Wakankar Speaks in Sever

A diplomat from New York City's Indian Consulate spoke of the "tremendous changes" faced by his nation in recent years to a group of about 20 in Sever Hall last night.

"There have been tremendous changes in the past one and a half years--more privatization, more industry, more freedoms, more competition, and more foreign investment," said Indian Consul-General Gajanan Wakankar.

The speech, sponsored by the South Asian Association, began with a brief summary of India's political and economic history. Wakankar discussed the tumult of the Gandhi regimes and India's eventual embrace of a representative government headed by a prime minister.

The diplomat then spoke of India's shift from a public to private economy and its recent advances in industrialization and agriculture.

"We are opening the Indian economy to the rest of the world, integrating it into the world market," said Wakankar.

In a question and answer session that followed the speech, Wakankar addressed such topics as population restriction, police brutality, AIDS proliferation, nuclear policy and regional unrest.

Wakankar characterized current U.S.-Indian relations as "extremely good."

"We share democracy, we share human rights. There are a lot of values, political and economic, that we share," said Wakankar.

"There is no sort of conflict between the two countries," Wakankar said.

When asked whether India preferred working with a Bush or Clinton administration, Wakankar responded, "We had good relations with the Bush administration, and I'm quite certain relations will continue to improve with the new administration," said Wakankar.