a little more about the conference: It was a day long Indian Chamber of Commerce, not CII ... with representatives from Myanmar, Thailand, Bangladesh,Nepal as well as diplomats from other countries, business (not the big guns though, which tells us something), scholars and researchers etc. Lots of presentations and talks, including technical issues of trade etc. I was the second last speaker and tired, with a touch of lightness and a dose of experiences, shared ground reality and the issues that, in my view, affected ordinary people. This is nothing new for those of us who travel extensively in the region — FIX THE ROADS, FOR A START. But those who are talking about LEP and AEP (Act East Policy) need to explain clearly how a region that is by the Centres official stand disturbed for half a century, with large deployment of the army and central forces, with creaky if not broken infrastructure, where land acquisition is a major problem, where smuggling of animal parts is a major illegal export -- I asked would ASEAN and China ban this ugly and brutal trade that is killing our rhinos, tigers and other precious creatures? - and where the people are not prepared for the sweeping changes that such ambitious policies will bring ... What do they stand to gain from the retweaked policy? What is the advantage of being part of a transit route, something we have been saying for years? And if Kolkata becomes the hub, the largest city between Eastern India and Ho Chi Minh city, with financial and industrial clout and a huge educational and cultural history, then who would even look at our little pocket which has low growth rate? MMR rates and IMR rates are high. But there are some positives — we could learn from each other and export best practices skills, such as the boat clinics of Assam, Grameen and BRAC of Bangladesh and the amazing effort to build peace in Myanmar between the Government there and the many ethnic groups ... Invest in research centres plus support cultural and educational exchanges. But these are not enough; changes have to be driven by political process and inclusive development that protects human rights. A lot of people from Myanmar, Thailand and the conference came pun to me and said they appreciated the reality check, since they were unaware of these issues ... They dont travel there .. And the business groups have something to think about too. My two bits ... Added that no one had even mentioned climate change and how this was a very major factor in livelihoods and the agricultural cycle as more and more people leave farming and migrate to cities
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 14:20:31 +0000
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