I hope Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would stay firm in his decision to appoint Professor Gita Gopinath, a distinguished economist, as the financial adviser to the government of Kerala. Her appointment would augur well for Kerala and its society.
Politicians who take up top positions in the government need not be adept at all issues concerning the people. That cannot stop them from taking important decisions for the people and those decisions would affect thousands in the state. For example, when ISRO seeks approval to send a rocket to space, the government would have to seek the opinion of rocket scientists. Homi Bhabha, considered to be the father of the Indian nuclear program, had taken up the position as director of the nuclear program following an invitation from Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1998, when India tested nuclear armaments in Pokhran, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was one of the top most advisers to the government.
During discussions involving science and technology, we often miss people who otherwise monopolize discussions in TV channels; the reason being that they cannot field questions regarding the subject. Professor Richard Franky of Montclair State University was unnecessarily dragged into a controversy and was branded as a US spy. Our current finance minister, Thomas Issac, who had conducted research along with him, had to skip the dais after scheduling his presentation earlier, in order to avoid a controversy.
Late A.C. Jose had once tried to get John Hopkins University to invest Rs 700 crores in Munnar to start an international study center. The media dubbed it as a covert facility for the CIA and got the project scrapped.
Even the last UDF government was not spared by the media when it tried to appoint Sam Pitroda as a mentor.
Dr Gita Gopinath is India's pride. She is a lady who has followed the footsteps of Dr Amartya Sen to receive a permanent position at the Economics Department of Harvard University. Those who throw brickbats at her now might have to keep their bouquets ready if Dr Gita receives a Nobel prize in economics later.
KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran had wondered what changes would Dr Gita bring to the society. She is not going to bring any changes. Kerala could see better days if her suggestions and advices are accepted, or rejected, based on their merit by the government of Kerala. The Congress leaders who are vexed at the neo-liberal credentials of the economist are perhaps forgetting that Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh followed the same neo-liberal economic principles. Should not Kerala try to find a middle path between neo-liberalism that promotes economic growth and socialism that promises much for the financially oppressed?
Unfortunately, debates and arguments in Kerala are not aimed at studying the pros and cons of an issue. The peculiar social atmosphere in Kerala makes heroes of people who do not do anything or do not allow anything progressive to be done. If our relative is having a serious medical condition, we would welcome advice even from the US. Then why should we block economic advice that is now necessary for the state? Pinarayi Vijayan has just started his duties and we, as a responsible society, need to facilitate good advice for him from any corner of the world. Let him decide what to keep and what to discard.
If these decisions are not good for the state or its people, I would be there in the forefront to react to it.
(The author, a Mason Fellow in Public Policy at the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a visiting lecturer at the London School of Economics, was the financial adviser to Oommen Chandy during the UDF regime.)