A stutter in India ...

Recently, there has been much talk about how India is going to become dominant in the world. This report on the issues facing Tata Nano production in West Bengal is an example of why that growth will not be easy. Quick summary, strikes and protests have stopped the construction of the Nano production facility in West Bengal.

Knowing West Bengal, they would have protested the construction no matter how much cause they had. A gut reaction would be to blame the intransigence of undereducated farmers, the hold of the communists and pandering by politicians. However, a closer look reveals that it may not be as simple as that. Government heavy handedness and a willingness by Indian companies to use government influence to strong arm people and not be fair were also to blame.

In this case, the West Bengal government literally took away hundreds of acres of farmland to give to the Tatas and paid the farmers "adequate compensation". Since there was no auction, the compensation is the government's estimate of the land's value, and not the market value it might have fetched. So, financially, its unclear how fair the deal is.

Also, imagine being a farmer and then having the only thing you know how to do being taken away from you, without your consent. It would be like someone giving me a packet of money and saying you can never work in a company again.

The Chinese by contrast do this relatively easily, for example in the relocation of 2 MM people during the construction of the 3 Gorges Dam. The question is, should India emulate the Chinese? Are the pains of the few less relevant than the gains of the many?