For long, a myth is created that development is what Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will provide in this land

of plenty, but with poorest of people. It is all the more unfortunate that persons sitting on the Supreme Court of India have come to decide and pronounce that FDI is indispensable for growing economy like India without hearing the other side of the story, preferring personal opinions of interest like politicians. Apart, successive governments, of late, are bending backward to provide incentives after incentives at the cost of their own people to attract FDI that replaced the earlier policy of self-reliance after the country was made subservient to WTO commitments under the evil influence of globalised capital, without any peoples mandate. Laws and Rules are now bent or changed to suit the new suitors with no hands barred. Judicial judgements are increasingly made to justify this marauding onslaught of capital both national and international. Legislature is made hostage to serve it safe. All is done in the name of development. The reality however is different. The country is in turmoil. With this surreptitious change, it is a bloody war of private interests that is released at the cost of peace, tranquillity and prosperity. Equity and justice have been given a go by. It served only the Indian corporate capital to thrive and aspire on imperial lines. Internal and external expropriation got the boost in clear violation of constitutional provisions for justice and equity as ordained under Articles 37, 38 and 39 of the Constitution of India. Reserve Bank of India has provided data to confirm the worst fears. India is out to tread and tread fast the path of becoming an imperialist country; to exploit the natural resources, including the land, forest and minerals in addition to the cheap labour-power of other countries despite the fact that it itself had the sad experience of suffering heavily in history from British imperialist rule for over two hundred years in slavery. Now it is harbouring high imperialist ambitions herself set by the corporate capital. All this is happening with the hyper-active collaboration of the Indian state. It is not surprising that this nation state is so keen to become a junior partner of American imperialist designs world wide with intent to lord over other weaker nations. This seems to be the crux of its ambition to become a super power. But, what to the common people? Figures available with RBI reveal that foreign direct investment by Indian companies abroad soared by 144 per cent to $43.92 billion in 2010-11, from $17.98 billion in the previous year. Indian companies sent across six times more money than what the country received by actual FDI. It is also the route to laundering black money. This is one aspect of the story. At the other end, no data is released about the quantum of money that the foreign capital invested here expatriate out of this land every year. In any case, it cannot be less than the amount invested by these companies. The myth of FDI route for development stands exposed. It is also on record that Indian Incorporate bodies are earning more than half their revenues from foreign lands by investments abroad now. It is in no way different to what East India Company did here in its own time. This process started with full speed two decades earlier, by 1991, what was going steadily since eighties of the last century when a new set of rulers was brought by deceit and manipulations of its democratic process. Since then, it is out to make this

process of democratic governance itself meaningless on one pretext or the other. By now it is clear that these rulers of all hues are tired of the democracy it had opted in 1947 and is out to find ways one after the other to make it hollow so as to perpetuate the rule of minority with the help pf increasing might of ultra-modern military/police establishment. Industrial mode of development necessarily leads to wars - hot or cold otherwise, for foreign markets. Hitler did it by military means in his time what America seeks to do now by collaboration at the cost of common peoples, duly supplemented by hot wars with one pretext or the other. Its war machine is regularly lubricated and strengthened with no less zeal ever since. Few things are clear: the nationalism of men armed with corporate capital is skin deep; they are nationalist only for earning profit at the cost of common man. Without incentives their nationalism does not work even an inch forward! And the war to capture state structure is relentless. This is what had happened when East India Company came in India. This is the naked story of the past two decades at least. Foreign influence over internal politics has grown to fearful proportions. What we had believed happening over a long period of time, despite the country having a rich tradition of freedom struggle against imperialist slavery of over two hundred years, is now on record to see with bare eyes even for a half blind. Unfortunately, the very mode of development adopted after attaining Independence in 1947 went miles to provide the muscle to the Indian capital by sheer exploitation of Indian people that now is out to exploit other nations. But, what is to the common man who fought for the nation, against the British brutalities? Capitalist way of development leads to this. There is no other fall out than this. It is unfortunate that even judges sitting on the higher judiciary have subscribed to this political-economic philosophy of liberalisation without any critical study to guide them in their official functions, which clearly is not their domain. Many of them have come openly for it to serve. FDI is a sure path of exploitation. Why judiciary should give it legitimacy with no cause? For deliverance, a new path has to be charted out which can lead the nation much beyond what Soviet or Chinese experiments had attempted but failed miserably with faulty formulations of social change. Neither cottage industry of Gandhian model can be helpful. It has to be different. This is the lesson of modern history. First of all, let this smokescreen of FDI be torn asunder and then move ahead for a fresh attempt in self-reliance and self esteem, without exploitation of others.