March 13, 2012
by Atanu Dey
13 Comments
Business Insider has a short feature, “Meet The 23 Richest Politicians In The World“, and Dr Manmohan Singh’s boss, Ms Antonia Maino aka Sonia Gandhi is listed as the 4th richest with wealth estimated between US$2-19 billion. This must have … Continue reading
December 9, 2011
by Atanu Dey
14 Comments
Dr Swamy is a national asset. I sometimes wonder why the Congress goons don’t bump him off. May his tribe increase. To increase awareness among Indians of the corruption charges against the Nehru-Gandhi-Maino clan, please circulate this widely.
March 16, 2011
by Atanu Dey
49 Comments
As some of you have already pointed out, I have been focusing on public corruption in India a bit too much. A recent comment motivates me to explain my seeming obsession with the appointed prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and … Continue reading
January 11, 2011
by Atanu Dey
27 Comments
Reading Aroon Purie’s India Today (Jan 10th issue) editorial reminded me of what you need to have to live a fulfilling life and happy life: only three simple things — robust health, killer looks, and a humongous bank balance. Here’s … Continue reading
December 18, 2010
by Atanu Dey
15 Comments
The other day a friend asked me, “I have often heard about India being a third-world country. What exactly is the third world?” It struck me that most of us are ignorant about what that exactly means. I said to … Continue reading
December 12, 2010
by Atanu Dey
27 Comments
The Copernican Revolution. In the Western tradition, the idea that the sun revolves around the earth — geocentrism — is known as the Ptolemaic model. It was a notion that led people to explain astronomical observations such as the movements … Continue reading
December 8, 2010
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
Dr Subramanian Swamy is pulling no punches in his fight against corruption in India. He appears to be the only high-profile politician who has taken up cudgels against Antonia Maino, aka Sonia Gandhi, the woman who appointed Dr Manmohan Singh … Continue reading
September 12, 2010
by Atanu Dey
16 Comments
In August in a post, Is the Indian Government the Greatest Enemy of India’s Prosperity?, I had quoted a WSJ piece which read in part, “Because India’s entrepreneurs have succeeded amid dysfunctional government and financial institutions by developing a kind … Continue reading
June 2, 2010
by Atanu Dey
36 Comments
Mohan Murti writing in Business Line of May 31 asks “Is the nation in a coma?” I think so. The nation’s leaders are dishonest, corrupt, venal, and criminal. Yet the citizens don’t seem to know or care. The most telling … Continue reading
January 27, 2010
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
Ever wonder why India is so corrupt? Because like three-day old fish, the rot starts at the top. Now you know what the top was at the time of India’s independence and therefore you must have had your conjectures. Now … Continue reading
January 20, 2010
by Atanu Dey
6 Comments
In today’s Business Standard, Pranab Bardhan in his article “India — A case of bad governance“, makes a number of very important points.
October 12, 2009
by Atanu Dey
8 Comments
ACT 1: A Course on Development This summer for teaching an undergraduate course on economic development (Econ171) at Berkeley, I naturally considered the major factors that affect — and effect — economic growth and development of an economy. The major … Continue reading
October 9, 2009
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
Will Durant (1885 – 1981) was an American historian, writer and philosopher. His most famous work is the 11-volume “The Story of Civilization”, published between 1935 and 1975. In a 1931 work, “The Case for India“, he had this to … Continue reading
September 29, 2009
by Atanu Dey
5 Comments
I came across this story on a mailing list. Let me retell the story first and then the source of the story.
September 26, 2009
by Atanu Dey
11 Comments
Let me tell you a story. It’s a vignette of what I consider to be important although it may appear to be rather trivial. Perhaps its apparent triviality is what should astonish us. But allow me to first recount a … Continue reading
September 5, 2009
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
Congress, Nepotism and Corruption: The Eternal Rotten Braid The three — corruption, nepotism and the Congress party — form India’s most enduring triumvirate. It is hard to think of one without thinking of the others because they characterize India’s politics … Continue reading
June 5, 2009
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
The Indian education sector is in distress. How does one explain the lack of outrage among the population at something which affects them so forcefully? Could it be because they are not aware of how dysfunctional the system is? That … Continue reading
May 24, 2009
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
In a recent piece in the Wall Street Journal titled “India’ Greatest Failure,” Paul Beckett writes about T.S.R. Subramanian who retired as India’s most senior civil servant in 1998. Beckett quotes from TSR’s book, “GovernMint in India” — “Since no … Continue reading
May 13, 2009
by Atanu Dey
5 Comments
Are there no depths that the Congress party led UPA government will not plumb to protect the criminally corrupt? When exactly will the Indian public wake up to the realization that the pervasive corruption that hollows out the Indian state … Continue reading
January 20, 2009
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Institutions as Ideas Institutions defined most generally are essentially ideas. They are big ideas, ideas that are persistent and which have a profound effect on the populations that evolve, and adopt, the ideas. Examples of powerful institutions – therefore powerful … Continue reading