COMMENT
Breadcrumb trail navigation:
By Jagdish Bhagwati
Published: November 30 2010 23:23 | Last updated: November 30 2010 23:23
India's economy again exceeded expectations, growing by 8.9 per cent in the second quarter. Those outside India often show exuberance at such high and rising growth, following the nation's economic reforms in the early 1990s. At home, however, you are just as likely to hear condemnation from those worried about the underprivileged this prosperity has bypassed. Such voices present India with a double challenge: they misrepresent the successful way growth has cut India's poverty, but more importantly their critiques stand in the way of a much needed new wave of reforms, which would further benefit India's poorest.
The reform naysayers, among them the socialists in the ruling Congress party, reject the "miracle" that may soon see India overtake China's rate of growth. Instead they argue that gains have accrued to the rich, while inequality has increased. The most articulate critics include India's progressive novelists, chief among them Pankaj Mishra, who recently wrote of the need to defend the downtrodden against "the pitiless exploitations of the new business-minded India".
You have viewed your allowance of free articles. If you wish to view more, click the button below.
Read Full Article »
