Narasimha Rao left behind a mixed legacy: Jairam Ramesh

It's not a very great exaggeration to say that the history of post-independence India can be divided into two parts - pre and post 1991. Such has been the impact not just on the economy, but also on culture and society, of the economic liberalisation policies introduced during PV Narasimha Rao's stint as prime minister and stewarded by Manmohan Singh as finance minister. The present book by Jairam Ramesh, who was officer-on-special-duty in the prime minister's office then, gives a ringside account of that momentous U-turn, which will mark its silver anniversary next year. In a conversation with Gargi Gupta, he tells her the story of the unlikely jugalbandi that brought about 1991 has salutary lessons for the present government too. Edited excerpts:

This is your third book this year. What has led to this bout of productivity?
[The story of 1991] is an interesting story — and by destiny, I had a pivotal position to observe what was happening. Also, after the election defeat of 2014, one needed to keep busy. This is my way.

Are there more that you're working on?
Yes, there are two or three ideas playing around in my mind. One, the emergence of rights-based legislation as an instrument of governance in 2004-2014 — the right to information, employment, education, Forest Rights Act, National Food Security Act, Land Acquisition Act, and, finally, right to dignity for manual scavengers. I'm trying to see what was the philosophy of these legislations, how these emerged, the common elements and to what extent their objectives were fulfilled. Another is my experience dealing with Maoist violence and how do we use development as a tool to address it. The third is on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. I am comfortable multi-tasking. One of the three should be out by January/February.

There have been a lot of books by senior bureaucrats of late. What do you think of them?
It's good — more and more such books must come out. But they must be thoroughly documented. Books cannot be based on memories and impressions or to settle scores. I find such memoirs written by many senior civil servants self-serving. Many are wholly inaccurate. They also tend to be anchored in the author. I've made a conscious effort to push myself back. For instance, I have used only written records in my book.

Nearly 25 years on, how much of the reforms agenda have we accomplished?
From the economic point of view, we settled the liberalisation debate in 1991, and also the globalisation debate. But the privatisation debate remains a big dividing line in Indian politics. The Congress, for example, would never agree to the privatisation of banks, which is probably on the agenda of this government at some stage. The debates on fiscal policy continue - the role of subsidies, control of fiscal deficit, government expenditure, the raising of revenues. The regulatory framework is also a work in progress.

How relevant is the story today?
The politics of economic reforms - the question of how do you manage the process - continues to have contemporary relevance. Clearly, as I show in my book, political communication, outreach and coalition-building are key. Rao headed a minority government, but Narendra Modi has a huge majority in the Lok Sabha. But look at the way he has approached economic issues — GST, amendment to land acquisition, etc. Modi's political communication is still political campaigning in large rallies; he doesn't see the necessity to meet opposition leaders one-on-one or collectively, engage in debates in Parliament.

Do you think Rao hasn't got his due? And is this book an attempt to set that right?
Rao was extraordinarily erudite, self-assured and crafty. But he left behind a mixed legacy because of what happened in Ayodhya, the Jain Hawala scandal, the JMM issue, etc. As I write in the book, he is a much misunderstood man and he's done much to be misunderstood about. The Congress party did not ask me to write this book to reclaim the legacy of Rao for the party. But certainly, it's time the Congress shed its apologetic and defensive posture on 1991 economic reforms. It's high time the party owned up to economic reforms. And Mr Rao.