[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
India Unbound; Sh Das
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Please help make the Manifesto better, or accept it, and propagate it!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally got an opportunity to start reading Gurcharan Das's book.
Undoubtedly a **must-read** for all on IPI.
While I have not yet fully gone thro' the book, 4 small comments seem to be
in order: [Sh. Das is on IPI's list since July-end; so I'll speak directly
to him]
(1) At p. 98, you write, "Although he was not an economist, Mahalanobis
quickly mastered the new subject ..." That is polite, perhaps, but not
correct. Economics is not linear programming and national income data plus
input output tables, but a way of looking at the world; understanding
prices, imperfections, information problems. Hayek (1945)'s paper on IPI's
publications page will show why Mahalanobis did not ever even begin to
learn the economic way of thinking. I went through some of Mahanobis'
allegedly economic writings and essays on his work a few months ago, and
found them to be mostly trash. Also Milton Friedman's comments on
Mahalanobis highlight this, more politely (see IPI's publications page for
Friedman's original publication in this topic; courtesy Dr. S. Roy).
(2) The dissent of Milton Friedman to Nehru's policy of the 1950s has been
ignored in your book as well as the dissent of Prof. Shenoy, Member of the
Plg. Commission. {We must bring Milton Friedman to India and honour him}
(both these are on the IPI publications page; pl. read these).
(3) While Bhagwati and others find mention, Dr. Subroto Roy's important
work of 1984 and his influence on the Congress Party in early 1990s which
spurred the economic reform of India has been ignored. (His essay of 1984
is on IPI's publications page).
(4) The work of Masani, S.V. Raju, Sharad Joshi etc., seems to have been
missed out.
Finally, I had personally handed over my NIT paper to you in N. Delhi
before your departure to USA. Have you gone thro' it? Any comments? Pl.
send to my mailbox as well as to the debate. Thanks!
SS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the National Debate on System Reform. debate@indiapolicy.org
Rules, Procedures, Archives: ../debate/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------