I believe OPENING UP will make a difference to the India that is.

Open up. The two words that sum up my vision for India. This essay talks about how it can be achieved at various levels. I present the ‘what needs to be done’ at different levels, followed by the ‘how it can be done’.

At the national level, I believe we need to be more accepting and tolerant of outside influences. Our policy towards the Tibetan cause and our support to the Tibetan Government-in-exile is the best example I can quote. We should follow the same approach in dealing with other countries, be it the war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan, or immediate neighbours like Nepal and Sri Lanka. We also need to be more receptive towards change. The state and the citizens (although I do not regard them as exclusive entities) need to engage with each other on a more regular basis and at multiple platforms. The media today is a potent agent of this dialogue and should continue to be so. The state also needs to engage more with separatist groups. Making the politicians and bureaucracy more accountable is another step in this direction.
At the level of society, we need to question, debate and rethink some inherited traditions. Two examples of this are the laws against prostitution and homosexuality. I advocate a complete abolition of all forms of censorship and cultural policing as the starting point to initiate this process. The recent controversies about text-books bring another aspect to light. We need to have a secular, all encompassing education.

As an economy, we need to open up and encourage competition. Easing import-export restrictions and reducing state intervention in economic matters is my vision for a healthier economy. How can this be done? Do away with the existing remains of the License Permit Quota Raj and abolish the strenuous system of licenses needed for everything from starting a school to owning a rickshaw. We should not resist the advent of MNCs (and everything they stand for). I look forward to a free market where healthy competition ensures better products and services, and an increased level of efficiency and accountability. The state needs to make a phased-out exit from the ownership of services like health and education. State subsidies have not produced the desired results and the funds allocated in the budget for the same are often misused. The alternative to this can be health and education vouchers, where the services are not subsidized, and hence the citizen’s choice is not limited to a few schools and hospitals. The competition among service providers would make these services affordable and efficient.

Lastly and most importantly at the level of our own selves, we need to question and engage ourselves in a constant rethinking of everything we take for granted. This would also bring the onus back on us, and not on the larger structures that we are a part of. It would make us responsible for everything we do, and with responsibility would come a sense of duty towards ourselves and towards India. Clichéd as it may sound, I believe that every individual can make a difference, and my vision can transform India.
 

SWATI CHAWLA