N. A. LISTOPADOV

Doctor of Historical Sciences

Keywords: Russia, India, Indian experience, decentralization, turnover of power, civil society

Russia and India are strategic partners. And not just strategic, but also particularly privileged. Both countries are in favor of building a polycentric world order. For this purpose, a large international association - BRICS, of which both countries are members, is working.

In the context of strained relations with the West, cooperation with India, which does not support Western sanctions, is extremely important for Russia. Our countries are firmly linked by traditional friendship, mutual sympathy for each other, and decades of experience in cooperation in all spheres. In addition, India is interesting for us as an example of a fairly dynamic socio-economic development based on market principles and in the context of the functioning of an established democratic system, albeit with Indian specifics.

India is called the largest democracy in the world, referring to its huge population of one billion and a quarter. It is useful for us to take a closer look at the Indian experience. Of course, it won't help us directly. We are too different peoples. But it will make you think about some things.

IS THERE LIFE OUTSIDE OF DELHI?

First of all, we will focus on the issue of relations between the Center and the regions. Russia, alas, is characterized by over-centralization. The lion's share of all resources - power, financial, intellectual, and cultural-is concentrated in Moscow. The skew is huge.

In India, the situation is different. There are several large, more or less comparable centers that have developed historically. It is clear that the capital Delhi is a political center. It is worth clarifying that the actual capital of India is officially New Delhi, part of greater Delhi.

Mumbai is the financial capital and one of the epicenters of business activity. Bangalore is a world-famous silicon valley. Information and other innovative technologies are booming in Hyderabad. India exports software for an amount comparable to Russia's revenues from gas exports. Port Chennai (formerly Madras) is an automobile manufacturing hub. The aura of Calcutta (now Kolkata), the former capital of British India, where intellectual and artistic forces were concentrated, has now somewhat faded. Nevertheless, it remains a significant port city in eastern India.

Important central institutions are dispersed throughout the country. Mumbai is home to the Nuclear Industry Authority, while Bangalore is home to the aerospace and aircraft industry. India is building nuclear power plants, including with the assistance of Russia - the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, launches satellites and even sent a spacecraft to Mars. Our countries have been cooperating fruitfully in the space sector.

The most prestigious universities and colleges are not necessarily located in the capital or other major metropolitan areas. Popular universities that attract students from all over India can also be found in provincial cities. For example, one of the best private universities-Vellore Institute of Technology is located on the outskirts of the city of Vellore in the South Indian state of Tamilnadu.

In recent years, universities all over India have been growing like mushrooms after a rainstorm: public, private, created by various public organizations. And these are not institutions that provide educational services, but educational centers that carry out an important mission to spread knowledge and modern technologies. And national newspapers are published not only in Delhi. The Times of India is located in Mumbai and the Hindu is located in Chennai. These are the leading English-language newspapers.

Unlike in Russia, living in the capital is not considered particularly prestigious in India. Make a successful career in a wide variety of fields, starting with the film industry and

finishing with information technologies, as well as you can get rich in other places. So, major film studios operate in several states, and the famous Bollywood is located not in the capital, but in Mumbai. By the way, the headquarters of the largest companies are also scattered throughout the country. The richest Indian, Mukesh Ambani, has settled in Mumbai.

Big politics is also being done not only in Delhi. The current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has long been the Chief Minister of Gujarat. However, he is the leader of the national Bharatiya Janata Party. But India has a number of influential regional parties. Often they are the ruling ones in certain states. It happens that their representatives are part of the coalition governments in the center.

In my opinion, the existence of regional parties cannot be attributed to India's political achievements. At some stage, this phenomenon may pose a threat to the unity of the country. And even now, it is not uncommon for the central government to go along with the authorities of individual states to the detriment of national interests. This also applies to foreign policy.

The Dravidian parties* in Tamilnadu are complicating India-Sri Lanka relations by their self-serving actions, and the Trinamool Congress Party government in Calcutta is complicating cooperation with Bangladesh. So the absence of regional parties in Russia is a blessing. Overall, handling in India is a big problem.

In any case, something must be done about over-centralization in Russia. In the current conditions, the regions cannot develop successfully. There is an understanding of this in the Russian leadership. No wonder, for example, the Constitutional Court was relocated to St. Petersburg. Federal universities have been established in the federal districts. Other steps in this direction will probably follow. But decentralization and the transfer of local powers should not create any threat to the integrity of the state.

By the way, in India, states enjoy broad powers, but the powers of the following territorial units and local self-government are quite limited. Such intense rivalry between governors and mayors of regional centers, as was the case in Russia, can hardly be imagined in India.

TURNOVER OF POWER-A BARRIER TO "COLOR" REVOLUTIONS

Another topical issue is the problem of power turnover. In India, it is generally solved. There is a fairly stable mechanism for changing power through general parliamentary elections held every 5 years.

Politics is one of the passions of Indians, along with Bollywood films and cricket inherited from the British. Political battles take on the harshest character, and political clans feud deadly, sometimes in the truest sense of the word. This is especially true at the regional level.

Local leaders from rival camps simply hate each other and don't even communicate. Some of the chief ministers of the states have developed a kind of personality cult. The environment almost deifies them, suggests, for example, to rename the state in honor of the head of the region. And yet, elections are coming, and the power may change. The losing side admits defeat.

It happens that the winners take revenge on the defeated, curtailing the projects started by their predecessors. So, the Chief Minister who came to power in the state of Tamilnadu, Jairam Jayalalitha, refused to work in the luxurious government complex built by her opponent, turning it into a hospital. At first, she even wanted to set up a veterinary clinic there. In general, there are serious costs of "Indian-style democracy". And yet, the mechanism of power change is working, opening the valve for the release of political and social tension.

It seems that a "color" revolution in India is very unlikely, something like the "Arab Spring" is difficult to imagine here. Such stability of the political system is worth a lot. For the sake of this, you can put up with the inevitable costs of democracy.

PILLARS OF INDIAN SOCIETY

The Indian democratic system is based on a number of pillars. First of all, it is necessary to emphasize the organic pluralism of Indian society, which is rigidly structured due to caste. This creates conditions for self-organization of large groups of the population. There is no centralized religion here. India is a country of many religions, confessions and sects. In this respect, it is somewhat similar to

* Dravidian Parties - regional parties of the state of Tamilnadu that adhere to the ideology of Tamil nationalism. The oldest, founded in 1949, is the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Federation of Dravidian Progress), from which a number of other organizations later split off, including the Annadurai All-India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party that currently rules the state. Dravidians are a common name for the related peoples of South India, which include, in addition to Tamils, Telugu, Kannada and Malayali (author's note).

USA. An American saying can be attributed to India: if you want to get rich and become influential, create a religion, a religious cult.

The Indian system of parliamentary multiparty democracy could not exist without an independent judiciary that is generally respected and trusted by the public. Judges are a kind of special caste that follows its own code of conduct and does not mix with politicians.

In our understanding, there is no" telephone law " in this country. High-ranking officials, including ministers, are often arrested on corruption charges. True, Indian justice is notoriously slow. It happens that investigations of offenses, including those committed by foreigners, stretch out for years. Judges have a habit of intervening in a variety of cases. For example, I remember the trial of the legality of moving rare wild lions from one state to another. Opponents of the development of nuclear energy tried to curtail the construction of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant with the help of ships. The case went to the Supreme Court, which rejected the protesters ' claim.

The most important role in the functioning of the Indian state mechanism is played by the bureaucratic apparatus, which is a system that goes back to the colonial era. It operates primarily within the Indian Administrative Service and is independent of the political environment.

Civil servants are not tied to a specific department or region and are rotated periodically according to their qualifications and length of service. Those who wish to enter the service must pass the relevant examinations, which are organized by the All India Public Service Commission. The duties, rights, and privileges of bureaucrats are clearly defined. Any contradictions that arise are resolved through the courts.

If we draw an analogy with the Russian experience, then in some ways the Indian bureaucratic machine can be compared with the party apparatus of the Soviet era. Modern Russia has yet to create a real civil service. Unfortunately, the Indian bureaucracy does not work like clockwork, but is notorious for its slowness and clumsiness. Nevertheless, a well-formed bureaucracy is a kind of framework that supports state unity.

India's economic life is dominated by market laws. At the same time, the state assumes many social functions. First of all, it concerns the support of the most disadvantaged segments of the population, and these are huge masses of people, hundreds of millions. By the way, in India they do not give up planning that is indicative in nature. The country is developing in accordance with five-year plans. The Indian Planning Commission, which is headed by the Prime Minister, is quite an influential body.

And, of course, the Indian civil society is very active. It is very far from reality that we have the idea that the Indians are fatalists, relying in everything on fate, the operation of the laws of karma. No, they are active in defending their rights through parties, trade unions, and public organizations. It is not uncommon for this struggle to turn violent. A serious problem for the country is the Maoist insurgency in a number of states.

From time to time, waves of various protest movements cover India, aimed primarily at their sharp edge against corruption. A few years ago, a noisy anti-corruption campaign was launched, led by civil activist Anna Hazare. Then came the populist "Common Man's Party" led by Arvind Kejriwal.¹ She even managed to bring her government to power in the Delhi metropolitan area.

Yet non-systemic opposition does not pose a serious threat to the existing order. There is a strong consensus in Indian society that all acute problems in the country should and can be solved within the framework of the existing democratic political system. This line also dominates the extensive system of Indian mass media, which are mostly in private hands. India's media, even by strict international standards, can be considered free. They reflect the full range of opinions that exist in society.

* * *

Summing up, we can say that the Indian experience confirms the need for ensuring sustainable development of reasonable decentralization, a mechanism for changing power, an independent judiciary, and an autonomous civil service. It is also necessary to establish an active civil society, free media and maintain a social orientation in the government's activities.

¹ For more information, see: Kashin V. P. "The Party of a simple person" won in Delhi / / Asia and Africa today. 2015, N 9. (Kashin V.P. 2015. "Partiya prostogo cheloveka" pobedila v Deli // Aziya i Afrika segodnya. N 9) (in Russian)

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