One of the main reasons for the slide back of the Congress during the last decade is its perception in the eyes of the common man that it had ceased to be pro-poor and had strayed into a pro-elite, consumerist upper class party. I am happy to say that sincere efforts are being made by Sonia Ji to change this perception.

From the period of Panditji till the period of Rajiv Gandhi, the main emphasis of the policy of the Government was to use public funds for the development of the infrastructure like electricity, irrigation, transportation, steel, fertilizers etc. and for the welfare of the common people in social sector like health, hygiene, housing, education and the development of small and cottage industry sector.

Suddenly, after the collapse of the Soviet system and the growing pressure of the WTO, in India also the policy of democratic socialism, enshrined in the preamble of the Constitution of India, was switched off under the guise of liberalization and globalization. Not only socialism but even the public sector became dirty word and privatization became the new Mantra.

No exception can be taken to removal of the shackles of the license permit regime and allowing private enterprise a free hand to participate in the global as well as internal market. Yet, without the support and availability of the adequate infrastructure inputs can the players in the competitive market participate effectively? The public sector was suddenly starved of resources and it was thought that the private sector would come in a big way to fill in the gap. Yet, inspite of unusual connections, the private sector has not come in the crucial infrastructure area.

It is therefore, essential to re-examine the economic policy laid down by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and carried forward till the period of Rajiv Gandhi which had laid the foundation for infrastructure in the fields of agriculture, science and technology. It is the effort which had made the nation self-sufficient in foodgrains through the Green and White (milk) revolution and in the field of Space and Atomic Energy.

It must be realized that Pandit Nehru was not an extremist and through his policy of mixed economy was working for a harmonious synthesis of planned economy both through public and private enterprise. It will be useful to recall some of his policy statements.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in his Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956 had, in such clear terms, clarified the objectives of a mixed economy where infrastructure inputs were to be mainly produced in the public sector to be financed by public funds and consumer goods as well as capital goods industry would be in the private sector. He had very clearly stated as follows:-.

"in order to realize this objective, it is essential to accelerate the rate of economic growth and to speed up industrialization and, in particular, to develop heavy industries and machine making industries, to expand the public sector, and to build up a large and growing cooperative sector. These provide the economic foundations for increasing opportunities for gainful employment and improving living standard and working conditions for the mass of the people. Equally, it is urgent, to reduce disparities in income and wealth which exist today, to prevent private monopolies and the concentration of economic power in different fields in the hands of small numbers of individuals".

Dealing further with the lines on which public sector enterprises should be run, the resolution states in para 18, as follows :- "18) With the growing participation of the state in industry and trade, the manner in which these activities should be conducted and managed assumes considerable importance. Speedy decision and a willingness to assume responsibility are essential if these enterprises are to succeed. For this, wherever possible, there should be decentralization of authority and their management should be along business lines. It is to be expected that public enterprises will augment the revenues of the state and provide resources for further development in fresh fields. But such enterprise may sometimes incur losses. Public enterprises have to be judged by their total results, and in their working they should have largest measure of freedom."

Hence, when the world is now coming round to accepting Nehru's philosophy, there are some who are trying to condemn and deride the Nehruvian economic concept.

The Gandhian Philosophy

TThe same is true about Gandhiji and his philosophy of decentralization and Gram Swaraj. It must be clearly stated that Gandhiji was not against the development and use of modern science and technology. Some persons often mistakenly and wrongly allege that Gandhiji was against the use of modern technology and science. Gandhiji was not against the introduction or use of modern means of communication, like the railways, automobiles, ship or airlines. He was not against the modern surgey for his appendix/ Gandhiji who was himself a well educated modern Bar-at-law, did not suffer from any bigoted bias. He realized that production of steel or railway engines and coaches or automobile cars and buses or big ships or aeroplanes and such other basic industrial capital goods would have to be produced through centralized modes or production. But even in this case, his emphases was encouraging growth of ancillary production on a decentralized basis, as is being successfully done in countries like Japan today.

Gandhian Economics, rightly understood, therefore, tries to seek a synthesis and what can be described as the middle path in the modes of economic production and distributive activity. If considered in the correct context and perspective, the Gandhian method of decentralized means of production as well as distribution would automatically prevent the growth of a centralized mode of ownership, control of the means of production as well as the resulting capital formation. It is common knowledge that the accumulation and control of this surplus, called capital, in the hands of a few, is the basis and cause of both economic and resultant political exploitation of many by a few.

All that Gandhiji wanted was to restore the traditional self-reliant and self-sufficient rural economy where all consumer goods required for the daily life, such as good cereals, edible oil, milk and milk products, utensils, clothing, footwear, handicrafts, agricultural implements like cart and ploughs, carpentry and masonry- in short, every need was fulfilled by respective specialized people in the village society. There were no technical institutions and it was every family as well as community engaged in that particular vocation which, from childhood, become the vocational school for the younger generation. It is by this method that the economic self-reliance of rural society was maintained and inspite of changes that came about either due to wars of natural calamities, the socio-economic structure remained stable.

Narrow, cynical, sectional calculations are what propel our politicians today. There was a time when everything was judged by one talisman alone; the interest of our country as whole. And that time was just thirty years ago. Here is an extract from the letter Pandit Nehru sent to the Chief Ministers, on 27 June, 1961. One has but to read it to see the contrast between the high ideas that inspired him and the cynical opportunism, which spur some leaders today.

DPCC office-bearers, MLAs, Municipal Councillors, Youth Congress, Mahila Congress, NSUI, Seva Dal and other Congress workers, including a large number of women, participated in the dharnas.

Others who addressed the dharnas all over Delhi were K.K. Tiwari, S.S. Hanspal, Ratnakar Pandey, Shashi Bhushan, Youth Congress president Randeep Singh Surjewala, Seva Dal president B.K. Hari Prasad, Delhi leaders Sajjan Kumar, ex-MP, former chief executive councillor Jag Pravesh Chandra, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, ex-MLA, Deep Chand Bandhu, MLA, Deep Chand, J.B. Aggarwal, ex-MP, Tajdar Babar, MLA, Leader of the Opposition in the MCD Rambabu Sharma.