In September last week, there was an Independent People’s Tribunal in New Delhi to provide a forum for the people who have been adversely effected by the projects and policies funded and promoted by the World Bank Group, to voice their grievances.  The Tribunal consisted of former justices of the Indian Supreme Court and High Courts, lawyers, writers, scientists, economists, religious leaders and former Indian Government officials.  The World Bank too had been invited to attend the Tribunal and hear the people.

Firstly, the World Bank, which is a global   intergovernmental organization, is also in the World Bank Group comprises of other agencies like the IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA and ICSID.  The purpose of the WBG (World Bank Group) is to alleviate poverty by lending money to the Governments of ‘developing nations’ for projects such as infrastructure development and for macroeconomic policy reform.

India is among the top FOUR clientele of the WB and also one among the oldest.  India has borrowed heavily from the WBG to rescue itself from financial disaster and land in another trap.  An ‘entrapment’, escape through which is ‘Mission Impossible’.

India is the recipient of a whooping $60 billion which is 240000 crores!

The loans of the WB are nothing but cleverly set up traps. The World Bank has become so powerful that today national and state policies of India are indirectly being set by the WB to suit its conveniences.  Thanks to the growing dependency of India on the WB!

The World Bank promotes democracy because it believes repayments are possible only in a democratic set up!  Democratic nations are supposed to be transparent but the World Bank itself operates in utter secrecy.  It is not subject to any disclosure laws.  And all the agreements it enters into with the national governments are treated as ‘state secrets’!

And it is so democratic (?) that it dictates terms to the government, despite its own rule to be an apolitical institution.  A classic example of the interference of the WB is setting up its own parallel governance structures to implement its projects in various places, just because the WB does not like our existing bodies like the Panchayat and Councils!

In the guise of poverty reduction and developing the nation’s infrastructure, the WB has succeeded in

• Mass Displacement of a large number of people like the forest dwellers, the fisher folk, labour, farmers, urban poor (in places where bigger dams, power plants are being built)


• Destroying the environment (widening the highways by cutting down trees)


• Loss of livelihood of people who could not repay the loans


• Heavy loss of revenue due to ‘structural changes’ forced by the WB.(reduction of stamp duty)


• Forced to privatize/close public sectors, thus entrenching nearly 2 lakhs of employees who were forced to opt for VRS.


• Increase in farmer suicides (as they were unable to pay the arrears de to the sudden hike in power tariff and unable to cope with the modern technologies and libaralised policies that have put them at an unfair disadvantage)


• Hiring foreign firms and sidelining the local firms


• Making people desperate to work for low ages


• Over exploitation of forest and mineral resources leading to destruction and displacement.


• Increased fees in education, health sector, other public services and item needed to survive due to the neoliberal policies of the WB.

Clever Tactics of the WBG

Whenever the activities of the WB are criticized at national and international levels, the World Bank Group is quick to announce ‘changes’ that are nothing but ‘eyewash’.  All it does is reshuffle and rename the programs.  The neoliberal policies dictated by the WBG are called ‘structural adjustment’ or ‘reforms’ – which is another name for privatization and commercialization.

The World Bank is technically owned by the 184 member governments – the nations that lend to and borrow from the WB. 

But voting however, depends on how much money each country has put in the bank.  And no prizes for guessing which nation has invested the most.  The US!  So the WB is owned and run by the US!

The WB in India, under the ‘pro-growth’ policies has widened the gap between the rich and the poor and has also driven people below the poverty line.

And to top it, the WB officials did not bother to turn up for the Independent People’s Tribunal in September 2007(21-24) because they felt that they are not accountable to the Tribunal process.  And this was stated on their web site.

To expect the WB to claim responsibility for their follies is a tall order.  And unimaginable too, considering the fact the World Bank is run by a Government that has a package for every country and is ever ready to declare war!