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| India
2004: Election and the Economy |
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ouster of the BJP government in India is seen as a verdict
by the people against pro-market neo-liberal policies.
Here we present a set of articles which critically reviews
the government's ''India shining'' propaganda campaign
and trace the reasons behind the results of this election. |
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India:
A Setback for Neo-Liberalism |
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June 9, 2004. Prabhat Patnaik
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The
current developments in India mark the beginning of
a process of the polarization of society into two camps,
a pro-imperialist camp supported by the Fund, the Bank,
globalized finance and the MNCs, and an anti-imperialist
camp led by the Left but encompassing diverse elements.
The degree to which consolidation of the latter camp
can be successfully accomplished depends crucially on
the ability of the Left to overcome sectarianism and
narrowness of outlook and unite the widest possible
segments of anti-imperialist social forces. |
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The
Markets vs. The People: A Tale of Two Mandates |
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May 17, 2004. C.P. Chandrasekhar. |
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The
recent churnings of the stock market is an attempt by
a few big financial players to influence domestic policy
making of the new government. This paper argues that
they should not be allowed to influence policy making,
since that would amount to allowing the authoritarian
mandate of a miniscule minority of speculative wealth-holders
to overturn the democratic mandate of the majority. |
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The
Stock Market and the Real Economy |
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May 17, 2004. Jayati Ghosh. |
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Contrary
to what the mainstream media suggests, the latest fall
in the Indian stock market in reaction to the uncertainty
created by the poll outcome, is not really a matter
of serious concern for most Indians. Real investment
in the economy depends on many factors other than simply
changes in market capitalisation. |
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India
Shines through Verdict 2004 |
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May 15, 2004. C. Rammanohar
Reddy. |
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No
election other than 1977 has arguably articulated the
voice of the Indian people as clearly as 2004. The message
is unequivocal: India firmly rejects the economic, social
and political agenda of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led
National Democratic Alliance Government. |
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Mass
Media vs Mass Reality |
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May
15, 2004. P. Sainath. |
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Elections
2004 brought back to the agenda the issues of ordinary
Indians. |
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Andhra
Pradesh Elections: The CEO Confronts Reality |
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May 15, 2004. Jayati Ghosh. |
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The
verdict from the Andhra Assembly elections is a clear
mandate for a redirection of economic policy away from
''market fundamentalism'' dressed up as a modern approach
to development, towards one which keeps in view the
interests and concerns of ordinary people. |
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'Shining' in Rural
India |
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May 7, 2004. Abhijit Sen.
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With
poor agricultural performance and stagnation in agricultural
employment, rural India is definitely not 'shining'.
But access to the shine that exists, which the 'shining'
campaign has made even more apparent, is now through
networks where the ruling party is stronger. However,
it remains to be seen whether this shift in balance
will actually show up as an electoral win for the BJP. |
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The Authoritarian
Ambitions of Fluid Finance |
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May 3, 2004. C.P. Chandrasekhar. |
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The
reaction of the national stock markets to the recent
exit polls in India signals that even though the country's
widening economic divide may make it difficult for those
whose policies widened it to remain in power, the policies
that create the divide must remain in place, to maintain
the expectations of financial investors and avert the
threat of a crisis. |
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What
the Rising Rupee Signals |
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April
22, 2004. C.P. Chandrasekhar. |
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In
spite of RBI's continuous efforts to cope with the excess
foreign exchange in the market, the task of managing
the exchange rate is proving increasingly difficult
and the rupee is appreciating. Given that the scope
for ''sterilising'' has been exhausted, preventing a
capital flow-induced appreciation of the rupee requires
targeting portfolio flows. |
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Growth
Rates under the NDA Government |
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March
15, 2004. Jayati Ghosh and C.P. Chandrasekhar. |
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The
rate and pattern of economic growth under the NDA government
had become a controversial issue after the ruling coalition
decided to make its supposed delivery of "high
growth" a campaign issue in the recently held elections.
In this article, Jayati Ghosh and C.P. Chandrasekhar
investigate the actual evidence on growth of GDP and
the major sectors of the economy. |
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Is
Indian Industry Shining? |
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February
21, 2004. C.P. Chandrasekhar. |
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While
the recovery in agriculture combined with a credit-driven
spending boom has helped Indian industrial growth along,
it is far short of what the advocates of liberalisation
promised to deliver. The real intent of the India Shining
slogan is to conceal the poor performance of the commodity
producing sectors and the fragility of much else of
the economy. |
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Jobs and
Elections across the World in 2004 |
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February 11, 2004. Jayati
Ghosh. |
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Even
as the US economic recovery since November 2001 has
been mostly jobless, electoral politics, just as in
India, is ensuring that the rulers are trying to put
a positive spin on what is essentially a bad economic
situation. |
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Income
inequality in India |
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February 9, 2004. Jayati
Ghosh. |
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Even
when the official statistics of the government still
show that more than half of India has lower consumption
per person than more than 10 years ago, attempts are
being made to ''dress up'' the data to show much greater
prosperity for the majority of the population and less
poverty. |
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India
Shining, India Declining |
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February 5, 2004. Jayati
Ghosh. |
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The
purportedly "populist" measures of the central
government before the elections are likely to only add
to the consumption boom of the rich without improving
material conditions for the vast majority of Indians.
The very fact that the government can even think that
these measures will help it electorally, is a sign of
how much it has lost its grip on reality. |
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May 15, 2004.
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