The country’s growth potential could be affected if the increasing intolerance is not controlled, warned former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. Addressing a conclave on ‘25 years of economic reforms’ in Kolkata on Monday, Mr. Chidambaram said that while the country grows, it would be “bound to fail” at some point if one section of the society encourages systematic intolerance against another.
“We must create a more humane and tolerant society. Even if India grows [but] it grows into an intolerant society, where one section will not tolerate the other; where religious groups will not tilerate another religious groups; where caste groups will not tolerate another caste groups, we are bound to fail,” he said.
“You can not build a prosperous society unless that society is tolerant, unless it accepts diversity and pluralism, unless it adopts the philosophy of live and let live,” Mr. Chidambaram said. The former Union Minister was delivering the inaugural address in the two-day conclave — organised jointly by policy think tank Observer Research Foundation [ORF] and Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta — on the problems and prospects of reforms initiated in 1991. Mr. Chidambaram further warned that the growing intolerance may affect the country economically.
ADVERTISEMENT
“In the last few years intolerance has grown in this country… that intolerance leads to more and more conflict and it will certainly hold back the potential of this country to be prosperous and rich,” he said. However, it is not a hopeless situation, he said.
“I still see a bright future as we still remain a vibrant democracy. Despite set back we remain an open society with open polity — ideas can still clash, political parties can still clash but we still remain an open economy and if we continue to remain in this path, economy would be even more open.”
Mr. Chidambaram marked a series of “red and green” lines and suggested to maintain a good distance from the red lines, while making a continuous endeavour to get close to the green ones. According to him there are reasons to restrict the fiscal deficit below three percent and to “strike a balance” between price rise and moderate growth rate by formulating proper monetary policy. “They should be kept away from red lines,” he added. It is also equally to be “beware of the civil service.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“Civil service is strong pillar of the government structure. But undeniable tendency of the civil service is to write rules and regulations. If one person writes it, it would be fairly simple. But if you have many, one could be absolutely certain that it would increase the misery of the people,” he added.
Emphasizing the need to maintain a robust public sector in the areas like health care, education or infrastructure, Mr. Chidambaram said that inequality has grown since liberalisation.
“Inequality growing”
“Inequality has increased in last 25 years. Perhaps this was inevitable. Early winners are those who had opportunity and those who seized that opportunity. But growing inequality — and as a consequence growing discrimination — does not bode well for the country.” One of the key solution to address growing inequality is to enhance wage, he said.
“Why would a domestic help be paid pittance? Why would a carpenter, plumber or electrician and even a farm labour be paid such low wages are some of the key questions. Raise minimum wage…it would indeed raise prices but inequality is unacceptable in a democratic society.” He opposed the idea of GST split into multiple rates, while answering a question.
“That is not GST, that is simply existing VAT rates. Old wine in a new bottle,” Mr. Chidambaram said.