Nine political, economic and social conflicts that will come under the limelight in 2011 and define the way India is governed
In 15th century Europe, the Borgias were one of the prominent ruling families. One of the Borgias, Rodrigo, became the Pope. Another, Cesare, wanted to become the king of Italy, but was thwarted by malarial fever sweeping Rome.
The rule of the Borgias is remembered for horrendous things like murder, theft, bribery and palace intrigue. And yet Italy of that time also experienced the Renaissance. There were enormous advancements in art, science, philosophy, literature and technology. Perhaps that’s why Orson Welles, who directed Citizen Kane, once wrote: “In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace — and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”
India, perhaps not at the centre of a renaissance (not yet!) and surely not like the rule of the Borgias, is still the land of a million mutinies. These feuds look ugly but are essential to the way we are going to live. They will decide what we pay for energy, how we communicate, whether the societally disadvantaged get a job, whether the poor get food to eat and what their children’s future will be. How these fights end will influence our lives in ways that are hard to appreciate today. The year 2011 is going to be a particularly challenging one. The global economy is still in a funk. The Indian reforms agenda seems to have slowed down considerably. The country is deeply divided on some critical technology and policy issues. Among the many battles, we have picked the biggest nine that will reach a decisive moment in 2011 and impact us all.
1 Dial a Quota
Reservation in the Private Sector
by Dinesh Narayanan
In the last week of December, Indian industry got a nasty reminder from the government. In a letter to industry associations, the department of industrial policy and promotion asked why they had not moved ahead on a proposal to appoint ombudsmen for monitoring affirmative action. The government had, a couple of years ago, shocked industry with a plan to introduce job quotas for scheduled castes and tribes in the private sector.
2 The Flare Up
4 Price Fighter
6 Thought for Food
8 Cure for Xenophobia?
(This story appears in the 28 January, 2011 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)