{"id":127591,"date":"2014-07-09T14:13:20","date_gmt":"2014-07-09T08:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=127591"},"modified":"2014-07-17T10:46:41","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T05:16:41","slug":"keys-to-modis-success-in-gujarat-and-lessons-for-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/keys-to-modis-success-in-gujarat-and-lessons-for-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"Keys To Modi\u2019s Success In Gujarat And Lessons For Sri Lanka"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rajasingham Narendran<\/span><\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/a>

Dr. Rajasingham Narendran<\/p><\/div>\n

While trying to \u00a0locating a rendering of Carnatic music on the YOUTUBE, I stumbled upon Narendra Modi\u2019s\u00a0 tele-link address to the Global Forum on \u2019 Evolving Markets\u2019 \u00a0held in Washington DC. Narendra Modi<\/span><\/a> was yet the Chief Minister of Gujarat, though the Prime Ministerial candidate.<\/p>\n

Gujarat (196,204 sq.km) is three times bigger than Sri Lanka (65,610 sq.km).\u00a0 It has a multi-religious population and had seen extremely violent communal strife preceding and following India\u2019s independence. Mahatma Gandhi was born in this state.\u00a0 Under four successive terms\u00a0 of Narendra Modi\u2019s Chief Ministership, the state has been a relative oasis of peace and is the fastest growing\u00a0 (10+% annually) within India.\u00a0 A people who have been renowned through the ages as excellent tradesmen. have become also leading entrepreneurs. A state with limited agricultural capabilities has been transformed into a leading agricultural producer. Exports of industrial goods are growing by leaps and bounds.\u00a0 Electricity and water are no longer the bug bears they were.<\/p>\n

How was this possible? What was Narendra Modi\u2019s catalytic role?\u00a0 After listening to his speech, I felt that this speech must be heard by many Sri Lankans and CT should be the media to carry it to them.<\/p>\n

Modi emphasizes that participatory democracy is the key to his achievements and emphasizes that it should replace representative democracy in its evolutionary course.\u00a0 He defines democracy as an organic system and \u00a0an interplay between the government and people. He says the government is not a provider and the people are not receivers, and the greater the mismatch between what is needed and what is given, the greater the problems. He says that democracy should permit local voices be heard and their needs being incorporated into the national agenda. He says that the people will swallow the bitter pill when the facts are made known to them. He correctly says that the collective voice of the people, is collectively the people\u2019s wisdom. .He also says governments are guardians of the people\u2019s interests and are trustees of the nation\u2019s resources. However he emphatically states that the governments must earn the trust of the people and this happens when they are sure there is no \u2018Foul Play\u2019.<\/p>\n

He emphasizes democracy has to evolve to;<\/p>\n

1. Enhance harmony, which requires a change of heart<\/p>\n

2. Ensure unanimity in elections at the local levels, where candidates are selected through discussions and consensus.<\/p>\n

3. Enhancing citizen participation in policy making.\u00a0 The capacity to listen and discuss should be enhanced.<\/p>\n

4. Enhancing the flow of information to and from the people and the age of communications we live in permits this.<\/p>\n

5. Improving the institutional frame work. He says democracy stands on a frame work of institutions and these provide the required checks and balances.<\/p>\n

He reiterates that transparency, accountability and responsiveness consolidate democracy and in the present age, knowledge and technology are the driving forces to achieve these.<\/p>\n

What I liked most was his categorical statement that governance cannot be through \u2018secret files<\/b>\u2019 meaning that facts should not be hidden from the people.<\/p>\n

He places also considerable emphasis on skill development (training), speed (quick action) and scale (thinking big) as the tools to achieve fast and meaningful development.<\/p>\n

My thoughts were why the Gujarat experiment cannot be replicated in Sri Lanka, even better? Why is there a reluctance to empower the people?\u00a0\u00a0 Why is, what is in essence a trusteeship being transformed into a dictatorship under the fa\u00e7ade of democracy?<\/p>\n

I hope CT readers will listen to Modi\u2019s speech and learn from it.\u00a0 Critical evaluation is a must, but it must be of a positive nature. Gujarat is a work in progress and is a validation of Modi\u2019s ideas and vision.<\/p>\n