Whose slogans about socialism or semi-socialism (or communism) has worked at all????
Fidelda's??? --- Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Ram: > > >for a country that has been stagnating for years on > a semi-socialistic setup, > > *** India was NEVER socialistic or even > semi-socialistic. India's > slogans about socialism, at best, was a cover for > protecting those > industries that supported and financed politicians, > from competition, > for decades. The other result was > to discourage and PREVENT entrepreneurship. > > *** Socialist countries improved basic services for > their populations > dramatically: in sound primary education, in basic > healthcare, basic > shelter and > eradication of hunger. > > You look at India's performance on these fronts and > you will know > what a big lie India's commitments to socialism > were. > > c-da > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > At 10:34 PM -0500 9/18/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote: > >Thanks C'da for forwarding that. > > > >This is indeed a sad scenario. IMHO, the shift in > policy decisions > >at the Center, often hurt the poorest of the > country. On the other > >hand, for a country that has been stagnating for > years on a > >semi-socialistic setup, the early 90s seemed to > give her that one > >shot she needed to play in the big leagues. > > > >I think its a difficult thing to balance this > opportunity to become > >an economic power and at the same time improving > the lot of the poor. > > > >At present, I am reading a book "The End of > Poverty" by Prof. > >Jeffrey Sachs (Columbia). Sachs makes convincing > reading as > >he discusses poverty, social and economic problems > facing India's > >middle and lower middle classes, and the economic > benefits > >that others (IT sector for example) seem to be > enjoying. > > > >Nevertheless, this is a very serious problem for > India, and needs to > >find longterm solutions, specially if it wants to > play in the big > >league. It can't be one, if a sizable population is > left behind. > > > >--Ram > > > > > > > >--Ram > > > > > > > >On 9/18/06, Chan Mahanta > ><<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > > >On India's Despairing Farms, a Plague of Suicide > > > > > >By SOMINI SENGUPTA > > > >Published: September 19, 2006 > > > > > > > >BHADUMARI, India - Here in the center of India, on > a gray Wednesday > >morning, a cotton farmer swallowed a bottle of > pesticide and fell > >dead at the threshold of his small mud house. > > > >The farmer, Anil Kondba Shende, 31, left behind a > wife and two small > >sons, debts that his family knew about only vaguely > and a soggy, > >ruined 3.5-acre patch of cotton plants that had > been his only source > >of income. > > > >Whether it was debt, shame or some other privation > that drove Mr. > >Shende to kill himself rests with him alone. But > his death was by no > >means an isolated one, and in it lay an alarming > reminder of the > >crisis facing the Indian farmer. > > > >Across the country in desperate pockets like this > one, 17,107 farmers > >committed suicide in 2003, the most recent year for > which government > >figures are available. Anecdotal reports suggest > that the high rates > >are continuing. > > > >Though the crisis has been building for years, it > presents an > >increasingly thorny political challenge for Prime > Minister Manmohan > >Singh and his relations with the United States. > High suicide rates > >and rural despair helped topple the previous > government two years ago > >and put Mr. Singh in power. > > > >Changes brought on by 15 years of economic reforms > have opened Indian > >farmers to global competition and given them access > to expensive and > >promising biotechnology, but not necessarily opened > the way to higher > >prices, bank loans, irrigation or insurance against > pests and rain. > > > >Mr. Singh's government, which has otherwise emerged > as a strong ally > >of America, has become one of the loudest critics > in the developing > >world of Washington's $18 billion a year in > subsidies to its own > >farmers, which have helped drive down the price of > cotton for farmers > >like Mr. Shende. > > > >At the same time, frustration is building in India > with American > >multinational companies peddling costly, > genetically modified seeds. > >They have made deep inroads in rural India - a vast > and alluring > >market - bringing new opportunities but also new > risks as Indian > >farmers pile up debt. > > > >In this central Indian cotton-growing area, known > as Vidarbha, the > >unofficial death toll from suicides, compiled by a > local advocacy > >group and impossible to verify, was 767 in a > 14-month period that > >ended in late August. > > > >"The suicides are an extreme manifestation of some > deep-seated > >problems which are now plaguing our agriculture," > said M. S. > >Swaminathan, the geneticist who was the scientific > leader of India's > >Green Revolution 40 years ago and is now chairman > of the National > >Commission on Farmers. "They are climatic. They are > economic. They > >are social." > > > >India's economy may be soaring, but agriculture > remains its Achilles' > >heel, the source of livelihood for hundreds of > millions of people but > >a fraction of the nation's total economy and a > symbol of its abiding > >difficulties. > > > >In what some see as an ominous trend, food > production, once India's > >great pride, has failed to keep pace with the > nation's population > >growth in the last decade. > > > === message truncated ===> _______________________________________________ > assam mailing list > assam@assamnet.org > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! 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