Economic Policy Of Bhārata
The 42nd amendment of the Bhāratīya constitution1 says that Bhārata is a socialist nation. The amendment itself is morally questionable since it was made during the national emergency of 1976 when democracy was suspended, and many journalists and opposing politicians were in jail. A constitution that was formed in due democratic process and written after extensive discussions over weeks cannot be tampered with an overnight dictatorial decision. Therefore, this amendment is an insult to the integrity of the constitution — oh wait, they also added the word 'integrity'.
Whether Bhārata is a socialist state or otherwise is not Indira Gandhi's call. Nor must it be dictated by the constitution. I find Dr. Ambedkar's argument that the economic policy of Bhārata must be left to the people, to be extremely agreeable. A democracy can be a capitalist, socialist, mixture of both or a completely new type of state, as her citizens and leaders choose based on the economic success of each economic ideology and the times they are in. This is even more important given the case the almost all socialist nations across the world fails within decades.
Each economic ideology has its pros and cons depending on the context. Adopting one exclusively will accelerate the bad effects much like it accelerates the good effects too. Therefore, a mixed economy with a fair ownership policy and equal opportunity is the way to go. It brings together the best of socialism and capitalism, each neutralising the bad effects of the others.
A fair ownership policy means that ownership of resources by a party must be justifiable. For instance, natural resources are a result of natural process over several millennia. Private entities owning such resources is unfair. They must instead be owned by the people, collectively. Its extraction and distribution however, can be operated by both public and private sectors on terms of equal opportunity.
Equal opportunity means what it says: an environment where public and private parties have an equal shot at a business, even in businesses associated with species level necessities like food, education and healthcare. Norms such as reserving the operation of certain businesses (such as lotteries) only for the government, or putting more lenient rules and processes for pubic sector corporations (such as state transport buses not requiring permits to ply but private buses are required of the same) are business environments where participants don't have equal opportunity. In such environments, the consumers loose out the most.