Miscellaneous - This Day That Age   

dated May 31, 1957: Nehru on levy of taxes

Prime Minister Nehru has expressed the view that any reduction in the present taxes would result in abandonment of certain projects which in turn would create a thousand other problems for the people. Addressing a women legislators' seminar organised in New Delhi on May 29 by the AICC, he said a reduction in the taxes might win plaudits from certain sections of the people, but it would retard the pace of production. It should be remembered that if production was retarded, then the resulting scarcity of goods could bring down the value of the rupee. In some countries like Germany, after the First World War, this inflation had caused tremendous havoc. "These are all complicated matters and cannot be solved by taking out processions or shouting slogans." The subject of the Prime Minister's talk was "Our national objective - socialist pattern of society." Mr. Nehru said the question of socialism had to be viewed in the context of present-day conditions. There was no cut and dried formula of introducing it. It had to be evolved in a manner which best suited the needs of the country. The Prime Minister said socialism had two aspects. One was that all people should have the opportunity to develop and progress and have a fair deal in life. So far as this sentiment was concerned, there was no difference of opinion. Even the protagonists of capitalism said that this aim was worthy of being followed. But the other part of socialism was how to achieve it. There were different methods of doing this. Some argued that even under capitalism, this well-being of the people could be brought about as had been done in America. There were others who disagreed with this and said in backward countries the American method could not be pursued. America had taken 150 years to attain its present level of economic achievement. It was a country with vast resources and the number of people there in the beginning was also not large. Socialism, Mr. Nehru added, entailed cooperative effort for the good of all as opposed to the individual effort of people in an acquisitive society. India had to introduce the socialist system through the democratic method.

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