Congress Back to Power?

Few organizations in the world have as long and illustrated history as the Indian Congress, and today the party of Indira Gandhi has come back to power. The poor are rejoicing because they are promised free food, and free loans and the wealthy and the educated are panicky because of the history of Congress party (a synonym for inefficiency, favoritism, caste-based politics).

Perhaps the reality is somewhere in between. Let us not forget that it was Congress which started the economic reform in India under the leadership of Manmohan Singh and PV Narasimha Rao.

Perhaps India has no future. Some of the candidates who have won the elections, have done so because they represented the common man's caste, educational background, and ethics. The logic is as follows -"India needs to be governed by people who represent its population, and since much of the country is uneducated, an uneducated person best represents nation's interests".

I pray that common-sense will prevail and capable leaders will design policies that result in long-term revival of a poor nation.

Perhaps Congress coming back to power is great thing. New government always means new faces, and new ideas. The party has a chance to undo the damage caused by policies of previous administrations and stengthen the core of India from which it derives much of its support - sectors like Agriculture and Labor. I have always felt that unless we address these fundamentals, no economic reform or IT would bring peace and prosperity to India.