The reform wagon is racing ahead, and no threatening political roadblocks are in sight. The strategic sale of two major public-sector companies, VSNL and IBP, was a daring as well as redeeming moment in the disinvestment process. For once it went off smoothly and with systemic rigour, leaving little scope for allegations of corruption and cronyism. Then there was a voluntary retirement scheme for government employees, that too with an accept-it-or-get-sacked clause. And more: a new pharmaceutical policy and a radical reform package in the agriculture sector. Taken together, it is a defining chapter in the liberalisation of the Indian economy. More competition in the telecom and petroleum sectors, free movement of foodgrains and edible oils, and some initiative in downsizing in government services-last Tuesday's announcements only confirm that economic reforms have acquired an irreversible momentum, that political partisanship cannot contain it beyond a point. The laws of the market-or maybe their absence-have made archaic ideologies redundant. The rusty socialist mindset that dominated the bazaar for so long is not all that functional any more. This Government is displaying the right instincts.

So, why are these right instincts not reflected in the image of the Government? It is all about the so-called vision thing and the expression of it. As far as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime is concerned, it all looks so routine, as if it is too tired to celebrate the extraordinary moments in its life, as if it is the duty of the government and nothing more. Smart politics demands something else. It is about doing things and packaging them and selling them to the people and the world. To a great extent, Manmohan Singh did it and P. Chidambaram did it-although not adequately and without political backing. Now Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha has retreated into a shell and the prime minister is too preoccupied with geopolitics to read out the reform script to the domestic or the international constituency. That is why this bout of bold reforms doesn't have a distinctive political face, even when the Government possesses a distinctive political identity. A pity, because this Government understands the dynamics of the market but lacks the gumption to market itself effectively.