Chandra Shekhar an economic visionary

New Delhi, July 9: Late Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar left an indelible mark on economic policy and in shaping the destiny of India, even though he could not give full play to his economic philosophy due to his short tenure as the Premier. Chandra Shekhar breathed his last here yesterday at the Apollo Hospital where he was undergoing treatment for cancer for the past three months.

The outstanding characteristic of Chandra Shekhar's economic plank was his hallmark of a nationalist and his deep concern for the plight of the poor and downtrodden.

As a 'young turk' within the Congress party, he fought the policies of the syndicate, led by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, known to be a rightist, and did manage to keep the fulcrum of economic policy tilted towards the other direction.

His contemporaries descibe him as being meticulous and a deep thinker with the mind of a researcher. He would go into the last detail and was a perfectionist of sorts.

Chandra Shekhar's tenure as Prime Minister was marked by economic crisis, the most serious Balance of Payment crisis the country has known, and high inflation.

One of the defining moments of the crisis of 1991 was the decision to mortgage gold abroad as security for a forex loan. The loan had become necessary because India had reserves to fund only three weeks of imports.

The decision to move gold out of India was described as a national humiliation. But the late Prime Minister showed tremendous courage in endorsing this proposal.

Chandra Shekhar was, however, aware that his political opponents would exploit it to the hilt, and his fears were proved right.

The Congress party attacked the despatch of gold in its political campaigns against Chandra Shekhar, though late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi saw nothing wrong in using the country's gold to help its industries.

Mr Yashwant Sinha, who served as the Finance Minister during Chandra Shekhar's tenure, described him as a visionary, a pragmatist, and one who would not forsake the interests of India even at the cost of his life.

"Chandra Shekhar wanted me to present a Budget which was pro- agriculture and pro-poor. But the circumstances created by the Congress Party did not allow this to happen and a Vote-on- Account was presented by me," Mr Sinha told sources.

Mr Sinha recalled his association with Chandra Shekhar with nostalgia and spoke about the support he got from him as a Finance Minister in all that he tried to do.

"Had a full Budget been presented by me, the economic thinking of Chandra Shekhar would have found a clear reflection in it. He wanted that I should enunciate policies in favour of the comman man," Mr Sinha said.

Mr Sinha said he was compelled to impose additional taxation to the tune of Rs 1,200 crores to rein in the high fiscal deficit. The negotiations for an IMF loan began when Mr Chandra Shekhar was the Prime Minister and were carried out by Mr Sinha. They, however, concluded when the reins of power moved into the hands of Mr Narasimha Rao, with Dr Manmohan Singh as the Finance Minister.

Mr Sinha said that the government did not bend before the IMF for seeking a loan and held its own despite the difficult economic situation.

Mr Sinha said the GDP growth was really quite respectable in 1991 with the fiscal ending with a GDP growth of 5 per cent. It was only in the following year that it dipped to a low of one per cent.

The former Finance Minister said Chandra Shekhar was against the license-permit raj. He did not want unnecessaary fetters on industrial growth and had a clear view on how India needs to modernise itself.

Incidentally, the present Prime Minister was Advisor to Mr Chandra Sekhar on Economic Affairs. Dr Manmohan Singh as the Finance Minister of India in the next regime took the most far reaching decison to do away almost entirely with the license-quota raj and planned a closer integration of the Indian economy with the global market place.

There was high drama accompanying the transporatation of gold, as extraordinary precautions had to be taken, A special plane was chartered to move the precious cargo to London.

The IMF insisted that India's gold reserves be used. So did the donor nations whom India approached for help. They wanted to know why the country was not using its own bullion reserves in the dire emergency.

What the pledging of gold did to the foreign exchange situation was to bring in about 500 million dollars--a large sum those days, although a fleabite, compared to the current foreign exchange reserves. More important, it helped alert the national psyche about the catastrophic situation in which the economy was. It became clear that the extreme solution of going to the IMF was unavoidable.

Chandra Shekhar become a virulent critic of Dr Manmohan Singh's policies--both in Parliament and outside it.

In the Lok Sabha, he was a seasoned politician giving his counsel on how the House should run its affairs and what the nation ought to do. All throughout his tenure as a Parliamentarian, he espoused the cause of the weak, the downtrodden and the poor-- all very dear to his heart.

As a young turk he put up a pitched fight against the excesses of Multinational Corporations and the dangers they could pose even to a formidable nation like India, not to speak of some of the banana republics of Latin America.

The same ideas found their place in the 'Young Indian,' a magazine Chandra Shkehar edited, which promoted academic research which would bring to light the dubious deals of the Corporate sector.

Chandra Shekhar displayed great faith in the abilities of the Public Sector, and understood the role it needs to play in a poor country, both for reasons of growth and meeting the ends of equity, including countering the might of big business.

One of the key contributions of Chandra Shekhar as a young turk was providing a blueprint for nationalisation of the banks.

He understood the perils of globalisation to a developing economy like India, CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said in a condolence message.

There is a well accepted view that India stands tall because of the eminence of the leaders it has produced. From Mahatma Gandhi, to Jawahar Lal Nehru, to Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Krishen Gokhale to Indira Gandhi the list is indeed endless. They stood and fought for their beliefs and held the country's interest high. Today witnessed the passing away of a titan -- a giant in politics, a giant in economic thinking and a giant of a man.

UNI

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