States must have fuller autonomy, says Narayanan

Fuller autonomy should be given to the states in India as provided in the Constitution, President K R Narayanan said, pointing out that the new coalition politics in India called for it.

In an interview with the Sharjah-based Gulf Today, Narayanan also said that, as President, he would strive to keep alive the Gandhian and Nehruvian vision of India.

"I think that would be my effort.... and I believe these Gandhian-Nehruvian traditions are vitally important for the survival of our democracy," he said.

The interview was conducted in Delhi on Thursday, a day before his swearing-in as the country's 10th President.

Narayanan said he would be a 'copy-book' President in the sense that he would faithfully follow the Constitution.

"But I think there is room for creativity in our Constitution and the constitutional role of the President. I think there is flexibility in our Constitution" to take care of all contingencies arising from the advent of coalition politics, he said, adding, "That is why it has survived the test of nearly 50 years."

"However, the federal system which was enshrined in the Constitution was not probably functioning hitherto to its full extent, in the sense that the states did not enjoy in practice the degree of autonomy which was visualised in the Constitution," he said.

"Now, with the new coalition politics, what with different parties coming to power in different states, with the autonomous consciousness of the people rising, fuller autonomy has to be allowed to the states. And I think there is enough provision in the Constitution for that," he said.

The President noted that the Constitution had functioned very often as representing the wishes of the states in the sense that any legislation affecting state powers had to be approved by a majority of the states even now.

Saying that there was room for adjustments, Narayanan pointed out that the Constitution had been amended several times, "not fundamentally, but to suit certain unvisualised solutions".

On his role as head of state, Narayanan said the President could articulate the majority's feelings and aspirations.

"Actually, the oath every President takes contains a promise that he would preserve and defend the Constitution. Apart from that, it also says that he would devote his time to the service of the people and the welfare of the people. Therefore, he can articulated the thoughts of the people in various forms such as advice, statements of opinion or by persuading these authorities, as well as giving a lead to the people," Narayanan said.

Narayanan said the President had a role as a "preceptor of the nation" in expressing his opinion at a relevant time in acceptable forms and in a persuasive tone. "Issues like corruption, the decline of values have been going on for some time. We have probably reached a certain peak today," he said.

Narayanan said he had gone through the inaugural addresses of his predecessors and found that they had articulated many of these issues in speeches made after taking the oath of office.

He felt Indian democracy had the inherent capability to tackle the critical situation facing the country today as well as any future problems.

He said India was operating a democracy in circumstances entirely different from those obtaining in any other democracy in the world.

Narayanan said the factors that made India different included its size and population, its complexities and contradictions, the federal element and the economic and social situation in the country.

The President said that was why India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had introduced "various other elements to make democracy vibrant".

"I believe that our democracy is not just an imitative process, though it might appear to be like that. Three or four major stands of thought have gone into it. It is the western tradition... then the socialist tradition which was concurrently obtaining in Europe and India, and finally there is the Gandhian tradition.

"All these have combined to make the essence of our democratic approach. I don't think that such an experience, even at the philosophical level, let alone the practical one, has been witnessed in any other democracy. Therefore it is a democracy based on a philosophy of life, on complicated facts of life. Complicated, but underneath we are all united in a very mysterious way, in a tangible way by our traditional outlook," he said.

Narayanan also spoke about his parents and the sacrifices made by them to educate him as well as his brothers and sisters "in infinitely difficult conditions of life... I think I inherited my diplomatic approach directly from my father", he remarked.

He also spoke about the influences on him of noted political scientist Harold Laski, economist Hayek and philosopher Karl Popper of the London School of Economics, where he studied.

"At the grassroots, I was also influenced by Gandhiji and Nehru and I think my outlook on life and action, philosophy of life was shaped by my interaction with Gandhi, Nehru, Laski and the great conservative thinkers who were my professors... Somehow I think all these influences synthesised in my mind," he added.