Native Indians do not like to hear the truth but Bush may be right in blaming India for food crisis
Ratan Sen
May 3, 2008

All major political parties, including Congress, BJP and the Left, on Saturday lashed out at US President George W Bush for blaming growing demand in India for the spiraling global food prices. It is true that India is a net exporter of food.

But in the middle of this row, if you analyze in cool mind, George Bush may be right at least partially. India exports certain food items but India also imports 80% of its crude oil and natural gas needs.

The middle class Indians and their credit card based demand for ‘dream life’ is not directly responsible for the food crisis. But these same people are also responsible for buying $2000 cars from Tata. The problem lies in India’s subsidizing of petroleum products to influence the voters in the next election.

Crude oil is a form of carbon. Most food products are also some derivative of carbon. We need to burn carbon and release carbon dioxide to gain the energy we need. Currently food and crude oil based fuels are linked. Sugar and grains are directly converted into biofuels.

India has irresponsibly subsidized the crude oil and petroleum products for the last five years without requiring its growing middle class to conserve. If market price was allowed in India and the politicians not artificially keep the price of gasoline and diesel lower, people in India would have conserved. It is easy to buy a $2000 car on credit card or personal loan but it is not so easy to drive the car when crude oil trades in open market at$120 a barrel.

The rise in food price has happened because India and China has increased their subsidized use of petroleum products by many folds in the last few years. If the foreign direct investment and outsourcing dollars is channeled into subsidizing the crude oil, you get shock price escalation not only in petroleum products but also in grains and other food products.

Ignorant little educated Indian politicians never understood the current relationship between crude oil and food. Common people in India and elsewhere in the world are now suffering because of the incompetence and lack of common sense among Indian politicians.

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Ratan Sen
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