Raghuram Rajan: India will be more divided if the minority community…
PremiumRaghuram Rajan claims that India's priorities are misplaced at the moment.
India will become more divided if efforts are made to treat a sizable minority as "second class citizens", according to former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan. He also used Sri Lanka as an example, claiming that this is what occurs when a nation's politicians attempt to divert attention from a jobs issue by "targeting minorities".
He went on to explain why majoritarian authoritarianism must be fought, claiming that any attempt to reduce a significant minority to second-class status will cause internal strife and division. Rajan noted that it will also leave the nation open to interference from abroad.
According to the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), liberalism was not a complete religion and the fundamental principle of every major religion was to seek out what was good in everyone. This principle was also, in many ways, the fundamental principle of liberal democracy.
According to Rajan, India's poor performance in terms of economic growth suggests that the country's current course has to be reconsidered.
"There is a feeling among some quarters in India today that democracy holds back India. India needs strong, even authoritarian, leadership with few checks and balances on it to grow and we seem to be drifting in this direction," Rajan said at the 5th conclave of All India Professionals Congress.
“Our future lies in strengthening our liberal democracy and its institutions, not weakening them, and this is in fact essential for our growth."
Raghuram Rajan claimed that the country's priorities were misplaced and that this led to terrible outcomes since not enough money was being spent on education.
"Many (children) not having been to school for two years are dropping out. Their human capital, which is their and our most important asset in the coming years, is something we are neglecting. We are failing them by not devoting enough resources to remedial education," Rajan concluded his speech as saying.
Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less 