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Politics of Economic Security in Contemporary India



Upon an analysis of economic security missions in contemporary India, I was made aware of their various manifestations. In accordance with their political pros and cons, they take highly diverse forms and shapes as they attempt to balance politics along with solid execution. For an able and sagacious politician, it will be an act of utter ignorance to be unaware of the political implications of imporper implementation of economic security missions. In addition, (s)he must also be aware that they may necessitate the changing of the gears of the economy, and this may even be for the betterment of the country at large. Vice versa, ignorance is not bliss for many. A politician’s ability to adroitly fine tune economic security missions and change these gears contributes to his political success and makes him a leader. In contemporary India, Mr. Modi’s government has been accused of being pro-business and anti-poor by the Opposition. The question that can be raised here is : is being pro-business the same as being anti-poor? In response to this, one wonders if Mr. Modi will commit such a faux pas by being pro-business and anti-poor when the poor too form a considerable part of the electorate. It appears to me that this will affect his future political career to a great extent. So the question that can now be framed is : why is Mr. Modi not capitulating in front of his ‘enemies’(the opposition parties in the parliament)? He seems to be obstinate and determined to make his own plans, which have the sartorial appearance of being “anti-poor” for the opposition, but “welfare for all” for many of the neoliberals. The reason lies in his political inclination towards neoliberalism as postulated by John Locke and other political scientists of a similar inclination. His fundamentals are drawn to a great extent from that ideology, which in turn makes him believe in the adage “Government has no business to be in business.” However, in my own opinion, this is in a limited way, enabling a fine tuned balance between public and private enterprise. This corresponds with what was postulated by the maker of the BJP’s ideology, Deendayal Upadhaya, who is said to have propounded the doctrine of integral humanism. This, I suppose, has influenced Mr. Modi’s thinking and hence he is going in for increased privatisation in various sectors of the economy and at the same time, synthesising new economic security schemes and national welfare missions. Let posterity be the judge for his actions and see whether he fulfills what he has promised.

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