Indian PM urges war on poverty

from The Toronto Star

Tough talk as country marks 60th anniversary

Reuters

NEW DELHI–Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh marked the 60th anniversary of independence from British rule by urging the country to work harder to free itself from the shackles of poverty, ignorance and disease.

"India cannot become a nation with islands of high growth and vast areas untouched by development, where the benefits of growth accrue only to a few," he said yesterday from the ramparts of New Delhi's historic Red Fort behind a bulletproof glass screen.

"We have moved forward in the many battles against poverty, ignorance and disease. But can we say we have won the war?" he told a crowd of officials and diplomats and children.

India is one of the world's fastest-growing economies, but has some of the sharpest inequalities in the world, with hundreds of millions of poor surviving on a fraction of a dollar a day.

Sharpshooters were stationed on nearby buildings as Singh spoke, while troops and armed police guarded roads and key buildings around the country on a day traditionally marked by violent attacks by separatist militants or Maoist rebels.