Two steps forward, one step back: UPA's first 50 days

So are we witnessing a major shift of direction and personnel after a keenly contested election? Or only a minor reshuffle within the same elite?

The honest answer -- as the UPA completes 50 days in office -- is, a bit of both. The UPA government is undeniably a major gain for secularism. It rid India of a pestilential politics based on elitist contempt for the poor. But the UPA hasn't broken with those policies decisively.

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Caught between pulls from the Centre-Left (to which it belongs), and the Right (which tries to influence it), the UPA has diluted its worthy, forward-looking Common Minimum Programme (which reflects the popular mandate), and made certain questionable personnel appointments.

The CMP's dilution was apparent in President Kalam's Address to Parliament. This contained notable departures: on employment guarantee, food security, disinvestment, and foreign policy.

Some CMP commitments were subordinated to "resource availability" -- as if this were an unchangeable given. The promise of 100 days' work to one able-bodied person in "every rural, urban poor and lower-middle class household" was diluted to cover rural households alone. "Food security" disappeared altogether. The original CMP categorically ruled out privatisation of profitable public enterprises. The Address did so "generally".

Similarly, the CMP's promise of greatly expanding the Public Distribution System was watered down. It would only be "strengthened" in backward areas.

Instead of reiterating "India's decades-old commitment" to a Palestinian "homeland", as the CMP did without mentioning Israel, the Address upheld "legitimate aspirations" of the Palestinians, but stressed "beneficial" relations with Israel.

Dr Manmohan Singh's Address to the Nation was a long-overdue return to the discourse of equity and empowering the poor. It was a powerful appeal for equal opportunity.

However, Dr Singh was subdued on pluralism and secularism. He didn't mention Gujarat -- although his is the first secular Central government after the pogrom. He dropped any reference to Palestine/Israel.

The Planning Commission has inducted excellent people like Professors Abhijit Sen and Bhalchandra Mungekar, and Syeda Hamid. But it's headed by the conservative Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and includes Kirit Parikh, who argued for expanding the gold-plated Enron project after first opposing it!

The new Home Secretary has sterling qualities. But take the National Security Advisory Board. Convenor S.K. Lambah is a highly-regarded diplomat. Mr N.C. Saxena and Hamid Ansari are worthy members. But it includes journalists C. Raja Mohan and Manoj Joshi, known for hawkish pro-NDA views. Raja Mohan is the media's worst pro-US apologist.

The government has named outstanding members like Aruna Roy, Jean Dreze, Mirai Chatterjee, AK Sivakumar and Madhav Chavan to the National Advisory Council on the CMP. But there's also Mr Jairam Ramesh who, ideologically, could have been with the BJP.

Foreign Minister Natwar Singh rightly met 80 different ambassadors in his very first month. Mr Jaswant Singh had time mainly for the US, and refused to receive a single African ambassador in 5 years! Yet, conservatism dominates the Foreign Office.

Our policy on Nepal, now all but collapsing on our borders, remains disastrously pro-monarchy.

So far, "detoxification", promised in key institutions, has been earnestly practised only by the Human Resources Development Ministry.

The Centre removed four Governors on the ground that they are RSS cadres. Two-thirds of our 35 Governors are indeed hardcore BJP/RSS leaders. But that's not an adequate reason for sacking them: the RSS isn't banned. The true rationale is that most are partisan-political and unfit for the job.

Many Governors helped the BJP during the elections. Some shamelessly promoted Hindutva -- through Ramkatha recitals in Raj Bhavans -- or interfered with appointments. Their continuation is incompatible with the Constitution. The UPA should have replaced them with non-partisan people. Regrettably, it didn't.

Dr Singh must correct course by following the Sarkaria guidelines for future appointments. But he must not flinch from surgically excising communal influences from the body-politic.

Among the institutions that demand ruthless cleansing are AIR-Doordarshan, the Sahitya, Sangeet-Natak and Lalit-Kala Akademis, National Museums, Archaeological and Anthropological Surveys. Equally, the state must stop subsidising Swadeshi Jagaran Manch-sponsored Centre for Bharatiya Marketing Development and other sangh fronts.

The UPA must tackle statutory bodies packed with communal or incompetent nominees. The National Commission on Minorities failed to act on the butchery of Muslims in Gujarat, or on textbooks which describe religious minorities as a "problem".

The BJP-packed National Commission on Women whitewashed Gujarat's explicitly sexual violence. It's less concerned with women's rights than glorifying women's status in ancient India.

The Law Commission is full of Hindutva admirers. Its Malimath report wants to abolish the fundamental "innocent-unless-proved-guilty" principle. The report must be scrapped.

The government shouldn't drag its feet on detoxifying AIR-Doordarshan either.

Take foreign policy imbalances. The government recently welcomed the American Jewish Committee which lobbies for Israel's policy of ending the "dream of Palestinian nationhood". It must correct this by opposing Israel's annexation of Palestinian territory. It must not recognise Iraq's farcically "sovereign" regime.

Dr Singh must himself seize the initiative. He has made welcome moves -- through his Address and his first visit to Andhra, where he announced aid for farmers in distress. Ten years ago, he was unmoved at the plight of weavers, also driven to suicide.

Dr Singh can set a brilliant personal example. He is remarkably austere. He once took pride in possessing only one formal suit. He has decided to give away the two obnoxiously expensive BMWs allotted to him, each costing Rs one crore. He will drive an Ambassador, like all Indian PMs did, barring the self-indulgent Mr Vajpayee.

He should auction off all six BMWs ordered by Vajpayee & Co to flaunt their tawdry nouveau riche taste. But that's not enough. Wield the knife, Doctor!

Praful Bidwai is an eminent Indian columnist.