Why India's problems won't be solved by rapid economic growth alone
When India became independent in 1947 after two centuries of colonial
rule, it immediately adopted a firmly democratic political system, with
multiple parties, freedom of speech, and extensive political rights. The
famines of the British era disappeared, and steady economic growth
replaced the economic stagnation of the Raj. The growth of the Indian
economy quickened further over the last three decades and became the
second fastest among large economies. Despite a recent dip, it is still
one of the highest in the world.
Maintaining rapid as well as environmentally sustainable growth remains
an important and achievable goal for India. In An Uncertain Glory, two
of India's leading economists argue that the country's main problems lie
in the lack of attention paid to the essential needs of the people,
especially of the poor, and often of women. There have been major
failures both to foster participatory growth and to make good use of the
public resources generated by economic growth to enhance people's living
conditions. There is also a continued inadequacy of social services such
as schooling and medical care as well as of physical services such as
safe water, electricity, drainage, transportation, and sanitation. In
the long run, even the feasibility of high economic growth is threatened
by the underdevelopment of social and physical infrastructure and the
neglect of human capabilities, in contrast with the Asian approach of
simultaneous pursuit of economic growth and human development, as
pioneered by Japan, South Korea, and China.
In a democratic system, which India has great reason to value,
addressing these failures requires not only significant policy
rethinking by the government, but also a clearer public understanding of
the abysmal extent of social and economic deprivations in the country.
The deep inequalities in Indian society tend to constrict public
discussion, confining it largely to the lives and concerns of the
relatively affluent. Drèze and Sen present a powerful analysis of these
deprivations and inequalities as well as the possibility of change
through democratic practice.
