Rohit reacts to an article in Economic and Political Weekly:
Linked by kuffir. Join Blogbharti facebook group.One of the constant themes of public debate in India is to link the post 1991 reforms to problems faced by the Indian society. According to this intellectually lazy line of thinking, capitalism is responsible for all of India’s social and economic challenges. That despite reforms, the Indian economy remains highly regulated–India can hardly be described as a free economy–is of no concern to such pundits. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that the editorial in the latest issue of Economic and Political Weekly of India blames capitalism for Raj Thackeray’s vandalism in Mumbai.
In his article he writes, “The very founding of this party was a reaction to outsiders (South Indians) allegedly taking over Mumbai and destroying its Marathi character. Raj is merely playing the game his uncles has perfected over a life time of politics of hatred. How does capitalism explain this continuing harping on the ‘’son of the soil”?”
i.e. ignores the fact the SS got its start breaking the backs of the labor unions.
He also writes, “However, due to the perverse belief that market cannot provide solutions to housing needs of urban poor”… I would be interested in learning more about examples of large-scale market-provided non-shanty housing for the urban poor.