Kamal D Nutt, Sher Shah Suri, Manipur, Tolls - And TAXES!

The ToI has done well by drawing our attention to the neglected and unsettled North-East in a thoughtful editorial. There has been an economic blockade of Manipur for 45 days. What struck was the conclusion:

A lesson from the ongoing economic blockade is the urgent need to improve connectivity. More and better highways must be built across these states to end their political and economic isolation.

There is no better way to pauperise a people than by denying them connectivity to urban markets. This is why the word "remote" means "poor". When we say "remote village" we imply that it is distant from urban markets, and that getting there is tough. This word, "remote," applies to the ENTIRE North-East. Indeed, why only the North-East, the entire country needs modern highways - inter-city, inter city and peripheral towns, coastal expressways, all in a "hub-and-spoke" design. This should be top priority. Not ditch-digging, miseducation, or free rotten cereals.

Autocrats in the past understood well the importance of roads - for without them there would be no trade, and without the trade there would be no taxes. There are economically rational reasons why autocrats invest in "public goods" alone - so that they can pocket the surplus for themselves. Sher Shah Suri was one such autocrat, yet it is he who built the Grand Trunk Road from Peshawar, now in Pakistan, to Dacca, now in Bangladesh. This road is the lifeline of North India till today. Imagine North India without the Grand Truck Road. You cannot.

The late Mancur Olson, looking at autocrats in history providing public goods - "all roads lead to Rome" etc. - concluded that there cannot be "predatory states." But his analysis falls flat in India, where a Central Planner has employed a "scorched earth" policy on his own people. Read my very old column proving that our Total Chacha State is predatory, here.

Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi's vision of roads is well reflected in the views of his roads and highways minister, the great Kamal D Nutt, WTO-wrecker. This minister is looking to "contract-out" highway-building to private companies who will charge tolls. He is looking for ways to quadruple toll collections.

Hey, Chacha!

Why the FUCK do we pay (so many) taxes?

These include a ROAD TAX.