Bringing together academic discussions on public policy and the experiences of the common people of India, this collection of essays by a range of eminent scholars across disciplines tackles the problems of contemporary development policy and contributes to the ongoing debate.
The current financial crisis has clearly demonstrated the inability of international financial institutions to maintain a stable global economic order. However, few challenges to this order have been taken seriously due to the nearly complete dominance of the ideology of free markets. This volume contributes to the emerging critique of the present economic order and attempts to find alternatives.
The essays originate from testimonies given at the Independent People’s Tribunal on the World Bank held in New Delhi. The book discusses the ways in which the World Bank has used undue leverage to impact key sectors of India’s economy and shows that the Bank’s policies of extreme marketisation, trade liberalisation and reduced public spending have created a shocking trend of jobless growth and increased poverty for the majority of people in India. It also covers the negative impacts of the World Bank on local democratic processes and their negative ramifications on the environment. This work is a timely contribution to the debate over pro-poor versus pro-corporate development policy in India and across the globe.
Michele Kelley A New York based political organiser and activist, Michele Kelley has studied the World Bank and development policy and is a member of the Secretariat of the Independent People’s Tribunal on the World Bank.
Deepika D’Souza Deepika D’Souza is the Executive Director, Human Rights Law Network, and is a founding member of the Secretariat of the Independent People’s Tribunal on the World Bank. She is a human rights activist and has co-edited Disability and the Law (2005).
List of Tables, Figures and Boxes Preface About the Independent People’s Tribunal on the World Bank Deepika D’Souza Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction World Bank Out of India Michele Kelley
I: The World Bank’s Role and Functioning
1. The Economic Aspects of World Bank Activities in India Arun Kumar
2. The Midwives of Corporate Totalitarianism? The Political Economy of the World Bank in Historical Perspective Aseem Shrivastava
3. The World Bank as a Knowledge Creator How the Bank Uses Flawed Processes to Generate Unsound Knowledge for Promoting Disastrous Policies Shripad Dharmadhikary
4. The Revolving Door of the World Bank Suborning Policy and Decision-makers by its Pocketbook Prashant Bhushan
5. The Changing Role of the World Bank in India Prabhat Patnaik
II: Poverty and Employment
6. Poverty Persistence, Entry and Escape Aasha Kapur Mehta
7. Employment in the Time of Liberalisation Praveen Jha
8. The World Bank and Labour in India J. John and R. S. Tiwari
9. Microcredit Magic Bullet or Poison Pill? Kalyani Menon-Sen and Kalpana Kannabiran
III: Undermining India’s Sovereignty and Democratic Processes
10. Partners in the Erosion of Sovereignty Smitu Kothari and Benny Kuruvilla
11. Food Security, Good Governance and the Role of the State Harsh Mander
12. Governance and the Growth of the Black Economy Saumen Chattopadhyay
13. Delhi’s Water Privatisation Plans Arvind Kejrival
14. How Transparent is the World Bank? Nikhil Dey
15. Mining and the World Bank Inspection Panel Tony Herbert
16. The Impacts of Hydropower and Failures of Redress Himanshu Thakkar IV: India’s Agrarian and Food Security Crises
17. The World Bank and Indian Agriculture Bhaskar Goswani
18. The World Bank and its Impact on Food Security Utsa Patnaik
19. Financial Liberalisation and the Agrarian Crisis C. P. Chandrasekhar
20. The Exit from Agriculture Devinder Sharma
21. Targeting, Exclusion and Food BirajPatnaik
22. The Genetic Engineering of Crops Suman Sahai
23. The Privatisation of Seeds Afsar Jafri
V: Corporate Greed and Common Goods
24. Electricity Sector Reform Sreekumar N.
25. The Privatisation of Water Shripad Dharmadhikary
26. The Neo-liberal Assault on India’s Education System Anil Sadgopal
27. The World Bank and Health Imrana Qadeer, Sundari Ravindran and Bijoya Roy
28. Structural Adjustment in Karnataka State Vinay Baindur
VI: Land Grabs and Displacement Struggles
29 The World Bank and Forests Ashok Chowdhary
30. History Repeating Itself The World Bank’s Role in Global Tourism Development Ranjan Solomon and Vidya Rangan
31. Investment In, People Out The Renewal of Indian Cities Michele Kelley
32. The World Bank and Disaster Relief Vanessa Petersand R. M. Alvino
VII: The World Bank and the Environment
33. The World Bank and Environmental Policy Reform Manju Menon and Kanchi Kohli
34. Poisoned Future Nityanand Jayaraman and Madhumita Dutta
35. The Carbon Trade and the Marketisation of Global Warming Praful Bidwai
Conclusion The Findings of the Jury Appendices 1. ANote of Qualification Ramaswamy R. Iyer 2. Members of the Jury 3. About The World Bank Group in India Glossary of Terms Contributors
Index