The ‘Argumentative Indian’ gets a chance to be heard

As the world’s largest democracy prepares to elect a new government, the two largest parties in India have recently released their manifestos in the run up to 2019 General Elections. I wanted to share with you a few thoughts on how these manifestos compare to one another and how the ongoing Lok Sabha elections should be a game changer in many ways. Some of these may be great conversation pieces with clients – especially international.

Close to 900 million people are expected to vote in the world’s biggest economy, of which almost 400 million would be the millennials. These young Indians don’t shy away from expressing what they feel and take to social media platforms to express their opinions on everything from India’s progress. They are in the true sense the representation of the ‘Argumentative Indian’ – the common man who is bold and expresses openly about what he feels needs to be changed in the country.

 The concept of the ‘Argumentative Indian’ was introduced by Amartya Sen in a namesake book released in 2005. Sen has campaigned that economic growth cannot be separated from the quality of human labour. As has been witnessed by leading global economies, adopting universal health and universal education is imperative for economic development. Despite privatization across sectors, the state’s intervention in the education and well-being of its populace goes a long way in driving comprehensive growth. The Indian government and the people now endeavor for an ‘all-inclusive growth’, which will focus on both economic and social development.

 Political parties too are embracing the need for societal development in tandem with economic growth. The Congress party’s election manifesto introduced their vision of a minimum income guarantee scheme, Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY), which aims to alleviate poverty by 2030. State frameworks of welfare have been tested by a few countries, where conditional transfers are made if families take constructive steps towards schooling and basic healthcare. While the triumph of such schemes in emerging economies will get truly tested in the context of India, rigor on its execution, ability to bring indirect tax reforms to fund such a large program and the government’s continued focus on education and healthcare are all very good signs.

The Congress released its manifesto with the slogan - “Congress will deliver” while the BJP manifesto got released with the slogan - “Sankalpit Bharat, Sashakt Bharat” (Determined India, Empowered India)

• For the 2019 General Elections, both national parties – the Congress and the BJP – have laid more emphasis on issues beyond agriculture and removal of poverty
• The manifestos of both the parties talk about building a healthy financial and infrastructure ecosystem in the country, which can facilitate economic growth and be self-sufficient in employment generation

In their manifestos, both the parties have laid emphasis on the manufacturing sector. The parties have gone beyond the conventional large scale manufacturing to also include a focus on promoting MSMEs by providing them easier credit and start-ups by implementing simpler compliance processes and relaxed taxation

• The Congress has committed to creating export-only manufacturing zones, the BJP has proposed re-hauling policies to make it easier for international and domestic companies to manufacture in India
• The BJP aims to place India among the top 50 countries in the global ease of doing business rankings

 A noteworthy aspect of the manifestos of both the parties is the substantial coverage and inclusion of welfare sectors - education and healthcare. Driven by the changing aspirations of the country’s youth and to leverage the demographic dividend, this is a shift from the conventional political system which has been traditionally focused on addressing rural issues

• In the education sector, the Congress plans to increase investment to 6 per cent of GDP, while the BJP proposes opening multiple schools, colleges and postgraduate institute
• Similarly, in the healthcare sector, the Congress plans to invest up to 3 per cent of GDP, while the BJP proposes promoting telemedicine and improving facilities in healthcare centres.

Acknowledging the role of agriculture in the economy and the elections, both the parties have made a detailed plan for the sector

• The Congress plans to focus on tacking the rising farm debts, and the BJP has continued with its earlier vision of doubling the income of farmers by 2022. Further, to boost the overall productivity of the farm sector, the latter proposes to invest INR 25 lakh crore across the agriculture sector

How has the ‘Argumentative Indian’ taken centre stage? With the advent of mass media, media has transformed from being a mere monologue to a dialogue. It is truly creating linkages between communities and satisfying the need of the common man to expresses his opinion undeterred. Social media platforms have paved the way for the common man to openly air his concerns on core developmental issues which are relevant to society today. Indians seem to have recognized the gap in the country’s development approach and are now leveraging social media to their advantage, to highlight the core developmental issues which are crucial for India’s inclusive growth.

Disclaimer: ‘Views expressed are personal and do not represent the views of the organisation I work for’.