Fifty years from now when historians take stock of the makers of the new India, two individuals from our times will figure prominently on their lists: Prime ministers P V Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. If justice prevails, by then, the nation would have also honoured them with Bharat Ratna.
Today, we celebrate the 91birth anniversary of Narasimha Rao. An accidental prime minister - he was all set to retire from politics and return to his native Andhra Pradesh when the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 placed him at the centre of Indian political scene - his tenure came to define the dividing line between the old India and the new. If Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave the country a vibrant democracy, Rao (and Vajpayee) gave it a modern economy.
Uniformly described as indecisive upon taking office, Rao surprised his detractors by moving ahead decisively to build the new India.
Even as he put together his cabinet, he proceeded to lay down the groundwork for the mega reforms his government would soon launch. In an allbut-forgotten television address on June 22, only a day after he took the oath of office, he placed before the nation broad contours of the new policy framework.
"We are determined to address the problems of the economy in a decisive manner," Rao said in his stoic voice.
"This government is committed to removing the cobwebs that come in the way of rapid industrialisation. We will work towards making India internationally competitive, taking full advantage of...opportunities offered by the evolving global economy...We also welcome foreign direct investment so as to accelerate the tempo of development, upgrade our technologies and to promote our exports. Obstacles that come in the way of allocating foreign investment on a sizable scale will be removed. A time-bound programme will be worked out to streamline our industrial policies and programmes to achieve the goal of a vibrant economy that rewards creativity, enterprise and innovativeness."
Rao was quick to grasp the delicate negotiations with international financial institutions to overcome the balance of payments crisis and the implementation of controversial reforms would require someone trusted abroad as well as at home. That led him to appoint Manmohan Singh, an economist knowledgeable on both the working of international financial institutions and policymaking processes at home, as his finance minister.
Today, we celebrate the 91birth anniversary of Narasimha Rao. An accidental prime minister - he was all set to retire from politics and return to his native Andhra Pradesh when the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 placed him at the centre of Indian political scene - his tenure came to define the dividing line between the old India and the new. If Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave the country a vibrant democracy, Rao (and Vajpayee) gave it a modern economy.
Uniformly described as indecisive upon taking office, Rao surprised his detractors by moving ahead decisively to build the new India.
Even as he put together his cabinet, he proceeded to lay down the groundwork for the mega reforms his government would soon launch. In an allbut-forgotten television address on June 22, only a day after he took the oath of office, he placed before the nation broad contours of the new policy framework.
"We are determined to address the problems of the economy in a decisive manner," Rao said in his stoic voice.
"This government is committed to removing the cobwebs that come in the way of rapid industrialisation. We will work towards making India internationally competitive, taking full advantage of...opportunities offered by the evolving global economy...We also welcome foreign direct investment so as to accelerate the tempo of development, upgrade our technologies and to promote our exports. Obstacles that come in the way of allocating foreign investment on a sizable scale will be removed. A time-bound programme will be worked out to streamline our industrial policies and programmes to achieve the goal of a vibrant economy that rewards creativity, enterprise and innovativeness."
Rao was quick to grasp the delicate negotiations with international financial institutions to overcome the balance of payments crisis and the implementation of controversial reforms would require someone trusted abroad as well as at home. That led him to appoint Manmohan Singh, an economist knowledgeable on both the working of international financial institutions and policymaking processes at home, as his finance minister.
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