12th August 2010

Political Resolution

The recent by-election results have demonstrated that the era of traditional
parties, which believe in deploying money and liquor to influence voters and
pursuing power at any cost is ending. The results constitute an unequivocal
indictment of traditional parties which believed they could get away by
manipulating voters through traditional inducements. Both the traditional parties
– the Congress and the TDP –in Andhra Pradesh today are in total disarray.

We are on the verge of a new era in which there will be two types of political
parties. One type of parties will be rooted in personality or family, caste, region or
religion. Bereft of any ideology worth the name, they seek to promote narrow,
sectarian interests. The other type will be parties which stand for rational and
ethical politics, are national and secular in outlook, and seek to promote general
public good through empowerment of citizens and ensuring quality education and
health care.

If parties based on pursuing narrow and sectional interests are allowed to gain
the upper hand, the country faces the threat of disintegration and anarchy. Every
thinking individual should therefore strive to empower parties that pursue rational
and ethical politics.

There are sane elements in all political parties and outside them, and in civil
society organizations, and enlightened citizens and idealistic youth are all fed up
with the way the country is governed. It is time they stopped grumbling in silence
and shouldered the responsibility of ushering in a new era of rational and ethical
politics.

The Lok Satta Party should take the initiative to bring about a realignment of
political forces and prevent the country from sinking into a morass. All parties and
individuals that pursue ethical, rational, national, democratic, and secular politics
should from a broad coalition to fight for the soul of India.

There may be minor policy differences between such individuals and groups. But
the larger causes of India’s future and of clean, nation-building, rational, growth-
promoting, empowering politics are so vital that these individuals and groups
should learn to reconcile their differences. The people deserve pragmatic,
ethical, harmonizing, rational public discourse in place of rampant kleptocracy,
short-term power games, and divisive politics.

Lok Satta should play a creative and constructive role in bringing all such forces
together. The road is long and tortuous, and no individual, group or party alone
has the strength or appeal to be able to transform our politics alone. The need of

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the hour is unity, harmony, humility and resolute, purposive, unflinching, and
sustained collective effort.

The philosophy, policies and ideas espoused and practiced by Lok Satta are
rooted in truth, pragmatism, common sense, logic and societal needs. The most
significant accomplishments of Lok Satta has been sustained pursuit of long-term
goals through ethical means, and generation and relentless propagation of
practical and rational solutions to the challenges plaguing Indian polity.

But for these ideas and the general public appreciation to be translated into
tangible political outcomes, we need to forge a common platform of like minded
parties, groups and citizens. We need to strengthen the capabilities of Lok Satta
leaders and volunteers. We need to launch innovative public awareness and
mass-contact programmes. And above all we need to launch innovative
movements involving new methods of mass mobilization, centered around
simple, specific issues related to public good.

In these campaigns and movements, we should invite the participation and

leadership of all sections, transcending petty differences and party loyalties.

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 12th August 2010

Economic Resolution

Twenty first century must be India’s

India has immense economic potential. We have missed the first industrial
revolution, and our share of global production progressively declined to 2% in
1947. By 1990, it further declined to 1% - our worst economic performance in
known history as a share of global output. The subsequent policy correction is
helping us recover the lost ground slowly. The entrepreneurial energy,
competition and investment-friendly policies have accelerated economic growth
over the past decade. The quick rebound from the global recession is an
evidence of the resilience of our economy.

India can sustain 9-10% annual growth rates for another 30-50 years if only our
politics and economy are managed with integrity, foresight, commonsense and
competence. But this sustained growth will not be possible unless politics are
built on ethical foundations, and the fruits of economic development reach all
sections of the people.

Already there are serious strains emerging in our economy and society.
Agriculture and rural India continue to suffer great neglect. The villages are
getting depopulated, and millions of young people are migrating to distant cities
for precarious livelihoods. But in the absence of skills, they are not able to get
decent job opportunities with satisfactory incomes. Cities are getting congested,
and dissatisfaction is mounting.

Irrational, short-term policies are undermining the economy as key infrastructure

is neglected. Absence of rule of law, arbitrariness, politics of plunder, monopoly
control of natural resources by those in power or with influence are undermining
economic competition and public confidence in the political process.

Rampant corruption and criminalization have discredited parties and

governments, and investors are increasingly worried about future prospects. All
resources are being appropriated by those in power, creating dangerous
monopolies, and concentrating abnormal wealth in the hands of the corrupt few.

While poverty is slowly declining, real measures to end poverty are neg lected.
Traditional parties and governments are paying only lip sympathy to education
healthcare. But there is no cohesive, credible, genuine effort to ensure quality
education and healthcare to every person, and to impart skills to young people to
make them productive partners of the wealth-creation process. As a result, those
with capital, technology and skills are rising rapidly; and the bulk of the people
are still mired in relative poverty. This is leading to an explosive situation on
account of the morally unacceptable and economically regressive income

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inequalities. India has the highest income inequalities today among all large
economics in the world.

Transformation of our economy, elimination of poverty, creation of opportunities

to all and fulfilling our potential as a nation are of paramount importance today.
In order to accomplish these vital goals we need to restructure our polity and
create new politics with ethical foundations. We need to pursue rational policies
that address these fundamental challenges. And we need to end corruption and
establish rule of law. Ending poverty through creation of opportunities to all;
curbing alcoholism and drug abuse, establishing rule of law; zero-tolerance of
corruption; rejuvenating agriculture; bridging the urban-rural divide; and
decentralization of power through creation of empowered, effective, accountable
local governments as the third tier of federalism, are the way of the future to build
a vibrant economy, harmonious society and better India for our children.

Ethical and rational foundations of politics and public policy are the necessary
prerequisites to accomplish these goals. Lok Satta has a historic role in
promoting these ideas, building durable political institutions, and creating ethical,
rational politics of the future. We need to bring all enlightened citizens together
in this historic endeavour at a critical juncture of our nation’s history. The success
of this approach will catapult India once again into global leadership; and our
failure today will condemn a sixth of humanity to poverty, drudgery and
mediocrity. Rarely have the stakes been greater in human history. Rarely has
such a priceless opportunity been presented to a nation in any age. Twenty first
century can be India’s century. Twenty first century must be India’s century.
We have a historic mission; and we, as a people and a nation, shall not fail. And
Lok Satta Party will play a creative and constructive role in this mighty mission.

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