Suchergebnisse

The tendency to equate economic growth with industrialization has in the recent past started a violent and bloody movement in the Indian state of West Bengal. The movement that started against forced acquisition of agricultural land for industrialization in Singur gradually spread to other parts of the state of West Bengal including Nandigram. This movement acquired explosive proportions with the intellectuals, civil society and anti-left political parties throwing in their weight behind the displaced peasants who lost their land. Ultimately it became an albatross around the neck of the Left leadership and sunk the political fortunes of the thirty-four year old Left Front government in 2011 state assembly elections. The Singur and Nandigram tragedy are only one among the many agitations that have exploded in various parts of India in recent past. These protest movements have kicked off the development versus displacement debate in India. The killing of protesting peasants in Singur and Nandigram by the trigger happy police not only exposes the political myopia and inhuman indifference of the so-called pro-poor Left Front Government of West Bengal. But it also goes on to show that the political process in India is increasingly getting hijacked by the logic of the market which sees displacement only as an appendix to development. What we need today is to reinvent the principles laid down by Gandhi to usher in a just and equitable economic order. The Gandhian model of economic development is based on the simple yet profound principles of altruism and egalitarianism. This article would focus on the reasons behind the inception of a violent movement in Singur and Nandigram, the fundamental flaws in the development model of the erstwhile Left Front Government of West Bengal, and end by providing a Gandhian solution to the development versus displacement dilemma in the state of West Bengal in India.

The tendency to equate economic growth with industrialization has in the recent past started a violent and bloody movement in the Indian state of West Bengal. The movement that started against forced acquisition of agricultural land for industrialization in Singur gradually spread to other parts of the state of West Bengal including Nandigram. This movement acquired explosive proportions with the intellectuals, civil society and anti-left political parties throwing in their weight behind the displaced peasants who lost their land. Ultimately it became an albatross around the neck of the Left leadership and sunk the political fortunes of the thirty-four year old Left Front government in 2011 state assembly elections. The Singur and Nandigram tragedy are only one among the many agitations that have exploded in various parts of India in recent past. These protest movements have kicked off the development versus displacement debate in India. The killing of protesting peasants in Singur and Nandigram by the trigger happy police not only exposes the political myopia and inhuman indifference of the so-called pro-poor Left Front Government of West Bengal. But it also goes on to show that the political process in India is increasingly getting hijacked by the logic of the market which sees displacement only as an appendix to development. What we need today is to reinvent the principles laid down by Gandhi to usher in a just and equitable economic order. The Gandhian model of economic development is based on the simple yet profound principles of altruism and egalitarianism. This article would focus on the reasons behind the inception of a violent movement in Singur and Nandigram, the fundamental flaws in the development model of the erstwhile Left Front Government of West Bengal, and end by providing a Gandhian solution to the development versus displacement dilemma in the state of West Bengal in India.

India, the world's largest democracy, can boast of a vibrant political culture, vigilant press and a politically conscious civil society with an impartial judiciary. Yet the most disheartening fact of Indian society is the rising tide of corruption in almost all walks of life including the Indian administrative system. Although the issue of administrative reforms has received continuing attention in India both at the national and the state levels during the last six decades, corruption is eating into the vitals of the administrative system. It is therefore extremely essential to reform the administrative system by properly designing an anti-corruption strategy to control corruption. In order to answer some of the serious questions like what needs to be done to reaffirm the trust of the people in the state organizations like the bureaucracy or why the existing anti-corruption vigilance institutions have failed to control the rising tides of corruption in most public institutions and in the context of globalization what anti-corruption reforms need to be implemented, one needs to first shed light over the indigenous causes that have encouraged the growth of corruption in Indian administration. Thus the article brings to light the different indigenous causes that lead to the growth of corruption in Indian administration. It also analyzes the existing anti-corruption laws like the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and working of the major vigilance institutions like the Central Vigilance Commission and Central Bureau of Investigation to identify the loopholes that are giving rise to corruption. On the basis of such weakness the article suggests a new anticorruption strategy to contain corruption in contemporary Indian administration.