All about you, Mr. Srinu

One of the main points pressed home in a course on International Institutions was that some institutions continue to exist even once the conditions that required their establishment in the first place have since changed. Instead of closing their doors because their work is done (or because they have failed) they transform themselves. The leader reinvents the institution’s mission and its members continue to find a purpose for it. So, the Cold War is over, but NATO not only lives on but has expanded its membership.

This is a good thing too. Institutions take a long time to build and are a store of considerable wealth, in terms of experience, reputation and staff commitment.

But the end of an institution is not always bad. UNICEF stops undertaking development programs in countries with a GDP per capita over $2895 and with an under-five mortality rate under 30 per 1000 live births. So far as it is concerned, countries that reach this level of economic and social wellbeing need a lot less help from the organization. So, it can be seen as a proud moment for Mauritius when in 2003 UNICEF ended its programming in that country.

But reinvention or closing shop does not come easy. This is what hapless Ramamkanath Gunduru Srinu, leader of the CPI(M) (Communist Party of India (Maoist)), recently experienced on his arrest. Mr. Srinu said that the CPI(M) was going through a “weak phase” and was not receiving the support from villagers that it expected. Unfortunately for Mr. Srinu, the police and the government was actually solving the villagers’ problems. Mr. Srinu was no longer required to spill blood in their name.

The realization was a sad day for Mr. Sruinu, but surely an occasion for (guarded) rejoicing for the poor masses for whom he struggled. Their needs are being met, so why aren’t his?