This 15 August was the 74th Independence Day for India. We, as a nation, seem to adore living on thin air and celebrating ceremonies without trying to understand what, if any, relevance those functions hold for our daily existence. We are troubled that our Rakhi and so many other festivals have gone by unnoticed. All due to the scare of this pandemic. Even Durga Puja seems elusive now as the situation is perceptibly worsening each day.
However, our nationalistic fervor is untouched and we celebrated this Independence Day albeit on a very small scale all over. The Red Fort too had a tiny gathering of about 1500 plus audience. They were mostly frontline coronavirus warriors including some 500 police personnel who had been infected and have recovered.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke for nearly one hour and twenty six minutes on this occasion and addressed the nation in his usual flamboyant style. The PM laid great stress on making India self reliant (atma nirbhar) He mentioned about removing all restrictions on the farm sector which would, supposedly, benefit the farmers. What was unclear was how could removing whatever restrictions there were help the actual marginal, small and medium farmer. Agriculture has been neglected for far too long. The farmer is hard working but is still extremely dependent on the vagaries of nature. There is only traditional knowledge or experience to guide him but the great scientific strides made across the world in the field of agriculture still eludes the average Indian farmer. For the person on the field it is timely inputs, adequate rainfall and, above all, a big dollop of good luck can only produce a good crop. Then, once that happens, comes the greatest challenge of them all. Marketing of the produce is definitely not the forte of the Indian farmer as yet. It is in this act of selling the produce that the farmer is continuously getting battered. If removing restrictions implies introducing private players to indulge in purchasing of agricultural produce, then the coin could easily spin both sides. Possibilities of disbanding organizations like the Food Corporation of India (FCI) by this government may not be ruled out. In case such steps are taken, they will certainly be detrimental to the small and marginal farmers who will eventually get side tracked by large corporate maneuverings when activities like procurement are handed over to them.
The other move towards self reliance is opening up the Indian space sector to private players. India’s space program has been a tax payer funded experiment that has, as yet, not added any economic value for the country. If sending multiple satellites for a few other countries is considered a valuable source of income, then all we got to do is to wonder why other nations, which had been exploring space for decades before India could stand on its own feet, have deserted that arena! Privatization could only mean handing over scientific data collected over a long period as well as the scientists working at ISRO and real estate facilities like Sriharikote and other sites to the friendly private corporate who takes over the business of space. It may be appropriate to mention that the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) of the US is still a government funded and owned project. It often funds private players like Elon Musk or Boeing to carry out specific exercises but does not even share its facilities with corporates.
This Atma Nirbhar slogan of PM Modi could sound pleasant to the ears of many who seem to be enamored with whatever is happening now in this country. However, it is much more important to delve deeper and observe the strengths and weaknesses of this country prior to simply donating everything to a few corporates whose antecedents do not speak well of their performance. In the Indian scenario, it has been noticed that the citizen’s rights to get better service gets constricted when private players enter the domain of public services. While admitting that most government enterprises and services have constantly demonstrated failure yet encouraging crony capitalism, especially in such an essential sector as food, could hamper the proclaimed goal of self reliance and thereby negatively impact the future growth of India.
