DEVELOPMENT AND DECAY
HARYANA REMAINS SOCIALLY BACKWARD
HARYANA is a classic example of a paradox of economic development and political decay. One of the small states of the Indian Union, both in terms of area and population, Haryana has made remarkable economic development.
It was a backward region of the composite state of Punjab. So much so that the Akali Dal had demanded in its memorandum on Punjabi Suba, submitted to the States Reorganisation Commission,(1953), that the deficit region of Haryana, which was a burden on Punjab should be separated from it and joined with the western UP as it had social and culture affinity with the latter.
But now Haryana is one of the most developed states of the Indian Union. It is next only to Goa in per capita income. It has surpassed Punjab in agriculture, dairy farming and the service sector. The state has also made phenomenal strides in industrial development. It has also been able to acquire a very high position in the field of information technology. The state has also attracted large-scale investment from domestic and foreign corporate houses.
In other words, it can be legitimately proud of its impressive record in the field of economic development. Although, this unparalleled success has been made possible to a great extent owing to its strategic location in the National Capital Region.
Credit must also be given to its dynamic political leadership and efficient bureaucracy who created the needed conditions by developing infrastructure, providing stability and ensuring law and order in the state.
But if the economic side of Haryana is bright, the political side is bleak. Soon after its creation, the state witnessed the activation of the dormant forces of caste on account of the struggle for power between various political actors.
This was followed by the politics of defections and counter-defections after the 1967 elections to the Haryana Assembly. The post-1968 mid-term election period was marked with personalisation and centralisation of power, the rise of authoritarian trends and a decline of the institutions of Public Service Commission, Subordinate Service Selection Board and Legislative Assembly.
Besides, it also witnessed the emergence of an executive-centric political system in which political power got concentrated in the hands of the Chief Minister, members of his family and the Chief Minister's secretariat.
The post-1977 period witnessed the commanding heights of factional acrobatics, political opportunism, magnification of casteism and enhancement of political corruption. It also witnessed mass defections. So much so that the Janata government was overnight converted into a Congress (I) government after the 1980 parliamentary elections.
Later on, after the 1982 Haryana Assembly elections the strength of the Congress (I) was raised to 63 from 36 through defections. The post-1987 era may be described as the period of politics of populism and the emergence of family-based parties. This era also saw the rise of criminalisation and commercialisation of politics.
The first half of the first decade of the 21st century was a witness to the conversion of the state government into a political machine run in a crude manner by the then ruling family of Haryana.
Afterwards too, family rule has persisted in the state in a sophisticated manner but to a limited extent. And, the bureaucracy never had it that good as at present. This leads us to the question: How should one explain the paradox between economic development and political decay.
This has to be, in the first instance, ascribed to the continuation of social backwardness inherited by Haryana owing to historical reasons such as the relative weakness of the national movement, absence of cities, absence of a language and script of its own, absence of the princely states for promoting literature, music and theatre, absence of a press of its own and virtual non- existence of the social reform movement. Social backwardness has persisted after the formation of Haryana in 1966 on account of the failure of the successive political dispensations to give due attention to academic and cultural advancement. In fact, it has been magnified due to social regression and the emergence of a value-free and norm-less society due to the impact of consumer culture. The opportunist character of its educated middle class has also been partially responsible for it.
Secondly, the paradox has to be understood by keeping in view the neglect of the social sector by the ruling class of the state which remained engrossed in economic development of the state, of themselves and their families.
Moreover, the absence of a capital of its own and its operation from the Union Territory of Chandigarh also impeded its social development.
Besides, the rural school education system has been gradually destroyed over the years. Either there are no teachers or most of them do not teach and there is large-scale copying in examinations. Even the urban schools, with a few exemptions, are providing substandard education.
The decline in the standard of higher education has been in proportion to the mushrooming of institutions of higher learning — colleges, universities, institutes of management, technology and teachers' training.
The health system, particularly its rural segment, remains sick despite the vertical and horizontal expansion of primary health centres, community health centres, hospitals and medical colleges in the private and public sectors.
The status of women, in terms of female literacy, sex ratio and incidence of anaemia caused by malnutrition too remains low. Therefore, the ruling elite will have to work for social development if it is genuinely eager to check political decay and keen to put the state on the path of social development.
The dominance of the bureaucracy over the academia and the weakness of civil society are likely to hamper these efforts. Another inhabiting factor is the reluctance of the state government to act against the khap panchayats in a tough manner due to their political usefulness.
Lastly, it is hesitant to really empower the panchayati raj institutions through the necessary devolution of power. And it seems to be content with an increase in the honorarium of the presidents and vice- presidents of the zila parishads, chairpersons of the panchayat samitis.
It has not even issued a gazette notification to implement the truncated document on activity mapping, which it had released with fanfire on February, 2006. And the district planning committees, constituted on December 4 2007, too have not been activated so far.
Let us hope that it will do the needful for realising the vision of the late Rajiv Gandhi to strengthen the panchayati raj institutions so that they are able to play the needed role in social development.
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with regards
Parveen Gulia
M.Tech (Infrastructure Planning)
Cont. No.- 09256015406
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