American Crisis, Asian Concerns – Madan Sabnavis

The protests by Anna Hazare come at a time when the world economy is also battling a credibility issue, with a global slowdown being conjectured for the current year. One thought that hits us is whether or not these protests will have any wider ramifications for our economy. The global slowdown has evoked a mixed response with arguments being on both sides, with a distinct tilt towards a neutral situation for us. How about the current political and social unrest? Will it upset the clichéd apple cart?

There are two aspects to this protest. The first is whether or not foreign investment will be affected, and the other is whether the domestic economy will witness a backlash. The protests so far are more political in nature, which, at its exaggerated best, has probably some traces of the scent of the jasmine backlash in Tunisia, Egypt and the rest. Hopefully, it does appear that it will remain confined to demonstrations with the more affluent sections of society also using this opportunity to be seen with the rest. The interesting conjecture here is its implications for the economy.

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