India Grows At Night When The Government Sleeps

[Deletedid1]

[b]In an exclusive chat with BW's Anjana Saproo during the Jaipur Literature Festival, Gurcharan Das talks at length of the need to overhaul the Indian governance[/b]


Gurcharan Das is the author of The Difficulty of Being Good: On the subtle art of dharma (Penguin 2009), which interrogates the epic, Mahabharata, in order to answer the question, 'why be good?' His international bestseller, India Unbound, is a narrative account of India from Independence to the global information age, has been published in 17 languages, and filmed by the BBC. In an exclusive chat with BW's Anjana Saproo during the Jaipur Literature Festival, he talks at length of the need to overhaul the Indian governance.

[b]You seem to have opened the Pandora's Box on microfinance in India with your statement that they should stay?
[/b]
They should. 30 million women have benefited from microfinance. They have got loans, bought insurance, run their own small businesses and have raised families. So, why should a few isolated incidents undue this great good? Here i deplore the role of the RBI governor. Don't get me wrong- some of his policies have been good. In this case, he should have jumped in.

So, why do you think SKS is getting such bad press?
Because it is still not acceptable that people can become rich by lending to the poor. If Mukesh Ambani gets rich by selling gas at a
reasonable rate to Indians, why should we even care about how much money he makes out if it?

Coming to your book, The Difficulty Of Being Good, what was the trigger for it?
The trigger for the book was the fact that India was rising. It is the fastest growing economy in the world and yet governance was so poor. Every transaction with the state is morally flawed.  To have to bribe people to get something as simple as a birth /death certificate is quite unacceptable.

How is how is dharma linked to good governance?
Dharma is a problem here and that is why I thought about the Mahabharata- all the political discussions and meetings in the Mahabharata- no one says let us ask God.

See, unlike say, Christianity who has the Ten Commandments to guide them, we Indians on the other hand left to our own devices. The good thing about this is that it helps in developing moral reasoning. Notice that dharma is about pragmatics. It does not seek moral perfection. Therefore it is suitable for the policy makers of today who have to weight the pros and cons.  Also dharma is a strong tool against fundamentalism wherein everyone believes that they have the monopoly on Truth and that they can kill for it.

But Dharma itself is not without conflict?
Yes. For example, the dialogue between Yudhistrir and Draupadi reveals the struggle for understanding dharma.  She wants him to raise an army and fight and get back his kingdom.  But he says my Dharma lies in the fact that I gave my word that I will go into exile- my word is my honour, my dharma.Hence there are two meanings of Dharma here- the social and the personal.
The Mahabharata makes you question yourself. And this especially applies to people in positions of power. That's why in my Sunday column (November 14, 2010), I wrote that Manmohan Singh has to do justice in corruption cases like that of A Raja's.

At the end of the day I ask myself- how can we get the governance to work?  Are we going to need a mini revolution?  What we need is comprehensive reforms in the bureaucracy, judiciary, and police needs reforms.
I always say, India grows at night when the government sleeps. That is the expression of the success of India. It happened despite the government. This is much unlike the growth of China where the success is propelled with the help of the state.

What next?
Penguin is publishing an anthology of  the best of my columns that I have written over the years in Times of India, Dainik Bhaskar, Eenadu, Sakal and other papers and periodic guest columns for the The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, and Newsweek. I am rather excited about this.

[keko__keka]

microfinance is a curse on illeterate poor ppl anta kada benzu..esp with innterest rates upto 36% ..what say....benzu  sCh_elmodance2

[Deletedid1]

[quote author=keko__keka link=topic=149745.msg1740124#msg1740124 date=1296489130]
microfinance is a curse on illeterate poor ppl anta kada benzu..esp with innterest rates upto 36% ..what say....benzu  sCh_elmodance2
[/quote]

nenu economics lo poor mama  sSa_j@il sSa_j@il sSa_j@il sSa_j@il

[katharnak]

[img]http://www.crazyengineers.com/forum/images/avatars/lookaround_duck.gif[/img]

[POOLA RANGADU]

Blaming individuals is ok. But blaming a whole nation is not.

regarding Micor finance- its a good strategy that is abused badly due to illiteracy and ignorance.

[keko__keka]

[quote author=POOLA RANGADU link=topic=149745.msg1742371#msg1742371 date=1296511620]
Blaming individuals is ok. But blaming a whole nation is not.

regarding Micor finance- its a good strategy that is abused badly due to illiteracy and ignorance.
[/quote]

i know its being abused ....but waht made u say its good  sCo_hmmthink sCo_hmmthink ..

[chotu gadu]

[quote author=keko__keka link=topic=149745.msg1740124#msg1740124 date=1296489130]
microfinance is a curse on illeterate poor ppl anta kada benzu..esp with innterest rates upto 36% ..what say....benzu  sCh_elmodance2
[/quote] @gr33d @gr33d @gr33d

[Kakateyudu]

[quote author=ChittiNaidu link=topic=149745.msg1742402#msg1742402 date=1296511956]
illeteracy and ignorance are being pointed ot as root cause for all the problems being faced by common man.....but he is not involved in them directly..but still being abused for it... sSa_j@il
[/quote]
@gr33d @gr33d @gr33d @gr33d you rock you rock you rock you rock

[keko__keka]

[quote author=ChittiNaidu link=topic=149745.msg1742402#msg1742402 date=1296511956]
illeteracy and ignorance are being pointed ot as root cause for all the problems being faced by common man.....but he is not involved in them directly..but still being abused for it... sSa_j@il
[/quote]

micro finance loan common  man ki dorect ga istaru ...so he is invoved directly  *7*^ *7*^

[POOLA RANGADU]

[quote author=keko__keka link=topic=149745.msg1742388#msg1742388 date=1296511774]
i know its being abused ....but waht made u say its good  sCo_hmmthink sCo_hmmthink ..
[/quote]

WIdout Microfinance, how can those without any assets/ financial securities get an approved loan for their small businesses or regualr survival? especially farmers..they can not be approved

10 million of the working poor, in India  have been given small loans that allow them to pull themselves and their family out of poverty.

This is mainly targeted at vILLAGE iNHABITANTS, WOMEN folk etc.

if u check the stats, 97% of the MICROFINANCE loans are in Good stnading.

[keko__keka]

[quote author=POOLA RANGADU link=topic=149745.msg1742468#msg1742468 date=1296512718]
WIdout Microfinance, how can those without any assets/ financial securities get an approved loan for their small businesses or regualr survival? especially farmers..they can not be approved

10 million of the working poor, in India  have been given small loans that allow them to pull themselves and their family out of poverty.

This is mainly targeted at vILLAGE iNHABITANTS, WOMEN folk etc.

if u check the stats, 97% of the MICROFINANCE loans are in Good stnading.
[/quote]

gotcha  thankyou ...but interst rates havee benn very high..........govt should issue the same loans at less interest ....but letting provate compnaies do the micro finance business ....has been  lot of mess...coz...provite company only luks at profts....even if it costs a life

[keko__keka]

[quote author=ChittiNaidu link=topic=149745.msg1742469#msg1742469 date=1296512724]
mari cihetappudu sarigga aadiki ardham ayyela ivvali...vadu ignorant ante..how can he get to know without getting it form the sources....and sources are blaimg the comn man,,,,adi point... sCh_elmodance2
[/quote]

temrm and condistions clear ga untai...kani loan teeskune vadu...avi sadavakunda or vinakunda.....athram tho loan teeskuntadu......tagudu...etc.. money assam.........repay chese time lo ...sukkal kanipistai  sFun_duh sFun_duh

[POOLA RANGADU]

[quote author=keko__keka link=topic=149745.msg1742494#msg1742494 date=1296513003]
gotcha  thankyou ...but interst rates havee benn very high..........govt should issue the same loans at less interest ....but letting provate compnaies do the micro finance business ....has been  lot of mess...coz...provite company only luks at profts....even if it costs a life
[/quote]

I have already pointed out in my opening statement...that it is a good strategy, that is repetitively raped. But then again, it s a BUSINESS  SENSE vs ETHICS.

GREED in Business is a whole different discussion. They would say: dont borrow if you cant pay. We are not here for charity. Everybody wants to grow rich overnight.

What the govt.can do is ..probbaly..REGULATE the interest rates and DISALLOW/BAN farmers or any poor person from GIVING AGRICULTURAL LANDS  or LIVING PROPERTIES as guarantee. It will make the obtaining of LOANS much more dificult, but atleast ,abuse can be contained to a good extent. Otherwise, many farmers lose their cultivating land or house htey live in and as a rsult resort to SUICIDES.

[keko__keka]

[quote author=POOLA RANGADU link=topic=149745.msg1742563#msg1742563 date=1296513747]
I have already pointed out in my opening statement...that it is a good strategy, that is repetitively raped. But then again, it s a BUSINESS  SENSE vs ETHICS.

GREED in Business is a whole different discussion. They would say: dont borrow if you cant pay. We are not here for charity. Everybody wants to grow rich overnight.

What the govt.can do is ..probbaly..REGULATE the interest rates and DISALLOW/BAN farmers or any poor person from GIVING AGRICULTURAL LANDS  or LIVING PROPERTIES as guarantee. It will make the obtaining of LOANS much more dificult, but atleast ,abuse can be contained to a good extent. Otherwise, many farmers lose their cultivating land or house htey live in and as a rsult resort to SUICIDES.
[/quote]

@gr33d @gr33d  but freking govt is bought by corporates big time.....jsut like prostitute by a fuckker with money  sAng_banghead2 sAng_banghead2

[POOLA RANGADU]

[quote author=keko__keka link=topic=149745.msg1742583#msg1742583 date=1296513949]
@gr33d @gr33d  but freking govt is bought by corporates big time.....jsut like prostitute by a fuckker with money  sAng_banghead2 sAng_banghead2
[/quote]

ha ha...true dat! Welcome bak. Its been a while since i saw some good posts . Good to c u back!