This election is about the idea of India: Sam Pitroda

Sam Pitroda, the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) chairman, says development is about ideas at the right time. “Sometimes, people who plant the seeds don’t get to see the fruits,” he says. The technocrat-policy maker who steered India’s big shift to telecommunications and technology in the 1980s, says modern India and its success stories including Bengaluru were visualised by far-sighted leaders from another time.

In a conversation with DH from Chicago, Pitroda spoke on larger themes around the Karnataka election and the 2024 general election, the undermining of India’s institutions, the takeaways from Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, and civility in political debate. Excerpts:

Also Read | Karnataka poll manoeuvre: BJP, Congress in race to increase vote share

How would you set the context for the Karnataka Assembly election?

I would do it by looking back at efforts that have gone into the progress the state has made over four decades; the Bengaluru that we see now, for instance. The city had an ecosystem that enabled growth, with its institutions working in science and space technologies. From being a retirees’ city in the 1960s and 1970s to the thriving metropolis and global talent hub it has become, Bengaluru’s growth also reflects a political will, vision, and of course, the spirit of the city’s entrepreneurs. It is important to understand how all this happened. Those who pick the fruits take credit but people tend to forget the efforts in planting and nurturing the seeds. That is the kind of work the Congress party has done.

It was about creating open, diverse, and decentralised ecosystems. I worry now about attacks on these attributes, I worry when people promote uniformity. They talk about a double-engine government; it is counter-productive. This whole idea of one nation, one idea, is in conflict with India’s diversity.

Are you referring to narratives that discard the history of these achievements?

When I worked with Rajiv Gandhi in the early and mid-1980s, we pushed for telecom, digital communication, and software – areas considered low-priority in India at that time. Imagine, it used to take 10 years to get a telephone connection. Mrs (Indira) Gandhi and Rajiv realised the potential in these sectors. These developments transformed the lives of millions. Of course, we could have done more, especially in health and education. It is important to note here that leaders like Nehru, while building our institutions, also focused on their autonomy.

India’s world-leader aspirations are now backed with a narrative of self-reliance.

Self-reliance is not new. Since Nehru’s time, we have been making steady strides across sectors – the Bhakra-Nangal dam, our space programme, and C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics which Pitroda established along with former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, in 1984) are a few examples. But today, achievements are being marketed, also through manipulation of the media.

The Opposition appears fractured and the political discourse is often reduced to a Narendra Modi vs Rahul Gandhi binary.

It is unfortunate that it has become about personalities, and not about the national priorities and processes. For me, the election in Karnataka and the Lok Sabha election in 2024 are about the idea of India, about the overarching idea of humanity that goes beyond your religion, your language, or the food you eat. There are three issues that I see as key here. The curbing of autonomy in India’s institutions, the attacks on civil society using government agencies, and how we have lost the ability to have rational, respectful debate in politics. The TV discussions show the state of our nation; everyone seems angry, everyone seems ready to get hurt.

How invested are the IOC units in the Karnataka election?

IOC has a presence in 32 countries. There are thousands of members from Karnataka, many of them based in the Middle-East, the US, Australia, and Europe. They are deeply connected to the politics back home. Some of them are even going home on two-week breaks to vote. They feel that they need to participate in this process.

You spoke about civility. Poll-season speeches in Karnataka come with snakes and vishkanyas.

It is the environment (of bitterness) and everyone has to be blamed. With everything that is happening around, it becomes hard to be rational. You need to be more careful about what you say and how you say it.