On the road to Liberty

My article titled "Who is an Indian?" appeared in the newsletter of Liberty Institute in May 1999. It is ironic that the Prime Minister has sparked off a “national debate” on whether any foreign-born person should be allowed to hold the highest political offices in the land, because only a few weeks earlier, he had quoted from Tagore in a programme broadcast live on national TV–"milibey aar milabey; jaabey na pheerey... Aiyee bharoter mahamanober sagaro teere"– From these sacred shores of cultural union, India has not sent any one back. More so since, in the lines preceding those that the Prime Minister quoted, the poet says the Indian civilisation has successfully assimilated the Aryans, the non-Aryans, the Dravidians, the Chinese, the Shakas, the Huns, the Pathans, the Moghuls. The question of the “foreign born” was settled by the members of the Constituent Assembly after substantive deliberations fifty years ago. It is strange that the question of nationality a...

My article titled Conquest Without Victims-Another look at Kashmir appeared in the newsletter of Liberty Institute, May 1999. War clouds are again gathering over Kashmir. While the political divide is obvious, effective steps towards open trade and travel in Kashmir and in South Asia, would go a long way in building a market based relationship. And this, in turn, could help ameliorate the political pressures. The specter of balkanisation on race, ethnic, religious or linguistic grounds around the world has generated the realisation that no society is immune to this pressure and “ethnic cleansing” is a completely unacceptable solution. This century is replete with instances of horrendous crimes committed in the name of defending one's community. For instance, Pakistan was created on the basis of a particular religious affinity, which claimed to be irreconcilably different from other major religions in the sub-continent. However, within two decades, it was clear that Pakistan’s rel...

My article titled "Union Budget 1999-2000: Some unanswered questions" was published in the newsletter of the Liberty Institute in May 1999. The 1999-2000 budget has tried not to tread too hard on any toes. In view of the rollbacks that had to be undertaken last year, this was perhaps inevitable. But by the same token, the budget has left many questions unanswered. Rural development The budget has outlined many measures. But it has failed to deal with two basic questions. First, as a former Prime Minister had noted only 15% of all developmental funds actually reach the target. Merely allocating more funds is not an answer to this structural problem. Secondly, the fundamental cause for this is the abject rural productivity. Rural India continues to support 60-70% of the population while the contribution of agriculture to GDP has fallen from over 70% in 1950 to about half that level today. The lesson to be drawn is that the fundamental way to eliminate poverty in the countrysid...

My article titled "Market is environment friendly" was published in the newsletter of the Liberty Institute in May 1999. The market is not necessarily the enemy of the environment, as is generally made out to be. A competitive market is actually the best friend of the environment. That was the conclusion of the study the Liberty Institute carried out to find out about the lack of enthusiasm for a government scheme introduced in 1991to promote environment friendly products. The Ecomark scheme was initiated in 14 product categories. Standards were set for these products in terms of efficiency, biodegradability, recycle levels, etc. The idea was that if the products met these standards, then they could receive the Ecomark label, and thus, helping consumers to make better decisions. The underlying assumption for such a scheme was that though the consumer wanted products that had less impact on the environment, there was no mechanism to communicate that information to him, which...

My article titled "IPR protects Indian agriculture" was published in the newsletter of the Liberty Institute in May 1999. A lot has been said over the consequences of IPR in agriculture, and in areas where knowledge is said to have been traditionally handed down the generations. However, a proper IPR regime can help protect not only the foreign inventors, but also the domestic players. Following is a summary of the present status of IPR in some of the most prominent instances. TURMERIC In 1993, two American scientists of Indian origin filed a patent for use of turmeric to heal wounds. Initially the specification contained information on the prior knowledge of the various uses of turmeric and it also acknowledged that the pharmaco-kinetics involving the safety toxicity dosage and biological properties of turmeric are well known. It also said the main object of the invention is the use of turmeric powder at the site of injury by topical application and/or oral intake. The othe...

My article titled "IPR promotes knowledge and economic development" was published in the newsletter of the Liberty Institute in May 1999. Over the past couple of years, the debate over Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) has increasingly become quite shrill. However, this seemed to have not enlarged the scope of the debate. The opponents have tried to portray IPR as a sell out to foreign interests, while the supporters of IPR reform keep repeating the necessity of IPR in the era of globalisation. However, the distinct advantages of having a good IPR regime, have rarely been highlighted. IPR was first recognised in England in the 17th Century, just as the industrial revolution was beginning to have an impact. The aim was to protect the interests of the inventor, and thereby encourage the development of newer and better products so that the society benefits as a result. Another critical component of IPR was that once the right was recognised, the new knowledge was open to publi...

Isn't it ironic that almost everyone agrees that the tiger is a priceless animal, yet, after decades of effort to save the tiger the future of the tiger seem as uncertain as ever. For decades, at every international gathering on wildlife, everyone agonises at the fate of the tiger, but hardly anyone is able to come up with some fresh thinking. In this article, "Save the tiger: Commercial road to conservation" , published in the Economic Times, on 9 April 1999, I look at some of the other species that have made a come back powered by commerce. Recently, the Tiger Forum, an international gathering of countries where tigers are still economy available in the wild, and NGOs, held its meeting in Bombay. Although Project Tiger, the most famous conservation project in India and the world, has just completed its 25th anniversary the delegates did not have anything to cheer. The participants grimly reminded each other of the fall in the number of tigers, and once again predicted ...