Development and Human Rights
T.G. Jacob
(Extract from presentation at a Seminar in Kozhikode on 17th March 2012 where a Malayalam translation of K. Balagopal’s writings was released)
The topic of this seminar is an immensely worthy one and currently a most discussed one. The topic is deliberately shrouded in mystery by the ruling classes all over the world, and a most basic prerequisite for moving ahead by the democratic forces is to attain clarity on the serious issues involved, which in the first place are to be demystified. As we all know, the life and works of Dr Balagopal are a standing testimony as to how the issues involved in this broad topic can be constructively understood and addressed. My thanks to the organizers of this programme for choosing it for discussion here at this venue of the release of Dr Balagopal’s selected writings in Malayalam.
The first question that comes up is what exactly is meant by the term development. If we go by the mainstream media, official policy apologists, policy-makers and all their hangers-on, a country like India is on the threshold of emerging as an economic super power. Various statistical indices are ceaselessly churned out to create this euphoria. The growth rate of the economy and stock market indices are supposed to mean an inclusive upward growth of the economy. High growth rate is equated with overall development of the economy and society and fluctuations in the stock market by direct and indirect implications means creation or reduction of wealth in society. Both these premises are patently absurd.
Let us take the example of high growth rate. The most ambitious predictions of the policy-makers and policy administrators dream about a double digit growth rate of the economy as establishing heaven on earth. The current slowing down of the growth rate is, according to them, a purely temporary phenomenon resulting from external factors which our economic managers are capable of overcoming. And they have a sure shot solution on how to overcome these temporary problems. In fact they firmly believe that their solution is the only solution. This solution is one of intensifying and broadening the scope of what is called economic reforms. Relatively less touched economic sectors have to be opened up to transnational capital. Also already opened up sectors, e.g., agriculture, have to be opened up further. In other words, the logic of imperialist globalization is to be stretched out further and further. This is the essence of more economic reforms. Green revolution should be stretched to biotechnology revolution, trade has to be handed over to transnational capital, the labour market should be totally deregulated meaning bringing in a totally free labour market discarding whatever safeguards are existing now. Actually the list is endless. One reform will need another reform and so on. This is the sure shot solution to have a double digit growth rate which will bring in heaven on earth.
Formally, India is on this path of sure shot solution to enable the status of a global economic super power at least since the last two decades. When the arguments advanced for intensifying and broadening this process continue to be the same irrespective of the changes in the colour of party flags, it is only legitimate to raise a simple question. What is the balance sheet of more than two decades of this reforms policy?
Two basic pieces of data seem to be enough to expose this argument as a most inhuman joke played on the more than 90% of the population of this country, which also means all the producing masses of the country.
The first is that more than 70% of the total population survive or die on less than Rs 20 a day. Don’t forget that there has been a spectacular increase in the number of people living under such sub human conditions since 1991. The data of 70% is at least five years old too.
The second is that about a fourth of the total population is displaced people in one way or other. This process of displacement started in earnest with Mr. Nehru’s “modern temples” romance (this modern temples romance was categorically launched with the entry of Ford Foundation, Green revolution and factories like Union Carbide). Since then there was no looking back but the process got accelerated and broad based after 1991.
A further breakup may also be interesting. Though the Adivasis account for only about 10% of the population they constitute more than 60% of the number displaced since the 1970s.
This leads to another breakup. The majority of the Adivasis displaced are from the central Indian Adivasi belt which stretches from Gujarat-Maharashtra in the west to Bengal-Orissa-Andhra in the east. It is not certainly incidental that it is this belt that also provides, both historically and currently, severe resistance to displacements. The Maoist movement that is currently going on is also in the same broad region cutting across a minimum of eight States.
The objective reason why these people are so much against development and economic super power heaven is not very far to seek. Micro studies on what actually happens to the displaced people say it very clearly. They are invariably pushed into the gutters of so called urban India. They provide incredibly cheap labor power to the real estate financiers and sweat shops and do all the dirty work in the urban set-ups. This enables capital accumulation which in turn enables double digit growth rate for the economy. An important policy guideline of the rulers is that urbanizing a minimum of at least 70% of the population is a priority task to be fulfilled before 2020 gives away the game all too clearly. This is a salient feature of what is called development.
Why is it that the rulers are determined to wage a war of annihilation to get these people expelled from their ancient habitats and convert them into sewage materials? What crime they have done for this killing punishment? It is because the land on which they live hides precious natural resources. This vital information was not discovered by the rulers of so-called modern India. The British discovered it first and before them Emperor Asoka also knew it in his own way. Hence there was the Kalinga war and Santhal rebellion. What is meant is that there is not much originality in the present dispensation.
Still there is a serious difference in the present dispensation. Now we have no direct colonialism. Post-Second WW world is different in terms of its instruments of control from the time of Karl Marx and even as late as Mao. Capitalism has come a pretty long way since then. The crisis of the system that Karl Marx analyzed was in terms of its then stage of development. Similarly the crisis that Mao analyzed was in terms of the systemic contradictions engendered by colonialism and its direct variants. But today we are confronted with the contradictions generated by capital in terms of its utter non feasibility. The production and reproduction of capital is confronted with an unprecedented crisis the resolution of which is attempted through a permanent state of war. Capital is engaged in war not only in Iraq or Afghanistan but against the common people of the whole world. The viciousness of the crisis is explicitly manifest in the fact that it is not simply the needs of accumulation and expansion of the market that is leading to wars but that wars themselves become the significant variable in avoiding the collapse of capital (e.g. armaments industry as the biggest and most decisive component of advanced capitalism). It has become the serpent that is swallowing its own tail.