The socialist policies pursued by Mrs Indira Gandhi had a time and place. Such populism was the foundation of her politics and she sincerely believed it to be good for the country. Things have changed today. When Mrs Indira Gandhi was asked why her Cabinet and junior Ministers, State Chief Ministers, lesser apparatchiks and otherwise weighty party men, all approached her crawling on their bellies, metaphorically speaking, she said, “Because I win elections for them”.