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Strategies & Market Trends : India Coffee House -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JPR who wrote (1836)	7/18/1998 12:11:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12475

Bhagwati-speak & the 'Trojan Horse Approach'. Here are two articles on the same subject,one from Rediff and the other from Business Standard. He has many good suggestions and ideas to offer to the Indians and I like his sense of humor. I am surprised at some of the comments he made though.Examples:- From Business standard. 1) He underplayed the direct impact by explaining how unilateral sanctions seldom work, and pointed out the irony in the US first creating facilities like the Exim Bank and Opic to help its uncompetitive sectors export, and then taking away those same trade incentives. I have problem with the veracity of the above comments with respect to Exim Bank and Opic as I am not quite sure the purpose of these two institutions are as stated by him. 2) There was the further need to work the American system. What is called 'bribe' in India is referred to as 'contribution' in America. To dismiss and compare the systemic problem of corruption in India to that of political 'contribution' in the U.S is rather disingenuous on his part. An enlightened soul but still carrying some old baggage or thoughts from the old country.It is comments like these by people of his stature makes it difficult to deal with the 'corruption' problem in the country. Funny stuff: He noted that when he asked who were the economists with the BJP, all he got in reply was a giggle. And if the two names mentioned were economists then he was a Bharatnatyam dancer, he said amidst laughter. Didn't know BJP do not have any economists of substance on their side, no wonder we are having problems in this area. Bhagwati also said if BJP refuse to distance from the 'lunatic fringe' in the party it is going to be difficult to attract any intellectuals to their side including,I am assuming, any in Economics.This is clearly good advice one that will stand BJP in good stead in the long run. That is why he saw a real chance of Indians in America becoming the new Jews. I don't know this meant an 'insult' to the Jews or the Indians,perhaps neither.<gg> Another excerpt. Professor Jagdish Bhagwati says the best way to meet the challenge of sanctions is to open up the economy rapidly and push along economic reforms further by way of privatisation, the next major step that had to be taken. Speaking at a seminar on 'What should be India's economic reaction to sanctions?', the Arthur Lehman professor of economics and political science at Columbia University, New York, also said the government can consider signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty since that would not harm India's nuclear position and yet pave the way for the lifting of sanctions.... rediff.com business-standard.com PS:Thanks for the Zubin Mehta links.