Appeal to developing nations

Washington: C. Subramaniam, former Union minister for food, today appealed to the developed nations and international institutions to reassess their traditional thinking and to change and read juts their approaches to the problems of aid and assistance to the underdeveloped countries.

Addressing the Society for International Development here on the problems of development of Asian countries, Subramaniam said the magnitude of the problem faced by the less developed countries was stupendous and staggering. What was needed was to bring about social changes which create the pre- requisites for growth and to create state and political institutions suitable for accomplishing social changes. While the developed countries of today had time in their favour to absorb the new knowledge of technology and to withstand the shocks of change, the less developed countries, in the context of growing aspirations, had to achieve the growth and progress within a compressed and short period of time.

Subramaniam said the societies which were seeking to transform today were ancient and seeped in age- old traditions and often justly proud of them. The crust of traditions had been hardened by centuries of colonial rule. The benefactors should realise, however good their motives might be, that they cannot prescribe on the basis of their own experience the rules and methods of growth and development in societies struggling for progress.