The Poor State Of The Indian State

Context: The pandemic has revealed India’s chronic inability and systemic weakness to take care of the poorest citizens.

Pillars of a good developmental state

• Strong support from the people: Such support is acquired by builders of strong states by bounding people around a shared identity: ethnic, racial, or religious.
  • However, such a support for a leader may result in dictatorship.
• Strong Administrative Machinery: to provide stability and deliver public services.
• Managerial ability: to shape and implement change.

Constraints faced by India as a state

• Hard to earn support from people: Due to diversity among India’s races and religions, entrenched caste divisions etc.
• Colonial nature of Indian Bureaucracy: designed to provide stability and compliance with rules.
• Growing notion of ‘private is good, and the public is bad’: has hurt the managerial ability.
  • In the 21^st Century, with the rise of capitalism, the notion of private is good, and public is bad was created, which restricted the state to redistribution of resources.
  • The power of the state was also impacted since the capitalist were to act as the ‘’wealth creators’ and it was argued that wealth needs to be created before it could be redistributed.
  • This ideology required public servant to think like private sector managers (focus on growing the pie rather than directly improving the condition of the people)

Way forward:

• Reform the bureaucracy: For simultaneous management of both change and stability.
  • State should not function like Private corporations: As the purposes of a private enterprise and the state are different.
  • State should work for poorest citizens: for economic growth to be equitable and sustainable.
• Ensure the need of all citizens: Like employment, income, good health and education.
• Abandon the ‘top up the top’ model of India’s economic growth: As it failed to deliver economic justice, environmental sustainability, and improvement of the dignity of all citizens.
• Good leadership: To unite all Indians into one India, whatever their religion, race, or caste.
• Create cadres of good public managers: to build and run services for all citizens equitably.
• Business leaders should change their role: from mere wealth creators for themselves to creators of opportunities for millions of Indians.

Conclusion: In sum, Political leaders, administrators, and business leaders must work together, with a shared vision, to build an Indian state that is good for all citizens, especially the poorest.