich and big business.
It is not inclusive. It does not carry everybody along. His largely rhetorical
economic thinking plays quite well with the voters particularly because of his
own underprivileged background and the victimhood politics of Bihar.
Does all this do anything to put Bihar on fast track to
development? No it does not. But with the split in the BJP-JD(U) alliance and
the impending general elections, the question may have to hang in the air for
some more time.
(834 words)
June 17th,
2013
Gautam Mukherjee
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