India is the land of diversity. Its political, social and economic structure have evolved over centuries through repeated influx of migrants and information that consequently lead to admixture of plethora of ideologies, thinking, political structure, social customs and economic alternatives. In the course of this developmental process, English people came to India as trader only to be turned as political masters and left overarching impression on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual behavior of the people and their political, social and economic interaction model in this sub-continental sized India riddled with multitude of physical and human barriers. Today’s India reflects a continuum of colonial past which despite last six decades of planned socio-economic development, failed to evolve into an independent strong national identity working towards one common goal- betterment of citizens. India inherited its politico-administrative and socio-economic structure from political masters and failed to recognize a requirement for overwhelming structural and behavioral change for rapid and all-round development of Indians. However, since late this realization has dawned upon our leaders and India is making rapid strides in all fields, though much is left to accomplish.
COMPREHENDING COLONIAL MENTALITY
For understanding colonial mentality, first we need to understand the politio-socio-economic structure of British India.
The one single motive for all colonial administrative structure and policies across all sectors and field was to extract maximum profit from India. Indian economy were reduced to net importer from pre-modern exporter, its farmers subjugated under vast arrears of jamindars, industries in still novice stage, transport and communication only to extract raw material from hinterland and maintain law and order and human development still untouched field.
Indian society were marked by social evils of child marriage, sati pratha, patriarchal family and teeming millions of poor, hunger and illiterate. This state’s apathy towards is subject was direct outcome of mercantilist policies followed and its politico-adminstrative structure were designed and operated only to serve this end.
British India was divided on multiple identities based on region, religion, caste etc and one unifying entity developed by English was uniform administrative structure ranging from burocracy to judiciary across the nation. People were having multiple affinities based on their identities and in such circumstances, to rule and exploit subject, English administrative structure that invariably was based on coercion rather persuasion. The wind of nationalism blown during the freedom struggle movement and development of one true identity of being Indian failed to subvert other sub-national identities of belongingness to region, religion and caste.
It is this apathetic politio-administrative and socio-economic structure that was passed onto the shoulders of independent Indian leaders. Indian people were still plagued by multiple affinities and its administrative structure summed as “Indian in colour and British in taste”, uncongenial to rapid socio-economic betterment of Independent India.
POLICIES IN POST-INDEPENDENT INDIA
Indian leaders wrote one of the finest Constitutions of the world characterized by the high human ideals recognizing and respecting human rights, freedom, justice and equality and suitably modified politico-administrative structure and socio-economic policies to accomplish these ideals.
Towards such end, India pursued planned socio-economic development through Five Year Plans for assessing and developing best possible strategy for optimal utilization of physical and human resources of the country. Such policies were based on the ideals of equity, efficiency, decentralization and participation.
However, despite such visionary and sweeping changes, India’s successes fall short of expectation.
ASSESSING INDIA’S SUCCESS
Despite six decades of planned socio-economic development, India has little to show to critics. Its economy grew at so called hindu rate of growth below 5 %, its poor still constitute half of total population as per World Bank, still houses half of population dependent on agriculture, industry yet to diversify and become self-reliant and self-generating baring few sectors.
Critics argue that the poor rate development of India is directly proportional to ignorance of human resource development. Its one fourth populations is still illiterate, health indices show similar pathetic trends of high infant mortality, high maternal mortality, plethora of diseases, morbidity and mortality due to preventable diseases.
Baring few capital and technology intensive sectors, India’s population are engaged in low skilled self-employed livelihood having poor productivity and remunerative options as evident in the fact that more than half of workforce is self- employed and more than 85% population in informal economy.
Similarly, on social front, India is still to resolve issues of unrest, insurgency, and secessionist tendencies as evident in sporadic evidences of casteism, regionalism and communism based violence and regular confrontations against Left wing extremism and North-East insurgencies.
Notwithstanding, such convincing arguments for the failure of Indian society to overcome colonial injustice, India has made several strides in the view of magnitude of problems left by colonisers. Today, India is 4th largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity. Its per capita income increased manifold, poverty reduced to one fourth, literacy has risen to three-fourth from a mere 17 % after independence. It has diversified into almost all industrial sectors and specialized in few. Its service sector has attracted top MNCs of the world and aggressively steeped towards the integration into world economy.
Similar achievements can be attached to the politico-administrative structure. With improved literacy, greater decentralization through Panchayati Raj Institutions, NGOs and vibrant civil society, India has moved towards real democracy with equality and empowerment in all fields- political, social and economic.
India’s developmental history has been a mixed bag of result. In the first 4 decades after independence, the mood, approach and strategy were quite reflective of colonial era but after early 1980s, it has aggressively started stepping towards a different approach based on equity, decentralization and participation of people.
CORRELATING INDIA’S SUCCESS WITH COLONIAL MENTALITY
The validity of colonial mentality for hindering India’s success has to be viewed in the context of prevailing and modified India’s political, administrative, legal, social and economic structure.
The politico-administrative structure after the independence to keep Indian burocracy, technocracy and judiciary intact, were reminiscent of top-down approach of colonial era. The burocracy still apathetic, developmental machinery top handed, police yet to internalize the change, judiciary still costly marred the prospects to rapid growth of India. Indian democracy is still to evolve into a mature, participative and people-centric democratic structure though recent concrete steps of PRIs and ULBs are welcome steps.
On the legal front, India’ statute book is riddled with archaic laws of colonial era such as transparency laws of Official secrets Act, Forest rights act etc which undermine the freedom, justice and equality of citizens as enshrined in the Indian Preamble.
Similarly, the planned socio-economic development were based on the theory of trickling down effect to develop few capital intensive basic industries and left the larger masses on their own. The centrally planned schemes were top down and hardly people-oriented reflecting colonial mentalities. The Community Development Programme, IRDP, self-employment and wage employment programme were supply driven, lacking motivation, zeal and enthusiasm to show result and proportionate outcome.
Indian society of which people are integral part, though fully involved in the national movement failed to develop a larger perspective of being Indian, rather easily blown by the waves of anti-social elements reminiscent of pre-independent India which diverted precious effort and money towards quenching and satisfying such ends. People don’t adhere to human ideals of equality, fraternity and dignity which leads to caste clashes, region and religion based clashes. Even on the intra-societal level, women are subjugated, tribal are exploited, child labour omnipotent and several ills of feticide, infanticide are much prevalent.
As analyzed in the above paragraphs, there seems to be a direct correlation of India’s development story with the colonial mentality which makes it imperative to make sweeping changes while retaining the past benign structure and adequately modifying and replacing the structures inhibiting development process.
HAS SOMETHING BEEN DONE TO REMOVE COLONIAL MENTALITY
The ultimate weapon for the behavioral change of politicians, bureaucrats, technocrats and official running the government machinery and people at large is the requisite socio-economic development and inculcation of human values through information, education and communication.
In the last two decades, India made several overwhelming changes in its government functioning to advance the rate the development. First and foremost, it made local participation, a constitutional obligation through 73rd and 74th amendment act to cater to the real needs of the people taking govt a step closer to the people. It has suitably modified and structured the mechanism of legal laws and machinery to give free legal aid to the poor and downtrodden, to respect people’s political, social, economic and environmental rights through judicial activism. It has instituted several mechanism to regulate, oversee and effectively implement developmental activities through instituting many institutions such as NHRC, CIC, NSDRC NCW, NGT etc.
It has made its socio-economic planning more people-centered, demand driven through effective multi-level planning, people’s participation and initiative. It has regularized village-level planning through constitutional amendments which will be an effective tool for the rapid development based on the micro-level assessment of needs and aspirations of the people. Agriculture has been declared a prime motive force for running the economy, poverty to be tackled on war-footing scale and what not.
On the social front, India has universalized many social sector schemes for rapidly improving literacy level through Right to Education, mid-day meal schemes; NRHM and NUHM for health sector; National skill Mission and a separate ministry for skill development for skill development to reap its demographic dividend and several financial sector schemes for integrating people into the formal economy to prevent exploitation of poor, marginalized, women, tribal etc. It has to be kept in mind that, these schemes are not the imitation of earlier approach and methodology rather they are regularly monitored, quantifiably and qualitatively assessed through various mechanisms like RFD, social audits etc.
This political, social and economic development of the country with a special inclusivity factor has invariably put India on a rapid growth orbit which will automatically solve issues of societal ills, multiple conflicting identities and build a coherent India.
CONCLUSION
The development of a country is reflective of overall well-being of its people. The fact that, India has fastened its economic growth and societal development in the last two decades is proof of country’s endeavor to shed its past strategy and mentality and to build an equitable, integrated and unified India. However, the meager achievements in the past should not make us complacent in view of the enormity of the challenges confronting India today in particular and world at large. India has to play a larger role at the global level to build “VASUDHAIV KUTUMBAKAM”.
yogesh1646 