II. THE CONGRESS BELIEFS

The Congress Party has been a central part of Indian life for the past 114 years. It is well known to each and every Indian. But at this critical juncture, it is necessary to reiterate the essence of the Congress philosophy, the basics of the Congress worldview, the core of the Congress beliefs.

Political Stability

The Congress has in its 45 years of governance, by demonstrating its abiding commitment to parliamentary democracy and sensitive federalism, imparted cohesiveness to the nation political stability.

Political stability is the biggest challenge that India faces. Neither numbers nor individuals alone can provide stability. What is more fundamental is stability of ideas, stability of policies and stability of programs. The Congress, because of its history, its basic character, its performance and, above all, its long years of administrative experience, understands stability best. It works for stability best.

The most urgent need today is for a stable government, for a government that completes its full term in office. Every Congress Government in the last fifty two years has given the country five Prime Ministers. In just five years, non-congress governments have given seven Prime Ministers. To the Congress, stability is not related to governments alone but more fundamentally to the stability of ideas, of policies and programmes.

To the Congress, stability is not an end in itself, however desirable that may be. It is, actually, a means to an end. And that end is a stable, harmonious and prosperous nation based on economic justice faster growth, more extensive human development and more enduring social harmony.

Stability comes not just from numbers. It comes from clarity of vision, dedication to national goals, experience and the ability to meet challenges as they arise. Congress governments always have had a clear agenda, an agenda that is not set by remote control or that is the lowest common denominator but that is based on a clear understanding of what people need and should have. The last fifty-two years have shown that stability is born out of the knowledge of and expertise in running a government.

It is hoped that the people will give a mandate which will help the Congress to provide stability, for the people want it and know that the Congress alone can give it.

Secularism

Secularism is an article of faith for every Congress worker. Two of the greatest stalwarts of the Congress have sacrificed their lives at the altar of the secular ideal, have given up their lives in order that India’s secular heritage is preserved and protected. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders like him struggled hard through out their lives, to see that India remained secular for they knew that without secularism the country would not remain united and strong.

Secularism does not mean being anti-religion or taking a negative or passive attitude to religion. In our country, secularism can only mean equal respect for all religions and the clear separation of politics from and religion. Religion is a private matter for individuals. Politics is all about activities in the public arena.

Religion cannot be used as an instrument of mobilisation, to whip up passions and sentiments. The Congress vehemently rejects the use of religion for political ends. It rejects the mobilisation of people by stirring up religious passions.

The Congress regards all citizens as equal. Yet, it recognises minorities of several kinds because of the some disadvantages and handicaps they suffer and the special help they may need. This is the imperative of history and tradition, this is the tradition of following the provisions of the Constitution.

The debate on secularism is, at its very core, a debate on the very nature of Indian philosophy, on the very essence of the Indian culture. It is a debate between those who see Indian civilisation as what it is - a most tolerant and liberal way of life-and those who seek to distort it by their bigotry, narrow mindedness and intolerance.

Secularism is thus a fight for the very soul of India and for rescuing it from the merchants of hate, from those who claim to understand Indian culture and speak on its behalf but who actually are insulting all that it has stood for through the centuries.

Social Harmony

There is a new ferment and a new yearning among the underprivileged and deprived sections and communities of our society. The Congress has always been sensitive to their growing aspirations for voice, for full representation in the institutions of governance, for social acceptance and the direct exercise of political power.

The Congress is fully aware that increasingly, the demand is for parity, not for charity, the desire is not for benevolence but for participation. The Congress has always championed the cause of equal opportunity. It has consistently believed that equal and full access to education, employment and health is the foundation of a truly egalitarian society that is enshrined in our Constitution. But the scars of centuries of discrimination cannot be overcome by education and health alone. There is need for affirmative action in the form of reservation also. It is the Congress that enshrined reservation for details and adivasis in the Constitution.

In the last fifty years, Congress governments have successfully implemented reservations for backward classes in several Congress-ruled states in the southern and the western regions of the country. It was the Congress that built the consensus over the Mandal Commission report.

It was under a Congress government that 27% reservation for OBCs in government and public sector employment was made into a practical reality. There has been no violence, no backlash. This reflects the sensitivity and maturity of the Congress.

Unity through Diversity

India is an old civilisation but a young nation.

The Indian nation-state that came into being on August 15th, 1947 is a noble experiment, asplendid project in nurturing and sustaining political unity among peoples who have always been united culturally and spiritually.

India is one nation but comprises of diversity and plural culture.

India, the land of multiple identities and of multiple diversities faces many challenges to her political unity.

But it is the Congress’s abiding commitment to parliamentary democracy and sensitive federalism that has kept the nation together.

India is one and many at the same time. That oneness has to be preserved and strengthened.

At the same time the variety has to be recognised, nurtured and given every opportunity for full expression. We have survived because diversity of all kinds has been allowed to flourish.

It is only the Congress because of its history, its basic character and long years of administrative experience that can understand these nuances.

The Congress is a national party that has always been responsive to regional sentiments. As long ago as in the 1920s, it organised itself on a linguistic basis. Regional parties are born and fade away. They are unable to sustain themselves because they are either single-individual or single-issue parties.

Rajniti to Lokniti

The Congress sees public life not just in terms of politics but more importantly in terms of the exercise of power by the people themselves. Ultimately, people themselves guide the government. The government derives its support from the people and the ultimate goal of development must be to build-up the self-help capacities of people and communities.

The Congress believes in a strong Centre, in strong states and in strong panchayats and nagarpalikas. Each of these builds on and draws sustenance from each other.

Panchayats and nagarpalikas are not the third tier of development, as they are often perceived. They are in fact, the first tier of our vast democracy. Panchayati Raj, in the Congress view, must lead to the establishment of vibrant institutions of participatory self-governance and not to passive agencies for the execution of government instructions emanating from the state or national capital. It is the Congress that amended the Constitution to give greater administrative, legal and financial powers to local elected bodies. A silent resolution is taking place in our villages and towns as a result of this initiative.

There are about 4500 MPs and MLAs representing a population of 95 crore. With panchayats and nagarpalikas in place, 30 lakh representatives at the grassroots - 10 lakh of whom are women will now emerge as the true voices of the people. These are the leaders who will transform the face of the country.

The Congress is waging a relentless crusade for strengthening self-government institutions in rural and urban India. This will bring government closer to the people and make it more responsive and accountable.

Economic Growth

The Congress’s thrust has always been towards vikaas, development, growth. Growth by itself is not sufficient for addressing the complex challenges that the country faces. But in the absence of higher growth and sustained economic expansion, these challenges just cannot be confronted effectively.

The goal of all the Congress’s economic policies at all point of time has been the abolition of poverty, as we have known it for centuries. Every time there has been a non-Congress Government in Delhi, the first and the most immediate casualty has been the economy.

It is time for rebuilding and reconstruction once again. The Congress has done this twice in the past two decades. Only it can do so a third time. It can do so because only it has the experience and the expertise, because only it knows both what it is to be done and how that is to be done. The Congress reiterates its firm commitment to faster economic reforms with a human face. Higher growth is possible only if we invest more and invest more productively in physical and social infrastructure and only if the pattern of public expenditures at all levels reflects pressing socio-economic priorities and needs of the poor, the unemployed, the deprived, the malnourished and the disadvantaged of India.

Self-reliance

During the Freedom movement of the Congress adopted Swadeshi. Following Independence, Panditji gave us the goal of self-reliance that was needed to create our own industrial base, encourage our own scientists and technologists and mobilise our own resources for development projects.

Self-reliance has served India well. It has made India the fifth largest economy in the world. India has changed. So has the world. Self-reliance must remain our objective but in the changing times, it must be given contemporary meaning. Today, our enemy is poverty, unemployment and deprivation.

Today, our enemy is low investment, poor productivity and lagging physical and social infrastructure. Today, the challenge is to accelerate growth in all sectors of the economy, growth that will generate employment, remove poverty and create prosperity.

We will be truly self-reliant when we are able to eradicate poverty and provide full employment. That is possible with faster growth in agriculture and industry.

We will be truly self-reliant when we are able to invest more in primary education, in agriculture, in irrigation, in public health, in water supply and sanitation, which will be possible, only if we have the right priorities in public expenditures.

There is no double-speak in the Congress’s approach to self-reliance unlike the BJP’s approach to Swadeshi. There is not hypocrisy in the Congress’s practice of self-reliance unlike the BJP’s practice of Swadeshi.