Overview of Important Issues in India

India the biggest democracy in the world is going through a lot of changes and turmoil, both from
within and due to forces outside. As a country, it is unparalleled in its diversity cultural,
religious, social, and economical as well as political. The way India has evolved since departure of
colonial British in 1947 is not at all inspiring. Despite the celebration of August 15 as Independence Day
and January 26 as Republic Day for past six decades, it does not appear that India has really shaken off
its colonial past. Contrary to the expectation that Indians would rule themselves with their own thinking
it turned out that Nehru and his colleagues largely followed the demeanor of the White British and failed
to look at larger issues faced by the newly free state.
Today, India is known for just three things: high population, high poverty, and high corruption. India has
the largest number of poor in the world and is set to become the most populous country by around 2028
beating China. Doing business honestly in India is as tough as winning an Olympic medal, may be even
harder!
In confusion people generally ask: Is India a Poor Nation or Emerging Superpower. The answer is
beyond my brain capacity! If I say something it would only confuse you more!! So, please help yourself.
THE LEGACY OF PARTITION
The biggest strength of India has been the respect for democracy which has remained intact since 1947,
except for the brief 2 year period in the mid 1970s when Indira Gandhi took away peoples freedom after
a court verdict went against her. Her dictatorial brain produced the slogan Indira is India, India is
Indira. Leaving aside this 25 month dark period of Indian democracy, Indians have always enjoyed
political freedom. This is in stark contrast with Pakistan which repeatedly fell for military dictatorships
since its creation in 1947. The partition of India was largely a result of personal ambitions of a few
Muslim leaders, fueled by the colonial powers. By all means it was a ill founded decision as far as
Indians were concerned and yet another manifestation of the usual divide-and-rule mindset of the
British. It only promoted religious divide between Hindus and Muslims leading to massive blood bath
and mass migration of both Hindus and Muslims. If Pakistan was created in the name of Islam, the faith
failed to keep the country intact beyond 1971 when a dispute over results of a general election
precipitated a civil war in the East Pakistan. Indian military intervention due to refugee pressure resulted
in defeat and surrender of 93,000 Pakistani troops and birth of a new nation, Bangladesh. It is perhaps
the most shameful military defeat after the WW-2!
In 2010, India had around 176 million Muslims in India similar to Pakistans population forming
about 14% of the Indian population. It is also the second largest Muslim population in the world after
Indonesia. Thanks to the amalgamating influence of 80% Hindus, they enjoy a rare degree of social and
political freedom; especially when compared with Islamic Pakistan which has preference for military
dictatorship, and now radical Islam showing up as various terrorist organizations such as the Taliban and
Al Qaida.

THE UNFINISHED AGENDA OF NATIONAL INTEGRATION

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The reason for this short historical perspective is that it helps to understand the current social and
political structure and problems created them.

Today what remains as Pakistan was West Pakistan until 1971. It has now emerged as a terrorist
breeding center of the world, despite its decade long fight against terror alongside American forces! As
NATO forces are leaving Afghanistan, the out-of-job well-trained and well-armed terrorists are
reorganizing and focusing their attention towards Pakistan society and nuclear weapons; of course, their
next big enemy is, as usual, India. It helps to remind that the idea of promoting religious fundamentalism
originated when the US wanted to use them to oppose the soviet occupation of Afghanistan over two
decades ago. (They only turned bad after the 9/11 terror attack on the US soil!) How long the Pakistan
society will endure the sabotaging impact of their home-cultivated Jehadi groups is a question in the
minds of all concerned people of the region and the world.

THE KASHMIR ISSUE

When the British left after 190 years of plunder of the country, the political scene was that of chaos
there were over 550 small and big Rajas and Nawabs having their own tiny empires inside India. It was
Sardar Patels iron hand that forced them to get absorbed in the democratic India. However, a few
tactical mistakes left Kashmir as a disputed issue between India and Pakistan. After shameful defeat and
division of the country in 1971, Pakistani leadership sees Kashmir dispute as a political issue to create
problems through its Jehad factories. The special status through article 370 appears a major road block
in todays changed political realities. This article has prevented private investment in the valley and
hampered its economic growth as well as integration into the mainstream society. This needs serious
debate and an amicable solution so that all Kashmiris including Kashmiri Pandits begin to enjoy normal
life as rest of the countrymen.
Prime Minister Modis handling of the devastating floods of September 2014 that submerged practically
the whole Valley, offers a superb opportunity to help all suffering people of the J&K. It is time that the
Center takes a proactive role to rebuild their lives and integrate them into national mainstream by
creating better infrastructure to improve their connectivity with rest of the country.
THE NORTH EASTERN STATES
Yet another major unfinished business of national integration relates to the diversities cultural,
linguistic, and traditional which are integral parts of Indian social fabric. In diversity India is more
colorful than any other country or even continent. But it is ironical that a typical north Indian knows very
little about the realities of south and vice-versa, and most Indian know precious little about the north
eastern states, their people, culture and tradition. It is a shame that even in the capital Delhi there are
ignorant people who consider their brothers and sisters from the North east as foreigners. This is
frightening. Economic activities have significantly bridged the north-south gap but the north-east must
be integrated with all the care and dignity. Perhaps the best way to do it is to hold regular cultural
festivals across India so that people of one state know about others.
The ways to go about assimilating them into national mainstream are improving connectivity of the
north eastern region by developing better infrastructure all the way up to Arunachal Pradesh and
organize cultural festivals of the north eastern states in rest of the country at regular intervals.
You may like to explore: Birth and Spirit of the Sixth Schedule
NAXAL VIOLENCE THE BIGGEST INTERNAL SECURITY THREAT
Indian government is solely responsible if the left wing extremists (Naxal movement) are now
recognized as the biggest internal security risk for the country (as described by Dr Manmohan Singh).
Foolishly the tribal regions, usually far and remote, were left ignored and these areas never felt the
presence of protective governance machinery since 1947. Why?
The British left these areas isolated by labeling them excluded from governance (for their own
convenience). The brown English rulers after 1947 never bothered to take care of their fellow
countrymen living is isolated conditions in remote hills and forests, leaving them to the mercy of forest
officials who acted as if they were still employed by the agents of the British East India Company. The
vacuum was filled by left-wing extremists they exploited the isolation and exploitation of the tribals by
state officials and money lenders to strengthen their cadre. Their aim is to destroy the Indian State and
replace it with a communist state following the Maoist ideology. Through all these decades the Indian
government kept pretending that it was mere law-and-order problem.

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Over the years, they carved out a vast territory covering 92,000 sq km area, called Red Corridor by the
media. It has grown dramatically in last two decades along the East coast right from Nepal to Tamil

The Red Corridor and Maoist Violence

Nadu. In the early 1990s the number of districts affected by varying degrees of Maoist violence stood at
just 15 in four states. This rose to 55 districts in nine states by the end of 2003 and to 156 districts in 13
states in 2004.
Maoists are currently believed to be operating in around 200 districts (of a total of 604 districts in the
country) in 17 states. The worst affected states are Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Orissa. The
poverty and backwardness of people in these forest covered areas has provided a fertile ground for the
growth of Naxals/Maoists who have been gaining strength at every neglect of these people on the part of
the governments.
Download the full report on Naxal/Maoist Violence: NAXAL_Report
Why the Tribal and Naxal Issue become Important NOW?
The reason Indian government was forced to pay attention to Naxal Violence is the corporate interest in
the natural resources, mineral mines, and water reservoirs located in these areas for developmental
activities under the economic reforms started in 1991. Over 75 percent natural resources, mineral mines,
water reservoirs are located in the remote areas populated by the poorest of poor Adivasis (tribals).
After neglecting these areas for decades and allowing them to become the den of Naxal violence, the
State and Central governments suddenly became interested in them in the post-reform era.
However, rather than appreciating the eco-friendly lifestyle of the tribals and rewarding them for
preserving the natural wealth, our rulers are throwing them out so that the rich and greedy corporations
can setup industries and grow the GDP of the country.
[No one wants to think about the scenario after say 20 years when all the resources have been consumed
by the corporates and their bottom-lines fattened? Yes, they will sell-off their businesses leaving behind
the trail of ecological mess in the areas which have been kept lush green and preserved by the illiterate
tribals since ages. Isnt it pathetic?]
Deploying security forces ostensibly in the name of fighting Naxals is the usual trick employed by the
governments. The real reason is to secure the resources for the corporate houses and help evicting the
local tribals. But if the government is sincere about tribal welfare, it should strengthen implementation of
the PESA Act of 1996 [Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996]. The Act extends the
Panchayat Raj system to the Fifth Schedule areas and allows the tribal communities grass-root
democracy by activating the Gram Sabhas (village assemblies). The Act empowers the Gram Sabhas to
take authority over local natural resources also.
If the Act is honestly implemented, it will also render the Maoists baseless by allowing the rule of the
law that protects the tribals. Once the tribal people get connected to the Panchayat system, they will have
platforms to raise their issues and develop themselves. Unfortunately, so far the implementation of the
PESA Act has been pathetic because no one (state government, forest officials, or politicians) wants to
allow the poor tribals to rule themselves through their Gram Sabhas. They are more comfortable
nurturing the interests of rich corporate houses.
PSEUDO-SECULARISTS AND VOTE BANK POLITICS

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Pseudo-seculars in the country can be identified by their bias against Hindus and their culture to appease
some minority community. Having roots in the British tactics of divide, fragment and rule, this mindset
was unfortunately nurtured very well by the Brown English rulers of the Congress Party after 1947; and

We strongly disagree with Dr Manmohan Singh with his statement that Left wing naxal violence is the
biggest internal security threat for India. Their ideology is known and can be dealt with politically and
militarily. But more deceptive is the highly influential intelligentsia of the academia and media and their
political clones who either degrade Hindu culture or keep mum when some misguided elements of the
minority communities foment hate against the majority Hindu community. All communal violence in
India can be traced to actions or reactions of their activities.

they get uncomfortable when Hindus want to glorify their worriers against the Mughal and British
occupiers.
As long as the two major vote banks Muslims and dalits and other smaller regional communities
remain isolated from the mainstream society, India will never progress to its full potential. Fortunately,
now Indian Muslims have realized how low level politicians have been exploiting their sentiments just
for political gains. Now they want to be part of the issue based politics and are joining the broader
national mainstream.
Yet, as long as Mulayam, Laloo, Nitish, and Dignvijay brand of politicians are around and thriving the
social fabric in India will remain weak. Paswan has done the right thing by joining hands with the BJP
a serious threat to the politics and well-being of pseudo-secularists; Mayawati has also realized the
limitations of narrow caste-oriented political base by now and is talking of Brahmin-Dalit unity. This is
half way progress; an aspirant of PM post like her should go all the way and stop playing caste politics
and openly embrace all Indians into her fold.
Pseudo-secularist Nitish Kumar turned out to be among the most unreliable, unprincipled and
opportunist politician in India, as exposed by the 2014 Loksabha polls. Lets hope hypocrisy of others of
his ilk would be also exposed in near future and are sent to oblivion for good.
Can anyone tell me why the Sikhs dont demand reservation despite being much smaller minority than
the Muslims? Probably because they believe in being masters of their own fate and have confidence in
their abilities. Whenever I am around Sikhs I am highly inspired by their enterprise and culture.
POVERTY IN INDIA
Poverty is a human development issue
India, the largest democracy of 1.25 billion people, is also the biggest center of poverty in the world it
is both widespread and intense. Today India has officially 269 million (or 22 percent) people under the
poverty line, as against 407 million in 2004-05. This is latest claim of Indias Planning Commission in
July 2013. In 2011, it fixed the poverty line at Rs 32 per day in urban areas and Rs 26 in the rural areas.
It was reduced to rupees 26.80 and rupees 22.40 in March 2012. As a result, only 21.9% people are
officially poor. A brilliant game of counting the poor! And a sick comedy as well. When the poverty
estimate was severely criticized, the government appointed yet another committee, the Rangarajan
committee, to look into the poverty-line philosophy. It sure is a sick joke people of India are quite used
to.
The comprehensive Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) of UK based Oxford Poverty and Human
Development Initiative (OPHI) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) gives a better
insight into the extent and nature of poverty. The MPI puts Indian poverty at about 53% (650 million
poor).
While no one believes the official poverty data of the Indian government, it is fair to say that about 400
600 million people are poor in India. While there can never be agreement on poverty numbers, compare
these numbers with the European Union and US populations of 500 million and 310 million,
respectively. These are huge numbers, by any standard.
India holds the distinction of having the most number of poor of the world a super poor nation!
Consequently, South Asia has become the worlds biggest center of extreme poverty. On the World
Banks extreme poverty line of 1.25 dollars a day, there are roughly 500 million extreme poor in South
Asia most of it in India. The only other comparable pocket of poverty is the sub Saharan Africa, with
400 million people in extreme poverty.

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Poverty is much more than lack of income.

HOW TO COUNT THE POOR

Counting poor on some arbitrary income line is an artificial number game. Poverty must be looked,
beyond income. Research of past few decades has firmly established that poverty cannot be properly
understood in economic terms alone divorced of social, cultural and political perspectives. People are
social beings; processes and activities of the society affect their state of well-being. Studies of the
problems of poor people and their communities have led to an understanding of poverty as a situation of
several simultaneous deprivations, feeding one another. The new perspective sees poverty as a human
condition that reflects failures in many aspects of human life related to nourishment, employment,
shelter, health, education, social and political participation, etc.
Therefore, the right way to view poverty is to see all its manifestations and its multidimensional nature.
This makes the MPI very attractive and useful tool for policy planners. Several nations like Brazil and
Mexico have adopted variations of the MPI technique for estimating poverty. The most interesting case
is that of Bhutan which measures its progress by what it called gross national happiness index which is
calculated by the same Alkire-Foster methodology that goes behind the MPI. Bhutans case will be
commented upon later when we talk about sustainable development.
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?
WHAT IS WRONG WITH GDP?
Money cant measure human well-being
The West and Western thinkers have traditionally seen economic growth as development. Thats the
reason why everyone talks about GDP growth. But the truth is: the GDP is just an economic number
total market value of all goods and services produced during a specified time interval. It cant distinguish
economic activities which are beneficial to people, society and the environment. Highly expensive
celebrity parties and expenditure on charitable work among the poor communities are treated the same
way.
Further, consider these oddities of GDP: Polluting activities increase the GDP because of the expenses
involved in the clean up. Crimes boost the GDP due to expenses on police, security, jails, are legal
procedures. Wars and conflicts increase expenditure on weapons. None of these are healthy expenditure.
Moreover, as people tend to become self-reliant, the GDP goes down. If a community decides to grow
fruits and vegetables together and share or if community members decide to help each other at times of
financial crisis, the GDP decreases.
Ironically, all wasteful or unnecessary or avoidable expenditures boost the GDP. It thus promotes
consumption and consumerism. It doesnt even consider people or focus on them. Yet, when people see
it as the primary indicator of development and peoples well-being, reality gets blurred and the dialog go
in the wrong directions. Today, countries are obsessed with expansion of GDP year-after-year till
eternity! It sound like insanity to me.
So, what is development?
Development
Poverty

is

should
focus
Multidimensional,

on
So

people,
should

not
be

economy.
Development

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The HD perspective put people at the center of development. The idea of human development revolves
around the basic theme: People are the real wealth of a nation.Thus, the prime objective of
development is to create an enabling environment for people to live long, healthy and creative life. This

Since 1990, the annual Human Development Reports (HDR) of the UNDP have been promoting the idea
of human development (HD) which is a people focused comprehensive development model.
Commonsense also demands that people and their well-being should be the focus of development, not
economy.

was stated in the first HDR published in 1990. This is a remarkable paradigm shift in thinking about the
poor; it sees poverty as lack of development.
Incidentally, the foundation of the HD perspective came from Amartya Sens capability theory of
development. Sen argues that the purpose of development is to enrich human lives, not richness of
economy which is only a part of it.
WHY INDIA SHOULD LEARN FROM BHUTAN?
GDP must be replaced.
Bhutan is the only country in the world that does not use GDP as a measure of progress; instead it uses
what it calls the gross national happiness (GNH). Way back in the 1970s its king declared that Gross
National Happiness (GNH) is more important than Gross National Product (GDP). The GNH is
holistic and gives importance to other dimensions of human life such as cultural, spiritual and social as
well as health of the environment. Therefore, the state policies are not made only from the monetary or
economic angle.
While rest of the world is still shying away from taking responsibility of the environment, despite
increasing threats of climatic and ecological disasters, this tiny country of only 750,000 people is
drawing global attention. While experts keep talking of environmental conservation and sustainable
development and people agree with them, but this tiny kingdom is already doing it; it is doing so
mandated by its Constitution!
Indian citizens need to question the wisdom of the trickle down economic model initiated by
Manmohan Singh in the name of globalization, liberalization and economic reforms in 1991. It is ideal if
the country has to be governed by the rich elites and powerful corporations. India needs a development
system that attack poverty and is people and labor-oriented. The HD model is the right medicine for a
poor country with large population base; Bhutan, whose major source of income is export of hydropower
to India, also gives us the ideal recipe. Will the Indian government show courage and stop following the
West?
FAULTY ECONOMIC REFORMS
MODERNIZATION OR MERELY CORPORATIZATION?
New face of Modern India
Since 1991, the Indian government is occupied with economic liberalization, privatization and
globalization, but in the process it has only deepened the divide between the rich (hence powerful) and
the poor. By design, the process is geared towards industrialization and corporatization of India in line
with how the Western nations developed, disregarding the ground realities of the country. Consequently,
there has been 6-8 percent growth in GDP for over a decade and yet no meaningful impact on poverty.

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In the reform era, natural resources, minerals, water and land are all being given to corporate houses at
throw away prices so that they can setup industries and modern facilities that will generate employment
for ordinary Indians and India will develop. This approach, though dictated by the IMF and the WB, is
not suitable for a populous and poor country like India. First, this corporate led economic growth can not
generate enough employment India needs around 1 crore new jobs per year mostly for the unskilled or

For all practical purposes, the new economic policies remain directed to the 25 percent population living
in the urban areas. Rest of the larger India is expected to benefit only from the trickle-down effect.
Americans are particularly proud of this Reagan- Thatcher philosophy which wants to hand over
everything to the rich elites and run the country. This is also driving rural to urban migration into cities
that are already overcrowded. It is height of insanity to think that 125 crore Indian can be herded into
towns where they will slave the corporate houses and drive Altos, eat pizzas and buy grocery from airconditioned Malls like the Americans do.

semi-skilled people. Whats the ground reality: Between 2005 and 2010, Indian economy only created
around 30 lakh jobs!!
Second, promoting urbanization is absurd for a country where cities are already overcrowded. The core
idea behind the current policies is to transfer people from the agriculture sector to industry or service
sector, just as the West has done. Due to their rather smaller populations and mechanized farming
practices they need fewer people in agriculture to produce food grains; the rest survive catering to the
industrial sector, around which their lifestyle revolves.
Why our culture and lifestyle is not respected?
Unfortunately, currently India is ruled by US educated technocrats who know India and its people
through books written by American authors. Text book understanding is fine for lecturing; solving real
life problems is totally another thing. Perhaps their only Indian connections are passports and birth
certificates. Who else but people cut off from reality could say that rupees 26.80 in urban India
and rupees 22.40 in rural India per day decide the poverty line. Else, suicides of thousands of poor
farmers would have stirred some corner of humanity in their hearts.
It is a shame that we are displacing innocent and naive tribals from their ancestral lands (where they also
act as natural custodians of resources) and forcing them to migrate to cities to become manual labors for
the industry. And we are doing it in the name of development.
How about displacing people from New Delhi and Mumbai and forcing them to repair the ecological
mess of mining activities of Vedantas, Tatas, Essars, JPs, and Ruias and clean the pollution of mega
thermal power plants? I think consumers must pay rule should be changed to consumers must
clean!!
WHAT WOULD BE RIGHT ECONOMY FOR INDIA
Ideally India should only focus on simplifying and reducing the government procedures that stifle
business and enterprise. Corruption is another discouraging reality of peoples lives in India which goes
hand in hand with complicated procedures and formalities. An ideal development approach for India
could be:
Discard GDP as a measure of progress: India should adopt a holistic development model, learning
from Bhutan where aspects of life other than economic are equally important. To start with, adopting
Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) might be a good idea. It modifies the GDP calculation to focus on the
useful expenditures that enhance peoples well-being. The online investopedia defines GPI as
A metric used to measure the economic growth of a country. It is often considered as a replacement to
the more well known gross domestic product (GDP) economic indicator. The GPI indicator takes
everything the GDP uses into account, but also adds other figures that represent the cost of the negative
effects related to economic activity (such as the cost of crime, cost of ozone depletion and cost of
resource depletion, among others). The GPI nets the positive and negative results of economic growth to
examine whether or not it has benefited people overall.

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Promote micro and small enterprises: Given the need for livelihood opportunities for the poor,
particularly rural poor it makes sense to focus on promoting small and micro enterprises; only they can
generate employment on the scale India needs. India needs around 1 crore new employment
opportunities every year, given its annual population growth of 1.8 crore. Large and mechanized
industries and imports should not be allowed for goods and services that can be produced in these
smaller units.

The GPI might be convenient for the Western trained brains, but for real sustainable development India
has to opt for Bhutans more comprehensive GNH framework. This is not limited to mere material
development as promoted by the West nut includes psychological, cultural and spiritual well-being also;
therefore, it vibes well with Indian psyche.

The microcredit revolution of Bangladeshs Grameen Bank is an ideal concept for Indian conditions. It is
truly remarkable how Nobel laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank initiative have
revolutionized anti-poverty efforts across the world. Prof. Yunus idea of promoting social businesses
is another wonderful idea Indian government should consider seriously. It will also strengthen the
cooperative movement particularly in the rural areas.
Replace the Shareholder capitalism with Stakeholder capitalism: The business world today follows
the shareholder capitalism which is too narrowly focused to maximize profits only for investors. It
largely excludes the well-being of all other stakeholders: employees, society, customers, and
environment. This has made people mere tools to achieve maximum profits for the tiny minority the
investors of the company. This promotes greed which leads to disruptive competition or cartelization.
The alternative is the stakeholder capitalism which is rather broad-based and has bigger potential to
enhance peoples well-being for the same economic growth.
POPULATION STABILIZATION
Is Population a Monster?
Why population of India does not stop growing is a question everyone wants to ask. It is growing not
because people are having large families, but simply because there are too many people in the
reproductive age group population momentum. The sterilization camps are no more the right place to
tackle the population issue; the family planning battle must be now fought on the social plane. The
correct anti-dotes to population growth due to momentum are: late marriage, delayed pregnancies and
spacing among children. An important factor contributing to population growth is unwanted pregnancies
(accounting for one-fourth births), it requires making a variety of contraceptives easily available to
people, particularly in rural areas.
There are many popular myths around population of India. At the core of it, lies the issue of women
empowerment, which itself is powerful contraceptive.
Indian family planning officials will do themselves as well as the country favor, it they educate
themselves on the issues of population momentum and also pay attention to what the International
Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Cairo, 1994 laid down on the population question.
For an historical perspective, please read
History and Politics of Population Phobia
The British way to control population of India?!: You may also like to know how the British
ignored famines in the colonial India as a weapon (instrument) for population management. During the
shameful British Raj 30 50 million Indians have been estimated to have died in famines in 200 years of
colonial plunder.
The good news is the birthrates are falling all over the world, not only in India. The Malthusian fear of
overpopulation has gone bust already and the global population should stabilize around 2100, in the
range 11 13 billion. Currently, people are debating how to curtail global population from reaching 9
billion by 2050, as has been predicted by some experts.
Child marriages have played a big role in propagating poverty through population growth throughout the
world. In India 47% girls are already married before the legal age of 18 and a significant proportion has
already given births.

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The tiny state, Kerala, is a unique example of the power of people development; the whole world
acknowledges and admires the wonderful culture and society of Kerala. It is also unique in the respect
for women; it has the best female/male ratio in the country 1084 female for every 1000 male as per the
2011 census (highest in the Kunnur District 1136 and the lowest in Idukki district, 1006). Compare it
with the national average of 940 females. The next best is way behind; it is Tamil Nadu, 996

KERALA: POPULATION CONTROL THROUGH PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT

female followed closely by Andhra Pradesh with 993 female per 1000 male. Interestingly, the
economically prosperous Haryana has the lowest sex ratio, 879 females. What stops our foreign trained
scholars of New Delhi to learn from Kerala? In fact, Kerala can teach a lot, both to India and
China about how to look after its people and control the population.
GOVERNANCE REFORMS
Every patriotic Indian is feeling the pain looking at the way politician-corporate-bureaucrat nexus has
taken control over policy making and distributing countrys resources among themselves. Recent 2G and
Coal Scam are the most glaring example how countrys natural wealth can be looted. This loot was done
in the business-as-usual fashion; therefore no one is ashamed of it. This is how the corporate world
operates across nations undermining laws of the land or even by creating laws that suit their business
interests. India is among the worst governed countries in the world whose leaders rely on foreign
dictates more than local sane voices. This slave mentality has not died even 65 years after the colonial
British left India; on the contrary it has only strengthened. All ills of the nation can be traced only to one
thing: Bad Governance.
In fact, lack of accountability at all levels is at the core of bad governance in India and every problem
emerges from it whether Naxal violence, corruption, poverty, or even population. On the Global
Integrity Index that measures governance and anti-corruption of nations, India fairs badly. It also points
to weak governance due to lack of accountability of politicians and bureaucrats.
The most important governance reforms relate to the electoral processes, police and judiciary,
bureaucratic and judicial accountability, and also strengthening grass-root democracy by seriously
implementing the PRI and PESA Acts and making caste-based reservations history.
Political reforms and transparency in political funding is at the root of all corruption and bad
governance. It particularly creates corruption at the top of the State hierarchy. Simultaneously, two
urgent reforms are Police and Judicial Reforms. The police force is still operating in the colonial mindset
and sees itself as a protector of rulers from the citizens! Poor and ordinary citizens are particularly
vulnerable when they have to deal with the police and seek justice. Indian courts are atrociously slow
that makes a mockery of justice. Rich can exploit loopholes in the laws and procedural aspects and can
get by with practically anything.
MNREGA AND FOOD SECURITY
Passed in 2005, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is the Biggest Anti-poverty
Program in the World! In spirit, the developmental projects under the NREGA (now renamed
MGNREGA; MG for Mahatma Gandhi) are supposed to be designed, planned and implemented by the
gram Panchayats. Thus, this unique Act has the potential to revitalize the PRIs, giving impetus to the
grass-root democracy, and also create unskilled jobs in rural India. This scheme has become the darling
of the rural poor who can LEGALLY claim up to 100 days of unskilled work at the prescribed minimum
wages. However, The real Potential of MGNREGA is yet to be Realized. Unfortunately, many states
have failed to appreciate the potentials of this program. If implemented in fairness and in coordination
with broader plans, MGNREGA can become the catalyst for transformation of rural India.

Under nourishment is a serious problem in India

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THE FOOD SECURITY BILL

Poverty cannot be eliminated from the country without looking after the small farmers. Fascinated by
text book prescription of eliminating all subsidies by the Western lenders, the government is bent on
eliminating all forms of subsidies given to the farmers. This is simply disastrous: Western nations
indulge in all manners of protections for their farmers and subsidize basic food items to keep food prices
low and affordable. Their farming sector is not a major livelihood provider unlike in India. Offering ever
increasing minimum support price (MSP) to farmers is an inadequate and inefficient way to help the
farmers or to keep the food prices in control. Indian farmers need Income support, not just MSP.

The ruling coalition at the Center passed the Food Security Bill weeks before the coming parliament
elections in order to gather votes in 2014 general elections. It is simply a matter of Center imposing its
arbitrary rules on the states who are the actual implementers. But for the immature thinking, the Center
should have only encouraged the states to make their own rules based on local realities. It also failed to
appreciate that the country might be heading towards water scarcity. Water shortage scenario might also
develop from another angle. Chinese water resources in its industrialized northern region are fast
becoming polluted and there appear to be plans to divert waters from the Tibetan region. The
mighty Brahmaputra seems to be on target of Chinese plans. If and when the Chinese go ahead with such
projects, both India and Bangladesh have reasons to worry. The north-eastern Indian states as well as
Bangladesh are heavily dependent on the Brahmaputra waters. Melting Himalayan glaciers, due to
global warming, are cause of serious concern for the water security of Himalayan rivers that nourish
northern and north eastern plains.
SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN AND THE RTE ACT, 2009
Lets go to School
The right to education Act was put into force in 2010. It gave legal right of education to all kids in the
age group of 6 14. The vehicle for implementation of the RTE is the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
Since 2010 necessary changes have been made in the rule of the SSA to conform to the RTE
requirements.
It is certainly a massive undertaking to cover children even in the remote habitations. But it must be
acknowledged that a lot of children began to see schools, they would have never dreamed off otherwise.
No doubt, shortage of teachers and quality of education is poor but shall we not celebrate over 96%
average enrollment across the country. If the government keeps its promise and raise expenditure on
education to the tune of 5-6% of GDP, it will have a long term impact on the future generations.
No doubt, critics will keep asking the question: Does Right to Education mean Right to Schooling Only?
However, in stead of cynicism it might be helpful if we also look at the positive side of elementary
education in India.
THE REAL SIGNIFICANCE OF 2014 LOKSABHA POLLS!
It was the Modi-wave that swept India in the 2014 polls. If the BJP emerged as the largest political party
with a clear majority, India is the biggest gainer as it got rid of the most incompetent and corrupt
government since independence. The 10 years of Manhoman (remote controlled by his party boss and
her son) at the helm has left practically every Indian feeling badly helpless and powerless. The biggest
loser is the pseudo-secular brigade that has gained menacingly high power in the Indian polity over the
decades. Created by the British and nurtured by the champions of the Indian National Congress after
1947 very religiously, this deadly virus has come to control the media almost completely by now. All
manners of the vote bank politics can be traced back to it.

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With hardworking, rational and clear-headed Modi firmly at the driving wheel, now is the best time to
catapult India to new heights, given the superb brain power it has in its fold. It is the best time for all
communities to shun their parochial leaders and create a new national main-stream totally free of
appeasement and vote-bank politicians; their companions in the all forms of media also must now be
sent to their right place in oblivion!!

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The others biggest losers are the political power brokers (again coming from the pseudo-secular brigade)
such as Mulayam Singh, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Mayawati, Sharad Pawar and their likes. With just
handful of MPs they had been dictating the coalition governments fates for over 2 decades and the
common man and his interest has almost cease to matter, except of the words of party manifestoes.

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Lets all celebrate and hope for freedom from poverty, illusions and ignorance gathered in six
decades mostly by a parochial rule of party controlled by a single family. The privy of this family
should end now forever so that real democracy now begins to germinate.

8 Reasons Why India is So Poor

The Super Poor India !
India has 269 million (or 22 percent) people under the poverty line, as against 407 million in 2004-05.
This is latest claim of Indias Planning Commission in July 2013. The more comprehensive
Multidimensional Poverty Index 2013 report of UK based Oxford Poverty and Human Development
Initiative (OPHI) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) says there 53.7 percent (or
650 million) people are poor. While there can never be agreement on poverty numbers, compare these
numbers with the European Union and US populations of 500 million and 310 million, respectively.
India holds the distinction of having the most number of poor of the world a super poor nation!
Consequently, South Asia has become the worlds biggest center of extreme poverty. On the World
Banks extreme poverty line of 1.25 dollars a day, there are roughly 500 million and 400 million extreme
poor in South Asia and sub Saharan Africa, respectively. The chart below clearly shows the global
poverty trends since 1981.
Given the multitude of languages, customs, cultures and castes in India, the reasons for poverty are
also numerous and intertwined. Here an attempt is made to highlight 8 important reasons for high
poverty in India. However, one message is very clear: One has to look at poverty, beyond income.
Global Poverty Trend since 1981

South Asia and sub Saharan Africa are Poorest regions in the world.

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Societies cannot progress if certain sections of people are left-out simply because they happen to be from
the wrong class, caste, ethnic group, race or sex. If the virus of color and race based discrimination has
damaged the social set up of many countries in the West, the bacteria of caste division has undermined
the cohesive social fabric of India. Lower caste people have traditionally been excluded from the
mainstream society, governed by the so called upper caste communities. They have historically lived
isolated in the periphery of the villages and townships and subsisted doing only those tasks considered
unfit for the other castes. Their un-touchability can be considered the worst form of rejection by the
mainstream society.

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1. Social Inequality Leading to Exclusion and Marginalization

While considerable change has taken place in peoples attitude since 1947, but the lower caste
communities are still not satisfactorily absorbed in the mainstream society. Rural India (where 70% of
the population lives) is still quite caste conscious compared with the urban society where education
and financial well-being has largely erased the caste divisions. Mahatma Gandhi tried to remove the
social stigma of un-touchability by coining the label "Harijan" (god's people) for them but with only
partial success. The official label for about 170 million unfortunate lower caste people is Scheduled
Caste (SC).
Another segment of society that is still very much detached from the mainstream is the tribal community
forming 8% of the population. These tribal people (called Scheduled Tribe (ST)) have historically lived
in secluded areas such as forests. The Colonial British designated their habitations as "excluded areas"
not as any special privilege but for convenience of the colonial policies. Unfortunately, the free
governments after 1947 never bothered to assimilate them into rest of the mainstream society and the
tribal communities continued to remain isolated and barely governed. As a result, besides the poverty
of the tribal communities, their backward due to lack of governance of their areas also gave rise to armed
Maoist movement. It, ideologically, wants to establish communist state based on Maos principles
through gun battle. Popularly called Naxals, these Maoists now pose the biggest internal security threat
for the country.
Beside the SCs and STs, there are several other communities designated Other Backward Classes or
simply OBC they may or may not be Hindus. Their socioeconomic plight is also similar to SCs and
STs. The list of OBCs is dynamic and every now and then the government edits it (mostly for political
reasons); there is significant confusion about their exact proportion. However, most experts agree OBCs
to be in the range 25 35% of the population.
Why this issue of marginalization is important can be guessed from the statistics: Indian population
consists of roughly 16% SC, 8% ST, and 35% OBC. Hence, combined together they form 60 65
percent India's population! So, the population of the so-called forward or upper class is less than onethird, but who by and large control everything.
The policy of reservation in government jobs for the backward communities has certainly helped them to
rise up to some extent. But it is limited to the small fraction of the backward communities that somehow
managed to do well and gain education.
2. Illiteracy
High level of illiteracy, particularly in the rural areas and among women, has been a crucial factor not
only in perpetuating economic backwardness but also for high population growth. The persistence of
high illiteracy has created a situation where poverty and population are feeding each other. It is well
established that female literacy plays an important role in the well-being of the family in many ways.
When women are educated, they not only contribute economically but also raise healthier kids and keep
the family size small. Early marriage of girls and early child bearing is closely related with their low
literacy; it feeds poverty.
In 2010 only 26.6% women above 25 years found to have received secondary education, as opposed to
50.4% men. In comparison, in China 54.8% women and 70.4% men had secondary education; in the US,
this figure was 94.7% for women and 94.3% for men.

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While the growth rate of population has decreased significantly over the decades and India's population
is currently growing annually at the rate of about 1.5 percent. It is largely driven by population
momentum (large base of people in the fertile age); not because people want large families. Around 18
million people are added to population each year. However, not that many people are lifted out of
poverty every year. Early marriage of girls and lack of awareness about reproductive healthcare,
particularly in the rural areas, are major factors behind current population growth. Population is clearly a
factor contributing to, and sustaining, high levels of poverty. But the Chinese population control through

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3. Population

one-child model would be a bad example to follow for the democratic India. (Dark Side of One Child
Policy of China)

4. Gender Inequality
Gender equality is both a core concern and an essential part of human development. Indian social fabric
is highly patriarchal which has left women significantly exploited and discriminated. If caste based
biases work only outside home in the open society, the discrimination against women operates both in
and out of homes. Not only men always get preference in every walk of life, women have always been
restricted in freedom.
Their weak status, particularly in the rural areas, is at the root of most chronic problems. It is their lack
of awareness or access to family planning tools and early marriage of girls and their early child bearing,
which ultimately have led to high population; lack of awareness of health issues related to pregnancy and
child upbringing has resulted in high mortality rate, under-nutrition and malnutrition among children;
lower education and lack of freedom has resulted in low participation in societal processes. All these
factors are enough to feed and sustain poverty.
The gender inequality is especially tragic not only because it excludes women from participation in
democratic and social processes, but also because it gravely imperils the life prospects of future
generations. The extent of gender discrimination can be measured through the Gender Inequality Index
(GII), which captures the loss in a countrys progress due to gender inequality in three dimensions:
reproductive health, empowerment and labor market participation.
On the GII 2012, India was ranked at 132 position among 148 countries. According to the report, all
countries in South Asia, with the exception of Afghanistan, were better places for women than India
with Sri Lanka (75th) topping them all; Nepal ranked 102nd and Bangladesh 111th. India ranks low partly
because of its skewed sex ratio, with only 914 females every 1000 males.
5. Unequal Distribution of Wealth

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Unfortunately, since departure of the colonial British in 1947 all economic development has taken place
in the cities when the majority of the population lives in the countryside. Thus, the rural India has always
remained neglected. Another peculiarity is the land holding pattern in India: most land has traditionally
been under the control of a few landlords, leaving the vast majority landless. This lopsided land
ownership can be traced back to the "Zamindari" system started by the colonial British. Handful
zamindars became legal owners of vast tracts of land and all others had to work for them to survive. This
rent seeking exploitative system has since kept a vast majority of people in the rural India poor. Land
reforms were debated noisily after independence but implementation lacked honest political will, despite
the famous "Bhoodan Andolan" of Vinoba Bhave. Unfortunately, land reforms are no more an issue of
public debates at present. All talks of poverty removal appear to center only around economic reforms,
imitating the unsuitable Western capitalism.

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India happens to be a rich country inhabited by very poor people. Dr Manmohan Singh

6. Faulty Economic Reforms

The so called economic liberalization and market reforms started in the 1990s are nothing but an attempt
to replicate the Western capitalism that promotes "trickle down" economy. It serves to make the rich
richer and expand the economy. If the poor which form the majority in India gain anything, it more by
default than design.
It is a bad model for a populous country like India which has a large fraction of population that lives
disconnected from the mainstream economy. The vast majority of the poor of the country are from the
socially disadvantaged sections like the SCs/STs and OBCs. Due to their marginalization and seclusion,
practically nothing trickles down to them.
Given the huge population base and poverty, India needs an "employment centric" economy a lot of
micro, small and medium business units. Only they can employ the huge base of unskilled or semiskilled people. Large high-tech industrial units don't generate many jobs and certainly can't employ
unskilled or low skilled people whose numbers run well beyond 350 million. According to the NSSO
survey, the size of India's workforce is around 450 million. Of which only about 30 million work in the
formal or organized sector. The government recognizes only about 70 million as unemployed or
underemployed. Thus, there are 350 million unrecognized by the government as unemployed.
Government surveys list them as "self employed" but they barely survive and live chronically in poverty.
Who are these "self employed" people, more in numbers than the population of United States, and how
do they survive?
They milk the cows, become seasonal farm workers, run small shops or sell on the roadsides, make
incense sticks, match sticks and bidis, drive manual or auto rickshaws, work as domestic help, work as
unaccounted contract workers on daily wages, work as gardeners and watchmen, or work as plumbers,
carpenters or shoe repairers and so on. They have no safety net such as pension or healthcare benefits
enjoyed by the regular employees and hence, are the most vulnerable. They are also the first victim of
natural calamities, now becoming more frequent due to climate mess up. [It is fair to assume that most
casualties due to abrupt climatic events are of the poor. Of course, nothing changes for better after their
death-toll makes headline news.]
Jobless Economic Growth
The Indian economy created fewer than 3 million job between 2005 and 2010 !! Considering
population growth of 18 million every year, around 10 million new jobs are needed per year!!! The
current "follow West" economists of India haven't the slightest idea about what type of economic
reforms India and its poor people really need. Their thinking stops at inviting "foreign direct
investments" and vision fails to go beyond air conditioned corporate houses of the rich and wealthy.
I really wonder why Indian rulers don't look at the neighboring Himalayan kingdom Bhutan which
rejected GDP as measure of progress long ago and follows "gross national happiness" - a sustainable
model of development that considers many things other than economic growth. Even the UN is showing
interest in it.

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Corruption and leakages in government schemes are widespread in India. Late Prime Minister Rajeev
Gandhi had famously admitted that only about 15% money actually reaches the ultimate beneficiaries.
Even if we discard this figure as highly pessimistic and assume that say 30-35% of the welfare funds
actually reach the designated beneficiaries, the rest is siphoned off by people connected to the
implementing government machinery. This is a common way for the people with connections to the
politicians and government bodies to acquire wealth of course at the cost of the poor who generally
have no voice or ability to assert. Another common form of corruption in schemes designed for the poor
is inclusion of non-BPL people with political connections in the list of beneficiaries. The end result is
that the eligible poor are denied the benefits. Poor service delivery of government programs is a norm
rather than exception in India.

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7. Corruption

From "Late Victorian Holocausts"

...When an El Nio drought destituted the farmers of the Deccan plateau in 1876 there was a net surplus
of rice and wheat in India. But the viceroy, Lord Lytton, insisted that nothing should prevent its export to
England. In 1877 and 1878, at the height of the famine, grain merchants exported a record 6.4m
hundredweight of wheat. As the peasants began to starve, officials were ordered "to discourage relief
works in every possible way". The Anti-Charitable Contributions Act of 1877 prohibited "at the pain of
imprisonment private relief donations that potentially interfered with the market fixing of grain prices"...
8. The Colonial Rule
"A significant fact which stands out is that those parts of India which have been longest under British
rule are the poorest today." Jawaharlal Nehru, First Prime Minister of India
The colonial British rule laid the foundation for a long term and chronic poverty in India after they
departed. This is what Nehru is saying in different set of words. The tiny state of Kerala in the southern
India fortunately saw the least damaging influence of the British exploiters (there are many reasons for
that) and is at present a unique model (in the world) of improvement in the quality of life through social
and human development. It is something unthinkable for a Western brain which has been taught to see
economic growth alone as "development."
It was the traditional historic prosperity of India that attracted invaders from various parts of the world in
the last 2000 years. Prior to the British, India had been ruled by the foreigners like the Kushanas, TurkoAfghans and Mughals. All of them gradually got assimilated into the Indian society and culture. They
not only became absorbed in India but also protected and promoted Indian society, culture and economy.
None of them systematically drained Indias wealth or resources to make another country prosperous.
Revenue collected or wealth acquired by them was spent within India. Whether spent on the public or for
personal luxury of the ruling elite, the wealth remained within the country. Thus, India remained
prosperous even in the Mughal era until the East India Company started acquiring "diwani" (right to
collect revenue) around 1760. It was the beginning of the legal "loot." The colonial rule was all about
robbing India to enrich Britain; other unfortunate colonized States were also bled to make Britain
prosperous.
The Battle of Plasssey in June 1757 marked the beginning of British dominance (and also the beginning
of end of the Mughal Empire): when a small force of the East India Company's professional troops,
defeated and killed the ruling Nawab of Bengal, Siraju-ud-daula. The outcome of the battle marked a
significant turning point in the history of Indian subcontinent. It allowed the English East India
Company foothold on the Indian soil, from which to undertake its future expansionist ventures within
and around India. Soon, after the Battle of Buxar it acquired the "diwani" in Bengal and in 1765 its rights
expanded to Bihar and Orissa.

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Moreover, the British policies forcibly disbanded community grain banks and promoted replacement of
food crops for local consumption to cash crops like cotton, opium, tea and grains for export to feed the
animals in England. This change in the cropping pattern left Indian farmers vulnerable to famines. There
are documentary evidence to suggest the colonial rulers chose to ignore the famine affected people. It is
estimated that during the two centuries of colonial rule, famines and the resulting epidemics caused over

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Unlike their predecessors the British, however, consciously remained in India as foreign occupiers until
their departure in 1947. They remained isolated from the Indian society and culture and formed a
separate class of their own within India. The only reason for their presence in India (and in other
occupied regions) was to secure raw materials for British industries and other goods for the comforts of
their citizens. The vast population in India also provided market for goods manufactured back home.
They subordinated Indian economy to the British trade and industry. Their economic policies actively
favored non-Indians or made things difficult for Indian businessmen. As occupiers, they used Indian
wealth to pay for all their expansionist ventures and territory building both inside and outside India.

30 million deaths. The most recent Bengal Famine of 1943-44 led to about 1.5 million deaths from
starvation; 3.5 million if deaths from epidemics are also included.
In his masterpiece "Poverty and un-British Rule in India" Dadabhai Naoroji (popularly labeled as "The
Grand Old Man of India" and "The Father of Indian Nationalism" ) also categorically blamed "the
drain of wealth" for the poverty in India.
A Good Short Account of British Exploitation of India
Conclusion
India needs several types of reforms in order to really crush widespread poverty, not just the economic
liberalization imitating western economies. 1. The economic reforms need to be employment centric,
focused on the unorganized sector which supports over 300 million poor, 2. Electoral and administrative
reforms to root out deep rooted corruption that eats away major chunk of the welfare budget and
promotes dishonesty, 3. Police and judicial reforms so that the poor feel protected; at present they are
easily victimized by the rich and powerful, 4. Social and land reforms to eliminate all forms of caste or
community based discriminations and empower the poor. and 5. Finally, promote women empowerment
through education and healthcare; it will greatly help deal with poverty fed by the population growth.

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Indian and also the global poverty experts need to learn from the tiny southern state, Kerala. It is a great
example of how societies can be transformed purely based on human development and women
empowerment.