Historically, South Asia has been influenced by myriad of religions and culture. The present day Northern India, Pakistan and Indian history can be traced back to Indus Valley civilization.
With the advent of agricultural era in and around 1200 BCE and adoption of modern agricultural practices, the production of grains has increased over time feeding the ever-growing populations in South Asia. Although the consumption of whole grains has been associated with prevention of non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular disease and diabetes, there are certain disadvantages related to the consumption of grains.
For example, people with celiac disease (disease of the intestine) are intolerant to one of the binding proteins present in grains namely gluten. In addition, gluten has also shown to cause weigh gain especially among vulnerable groups like women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO’s).
On the Pakistani side, the economic history can be divided into three main phases.
The phenomenon of neoliberalization and industrialization is rather new to South Asia, which mostly started during the British rule and flourished after the British left the South Asia. British colonized India officially from 1858 to 1947; although their merchant navy had started entering the Indian waters from 17th century onwards. British rule saw the induction of many policy reforms including the induction of tax system.
They tried to bring India at par with United Kingdom in terms of infrastructure by building railways, canal system for irrigation and roads. Although they did not succeed completely in their designs due to local rebels but they succeeded in introducing neoliberal policies in India through the development of industries and public private partnerships. After British left India at which point it was divided into two countries namely India and Pakistan; both these countries started finding their own ways to manage and develop their respective economies. On the Pakistani side, the economic history can be divided into three main phases.
The first was from 1947 to 1971, which saw the laissez-faire economy where industrialization and economic growth were going hand in hand. The second phase saw nationalization of industries from 1971 to 1977 and later on in the third phase, it has been a mix of public and private ownership, which can be termed as neoliberalism.
In this free market era, industry including the food industry had grown rapidly. The burgeoning population of South Asian countries resulted in sophisticated agricultural techniques and the production of processed foods to feed the masses. This brought along modern day diseases including non-communicable diseases like overweight, obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and heart diseases.
Keeping this backdrop of neoliberalization, food and diseases in mind, there is a need to enhance the preventive public health measures from the relevant sectors including government, food industry, academia, non-governmental organizations, concerned citizens and society at large.
The writer is Assistant Professor, University of Sargodha