Kerala wake-up call on growth & development
Deccan ChronicleThe images of floods and mudslides in Kerala, known as “God’s own country”, should be a wake-up call we should ask ourselves if we are on a sustainable development path. “Development” was genetically engineered into an economic/political concept on January 20, 1949 when US President Harry Truman, in his inaugural speech, declared the former Southern Hemisphere colonies drained of their wealth through colonisation as “underdeveloped areas” needed development, which became another term for recolonisation. Further, the shrinking cake is being poisoned by processes that create “growth”: another word for profits of the one per cent. Economic growth hides the poverty it creates, both through destruction of nature, and nature’s ability to provide goods and services, as well as through destroying self-provisioning capacities of societies which Gandhi called “swadeshi”.
History of this topic
Kerala on upward development, social welfare trajectory: Pinarayi
The Hindu
The ‘Kerala Model:’ a mixed bag of successes and spectacular failures
The Hindu‘Successful use of humanity, reliance on reasoning and public discussion’, key assets that will help Kerala as it looks ahead: Amartya Sen
The Hindu
Biggest lesson from Kerala: The developmental agenda should be sustainable
Hindustan Times
How the Kerala economy fared before the floods
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India has to grow in an integral model where life is seen holistically, says Governor Ravi
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