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Neo-liberalism legalised corruption: Bagchi

By STAFF Reporter

GUWAHATI, May 7 - Imperialism is responsible for farmer suicide cases in Third World countries like India. Imperialist powers are resisting fertilisers and other subsidies and hence, the farmers are subjected to heavy debts. And under the load of accumulated debts, farmers of the Third World countries are compelled to commit suicide.

This was the observation made by renowned economic historian and Professor Emeritus of the Kolkata-based Institute of Development Studies Amiya Kumar Bagchi. He was delivering the first Dr Amalendu Guha Memorial Lecture on �Nationalism and Imperialism in Indian Context� in the District Library auditorium here this evening on the occasion of the first death anniversary of the noted social scientist.

The function was presided over by Dr Amalendu Guha Smarak Baktrita Ayojak Samiti president, Dr Hiren Gohain.

Prof Bagchi said the neo-liberal economy introduced in the country in the 1990s, has provided multi-national drug companies the most uneven playing fields in the Third World countries and they are earning the highest profits out of this policy introduced at the diktats of imperialist forces.

The World Bank has been doling out loans, slapping the harshest conditions on the Third World countries and it has been using the elite of the borrowing countries to make such conditions �palatable� for the people of these countries.

The sidelining of the local cultures and languages has come to such a pass in India that today the parents are nurturing an ambition that their children will be able to acquire green cards in the United States. For them, local languages have become redundant as medium of instruction.

Once it was the powerloom, which replaced the handloom in the Third World countries and now the jet loom has come in. Powerlooms could produce ten times more than the handlooms. And one jetloom now can replace 40 such powerlooms, said Prof Bagchi.

Neo-liberalism has virtually legalised corruption and developments today are such in India that corporate houses have come up in a big way to finance the political parties in an overt manner as has been exposed by the media convincingly. This has resulted in the unfettered behaviour of the corporate houses and these houses are now out to rein in the people�s resistance struggles.

Indian nationalism is a product of the anti-colonial struggle of the Indian people. However, there are attempts at belittling the roles of the peoples of the smaller nationalities and backward sections of the people in driving out the colonial power from India. Nevertheless, people�s resistance struggles are on to frustrate such attempts. The about two-decade-long fast by Irom Sharmila, the struggle of the people of Jammu & Kashmir and the suicide of Rohith Vemula are some examples of such struggles, he said.

He also praised the seminal contributions made by Dr Amalendu Guha in discussing the issue of nationalism, which is a big weapon in the hands of the Third World people in fighting the colonial powers. Dr Guha who despite his Bengali origin, always introduced himself as an Assamese, was the only scholar, barring EMS Namboodiripad, to discuss the issue of nation formation, Prof Bagchi said.

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