Prelude
This is the story of India’s Half-lion – a character lost to the crinkly pages of history.
1991 was a chaotic year. The aftermath of the Cold War and the ongoing Gulf War had left the world in turmoil. In India, it had the effect of oil prices soaring and exports dipping. The country was almost bankrupt, crumbling under debt and due on its instalments. Only a fortnight worth of foreign exchange was left.
Few months earlier, in November 1990, Chandra Shekhar had taken oath as the Prime Minister. He had known very well that a loan from IMF could put an end to India’s woes. So, he’d tried and secured a partial loan of $1.8 billion in December, which the IMF said would be available in January. The rest would be sanctioned only if India officially accepted their terms in the finance budget.
But the budget was due one month later, in February – a long time in the world of politics.
When politics trumped economics
Rajiv Gandhi, with whose support Chandra Shekhar had formed the government, was worried that Chandra Shekhar’s popularity would soar if the government presented the finance budget and secured the loan. Hence, in a shocking move, he stalled the budget by getting it postponed to 7th March. On 5th, two days before the budget, he accused the Chandra Shekhar government of espionage. On 6th, Chandra Shekhar resigned (without presenting the budget).
Two months later, the LTTE killed Rajiv.
Enter PV
It was amidst this chaos that PV Narasimha Rao was asked to sit on the Prime Minister’s chair and lead India back from the brink of disaster.
His two immediate concerns were – first, reclaiming faith in India’s ability to manage the crisis, and second, the economic reforms themselves. But PV took an extra step forward – after taking oath as the Prime Minister on 21 June, he proclaimed –
The government is committed to removing the cobwebs that come in the way of rapid industrialization.