A mature democracy is one that can separate the hype from the
promise of an ambitious politician. It is a difficult distinction to
make, which can either lead to a historical turning point or a
historical blunder. The 2014 general election will once again pose this
critical choice before the Indian voter. The 2004 elections were an
example of how India responds to false hype like India Shining.
The 2009 reelection of the UPA showed how the nation responds to a balanced agenda: loan waiver for poor farmers and rural jobs guarantee. The US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement caught the fancy of urban India. Modi's mythical development model requires absolute allegiance to an ideology. It is different from the unconditional progress Congress offers.
For instance, it is not because the poor belonged to a certain caste or religion that the Congress provided a guarantee for rural employment to over 48 million households. The Congress had not checked before providing food security to 67% of our population whether this would feed a particular religious group. Modi's model of progress comes with social divisions. And he hopes that the propaganda of prosperity will cover up the reality of the so-called Gujarat model.
He hopes that his mammoth marketing machinery will overrun the inadequacy of his leadership but, empirically, Modi is chasing an electoral mirage. He seeks to target directly at least 100 urban seats.
But has any political party or leader managed a swing that is exclusively urban? Even if he gets all the urban seats, and votes, can someone who rides an urban crest without a convincing base in rural support represent India? Urban India is not a separate republic.
High on Talk, Low on Task
Modi hopes that the urban voter would be shortsighted enough not to see beyond the smokescreen of success that Gujarat presents. All the talk of exemplary urban development can't hide the fact that Gujarat ranks 25th in terms of road length and eighth in terms of registered vehicles perlakh population, where Bihar stands at 18th in terms of road length and 35th in terms of registered vehicles.
Malnutrition is high, particularly among the SC-ST children. In 1998-99, 48.9% SC children suffered from malnutrition, the figure is 54.5% now. Among the ST children, it was 46.9% in 1998-99, it's now 60.9%. The NSSO report points at poverty-led reduction of nutritional intake. The average daily calorific intake has gone down from 1,986 Kcal in 1999-2000 to 1,982 Kcal in 2009-10.
In rural areas, 62% households are below the recommended norm of 2,700 Kcal per day. The national average is 52%. In urban Gujarat, 56% households are below the norm compared to the national average of 54%. The state has the 16th-highest dropout rate in the country, with 58 of every 100 students dropping out. This is higher than the national dropout rate of 55.88%.
The appalling urban sex ratio of 880 is well below the national figure of 926, as per the 2011 census. Bombastic claims aside, the average monthly-per-capita expenditure, as per Mixed Reference Period, in Gujarat ranks at 20 — behind Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, etc. The list of false claims and lopsided growth is endless.
This election is, therefore, a verdict on the voter's foresight as well as hindsight. Modi's promises are urban, his perspective is municipal and his vision is warped. Corruption has been one of the most critical issues on the urban agenda for over a decade. But in Modi's Gujarat, it requires the Supreme Court's intervention to appoint a Lokayukta without diluting its powers.
(Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/in-the-next-elections-are-we-ready-to-barter-a-bitter-economy-for-a-fake-promise/articleshow/21520590.cms)
The 2009 reelection of the UPA showed how the nation responds to a balanced agenda: loan waiver for poor farmers and rural jobs guarantee. The US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement caught the fancy of urban India. Modi's mythical development model requires absolute allegiance to an ideology. It is different from the unconditional progress Congress offers.
For instance, it is not because the poor belonged to a certain caste or religion that the Congress provided a guarantee for rural employment to over 48 million households. The Congress had not checked before providing food security to 67% of our population whether this would feed a particular religious group. Modi's model of progress comes with social divisions. And he hopes that the propaganda of prosperity will cover up the reality of the so-called Gujarat model.
He hopes that his mammoth marketing machinery will overrun the inadequacy of his leadership but, empirically, Modi is chasing an electoral mirage. He seeks to target directly at least 100 urban seats.
But has any political party or leader managed a swing that is exclusively urban? Even if he gets all the urban seats, and votes, can someone who rides an urban crest without a convincing base in rural support represent India? Urban India is not a separate republic.
High on Talk, Low on Task
Modi hopes that the urban voter would be shortsighted enough not to see beyond the smokescreen of success that Gujarat presents. All the talk of exemplary urban development can't hide the fact that Gujarat ranks 25th in terms of road length and eighth in terms of registered vehicles perlakh population, where Bihar stands at 18th in terms of road length and 35th in terms of registered vehicles.
Malnutrition is high, particularly among the SC-ST children. In 1998-99, 48.9% SC children suffered from malnutrition, the figure is 54.5% now. Among the ST children, it was 46.9% in 1998-99, it's now 60.9%. The NSSO report points at poverty-led reduction of nutritional intake. The average daily calorific intake has gone down from 1,986 Kcal in 1999-2000 to 1,982 Kcal in 2009-10.
In rural areas, 62% households are below the recommended norm of 2,700 Kcal per day. The national average is 52%. In urban Gujarat, 56% households are below the norm compared to the national average of 54%. The state has the 16th-highest dropout rate in the country, with 58 of every 100 students dropping out. This is higher than the national dropout rate of 55.88%.
The appalling urban sex ratio of 880 is well below the national figure of 926, as per the 2011 census. Bombastic claims aside, the average monthly-per-capita expenditure, as per Mixed Reference Period, in Gujarat ranks at 20 — behind Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, etc. The list of false claims and lopsided growth is endless.
This election is, therefore, a verdict on the voter's foresight as well as hindsight. Modi's promises are urban, his perspective is municipal and his vision is warped. Corruption has been one of the most critical issues on the urban agenda for over a decade. But in Modi's Gujarat, it requires the Supreme Court's intervention to appoint a Lokayukta without diluting its powers.
(Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/in-the-next-elections-are-we-ready-to-barter-a-bitter-economy-for-a-fake-promise/articleshow/21520590.cms)
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