We are providing below the revised version of the above mentioned article (in pdf), which was originally published in Outlook, 14 November, 2011
Is India doing marvellously well, or is it failing terribly? Depending on whom you speak to, you could pick up either of those answers with some frequency. One story, very popular among a minority – but a large enough group – of Indians who are doing very well (and among the media that cater largely to them), runs something like this. ―After decades of mediocrity and stagnation under ‗Nehruvian socialism‘, the Indian economy achieved a spectacular take-off during the last two decades. This take-off, which led to unprecedented improvements in income per head, was driven largely by market initiatives. It involves a significant increase in inequality, but this is a common phenomenon in periods of rapid growth. With enough time, the benefits of fast economic growth will surely reach even the poorest people, and we are firmly on the way to that.‖ Despite the conceptual confusion involved in bestowing the term ―socialism‖ to a collectivity of grossly statist policies of ―license Raj‖ and neglect of state‘s responsibilities for school education and health care, the story just told has much plausibility, within its confined domain.
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