Book Review: Imagining India

Harshavardhan Purandare reviews Nandan Nilekani's book, calling it the Next Generation Reformist Ideapedia.

Nandan Nilekani, an iconic Indian IT entrepreneur, extends himself as a strategist for public policy reforms by ideating through his book ‘Imagining India ’. The book is collection of essays which lay a framework of political ideas that define India .

 

His political thoughts have a very innate foundation in his journey as a modern day knowledge industry leader. He goes ahead taking a closer look at socio-political realities from a perspective of reformist and brainstorms towards creating the blueprint for political entrepreneurship for further socio-economic inclusion. Nandan’s views force us to strategically introspect throughout his writings. For example, when he makes the statements like “1991 reforms have been pro-business and yet they are to become pro-market”, or “The most important driver for growth lies in expanding access to resource and opportunity”; the reader hears obvious voice of strong believer in ‘emerging of markets’ phenomenon of last two decades and advocate for strengthening the emerged markets.

 

His thoughts adventurously and optimistically want to invest nation’s political capital in its people and indicate designs for that investment. Here he breaks away from typical CEO rhetoric of India ’s economic growth story. The early 90s style reformist thought always waits ‘endlessly’ for ‘trickle down effect’ to spell its magic on lives of masses. Instead, Nandan gives us his practical socio-political strategies for development and that is what makes this book futuristically political at its core.  

 

Imagining India puts forth the ideas founding our nation’s past, present and future. These ideas are divided in four sections. First section re-imagines Ideas that have arrived, concepts which have found deep roots in our society. It gives us sense of who we are and what are the strengths/weaknesses. This section is a journalistic trace of phases through which that particular idea has lived, like “Deepening of our Democracy” traces the journey of our democracy or “Home and The World” tracks how we looked at and dealt with the rest of the world as we entered globalization. It is interesting to read how we changed our approach to entrepreneurs and business. “ India , by its People” talks about altered mindset of looking at our population, also brainstorms for capitalizing on famous and much discussed Demographic Dividend. We have started viewing and harnessing our population as real working asset, thanks to knowledge economy which thrived on social value which education upholds in many sections of our society since long time. The discussions in this section connect us to the present day scenario on these ideas, examine where do we stand and where we are headed.

 

The second section talks about ideas in progress- where we need to assert the social change already happening around us and start finding the strategies for better implementation. In ‘our changing faces’ Nandan talks about radical shift from rural to urban which is not yet fully asserted and recognized by policymakers . “S is for schools” makes us realize that Indians are very hungry for education, but systemic response of our policy leadership is far away from delivering. This section is work of sharp social observer, who tries to hit the think tanks of power corridors with his thoughts and awaken them about changing reality of Indian life.

 

The third section talks about ideas in battle; this is where we are stuck from taking decisive direction and fighting on hard ideological lines of divisions. Today’s realpolitik is happening here. Like ideas in “The sound and Fury” essay exactly point out what our furious debates are – reservation or meritocracy , left or right, Subsidies or Free market , Top-down or Bottom-up. In “Jostling for Jobs”, the author talks of paradigm shift from socialist model to ‘emerging market’ model of job creation. Here one gets a feel that we must facilitate our entrepreneurs faster and have greater resolve for labor reforms to help them create, spread wealth and hence more jobs. As Infosys founder, Nandan has seen both pre and post reforms era, so his writings have practical undertone of ‘Keep the state away from entrepreneurs!’

 

As bureaucracy and license raj are fading, our society is getting in better position to test the character of any reform on the criterion of scalability & sustainability of jobs created. So we can now hope to get policy focus depending on value and impact. We see less of a fashionably capitalist “Hire and Fire” advocacy and more of a sustainable job creation discussions when Nandan talks about labor reforms, his criticism on recent national employment guarantee scheme also comes in light of its  absence of synergy with any agricultural reforms. Even the left in India has accepted emergence of the markets now. After two decades we have seen what markets can do and what they can not do by themselves. Nandan’s political writings could prove to be welcome beginning of second generation reformist thought; he sounds less ‘neo-liberal’ and more ‘pro-people’.     

 

Fourth and last section is about ideas to be anticipated- like Information Communication Technologies (ICT) for development, health, power, environment, social security and so on... Here we think about our developmental needs to be addressed in near future, catching up with developed world and learn from their mistakes to find distinctive Indian model of development. ‘ICT in India’, an essay which talks about use of Information Technology in governance and social development is Nandan’s masterpiece, it is the most detailed thinking ever done before on how to integrate IT into India’s political DNA and not just have few golden dots of Industrial excellence in IT cities of India. When Nandan says “IT is a less of a tool and more of a strategy for public policy reforms”, he hits the nail on the head and creates a synergy between all non-conventional modern day political thinkers and politicians, including himself. IT industries lead the welcome change in Indian economy and we get a sense that this is time for IT to do the same with our political system.  

 

The explanations around the ideas in all sections are so well framed that the readers get the right brainstorming bout and get triggered with creative impulse to debate with themselves. Especially for next generation young leaders in several walks of Indian life, who are looking to break the political barriers and change the very definition of Indian political community, these comprehensions serve as the profound Ideapedia . It facilitates all the next generation reformists by guiding their actions. The wide range of ideas and scenarios explaining the pros and cons of the strategy around these ideas is the highlight of Imagining India ’s dialogue. On flipside, we start searching for ideas that are missing in a book. In never-ending roll of ideas the author has presented; our courts of laws, Security At Home, Defense and Financial Markets needed separate representations.  These ideas have become a concern not only for political elite but also for our common man, so we definitely need to think more about them.

 

The flow of narration often quotes author’s discussions with several key personalities in diverse establishments and institutions. All these personalities come before us as strategic thinkers, idea churners who are likeminded with Nandan Nilekani and living the prototypes of new India already. While reading the essays one after another, we get a sense that community is being developed around the framework of ideas proposed. But this is where the book could have done better; the development of intellectual community around ideas should have been more aggressive, and targeted towards the mainstream political community.

 

Nandan starts the book with declaration “I am unelectable” and the best way he can contribute to process of change is to evoke the power of ideas through dialogue like this. Agreed!  But the discussion on politics would never be complete without taking comprehensive account of political parties beyond the institutions of governance. The references and discussions on political parties and movements are interwoven in his entire narrative; but that is not enough. When change has to be lead for one billion people and they are to be held in one (reformist) theme – the concept called political party will have to undergo a great deal of upheaval. That has to happen in mind of thinkers and dynamic political leaders first. “Political Parties and Their Organizational as well as Ideological Innovations” are of utmost importance in any potent political thinking. That should have been separate 19th idea, may be part of a last section where Ideas to be anticipated are discussed. The detailed thinking on formation of future political organizations and networks would be expected from thought leader like Nandan. Such thinking requires getting into more complexities; but it would have taken Imagining India more close to the blueprint of tomorrow.

 

 

Nandan indicates the direction of this new political thought when he says– “The need for social capital and mutual trust in India’s market economy is reshaping the divisions across religious, caste and regional lines”, or when he says “The alternative model for energy solutions could be something built on model of the internet- a network of energy sources that is democratically decentralized”. Knowledge and information revolution are changing traditional meanings of political power. The origin of Nandan’s thought is in developmental economics and management – knowledge management principles. But to have real impact, his thinking has to evolve to body of a political knowledge. Political thought centers have always believed that development is fallout of politics; economic development is not the sole objective of politics. The author questions basic tenets of political theory when he advocates ‘strategic political choice’ over ‘debate on isms’. Although Nandan is true in indicating wastefulness of socialist-capitalist-communist debate, imaginations of thinkers should always be open to the new possibilities. India could also be in search of her new beliefs and ideals as a society and Indian youth can find its new ‘ism’ along the way. That is where the reforms will meet revolution.

 

The historic rise of Barack Obama is strong evidence of such a search of new direction. In him, American society is searching for sharp move away from conventional framework of all party lines and his success will depend on how really he changes the old rules of game. India ’s best chance to connect to the global change is through finding synergy and compatibility with new values, belief and ideals of global change movement. Economic relations are definitely one such a strong opportunity of finding and developing commonality of purpose globally, but ‘ideologies’ and ‘living for higher cause’ is not as intangible as it sounds if the shifts  in political approaches have to be radicalized at one point.

 

One can say if reformers in the first generation could have controlled the parties completely, India would be different by now. But they could not, because their policy politics was insufficient to entrench into party cadres. Next generation of reformists must learn a lesson from the political incompleteness of predecessors and be adventurous to search of new paths and not reject ideological constructs in gross manner. Creating new Ideologies also has been the best way for new leaders to sell their change strategies; otherwise the journey of human society would have become more linear, somewhat faceless and never could have changed its path dramatically. While reading Imagining India, one feels that India needs the emergence of new political thought, which gets incubated in existing liberals and progressive parties ; and goes on to become the next wave of change. India ’s laptop worshipping and cell phone obsessed next generation has already understood - that knowledge is wealth and media is money. The politics never knew this language before. Their zeal for socio-political innovations can change the parties & social structures forever. This force can prove to be more historic in world politics, may be even more historic than Obama phenomenon.

 

Observing the kind of movement the book created through media and intelligentsia after its release, even little political science fiction writing about future of India ’s political institutions from this gifted explanatory writer would definitely have helped to shake the walls built around our parties; there we feel the book falls short.

 

Imagining India has potential to become a movement and vehicle for hope and change. Because of this quality, media has already started comparing it with Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope. It is unfair comparison in spite of similarities in theme because the kind of environment in which ideas are placed and kind of leadership background both leaders emerge from is very different.  Rajdeep Sardesai while introducing Nandan in his recent Budget interview remarked –Nandan Nilekani has not entered politics ‘yet’! His ideas definitely have created a pathway and that is the greatest achievement of the Imagining India.

 

Harshavardhan Purandare

Social Networking Activist

New York, USA

Email: mumbaikar100@gmail.com

Posted by collective at March 22, 2009 08:26 PM