Since the days of Indira Gandhi, Congress has moved from a statist stance to a pro-business one, though by stealth. Pranab Mukherjee is taking it forward
For the first three decades after Independence, the Congress steadfastly followed a Nehruvian socialistic economic policy — arguably with little success. When Indira Gandhi came back to power in 1980, she was convinced that the thinking had to change. Politically, however, it was difficult to move away from its left-of-centre positioning overnight. The economic re-orientation was apparent, as, by the early Eighties, Indira Gandhi had replaced her leftist advisors with more liberal advisors. This was perhaps also the time when businessmen managed to get a foot in the door of policymaking.
Under Rajiv Gandhi, the shift away from socialism to liberalism was decisive. But Gandhi had underestimated the opposition it would have from his own partymen. The Congress’ defeat in the next general elections proved that the Rajiv Gandhi government failed to understand and mitigate the political impact of radical change.
(This story appears in the 04 December, 2009 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)