Month: January 2013

Brand NaMo: A Metaphor for Development Authoritarianism

Narendra Modi is a good student of political science as he gauges social architecture both soft and hard to rule Gujarat. He has built a brand very attractive to the urbane middle class. Well, about 80% of the urban seats in the recent third term win is a testament to the same. This article is certainly not a summary of recent reads available in the conventional media and being such as polarizing figure in the Indian Political Landscape, he is very well researched by writers.  This post touches upon the governance model and its political symbolism as a flagpost for democracy in this country.

I am not a Modi Fan, quite was quite anti his genre of politics actually as i am for a plural, secular and inclusive idea of India. A man who presided during the 2002 riots and supposedly did not discharge his Raj Dharma, is not a man who is to be a leading opposition party’s candidate for Prime Minister. He has been an international recluse with the Americans refusing him a visa. Although the Brits being born businessmen as Gujaratis have warmed up to him.

The research question that pops up in my psyche is : What makes NaMo such a hit with the urbane middle class inspite of all the negative rhetoric blemishing his resume?

Firstly, He is Macho. Aggressive, Powerful Orator with a persona of being a man of action helps when contrasting him with Dr. Singh and Rahul ji.  He is Tech Savvy; uses Twitter, has a laptop and connects well with the aspirations of the right side of the populace representing the demographic dividend. He connects well with the Industry and realises that development only can create jobs. The Vibrant Gujarat Summit and its success speaks  volumes as an advertorial for the State. He has brought in Technocrats to oversee projects in his administration. Although seven of his ministers lost in this election, Brand Modi remains popular as ever. A Development oriented Politician with a mass base. A rare sight in our public discourse where caste and creed define electoral fortunes. And in this election, the Sangh supported the opposition and he still won with an overwhelming mandate.

His government still has to improve human development indicators in the socially conservative state. Modi reminds me of the South Korean Military Leader, the father of the current president who drove Korea to prosperity or an Pinochet who ruled with an iron fist while his nation did economically very well. A Singapore with a Lee Kuan Yew ran a single party democracy while shepherding his country from ‘Third World to The First’. Deng Xiopeng was a Communist Ruler who advocated economic liberalization.

Developmental transition comes with a political/social cost. The minorities in Gujarat are paying for that in a way with their space reducing every day. In Singapore, communities were moved from Kampungs or villages to shoe box apartments in State built housing estates. Their old way of life was lost forever. Singapore has done an amazing job. I salute LKY and the PAP leadership on their meritocratic governance.

Modi’s win is a watershed in a way that people will tolerate particular variety of authoritarianism if the job is delivered. The Late Shiv Sena Chief Balasaheb called it the ‘ThokShahi’ or Dictatorship as a form of rule needed in India. No wonder he was a fan of Hitler.

The politics of development is gaining currency. India needs it badly. Secular or not.

Its the Energy Paradigm Stupid: Equity and Development in Rural India

I read articles and research oriented works on Energy Governance in Grad School where i took courses on Environmental Policy. Prof. Benjamin Sovacool’s course at LKYSPP@NUS in Sustainability has had a profound impact in the manner i visualize energy poverty and its impact on human development landscape. That was the text book version of Professor Tourists heading out in to the field for understanding the cultural notions of energy technology. Dr. Sovacool and Anthony D’Augustino (currently a PhD Student at Columbia SIPA) wrote a working paper on Solar based lighting in Papua New Guinea was fascinating. Both are inspirational folks at a personal level.

I had my brush with the Renewable Energy- Rural Setting- Energy Poverty nexus recently as I visited the Rayalseema region in Andhra Pradesh in Southern India. This arid, dry region better renowned for pilgrim town Puttaparthi and is recent convert to alternative energy through wind farms as this is a region with high wind potential. Reigning paradoxes prevail in this area, with excellent road connectivity with national and state level highways with access to a knowledge economy hub such as Bangalore in three hours.  I would observe bullock carts plying people and motorbikes ferrying both goats and homo sapiens. Traditional homes which have DTH boxes and livestock, and one of the local level political leaders had even a treadmill at his place.  But this region primarily depends on rain fed agriculture, is low on water potential and agriculture is mainly single crop.  Some months of the year, the local folk work as construction labor.  The crux of the problem with everything is the lack of power, with electricity only there for six hours a day.  Without Power, there is economic darkness and all development depends on energy access.

Wind Energy has potential to transform the region by creating employment and providing access to badly needed electricity. But a government policy driven sector such as alternate energy is not well served by a senior statesman who is more interested in urdu poetry and golf than negotiating hard with the finance ministry for proactive measures. Political gridlocks have resulted in wind energy dipping in profitability. The Suzlons of the world are steeped in debt.

Then there are local challenges such as political interference due to land acquisition matters.  Politicians simply cannot understand the developmental agenda buy-in being created by alternate energy. Feed in Tariffs cannot be a panacea; but it will go a long away, towards lighting up lives.

Atleast in this sector, good politics would mean good economics. Gujarat and Tamil Nadu politicos have understood the dividend.

Let the ‘winds’ of change blow.

An Autobiography of Reading

I love cafes and bookshops, and i frequent them the most in my non work time. I have been reading since my memory started to accumulate images. Just drink expresso and read on a weekend, is nothing better than that. What we read, speaks a lot about oneself. Books of the era are a snapshot of the societal dynamics. What is selling on Amazon, Flipkart or your neighborhood Crossword store is reflective of the reigning mindset intellectually.

I started reading or flipping through my parents grad school textbooks in economics, management and literature/linguistics since primary school. Even though i did not understand a word of it. My parents would have 5 newspapers delivered to our residence everyday and subscribe to a ton load of current affairs-policy centric magazines in the pre computer-internet era even if we were not all that financially comfortable. This reading intensive upbringing shaped my world view to what i am now; an engineer and a sociologist .  Reading has helped me to visualize lives that i cannot lead or cannot experience. Life is a span of time, hence finite. Peter Drucker, the Management Guru studied a new academic domain every three years. Robin Sharma says that if one needs to double its income, we need to triple our learning.

During my pre teens, i had read more history and politics than an average kid should have and concentrated far less on  his grades than a school kid should. I was a major history buff and had dreamed of being a Ram Guha or a Niall Ferguson rather than a technical consultant that i am currently. I discovered the utilitarian value of science during high school.

During High School, i delved in to the self help genre which really transformed my thought processes. I graduated to dedicated reading of popular economics and management genre of books along with a healthy dollop of policy matters through out my undergrad.

I dreamt  of attending Business School then, but fate would have veering towards the sustainability domain. Through my engineering grad school, i read public policy and business in my free time mostly concentrating on Social Innovation. I was active in the Social Innovation rubric in Singapore. My Grad School degree in Sociology introduced me by accident to a whole new world of the liberal arts. Social Theory, and in general the qualitative social sciences remolded my thinking, for the better. Although I dropped out of my degree after my coursework phase was done with, this period has left an indelible mark on my life.

Now I mainly read Foreign Policy/Geo Politics/ Public Affairs in my non work time. I am also exploring Post Colonial Literature as an alternative historical narrative. Reading is therapeutic, but writing is meditative. The choice of books we choose to read, tell a lot about who we are.

Keep Reading.