General Secretary Desk

TODAY, India is amidst a transition in almost all walks of life. An anomalous situation has been created when on one hand the government is pursuing the path of national economic growth through continuation and intensification of the process of liberalization and integration with the world economy which negatively effects poor and downtrodden people and on the other hand claims that social justice, support to the poor and downtrodden is their priority. The endorsement of the New Economic Policy in India and structural adjustment is the result of market enlargement both foreign and domestic; to accommodate the process of globalization. In fact globalization, liberalization and privatization are all inextricably linked to each other where focus is to liberalize rules, regulation in favour of market. Advocates of market economy argue that market is the answer to all problems and evils. It is a fact that producer and purchaser are the two important players in market economy but in a country like India where 50% of the total population lives below the poverty line and does not have purchasing power and capacity to effectively participate in the market mechanism, then how they will get benefit of this liberalization. The onset of the process of liberalization and globalization exacerbated the issue of social equity among the rich and poor nations, between the North and the South. India for example with 16% of the world’s population, 1/13 of the advanced countries and 1/3 of the development countries and ranked 135th in the Human Development Index.

A large section of the population of India does not have the purchasing power, including the marginalized and weaker section of the society viz, the tribal, dalit, harijans, women etc. who are not taken care of by opening of the market economics and liberalization does not any way affect their betterment. Conflict has come to the forefront when on one hand government’s policies are claimed to be pro-poor but of the same time pursuing the path of national economic growth inviting the big transnational with the loosening of bureaucratic controls and thereby creating a fierce market competitions, sweeping the poor just off their feet. The rich becomes richer, the poor poorer and the poorest even more marginalized. This has also attacked the base of genuine voluntary action. Since the Voluntary Organizations are critical about this issue, they are being increasingly harassed and sidelined.

Now time has come to liberate policies, programmes, rules, regulations and loosen the bureaucrat control and work towards changing attitude of politicians and officials dealing with the voluntary sector otherwise with liberalization of only corporate sector may help in economic growth but not overall human development.

Md. Nurul Islam
Secretary of
Bamoir Bishnupur Vivekananda Smriti Sangha.