New Delhi: “Veni; vidi; vici” comes closest to describing the full life led by economist and author Bibek Debroy. He passed away at 69, today, but Debroy’s teachings and mentorship will live on in our memory for ages. There is not one aspect of life that the genius had not touched upon and influenced in a manner that will satiate our quest for knowing. From the brouhaha surrounding the economic slowdown to his strong defence of decentralisation, from translating the epics (Mahabharata to begin with) which he called an “epic about the conflicts of Dharma” to his personal notion of the GST… Debroy’s persona was truly “towering” (Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tweet has given him the accolade) to say the least.
As would have been advised by Debroy, no debate around Indian economy can start without one describing the true essence of what they qualify as the modern Indian state. Debroy, for one, deeply believed that it is the combination of liberal democracy, civic nationalism, and socialist economics that builds a strong foundation for a nation state. In India’s perspective too, he said, these were the core fundamentals. As the chairman to the Economic Advisory Council of the Prime Minister of India, Debroy spent most of his tenure in securing this ground work for India.
Did he succeed? In the words of prime minister Narendra Modi, “Through his works, he left an indelible mark on India’s intellectual landscape.” Taking to the social media platform, Modi also expressed his awe at how Debroy was “well-versed in diverse domains like economics, history, culture, politics, spirituality and more.”
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Debroy’s Theory of EVERYTHING
He was once faced with a challenging question on what comprises a “solid” economic model that could be replicated anywhere in the world and it will yield the same (beneficial) results. Slightly baffled by the question, Debroy answered that this was a mere rhetoric and hence the confusion in his mind. He went on to explain why seeking to replicate one successful model to an entire country was an oxymoron. Debroy started with his classic irreverence, saying, “the government cannot, and need not, provide everything. Even if the government needs to finance and cross-subsidise, it need not deliver a service.”
By way of an example of what should be the state’s responsibility and what must the Centre oversee, Debroy’s theory was a simple one – “There are physical and staff constraints in sub-centres, primary health centres and community health centres. But there is no shortage of private doctors. Why not introduce Chiranjeevi Yojana, in PPP mode? Let the government bear child-delivery costs, regardless of whether expectant mothers go to government centres or empanelled private doctors.”
His liberal ideas on the use of the internet and web services also went a long way in inspiring the youth to take up modern ideas and utilise them to our benefit. Whether one can use information technology (IT) and reduce human interface to curb certain types of corruption, Debroy’s response was in the affirmative. “It can be done. Contractual teachers have been appointed without interviews (interviews were subject to abuse). Automated toll booths have been used at state borders. Other than e-procurement, there has been self-certification for boiler inspections,” were some of the examples from the Gujarat state model that highlighted what Debroy’s theory on IT was.
He firmly believed that the role of the IT could be stretched far and beyond, even used to devise a grievance redressal system for citizens (the SWAGAT or State Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology) scheme. According to Debroy, “IT had to be spliced with the e-governance network known as GSWAN (Gujarat State Wide Area Network) and connectivity of 18,000 villages (in the Gujarat context).”
One of the biggest takeaways from Bibek Debroy’s guidance on economy and stability, apart from his belief in decentralisation, was his progressive take on how the government should go down to the people, instead of people coming to the government. It is this ideology that helped set up the ‘Garib Kalyan Melas,’ where the government eliminates middle-men in distributing welfare measures to the poor, and Krishi Mahotsavs to educate farmers about soil testing and drip irrigation are notable instances.
If you take some of his teachings as principles, there is a clear path for how a nation state can achieve economic stability that is strongly grounded on scientific research and is result oriented. It is an aggressive approach but the model is said to work at many levels. In a nutshell, Debroy’s theory of simple governance was this:
- Dependence on private initiative and private sector (several examples from skill development) is a good thing and must be encouraged
- Decentralisation is key to stability
- Transparency and accountability in governance is an absolute must if we want our people to have faith on us
- Price signals need to be used in a proper manner – one each for the rich, middle income and poor categories
- Use of technology is also a must
- Dependence on markets and charging the poor a price that they can afford will go a long way in setting a strong economic system in the country
When a government (both at the Centre as well as the state) plugs these aspects of governance, Debroy believes human development outcomes also improve. This is why his contributions are regarded as holistically pragmatic and not something that cannot be achieved. The other “way of life” that Debroy was so fond of was when he took to the scriptures and decoded the fine lines for the youth who may have had a disconnect with retroactive literary collections.
His tryst with epics
Why the Mahabharata? Debroy was queried at a literary festival held in New Delhi on a balmy Sunday afternoon in 2020. Pat came his reply – “do you expect a simple answer, because I don’t have any…”
Poke him harder and he said, what intrigued him towards Mahabharata is that it was an epic about conflicts of dharma, and that it features every human emotion. He also said that the epic continues to hold sway over our imagination because there are no absolute answers in the story. In his own words, Debroy said he wanted to be as authentic and as close to the sentiment as was portrayed by Vyas himself.
It is not easy to translate the BORI CE version of the Mahabharata but Debroy said it was a challenge he was willing to take at the time. There were many other scholars who were in the business of unabridged writings but Debroy wanted to get as close to the teachings of Mahabharata as possible.
“The one thing that really got me about this script is the human dilemmas that are presented. It’s something that can be extended to the times we are living in today. In that sense, the epic had some of the most sanest advice that I had ever heard. Be it about Dharma, or daily governance – if you analyse it, you will see how one can successfully implement them today as well. Isn’t that beautiful?,” he had said in an interview.
True, Debroy’s simplistic way of putting across matters of economy, governance, literature, and culture is a treasure trove to be cherished. But more important is to remember him as a scholar with a deep sense of what is right and what is not. Not known to mince his words, Debroy has been critical of matters when it wouldn’t suit the economy of the country or wouldn’t lend it the much needed stability.
A Raymond Man, in every sense of the term…Debroy will be dearly missed.
