CULTURAL DIVERSITY ARTICLE N2

For cultural diversity

EDITORIAL, TNN Jul 21, 2004, 04.06am IST

This year's Human Development Report (UNDP, 2004) breaks new ground by seeking to incorporate cultural liberty as an integral part of over-all human development.

Fetters based on religious beliefs, occupations and domiciles must go. The central point of HDR 2004 is that markets and democratic social set-ups provide the only enabling frameworks for capabilities, competencies and cultural identities.

But "people should not be forced to make a stark choice between their identities and economic or political progress." They should be just as free to maintain identities as change them. Indeed, HDR 2004 even admits India's secular Constitution started out by making the state into a force for integration and custo-dian of multiculturalism.

Sad, then, for it to report that some of our fastest growing states, regions have been seeing rising communal al-ienation, deepening caste divides.

HDR 2004 goes beyond exhorting just democracy or policies for pro-poor growth.

Those 'necessary conditions' need added support to integrate multiculturalism into human development strategies, ac-commodate minority identities, and promote habitual power-sharing with the executive within a framework of 'asymmetric federalism'.