Punjab needs the will to bounce back…
In conversation with economist Autar Dhesi. Read full article: punjab needs the will
Published in Hindustan Times July 5, 2009, Chandigarh Edition, Sunday Magazine
In conversation with economist Autar Dhesi. Read full article: punjab needs the will
Published in Hindustan Times July 5, 2009, Chandigarh Edition, Sunday Magazine
Subscribe to comments with RSS.
Prof. Autar Singh Dhesi’s conversation with Anuradha Shukla (Hindustan Times, Sunday Magazine June 5, 2009) highlights some of the core issues of the political economy of the post-Green Revolution Punjab. His emphasis on shift from agrarian economy to a knowledge-based economy summarizes his critical vision that can facilitate in developing ones capabilities, a key to pro-people economic growth. It needs, reiterates Dhesi, heavy investment in knowledge sector, modern industry, and public health. For that we need to go beyond the long dated state sector and to revitalize our obsolete and dysfunctional educational system.
Prof. Dhesi has long been involved not only theoretically but also practically in various multi-faceted grassroots projects of developing human capabilities by harnessing the entrepreneurial skills of the ‘virtual’ global Punjabi community thoroughly rooted in its versatile local culture of hard work and sharing. He has been associated with a highly ambitious project of providing neat surroundings, clean water and sewerage treatment plants, solar light lit streets, computer centers and working libraries at the villages of Punjab. Dr. Abdul Kalam, the former President of India, inaugurated the first ultra-modern village project completed by his global team in Doaba Punjab. Prof. Dhesi has documented his project experiences in his seminal co-authored study: Rural Development in Punjab.