Nudging the UK, India became the fifth largest economy of the world. There was a chorus from a large number of intellectuals, economists, in particular, praising India for displacing her previous colonial master. A few weeks back this scribe went to Hyderabad (India). He was staying in a posh residence. In the chilly winter morning an aged woman sans warm clothes came to clean and sweep the floor. This scribe looked at her time and again. What a joke? She is the citizen of the country boasting to be the fifth largest economy of the world. India is the home to the highest number of the blind people of the world. Still many children are half fed and suffer from malnutrition. People still bear the burden of the beasts on their backs. It is expected that India will soon surpass Germany and become the fourth largest economy of the world. What is the mantra of this progress? This is nothing but the calculation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A nation's GDP is the value of all goods and services produced within the economy in a given year. This magic formula is being followed around the globe. The so-called growth has always been orchestrated by the politician claiming their success. But nobody looks at the formula to see how funny it is. David Pilling in his book 'The Growth Delusion States' said, "Averages are a trap. They are deeply misleading. Bankers earn more than the bakers. Who earn more than the unemployed? If the entire economic pie of a wealthy country went to one individual and nothing went to anyone else, then the average person would be doing very nicely, thank you. But the typical person would have starved to death." In fact, people often get excited about the growth rates of some developing countries. For, getting that much of it is simply the result of high birth rates. There is a joke. When Bill Gates walks into a bar, everyone in the room is a billionaire. Of course, this does not mean to say that there is no growth of wealth. Wealth increases, but that is highly concentrated in the hands of a few. One India mining tycoon invited 50,000 guests to his daughter's wedding, in a mock castle in Bangalore it cost $ 80 million.
The country boasted a growing number of billionaires, some of who did not exactly wear their social conscience on their sleeves. In Mumbai a city which possesses the largest slum of the world, Mukesh Ambani, the wealthiest man in India, built a twenty-seven-floor house reputed to have cost $ 1.0 billion. A steel tycoon of India bought a house in London at a cost of £ 90 million. So wealth is growing but only for a few. In Bangladesh also the sharp contrast is to be found. There has been a sharp rise in per capita income to $1706. At the same time the city of Dhaka is having more and more floating people. Wealth has been concentrated in the hands of a few. A section of people are going to Singapore or Bangkok by air ambulance for medical treatment but one can find always a number of appeals in the newspaper page for help for the treatment of the serious disease of his ward.
The genius of GDP is that it somehow manages to squeeze all human activity into a single number. But no single number can capture all that is worth knowing in life. So there is no reason to feel complacent seeing the rise of GDP only. In this connection it may be mentioned that economic justice is inextricably linked up with social justice.
Economic growth told us little about rising inequality and about huge global imbalance. We know that Kuznets was the progenitor of GDP. But according to the Growth Delusion, "Although Kuznets is considered the father of GDP in several important respects, the methodology that was evaluated by the early 1940s and which has remained largely in use ever since went against his most profoundly held beliefs. Kuznets was striving for a measure that would reflect welfare rather than what he considered a crude summation of all activity. He wanted to exclude illegal activities, socially harmful industries and most government spending. On many of these issues he lost. (Page 28).
Kleptocracy has engulfed the globe. Previously Kleptocracy was used in a very narrow term. It meant theft only. Now Kleptocracy means to steal, keep it secret and then utilise it for one's own self. A single mega Kleptocracy case in Malaysia has left the previous minister in jail and Mr. Mahathir aged over 90 has staged a heroic comeback to the state power.
The honourable Prime Minister of Bangladesh has stated in an unequivocal term that there will be zero tolerance against corruption.
It has become absolutely recession. The rise of billionaires in Bangladesh has become highest in the world. Taxation policy is to be pragmatic. Practical social safety networks will have to be increased. The rich-poor divide must be narrowed. Presently social assistance for the needy is far from requirement. In this connection, it may be mentioned that the payment of various social allowances is not regular. All these ills will have to be removed. The rise of GDP will be meaningful only when social dignity and social justice will be ensured. Otherwise drum beating for increase of GDP will be of no use.
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