Context: This article is based on an Editorial “P.V. Narasimha Rao, the subversive insider” which was published in the Hindu. PV Narasimha Rao is a very different perspective personality of the Indian Political System. In India, celebrating his achievements has no rewards, denouncing him has no punishment and ignoring him has no penalty. 

• The Telangana government has begun celebrating his birth centenary on a grand scale with an expectation that its efforts would reclaim Rao’s rightful place in the popular consciousness of the new India that he helped shape.

PV Narasimha Rao: Top Positions Holding by Him

• PV Narasimha Rao was, arguably, the first accidental Prime Minister of India.
  • Very few, if any, foresaw Rao to be Prime Minister in 1991.
• He was also an accidental Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
  • No one had expected him to become the Chief Minister of his State about two decades before that.
• Achievement: Once in office, on both occasions, Rao brought in reforms that fundamentally changed the destiny of Andhra Pradesh and India.

PV Narasimha Rao: A Subversive Insider

• His Mute Rebel: He was essentially a mute rebel, intensely uncomfortable with the socio-economic ethos around him.
• An Intellectual Challenger: The rebel in him was not in enough measure to make him an outsider, but was sufficient to mount an intellectual challenge from the inside.
  • A combination of his discomfort with the status quo and his unwillingness to work hard against this discomfort result in a subversive insider.
    • More than anything else, subversion defines his long, successful but unspectacular political career. 

PV Narasimha Rao: Significant Roles played by Him

• Economic Reforms: Saved our economy from the shame of defaulting and economic reforms benefited our people.
• Handling of Crisis: Smartly handled the Punjab Crisis and Kashmir crises.
• Pioneer of Look-East Policy: This Policy is an answer to China’s String of Pearls.
• Stability Provider: He provided stability in most critical times like the Mandal issue, Bombay blast issue, etc.

PV Narasimha Rao: Achievements

• Economic Front: His liberalization-privatization-globalization programme spread economic and social forces that changed India beyond recognition from what it was until then. 
  • His introduced economic paradigm remains unchallenged even today. 
  • Later, no successive Central governments could overturn the fundamentals of his 1991 economic project. 
• Political Front: He was the believer and supporter of democratic values. 
  • Example: He declared that opposition leaders too were elected to Parliament by the same political process as he and others in the ruling party were.
  • Away from Patron-Client Politics: He did not cultivate a regional, caste, or ideological constituency. Nor did he cultivate a personal following. 

Conclusion

PV Narasimha Rao, the subversive insider, left an indelible mark on India’s political landscape, challenging the status quo with his quiet rebellion, pioneering economic reforms, and contributing significantly to the nation’s stability and global positioning.

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