‘Halt exploitation of human, natural resources’

Prof. Amit Bhaduri expresses concern over the rising inequalities in society

: The continuing exploitation of human resources, especially in cases involving tribal people, needed to be halted, said globally-acclaimed expert in social development, Prof. Amit Bhaduri.

Recalling the communist philosopher Karl Marx and his feelings on exploitation of workers, he said that in modern times, the exploitation of human resources had gone on to exploitation of natural resources. He expressed concern at the rising inequalities among different sections of society and at how India’s neighbours were faring better at development parameters.

“Look around you to see how many business houses profit out of resources like land that governments have allotted to them. The problem is especially compounded when it comes to dealing with illiterate, unfortunate tribals in agency areas being the worst to be affected in the development framework,” he pointed out, after releasing a brochure about a full-time Ph.D. programme offered at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) here on Monday.

Others present included CESS Chairman Prof. R. Radhakrishna, who presided over the half-day session, CESS Director Prof. S. Galab, and Prof. E. Revathi, Dean, Division of Graduate Studies, who presented a profile of the Ph.D programme.

Prof. Galab said the earlier academic arrangement that CESS had with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open Union in offering M.Phil and Ph.D programmes would continue. The new Ph.D. programme, he said, was full-time and involved one year’s course work at CESS and three more years of work when it came to field work and dissertation.

Already, 30 students had enrolled for the new programme he said. The new programme is being offered in six fields including economics, commerce and business management, sociology, anthropology and social work, political science and public administration, geography and geo-informatics and econometrics and development statistics.