With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by his side, Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen today said he did not approve of India’s policy on Myanmar.

“I do not agree with your policy on Burma. In a democratic country like India, I can say this to the Prime Minister,” he said while giving a lecture on ‘Centrality of Literacy’ here.

Singh, an economist like Sen, smiled when the Nobel Laureate made the comments.

Sen’s forthright comments on India’s relations with Myanmar came when he took the floor after Singh had addressed the function

The comments came close on the heels of India hosting Myanmar military ruler General Than Shwe last week.

Shwe faces global flak for not allowing democracy to take root in the country where pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been barred from contesting elections slated for this year. India has been engaging Shwe’s government maintaining that it was in its vital interest.

Sen also drew a distinction between the ideals of the late Chinese President Mao Zedong and the action of Maoists in India.

Mao had promoted basic education in China which augmented the economic development of the country. But the Maoists in India are affecting the basic education structure in states like West Bengal, Sen said.

Singh said literacy is central to social and economic development. No modern industrialised nation has less than 80 per cent literacy rate, he said.

Singh said the goal for his government is to make India literate and reduce the gender gap in literacy.

Singh cited the example of Kerala to say how literacy helped in economic development of the state.

It is in recognition of centrality of literacy the National Literacy Mission was launched in 1988 by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, he said.

“Despite the significant gains, we have a long way to go. Out of 700 million illiterates across the world, nearly 266 million are in India,” Singh said.

Holding that education is a force multiplier, Singh said the enactment of Right To Education will help in a big way in spreading education.

Prof Sen said India has to learn a lot from China, Japan and the UK which pioneered reforms. The illiterate people suffer a lot in society as they fail to make use of their rights, he said.

Democracy can be more effective if illiteracy is eliminated, he said.

Sen also said that health education and chapters on ill effects of smoking should be integrated into the school curriculum.

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal highlighted the Sakshar Bharat programme launched last year. The scheme, which is a recast of NLM, aims at making 70 million people, including 60 million women, literates in next five years.

Literacy will ensure equatable access to opportunity, he said.