विकास की अवधारणा बदलने का समय

 

विकास एक अभिशाप है

विकास एक अभिशाप है 

विकास एक शापित शब्द है 

यह धो देता है एक हत्यारे के दामन के दाग़ तथा बना देता है उसे एक मसीहा 

विकास के जाप से एक हत्यारा गिरोह दिखने लगता है एक प्रगतिशील समूह 

जिसके हाथों लोग सौंप देते हैं अपना भविष्य 

विकास लूट लेता है ग़रीबों, किसानों, आदिवासियों की ज़मीन 

छीन लेता है उनसे उनके जंगल, पहाड़ और नदियाँ 

कर देता है उन्हें बेघर और विस्थापित 

शहरों में अंटी पड़ी प्रदुषण फैलाती गाड़ियों की भीड़, ऊँचे फलाई ओवर, चौड़ी होती सड़कें 

और ऊँचे से ऊँचे मॉल प्रतिक हैं विकास के 

ऊँचे और बड़े बांध, बड़े बड़े कारखाने, जंगलों को बर्बाद करते खदान 

ही वो जगह हैं जहाँ पैदा होता है विकास 

बर्बाद जंगल, ढहते पहाड़, गंद्लाती नदियाँ 

परिणाम हैं इस विकास का 

जीडीपी के आंकड़ों का मायाजाल, शेयर बाज़ार के सूचकांक का गिरना उतरना पैमाने हैं विकास के 

इसमें कहीं नहीं हैं हमारी और आपकी ज़िन्दगी से जुड़े सवाल 

इसमें नहीं है भूखे कमज़ोर बच्चों के होंटों की मुस्कान इसमें नहीं है ग़रीब कमज़ोर लाचार माओं के चेहरे की आशा – निराशा 

इसमें नहीं है बूढ़े बीमार पिताओं के इलाज का सामान 

इसमें नहीं है नौजवानों के रोज़गार के सवाल या लड़कियों की शिक्षा के उपाए 

हाँ, विकास बस एक अभिशाप है

Economic Growth at What Cost?

[Reflections after my Indonesia trip in October 2014, first published on http://csnbricsam.org/]

The economy must grow and fast, so that the size of the pie increases and there is a bigger share for everyone.

These were the opening remarks of the then Deputy Finance Minister of Indonesia said this (paraphrased) at the conference on “Redemocratisation of Economic, Social and Political for Inclusive Development” organized by INFID, a national network of Indonesian NGOs.

I was not quite surprised to hear that. Politicians all over the world seem to be thinking alike. They want faster and stable economic growth at any cost. We hear similar views in India. The emphasis on growth is almost universal today. The Minister also praised the Indonesian government’s policies which could achieve the sustained and continuous economic growth.

A letter to "Develop Bihar" group at youbihar.com, networking site of people who love Bihar

Develop Bihar mane ka!!! Development means what? Or, What is development? Sorry I am new here, but I guess we should first have a clarity on this question itself. Is it 'growth rate’? Ask Manmohan Singh, Montek Singh and our own samajwadi CM, Nitishji, they are all not just happy with the growth rate rate of the economy, but this seems to be one point agenda of the Indian state at the moment. Keeping the rate high, reaching back to 9% and touching double digit as soon as possible. This years union budget also makes this holy goal as its main objective.

But what about the people! And the answer now days is we are talking about the inclusive growth. We seem to have admitted that growth so far has not been inclusive. So why are we still crazy about it.

Big dams, wide roads, big factories, big cities, multiplexes, shopping malls, and a consumer culture... This is what we have with high rates of growth. And we also have unemployment, poverty, starvations, urban slums, farmers’ suicides, devastation of our forests, water and land, pollution, climate change...

Can we think of people, men, women and children and trust tehir abilities. Instead of corporations, and engineers, managers, economists, if we let the people lead the development it would be perhaps more 'inclusive' than the so called inclusive growth. We have hopes in panchayats, but the money and the imagination of all big things in development have really corrupted the minds of our elected representatives in panchayats. And, even if a few of them think about people and their development, the BDOs, the gram sevaks, the engineers, the MLAs and MPs would not let them work with honesty. We have more than half of women mukhiyas in Bihar today and a sizable number of mukhiyas are from the marginalized communities like dalits, OBCs and minorities. Can they work honestly for the development and not growth. Would our babu log, our netaji log and our police let them work honestly? Or have they been corrupted already by the greed of money and imagination of all big-big development and growth.

Nesar