Tag: west bengal

• January 1, 2013

  Industrialization in a Land Hungry State – A Lesson from Robert Solow

  If surviving the test of time is proof of quality, then MIT Nobel Laureate Robert M. Solow’s model of economic growth has surely distinguished itself with flying colours. The work was published as far back in time as 1956 and survives in the academic world till this day, despite the ruthless attack it had to…
• April 20, 2011

  The Philosophy of Poverty vs The Poverty of Philosophy: Travails of West Bengal

  Neither Karl Marx, who authoured The Poverty of Philosophy, nor M. Proudhon, who wrote The Philosophy of Poverty in 1847 could perceive how relevant the titles of their works would be for the state of West Bengal’s Assembly elections 164 years later. It is not as though the subject matter of the controversy between them…
• March 19, 2011

  Figures in the Limelight

  It was a pleasant surprise to watch the celebrated thespian, Mithun Chakraborty, anchor a TV show the other evening in which he restricted his guests from the civil society to answer questions that were sharply posed, instead of out-howling each other. Amongst the many issues he brought up, one in particular stood out. He took…
• June 6, 2010

  Bengal Politics: Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi Syndrome

  The municipal elections suggest that there is a “Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi” (SBKBT) syndrome at work in Bengal politics. An unchanging coalition being in power for over thirty years defies not merely the logic of democracy, but every other semblance of logic as well. It reminds one of SBKBT which forced its inanity upon…