Down-turn in Indian economy is not only a subject of animated discussions but a war of books as well as essays in prominent Indian and international newspapers and journals by eminent authors and analysts has broken out in mis-judging or judging in correct perspectives about Indian economy ! I am not qualified to assess and give expert opinions about the down-turn of the Indian economy and fall of rupee. in comparison to US dollar but simply analysing the facts, coming out from the books and essays, which , one section blames,global turbulence or mishandling of the economy by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh while another section finds fault -line in liberalisation policy in the vast India where over 70 percent of population are below the poverty line and hanker for food, health and education ! I feel the Indian economy is revolving around "jholwallas" in the National Advisory Council (NAC) and "Davoswallahs" in the enlightened power circuit of capitalists, industrialists, multi-nationals, corporates, landlords etc and our economy will improve or not , it all depends how we handle the present crisis situation. Instead of massive welfare measures, the successive rulers since independence are wrongly diagnosing the things and they have brought 'unique and strange measures' for giving free hands to industrialists, capitalists, multi-nationals, corporates etc in the say of so called improving the Indian economy and plight of people in the country. In the process authors and essayists are harping on different models like Kerala model,Gujarat model, Bihar model, inclusive growth and exclusive growth, blame-game against each others etc. One fact is very much clear since the rise in GDP and so called claims of successive ruler that Indian economy is growing and India will be one of the biggest economic power in the globe by 2020-poverty has increased and rich have become richest and there appears hey -day for making maximum money among vested interests including political classes and poor in rural areas, who constitute largest chunk of population are facing agonising moment !
At least over half a dozen books-authored by prominent economists including Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and his co-author Jean Dreze ( An Uncertain Glory:India and its Contradictions-Penguin Books-London), Jagdish Bhagwati and his co-author Arvind Panagariya (India's Tryst with Destiny-Harper Collins), another economist of the fame N K Singh, IAS retired and Rajya Sabha member of JD(U) (The New Bihar-Rekindling Governance and Development ), another edited book by Akhil Gupta and K Sivaramakrishnan-The State in India after Liberalisation-Interdisciplinary Perspectives; and Globalisation, International Law and Human Rights, jointly edited by Jeffery F.Addicott, Md. Jahid Hossain Bhuiyan and Tareq M R Chaudhary as well as many essays and topics have thrown mixed views about Indian economy and instead of throwing lights to bail out India from economic morass, they have cited their views for their upmanship except a few !
In one of the Opinion Piece in the Times of India, senior journalist Vinod Mehta has thrown a new debate on welfare measures including Right to Education, RT Act, Food security bill, Land Acquisition Bill, MGNREGA etc through the initiative of AICC president Sonia Gandhi by exercising ground work in National Advisory Committee for poor and middle classes persons and how these measures will percolate to lower -level people of the country?! Mehta writes, " Her critics, starting from Jagdiush Bhagwati (will the Nobel Committee quickly give him the prize Amartya Sen got so that he can resume normal work?) and his domestic followers, want us to believe that the mismanagement of Team Manmohan is directly attributable to the lady in 10, Janpath. She pulls the strings to promote her crazy schemes and the PM capitulates leaving behind all the good economics he learnt at Ox bridge". (MY BLOG ESSAYS-BAD SHAPE OF INDIAN ECONOMY...........August 27, 2013, AMARTYA -BHAGWATI SPAT VIS-A-VIS INDIAN ECONOMY.........AUGUST 15, 2013)
:The Books, written by Amartya Sen and his co-author and Jagdish Bhagwati and his co-author have different signals about Indian economy. While Bhagwati's book has stressed for "market" instead of "public action" in his book, Amartya Sen and his co-authrors' book , in lucid writings and public reasoning, have advanced the reasons for pain on seeing the pathetic pictures of human condition in India that has emerged gradually.Both Sen and Dreze do not denigrate the poor with contempt. They have humane approach ! Bhagawati -Panagariya believes on free-market concept and have praised the Gujarat model of growth, that has brought wide ranging progress. Both of them have discussed the pros and cons of Kerala Model and Gujarat model in totality. There are vast differences between the two models-while Kerala model stresses for redistributive and stare-driven development and Gujarat model mainly concentrates on growth and and private-entrepreneurship-drive development. Bhagwati and his co-author have mainly concentrated on lambasting Kerala model and praising Gujarat model without much thoughts over history and geography of both the states. A reviewers of the book R Ram Kumar in Frontline says, " a major section in the book is devoted to arguing that Kerala's developmental achievements are due neither to redistributive policies nor to state intervention. In a rather heroic effort to rewrite history, Bhagawati and Paniagariya argue that Kerala's achievements are due, primarily, to "economic growth."
Both Bhagwati and Panagariya, while concentrating on Kerala and Gujarat, have not threw light on overall economic situation in India-but both of them have justified the Gujarat model for shaping the economy of the entire country. There are many flaws about the truths in the development of Kerala in the book.Both of them have mainly concentrated on discrediting the historic process of as a change as "left wing populist fallacy" I do not want to tell more about well-known economist Bhagwati, who appears frustrated, mainly because that once his bosom economist-colleague Amartya got the Nobel prize and he missed that. Now in the fast changing political scenario in the country, Bhagwati seems to be getting closure to Narendra Modi, vastly criticising Sonia Gandhi and result of the down-grading economy of India under Manmohan Singh 's stewardship.
.More over, Amarty's book co-authored with Dreze are nearer to the ideas that independent India had promises to the people, especially for the vast majority suffering from poverty, ill health and illiteracy ! And Amartya and his co-author believe the successive governments in India have lacked in this venture. Common men usually do not believe in the so "called gross domestic product (GDP)-they want measures for their welfare. Dreze is one of the best economist, born in Belgium and came to India in 1979 when he was 20. After ten years, he wrote with Sen a book -Hunger and Public Action and now he is Indian citizen. Sen, professor of Philosophy and Economics at Harvard, in my opinion, could be compared with one of the fathers of modern economics Adam Smith, who used to believe in moral economics ! They have written comprehensively about Indian economy and other South-East Asian countries. They have also written about fault-lines like "societal reach of economic progress" in India has been remarkably limited. India is lagging behind in social indicators. Reforms are there in India than to perform.. They have threadbare discussions on different aspects of Indian economy.. The book says as against 55 percent of Indian households that have no option but to resort to open defecation. India and Pakistan are bottom ladder in literacy rates. Amartya has quoted Rabindra Nath Tagore on his preaching on education. Sen and Derze have also referred Mahatma's talisman. Chapter-wise analysis in the book have thrown light on all aspects of India and its people as well as their economy. The book must be considered a best book , written recently. With highlighting of a vast matters on Indian economy and people of India, the decision makers in India must take lessons from the book and try to improve the economy by applying inclusive growth and identifying all sections of society , especially poor !
These days , Bihar Model is also in news ! And the book of N K Singh', co-authored with Lord Nicholas-The New Bihar-Rekindling Governance and Development, although I have not read the book , has also reportedly threw much light on the much-publicised inclusive growth by CM Nitish Kumar .Two edited books on globalising India, as referred above, have informed much about the globalisation, strongly influenced by the neoliberal ideology. The ideology of globalisation and liberalisation opposes an active role of the state in social and economic affairs, claiming that such intervention will negatively affect the economy of the country as a whole. In both the books much have been said about negative aspects like rise in poverty because of globalisation and neo-liberalisation of economy in India . Many essays and articles on Indian economy have their own perspectives including American Fed measures as well as scams after scams in stealing natural resources of the country, worth lakhs of crores of rupees in recent years , adversely affecting the economy of India.
Whether these books or essays or articles could be path showing for bringing the Indian economy to sound footings ?-but ray of hopes among common men is still there that situation for India's majority of poor will improve !
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