Vision Swarnim M.P ;Mission Apna Pradesh

The twin pronouncements of Swarnim MP and Apna Pradesh are too abstract and highly abstruse for a common man. It calls for an analysis and begs an elaboration .To my mind ,the vision of Swarnim M. P. refers broadly to the economic uplift of the state. It is a sort of overview of GDP factors measured in the regular indices such as income growth ,inflation, deficit etc; the secondary. indicators being sport & S&T. On the other hand, mission Apna Pradesh is primarily about belonging and has roots in a welfare state. Human Development Indices (HDI) constitute its undercurrent as reflected in - healthcare; education ; financial self - reliance; a pristine environment; preserving local culture and democracy etc.. This has been roughly stated as Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH) in Bhutan ( a parameter devised by the Bhutanese King ).Yet another indicator doing the rounds is Gross Domestic well being (GDW) - as initiated in UK ) - it measures the delivery aspect through major indicators of development -infrastructure development , law and order , investment etc.The point is that the success of the vision and mission should be evaluated not merely by the GDP but also GDW & GDH . My Take is that GDP should be calculated at the pan state level , GDW by taking the erstwhile states as units and GDH by taking the cultural regions as basis. Furthermore, a state government ought to be judged by GDP & GDW getting equal weightage and GDH being a secondary indicator. In the light of the above ,let's try and figure out an all encompassing vision and a long term mission for M.P.- an overview of " Do's" and a outline of " Don'ts"
To begin with the polity-as the state grows , disparities tend to increase ; consequently money and muscle power come to play a greater role. To minimise its impact ,the weaker , marginalized and younger sections of the society have to be brought in to the political process by cleansing Panchayat & University elections from the influence of political parties. Besides , the middle classes have to involved too - by having regional parti(es) , making elections to local bodies more egalitarian and the like. Furhtermore , political outfits across the s p ec trum have to ensure that parochial, communal and casteist politics is shunned by one and all.
Talking of economy, mega industrial projects will only come to the state wherever minerals and land resources exist. In any case, mega plants are mostly location neutral, involve the upper crust and invariably impact the marginalised. These merely help the promoters and a handful of people - at best this’ll generate large revenues and secondary employment. Hence the focus should be on promoting small and medium industries - esp. of the middle economy viz. manufacturing. MP should become the manufacturing centre of India esp. ancillaries / parts. This should continue simultaneously with skill development- it can yield quantum leaps in the middle term. Thus in the short term- protect, promote and develop the small scale industries in labour intensive areas ;promote and protect the medium industries for high capital - modern technology employment generating areas simultaneously with skill development activity.
In the case of primary economy - Agriculture , Handicrafts , small scale industries etc. - they need to be protected , supported and promoted .
MP should try to be the food basket and granary of India ;it could also be the crafts capital of India. Leveraging its vast area and central location the state should become the warehousing hub of India. The idea is to make Madhya Pradesh the soft skills capital of India -Hindi Entertainment , regional Hindi News , Regional Hindi Films/ Shortfilms etc.; Tourism could be another pillar of MP’s soft strength albeit of the niche and specialised variety. Holding international / global events ought to be a secondary concern.
If science & technology grows at a faster pace than economy,infrastructure–it is a sure sign that the state will grow .Madhya Pradesh must focus on cutting edge /innovative technology ;research in pure sciences should be
the long term zoom .
In sport, the state should focus on its traditional strength as a nursery of hockey , women & junior squads should being the focus; M.P. should promote those sports which require individual skills; less emphasis on power sports or those requiring expensive infrastructure .
Now , let's have a look at the GDW areas.
Madhya Pradesh should encourage public-private partnership in Education, esp. for vocational education ; scholarships and loans should be provided on merit /merit-cum-means basis. Para Medical; paralegal; polytechnics ; training for farmhands ,TV artistes / technicians should form the core; classic /liberal arts & pure sciences should only be the secondary issue.
Make MP the hub of integrated / holistic medicine .Since allopathic
doctors are hard to come by for rural areas have more government jobs for practitioners of holistic/ integrated medicine besides rural postings for medicos during internship. Super specialisation can be mostly taken care of by the market forces.
In bureaucracy, All India Service officers should be posted in govt. of India schemes and GDP areas. All India service officers hailing from the state in joint central-state projects and corporations , the GDW aspects ; state civil servants at field positions in GDH areas. Political interference in the posting of junior officials is a sure way of any government aborting its own delivery.
Talking of judiciary ,bring into play the non - formal players such as traditional Panchayats esp. for minor civil cases ; broadbase Gram Nyayalayas ; simplify procedures and involve para legal functionaries .Beyond that there is not much a government can do- it is upon the judiciary to work out state specific measures to deliver a more just
system.
As for the fourth pillar o f democracy, Smaller / regional newspapers should be supported by the government in a developing state like Madhya Pradesh .Public service journalism ought to be promoted too. However , the critical role in this has to be played by the body of journalists in particular those o f the mainstream press ; they ought to scuttle all attempts to co-opt or embed by the state.
Finally a look at some of the GDH factors.
Madhya Pradesh should maintain its position as an ancient centre of Sanskrit literature and sustain its rich traditional in Indian Classical music ; it ought to retain its recently acquired status as a seat of Hindi literature ; moreover ,it needs to graduate from being a major center of folk , tribal and popular culture to becoming its primary address; corporates could be involved , perhaps as CSR ; appreciating the classical arts is desirable but misses the point without connoisseurs.
To invoke the feeling of belonging to MP , a state song with multiple versions in various dialects is a good idea ; some say that absence of a different language come in the way o f strong bonding ; in th at case let the state language of M.P. should be altered from Hindi to
" Chaste Hindi" ( Vishuddha Hindi) ,particularly the unaccented spoken variety; speaking even words with Sanskrit and Urdu roots correctly should become the hallmark of people of M.P ; besides eliciting respect , it'll give an edge in popular media and entertainment. As for integration, it comes with an integrated economy, uniform education system and the rest of it ; moreover , after half a century , it is high time that people stop flaunting their roots in other parts of the country.
In order to retain the pristine environment of the state , extract cost of maintaining forests from more polluting states. Besides , tribals can be trained to become forest guardians / Special Forest officers ; but in no case allow the norms to be roadblocks for the type of industrialisation suited to the state.
Madhya Pradesh should view activists as vital reference points while formulating policies and implementing processes; care though has to be taken not to allow them to hijack the agenda - they should not be permitted to stall progress unless they come up with a viable alternative.

Spiritual leaders have a role to play in M.P.- in negotiating interfaith problems ; in acting as interlocutors in complex social problems; in helping out government in welfare areas and in times of distress .Only those who deal with secular aspects of various faiths should be welcomed. Keep the involvement of religious leaders limited only to religious matters - any broader mandate in variably leads to conflict.
It is thus clear that the government alone can neither make a Swarnim M.P nor invoke a feeling of Apna Pradesh ; society at large has to be involved. While media and the civil society can make citizens aware of their fundamental rights state has to continually make them conscious of their duties as expected in the directive principles. Using the twin aspects of technology & spirituality as catalysts and solvent respectively the state must attempt to actualise the vision and realise the mission; Moreover, the effort needs to be supported by aggressive marketing and effective promotion if any real headway is to be made.
To sum , Madhya Pradesh will have to have a vision as well as mission - the former for growth and the latter for development. It’ll have both a trickle down & grassroots up approach- for vision and mission respectively. Merely having infrastructure growth will not suffice – it’ll have to have matching Human Resource development too. The point is that in Madhya Pradesh neither the Punjab Model nor the Kerala approach will work – the state has to design its own model and evolve its tailormade approach. For instance , i f Indo re is Mini - Bombay in financial-material aspects, Mumbai too should feel like a less evolved cousin of Indore in socio-cultural aspects.
As of now, it appears that MP government merely has some sort of a mission but doesn't have a well delineated vision. However, if some or most of what has been suggested is implemented , Madhya Pradesh has a good chance to be a leader in chosen areas and wooden spooner in none . It has the potential to either be a state bereft of the Bimaru tag or face the prospect of being a perpetual laggard.