Corrosion and its consequences

Sarbjit Dhaliwal

A debate is on among intellectuals and experts about the development in Punjab which is going at snail’s pace. Obviously, there are different opinions on this issue. Scholars have questioned the sustainability of the state’s economic development on the basis of agricultural growth, which has not only slowed down, but in the recent past has even registered negative growth.

Voices have been raised to bring about a drastic change in the structure of the state’s economy. The aim is to make it job oriented by giving a push to the industrial sector. In world’s developed economies, people have moved from the farming sector to the industrial and service sectors. It has become difficult for the developed countries to sustain people in the farming sector. Heavy dose of subsidies is allotted to farmers to encourage them to continue in the profession in countries like the USA, the UK and France.

But in India, and especially in states like Punjab, farming continues to be a prime source of survival and livelihood for the majority of the population. The Green Revolution gave a boost to the income of farmers, however, that boom has disappeared and the farming sector has once again suffered massive losses.

Dominating opinion is that in the era of globalisation, Punjab has not developed in the way it was expected to. Some other laggard states have rather done well in the last few decades. Punjab’s economy has slowed down and there are reasons for it. Majority of farmers are under the heavy burden of debt. For small and marginal farmers, agriculture has become an unviable livelihood option. Reports regarding suicides by farmers continue unabated, especially from the Malwa region.

The book, Punjab’s Economic Development in the Era of Globalisation edited, by a team of professors, throws light on the condition of economy, agriculture, education and health sectors in the state. It also has details about social aspects, such as security and gender dimensions of employment. The book is a compilation of essays published to honour the commitment of R.S. Ghuman, an economist and academician, to diagnose state’s various economic and social ailments. Ghuman, who taught in the economics department of Punjabi University for several years, is now a professor and head of the Nehru Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) Chair at Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID).

The book is a good read to find out what has gone wrong with the state’s economy and the causes of its ailing condition. Obviously, lack of governance and red-tapism slowed down the progress of the state.

Sucha Singh Gill, a well-known economist, has laboured hard to prove the point that crisis at the governance level that includes failure at framing and implementing the policies have proved fatal for the state’s economy. Lakhwinder Singh has indentified the factors that have contributed to the economic slowdown. Kesar Singh Bhangu has focused on the agrarian distress in Punjab and Jaswinder Singh Brar, Amarjit Singh Sethi and Baljit Kaur have focused on the ailing education sector. The book includes chapters on women health, cancer-infested areas and its financial consequences.

The book is not based on vague conclusions. Arguments by various writers have been backed by facts and figures. One may not agree with the analysis of facts, figures and thesis propounded in the book, but what makes it worth reading is that it extensively deals with main aspects of state’s economy. Before beginning to rebuild the state, it is important to know what structural defects are bedeviling it.

Punjab has reached a stage when it needs experts to cure its ailments. A land known for its fertile soil and hard-working farmers is in dire straits. Be it the declining water table, stagnation in farm production, growing social evils or slow growth rate of its economy, measures need to be identified and implemented to put Punjab back on the track of progress.