CPPR hosted Semester at Sea students for the third time. Semester at Sea is a unique programme which offers academic courses in a Ship. The Floating campus attracts students from various countries who get to experience the reality through its Feild Labs.

Centre for Public Policy Research hosted a talk on “Democratization and Modernization” on March 11th 2013 at Senate Hotel Ernakulam from 10.30am -1.30pm. 26 students of ‘Semester at sea’ under the leadership of Mr .Tao Xie(Professor and Assistant Dean, School of English and International Studies of Beijing Foreign Studies University ) participated in the programme. ‘Let’s not look into our spectacle and let’s not have prejudice’ remarked Prof.K.C Abraham (Academic Director,CPPR) while addressing the gathering and introduced the topic for the participants. Dr.C.R.Pramod (Assistant Professor,Department of Political Science,Sree Kerala Varma College Thrissur) was the key note speaker and he dealt with ‘Elephant v/s Dragon:Comparing India and China.The history of process of urbanization or creating urban space is common for both India &China. The Political elite were much favorable in rural areas especially in India and there is a greater role of bureaucracy. In addition technology (both bio & info) determines urbanization both in China &India. ‘Going to the interiors’-Let’s coastal region develops-Let’s wealth accumulate there first-China was always keen in incorporating the rural for development” stated Dr.C.R.Pramod. He also explained the Indian urban decay based on infrastructure crisis and elucidate the rise of JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) in 56 cities in India which provides basic amenities in urban centers. He also pointed out the pressure created in cultivable land due to urbanization that got shrink to unproductive land. “The role of the state is much greater in china compared to India as the population is 600 million and 350 million in China &India respectively” said Dr.C.R. Pramod.

He also added the importance of decentralization of power for the effective management of country. “Wealth accumulation is not that fast in India compared to China but rural consumption is more than urban consumption in India” added Dr.C.R.Pramod.It was followed by question answer session and media interaction with the students. Questions like how a country like India which has got lot many languages and dialects are managed to be a single country and if there any chances of a revolution like an Arab revolution in China were raised during the discussions. The students were enthusiastic in raising questions and were much eager to get clarification for each and every query. Besides Mr .Tao Xie in his full liveliness took part in the question answer session and he was very much clear about his points and he made sure everyone got his point. ‘The event was an eye opener for every participant to get rid from the very old prejudices they have about India & China and the event was fruitful and productive enough’ ,said the Programme Coordinator Mr.Antony Dawson.
Press Releases: Click here for full view of the paper reports https://www.cppr.in/us-students-given-a-lesson-on-elephants-dragons-times-of-india/

 

+ posts

1 Comment

  1. […] Semester at Sea 2013 […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *