The UN Development Project released its Human Development Report; as usual, India and the countries in its immediate neighbourhood vied for places in the bottom half.
Country
HDI Rank
Typical Reaction
Maldives
84
Sri Lanka
96
India
127
Self-congratulatory on cultural diversity but silent on the dismally low ranking
Bhutan
136
Does not count its poor
Bangladesh
138
Poverty level reduced by 3%, but income disparity. Better than Pakistan.
Nepal
140
Pakistan
142
Victim of an unjust down-grading
Simultaneously, The Cato Institute has released its Economic Freedom Index (using data from the year 2002). India, Bangladesh and Pakistan have moved up in the rankings, while Sri Lanka and Nepal have slipped. Increasing economic competition between India and its neighbours will be to everyone’s interests. The economic agenda of the Indian government will be that one factor that can bring this about.
Country
EFI Rank (2004)
EFI Rank (2003)
India
68
71
Sri Lanka
78
71
Bangladesh
83
87
Pakistan
90
101
Nepal
94
87
The United Nations’ report focuses on the importance of cultural liberty to human development. Cultural liberty has plenty of advocates in India while economic freedom is viewed with suspicion. The Cato Index has yet to be picked up by the mainstream media in India. Yet, economic freedom correlates quite strongly with human development and in contrast to ephemeral cultural liberties, allowing greater economic freedom is well within the government’s reach. The road to prosperity for everyone in the subcontinent is paved with similar stones - those of economic, political and cultural freedoms.
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