FUTURE OF INDIA

Evening Star, Issue 25699, 24 January 1946, Page 6

FUTURE OF INDIA

SOME CHANGES FORECAST NOTED INDIAN VISITOR'S VIEWS " The economic structure of India must undergo certain changes if we are »to arrive at a balanced economy,"said Sir Raghunath Paranjpye, chatting with a ' Star ' reporter. " They will not be arrived at in a hurry, however. India, of course, is a predominantly agricultural country, and it must always remain so; but at present 80 per cent, of the population is directly employed in agriculture, and it seems obvious that this figure must be reduced.". He pointed out that the subjugation of Japan meant that India must look within her own borders for many of" the things which Japan formerly supplied. " Japan manufactured many things for Indian consumption, t and because of their cheapness they commanded a ready sale," he .said. The, major industries of India—textiles and steel and their secondaries—had been steadily progressing for many years, and the war had given them an immense fillip. " There is no doubt that we will benefit very greatly from'the elimination of Japan," he emphasised, "but there is still very much fo be done in development work." PROMINENT INTERNATIONAL FIGURE. Possessed of a fund of detailed in-» formation on all things pertaining to his native India, and a lively interest in a wide variety of topics. Sir Raghunath is one of the most interesting of recent visitors to the Dunedin scene. He has been High Commissioner for India in Australia since 1944, and this visit is part of a holiday to which he has been looking forward for some time. He has long been prominent, in the Indian political and educafional scene, particularly in the Bombay Presidency, and his present office is only one of a long list in which- he has served with, considerable distinction. In his seventieth year, Sir hunath does not give the v impression of age, rather of a controlled vitality. Even current Dunedin weather does not dismay him—he likes rain and does not feel the cold. His own part of the country, he explains, has an annual rainfall of 125 inches. _ And he was very much impressed with the beauty of his southward trip, particularly after leaving Oamaru. INDIAN RATIONING MEASURES. Rationing in India was a surprise to the interviewer. Sir Raghunath explained that although the country was too.vast for- the system to be extended to all the small hamlets, it was in force in all the larger towns. As far as food rationing was concerned, grains, only were affected—wheat in the northern and central parts, and rice elsewhere, with millets and other coarse grains. Clothes rationing, or rather, the rationing of cloth for dhotis and saris, was general throughout the country. Asked whether developments in this country could be applied to India beneficially, Sir Raghunath thought not. India generally was so. very much more backward. For instance, latest methods of agriculture could not be introduced there on account of the very small size of holding owned by the average peasant farmer. The tractor, for instance, could hot be used there to any great extent. " Of course, that might be overcome by experiment in community farming, bujb I do not know, how successful .(ha£ would be," he'commented.' '; ";' Sir Raghunath is staying three days in Dunedin. Altogether, Tie has four weeks in which to see the country. He leaves here on Saturday for Mount Cook. «