[Dec 2007, Volume 4 Quarterly Issue] Pdf File size - The IIPM Think ...

MORE MARKETS, LESS GOVERNMENT
riod came in for significant changes after
the colonial period came to their end. In
the Indian instance, their build up were
influenced by the colonial forces. The
market that was more local in the precolonial
period was not quiet so at the
start of the post-colonial period. There
was the availability of a market economy
enabled to a significant degree by a network
of railway connection. The availability
of a market economy is an important
distinction, for it helps to make a
transition from where an economy is to
where it wants to reach in a manner that
is akin to a transformation of the economy.
In the Indian instance, Jha points
out that the country at the start of its
post-colonial journey was, among other
countries, the one that was ‘best placed
to make a transition quickly because it
was the only country with a fully developed
national market economy.’ 18 And
yet at the end of about six decades of
economic management, the changes in
the economy is seemingly short of that
which can be viewed as one of transformation.
The economic transformation
of India, it is contended, ‘has run into
difficulties because it has gone too slow’,
leading to an outcome that Jha refers to
as ‘the paradox of India’s slow transition’.
19 The presence of markets at this
point in time came along with the presence
of the indigenous commercial class
too. As regards the State and the civil
society, the changes recorded by these
two actors require further exploration.
The explanation lies in the specific historical
experiences that the State and
civil society underwent in the country.
The dimensions of the market are
easier to discern; it is not so with that of
the State and the civil society. The involvement
of the civil society in the colonial
period with the colonial State gave
rise to an important development unique
in its own way and quiet different from
that which the European instances
record. In this case, there was a formation
of a ‘we’ that was distinctly different
from the State. It was the norm that nationalist
movements would recruit their
support of interested parties from
among the intending participants in
their cause. The goal was the removal of
the colonial State. Towards this, the participation
that was sought was from an
increasing number of participants and
even from those who were not quiet covered
by the colonial State. The practitioners
of nationalism, in other words,
were making a case of representing the
indigenous populace in all their domains
of practice, be it economic or be it otherwise.
The change from a colonial State
to a nation State was carried out under
the controlling interest of nationalism.
This led to the formation of a State that
was different from the colonial State.
Characterizing this State, Kaviraj points
out that the ‘secret of the immense power
of the nation-states was not the inheritance
from colonialism but from their
nationalist mobilization.’ 20 The range of
activities that the State could now command
over was large and it now had the
advantage of being a representative
State that could speak for all. Note that
this was distinct from the European instances
where attempts were consistently
made to sustain different domains
for the State, the market and the civil
society. The contributions of theorists
who tried to find solutions to the problem
of one of the actors in an overreach
situation over the other the other two,
and covered in the earlier part of this
essay, were directed to this end. In the
evolving model that had emerged in a
post-colonial State, the overreach by the
State was at the cost of the civil society.
An outcome of the influence of the nation State during
the post colonial period, upon most matters that
the nationalists had embedded their positions on in the
colonial period, was that the State took on contingent
responsibilities in a number of activities
An outcome of the influence of the nation
State during the post colonial period
on most matters that the nationalists
had embedded their positions on in
the colonial period was that the State
took on contingent responsibilities in a
number of activities. This meant a
squeezing of the markets that the commercial
classes in the society would have
endorsed targeting for their growth. A
large spread of influence and an inclusive
control over economic activities can
THE INDIA ECONOMY REVIEW
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