>I did go back to your original post. So Sainath is CPM. I'm not up on
>the arcane politics of the Indian left and it would be strange indeed
>for anyone to defend China as socialist -- although it's got to be
>said that the CCP is doing a pretty masterful job of managing China's
>transition to capitalism (with the NYT doing a pretty masterful job of
>showing up the massive inequalities and suffering, going by the series
>last year).
True, thousands (5000+?) of coal miners die in coal mining accidents in China every year. (This doesn't happen in Indian coal mines. Accidents in Indian mines are rare.) But that will not be reported by CPM media. The "socialist world" and its history are beyond criticism for CPs. Stalin's History of the CPSU (Bolshevik) has been the most important text for CPs. You can imagine the rest.
>That it should include Maharastra is perhaps even more distressing.
>That has Mumbai as its capital and has the highest PCI of all states,
>no?
True, but most of Maharashtra territory is in the rain shadow area. So large parts of Maharashtra are water deficient even in a normal year. India had a series of bad monsoons. e.g. All India rainfall in 2002 (June -September) was 81% of the long term average. The all India percentages for earlier years are 96 (1999), 92 (2000), 91 (2001). Moreover, if the rainfall is less evenly distributed in time and space, it can lead to water shortages, even if the overall position is not bad. Penisular India depends on monsoons. Northern plains get water from snow fed rivers.So there is less dependence on annual monsoon in the Gangetic plains. (_It's my impression_ that rainfall has tended to be very erratic in the recent years. Either there is too much rain or too little. I can't say whether this is due to global warming.)About 40% of the cultivated area is now irrigated. (It was 17% in 1950.) Consequently, the volume and pattern of rainfall is still an important factor in Indian ag r iculture.
>Was it, or was it not the case that Andhra Pradesh under Naidu was
>feted? Is it or is it not that the case that some 80% of AP's
>population are small/marginal farmers and landless labourers, and were
>they wrong to throw out Naidu -- even if the new government may not
>have done much?
No they were not wrong, but why are Communist Parties stagnating? CPs' vote shares in Andhra Pradesh state elections have been miserable 4.8% (1983), 5% (1985), 5.1% (1989), 6.4% (1994) and 3.3% (1999).
>Are the suicides worthy of coverage, and are they or are they not
>related to the policies pursued? Or should we just dismiss them as
>part of the price for reform and capitalist growth -- a small price to
>pay in comparison with the stagnation (was it stagnating, problems
>aside?) of "socialist" India?
You may look at the following link for an overview of growth and sustainability in Indian agriculture, 1947-1997. Swaminathan, a leading Indian geneticist is secular and leftwing.
Ulhas
Frontline August 9-22, 1997 Growth and Sustainability by M.S. Swaminathan http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1416/14160460.htm