There are many important milestones associated with P. V. Narasimha Rao. He became the first non Nehru-Gandhi family prime minister to complete a full five year term. More important, no matter what spin sycophants of the Dynasty give, history will recognize him as the man who transformed the Indian economy by partially dismantling the "license-permit" raj. On a more interesting note, he also became the first prime minister who did not really set the nation with fire with expectations on assuming office. That's because he was a "consensus" choice of Congress insiders to thwart over ambitious leaders like Sharad Pawar and Arjun Singh. Rao did not even contest the 1991 Lok Sabha elections and was sort of yanked backed from retirement.
But within weeks of assuming office, he and his finance minister Dr. Manmohan Singh electrified both India and the world with a series of policy decisions taken by them. Industrial licensing, a throwback to the "socialist" days of Jawaharlal Nehru, was virtually dismantled. A large number of restrictions imposed on private sector businesses and entrepreneurs were by and large removed. The Indian economy opened its doors to foreign investors after decades of hemming, hawing and agonizing over how allowing foreign investors in India would bring back Imperialism. Since Rao was never really a mass driven charismatic leader, it is difficult to assess how the average Indian reacted to his economic policies. But there can be no doubt that the mainstream media and the middle class made him an unlikely and reluctant hero. Sure, the Left wing was up in arms against the allegedly "neo-imperialistic" policies of Rao and Dr. Singh. But then, the Left wing is always up in arms against something or the other.
Many political pundits were of the opinion that a calm, wise and sober old leader like Rao was the right man to handle turbulent India in the aftermath of the Mandal-Masjid crisis, the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and growing terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and many north eastern states including Assam. Many still think history will judge him more kindly. But no matter what, the whole edifice of wisdom and sobriety built by Rao came crashing down in December 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished by Hindu right wing zealots. That one single act of medieval madness will forever blot the otherwise fine legacy left behind by Rao. The savage riots that erupted in many corners of India in the aftermath of the demolition was another blot.
By early 1993, the two year itch had Rao in its vice like grip. First came the Mumbai terror attack of March, 1993, the first major incident of planned mass scale urban terror attacks in India where almost all victims were innocent civilians. There was more embarrassment for store in 1993. First came serious allegations of bribery against Rao in the notorious Harshad Mehta scam. It was the maverick lawyer cum politician Ram Jethmalani who made these allegations. Then came another embarrassment in the form of the "fertilizer scam" where it was revealed that family members of Rao allegedly received kickbacks. To cap it all came the no confidence vote against him. It was subsequently revealed that MPs belonging to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha accepted bribes worth crores of Rupees to save the Narasimha Rao government.
By this time, the two year itch had completely taken over. Rao seemingly lost more control when a series of leaders like Arjun Singh, Madhav Rao Scindia and P. Chidambaram revolted one by one and formed their own regional parties. But long before that, the two year itch had already taken its toll on Rao.
Next up, do read how the two year itch gripped the popular and charismatic Atal Bihari Vajpayee
