Mumbai microcosm

Milind DeoraTags : milinddeora, columnsPosted: Sat Nov 06 2010, 03:22 hrs===========================================

When President Barack Obama disembarks Air Force One at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the iconic American leader will have created another milestone of sorts. Obama will be the sixth US president to visit India, but the first ever to begin an official state visit in Mumbai. 

This is the clearest indication yet that Mumbai is an important international destination in its own right and not just another pit stop in a presidential itinerary. The city that Rajiv Gandhi once called the microcosm of India can be justifiably proud of itself. For Mumbai’s success is essentially an Indian story. It embodies everything our founding fathers wished modern India to be — religiously diverse yet united, outward-looking yet self-sufficient, resilient yet welcoming. All these virtues are woven into a cultural mosaic that transcends our differences and celebrates what we have in common. It is this enduring spirit that triumphs in the face of adversity. The only other geographical space that closely approximates the city’s diversity, to my mind, is the Indian Parliament — a veritable melting pot of representatives from every nook and cranny of our nation. 

What Obama may not notice immediately, however, is a city possibly losing its commercial pre-eminence to the competition. The rate of India’s urbanisation will ensure that smaller towns play catch-up and give established urban centres a run for their money. Their upward trajectory and development is in stark contrast to Mumbai’s steady decline. Poor governance, shoddy planning and a lack of vision are fundamentally responsible for the increasing frustration of Mumbaikars. A creaky, old physical infrastructure in desperate need of repair is the most obvious sign of a city in decline. Job creation, employment and urbanisation cannot thrive without equally ambitious infrastructural development and planning. State-of-the-art transportation infrastructure is critical to moving goods, ideas and workers quickly and efficiently. The real power of infrastructure is that it generates productive, sustainable and inclusive long-term growth, not just short-term jobs. An imbalance, on the other hand, results in bottlenecks, over-congestion and an inability to cope with the basic needs of an ever-increasing population. 

The problem here is that the city’s political elite is largely accountable to constituencies in rural Maharashtra and not Mumbai. It makes little sense to have administrators more attuned to the needs of rural development tackle the very different challenges of urban development and planning. Unfortunately this is precisely what is happening to Mumbai. I have long argued in favour of devolving Mumbai’s governance to directly elected mayors that will be accountable to the citizens of Mumbai. An elected mayor will more likely have the right kind of skills, competence and political focus to implement solutions to solve the city’s myriad problems. We must evolve ambitious and innovative policy strategies if Mumbai is to truly become a world-class city. By the same token, one cannot lay the blame entirely at the doorstep of Maharashtra’s political leadership. Most of India’s major cities have been in an infrastructural downturn for quite some time and in varying degrees. Delhi, which is comparatively better off by virtue of being the national capital, may be the exception here. Still, much more can be done to ensure better governance, greater transparency and accountability across the board. This is also the reason why Mumbai must relentlessly pursue what I like to call its “soft infrastructure” — the human face that is the sum of its parts. This includes revitalising the city’s multicultural character and entrepreneurial spirit by empowering its citizens. It involves guaranteeing basic constitutional rights, especially free speech and freedom of expression that some elements attempt to muzzle with an increasingly pervasive and divisive politics of intolerance. 

A developed soft infrastructure also creates intangibles like optimism and hope — both critical thought processes in the trajectory of an emerging economic power striving to achieve social mobility.A better-informed citizenry fully engaged in public policy is the greatest antidote to public apathy in a participative democracy like ours. Mumbai’s human resources, diversity and intellectual capital are its greatest strengths and we need to find better ways of utilising these assets to bridge the economic divide. There is no good reason why a city that is the highest taxpayer in the country by a long shot cannot achieve these ends. Political leaders can do more to reach out to constituents and involve them in local governance. Civil society today feels shut out of the decision-making process. Having said that, citizens also need to exercise a collective responsibility and play a defining role in their city’s future. It is this collective responsibility along with a visceral belief in liberty and individual freedoms that shape the American political landscape and define its national character. America’s founding fathers laid the foundation for a robust and enduring democracy capable of assimilating waves of immigrants in search of the American dream. To be sure, US policies — both domestic and foreign — have not been devoid of controversy. Poorly conceived foreign policy misadventures have attracted public opprobrium not just around the world, but also importantly, in the American public square. But there are inbuilt corrective mechanisms to ensure mistakes are not repeated. 

Americans are invested in their country’s foreign policy because it impacts their way of life and also accounts for a substantial chunk of their tax dollars. Policies that result in infringements of First Amendment Rights and civil liberties always face staunch resistance from within. It is this system of checks and balances that guarantees their constitutional freedoms.As Mumbai welcomes an important Diwali visitor and showcases its many facets, its inhabitants will be quietly aware that there is much to be proud of but still more to accomplish and set right. They will also know that Obama is the only US president in his country’s history to openly celebrate the Festival of Lights at the White House. His audacity gives the rest of us hope.

The writer is a Congress Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai      express@expressindia.com

=============================================================