Some people — actually the majority — never learn. Right until 1980, some pundits say 1990, the GDP of the neighbouring — too close for comfort — People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Republic of India was on a par. Three decades later, PRC’s GDP is $15 trillion and India’s $3 trillion. That’s because from 1978 onward, the ruling Communist Party of China discovered that native Chinese are natural entrepreneurs, and placed the country firmly on the capitalist road of free markets and free enterprise. Likewise, Indians are also born entrepreneurs and traders, perhaps the only ones who can take on and compete with the Chinese. But instead of encouraging and stimulating our billion entrepreneurs and businessmen, lefty layabouts and politicians continue to pillory “suit-boot” industry leaders and businessmen. This anti-business threnody is being sung by the leaders of the prolonged farmers’ agitation in Delhi. Their tune is that the new farm laws are an Ambani-Adani conspiracy to exploit the country’s 600 million rural population. Hello, Kisan brothers! Is it rocket science to understand that companies run by Ambani-Adani, ITC, Britannia, Godrej etc with large resources and reputations to lose, will offer better contracts, farm-gate prices and logistics support than anonymous, sly, penny-pinching commission agents and middlemen? Because of the agriculture-industry divide, fruit and vegetable produce valued at Rs.93,000 crore is wasted annually, and rats instead of humans are consuming the rotting foodgrain mountains in ill-maintained warehouses of the public sector Food Corporation of India. The plain truth is that the country needs Ambani-Adani 1,000x to generate employment and tax revenues for government. Continuous neglect of primary education for over seven decades has precipitated an intellect famine. Not only in rural India. Also read: From Covid-19 to farm bills protest, here are the top news of 2020
