In today’s Business Standard, Pranab Bardhan in his article “India — A case of bad governance“, makes a number of very important points.
January 20, 2010
by Atanu Dey
6 Comments
Category Archives: Ruled by Monkeys
September 29, 2009
by Atanu Dey
5 Comments
A Simple Story About Real Contentment
I came across this story on a mailing list. Let me retell the story first and then the source of the story.
April 10, 2009
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
Don’t vote UPA — reason #410
In a few days, Indians will vote in a general election. The result of the elections will determine who gets to make the policies for India. The Congress-led UPA performed dismally over the last five years. No surprise there. The … Continue reading
September 18, 2008
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Stopping terrorism by securing WiFi
Well, now we can be assured of our security and safety from Islamic terrorism. TRAI — the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India — is taking steps to combat terrorism by securing WiFi networks. With terrorists using unsecured wireless fidelity (WiFi) … Continue reading
September 5, 2008
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
The Transantiago Story
This story comes from the other end of the world but has lessons for any part of the world. It is “a parable about the combustible combination of optimism and ignorance.” Go read “Planning Order, Causing Chaos: Transantiago” by Michael … Continue reading
June 1, 2008
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
The Fuel Subsidy Cess
Finance minister P Chidambaram and petroleum minister Murli Deora are considering an additional tax to pay for the government subsidy of petrol and diesel, according to the Financial Express of 27th May. “Each percentage rise in the income and corporate … Continue reading
November 3, 2007
by Atanu Dey
8 Comments
LOSADS!
Law of Supply and Demand Not to put too fine a point on it, but the law of supply and demand is a bitch. Stripped of all details it basically states that the price of something is determined by the … Continue reading
October 12, 2006
by Atanu Dey
34 Comments
Banning Child Labor
From time to time I wonder whether some people are merely stupid or whether they are inherently evil. Or maybe they are actually stupid evil bastards. Just yesterday a report on the NPR show Marketplace got me wondering. It reported … Continue reading
May 13, 2005
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
Beware of Monkeys
Alan Watts is one of my heroes. From his talks and writings, one can gain significant insight into the nature of the world. The World as Just So is a series of delightful lectures that I first came across on … Continue reading
January 21, 2005
by atanu
16 Comments
Nehru and the Indian Economy (…Why is India Poor? )
The last posting, Why is India Poor?, has drawn sufficient attention that there needs to be a follow-up addressing some of the points raised in the comments. It is interesting to note that the arguments against my view of Nehru … Continue reading
December 15, 2004
by atanu
1 Comment
On Being Ruled by Toads
When I was growing up in Nagpur, I had a friend who used to proclaim “India is ruled by toads” whenever we discussed India’s politicians. Being called a toad was the worst insult we could come up with. He later … Continue reading