Open Letter to Dr.Shashi Tharoor Dear Dr.Shashi Tharoor, At the outset, my heartiest congratulations to you, on getting elected to Lok Sabha from Kerala. It is very exciting to see a professional like you contesting an election and taking a plunge into the murky world of Indian politics. You deserve another bouquet for not choosing the Rajya Sabha route to get into parliament like many worthy leaders. Why did I choose you to write open letter? You were named a Global Leader of Tomorrow by World Economic Forum in Davos. A lot of professional people see in you tremendous potential to lead the country in future. You offer new hopes to be able to initiate the process of reforming the Indian political scene with fresh and young blood. You have rich background of international experience of seeing closely the functioning of democracies, autocracies, monarchies, anarchies, successful nations and close to failed nations, developed world, the developing world and the least developed world. You have all seen from riches to rags nations, from arrogant to rouge nations, from capitalist to communist nations. With this rich experience, you come to parliament as a breeze of fresh air. Welcome to Lok Sabha 2009. You have the tremendous skills and gearing for mass communication having been Under Secretary General of United Nations in charge of communications & public information. You have the diplomatic skills to deal with 190 plus member nations of UN. You understand the nuances of global participation in the process of development and sharing of opportunities. You have seen alternative economic models at work globally. You are familiar with diverse subjects like nuclear proliferation, ecological conservation, global financial meltdown, economic apartheid, health care and education. I and many like me feel that such formidable and diverse experience should not be lost in the murky politics of caste based segmentation, political dynasty or nasty politics. Nation needs people like you to take the initiative to bring the reforms in different streams of national endeavor. Reforms in the fields of education, healthcare, labor, human rights, judiciary and police, electoral systems, taxation etc are awaiting innovators and crusaders, to take the initiative for real transformation of the society for inclusive growth. It does not matter what portfolio you hold as Member of Parliament. What matters is a platform as sacrosanct & broad based as parliament to do what you can and what you believe in. But the expectations run high and the time is 5 years. So the agenda has to be loud and clear. You are going to be a role model for professionals to take plunge in the politics. The last time nation was grateful when Dr.Man Mohan Singh, a professional economist, became the finance minister. He has achieved for the nation what the politicians could not have done. People have given mandate to Dr.Man Mohan Singh to continue. And yet it is time again to look forward beyond immediate future into next decade to some one to
carry the baton forward in spite of the politicians around. Professionals would certainly like some one of your caliber to kick start of some important and far reaching reforms without losing time. Here is the small wish list out of mountain of desirable reforms: A. Reversal of Decline in Value Systems of the Nation: The value system or the lack of it in the global financial world has been exposed by the meltdown all over the world. The companies at the receiving end of bailout packages have been classic examples of the malaise I call “Value Management Deficiency (VMD) Syndrome”. We need torch bearers and a movement for restoration of faith & integrity in the complex business environment to uphold the values and fight wide spread & deep rooted fatal virus of “VMD Syndrome”. Whether it is private or government, the annual reports, balance sheets and conduct of an organization must reflect & reaffirm the value system to the stake holders assuring integrity and earning their faith. Management of value systems must be assigned priority in government, businesses, political systems and other walks of life. Political as well as corporate governance need to undergo drastic surgery for survival of the economy and the nation. Mayawati sacks 17,000 police personnel and High Court orders reinstatement or face contempt of court. Mayawati imposes NSA against Varun Gandhi and Supreme Court reverses it. This and similar instances every day show how the value systems are being twisted out of shape. Political governance must raise the bar of ethics. In the west a doctor has to undergo an “Ethics Course” every year as mandated by the governor. This reflects their urge to uphold the value system. But where are we heading? Is there any “doctor” or all are patients? B. Political Leadership Institute of India: We have lot of politicians but only a few leaders of national stature. How can we develop leaders for future out of the material we have today over a period of say ten years and on continuous basis? Can the political class come together to set up a Political Leadership Institute of India as in independent institution? Let past Presidents or past Prime Ministers of eminence be the patrons. The emphasis should be on refining understanding of issues than on passing an examination. It should be structured to suit Indian needs. It should be a “finishing school” on the way to leadership and statesmanship. When India can provide talents & leadership for technology & business to the world why not for politics? Military generals the world over have gone through Indian military training establishment at some point of time in their careers. Can India provide an international institute for political governance say by 2020!
C. The Issues at the core of Naxalite Movement: India has faced the problem of Naxalism since the sixties and not much has been done to resolve the problem. Frequently, we read about Naxalite attacks on innocent people and the policemen. It seems the issue is a football between the centre and the states. Today the movement is widespread from north to south in 17 states. With Maoist gaining ground in Nepal and Chinese support for the same, it is long overdue for the nation to move the issue on top of the political agenda for positive action. In what way the Naxal hit areas are different than Swat Valley? The state governments have found it difficult to run the administration in some of these areas controlled by Maoists. Election Commission had to change timings to ensure people reach home before dark. We must learn from the neighborhood that problems can not be brushed under the carpet without facing the consequences. How many million voters reside in these areas who may have avoided going to the booth due to fear of the gun? Elected representatives have to also work for those who did not vote. We must bring them into national mainstream before it is too late. D. Electoral Reforms: With Lok Sabha 2009 elections just over, we need to look back and enlist electoral reforms necessary. There are number of suggestions I have made on my blog on the subject. Some of them are listed below: 1. Empowering politicians to bring better future to people should be the purpose of positive vote. Empowering people to uphold the values and initiate change should be the purpose of negative vote. The new provision should permit a voter to choose the worst candidate for casting negative vote if no suitable candidate s found. A positive vote for the best candidate or a negative vote for the worst candidate should be the basis for election. Net positive vote polled by a candidate should decide the winner. This will discourage parties from fielding criminals and inefficient candidates for election. While bill for reservation for women in parliament has been gathering dust, the criminal or tainted lobby seems to have secured 30 % ( 150 out of 543) reservation in Lok Sabha 2009! Is this the “inclusive growth” we are promised? Proposed provision of “None Of The Above” option being considered will be effective only when negative votes polled are more than the winner’s margin. Until then negative vote has no value. 2. At present the political parties are not giving any detailed profiles of contestants on their websites. Only there is hard sell for the leader of party. Project the leader and hide the candidate seems to be the policy so that the dirt and non performance of candidates
does not come out in the open. Information is power. “Right To Information” is a corner stone of constitution of India. Empowering voters to take well informed decisions is moral and constitutional duty of all the political parties, the Election Commission of India and stake holders in the process of conduct of free and fair elections. Deliberate denial of information to voters is at best a strategic breach of trust. Let us use the technology to initiate the change for better. 3. It must be made mandatory to mention at the nomination stage the details of court cases / FIRs pending against the candidates even if not yet charge sheeted or convicted. Let the people be the judge and not the prosecutors or candidates. They should also be required to declare that they or their family members have no accounts in foreign banks. Nondeclaration must be made punishable offence. Wrong declarations must lead to disqualification and callback at any stage. As per RTI Act, voters have right to full information on the candidates and therefore Election Commission of India is duty bound to make this information available while accepting nomination of a candidate. Election Commission must make public past performance & detailed profiles of all contestants on their website. E. CBI Reforms: 1. Can CBI be supervised by a 3man Board comprising a retired Chief Justice of India, a retired Chief Election Commissioner of India and a retired Attorney General of India? This panel can ensure upholding high standards and values enshrined in the Constitution of India to reverse the degeneration of CBI. The Director of CBI can be elevated to Director General appointed by the President with full autonomy and reporting to 3man Board. 2. Alternatively, if politicians have to be at the helms of CBI as the home minister is, then the “Chairman” may be the ruling party nominee (i.e. home minister), along with “Dy.Chairman” a nominee of the leader of opposition. CBI director should report to Dy.Chairman. As long as both Dy. Chairman & Chairman accept the mandate and charter of CBI they can work with or without friction. Opposition members are also elected by people and equally competent and responsible to contribute in streamlining and smooth functioning of the organization. This way they can ensure that the fights are fought before decisions are made. They will not waste time of parliament & judiciary and public money on investigation for decades as has been the case of say Bofors or Delhi Sikh riots. This will minimize the chances of political bias since after next election the boot may be on the other leg. In US administration, a number of key positions are held by opposition members. There are host of other more important issues facing the nation no doubt. But they would be addressed in any case. Nobody would take above initiatives because elections are over and they do not feel the need to bother about change. After all haven’t the present systems made them Members of Parliament? So why should they change anything?
Crusaders are required to initiate and manage the change & transition to the future. Management of value systems has to be somebody’s baby too. We can’t throw the baby with the bath towel. Can we? We don’t think that you coming from UN system feel comfortable, in the august gathering of parliament, sharing benches with 150 colleagues having criminal cases against them! Vijay M.Deshpande Corporate Advisor, Strategic Management Initiative, Pune May 21, 2009 Scroll down for my other blogs