Exploring How ‘Bharat Ratna’ Chaudhary Charan Singh Championed More Socialistic Policies Than Indira Gandhi

Even when there aren’t any upcoming elections, politics in India seeps through the clothes that regular Indians wear.Politics will always be a factor in everything when election season rolls around. It makes sense that a political spat has broken out over the Bharatiya Janata Party’s choice to bestow the Bharat Ratna onto former prime ministers Charan Singh, PV Narashima Rao, and Dr. M. S. Swaminathan.This follows the Bharat Ratnas to LK Advani and former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur, which led Nitish Kumar to re-join the NDA. Rao’s family has a large number of BJP members already. And now Jayant Chaudhry, a former member of the I.N.D.I. Alliance and grandson of Charan Singh, is also jumping on the NDA bandwagon.

The author is more intrigued by two things than the politics that have already been the subject of dozens of opinion pieces: first, the stark differences in the economic policies of Charan Singh and Narashima Rao; and second, the fact that Singh was an even more ardent “socialist” than Indira Gandhi, who is largely credited with bringing Jawaharlal Nehru’s “soft socialism” into the modern era of “hard socialism.” This is not a hypothesis, an opinion, or a conjecture. Actual evidence supports this theory. Recall that George Fernandes, another fiery “socialist” leader of the doomed Janata Party government (who subsequently turned out to be a powerful NDA supporter) had “thrown out” IBM & Coke from India. However, that is a different tale.

The Janata Party government faced significant challenges by the beginning of 1979. The appeal of the 1977 anti-Emergency mandate was rapidly wearing off as divisions within the Janata Party’s founding members become more pronounced. Charan Singh was one of the leaders who most threatened the dictatorship headed by Morarji Desai. On January 24, 1979, Morarji Desai appointed Charan Singh as deputy prime minister and gave him the much-desired Finance portfolio in an attempt to rescue the government. Less than two months later, Charan Singh, the Union Finance Minister, unveiled his one and only budget. From the outset of his Budget address, he made plain his economic ideology and methodology. In his Budget speech, Charan Singh stated: “Those who can afford to pay more taxes will need to be more prepared to take on more responsibilities.A more austere lifestyle that is in line with traditional values and the harsh realities of our financial situation should be adopted in order to increase private savings. Crudely, luxury expenditures should be curtailed.

Charan Singh’s Socialist Economic Policies vs. P.V. Narasimha Rao’s Market Reforms

What, then, did Finance Minister Charan Singh consider to be luxury spending, and how did he handle it? Naturally, taxes. Let’s examine the specifics of what Charan Singh stated and performed in his 1979 budget speech: “I have also chosen to increase duties on a few consumer goods, such as detergents, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and soaps.Excise duties on home and laundry soap, toothpaste, detergents, high-end toilet soap, and low-cost toilet soap will increase from 10.5% to 15%, 20% to 15.75%, and 10% to 25%, respectively. I also propose to tax toothbrushes by 25%. Many question why, despite the enormous economic potential, more than 50% of Indians lived in utter and abject poverty until the 1990s. The explanation is straightforward: communist policies that denigrated success, wealth, and enterprise. It’s true that Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru initiated and expedited this foolishness. However, not even the Jan Sangh-led Janata Party government, the first “non-Congress” administration, altered its course. The Charan Singh Budget demonstrates how the new government has strengthened its commitment to the Robin Hood ideal of “punishing the rich to help the poor.” Compare all of this to the economic policies that P. V. Narashima Rao implemented (or was forced to implement) in 1991.

The writer isn’t even trying to diminish Charan Singh’s legacy. He is merely drawing attention to the reality that almost all of the leaders of that time were socialists. Indians in the modern era are always complaining about high income tax rates and Nirmala Sitharaman’s refusal to increase exemption limits. “I propose to raise only the rate of surcharge for Union purposes of income tax in all categories of non-corporate taxpayers from 15% to 20%,” stated Charan Singh in 1979. This proposal will result in an increase in the marginal personal income tax rate from 69% to 72%.

Also Read: Amit Shah Affirms Implementation of CAA Before 2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Final Thought

The storyline surrounding the Bharat Ratna awards and the ensuing political realignments offers a striking background against which P.V. Narasimha Rao and Charan Singh’s economic philosophies are contrasted, reflecting the larger picture of India’s political and economic development. A turning point in the course of Indian economic policy is highlighted by the difference between Rao’s market-oriented reforms in the early 1990s and Singh’s professedly socialist ideas, as seen by his 1979 budget recommendations. Rao’s tenure marked a shift towards liberalisation, globalisation, and privatisation, which laid the groundwork for India’s economic growth in the following decades. Singh’s budget, on the other hand, attempted to reinforce socialist ideals through higher taxes on what were seen as luxury goods and an increased surcharge on personal income tax.

This contrast not only draws attention to the ideological changes that have occurred inside India’s political system, but it also illustrates how the nation’s economic beliefs have changed as it has dealt with issues of poverty, inequality, and the necessity for economic expansion. The political gamesmanship further demonstrates the close relationship between economic ideas and Indian politics when viewed through the prism of party affiliations and Bharat Ratna awards.