The problem with democracy is that every one is allowed to have a say in every thing, irrespectibve of the accuracy of the opinion.

The farmers, burderned with decades of illitracy and poverty, are unable to decide or differentiate between good and bad and the politicians & other vested interests are taking advantage of this by provoking them to revolt.

Though there are examples all over the world of Industrialisation having adversly affected the farmers in the short term, the resultant benefits do trickle down over a period. What the government needs to do is increase the flow of benefits trickling down to bottom of the pyramid.

However, to stop the growth and development of an entire nation of over a billion people because some people are not able to decide and are being coerced by others..... is wrong .... pure madness. We need to take a leaf out of history and come down hard on peopple who are instigating voilence and go ahead with the projects with full force.

AH, Delhi, India

Kiran, I think Shouvik has a point there. Indian states happen to be in a mad race to the bottom by offering tax concessions to free lands to subsidized mining rights for few millions of dollars every now and then, irrespective of money brought in or not, or the credibility of the group. If one looks at Forbes billionaires wealth from India, in two important parameters; India happens to be at extremely difficult position: GDP/billioaires' wealth at 25%; and tax revenue/billioaires' wealth at around 1/3 (all nominal measures, global average for first is 7% and 2nd is at 3). And it's not hard to see who these billioaires are. The states are getting poorer at the cost of few, and losing their burgaining power even more. Both those two ratios are at their highest and lowest. And billionaires' wealth is growing fastest probably. So that's a concern for us (and as a researcher, to me personally).

Ranjit Goswami, Kolkata, India

"Farmers put India’s growth in doubt as they win battle of the boom zones" Tiltel of the story is misleading. It is wrong to measure growth in numbers. Development should be all inclusive and for all in the country. Unless prosperity comes along with peace it is not worth it, as it will always be lopsided and for a small section of the society. Our numbers could look small and slow - we are not in the race. Development is not a faceless phenomena, as it is made out to be. It will differ from society to society. Development path need not be what has been defined as by the "Modern Economics". Alternatives will have to looked into. An agrarian economy can remain so and yet be called developed, should be the alternative that needs to be looked into.

Prerana, Mumbai,

India is a democracy. All problems are clearly visible. One can't just suppress any issues. The Chinese government can do that and paint a pretty picture when things may not be the same.
So the only difference is China has been successful in cleaning up its urban area so you don't catch a glimpse of poverty unless you actually travel to the rural countryside (which investors and business people will hardly do). India's situation is not the same where you see the rich and poor side by side. But the fact remains that both countries face an equally great challenge related to the economic divide.

P R Reddy, Hyderabad, India

The usual excuse that "China has been violating human rights for decades now" is offered by Abhishek...as usual. What they all forget is that the Chinese have done it all before in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and even in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
For India's problems, you should look elsewhere

Frank , Halifax, UK

China got efficiency at the price of farmers, and surely India government is hard to resist the temptation of imitating China,above all, farmers and agriculture is easy to be ignored when people are indulged in modernization. They have forgotten their responsibility,not only govern and also protect their people, ending up the collapse of status quo. Is democracy premature for them?

alan, wuhan, china

Economics is all very great. But what you guys have not taken into account is that all the jobs that will be created will be white-collared. All the land that is being taken away is farm land. The majority of Indian farmers are illiterate and the best of them can barely sign. They have worked for centuries only as farmers. I am not saying that the move is bad but there is no clause which provides the farmers with training. All the jobs there will be taken over by youth from cities. The natives of the land will get some money but nothing else. There are no long term plans for their development.
What has been written in the report is a very good example of only one side of the story. China has been violating human rights for decades now and the west has simply let them, so I think the comparison is unfair. If one takes a proper look at the whole SEZ terms, one will see how unfair it is to the natives. The headline itself is so misleading.

Abhishek Raghunath, Mumbai, India

I quite agree with Bill from Bristol, UK that Maoists sour things everywhere. The irony of it is that, that very ideology that has been dumped by China. With no democratic checks and balances, it can ride roughshod over any dissenting voices. Shovik does not appear to have understood the reasons for the creation of SEZ’s. As the commerce minister Kamal Nath has said “If [foreign direct investment] is coming to our special economic zones, it can also jolly well go to Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia”. Mr Datta seems to be harking back to the bad old days of communist Jyoti Basu running West Bengal (load shedding, strikes every other day etc.) which drove most industries out of the state in a big way. The fact is the farmers do not trust the corrupt politicians and bureacrats. Root out corruption and educate the masses. The only way forward for India, I would say.

Kiran Mehta, London, UK

Almost certainly it won't be the farmers who are offered jobs in the industrial zones. Having earned your lively hood for years on a patch of lan, it must be daunting to trade that for a lump sum. So I must say I can at least understand their fears.
Maybe offering jobs would help to allay them.
(Apart from that, Maoists sour things everywhere, but you should not give them an incentive.)

Bill, Bristol, UK

There is no reason why multinationals, who will make big profits from using these SEZs, shouldn't pay taxes at a reasonable rate for their use. Therefore, I disagree with the zones' tax-free status. Also, the taxes should be paid, not to the central government in New Delhi, but to the local states, so that the local voters in the states benefit from the investments made.

Shouvik Datta, Incheon, South Korea

What is happening at Nandigram and Singur is unfortunate but these agitations are inspired by political motives and not for the concern for the farmers.Protecting farmers while inviting industrialist to invest in the state has long been a political conundrum..The parties buying the land will have to work out symbiotic relationship with the farmers who have sold their land by offering them or their family members employment commensurate with their skills.

M.M.GURBAXANI, Bangalore, India