To me, the greatest test of the State’s competence is its use of social capital. We often talk of organic food, but not of an organic State. We talk of appropriate technology, but not of an appropriate State. Are we only ordained to carry out and carry forward the American Dream? Ours should be a society fostered by some sense of its own dignity. That’s why we in Madhya Pradesh do not hesitate while introducing schemes based on social sanskar like Kanyadaan, Godbharai or even Antyeshti. Steps like prevention of cow slaughter or establishment of a Sanskrit University are reflective of this approach. This context-sensitivity is derided as saffronisation. But bonding our fate with American recession neither helps our share market nor our inflation rate. It only alienates Indians, makes them truly angst-ridden.

This alienation is deepening and intensifying. Today we are witness to a new economic verbiage in the country, courtesy the UPA government at the Centre. No longer do we see the common man comforted; in fact, he is more perplexed than ever. Yet we find our esteemed finance minister always relaying the tunes of revival and recovery, growth and gain. Haven’t we all heard that pep-talk soon after the Central Budget which essentially puts the national economy on anabolic steroids? Excitement for a while, but permanent injury purchased in the bargain. To the Congress spokesman, inflation is a global phenomenon. If the ills of our economy are global, need we not question the very architecture of this globalisation? The great Indian economic miracle is transformed into great economic debacle in just four years. Food self-reliance, once trumpeted as a unique achievement of post-independence India, has been compromised brazenly. Time and again, we in the States are being told by the Centre to fend for ourselves—be it the case of fertilizers or, for that matter, the instant case of red wheat.

This forces us to go for schemes like Mukhya Mantri Annapoorna Yojna and Mukhya Mantri Khetihar Mazdoor Suraksha Yojna. They should not be equated with the populist schemes of similar nature once undertaken in Southern states. Our critics say that it is an election year. But is this not the very year that most exposed the inefficiencies of the Centre? Have we not been pressured to come to this stage owing to a GOI-induced drastic cut in the quota of our fair price shops? In spite of the recommendations of the Krishak Ayog, the Centre did not reduce interest rates for farmers but we in MP brought it down to 5 per cent from a high of 14 per cent.

The claims of the common man can no longer be ignored—not only in respect of food entitlement, but in all aspects of governance. I have invited panchayats of different segments to design programmes off-site. This is my way of saying, “people first”. To my critics, this is an attempt at social catharsis, but giving a cordless mike to the aam aadmi connects his cords directly to me. The ‘decentralisation’ of the erstwhile Congress government in MP could not demolish the “culture of silence”, where the gram sabhas very often meekly reflect and adjust the demands of the local power structure. The very presence of a CM emboldens the “lay people” in jandarshan and panchayats to expose the cosmetics of administration. You cannot stage-manage a social audit of this type. Regis Debray in his Critique of Political Reason said, “There are really no open societies because enclosure is the basic category of the political world.” I have sincerely tried to quarrel with this impression of politicians throughout my stint as Chief Minister.

This openness is dissimilar from what is popularly known as PPP. Yes, there is a connect between the government and the governed in that concept too and we are a pre-eminent state in the country as regards the number of PPP projects. There was a period when the then CM coined a strategy of giving infrastructure sector to the entrepreneurs of private sector and social sector to the state exchequer. This strategy failed miserably. We learnt fast and hard from the fallout of this approach and supported the infrastructure sector through state funds. Convinced of our sincerity, private capital invested in a new-look MP.

Thus the context greatly improves the text of governance. But context-sensitivity does not mean a surrender before the flaws and foolery of our times. I have constantly and virulently attacked the mind-set of our people who undermine the girl child. I have initiated many schemes to overcome such superstitions. But apart from social superstitions, there are administrative superstitions too. I decided to work not only ‘in’ the system but also ‘on’ the system. ‘Samadhan Online’ or ‘one-day governance’ are proving a very helpful tool to achieve this. Technology? Of course. If the time has come for a techno-transformation, who are we to stop it?

editor@expressindia.com