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A review by ipsitadas
An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions by Jean Dreze, Jean Drèze, Amartya Sen
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
"India is full of inequalities of various kinds. Some Indians are comparatively rich; most are not. Some are fairly well educated; others are illiterate. Some lead easy lives; others toil hard for little reward. Some are politically powerful; others cannot influence anything outside their immediate sphere. Some have substantial opportunities for advancement in life; others lack them altogether. Some are treated with respect by police no matter what they have done; others are treated like dirt at the slightest suspicion of transgression. These diverse contrasts reflect different kinds of inequality, and each of them individually requires serious attention."
("An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradiction.")
"An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradiction" speaks of growing India's inequality across states, despite the growing figures of India's per capita GDP. The book was published dated back in 2014. When India's GDP growth rate was surging at a very steady pace, and it was bagging the title of being the "second fastest-growing economy in the world." Even India's record in pioneering democratic governance in the non-Western world is a widely acknowledged accomplishment, as its success in maintaining a secular state, despite the challenges originating from its thoroughly multi-religious population and the hugely disturbing history of violence around the ending days of British colonial rule. Although, these remarkable achievements are the glories of today's India, albeit they are deeply uncertain.
Sen and Dreze thus try to address and evaluate both the achievements and failures that characterize India today. They narrate to what extent India's old problems have been eradicated and what remains to be done. And are there new problems that India has to address?
The authors have drawn a vivid picture of where India stands today in terms of socio-economic indicators, gender and caste-based discrimination, democratic rights, and so on.
"India is not doing well at all in many respects even in comparison with some of the poorest countries in the world."
Outside of sub-Saharan Africa and even in South Asia, though India is performing much better concerning per capita income, its developmental indicators stand only ahead of Pakistan, a country with a perpetually disturbed political situation. The author has repeatedly pointed out the reason behind the abysmal state of India's socio-economic and living standards is the lack of accountability and credibility. They urged this requires a change sooner or later to embark on the journey of a much-balanced society. And, if required we can look into the progress report of states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh for reference sake!
I would highly recommend this well-researched, thought-provoking text to anyone remotely concerned with India's development journey.
("An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradiction.")
"An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradiction" speaks of growing India's inequality across states, despite the growing figures of India's per capita GDP. The book was published dated back in 2014. When India's GDP growth rate was surging at a very steady pace, and it was bagging the title of being the "second fastest-growing economy in the world." Even India's record in pioneering democratic governance in the non-Western world is a widely acknowledged accomplishment, as its success in maintaining a secular state, despite the challenges originating from its thoroughly multi-religious population and the hugely disturbing history of violence around the ending days of British colonial rule. Although, these remarkable achievements are the glories of today's India, albeit they are deeply uncertain.
Sen and Dreze thus try to address and evaluate both the achievements and failures that characterize India today. They narrate to what extent India's old problems have been eradicated and what remains to be done. And are there new problems that India has to address?
The authors have drawn a vivid picture of where India stands today in terms of socio-economic indicators, gender and caste-based discrimination, democratic rights, and so on.
"India is not doing well at all in many respects even in comparison with some of the poorest countries in the world."
Outside of sub-Saharan Africa and even in South Asia, though India is performing much better concerning per capita income, its developmental indicators stand only ahead of Pakistan, a country with a perpetually disturbed political situation. The author has repeatedly pointed out the reason behind the abysmal state of India's socio-economic and living standards is the lack of accountability and credibility. They urged this requires a change sooner or later to embark on the journey of a much-balanced society. And, if required we can look into the progress report of states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh for reference sake!
I would highly recommend this well-researched, thought-provoking text to anyone remotely concerned with India's development journey.