Budget 2019: Decolonising British Traditions in Reverse Gear - Atal’s time to Modi’s Bag

Shunning the outdated tradition of leather bag is ok but a reverse gear is the major concern for new age India. The Finance Minister would have received a real praise, if she had arrived with a latest laptop in the house and presented the budget with interactive graphics, charts and data. The wastage of huge amount of high quality paper could also be minimized if the Parliament and the State legislatures switch to e-Budget or Green Budget. This would also give a momentum to the Climate Action.

In yet another case of symbolism, the first Woman Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman shunned the tradition of using a leather bag for carrying the copies of the budget in the Parliament but used red coloured clothes. In doing so the minister claimed to demolish one more British colonial tradition of budget presentation in India.

However, the claim of the minister to make a reverse drive has raised many questions. Was going to the ancient the only way to depart from the colonial traditions? Is Bahi-Khata only identity of India? Could she adopt a better alternative to show the India of the 21st century? Due to deep internet penetration, the 21st Century India has emerged as one of the most promising markets for multi-national companies (MNCs) in online business and social media etc. Today, social media has become the most powerful media. Can we expect our ministers to take some progressive steps in justifying their departure from outdated traditions?  

What Minister Claimed?    

“Ditching the briefcase symbolizes our departure from the slavery of western thought,” said Nirmala Sitharaman. She flashed the ‘Bahi Khata’, a copy of the budget wrapped in a red coloured cloth. Present alongside her were MoS Finance Anurag Thakur, Finance Secretary S C Garg, and Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian, among other officials. Speaking to ANI, CEA Subramanian, when asked about the replacement of the briefcase, said, "Sitharaman believes that leather made products are not auspicious for the big occasion, so she avoided the leather bag and took the 'Bahi khata' wrapped in the red cloth. This is considered to be auspicious,” he added. Earlier, during the customary halwa ceremony, which takes place before the commencement of Budget Session, Sitharaman started a new trend of unfolding the red ribbon rather than following the British tradition of cutting it.

In 1999, the NDA government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee started presenting the budget at 11 am in the morning. The then Minister of Finance Yashwant Sinha has also given the same argument of ‘departure from British tradition’ in support of his initiative. According to Sinha 5 pm in India was equivalent to 11 am in Britain, the time of rising for British Parliament in the UK.

Can’t we have a better Alternative?

It’s laughable that on one hand, the Finance Minister of India is feeling pride in wrapping the budget in red coloured clothes and calling it ‘Bahi Khata’ but on the other hand whole country is getting videos and pictures of this news on mobile phones and laptops.

The million-dollar question is – What is the need for a leather bag or ‘wrapped packet’ to present the Budget in Lok Sabha?

Today, almost all those interested in Budget have mobiles and laptops in their hands. This was evident from real-time posts and discussions on social media as well. The minister would have received real praise if she had arrived with a laptop in the house and presented the budget with interactive graphics, charts and data. An image of Bahi-Khata as a water mark in the powerpoint slides used by her would have been more interesting. The wastage of huge amount of high-quality paper could also be minimized if the Parliament and the State legislatures switch to e-Budget or Green Budget. This would also give a momentum to the Climate Action.   

 (Siddheshwar Shukla is Associate Editor with Devdiscourse. The opinions expressed are the personal views of the author.)