ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Tension, major non-tariff barrier to Indo-Pak ties, says Booth

British High Commissioner in India Sir David Gore Booth says the "tortured" relations between India and Pakistan must be surmounted to remove a major non-tariff barrier.

Speaking at a luncheon meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry (southern region) in Bangalore today, he said, "I hope that a solution will be found to the Kashmir problem which bedevils relations between Delhi and Islamabad".

He said even the British had a bitter problem in Northern Ireland, but successive British and Irish prime ministers had devoted enormous time and will to tackle the issue. After several decades, they recently entered into an agreement on new structures of cooperation within Northern Ireland, between north and south, and between London and Dublin.

He agreed with a suggestion that instead of exchanging threats and accusations, both India and Pakistan should exchange goods and ideas to end the legacy of Partition effected by the British 51 years ago.

On the political and economic status of India, he said India badly needed creation of more domestic and foreign capital. The United Kingdom excelled in capital formation, with London being the world's leading financial centre. Insurance companies were awaiting clearance from the Indian government to invest in India and act as purveyors of service.

He said the disinvestment process in public sector undertakings should be speeded up to improve and fund the social sectors, especially health and education sectors. This would tackle India's poverty rather than extending subsidy, he added.

India needed a common South Asian space. The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation should also become a reality on a broad scale, he said.

He said central planning -- licence permit raj -- was a great failure in India. The expansion of state control to almost all areas of economic activity had adversely affected the inflow of foreign capital, leading to the neglect of other areas like infrastructure, education, health and services.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report