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A roaring capitalist success story? Often hailed as an example of the virtues of neo-liberal globalisation, neglect of India's rural and urban poor is making growing social unrest inescapable.

Article Excerpt
India presents a bewildering mix of economic advancement and repression --both archaic--infused with callousness. The English-language media are bursting with stories of export achievements, investments in IT and infrastructure, financial deals, the booming stock market (though less than 3 per cent of the population own shares) and visiting foreign business and political dignitaries praising India's 'opening up' to global markets. Rampant middle class consumerism is on display in the big cities: there are plenty of elegant shopping malls; mobile telephones are ubiquitous; Australia is advertised as a trendy tourist destination; and there is a sprinkling of new imported Hondas, Hyundais and Skodas on the congested roads.

Economic data suggest a booming economy. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the last three years was between 7.5 percent and 8.5 percent, approaching China's. The value of the Mumbai Stock Exchange (Sensex) has increased by more than 100 percent since 2002 when access was provided for foreign institutional investors. Economic and social indicators show India well behind China--in terms of income per capita, exports, literacy, etc. --but there is an eagerness to catch up. India is considered to have some advantages over China: widespread knowledge of English (perhaps 5 per cent of the population is considered English speaking); a multicultural polity; an education system better attuned to the requirements of a 'knowledge economy'; a relatively efficient legal system in line with the needs of business, and democratic politics with divisions of power that provide mechanisms of conflict resolution and mostly preclude arbitrary political meddling in business.

Many millions of Indians have joined the ranks of the middle class since the neo-liberal turn in 1991 and many more aspire to social advancement, particularly through higher education. India has around three hundred universities and thousands of colleges, but tens of thousands of students go abroad. For Australian universities, compelled to entrepreneurialism, India provides lucrative opportunities that are eagerly exploited through aggressive marketing. Migration is the aim of many Indian students but skilled professionals now increasingly return back home as more opportunities open up in expanding sectors such as IT and biotech/pharmaceuticals. In Western terms, professional wages are modest but prices are also much...

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