The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Violence linked to poverty, exploitation

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Friday, Feb 13, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Violence linked to poverty, exploitation

Special Correspondent

KURNOOL: An affluent and equitable society will never support terrorism and extremism, P. Ranga Reddy, retired professor of economics at S.V. University says.

Interacting with reporters at here on Thursday, he said violence thrived in a society dominated by poverty and exploitation.

He called upon governments to fight extremism through development rather than spending on security alone. Development not in terms of providing roads, irrigation and incomes, but education, justice and empowerment too. The governments should reorient their policies towards comprehensive and human-centric development.

Prof. Reddy said due emphasis should be laid on education of girl child saying society would start making strides only when women were educated. He felt that the land available in Rayalaseema was not effectively used causing low productivity levels.

According to Prof. Ranga Reddy, apart from major irrigation projects, other sources like watersheds, drip irrigation and sprinklers went a long way in enhancing productivity. He cited the example of France where persons with proper qualification could take up agriculture, which had the burden of growing food for society in the limited extent of land.

A farmer required capital and thorough knowledge of agriculture operations. On Rayalaseema, he said the region was viable as a separate State. When smaller states like Puducherry and Goa could be run on sound lines, why not Rayalaseema?

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