Editorial 1 : India, liberalism and its crisis of legitimacy
Context
If there was ever a time to articulate a reformed and expanded idea of Indian liberalism, it is now.
Tryst with liberalism
- Just over three decades ago, after the elections of 1991, India embarked on a tryst with liberalism, then regarded as the apex of ‘mankind’s ideological evolution’ and ‘the final form of government’
- In the years since, liberalism has faced trenchant criticism from both the left and the right, in India and across the world.
- The alarming rise of populist and authoritarian strongmen across the globe has reflected a discernible retreat of liberal democracy from its post-Cold-War heyday to just 34 countries.
- The appeal of the core liberal idea that democracy, planted in the fertile soil of a free land and watered by capitalistic economic affluence and rule of law, would flourish around the globe, is waning.
- As the phenomenon of “democratic deconsolidation” attains an unprecedented pace, public dissatisfaction with liberal democracy and liberal values has been plummeting for some time now.
- Worryingly, support for alternative models is increasing: a Pew survey last year found 85% of respondents in India indicating a preference for authoritarianism or military rule, alongside a decline in those who believed that representative democracy was a good way of governance.
Attacks by the left and the right
- In India, liberalism is facing a crisis of legitimacy, with attacks from both the left and the right.
- For those on the left, liberalism represents a dangerous elitist doctrine, prioritising the interests of a handful of privileged individuals over the needs of the collective, and promoting an individualism that has resulted in the ever-widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, the primacy of corporate interests, and the further marginalisation of the disadvantaged.
- The left sees an untenable contradiction between a commitment to egalitarian democracy on the one hand and an individualistic market capitalism on the other.
- The right sees different dangers in liberalism, particularly its emphasis on individual freedom.
- In today’s India, insolent might commands the stage. The right garbs itself in the social values that emphasise the needs of the individual over the ideals of community, identity and tradition.
- They dismiss liberalism in India as a western colonial import that has no connection with our traditional values and way of living.
- To both right and left, liberalism today is synonymous with elitism, privilege and an outdated westernised world view.
Ingrained in Indian society
- Far from being a western import, as thinkers such as Amartya Sen have pointed out, the key values of liberalism — an emphasis on individual liberty, freedom, social justice and societal harmony — have been deeply ingrained in Indian society since ancient times.
- Liberal values can be found in our civilisational traditions and cultural beliefs, representative ruling institutions of the past and in the articulations produced by an array of makers of modern India, with giants such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, M.G. Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Gurudev Tagore and B.R. Ambedkar .
- It is imperative to respond constructively to the charges of elitism and misguided thinking that are levelled at liberalism in India.
- What is needed is a more syncretic and democratised idea of liberalism, one that is able to remain inclusive and absorptive of ideas from either end, without betraying the core ideals of freedom, dignity and representation that have underpinned it since its conception.
Suggestions
- Indian liberalism will need to undergo four sets of evolutions for it to address the challenges unleashed by its current critics.
- First, evangelists for syncretic liberalism will need to engage with the ideas of tradition and identity in a more comprehensive and sustained manner.
- Second, liberalism will also need to adopt a reformed approach to economic activity and markets, one that is able to look beyond neoliberal thinking and develop a more inclusive and socially just approach.
- Third, for a more democratised and harmonious version of liberalism to succeed, both political reform and a revival of representative institutions will be needed.
- Fourth, and finally, though one would normally take this for granted, it is imperative that liberals develop a basic consensus among themselves. Given the divergent views on liberalism as well as the laundry list of criticisms essayed by its detractors, a minimum common understanding is key.
Conclusion
Indian liberalism is in need of reform and revival. The time to start the process is now.
Editorial 2 : An overview of the AMRUT scheme
Context
Around 36% of India’s population is living in cities and by 2047 it will be more than 50%. The World Bank estimates that around $840 billion is required to fund the bare minimum urban infrastructure over the next 15 years.
What is the AMRUT scheme?
- The AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) scheme was a flagship programme launched in June 2015, with its 2.0 version launched on October 1, 2021.
- Some of the challenges in infrastructure development with respect to water, mobility, and pollution were to be met by this scheme with some financial assistance from the Centre and the rest of the share mobilised by both States and respective cities.
- The purpose of the AMRUT mission was to (i) ensure that every household has access to a tap with assured supply of water and a sewerage connection (ii) increase the value of cities by developing greenery and well-maintained open spaces such as parks and (iii) reduce pollution by switching to public transport or constructing facilities for non-motorised transport. 2019-20.
- AMRUT 2.0 was aimed at making cities ‘water secure’ and providing functional water tap connections to all households in all statutory towns.
- Ambitious targets were set up such as providing 100% sewage management in 500 AMRUT cities.
What is the reality?
- It is estimated that about 2,00,000 people die every year due to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene.
- In 2016, the disease burden due to unsafe water and sanitation per person was 40 times higher in India than in China. This has not improved much.
- Huge amounts of waste water and little treatment enhances the vulnerability and incidence of diseases.
- The 150 reservoirs monitored by the central government, which supplies water for drinking and irrigation, and are the country’s key source of hydro-electricity, were filled to just 40% of its capacity a few weeks ago.
- Around 21 major cities are going to run out of ground water. In a NITI Aayog report it was stated that 40% of India’s population will have no access to drinking water by 2030.
- Nearly 31% of urban Indian households do not have piped water; 67.3% are not connected to a piped sewerage discharge system; and average water supply per person in urban India is 69.25 litres/day, whereas the required amount is 135 litres.
- Additionally, air quality in AMRUT cities and in other large urban settlements continue to worsen.
- A National Clean Air Programme was launched by the central government in 2019, as AMRUT 2.0 focused only on water and sewerage and because the air quality concerns of AMRUT 1.0 were far from addressed.
The issues
- The basic fundamental of the scheme was erroneously constructed. Instead of a holistic approach, it took on a project-oriented attitude.
- Furthermore, AMRUT was made for cities with no participation from the cities. It was quite mechanical in design, with hardly any organic participation of the elected city governments, and driven by mostly private interests.
- The project was owned by bureaucrats, parastatals, and large technology-based companies.
- Moreover, water management in cities must factor in climate and rainfall patterns of the area and existing infrastructure of combined sewers.
- Since the drivers are large private players and builders, real estate development has become a proxy for urban planning — disappearance of water bodies and lakes, disrupted storm water flows, and absence of storm water drainage is very common.
Conclusion
The scheme needs nature based solutions and a comprehensive methodology with a people centric approach and empowering local bodies.