Improving South Asia's Economy
Well Planned Programmes Essential

By Khilendra Basnyat

DESPITE continuing endeavours over the past few decades, economic development in most South Asian countries is far from satisfactory. It can be realised only in the more accessible and profitable parts of these countries.

Marginal

Low levels of per capita income and low rates of economic growth characterize the economics of most South Asian countries. In the past, the average annual growth rates of the economies were only marginally higher and in some cases even lower than the population growth rates.

Although a few decades of planning have resulted in some increases in national income, the creation of infrastructure and the development of human capital, the bulk of the gains seems to have benefited mainly the upper social and economic classes of South Asia. Apart from this, solutions to the serious problems of both unemployment and poverty continue to elude South Asian governments' efforts. Economic liberalisation for development has brought about increased involvement of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in South Asian economics. Actually, these two international institutions govern the South Asian countries, which are dependent on development aid.
In recent times, economic liberalisation is almost synonymous with structural adjustment policies. These structural adjustment schemes demand the privatisation of public institutions including those providing public services.

Food subsidies, free medical care and education and subsidised transportation have been axed in many countries under these dictates. However, increasing inflation put basic need of the people beyond their reach. No doubt, the donor countries from the north have encouraged structural adjustment, which are convinced that political and economic liberalisation, while purporting to improve the lot of the public, has resulted in violation of economic and social rights of the people. This is obvious vis-à-vis the labour force.

The next policy conditionally of the IMF structural adjustment programmes pursued in South Asis is exchange rate devaluation. This has augmented inflation to the extent that domestic goods rely on imported inputs and hence suffer increasing cost per unit, following devaluation. In fact, high inflation rates have great impact on the poor who have few resources to fall back as compared to the rich. Another factor accentuating disparity in income distribution following inflation is that with monopolistic market structure manufacturers can pass an increased cost of living by increasing the prices of their manufactured goods. However, poorly organised workers are unable to negotiate wage increase at the same rate as inflation.

Over the years, subsidy withdrawal under IMF conditionally in South Asia has occurred especially in the case of food, fertiliser, irrigation water and utilities such as gas and electricity. Since these goods and services constitute a relatively large proportion of expenditure by the low-income groups, this has caused a great impact on the real income of the poor compared to the rich. What is more, small and subsistence farmers, who have no marketable surplus, find that their production costs increase following subsidy withdrawal on fertilisers, irrigation water and pesticides. They enjoy no compensation gain from increased prices of food grain, following subsidy withdrawal on them.
South Asia is a less developed region where the primary sector dominates the economy. This is testified by the fact that about 60% of this region consist of primary products, which suffer from low demand and relative price fall.

In reality, South Asia's economic growth rate has declined over the years. However, the share of imports from industrialised countries remains high, and the terms of trade have worsened. In reality, South Asia's economic growth rate has declined over the years. However, the share of imports from industrialized countries remains high, and the terms of trade have worsened. In most South Asian countries, agricultural products are predominant. However, India and Pakistan are exceptions in this regard. In these two countries, manufactured goods make up a high proportion of the total export.

South Asia heavily relies on the import of capital goods, industrial, agricultural and essential consumer goods including food and petroleum products. In the past, its export has decreased and so has its balance of payment. The unfavorable situation tends to perpetuate dependence on external assistance. As foreign aid seems to be precarious, even low level of development, which is continuing in this region, may stagnate in future.

In South Asia, there is a great diversity among countries in terms of the levels of development, size and associated economic power. While such diversity shouldn't be seen as an impediment to initiating a process of cooperation aimed at strengthening collective self-reliance in the sub-region, the existing structural inequalities among countries have to be considered in initiating any such process.
Otherwise, through economic coordination among the countries these structural inequalities would result in a relationship of dominance and dependence between the strong and weak economies. Therefore, it is desirable to define the objective of economic and technical cooperation and establish a mechanism for cooperation within the division of labour and flows of trade and promote self-reliance at the national level as well.

The expansion and strengthening of economic links within the sub-region should be perceived chiefly as an instrument for strengthening the capacities of the countries of the sub-region for accelerated economic development.

Despite some achievements in the past, South Asia continues to be home to the majority of the world's poor. Economic analysis has made it clear that for the improvement in the welfare of the South Asian region, the present economic growth rate of 5-6% is inadequate. It has been envisaged that a sustained growth rate of 8% in GDP is necessary to facilitate the much-needed structural transformation to bring about the desired reduction in poverty rates and to improve the standard of living of the region's population. The challenges of realising and maintaining such high growth rates over a reasonable period of time are undoubtedly complicated. While the imperatives of expediting economic development are increasing, the compulsion of integration with the world economy and of facing challenge of increased competition is also increasing.

Today, technology and knowledge have become strategic factors in influencing output growth and trade expansion. Firm level competitiveness has become an important determinant of the patterns of trade in regard to an increasingly globalising competitive world. Actually, internationalisation of production has become an inevitable characteristic of the global production system.

More Complicated

Today, the world is striving to move towards a freer trading environment with the elimination of the tariff and non-tariff barriers of trade in the framework of World Trade Organisation. Therefore, the challenges of bringing the gap between the rich and the poor and of realising a fairer distribution of the benefits from the trade have become more complicated than before. In this context, South Asia has to exploit fully all the potential opportunities of realising a high economic growth and of improving the competitive strength of economic activities of this region through the well designed programmes of action.

Polyandry System And Nepal

By Birendra Lamsal

POLYANDRY system was common in the Asian region in the ancient times. Existing social structure and development of mankind has been greatly influenced by this system. If we study anthropological history we find the system ruling the eastern societies all over. Hindu religion and its related epigraphy present many examples and stories on polyandry system. In the Mahabharata story, Draupadi and her marriage with Pandavas, reflect the ancient polyandry tradition existing in the then society.

Cultural Diversity

The system of having more than one husband at the same time is no more in existence except in a very few uncivilised ones. However, the custom still exists in some parts of Africa and Asia including the Tibetan region, Indian sub-continents and in the Himalayan regions of the Tibeto-Burman speaking Nepali communities. As some few communities still have this custom, Nepal could very well be said a country of cultural diversity being inhabited by diverse ethnic groups. In the mountainous districts of Solukhumbu, Manang, Mustang, Dolpa, Humla and Mugu there are certain localities where people still practice polyandry custom.

Social scientist K.M. Kapadiya has stated that polyandry system is a kind of tradition in which more than one husband have commonly used a female as wife at the same time. Based on nature and characteristics polyandry has two parts: fraternal polyandry and non- polyandry. In fraternal polyandry, the wife comes to live with the fraternal groups of husbands in their house. In non- polyandry she remains in her house and the husbands come to her by turn as causal visitors. The number of husbands depends upon her choice and nature. In the Nepalese Tibeto-Burman communities, parents of three sons usually make middle child as a celibate monk. In this case, the two fraternal brothers share a woman as their wife. Thus, a family with three sons in a Tibeto-Burmese family is a rare case. If a family has more than three brothers, the first and second share one wife while third and others share another one. The wives as well as the children produced by them are common to all brothers. But when it comes to the identification of the children, the tradition prescribes that it is only the eldest brother who is regarded as social father of all children to the polyandry union. The eldest brother is called elder father and the others as younger fathers. Wife decides and identifies which child relates to whom. Generally, elder child is related to elder brother, middle child is related to middle father and remaining in the same way.

Fraternal polyandry is in existance among different sects of Sherpa societies of Solukhumbu, Bargaonle of Mustang, Manang, Bhotais of Mugu, Dolpa and Humla and so on. But the system of practicing polyandrous marriage is different from one place to another. Some sects of Sherpas, Gurungs and Lamas (Bhotais) are main ethnic groups involving in polyandry. Most of the Himalayan societies where polyandry system rules today's world are involved in pastoral farming and agriculture. The tradition among them has it that one husband, stays at home while others usually go to the field for shepherding or trading purpose for one season. In the other season the other husband comes to stay at home with the wife while others go for work. The chance for all the husbands comes on a regular time frame. This tradition helps maintain polyandry system because it provides time for every husband to live with wife and develop relations.

No Figure

Many studies have presented one fact that polyandry enables a set of brothers to cover and utilize all economic bases and resources and pool their earnings to strengthen the economy of the family. Polyandrous Himalayan people have worked on Tibetan antiques, wooden bowls, local carpets, statues etc. It is difficult to state the exact number of polyandrous people and their family size because census 2001 has covered only the information on polygamy and their size. The engagement on polyandry and polygamy is also common in this Himalayan high cast family. Modernization and engagement in different sectors and need of family kinship has influenced the breakdown in the polyandry system. The high difference in age group between brothers and their wife is also another factor to decrease the tendency of polyandry in the modern times.

Craving For A Fix

By Uday Lama

THERE is a large number of drug addicts in Kathmandu who live a dark shadowy life of misery and drug dependence. They represent a cross-section of the population who prefer to remain anonymous for reasons best known to themselves. And fuel their snorting, injecting and popping pills habit either by borrowing or stealing money and even commit small crimes to get the werewithal.

'Craving for a fix' takes its toll even as they experiment with hard drugs. The brief period in which their senses is lulled is replaced by lassitude and dejection once it wears off. At first small amounts of the drug is enough to induce hallucination and euphoria but gradually the dose has to be increased to bring about the same effect. Getting high means that the nervous system gets used to it and any change in the status quo results in withdrawal.

Drug dependence is a dangerous thing to happen to anyone and is usually experienced in full measure. There is no way out except to detoxify oneself before it takes its lethal effects. When it does take hold the addict waits anxiously for the next fix. The intervening moment is one of quiet desperation charged with anxiety. This is a cycle that ends only with untimely death usually from an overdose.

When there is no drug available for some reasons or the other the addict stops taking it then withdrawal symptoms surface. The person retreats into a shell too moody and depressed for any contact. Shut off from the rest of the world the addict aweats it out.

A way out is through rehabilitation centers where one can undergo treatment to detoxify the body and return almost to normalcy. These are run by various organisations and are staffed by individuals dedicated to helping such stricken people and charge nothing for their services. The statisfaction of seeing a life saved is its own reward.

Local dealers who possess illegal substances sell them to clients and make a profit from it. The exchanges takes place quickly and surreptiously and in such a way as to evade the law. The dealers hang out in spots such as bus parks, school gates and where a sizeable number of people gather. They do their business and disperse to their hideouts to emerge after a few hours.

A crackdown on the supply and distribution of illicit substances could infuse a greater confidence amongst the youths. They are only too vulnerable to the tricks and malpractices resorted to by unscrupulous agents of death. Even though laws exist and are framed to deter the underworld these could prove ineffective for want of implementation.

Vested interests in the higher echelon of society sometimes prevents the authorities from taking punitive action against the drug dealers. Such people in positions of respectability should be wrenched from their moorings so the realisations dawns that they are abiding criminals, giving them protection and immunity from the long arm of the law.