--- Dilip/Dil Deka <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Dear Xourov, > Why did you pick only a part of my email? The > essence of what you wrote below was in the second > part of my email. Did you read that part differently > than I intended to convey? Dilip-da, If what I said agrees with what you said in the second paragraph, why are you piqued? Yes, I did read that part differently. "More people must move on to the middle class" is as innane a statement as one could come across. I suspect you said it because you are trying to apply the US model, which is a land predominantly of the middle class (which Katrina showed, is not actually true. There is a large but hidden lower class). The middle class in India is in fact growing at a tremendous rate now. But the rate at which it needs to grow to become dominant is just mindboggling. It is simply not possible. Moreoever, to sustain the middle classes in India also requires a lot of effort. Plus, there is a caste component to the middle class itself. This was on display in the recent anti-reservation agitation in India. The government made the present middle class possible by subsidizing education. At present, the government is now moving away from such subsidies. The easy access to education that you (or even I had) in India is now a thing of the past. Nevertheless, it was not my intention to focus on an unrealistic solution. My interest was to focus on the Assam situation instead---what the positives in the Indian economy mean for Assam. xourov > I'd like you to know that I and many others like > me do not believe that all is well in India. Some > people are trying hard in India and they are seeing > fruits of their labor. So why try to pull them down? > I agree the Haves in India must constantly work to > lift the living standard of the Have-nots if they > want to maintain the pace of their achievement and > live in India. Like I said if the likes of P Mishra > are providing that vigil only, I have no complaint. > Dilipda > xourov pathok <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > + Pankaj Mishra's observations are not wrong but > he > is > + emphasizing the negatives while playing down the > + positives. > > Pankaj Mishra does not emphasize the negatives, but > restores parity in the discussion. The negatives are > never mentioned, which is what he is doing. > > + By playing with words no one can deny the fact > that > + Indian economy has improved. It is also a fact > that > + the wealth made in India is not well distributed. > + Yes there is stark poverty in India but it is not > + as bad as it was in the fifties and sixties. > > Though absolute poverty seems to have decreased, > that > alone does not speak of the problems today. By > emphasizing only on the positives, one runs the risk > of forgetting the other side and the associated > risks > involved. For example, farmers are commiting > suicides, mostly due to debt and a lack of a viable > agricultural policy. Manmohan Singh recently visited > the areas and listened to the farmers. There seems > to > be an increasing problem of infant malnutrition and > moratality in Maharastra in the tribal areas. > Poverty > data alone will not be able to catch these problems. > > In many other areas, as the government moves away > from > direct economic policies, the ultra-leftists have > grown. The government now views this solely as a > security issue, and local governments like the one > is > Jharkhand now wants to buy helicopter gunships to > kill > the naxalites! Besides forming village militia. From > the experience in the northeast I hope you realise > what this means-- a veritable civil war! > > The problems of regional disparity is all the more > fearsome, and should be the focus of attention on > Assamnet. If you looked at the per capita income > over > the years, you will see that whereas the average > India > index saw a rapid rise in the 1980s, the Assam index > has not kept pace. Both have risen, of course, but > the widening gap is a concern, especially since > Assam's was higher than the India average soon after > Independence. > (http://www.undp.org.in/hdrc/shdr/assam/Chp2.pdf > page > 25). > > From the point of view of Assam, it is useless to > focus on the positives in the Indian economy because > de-regulation has not resulted in much benefit for > the > state. Assam is very unlikely to benefit from a > growing software industry, which is already on > display. The economy is still a captive of > government > policies today. The implosion of the tea industry > would result in a very big problem, which will > easily > take on ethnic colors. If the sea level increases > due > to environmental reasons and inundates the coastal > regions of Bangladesh, you can imagine how it would > impact the politics and the demographics in Assam. > Assam still does not have viable indigenous > industries > that can provide employment for the locals, which > will > require investment in infrastructure. As India > develops as a service economy, what happens to the > northeast? Let alone Assam having access to markets > for indigenous products, it is itself a captive > market > for mainstream Indian products. > > xourov > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam > protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! 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