International Day of Poverty: facts and causes of endemic poverty india

New Delhi, October 16, 2009. - On the eve of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, India remains home to one third of the poorest in the world, victims of high population pressure, agricultural dependence, illiteracy and rigid caste system that still constrain the country's future.
The World Bank, 41.6 percent of Indians lived in 2005 on less than $ 1.25 per day (0.84 euros), the international poverty line, the Indian government reduced to 12 rupees (one quarter dollar or 0.17 euros).
India began liberalizing its economy in the early 1990's with 36 percent of the poor "official" and that percentage dropped to 28.6 in 2000 and to 27.5 in 2005, a rate that makes the chimera compliance with the "millennium goal" of the 2000 UN aimed at reducing poverty by half by 2015.
"The real reason for poverty is that public policies are not aimed at good governance and are not made ​​properly. No job is generated, no healthcare, no education, "he told Efe the sociologist Dipankar Gupta.
In the nineteenth century, India came to own 16 percent of global wealth, but the country failed to connect to the industrial revolution.
It did not help the poverty reduction policy of the years after independence (1947), who put private industry with a complex system of licenses and embarked on the country to a lower growth than that of the "Asian tigers".
Despite strong GDP growth and the last two decades of liberalization, most Indians are still tied to the field, an area of low growth and declining economic weight.
Agriculture employs two-thirds of the population but generated only 17.8 percent of GDP. According to the World Bank needs reform and is not "economically or environmentally sustainable."
"Agriculture can never grow as fast as other sectors. The solution to our growth is to move workers from the agricultural to others, "he told Efe the former president of the Economic Council of India Suresh Tendulkar.
In rural areas, home to 75 percent of the poor, is also valid on the caste system, a structure which lead to the worse off in it to engage in tasks that nobody else wants and under ímprobas.
But Indian analysts are confident that the development of manufacturing and services will entail a gradual migration to the cities and, indirectly, the loss of meaning of this hierarchical system, to some ultimate cause of poverty in the country.
"The caste system has collapsed. Landlords no longer occupy the position they had and they can not mobilize the people as before. The breed will not disappear, but will continue only as a phenomenon of identity and pride, "he predicted Gupta.
By promising to be your future, India is facing serious shortcomings in terms of human development: 15.5 percent of Indians do not live more than 40 years, one in three people can not read and 47 percent of children are malnourished.
An ActionAid report released today on the occasion of World Food Day reveals that the country has added 30 million people to its ranks of hungry since mid 1990.
"The dark side of Indian economic growth has been excluded social groups have been marginalized," noted the director of ActionAid India, Babu Matthew, the agency IANS.
And all this despite the adoption of laws and programs to combat poverty as "implementation remains a massive challenge in the absence of recognition of the rights of the poor" as responsible for the Right to Food of the NGO, Amar Joyti Nayak .
According to Gupta, the efforts of state since independence, food subsidies, price controls, improved agricultural techniques, self-educational measures had an impact on the end of the great famine, but it's time to take the next step.
"The state concluded, must exercise leadership in promoting a change of model, investing in health, education. There will be no changes if the Indian elites care only about themselves. The poor will not fight if they see that they may lose the fuel subsidy. "

UN denounces a "bloodbath" civil fighting in northeastern Sri Lanka

New Delhi, 11 may 2009. - The recent fighting in the stronghold of the Tamil Tigers in northeastern Sri Lanka have caused this weekend a "bloodbath" as the UN reported today, which stood at 380 civilians killed One hundred of them children.
"We give good data by government doctors in the area, which reported the death of 380 people. Over 100 children are among the dead, "he told Efe by telephone UN spokesman in Sri Lanka, Gordon Weiss.
Weiss said the UN "does not confer" responsibility for the killing of the government and guerrillas accuse each other, but recalled that the organization and "had warned that there would be a bloodbath" for civilians are among the fighting.
The Sri Lankan army launched a few weeks ago its final offensive against the last redoubt of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a northern coastal strip on which are crowded between 50,000 and 100,000 civilians, according to UN although the government says are between 15,000 and 20,000.
An aid worker in Sri Lanka told Efe that is "impossible" to know what is happening in the combat zone because there are no observers in it, but recalled that the only side "with the military capacity to bomb from the air is the Government ".
On 27 April the Sri Lankan government ordered the army to limit their operations and end the use of heavy weapons and aerial bombing, although he had previously repeatedly denied the use of such weapons.
Despite the order, the fighting continued and escalated this weekend in Mullivaaykaal areas and Vadduvaakal, the last under guerrilla control, surrounded by troops in an area of about four square kilometers.
The head of the Organization for the Tamils ​​Rehabilitation (TRO)-also linked to the guerrilla, Lawrence Christy, said today that more than 3,200 civilians have been killed since Sunday afternoon and called for international intervention to stop the "genocide ".
A portal related to the guerrillas, Tamilnet, allegedly published photographs taken this weekend with victims of bombing and burning buildings.
The allegations of the guerrillas have been denied by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence, which said today that it is the LTTE which is attacking the Tamil population in the area under their control to promote international intervention.
"They are bombarding their own civilians with heavy weapons to lay the blame on the Sri Lankan forces. In their calculation, they believe that this will lead other countries to throw a lifeline to redeem their souls, "Defence said in a statement.
The "Tigers" Tamils ​​"are powerless to resist the forces of Sri Lanka. They need their international friends and will resort to anything to attract them. So again civilians are targeted, "he added.
In recent weeks there has been growing concern about the status of civilians trapped, who, according to Efe said Red Cross spokesman in Sri Lanka, Sarasi Wijeratne, face an acute shortage of water, medicine or medical personnel to attend .
"Since last February we brought into the Area 2,350 tons of food. That amount is insufficient to meet even basic needs of people trapped, "said the source.
According to the spokesman, the Red Cross has pulled out of the area from February to 13,769 civilians injured or sick in 31 naval evacuation operations, which sometimes have been hampered by the constant fighting.
The Government of Sri Lanka has so far rejected all international calls to halt its offensive against the Tamil Tigers, fighting for more than 25 years for an independent state in the east and north of the island.
Both the LTTE and the government maintained an active propaganda to gain support in the conflict, but most of the claims lack independent verification because it is forbidden access to the front lines.
The organization Human Rights Watch has asked the Security Council and an investigation into whether they are producing "war crimes" in Sri Lanka, end on which the UN spokesman refused to comment.

Government rejects ceasefire offer unilateral Tamil Tigers

New Delhi, April 26, 2009. - The Government of Sri Lanka did not take half an hour today or reject a cease-fire announcement of the Tamil Tigers, which is produced in full visit by a UN envoy and hours after the Sri Lankan Army to snatch his junior guerrilla stronghold.
"The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is not in a position to ask or demand anything. Intend to declare a cease-fire as long ago have sunk the knee, "Efe said by telephone from Colombo Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary, Palitha Kohona.
The guerrillas had announced in a statement minutes before a unilateral ceasefire and an end to offensive operations in northeastern Sri Lanka, where he is surrounded by the army in a small coastal strip along with tens of thousands of civilians.
"Given the unprecedented humanitarian crisis and in response to calls by the UN, European Union, the Governments of the United States, India and others, the LTTE announced a unilateral ceasefire. All offensive operations will cease with immediate effect, "said the guerrillas in the note.
On Saturday, the LTTE had denounced a situation of "starvation" to "165,000" people in the areas under their control, but the UN estimates that there are actually some 50,000 Sri Lankan Government and the estimates are between 15,000 and 20,000.
And today, the guerrillas warned that "starvation" imminent, accusing the government of deliberately blocking food supplies and medicines and continually attacking civilians trapped in rebel territory.
Complaints, however, that were described by Kohona as a "cynical effort" aimed at UN Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes, who arrived last night to the island to check the situation of civilians affected by conflict.
Holmes today called "urgent" the LTTE to abandon their weapons and enable the output of civilians, and urged the Government to limit the use of heavy weaponry in its offensive against the guerrillas.
"We need a new humanitarian pause to get aid and aid workers in the combat zone," the official was quoted by the Ada Derana TV channel.
The army launched on Monday a bloody offensive that resulted in the move to government areas of around 110,000 civilians housed in camps by the Government for that purpose in the north of the country under very precarious conditions.
"They have been arrested and are in concentration camps where they are subjected to torture in violation of all international conventions. Not allowed to return home this population. Some are used as human shields, "the LTTE.
Holmes, who has defended a "pause" in the conflict and access to the areas of humanitarian personnel, is scheduled to travel to Vavuniya (north) to verify "in situ" the situation of civilians, Efe said UN spokesman in the country, Gordon Weiss.
In recent days have increased diplomatic pressure and international concern about the fate of those trapped in the combat zone, but the Sri Lankan government seems determined to finish the LTTE militarily, fighting for more than 25 years to get a independent state for the Tamil minority.
A few hours before the announcement of the guerrillas, the army said in fact the penultimate making people in rebel hands, Valayarmadam, and the capture of 23 suspected guerrillas, the "rescue" of about 700 civilians and killed 12 rebels in a naval battle.
"They have about 500 guerrillas, who also dressed as civilians so as not to distinguish. They are just 6 square kilometers, "said Efe by telephone military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara.
Convinced of his victory, the Government today also rejected a request from U.S., EU, ​​Japan and Norway, the so-called "Tokyo Quartet" - to offer an amnesty to the guerrillas, who asked to surrender to a third party.
"There will be no amnesty for the LTTE. They will have to surrender or face removal by the Sri Lankan forces, "he was quoted by different means the Secretary of Defense Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
In a very different side, the combat strategy is seen by analysts as one of the keys to the overwhelming victory today was the ruling Alliance People United for Freedom (UPFA) in regional elections in the West-including the capital, Colombo.

Sri Lanka celebrates independence with 52 civilians killed in fighting in north

New Delhi, February 4, 2009. - The United Nations denounced the killing of 52 civilians in the fierce battles that occur in northern Sri Lanka, a country that celebrates its independence today embarked on a violent military offensive against Tamil guerrillas weakened.
"At least 52 civilians have died in attacks recorded last night at the Suranthapuram sector. We are awaiting more details, "he told Efe by telephone UN spokesman in Sri Lanka, Gordon Weiss.
Weiss also reported a cluster bomb attack against Puthukudiyirippu hospital, which has been bombing since last Sunday and is close to several areas of combat between the army and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).
At the moment it is unknown whether there have been casualties in this latest attack, while in the registered until Monday, according to the Red Cross, at least twelve civilians have been killed and 30 others were injured and the bombs have damaged kitchens, church, the flag of women and children and the operating room.
"We believe that civilians have started to leave the center in search of a safe place. We are waiting to know if there are more dead in this last attack, "he told Efe by telephone the Red Cross spokeswoman, Sarasi Wijeratne.
While all eyes point to the responsible Army, a military spokesman declined to Efe that the attacks against the hospital have been the work of the Ceylonese aviation, in line with the official government version, which says not to act against civilian targets.
"We have never used or have cluster bombs. We know that violates international Efe said spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara. Regarding Suranthapuram there fighting against the guerrillas. In any case, the dead would guerrillas dressed as civilians. "
This Sunday expired within 48 hours set by the Government to the civilians who remain in LTTE areas entering a security zone as the "only way" to be safe during the fighting with the army facing guerrillas.
Since late 2007, the Army has embarked on a powerful offense that has allowed him to major guerrilla strongholds and the bulk of its territory to go around in a forest area of 200 square kilometers in the northeast.
That achievement was welcomed by the Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who attended today the military parade held in Colombo to mark the anniversary of independence, obtained in 1948 from the hands of the British Empire.
"I trust that within a few days decisively defeat the terrorist force that many said was invincible," Rajapaksa said in his address to those attending the parade, including military's top leaders.
"We managed to almost completely defeat the cowardly forces of terror that kept frightened our nation. (...) Our heroic Armed Forces have given us the opportunity to celebrate the anniversary of independence free from the shadow of terrorism," he added.
Your Executive is facing, however, a growing international pressure to spare the civilian population caught in a war zone, Sri Lanka estimated that 120,000 people compared to the 250,000 estimated by international organizations.
Since the beginning of the war in 1983 the Tamil Tigers open against the state, have died in the Indian Ocean island nearly 100,000 victims of ethnic conflict, and hundreds of thousands are displaced.
Given the precarious situation of the Tamil Tigers, the United States, European Union, Japan and Norway yesterday urged the rebels to lay down their arms and negotiate with the government to the civil war, to avoid further bloodshed.
The LTTE remains under the control of small urban and Puthukudiyirippu Visuamadu, in January after losing the strategic Elephant Pass, the town of Kilinochchi, the de facto capital-and the town of Mullaitivu, which was his last great bastion.
The "tigers" Tamil struggle to proclaim an independent state in the north and east of the island, where ethnicity has a major presence in front of the Sinhalese majority in the country.

Bangladesh faces climate change with doubts about its survival

New Delhi, April 29, 2007. - More than 15 million people at risk of becoming "climate refugees" in Bangladesh where, according to the UN Environment Program, a rise of 1.5 meters in sea level would away 16 percent of its territory.
"We have no development or infrastructure. Just emit harmful gases into the atmosphere. So, while rich countries pollute and the earth warms, we are the victims, "said Efe from Dhaka a spokesman for the Center for Advanced Study in Bangladesh (BCAS), Jandakar Mainudin.
At home, set around extensive Sundarbans delta, formed by the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna, about 60 of its 140 million people-overwhelmingly poor, live less than 10 meters above sea level, making them particularly vulnerable to any change of the medium.
"There are many people affected. Our land is very flat and coastal people will have to flee northward. Still, we have the advantage that it is a process that happens slowly, "he told Efe AQM Mahbub professor of ecology at the University of Dhaka.
According to a report released this month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change UN forecasts for the year 2100 an increase in sea levels that threaten coastal areas and plains of the country, dominated by the Sundarbans delta ("beautiful jungle" in Bengali).
Of the major rivers, Bangladesh gets the fertile source of its agriculture, dependent on monsoon rains, while the action of the ocean has allowed the extraction of salt and the development of fisheries.
And now, with the increase in global mean temperature and the melting of Himalayan glaciers and the polar areas, the coastline of the country, where the biggest beach in the world (Cox's Bazar, about 120 kilometers long), suffers and the pressure of the water.
"It's like time has gone mad: Too many or too few showers. The sea enters the delta and the rivers carry less and less water. Some offshore islands have already disappeared, "he said by telephone Mainudin.
Quantified in three millimeters per year by the World Bank, rising sea level is related to global warming, but also with decreasing flow of major rivers, drowned by the construction of dams and erosion.
The Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna drag tons of sediment that modify the ground and act as a powerful agent against environmental degradation of the riverbanks, where they have built shacks million people in defiance of the obvious risk involved reside at the level of water.
Each year, about 95 million farmers in Bangladesh expect with a mixture of fear and anxiety to drought and floods that come with the monsoon, so important for their livelihood and fertility of crops as dangerous to their lives.
"Our culture blessing because monsoon rains are very important for crops. But due to climate change, severe floods are becoming more frequent. Just check the dates of the last "maintains Mahbub.
Between the catastrophic flood of 1954 and the following similar effect spent 20 years as the teacher. Then, the interval was reduced to 14 years (1988), then to 10 (1998) and then to 6, in 2004, when was the last great flood, which caused 600 deaths and 4 million displaced.
The realization of climate change must take, according to the BCAS, to rich countries reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases, but also the development of pilot projects help, because Mainudin says, "apart from the great words to do something here and now. "
And as climate change looms as a threat to the future of the Bengalis, millions of poor peasants waiting in the Sundarbans delta arrival, like clockwork, the next monsoon.

Gandhi returned to India in the mind of a disturbed gangster

New Delhi, December 7, 2006. - The Indian film "Lage Raho Munna Bhai", where "Mahatma" Gandhi was a gangster appears quixotic, has become the country as a phenomenon that has inspired protests with roses to an anti-corruption law.
The film has won various personalities of the country as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, or even the great-grandson of Gandhi, Tushar Gandhi, who confessed to Efe "be delighted" with the image and processing the message received by his great-grandfather the film.
"Apparently, India Gandhi had abandoned. But the way he preached is as old as the rivers and mountains, and without peace and love will not survive as a society. Dreaming about equality and work with the weakest still present, as evidenced by Gandhi or Muhammad Yunus, "says Tushar.
To define this new wave of pacifism equal, the film draws on neologism "Gandhigiri" (literally "make Gandhi"), which means Indians use to describe a form of protest that turns to love and tolerance for violence.
"Deception is a disease, and who deceives a patient. So the best way to fight against lies and corruption is wanting to those who have a speedy recovery, for example give them roses, "says the ghost of Gandhi gangster hallucinated.
And, captivated by the power of the message, thousands of people have taken to the streets of the country since the release of the film to protest with roses by the agricultural crisis of cotton, the precarious conditions of university education, or simply poor service a telephone company.
"A film says Tushar Gandhi - can not make a revolution, but it does generate interest. And now the message of Gandhi is back, though, somehow, was always here. "
In the film, a Bombay gangster soaks Gandhian philosophy to win her crush, a radio, but the obsession with the father of Indian independence ends up causing hallucinations.
Drawn by the ghost of Gandhi's advice, the mobster and his friend Circuit, two modern Quixote and Sancho, rush to the aid of the weaknesses of the city, amid the choreography typical "Bollywood" and a bizarre argument that combines the theories of "Mahatma" with humor, the picaresque and the underworld.
"If a guy throws a stone at a statue of me, tell him to tour the country and bring down all my statues, and to delete my name from the streets and books. I only store in the heart, "says the ghost gangster mouth before recommending turning the other cheek to receive mamporros.
With the slogan "Get well soon", the film has caught on different pages of the network, but also on selected corridors of high politics, after the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared that the film captures "the message Bapu ("Father", referring to Gandhi) on the power of truth and humanism. "
Singh also said that the film, which has become the first Hindi film premiered at the UN headquarters, is one of the references of the new law that promotes his government to fight corruption.
The success of "Munna Bhai" ("colleague Munna") lies, according to Tushar Gandhi, which has connected the moral reference of Gandhi with a youthful language close to everyday problems of people.
In the words of the great-grandson of "Mahatma", his great-grandfather, the real Gandhi, "would not be happy with today's India, full of inequalities," but "seek a positive way."
However, the ghostly Gandhi responds and reassures his countrymen from the big screen: "Do not worry about me, I'm fine and I'm still here in force, if only the head of a madman."

Tharoor's resignation away to India Security Council

New Delhi, October 3, 2006. - The withdrawal of Indian Shashi Tharoor in the struggle to succeed Secretary General Kofi Annan, subtraction pressure capacity to India and away from their aspirations for permanent membership of the Council Security.
The diplomat, lawyer and Indian writer released last night in New York who is retiring from the race for the General Secretariat of the UN, after losing to the Korean Ban Ki-Moon in the fourth round of voting and from the reluctance of China and USA.
Of the fifteen possible votes, Tharoor received ten positive, two negative and three abstentions, among whom was the of a permanent member of the Security Council, which would, in a formal vote to veto the candidate.
The Indian diplomat decided to withdraw its candidacy to know the possible veto of a country with a permanent presence in the Council and used his appearance to congratulate Ban Ki-Moon.
"I accept the defeat, Ban has won and would like to convey my congratulations. I welcome the support received, even if not sufficient, "he said.
Tharoor, born in 1956, was appointed in June by India candidate for Secretary General of the United Nations, backed by three decades of experience within the organization, from the beginning was the second candidate in contention after the South Korean.
Author of six books, has worked at the UN headquarters in New York since 1989 and until 1996 was responsible for peacekeeping operations in former Yugoslavia, moving later to the post of executive assistant to Kofi Annan, who appointed him in 2001 Acting Head of the Department of Public Information.
This proximity to Annan is the factor that led the United States to express their distrust a candidate who in August 2004 reported in the Forum in Barcelona (Spain) that the UN had lost "a lot of credibility" because of events in Iraq.
However, it is considered that the veto from China, a country that since it was announced the nomination of Tharoor, has kept quiet about it.
China on several occasions made ​​public his support for an Asian candidate for the post of general secretary, but was reluctant to accept the nomination of Tharoor.
The reason for this silence may lie partly in the desire not to upset Pakistan, which from the outset India reacted to the nomination, but also because China sees India as a rival power in the area.
Another explanation for the vote of rejection raised Tharoor is the concern that India could exert its influence on the UN General Secretariat to promote their interests to reform the Security Council.
The Indian candidate supported the demands of their country to be part of the Security Council as permanent member.
According to Tharoor, the UN reflects political realities of 1945 and not today, so you should consider reforms that would allow countries like India achieve their "legitimate aspirations".
India, in fact, today criticized the Security Council of the UN, maintaining that it has failed in its duty to maintain peace and security because of their unrepresentative nature.
“El problema principal para el mantenimiento de la paz no es de personal o recursos, sino de la falta de representatividad del Consejo de Seguridad”, afirmó el embajador indio ante la ONU, Nirupam Sen.
La reforma de las Naciones Unidas, según el Gobierno de Nueva Delhi , quedaría incompleta de no ampliar el Consejo de Seguridad para dar entrada a más países, con el fin de hacerlo “más representativo y efectivo”, señaló el embajador.