The Post-American World - Fareed Zakaria [70]
But democracy can also right wrongs, as India’s democracy has done on one crucial issue. In the 1990s, an ugly Hindu nationalism raged through the country and captured its politics, through the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It whipped up Hindu animosities against Muslims and also exploited the stark political reality that India’s Muslim population is disempowered, almost by definition. Since those areas of British India where Muslims were a majority became Pakistan and Bangladesh, Muslims are almost everywhere in India a weak minority. Over time, though, the BJP’s incitement of hatred and violence produced a backlash. A thoroughly secular government came to power in 2004, headed by Manmohan Singh, the former finance minister who opened up India’s economy in the summer of 1991. In an act of wisdom and restraint, Sonia Gandhi, who led the ruling coalition to victory in the polls, chose to appoint Singh prime minister rather than take the job herself. As a result, quite unexpectedly, India’s chaotic and often corrupt democratic system produced for its head of government a man of immense intelligence, unimpeachable integrity, and deep experience. Singh, an Oxford Ph.D., had already run the country’s central bank, planning ministry, and finance ministry. His breadth, depth, and decency as a person are unmatched by any Indian prime minister since Nehru.
But Singh’s stellar credentials and character haven’t helped the country much. The pace of India’s reforms has disappointed its well-wishers. Ever since the initial burst of reforms in the 1990s, governments in both New Delhi and in the states have been cautious in eliminating subsidies and protections. Nor have they pushed new pro-growth initiatives such as the creation of large economic zones or infrastructure projects. They have sometimes proposed new programs that look suspiciously like programs that have had little success in the past. But this paralysis cannot be blamed entirely upon the government. A change in the ruling party will not bring about Chinese-style reforms. Economic reforms produce growth, but they also produce dislocation—and those hurt by change always protest more loudly than those who benefit. Add to that the messy politics of coalitions—someone, somewhere can always block a proposed reform—and you have a recipe for slow movement, one step forward and three-quarters of a step back. It is the price of democracy.
Despite the lack of far-reaching new policies, there is a quiet determination in both the public and the private sectors to keep moving forward. Behind the cacophony of Indian politics, there is actually a broad consensus on policy among the major players. The major opposition party, the BJP, criticizes the Singh government on two fronts—economic reforms and pro-Americanism. In fact, it took exactly the same positions as Singh when it was in government. The arrow may be moving slowly, but it moves in the right direction. Every week in India, one reads about a new set of regulations being eased or permissions being eliminated. These “stealth reforms”—too small to draw vigorous opposition from the unreconstructed left—add up. And India’s pro-reform constituency keeps growing. The middle class is already 300 million strong. Urban India is not all of India, but it is a large and influential chunk of it. And the vibrancy of the Indian private sector compensates in some measure for the stasis in the state sector.
In any event, there is no other way. Democracy is India’s destiny. A country so diverse and complex cannot really be governed any other way. The task for a smart Indian politician is to use democracy to the country’s advantage. In some ways this is already happening. The government has recently begun investing in rural education and health, and is focusing on improving agricultural productivity. Good economics can sometimes make for good politics—or at least that is the Indian hope. Democracy has also been broadened since 1993 to give villages greater voice in their affairs. Village councils must reserve