tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92779582024-03-07T16:33:17.025-05:00An Argumentative IndianVivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-31458180301335785092008-03-30T21:24:00.002-04:002008-04-02T23:03:11.378-04:00The Greatest Indian Rope Trick<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cdn.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/large/7/9780060198817.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://cdn.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/large/7/9780060198817.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />India has forever been an enigma for the western scholars of politics. Seeped as some of them were in their own theories about what makes a democracy work, they never took post independence India's unique and exceedingly important experiment in self-governance seriously. The faces of these commentators over the years have been different; the words in their columns laced with different degrees of incredulity and dismissal; the events provoking the pronouncements of the impending death of Indian democracy varied but the underlying refrain has always been the same- 'How can a country with India's size, poverty, diversity and complexity hope to survive as one nation, much less a united democratic, secular republic?!'<br /><br />Obituaries were written, forecasts of looming demise made at every step of the way of the Indian experiment yet India continued to defy those gloomy predictions and charted its own unique path towards her improbable destiny. This march of Indian democracy strengthened the cause of the democratic ideas all over the world in ways that tomes of western volumes on political theory and the success of western democracies could never hope to do. For if the indian democracy had failed, it would have exposed democracy as an ideology that requires punishingly restrictive conditions for it to be of any operational value. Political theorists have maintained a whole gamut of conditions to hold in order for a fledgling democracy to work-- people must be educated enough; they should be economically prosperous enough; they should be politically aware enough; they should have a common dominant culture; they should speak one common language and so it goes. In other words, democracy was pronounced to be too impractical for the vast majority of people even by its most passionate adherents. It was seen much like a complex modern piece of machinery that requires too many independent parts to work together in perfect unison for it to have any practical utility. In this context, the indian democracy is a living and breathing example that democracy is not a machine but an organism which can, given somewhat favorable conditions, continuously evolve itself towards its own better versions.<br /><br />The story of India's democracy is perhaps the most important story of post war 2oth century. In fact, I will go so far to say that it is the most important political contribution of last 100 years. That is why it is heartening to note that someone finally picked up his pen to tell this fascinating story in its entirety.<br /><br />Ramachandra Guha's 'India After Gandhi' is a monumental work-- any work detailing the chaotic history of post independence India can not be anything but. It is full of entertaining anecdotes and staggering in the breadth of its research. Despite the inevitable difficulty of tying<br />together the seemingly varying narratives into a satisfying whole, it never wavers from its underlying theme--an insightful account of the challenges faced by Indian democracy over the years.<br /><br />At one level, one may not go too astray in choosing to read this historical work as an adventure novel where the protagonist starts his life as a wounded underdog but the strength of his convictions enable him to overcome the apparently insurmountable odds. At another level, 'India After Gandhi' is also a story of the triumph of the ideals of her founding fathers. There can be no question-as the book makes it abundantly clear- that India and moreover the world at large were singularly lucky to have people of the calibre of Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Kriplani, JP, Ambedkar, Rajagopalachari and countless others who sowed the seeds and then nourished the fledgling sprout, helping to grow it into a big tree that now serves as an example for the rest of the world. Admittedly, the generations of politicians following those collosuses were minions but it is a tribute to the greatness of those nationalists that these minions have not been able to uproot the essential ideals of the indian nation from her soul. India continues to thrive, despite all the hiccups, challanges, frustrations, corruption, violence , communalism and a myriad number of regional problems ; it continues to serve as a beacon of hope to the freedom-loving, oppressed souls of the world assuring them that democracy and freedom is not the preserve of the elites; that they too can reap the rewards of democracy if only they can summon the courage to withstand harsh weather in order to sow its seeds. That perhaps is India's most lasting contribution to the rest of humanity and the greatest rope trick its conjurers have ever pulled.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-44985678677855915492007-12-28T13:28:00.001-05:002007-12-28T13:40:33.334-05:00A peerless life''There is a difference between a politician and a leader. A politician asks for sacrifices, a leader makes sacrifices''-- Benazir Bhutto<br /><br />By making the ultimate sacrifice in a life full of great sacrifices Benazir-an Urdu word that translates to peerless- once again showed what a peerless leader she was. It is a tragedy not only for Pakistan but for the whole world that has lost a leader of stature and much promise for a region that needed her more than ever in these perilous times. I hope her sacrifice does not go in vain; I hope it strengthens the resolve of the People of Pakistan and their friends to fight the Jehadi forces that are hell-bent on tearing apart the fabric of civilizations to fulfill their nefarious desires of Islamic rule; I hope her life may mean something, if not in life then at least in death.<br /><br />Rest in Peace, Daughter of the East.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-45674030360228071472007-12-04T23:18:00.000-05:002007-12-04T23:27:35.994-05:00Another egg on the faceThis is got to be some sort of record-- the number of mess ups that Bush administration has made over last 6 years or so. Barely one month after Bush and his cohorts' saber-rattlings concerning Iran, comes the report that Iran actually halted its nuclear program in 2003 and is years away from any sort of capability for a bomb. Just last month Bush had made his now infamous World War III comments regarding Iran and today once again he is made to look like a fool wrapped in an idiot inside a Moron. I shudder to think that there is still one full year to go before this nightmare ends.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-73181714386222402782007-11-24T19:59:00.000-05:002007-11-24T20:52:37.405-05:00As sick as it can getI finally caught Sicko on DVD today. I have heard a lot of people complain about how broken american healthcare system is; its been a strong, emotional issue for the general public for more than two decades and right now after the war in Iraq ranks as the second most important issue in the public consciousness. However, it is all well and good to hear about how bad things are and it is quite another to actually see and hear the stories of the people who have experienced the dark side of the system in all its gory details. Those horror stories are eye-opening and make your heart bleed and as a citizen of a developing country make you wonder - how is this possible in the richest and most powerful country in the world? A country that can come up with hundreds of billions of dollars to fund a war it should not have raged in the first place but can't seem to have enough money to solve its healthcare problems. One statistic sums up the story, America is ranked 37th -yes, not 5th, 10th ,20th or even 30th, a lowly 37th- judged according to the quality of its health care system in the world. It is ranked the lowest in the developed world right beside Cuba at 39th. Costarica, Malta, Portugal, Chile are among the few countries ranked above the most developed nation in the world. A statistic such as this is mind boggling for a country like USA and it should be enough to convince all concerned that there is something very seriously wrong with the healthcare system over here.<br /><br />How did this sad state of affairs come about? Can America not afford to provide Universal Health Care to all its citizens, most of the developed nations do, so why not America. The reason is that many americans love the idea of universal health care but there are many more that love the idea of low taxes. The Universal Health care systems all over the world have been financed by the higher tax rates in those countries, which means more government control, more government spending and a bigger pay cut for the average worker. Americans want to have their cake and eat it too, lower taxes but universal coverage which certainly does not seem plausible. The market based system in US does not seem to doing its job so is there a market failure in this case? Is it possible to put right incentive structures in place so that the market-based health care system would work as well or may be better than the universal health care for the majority of people or is the health care system is something akin to Police protection which can best be provided by only the government and nobody else. These are the questions, that the hidden economist inside me raises and on the answers a lot is at stake. I hope that somebody soon finds out these answers and put something in place so that sick Americans -and foreigners in America I may add- don't have to cross borders to Canada or worse commit crimes to get into Guantanamo Bay so that they could get decent affordable health care. On that note, <a href="http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/healthcareplan/">Hillary Clinton's</a> plan certainly looks promising.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-32024342146684860722007-11-22T21:40:00.000-05:002007-11-22T23:01:59.320-05:00Nehru's IndiaI am currently reading Ramcharan Guha's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/India-After-Gandhi-History-Democracy/dp/0060198818/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195789552&sr=8-1">India After Gandhi</a>, a comprehensive historical account of the modern indian nation state. I have not finished reading it, for at 700+ pages this book is no sunday afternoon light read; it is a book quite ambitious in its scope and extremely detailed in its research. It will surely rank as one of the most important books on the history of modern india. I am still around the 200th page but so far what has caught my eye and the imagination is the detailed account of the early events immediately after independence. The partition of India and the consequent large scale violence are fairly well-documented episodes in history. What is less well-documented and consequetly less well-known is the enormity of the task that the leaders of the new-born nation faced in building a united india. There was the enormous task of convincing 500+ princely states to give up their hereditary privileges and be part of the secular, democratic india; there was the matter of drafting a new constitution; there was the dispute of Kashmir and then there was the task of uniting a nation that was perhaps the most culturally diverse nation-state mankind had ever known. The task was enormous, perhaps the most arduous nation-building exercise ever undertaken, but as Nehru- the principal nation-builder- put it ," We are small men and the cause in front of us is great, but since the cause is great, some of that greatness will fall upon as well."<br /><br />Nehru was right about the magnitude of the task, but he was self-deprecating while referring to himself as a small man. Great causes need great people to achieve them, and Nehru was exactly the sort of a man this exercise needed. He was India's equivalent of Thomas Jefferson and possessed many of the same qualities the great founding father of democratic ideals did.<br />He was a master orator, staunch nationalist, committed to secularism, a tireless worker, a wonderful writer and a gifted statesman. During his 14 years as Prime Minister- he strengthened India's democratic institutions, founded modern India's great educational institutions, propelled India towards its irreversible march on the path of a modern, secular, democratic republic and most importantly strengthened the idea of India and democracy in the minds of poverty-stricken, illiterate millions prone to violent outbursts in the name of caste, religion and language. He was a worthy heir to the Great Mahatma and successfully realized many of the ideals that Bapu himself envisaged.<br /><br />Nehru was a giant of a man and if it were not for men like him India may not have even existed for so long. The fact that India has managed to survive despite proclamations to the contrary among many a great experts- prominent among them being Sir Winston Churchill- and not only it has survived, but despite enormous odds, its march has steadily been forever upwards. India's successes in its short history have been impressive but given its potential not truly spectacular, it could certainly have achieved much more. Many among Indians have blamed Nehru and Gandhi for India's failures in achieving more, they have painted Nehru as a flawed politician who in his hunger for power plunged India into communal chaos and then with his failed economic policies kept India into the darkness of poverty whereas if they had followed American capitalist system India would have been much better off, they argue. To the proponents of the first assertion, I say read your history first but for the second their is much fodder for thought. Nehru got a lot of things right in his tenure as Prime Minister but what he got disastrously wrong was in following the socialist, central planning model to the latter. However, for the critics of Nehru , it would help to have a little historical perspective. Central planning and socialist economy were the zeitgeist of post World War II years. Certainly, indians were justified in distrusting capitalism as they were at the receiving ends of western capitalism for a century or two, but as it were unbridled capitalism was out of favour even among the western economies. Post Great Depression, Roosevelt's New Deal and World War II, 'everybody was a Keynesian' meaning a believer in the policy of active government intervention. Free markets were viewed with distrust even in the bastion of capitalism- America and most economists agreed that active state planning is necessary for better economic development. In fact, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prasanta_Chandra_Mahalanobis">P.C. Mahalanobis</a> , architect of India's five year plans, actively sought the advice of western economists for India's economic policy decisions. The only lone voice of some standing who still advocated free markets at that time were great economists and future Nobel Laureates- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Hayek">Friedrich Hayek</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman">Milton Friedman</a>. Of course, now we know who was right and who was wrong but this we only know with the benefit of hindsight. Nehru's policy actions at that moment were exactly those that any good economist would have recommended. The only lesson that we can draw from this is that even the greatest of men can not do everything right, they are human too. This is no reason to castigate Nehru for he truly was one of the greatest leaders of modern human history. The ones we should truly be blaming are the subsequent generation of leaders who failed to see the changing paradigms and failed to embrace free market capitalism even when the writing was on the wall. If a person of the stature of Nehru was still around during the 70s , I am convinced that India's economic history would have been very different.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-80393619240945279092007-11-15T18:57:00.000-05:002007-11-15T19:23:39.770-05:00Meeting a Nobel LaureateOh, the joy of unexpected pleasures, what is life without them? Thursday night, the day before Diwali, was probably the only time I truly regretted not having a camera with me, but that regret was more than compensated by the accompanying overwhelming joy I experienced on having a dream fulfilled. Everybody who is remotely interested in finance or economics has certainly heard of the giant name in this field- Nobel Laureate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_C._Merton">Robert Merton</a>, one of the co-discoverer of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-Scholes">Black-Scholes</a> option pricing formula and the founding father of modern finance. Yes, I had the honor of meeting the Robert Merton in a dinner party, standing along side him, hearing him speak and lo and behold having the courage to ask him for an autograph on the back of a ticket stub. That ticket stub is now one of my prize possessions, a better gift for Diwali could scarcely be imagined. Now if I could meet Warren Buffett for next Diwali..Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-661211258048264342007-11-01T13:51:00.000-04:002007-11-01T14:09:22.395-04:00Return of the blogging days?Its been a long time since I put a pen to paper for a blog post (No, a few short posts in the whole year do not count). A lot has happened since then - I got a dream job, moved to The City and got a PhD proposal out of the way. Predictably, the turmoil accompanying all these events has left little time or inclination for blogging. However, to the rejoicement of the admirers of this little nook of the cyberworld -which is not an empty set by the way!- this draught of blog posts is about to end now as I have geared myself to be a more frequent contributor to the vast and growing fast world of blogs of no particular importance or interest to anyone. Stay tuned.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-78087691604710417782007-08-16T16:06:00.000-04:002007-08-16T16:33:37.172-04:00America's BurdenConsider a hypothetical but plausible scenario : A man and a woman are locked in holy matrimony. The marriage actually happened because the man in question is a powerful alpha male who possesed the woman, despite her wishes to the contrary. It is little wonder then that the marriage was an abusive one, the husband made the wife her slave, and regularly gave her deep physical and mental scars. The woman, despite such a horrible life, still was able to eke out a living largely because of the self-interest of the husband. A sworn enemy of the husband saw this as an opportunity. He was a more powerful alpha male , but he also proclaimed himself as a benevolent one. He did not care much about the woman but in fact was eager to get rid of the husband and so he claimed that he actually wishes to rescue the woman from such an abusive relationship and despite good advice against any hasty judgment, gets rid of the husband. So far so good, the story gets complicated when it turns out that the man who died had a number of other enemies who now want to ravage the woman and her children. The powerful victorious alpha male did not anticipate such a turn of events and is wondering whether he should just abandon the woman to her fate and take the exit. The question is -- is the man morally justified to take such a course of action? The answer is obviously an emphatic NO. It is clear who is who in this tale. The woman is Iraq, the husband is Saddam and the benevolent alpha male is America. The most powerful nation in the world, despite all the noises emanating from Washington, just can not abandon its moral responsibilities in Iraq. Iraq is a moral burden for America, it can not be wished away. Of course, people are known to short change morality when facing an adversity and I suspect that this is exactly what America wants to do, shed its responsibility and leave the poor woman to her fate. The story will not end there though, this country will no longer be able to seek a moral high ground for any of its actions and, however cliche it may sound, president Bush is right in saying that it will "embolden the enemy". No matter how bad it gets in Iraq, how much money it costs, how many americans have to pay with their lives for Bush's follies, Iraq is firmly America's responsibility-- they broke it and they have to fix it.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-41540751524817540602007-08-13T15:36:00.000-04:002007-08-20T16:42:52.628-04:00Buffett-speakI am an avid admirer of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett">Warren Buffett </a>and his way of life. In addition to being the third richest man in the world, he is the biggest philanthropist the world has ever known and a delightful elocutonist of philosophy of economics, business and the business of life. A completely self-made man, his self-deprecating sense of humor rivals that of the best stand-up comedians in the show business. I had first heard about him back in India and gradually heard and read more about the man as I started to get more interested in finance and economics. I had the occasion to watch him give a speech, or more accurately- a performance, when he came to Georgia Tech as an invited speaker. I fondly remember a very entertaining afternoon when he had audiences in splits with his quips and wisecracks punctuated with his trademark pearls of business wisdom. Warren is known for his unpretentious, bucolic and a very humorous persona which immediately makes his audience drop their guard and drown in his charm. Behind that charm, however, lies a very astute businessman and investor whose grasp on finance and investing is simply peerless. He is famous for his firm understanding of even the minutest of business issues and such a memory for detail that he can reel off all the balance sheet information- from memory -of the companies he has ever bought or is planning to buy . Despite all his wealth and fame, he remains very humble and still lives in his birthplace <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omaha,_Nebraska">Omaha</a> in the house he bought about 50 years ago.<br /><br />Here are a sample of some of his quips that I like and that have been delivered in his speeches and his immensely popular <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Essays-Warren-Buffett-Lessons-Corporate/dp/0966446119/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3638801-2943343?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187037117&sr=8-1">shareholder letters</a>-<br /><br /><ul><li>'In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it's true. If you hire somebody without the first, you really want them to be dumb and lazy.'</li></ul><ul><li> Energy and drive may be the essential qualities for success in many other walks of life but in the business of investing they are likely to get you into trouble. Lethargy, bordering on sloth, should remain the cornerstone of an investment style.</li></ul><ul><li>What is popular is not necessarily good. Public opinion poll is no substitute for thought.</li><li> When a good manager tries to turn around a fundamentally bad business, quite often it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.</li></ul><ul><li>I like to hold stocks for the long term. My favourite holding period is forever.</li></ul><ul><li>Much success can be attributed to inactivity. Most investors cannot resist the temptation to constantly buy and sell.</li></ul>Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-13290615452477096962007-07-27T13:37:00.000-04:002007-07-27T14:15:01.610-04:00No Credit for youIts here finally. After months of speculation and expectation that troubles in the housing market, in particular the subprime market, catch up with the booming stocks , the<a href="http://money.cnn.com/2007/07/27/markets/credit_deals/index.htm?postversion=2007072711"> prophecy</a> seems to be coming close to being fulfilled. Growing worries on the spill over effects of the subprime mortgage market in US have sent the american stock markets in a tailspin and the effects are being resonating all around the world. Indian stocks were down about 3% in one day, Japan's Nikkei shed weight to the tune of 2.36% and British markets were under water 3.5%. It is another stark reminder that in today's globalized world, financial problems have lost their local character. Just a few months ago, when the chinese markets tanked momentarily, the markets all over the world felt the tremors. On the face of it, it seems that markets are only recovering from a hangover after the late night drinking binge of cheap credit and the resultaning M&A activity. As the credit markets tighten a little more and the private equity premium starts disappearing, the stocks should come down even further from their previously unsustainable levels.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-12151339819570007382007-07-19T14:11:00.000-04:002007-07-19T14:33:08.997-04:00Miller on InvestingLegendary investor Bill Miller has some sound <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2007/07/17/pf/miller_interview_full.moneymag/index.htm">advice </a>on the art of investing. Must read. My favourite nugget, ""There ain't only three things to investing. Knowing the 60/40 end of a proposition, money management, and knowing yourself." As an aside, why is that many of the legendary investors were also philosophy students or enthusiasts, examples- George Soros, Ben Graham, Carl Ichan, Charlie Munger along with Bill Miller. Is it because study of philosophy enables people to gain some special insight about the way the world operates? Who says Philosophy does not pay.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-83610439564372985552007-07-18T11:46:00.000-04:002007-07-18T12:36:58.354-04:00Attack of the MogulBeware, the dark Sith Lord is fast closing in to conquer the poor Jedi Knight. Rupert Murdoch, the big daddy of all media moguls; owner of such fine shining armours of journalistic excellence such as News of the World, Fox News, New York Post is finally close to realizing his long standing dream of owning a major financial newspaper and critics are crying hoarse. Is this another blow to quality journalism? Is WSJ going to go the southbound ways of the New York Post when Murdoch acquired it? These are genuine worries and Murdoch's record does not inspire confidence. He is a staunch conservative and his media outlets have a strong conservative bias to put it mildly. However, whatever Murdoch's personal leanings may be , first and foremost he is a businessman and he is not going to do anything which will make a respected newspaper such as WSJ a losing business proposition. WSJ is the premier financial newspaper in the world and, just like Murdoch's other outlets, is strongly conservative. As far as political leanings go, the Murdoch empire and WSJ are a perfect match. So the worries that the Journal will become yet another vehicle for Murdoch's agenda are not well founded as the journal and Murdoch have the same agenda to begin with. The real concern is whether the quality of journalism at WSJ will suffer for which there is no clear answer. It depends on what Murdoch's ideas are for converting it into a profit making machine. WSJ is one of the few genuine newspapers that are profitable, even though only moderately. Just like all other newspapers, its margins have been under seize from the relentless competition of cable news networks and internet. Still, this new media attack has been less severe on WSJ than it has been on the other major newspapers as the journal dominates the financial news landscape and the readership for this bastion is strongly upper class who want quality financial news. If Murdoch decides to increase WSJ readership by taking it downmarket as he did with New York Post, he risks losing a strong and lucrative readership that is loyal to the journal for its USP, strong financial reporting. Having said that, it seems inevitable that things are going to change at the Journal. Murdoch is certainly not paying a 65% premium for this paper, if he intends to keep the status quo. He will try his best to make a much more profitable business out of it than it currently is, and being a consummate businessman, if that takes a little compromise on journalistic ethics then we all know that Murdoch is no stranger to it. So, am I renewing my subscription to WSJ? Not yet; I will wait and watch and sign up for the Economist instead.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-4378077123282875772007-06-26T10:44:00.000-04:002007-06-26T10:56:41.417-04:00Jhoom with JBJNever ever have I seen a movie so whole-heartedly rejected by the audience and critics alike and still loved it so much. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom has to be the most pleasant surprise of the year since nothing prepares you to expect its dazzling brilliance. To start with, JBJ stars some Bollywood biggies hithertho only known for their eye-candy power (also known as star power) and not their 'acting talents'. The director Shaad Ali is the one responsible for such regular bollywood stinkers such as Saathiya and Bunty-Bubli. And to top it all, which really is a deal-breaker for many movie lovers, the movie is a product of Yash Raj stable who is to the genre of bollywood NRI movies which Ford was to the assembly line production of automobiles.<br /><br />Jhoom Barabar Jhoom is one of those movies for which the term 'Ahead of its times', if it did not exist already, will need to be invented. The movie dares to be different, too different for its own commerical good perhaps, and in the words of <a href="http://desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2007/06/16/review-jhoom-barabar-jhoom/">Baradwaj Rangan </a>'takes the Bollywood song and dance routine to its most logical conclusion--surrealism'. The movie is a joyful ode to the bollywood musicals and you can feel the joy that has gone in its making. Just about everything in the movie shines- the direction is brilliant, performances from the stars are game with Lara Dutta being the biggest pleasant surprise in a movie full of pleasant surprises, music is fitting and choreography is sensational. Most significantly, JBJ is another sign of growing maturity and adventurous spirit among big-budget bollywood film makers; perhaps, a harbinger of even greater things to come in coming years. It is one of those gems that make you fall in love with bollywood again, in true bollywood <em>ishtyle</em>.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-91596660316682909252007-04-25T00:58:00.000-04:002007-04-25T01:07:52.073-04:00A capitalist monk?How can <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/04/30/8405482/index5.htm">this man</a> manage to do what he does? A selfless dedication towards the betterment of capitalism can scarcely be found. Future generations may very well rememberRam Charan as the Buddha of management consultancy.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-85706487165397828522007-03-14T00:00:00.000-04:002007-03-14T00:49:17.234-04:00Demographic-dividend and Infrastructure-deficitIn my view the recent cover stories in <a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_RGNJVPD">The Economist</a> (subscription required), <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/08/news/international/pluggedin_murphy_india.fortune/index.htm?cnn=yes">Fortune</a> and <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_12/b4026001.htm?campaign_id=rss_topStories">Business Week</a>, focusing a glaring spotlight on India's infrastructural and institutional problems , is a positive development for atleast two reasons. First, one lesson to be drawn from these stories is that India's awe-inspiring economic growth is no longer a news that is worthy of being adorned on the covers of prominent business magazines anymore. Media does not thrive on good news for long. For media, there is no good news like the bad news. As Indian growth story seeps firmly into the western consciousness, the real scoop is to be found in what can possibly hamper this elephant with wings as it seeks to emulate the upward flight of the giant dragon. Secondly, Indian media and politicians have been in the self-congratulatory mode for far too long. They seem to think that high economic growth and rising living standards are foregone conclusions which are going to be achieved under any circumstances. In this tsunami of optimism, some incovenient truths are being conveniently brushed aside and make-believe hyperbole like <a href="http://indianeconomy.org/2005/12/19/the-demographic-dividend-3/">demographic dividend</a> is ruling the roost. In such an environment, somebody has to provide a much needed sanity check and remind everyone that we are only getting started towards the long road to economic prosperity. The demographic dividend can as easily become a demographic disaster if we fail to do what is needed to be done, namely- improving the quality of country's creeking physical infrastructure and accelerating the economic reforms process. By some estimates, the country's infrastructure-deficit causes it to lose atleast 2 percentage points from its potential GDP growth. If the scatching criticism in the world's premier news publications adds even a 2 percentage points in the sense of urgency to address this problem, then it would have served its purpose.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-29325202416780328392007-03-10T17:46:00.000-05:002007-03-10T18:08:07.203-05:00Joy of India<a href="http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3722">Vishy Anand </a>has (finally) become the Number 1 player in the cerebral game of 64 squares and infinite possibilities. The king of intellectual sports finally has a king from its own birthplace. Anand, true to his name, has again brought joy to a nation starved of any notable international competititive sports achievement. Incidentally, I think this is also the first time in a very long time that an Indian team or individual is ranked number one in any international sport ( even if you include a certain sleep inducing pseudo-international sports played seriously only by 3-4 countries). This is a spectacular achievement and a truly fitting culmination of an extraordinary career.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-1152817733867281932006-07-13T15:07:00.000-04:002006-07-13T15:08:53.883-04:00Surnames are now out at IIT Kanpur<strong>hat-tip Atlanta IIT</strong><br /><br />OBC students too in 'Bharat' family<br /><br />Lucknow, July 9: There are no Guptas, Sharmas, Pandeys, Tiwaris, Tripathis, Shuklas, Singhs, Agarwals, Dixits and Hussains left on the campus. The surnames that denote caste have been dropped like leaves in the autumn, and all that remains is a feeling of oneness.<br /><br />In what is possibly a unique form of protest against reservations, a group of nearly 200 students at IIT Kanpur have dropped their parental surnames,and adopted a common surname - "Bharat". Chandra Shekhar Sharma is now Chandra Shekhar Bharat, Rahul Gupta is Rahul Bharat, Dujendra Pandey is Dujendra Bharat, Nutan Gautam is Nutan Bharat and even Akhlaq Hussain is Akhlaq Bharat.<br /><br />"We are now members of one family that has the surname Bharat, and no one can differentiate (between) us on the basis of caste and creed," says a member of the "Bharat" family, rather proudly. "When Mandal II came up, we knew we had to protest because the reservation issue goes against the concept of equality for all. We also realised that caste politics - and not the intention to benefit the backward sections - was the intention behind reservations, so we decided to do away with<br />surnames that denote our castes and adopted a common surname 'Bharat'.<br /><br />We are against the reservation policy because it makes some more equal than others," says Chandra Shekhar 'Bharat', a Ph.D. student who is a member of the group that is spearheading the anti-reservation programme on the campus. "When we took this decision, most of the students were away on vacation. Now we are planning to persuade other students and the new entrants to follow suit. We have also formed a committee to study and work out the legal aspects of changing our names so that we can transform our intentions into reality. We have informed our parents and there is no resistance from their side," says the student.<br /><br />The movement against reservations began in IIT Kanpur with the FIR - the Forum of Indians against Reservation - which has now merged into the "Youth for Equality", which has become the national forum on the issue.<br /><br />"The idea of dropping our surnames has been widely appreciated at the Bangalore meeting of Youth for Equality last month, and we plan to persuade our counterparts in other IITs and IIMs to adopt the practice which has the potential of demolishing caste barriers in society," says Chandra Shekhar 'Bharat'.<br /><br />Interestingly, the students' decision to change their surnames to "Bharat" has won them the support of teachers on the campus. "Nearly 125 teachers on the campus have sent a memorandum to the President and the Prime Minister,urging them not to impose reservations at the cost of merit in premier institutions, <div><wbr>" he adds. Significantly, even the OBC students on the campus are supporting the agitation against reservations, and some have even adopted the "Bharat" surname.<br /><br />"It is because these students understand the importance of merit. They have worked their way to up here and would certainly not want that someone gets admission merely because they belong to a certain caste. We have Muslims students like Akhlaq Hussain, who have taken on the 'Bharat' surname and the alumni are supporting our efforts too," says Chandra Shekhar. The IIT Kanpur students now plan to intensify their anti-reservation stir from July 28 when the institution reopens after the summer break.<br /><br />"We are contacting other IITs and we may start an integrated campaign on the issue. We plan to boycott classes indefinitely,<wbr>" he says. The students are also contacting schools and organising debates to expose the "evils" of reservation. "If in six decades of Independence, reservations have not helped the backward classes in realising their dreams, then there is something drastically wrong with the policy. The average backward caste student is not getting the benefit, whereas some elite sections are taking multi-layered benefits. We demand a review of the reservation policy by a committee that has no politician as its member," the students say</div>Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-1151986471732034482006-07-03T23:54:00.000-04:002006-07-04T00:14:31.746-04:00<a href="http://www.francoisgautier.com/">Francois Gautier</a> sometimes amazes me with his passion. A french born Indian resident, he is married to an indian and is a passionate indophile. He takes active interest in indian politics and has written some very good articles contributing to the raging debate over reservations. In <a href="http://ia.rediff.com/news/2006/jul/03franc.htm">this</a> article, and in a previous <a href="http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/may/23franc.htm">one</a> he breaks the myth that Brahmins and other upper castes are the "privileged" ones in India. Infact, they are as economically marginalised as any of the other OBCs if not more. Two hundred years of British rule, fifty years of socialism have acted as a great leveller and distributed poverty equally to all sections of the indian society, brahmins or other upper castes being no exception. Is it justified to indulge in a reverse discrimination now and punish these sections of our society because they are supposedly rich and powerful even though it is clear that they no longer have the privileges of yore.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-1147798044120235722006-05-16T11:37:00.000-04:002006-05-23T16:02:59.670-04:00An economic argument against reservationPrinciple of free markets is the most enduring empirical law in the whole of Economics . This principle is the very essence of modern capitalism. It says that any economic system when left to evolve according to the independent actions of its participants produces the most efficient resource allocation for all concerned. Adam Smith has called this seemingly miraculous mechanism by which the economic systems consisting of selfish participants who have primarily their own interest at heart, produce a generally agreeable resource allocation - the invisible hand. Ofcourse, for this system to function in a socially harmonious way it is necessary that the participants do not engage in activities which are against the spirit of fairness, that they play by the rules which are established before hand. Ensuring fairplay and order is the job of the government. Governments are the super market participants, who should make sure that everybody else is playing by the rules. Their role is that of a watch dog not that of a resource allocator or selfish market pariticipant. Whenever governments forget this role and start acting like any other market participant working for their own selfish ends in the economic system, the results are generally disastrous. An extreme example is that of communism where government was the biggest market participant, who made the decision of resource allocation by themselves rather than let market mechanism decide it.<br /><br />Union government of India with their reservation policy is going against this basic principle of capitalism. Indian government, blinded in one eye by the failed nehruvian ideology of socialist welfare state and with the other eye firmly on the huge vote banks of backward castes, is not able to envisage the essential roles of government. Governments are not supposed to decide who studies what and where, just as a mere doorkeeper is not supposed to decide who gets to live in the apartment he is watching. Government is a watchman , it does not own social infrastructure it is watching, it merely takes care of it on behalf of society, who is the true owner of its social infrastructure. Government of India is forgetting this essential role of a democratic government and is acting as if they are the true owner of social assets which they can distribute as they please. The current reservation proposal is an expression of this prevalent attitude in the government. Not only this will produce an inefficient resource allocation, for example inevitably it will create inferior engineers and doctors than otherwise would have been produced had there been no reservation policy , this is also an act of intrusion by the government onto the civil liberties of its citizens. A democratic and secular constitution holds that all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law, however reservation policy implicitly assumes inequality between different social groups. It creates different standards of achievements for different social groups in a society implying an overt discrimination and no society can function stably for long where discrimination is official policy.<br /><br />It is a highly condescending and demeaning thought to suggest that people from a particular social group when given opportunity can not succeed in a meritocratic system. Surely, differences of castes, colour, class etc. exist in every society and in Indian society deeper than most advanced countries. These differences are what an economist would characterise as market distortions, inefficiencies which should be ironed out by the governement. A policy akin to reverse racism is not a solution, it is only going to replace those flaws in the society with different set of problems. The role of a government is that of a facilitator, if a social group like many OBCs in India are disadvantaged because of historical reasons, government needs to make sure that they are presented with opportunties which will help them overcome their disadvantages. Government should provide them with good schools, good teachers enabling them to achieve same standards of excellence which more fortunate groups of society are availing of. An aggressive affirmatory action policy without the mandatory quota system like the one practiced in the United States can be considered as well. The pro-active reservation policy will only dilute the academic standards of the institutions of higher learning which is the last thing a progressive modern society should do especially when it is facing competitive forces from countries like China. Whereas China is modernizing its universities aiming high to compete with intellectual giants like Harvard, Yale and MIT, India instead of creating a modern educational infrastrucure is destroying a few stalwarts it has in the higher education sector. If India chooses to ignore the principle of free markets and government's role in that market, it will do so only at its own peril.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-1146524463574284962006-05-01T18:41:00.000-04:002006-05-02T14:24:15.090-04:00Another politician out of the closetI had always thought of <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3741169.stm">P. Chidambaram </a>as a gifted intellectual capable of providing India the kind of enlightened leadership which is sorely lacking in the rest of its political class. I am sorry to admit that even though it took a while, finally he has exposed himself as just another power hungry, sleazy politician nothing more than a Harvard educated version of Laloo Prasad Yadav.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=66960">India needs reservations</a> pronounces the revered finance minister. No sir, what India really needs is sensible, prinicipled politicians who can make sound sensible policies to get rid of myriad of its problems. India needs roads, power, clean drinking water for millions of its denizens, corruption free government, a good education system, liberation from its caste based society, liberation from its religious conflicts. It needs more economic growth, more opportunities for its young population, more accountability from its governments, less red-tape, more freedom for businesses to operate, more investments in its social sectors and infrastructure. What India does not need is its power hungry political class to carve it up into million pieces based on caste and creed, institutionalise discrimination, bring down its few excellent educational institutions, stifle merit, reduce opportunities for millions of young and hard-working students all in the name of providing "social justice".<br /><br />A good friend of mine pointed out that smart people with a dangerous ideology can do much more harm to a society than a bunch of jingoists. People like Chidambaram are those dangerous "educated" hawks who are bent upon destroying the very idea of India for their selfish short term political gains. India will be a better place without people like him.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-1144474046480884602006-04-08T01:06:00.000-04:002006-04-12T20:23:09.173-04:00Quota Raj all set to become realityIt seems that proposal of introducing 50% reservations in India's central universities is going to become a reality. With no political opposition in sight, India's "government" is all set to see through their nefarious designs. Our 'honourable" Human Resources Minister Mr. Arjun Singh has already said that <a href="http://ia.rediff.com/money/2006/apr/08iim.htm?q=bp&file=.htm">quota decision</a> is final. To say that Congress government is playing a dangerous game is the understatement of the year. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be any sense of rage against it in the Indian media, atleast not in the online editions. This coming proposal is the single most outrageous piece of legislation in the history of independent India and there is not even a whimper of protest against it. If this proposal becomes a reality, we will see a new and far worse India, where people are by law discriminated on the basis of caste and religion. If this doesn't call for a show of outrage then I can't imagine what will.<br /><br />Update: Rashmi Bansal of <a href="http://www.jammag.com/index.php">JAM magazine</a> has a scholarly <a href="http://youthcurry.blogspot.com/2006/04/caste-vs-class.html">article</a> on the subject. It is a long, but enlightening read.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-1143913790403091012006-04-01T12:43:00.000-05:002006-04-02T17:26:19.573-04:00Quotafication of IndiaNo matter who is in power in Indian Governments they can always be relied to do the wrong thing almost all the time. Coming close on the heels of a <a href="http://vkg378.blogspot.com/2006/01/politics-in-education.html">constitutional amendment</a> to allow for reservations in private engineering and medical colleges comes the monstority of a proposal where government is "considering" almost <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1466485,curpg-3.cms">50% reservations</a> for "backward castes and muslims" in IITs and IIMs. India's premier educational institutes are being sacrificed at the altar of caste politics. Architects of a free and united India Nehru, Gandhi, Ambedkar must be turning in their graves. What they envisioned was an India where caste, creed and religion doesn't matter, instead we are looking at a India where caste, creed and religious discrimination is going to be institutionalised. Whether one likes it or not in this new India, the surname matters and matters a lot.<br /><br />Nobody can argue that the disadvantaged groups of the society do not need a helping hand. Affirmative action is a notion which is employed quite successfully in USA, without an explicit quota system. The disadvantaged sections of the society deserve help, but this should be done the right way, by making them competitive enough so that they can cross the bar on their own. What Indian government is doing is that they are lowering the bar for them, while keeping the bar same for those unfortunate(or fortunate) to be born with the wrong surname . By compromising on excellence and aptitude, the government is not only lowering the overall standards of quality, it is also doing those very sections of society a disservice whom they are claiming to help. Just an IIT or IIM name tag is not going to make anybody a successful engineer or manager. It sure would open some doors, atleast initially, but over the long term they have to have the skills and aptitude necessary to succeed in the real world. If they do not have the right training, no amount of spoon feeding is going to help them in their chosen professions.<br /><br />A dangerous potential consequence of this retrogade and foolish decision is going to be rise in social tensions among different groups of society. With thousands of castes, sub-castes, religions already in place in India, our great nation has already been divided into many pieces based on "birth defects" of caste and religion . The last thing one needs is hostility between them. Government, instead of encouraging social harmony, is giving people another reason to hate each other by institutionalising discrimination. Imagine if somebody lets say Mr. Pandey gets 95th percentile in IIM exams and is denied admission whereas lets say Mr. Yadav with 75th percentile gets the coveted IIM-A seat, Mr. Pandey is surely going to forever nurse hostility against Mr. Yadav. Furthermore, there is going to be groupism in the campus itself, where people who have made to the campus through general exam will have one group and people with quota category will have another group. It is obvious which group is likely to perform better academically and which group would be looked down upon by faculty and capable students. The seeds of permanent hostility have been sown from an early age itself. Even in the campus recruitment, a company executive would be reluctant to hire somebody who is there mostly because of his caste and creed. Clearly, seeing the name Mr. Yadav in a resume would make him highly suspicious of Mr. Yadav's credentials even if that particular candidate is there because of his hard work and competence. In this globalized world, where companies fight for talent, no executive would knowingly want to hire somebody with questionable ability. It is also not doing any good to Mr. Yadav as well who would have benefited much more from the right training rather than from the act of charity by the government.<br /><br />This kind of blatant casteism can lead to some very interesting situations. Imagine a situation, where parents of a newly born child in the "wrong caste" are afraid that their child is very disadvantaged. Being good parents, they want to give their child every possible advantage they can afford. One possibility for them is to give-up their child for adoption in the "right caste" or better still if they are well-off, buy the "right caste" for their child by paying someone to give their surname to their "wrong caste" child. Now, the child born to be Mr. Pandey is converted to Mr. Yadav, and has every advantage which any Mr. Yadav has. To take this argument even further, in our enterpreunarial times somebody can actually make a profitable business out of selling caste names. All that enterpreuner has to do is to find people willing to adopt babies on paper , give all "wrong caste" babies a surname with the "right caste", charge the "wrong caste" parents a whole lot of money, pay the "right caste" person some money and pocket the rest as commission or profit. He could probably advertise his company called 'Caste Away' with a tagline like "Cast away your Caste". There could be different rates for conversion to different castes, an OBC may demand the highest premium, a mere BC may have a little less and a marginally backward caste may be the cheapest. So if a "wrong caste" parent has 3 children, one is very dumb, other is marginally dumb and the last one is marginally smart, the parent may decide to convert the first one to OBC, the second one to BC and since he bought two castes, he gets to convert the third one to "only a marginally backward caste" for free. I wouldn't be surprised if the next generation of all kids are born with surnames Yadav and all Pandeys disappear, become extinct. That is one caste less for politicians to exploit.<br /><br />Consider another scenario where the "wrong caste" people think (rightly so ) that they are being wronged. Now, we being a democratic nation, these "wrong caste" people also have a vote and hence political power. How can they exercise this power and avenge their wrong? By choosing "the right party", which promises that they would also get a slice of the reservation pie if "the right party" comes to power. Sure enough someday "the right party" would come to power and they will have to fulfill their promise. The "wrong castes" will be righted and they will gain their rightful place in society, by being added to the list of backward castes. Soon enough we will have a situation where all people in the country are officially backward. That would be the day when we will achieve true parity with each other. All of us would be officially backward, a true and lasting equity would be achieved.<br /><br />If the scenario depicted above seems far fetched, then be aware that they are not. I am personally aware of some cases, where by bribing the right people , higher caste people have got their wards converted to lower castes.<br /><br />Making a section of society competitive enough to let them rise up to the challenges is a far harder task but is the one which is going to have lot of benefits for not only the groups being helped but for society as well. Indian politicians(or politicians in general for that matter) have neither the foresight nor the willingness to make policies for the long term. Afterall, long term planning takes vision and courage and may not necessarily pay in the next byelection. On the other hand, reserving seats is easy, has the apperance of helping a section of society and ensures vote banking by playing one caste against another (e.g. Laloo Yadav) . Our corrupt politicians are employing the british raj tactics at a much broader scale to lead India towards a long term disaster. If things continue, the day is not far when India will be a "quota society", where everybody is granted a reservation, a society where merit takes a back seat and your birth largely determines your fate. Such a society is unlikely to be very competitive in a globalized world even more so because smart and talented people would leave this society for better opportunites abroad. What we are going to see is a resurgence of a caste-based society, a casteist society, something like a Bihar or UP where caste is everything. Is this the legacy we wish to leave for our children?Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-1140503416826822412006-02-21T00:40:00.000-05:002006-02-21T13:43:02.896-05:00Europe's fear of globalizationThat Laxmi Mittal is a man of steel, in more ways than one, had long been established. His steely resolve is what exactly is the need of the hour if he has to see his <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/business/worldbusiness/21steel.html">bold bid </a>on European steel maker Arcelor through. Reactions to Mittal Steel's take over attempt for its nearest rival has been hysterically hostile in Europe which is not very surprising. Europe has always been very hypocritical in its approach towards globalization even though globalization is the ideology which has been primarily responsible for its prosperity. It is good as long as it helps European companies acquire assets and markets abroad, but loses its allure if the very same companies are in danger of being gulped by bigger & better rivals. The excuses offered by the French government, of job losses and that Mittal Steel is majority family owned, are difficult to be qualified more than hogwash. Europe has to understand that globalization is not a one way street unlike the old colonial times, when european companies destroyed the local industries of their colonial conquests. The world can no longer function according to the wishes of european politicians, if they expect other countries to open up their markets and assets then they have to reciprocate. Unduly extreme and protectionist measures are going to isolate Europe from rest of the world which in the long run will prove counter productive. In the interest of a better world, let globalization be.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-1140412561037644782006-02-20T00:05:00.000-05:002006-02-20T00:19:45.460-05:00In praise of Rahul DravidWho can doubt that Rahul Dravid is one of the greatest cricketers of his generation? Great batsman, quintessential nice guy , a role model-- you can add a great leader and a very articulate speaker to that list. Is there any more well spoken man in cricket right now? This<a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/7291_1629827,00900002.htm"> interview</a> is an ample testimony to his poise and eloquence. As a leader and sportsman , he is bound to scale new heights. How much I wish we can get leaders half as good in politics as well.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9277958.post-1139762585149414612006-02-12T11:19:00.000-05:002006-02-19T16:26:35.590-05:00FreakonomicsPerhaps the most remarkable thing about Levitt and Dubner' s <a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/">highly acclaimed book</a> is that although it is freaky in good measure, you will be hard pressed to find any traditional economics in it. May be this book could have been more appropriately titled 'Freakostatistics' or 'Freakometrics', because what this book really is about is Data and its power to give surprising answers if the right questions are asked. This is where U Chicago economics professor <a href="http://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/home.html">Levitt </a>excels at-- asking the 'right' and often unconventional questions. His modus operandi is simple. He looks for a field where there is a wealth of information available in the form of raw data, he lets the data speak for itself by giving it the voice of statistics and asking questions which nobody else thought of asking. What he finds is that data can be a surprisingly insightful speaker revealing both profound and mundane. It can tell you what really brings down crime in society, what is the best way to raise a child or what is common between real estate agents and Ku Klux Klan! A good measure of a book of this type can be gauged from the number of times you find yourself saying "A-ha!". On this test, Freakonomics does not disappoint at all and is an A-class "A-ha!" book.Vivek Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05270508991473922528noreply@blogger.com0