Gurucharan Das' India Unbound

["Sivasankar Elambooranan" <booranan@hotmail.com>]

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Hi All,

Like Dr.Sablokh, I too have recently had the 'unbounded' pleasure of reading
Mr.Gurucharan Das' book.

It reinforced my belief that free markets and democracy are the best
economic and political systems invented so far, to ensure maximum freedom
for the individual and equality of opportunity for all. (I hasten to add
that when I say democracy, I mean a democracy where power is exercised at
the closest possible level to the individual voter).

The chapter on the influence of Fabian Socialists on India's economic
policies left me perplexed; how could Nehru and others who had the
humaneness to trust the most illiterate Indian with the vote, not trust the
same Indians with the ability to order their own economic affairs? Perhaps
they equated free markets, with rule by capitalists…..but their discerning
minds could not have made such an elementary mistake. Perhaps Mr.Das can
explain?

For me, India Unbound was a tonic of optimism. Before reading the book, I
was tearing my hair in frustration reading the pointless and convoluted
arguments over whether our jewels (public sector units) should be sold or
why SSI units should be protected or worse still, whether liberalisation had
helped the poor (all the controversy over 'thin' NSS samples). Mr.Das has
helped me see the big picture of India moving inexorably down the road of
reform, even if in an exasperating
two-steps-forward-three-steps-sideways-and-one-step-back fashion.

Thanks again Sir,
Sivasankar

P.S. Prof.Bhagwati was in Singapore recently and he was positive that India
would be at least as developed as Southeast Asia within 15 years. So cheer
up everybody!
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Sivasankar Elambooranan
Monetary Authority of Singapore
10, Shenton Way
Singapore

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