Special Economic Zones are Anti-Muslim

I read this in The Pioneer but this is the link that talks about the story. It says:

Almost 30 of Muslim organizations plan to protest before parliament next week against the setting up of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and the policy of liberalizing the retail sector and import of ready-made goods.

The next paragraph justifies the protest against globalization and and the setting up of SEZs:

“These Muslims are the most affected by the liberal economic policies of the government as most of them are artisans, small traders and retailers,” Ali Anwar, coordinator of the Pasmanda Mahapanchayat, an umbrella organization of dalits and Muslim organizations, told media persons Wednesday.

“SEZ and multinational companies are hurting us in a big way. The weavers of Benaras who were pioneers in making clothes are languishing. They are forced to sell their children,” he said.

Well, does this mean we should always remain un-industrialized? Ideally, we should because industries, such as the automobile industry (the TATA want to setup a car factory in West Bengal on the land currently used for farming) cause pollution.

But it’s a myth that liberalization and industrialization leave farmers and artisans unemployed. A majority of farmers in India are anyway under-utilizing their farm lands and they manage their crops inefficiently (hence the farmer suicides). Times change and we should upgrade our skills according to the time. Artisans who cannot find work due to industrialization should learn new things. After all this is the same thing we tell the Americans (that they should upgrade their skills or find alternative jobs) when their services are outsourced to India.

I know the poor cannot upgrade their skills on their own because they are neither aware nor equipped to handle change. The government should force the private sector to re-train the local population and the companies can be given tax benefits for doing that. For instance, if the TATAS are setting up their car factory in Singur (I’m purposely referring to another link that touches upon a fishy topic) then it is incumbent upon them to train the local farmers to use the available land efficiently and they should get experts from other cities or countries if need be.

And about globalization being anti-Muslim…is anything in this world pro-Muslim? Poverty, ignorance or backwardness, or the T-camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan? They find even anti-polio campaigns anti-Muslim.