Today, as a part of series of Lectures to be organized by the Seminar Committee of PUTA, the first lecture was delivered by Sh Anupam Gupta, eminent lawyer, on Global Economic Crisis and Public Discontent. The lecture was chaired by Prof. V.C. Nanda, former professor of Math. P.U. Chandigarh and attended by a large number of teachers, students and social activists. Sh Anupam Gupta started his lecture pointing out at the massive amount of public debt of the developed countries pushing their economies towards bankruptcy.
Ever since the housing loan bubble has burst in USA in 2008 it is becoming very difficult to save the social security of the people and their jobs. Millions of them have been rendered homeless or are at the verge of homelessness. The solutions offered by the neo-liberal economists, instead of giving relief to the economies and their people, are further aggravating the ongoing crisis.
The reverberation of American crisis sent around the globe are so strong that it has already taken the lot of two prime ministers in Europe, namely of Greece and Italy, elaborated Sh Gupta. Occupy Wall Street is a movement of people who are questioning the very legitimacy and ideology of corporatization of life. “We are 99%” has sent a very strong message against the unsatiating greed of the corporate world. The people across Europe and America has come down to the streets to protest this wide gulf between the poor and stinkingly rich people, said Sh Gupta in the course of his lecture. Comparing the ‘Occupy’ movement of the West with that of Anna Hazare movement against corruption he said the very source of ultimate corruption, namely, corporate sector, have been left out by one and all.
To believe that a strong lokepal bill would eradicate corruption from India is too farfetched. In the debate Dr Surbhi Goel, Prof Shelley Walia, and Prof Akshaya Kumar of department of English, Dr Lallan Baghel of Philosophy, Sh Rajeev Godara of Sampooran Karanti Manch took part. Sh V.C. Nanda however pointed out that unless we go for simplicity in our life we cannot come out of the present environmental as well as economic crisis. The talk ended with the vote of thanks by Sukesh Sharma, Convenor of Seminar Committee of PUTA. Mohammed Khalid, Sect PUTA.