Whats is the Best Development Approach For India

This is infact a diffrent kind of post. I rather call at as response post .

I have written this post in response to following post :

http://arunjoecool.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-path-to-sustainable-development.html.

I can't match him in explaing complex things in such lucid language but i made an attempt to do that.

             What kind of development approach is needed for our country? I always hear that some gentle men say that decentralization of power could solve our rural problems. Some other say “centralization” of power is the need of the hour as Indian are yet to come out of “Colonial Hangover”. Some reason that local people can better plan their future rather than somebody sitting in “AC Office”. (I really do not know where this “AC Office” syndrome comes from- probably this might have been coined by our left friends- these leftist have spoiled the Indians by planting anti-capitalist seeds in their minds by hi-jacking the ICSE,NCERT,ICHR). I am of the view that this country really needs not top-down approach or bottom-up for sustainable development. It really needs “Spatial Model” – participative development model. This model succeeds only when we have Bottom-up or top-down model along with functioning democracy.

How top-down model failed in this country?

         India started with “Top-Down approach” for development with its five-year plan. Then political leadership thought that given the illteracy and lack of leadership at the gross-root level, this country needed “Centralized planning”. It was not successful as it was set out to be. Reason is very simple. In our country there is trust deficit between one constitutional body and other, center and state, state and municipality, municipalty and panchayat. In fact this gap is really widening day by day. I’ll tell you 2 incidents to buttress my point.

1.          If there is famine or national calamity, news channels and print media send battery of reporters to cover that. They cover it and sensitize that political leadership- state and central. After a week or so prime minister makes whirlwind tour of the region and announces that “CENTRAL team” would be visiting in a week or so to assess the loss to the state. By the time central team comes our state secretaries prepare nice report saying that “2000 Crs of loss”. Central team visits and announces only 200 cores. Based on state govt plotioctial affiliation will accuse / praise the government for its generosity/stupidity. – this is first incident of TRUST Deficit

2.        Ever since Rajeev Gandhi came up (one more bottom up guy) with law for devolution of power to local bodies, panchayat are demanding “Check Power” for them. State govt are not willing to give that power to them. Reason is obvious - TRUST Deficit.

What is trust deficit?- fear of misusing the power . This very trust deficit made this approach of development no longer tenable for India’s growth.

Why bottom-up will fail or failing?

            I talk about my village here – Gram panchayat gets funds from state and central governments through many schemes. They are SUPPOSED to held gramsabha and plan what is needed for their village. like our assembly and parliament these “Gram Sabha” are mere farce( of course parliament is much better- even though they do not discuss about country’s problems- thank god at least they convene once in quarter). If any indivual raises a voice that guys will be beaten black and blue. After liberalization and availability of Information through Televisions, villagers aspirations are sky rocketing and at the same time options are limited to grow. This is putting pressure on them to look for easy means of making money. 

            Not only does that Viallage leader neither have the expertise to solve their problem nor the will to do the same. They started approaching the village issues with “What is in it for me?” approach. This approach is rendering any model useless, in particular bottom-up. However I read some stories about some village’s panchayat doing splendid job. These account for minuscule number. Can you afford to have centralized plan or decentralized plan for a success rate of 0.1%? This is the “Gross root democracy” in this country. We Indian have to really thank god that “our assemblies and parliament” do not work in the same fashion.

What’s the road ahead- what approach suits India better?

Spatial –Model – Any development model + functioning democracy.

             Though English speaking –not InEnglish educated one I have to be proude of “OUR largest Functioning democracy” to not to invite the wrath of fellow beings, given the in India’s neigherberhood we got be happy about our democracy. Though we are far away from “Longest democracy”- Unites states of America. Defunct Democracy and corruption are only things survived in this country for the past 60 years. I am sure that they’ll survive for 60 more years too reason being they are inseparable.
             I understand that there is nothing “flawless” in this world including our democracy. I also understand the fact that to have such democracy in the lines of longest democracy -USA in India is also utopian dream. To have sustainable development to meet the ever increasing demands of the people need of the hour is to have functioning democracy in this country. This alone would set the stage to solve all the problems of India irrespective of the development Model we approach