HDR shame

In the light of India’s continued downward slide in the ranking of the Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme, the latest editorial in the CPI(M) mouthpiece People’s Democracy argues that this slip has only confirmed that the benefits of economic growth have been confined to a few. “India’s performance negates the expectations generated by the euphoria of a high growth trajectory in the recent decade. All grandeur of an ‘emerging economy’ rubbing shoulders with the ‘mighty’ at the G-20 high table simply evaporates when the hard data of HDR 2009 is confronted,” it says. “In a way this only confirms that the benefits of economic growth in India have been confined to a few of the ‘shining’ India while the rest are consigned to the ‘suffering’ India,” it claims.

Pointing out that the data base for the HDR report is that of 2007, it says it is “important to note that the ruination of millions of people globally, many more in developing countries, due to the worst capitalist crisis leading to the current global recession is not captured in this report.” “HDR 2009 clearly confirms what many of us have been stating about the abysmally low levels of quality of life of the vast majority of the Indian people. No amount of aam admi rhetoric and platitudes of ‘inclusive growth’ can improve the situation unless the UPA government is forced through popular struggles to vastly expand public investments that will generate jobs on the one hand and build the much needed social and economic infrastructure in the country,” it adds.

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