Rakesh Saxena

Maoist Conflict Threatens Indian Stocks

Good debate, Mrudula-Uppai, though I'm not sure whether I want to engage in a political analysis in this forum. Both of you are making valid points.- Rakesh


On Oct 15 08:11 AM Uppai Mappla wrote:

> Mridula:
> My suggestions were based on painful experience. When I was young
> and green in the early nineties, I was in charge of allocating rice
> and wheat for PDS (i.e. rations for the poor) at Ministry of Food,
> GOI. Just a random example of the corruption among politicians: the
> wheat allocation to Nagaland (a remote north-eastern state) seldom
> used to reach them due to logistic reasons. FCI would report something
> like 20% delivery but Nagaland govt would claim 100% offtake! Then
> I received a letter from Nagaland CM addressed to Union FM demanding
> 6000 tonnes of additional wheat to distribute among the poor. And
> the Union Food Minister had scrawled on the margin "Allocate immediately."
> As a loyal government servant I was supposed to immediately issue
> allocation telex. But I had too much data. I dared to put up a note
> mentioning the anomaly and that previous month's allocation had never
> reached Nagaland. I linked and cross-linked all relevant files and
> papers. When the file came back after a day, the entire note sheet
> had been removed and full allocation had been approved again. The
> allocated (highly subsidized) wheat would never leave Delhi but would
> be distributed among rollar flour mills. I can give you dozens of
> examples like this.
>
> This kept happening in the remote north eastern states and states
> like Orissa, Bihar etc, where the poor were mostly illiterate. Now
> the poor have been aroused and they are asking questions the only
> way they know. I wish there were a Gandhi, not a terrorist to guide
> them.

Maoist Conflict Threatens Indian Stocks

Just by way of clarification, I am not "lamenting" anything. I am only trying to identify if the forthcoming government offensive will create concerns amongst foreign investors and, if so, to what extent. - Rakesh


On Oct 14 01:38 PM Uppai Mappla wrote:

> This Maoist uprising, bloody though it is, attempts to address in
> a crude way the terrible inequalities of rural India. It is a sign
> of the rising awareness among the oppressed. Kerala went through
> this phase 45 years ago and came out with a higher human development
> index and equitable distribution of wealth. The rest of India is
> now catching up. The poorest of poor have been kept ignorant and
> bonded by upper castes for centuries. But now the oppressed are hitting
> back and it is an irreversible process. The author laments that villagers
> are helping the Maoists. Let him ask himself why the normally docile
> villagers should set about derailing trains and killing officials.
> A wise government will not set the army upon them but address their
> needs which will bring them into the mainstream.
> Such aberrations will not affect India’s long term growth or cohesiveness.
> For the last 60 years, political pundits have been predicting doom
> for India at every tragedy but the reverse has happened. India is
> getting internally united and stronger than ever before. India is
> used to disasters, both man made and natural. India has survived
> the partition, Khalistan, Al Qaida, Hindu militancy, floods, earthquakes….
> If history is any guide, these are not going to affect the country’s
> economic growth.