granted, indians are good at snatching defeat from the jaws of
victory. but this business of the regional divide is something they
have in spades in china, yet the 'atlanticist' does not dwell on it.
and in any case, regional divide, high gini coefficient (>.45, ie
quite inequitable), china is still the poster boy for growth. so india
with less of a regional divide, and a low gini coefficient (around
.30), should not be in much trouble on this count.
of course, we do have regional geniuses like the 'dravidians' and the
kashmiris and the laloo-types who revel in zero-sum games: they grab a
vastly disproportionate share of investment. for instance, j&k,
despite all the sob-stories, is almost poverty-free at 3% below the
poverty line compared to 25% all-india (j&k's 3% is far better than
the next state which is at 15% or so). no wonder, as the central
government dumps 8x the subsidies and grants per capita in j&k, than
it does anywhere else. (in addition to defense spending).
also recall how dayanidhi maran welcome all electronics/telecom
investment in india, so long as it was in tamil nadu. t r baalu wants
all maritime development only in tamil nadu, etc.
yet, i think the 'atlanticist' is recycling old theories. what
happened to their hoary theory that india was overpopulated, i wonder?
in fact india's population density is less than that of many european
states.
they will never talk about the real reason indians are poor: the loot
of $10 trillion by them brits, and the impoverishment and
pauperization of the entire light-manufacturing sector to keep brit
factories humming.
http://www.viewswire.com/index.asp?layout=VWArticleVW3&article_id=742236659
3 comments:
Rajeev,
That is a bit self-serving after you told us about how the South is doing better
Income disparities are going to be a real problem in the coming days; the genesis of which is collapsed governance in certain regions. Funny you should point us to this - I just read this piece by Bibek Debroy where he differentiates discontent of "income disparity" (which does not exist today) vs. the discontent of "absentee governance" (which does). The problem is that too much of the latter will eventually lead to the former!
ah, ghost writer, you are being uncharitable to me. i did say the south was doing well, or even that it was doing better. but that disparity is not much more than what exists in even prosperous nations. for instance, it is obvious that louisiana is a lot poorer than california. but the differences are not big enough to trigger huge social unrest and migration, today.
but the differences during the dust bowl era were big enough to encourage massive economic migration: remember steinbeck's 'grapes of wrath', 'in dubious battle', etc.
it is true that there is suddenly an influx of north indians to bangalore and hyderabad, but this is just the reverse of the earlier influx of southerners to delhi, mumbai and calcutta (well, *real* southerners think that's all north india :-)
and there's the migration of poor laborers from various more affluent areas, such as the punjab, goa, kerala.
this is all true, but i claim it's not a big enough differential to cause damage.
i have also written before how i expect bihar to rise up like a phoenix and recapture its lost glories of the time before the sack of nalanda.
Rajeev,
You have pointed out the difference - and now I see. Nothing like being set on the right path.
As folks in India can literally 'vote with their feet' for better governance i.e. migrate to better governed areas; the chances of acute unrest are lessened. Unlike in - well China - let's say; where you need a permit to go to the city. Even for a naughty night out!
That may lead to minor mutinies (such as the anti-southern Shiv Sena) - but as the Indian experience shows even they get absorbed in the end.
I also take your point about 'Grapes of wrath' - though how come nobody talks of the other great flight out of rural America http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_great_migration It happened due to some of the same factors that made the Joads leave; in addition of course to the blatant racism.
It contributed the great art form of the Blues and Jazz - but you don't see movies about it.. no????
Post a Comment