Readings on India
 India UnboundGurcharan Das India today is a vibrant free-market democracy and has begun to flex its muscles in the global information economy and on the world stage. Now, acclaimed columnist Gurcharan Das traces India’s recent social and economic transformations in an eminently readable, impassioned narrative. Das tells the stories of the major players in a period of rapid and profound change—from early days of Independence to the current software impresarios—and makes comprehensible and compelling the economic and political developments responsible for these changes. He weaves his personal story into the larger context of contemporary history: his family’s move t America in the mid-1950s, his education at Harvard, his years in India as a young marketing executive wrestling with a socialist system he feared would undermine the country’s vast potential. He also shows us the reasons behind his optimism for his nation’s future, among which is the exciting landscape of information technology today. Das argues that the changes of the past fifty years have, at last, amounted to a revolution—and it is one that has not been chronicled before. With India Unbound, he gives us a book that is at once vigorously analytical and vividly written—an essential insider’s road map to India, then and now. |
 Escape From the Benevolent ZookeepersThe Best of Swaminomics Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar An eminently readable book, it contains some of Swami’s best columns that have appeared in Times of India and Economic Times. The book’s USP lies in the fact that is written by Swami, as he is universally known. The book covers not only economic issues but also political, social and environmental ones. It appeals to all kinds of readers. Where students are concerned, the book tells them about contemporary issues. And to lay persons, it explains economic issues simply and effectively. Interestingly, Swami’s columns championed economic liberalization that started in 1991 and influenced both decision-makers and public attitudes. Importantly, the book entertains while it educates. As Swami aptly says, “If you can get readers to grin, you’ve won half the battle for hearts and minds.” |
 Notes from an Indian ConservativeJaithirth (Jerry) Rao Notes from an Indian Conservative is a compilation of Jaithirth (Jerry) Rao’s eclectic writings which regularly appear in The Indian Express. The book has been written for the ‘Indians of today, both in India and in voluntary or involuntary exile who have a love for their fractured land and who have a sensibility derived from our adoption and embrace of the English language’. Jaithirth (Jerry) Rao holds Master’s degrees in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and from the University of Chicago. He is the CEO of Mphasis Corporation, an IT and BPO company based in the US and India. He is currently a trustee of Sujaya Foundation and Chairman of Nasscom Foundation as well as the Indian Foundation for the Arts. He is a visiting faculty at IIM Ahmedabad and is a regular columnist for The Indian Express. He has been conferred the ‘Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ Award for the Tech Sector in India as well as in New York, ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ Award by The Economic Times, and ‘Distinguished Alumnus’ Award by the University of Chicago. He has been Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Harvard Business School. http://www.rupapublications.co.in/client/Book/NOTES-FROM-AN-INDIAN-CONSERVATIVE.aspx |
 Imagine There’s No CountrySurjit Bhalla Developing country growth rates have accelerated. Instead of the developing world losing out to globalization, it has in fact been growing faster than the industrialized world. These are the conclusions reached in this discussion – debunking the popular myth that the trend towards greater integration of the world economy, which began roughly in the mid-1980s, has resulted in lower overall growth rates for poor countries, increasing world inequality and causing the poverty level to stagnate. The author, Surjit Bhalla, develops a methodological framework to examine the evolution of poverty and inequality in the era of globalization. He critically examines the conventional wisdom, finding that productivity, wages and incomes in the poor countries are catching up with those obtained by comparable individuals in the West. Indeed, absolute poverty has declined sharply; it is estimated to be only 12 per cent of the developing country population. The volume also attempts to explain what makes international organizations produce poverty figures so out of sync with reality. http://www.amazon.com/Imagine-Theres-Country-Inequality-Globalization/dp/0881323489 |
 India: THE NEXT DECADEEditor: Manmohan Malhoutra The story of a rising India has surprised the world but also captured its imagination. It is said that no other democracy has ever achieved levels of sustained economic growth comparable to India’s over the last two decades. Exploring India’s growing global importance and its domestic and external challenges, this unique volume examines the complexities of India’s political, economic, and social evolution in the coming decade. Combining lively discussions with back-ground essays contributed by a galaxy of prominent individuals from different spheres of life—distinguished scholars, policymakers, economists, corporate leaders, journalists, educationists and film-makers—the book offers compelling insights into the democracy, economy, and society of an emerging power. |
 The Burden of DemocracyPratap Bhanu Mehta After nearly six decades of its existence, there is a pervasive feeling that India’s democracy is in crisis. But what is the nature of this threat? In this essay Pratap Bhanu Mehta, reminding us what a bold experiment bringing democracy to a largely illiterate and unpropertied India was, argues that the sphere of politics has truly created opportunities for people to participate in society. But, looking at various facts, he also finds that persistent social inequality in the one hand, and a mistaken view of the state’s proper function and organization on the other, have modified and hindered the workings of democracy and its effects in innumerable ways. Posting the quest for self-respect as democracy’s deepest aspiration, this essay explores how inequality and the crisis of accountability have together impeded collective action to achieve such an end. To recover this sense of moral well being and responsibility, Mehta suggests, is the core of the democratic challenge before us. Optimistic, lively and closely argued, the Burden of Democracy offers a new ideological imagination that throws light on our discontents. By returning to the basics of democracy it serves to illuminate our predicament, even while perceiving the broad contours for change. |