BANGALORE, Tuesday, September 3, 2002

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The ‘Glocalisation’ mantra
Issues related to society, economics and culture were discussed at length as part of the ‘Liberty and Society Seminar’ (LSS) held at the Search Training Institute in the City from August 22 to 25, 2002. The participants were selected from among hundreds, who applied from all over the country.

About 40 students from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka took part in the seminar that was held in Bangalore.

Former editor of Economic Times Swaminathan Aiyar, noted economist Sauvik Chakraverty and KSRTC Managing Director K Jairaj spent some time with a group of youngsters at this seminar organised by the Centre for Civil Society (CCS), New Delhi.

The seminar provided students with a greater understanding of the society, economy, and culture, within the classical liberal framework that emphasises on limited government, rule of law, free trade, and competitive markets. The focus was on the philosophy of ‘Libertarianism’ with greater emphasis on the theories of Adam Smith (Father of modern economics) and Milton Friedman (Nobel Laureate).

‘Greed is good’, ‘India’s population is an asset’, ‘Good governance’, ‘Liberalisation and glocalisation’ were some of the topics that were discussed in the seminar.

Dr Parth J Shah, President, CCS spoke at length about the reasons for India being a poor country. The focus was on the wrong economic policies adopted by the planners who had created a “mixed-up economy” instead of a “mixed economy,” according to Prof Sauvik Chakraverty. Mr K Jairaj highlighted the flaws in the bureaucratic set up in his talk on ‘Good governance: theory and practice.’

Mr Swaminathan Aiyar spoke about ‘Liberalisation and Glocalisation,’ emphasising the need for strong localised administration, which he believes is not being pursued whole-heartedly by the Indian policy makers.
Some interesting documentaries were also screened during the course of the seminar. The students discussed and debated issues that were highlighted in the documentaries. The students not only received certificates of participation at the end of the seminar, but also went back with a whole new perspective of looking at various economic and social problems that confront our society.

The Centre for Civil Society is an independent, nonprofit, research and educational organisation devoted to improving the quality of life of all citizens of India by reviving and re-invigorating civil society.
For further details log on to www.ccsindia.org or mail to ccs@ccsindia.org or mana@ccsindia.org

Sabith Khan