Indian Inequality Fuels Maoist-Insurgency

"The conflict between industry and farmers reflects a wider battle in India, where efforts to modernise the densely populated country have often met with violent backlashes from villagers who make up more than half the country's 1.1 billion plus population."

The government of West Bengal, India has initiated a new counter-insurgency campaign with the hopes of eradicating a Maoist-led "liberated zone". Historical conflict between India's poor farmers and large industrial businesses has fueled a growing Maoist insurgency, which the Indian government considers the country's "greatest internal threat". The insurgency began as a peasant rebellion in the Indian village of Naxalbari in 1967. Since then, the Maoists have been known throughout India as the Naxalites. There have been decades of military actions designed to squash the Naxalite movement, but all have failed.

But the Naxalites maintain widespread popularity reflecting discontent with India's uneven economic development model, which has earned it the position as one of the world's most unequal societies. Despite one of the fastest economic growth rates in the world, India has more poor people than any other country, with a third of the global poor there. To give a perspective, there are more people now living under the poverty line of $1.25 in India (425 m), than there are the entire population of the United States.

Aligned with the Naxalites are scores of landless farmers and tribal groups that are willing to risk their lives in order to gain a more decent life. As long as such miserable social conditions persist in India, radical movements for economic change are likely to continue.

This amazing video by Journey Man Pictures details the untold story of India's growing Naxalite movement and the issues of poverty and maldevelopment which continue to plague India. The video features commentary by one courageous author and advocate Arundhati Roy, who continues to speak truth to power on behalf of the poor and oppressed of India.

Obama's Quiet War on Poverty?

Poor people basically never came up in the 2008 presidential campaign, not even from the hope-filled lips of Barack Obama. But an interesting commentary by Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director Center for Community Change, claims President Obama has been silently fighting for America's poor and intiated some of the most progressive anti-poverty policies in 40 years since his election.



I haven't seen enough data to check the validity of his claims, Bhargava may be a tad bit over optimistic, but his perspective is interesting none the less.

Does Land Redistribution = Economic Opportunity in South Africa?

Rightly or wrongly, the election of ANC presidential candidate Jacob Zuma has opened a healthy debate about the promises or perils of land redistribution in South Africa. Whites who make up a small minority of the nation's population, own around 87 percent of the land. While the new Zuma administration is apparently endorsing an agenda favorable to the poor, the president has been hesitant to announce any steps toward resolving the question of land ownership. 

Land redistribution and reform is likely an effective strategy for poverty eradication, according to a new paper by noted development economist Professor Michael Carter. The research paper, which evaluates the impact of land redistribution in South Africa, was written as a part of the BASIS Research Program on Poverty Inequality and Development. There is more research to be done in this particular study on land redistribution, but you can read an abstract of the paper here. 

According to statistical analysis, the impact of redistribution on household per capita consumption ( a measure of purchasing power) is positive and has shown the potential of helping families escape poverty in the short-term. Around 40% of the South African population today is found in rural areas, where the deepest cycles of chronic poverty are found.

The election of Jacob Zuma has ignited a renewal of black hopes and white fears for radical agrarian reform. A comprehensive agrarian reform agenda could be the key to asset redistribution and sustainable economic development for the less well-off rural population. For now, South Africa continues to be one of the most unequal societies in the world. Since the fall of apartheid in 1994, the nation has ranked consistently among countries with the worst GINI coefficients--an indice which measures inequality in the distribution of wealth.