SUN WORSHIPPERS OF BIHAR AND A STAMPEDE TRAGEDY

V.S.Gopalakrishnan

(written on 19th Nov 2012)

Nearly 20 persons have sadly lost their lives this evening in a stampede on the banks of the Ganga river near Patna when they were doing Chhath (छठ) puja. Chhath literally means sixth, and the puja falls on the sixth day in the shukla paksha of the Karthik month. The object of worship is the sun. Mostly this is practiced by Biharis and the practice has spread over to many places in North India.

It may look curious that we still have sun worshippers and regular, traditional puja for the sun. Sun was a very important Vedic deity which came to be somewhat eclipsed by the post-Vedic and Puranic deities such as Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesh etc. The early Vedic people had occupied the territory between Afghanistan and Western Uttar Pradesh, and in course of time they moved east and occupied the Gangetic plains. And early kingdoms wielding enormous power were located in Bihar, and to recall a few they were Magadha, Mithila, Anga and Vajji. The Mauryas were Magadhans and ruled over an extensive empire. And Buddha belonged to that region, closer to Nepal. So, perhaps we can see some explanation as to how sun-worship during the Chhath Puja has been a long tradition over several centuries particularly in Bihar.

Chhath is a Prakrit word, as spoken by the common people who found it difficult to pronounce the Sanskrit equivalent Shasthi. The puja is also known as Surya Shasthi. In actual fact the rituals are spread out over four days, starting on the chaturthi and ending on the seventh day. The Puja to the Sun is for thanks-giving and for seeking continuous favours and blessing. The thanking is for sustaining life on earth and for granting wishes. The supplication is for future well-being and prosperity, not just for one-self but for all including family members and friends. And the sun is looked upon to give longevity and cure diseases, most importantly leprosy. This nature-worship would seem to have more meaning and significance than the worship of Puranic deities!

The rituals of the four day festival are rigorous. It consists of prayers, fasting, abstinence from drinking water (vratta), bathing in sacred river and standing in the river waters for hours, and offering of araghya and Prasad to the rising and the setting sun.

The festival may seem Bihar-centric historically but is celebrated also in UP, MP, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Chandigarh etc. The worshippers gather on the river banks for this purpose.

There is a Mahabharata legend that when the Pandavas were in exile, once suddenly 88,000 wandering hermits came to their place and Draupadi was in a fix as to how she could cook a meal for this large contingent. She prayed to Dhaumya Rishi for help. The Rishi solved her problem considering her merits obtained by sun-worship. Draupadi’s sun-worship is said to be also the reason for the Pandavas eventually gaining their kingdom.

It is said that women outnumber men in taking part in this festival. This is the only puja for which no priest is ever called. Bihar has any number of old, small sun temples along with surajkhund (ponds).

MAJOR SUN TEMPLES IN INDIA

There are nearly eight ancient and magnificent sun temples in India. I would like to selectively pick three of them which are the most fascinating and show you how they look like:

(1)    Sun temple, Konark, Orissa (below).
It is a marvelous structure built by King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty in the 13^th century. I have visited this.
 

(2)    Sun temple, Modhera, Gujarat (below).
It was built in 1026 AD by King Bhimdev of Solanki Dynasty. (I have not visited this)



(3)    Martand temple near Anantnag, Kashmir (below, in ruins). (I have not visited this)
It is said that the foundation for this was laid around 350-500 AD. The temple was finished in the 8^th Century by a King of the Karkota Dynasty. Today only the imposing ruins remain. I feel that it deserves to be rebuilt with the pieces lying around. It required one full year for the Muslim fanatic Sikandar Butshikan to destroy this temple in the 15^th Century.


(all pics from Net)
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JUDGING BALASAHEB THACKERAY

JUDGING BALASAHEB THACKERAY

V.S.Gopalakrishnan

(18 Nov 2012)

Yesterday morning I took a taxi – I did not drive my car due to parking problems – and rushed to a Dadar book shop to buy two copies of “Fatkaare” ( pages.260; Rs.250) a book of Balasaheb Thackeray’s wonderful cartoons from 1955 to 1985, which was released a month ago, a veritable treasure trove for me. Only one copy was left there and I had to spend a lot of time with the taxi ploughing through thick traffic jams before I got another copy from another shop and returned home. Dadar bazaars would seem to have the highest shoppers’ density and traffic density at any time!

After lunch I went to attend a Kathak-workshop at Nehru Centre, ten minutes’ drive from home. Sunayana Hazarilal of the Benaras Kathak gharana was holding the fort with her brilliant students and Hema Malini was also lending her presence for a good measure. And when I reached home at 4-30 PM after the workshop did I get the news that Balasaheb was no more by 3-30 PM. Last night I posted a blog on Kathak.

I have since been glued to the TV, watching the scenes and listening to the homages and discussions. The mighty crowd of 2 million in Mumbai today is the best single barometer to testify to the man’s popularity and personality. How many from this crowd were non Shiva Sainiks, I have no idea. But the crowd was basically Marathi-manoos. In many ways Balasaheb was the pride of Maharashtra and that gave a deep sense of pride to Maharashtrians too.

I usually sit on the front seat of the taxi and was chatting with the taxi-driver yesterday as I was making the Dadar trip and back. He was from UP, and indeed the bulk of the Mumbai taxi-drivers are from UP. He held Balasaheb in high esteem and said that the sainiks had never troubled the taxi drivers unlike the Constables. Shiv Sena has had problems with immigres from Bihar and not UP! It is said that the UP-wallahs have taken over taxi driving because they are very hard-working and would even put in 12 hours a day  unlike the local Maharashtrian drivers who are said to be aalsi (lazy) and spend the earnings in drinks! This could have a slight exaggeration. Why did not Balasaheb turn the local (Maharashtrain) inhabitants hardworking? I have no clue. What did he do to lessen the drinking habits of the Maharashtrian workers? I have no clue.

Balasaheb was essentially an urban product unlike YB Chavan, Sharad Pawar and other Maharashtrian leaders who hailed from rural backgrounds. The Mumbai city which he understood best was his closest hunting ground, and of course, thanks to his immense organizing power, and that was one of his greatest strengths, his Sena could spread its tentacles all over Maharashtra and to even other parts of India. The Sainiks took over the Mumbai Municipal Corporation long years ago. I am not sure of the exact contribution that the city has received from Balasaheb and his men in its development in the last two decades. The city looks modern with skyscrapers, and traffic movement is not too bad due to construction of fly-overs. The island city has the luxury of getting 24 hour electricity. Yet, there are any number of slums here with visible poverty.  Lakhs sleep on pavements and lakhs are homeless. The suburban trains are so overcrowded, the travelers crowd like animals.  All talks over the years about making Mumbai a Singapore or Shanghai have meant nothing. Why could not Balasaheb manage to get huge central funds for Mumbai’s development and maintenance although the city contributes one third in direct taxes and indirect taxes to the national exchequer? How much of real efforts did he make in this matter? The Congress at the Centre indeed showed no respect for him. Even  Maharashtra’s ruling Congress has miserably failed here.

The Shiv Sena began its existence in 1966 with the avowed object of protecting the interests of Maharashtrians. Southerners were unwanted in Mumbai. But in course of time, people from the North began to arrive in larger numbers. If Maharashtrians were hard-working, say like the Sikhs, which offices and factories would not have wanted them? An average Gujarati shop-keeper always scores over a Maharashtrian shop-keeper by miles, through better public relationship and harder efforts. A Narendra Modi in Maharashtra could not have succeeded even by half as in Gujarat! But stopping the outsiders was only small cards for Balasaheb. His trump card came out later when he stood for Hindutva. This was inevitable since the Sena stood in opposition to Congress which had the power in the State. And Congress had been playing vote-bank politics. The underworld of Mumbai essentially into drugs, arms,  hawala, cinema, gold-smuggling etc has had large Muslim players, and the credit for this is given to the Congress. The Muslims of Mumbai did not like Sena.

And yet no Balasaheb Thackeray has been able to stop or reduce the influx of Bangla refugees into Mumbai. The Congress power in Mantralaya flows from rural votes and yet it alone polices the city, and this policing has been very weak as per the Sena. It is a miracle of sorts that one man, namely Balasaheb, could weather through all the adversities over 47 years of political life without losing hope or hold over the people. He did join hands with the BJP thanks to the common hindutva factor and the common anti-Congress factor, and yet barring a few years the State has been ruled by Congress and lately with NCP as coalition partners.

Does man (leader) make history or does history make man (leader)? Balasaheb surely made history. He had to start from  scratch unlike Sonia who got her billion dollars and the Congress Party on a platter. Balasaheb’s multi-faceted personality and very hard work combined with firm beliefs took him to Himalayan heights as a charismatic leader. May his soul rest in peace.


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IDENTITY OF KATHAK SHOULD NOT BE MISUNDERSTOOD

IDENTITY OF KATHAK SHOULD NOT BE MISUNDERSTOOD

V.S.Gopalakrishnan

Even if you take an average educated person, it would not be difficult for him to enumerate the classical dance forms of India which are Bharata Natyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Kathakali and Mohini Attam. These dance forms are now popular all over India although their evolution happened in different geographic regions. In urban centres especially, a large number of young girls take to learning of classical singing/dancing while pursuing their academics. Acculturation is a vigorously followed phenomenon particularly of the middle classes.

But often we see people momentarily confusing Kathak with Kathakali. And often we find people with the notion that Kathak derives from Muslim (Moghul) culture whereas the fact is that Kathak is very much of a Hindu art-form that existed even before the Christian era. Movies like Anarkali, Mughal-e-Azam, Umrao Jan etc have sometimes created a perception that Kathak is a part of Muslim culture.

Katha means story and kathak is a story teller in the form of an entertainer who would sing and dance. In ancient Mithila, before the Common Era, Kathak was popularly practiced. Kathak finds mention in Mahabharata. Grammarian Panini has referred to Kathak. This art form developed in North India and over centuries had its growth and efflorescence there. The themes were religious, often connected to Krishna and Radha. The dances were performed in temples. Elaborate footwork and movements were combined with expressive abhinayas (bodily and facial expressions). I believe that mudras are more special to Bharata Natyam than to Kathak. In olden times it was performed solo but today we witness multiple performers doing an intricate choreography.

But the Moghuls who ruled from the 16^th century did make a difference. Simply put, they took away the Kathak dancers from temples and put them in their royal courts. I do not think that the Sultans and the Sultanates that ruled for nearly 300 years before the Moghuls touched the Kathak artists even with a barge pole. The Moghuls were somewhat sophisticated. They used Persian as the Court language. They patronized painting, music and dancing. Persian influences came into the Kathak dance form. The chakkars (spins) were introduced by taking after the whirling dervishes. The legs-posture became straight unlike in the Bharat Natyam in which bent-knees is usual.

If I ask you to take one famous name of a Kathak dancer, you would perhaps say “Birju Maharaj”. Birju Maharaj’s father was Acchan Maharaj who together with (Acchan’s) brothers Lacchan Maharaj and Shambu Maharaj formed a very famous Kathak trio. This trio constituted the sons of Kalkadin Maharaj who along with brother Bindadin Maharaj were famous Lucknowi Kathak masters. The duo’s father was Thakur Prasad Maharaj who was none other than the famous guru to Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the ruler of Awadh, who was a very well-trained Kathak dancer. It would be difficult for us to envisage dancer kings! Well, once Morarji Desai planned to induct Rukmini Devi Arundale as dancer President of India!

Lucknowi gharana, famous for the generations of the “Maharaj family”, constitutes one of the three major Kathak gharanas of India, the other two being the Jaipur gharana and the Benaras gharana. The Moghul elements are evident in the Lucknowi gharana. The dances were tailored to thumris, dadra, kajri, tappa etc whereas the old ritual temple dances were performed to bhajans and spiritual compositions. The Moghul and Nawabi influence often made the dancers to be courtesans at the service of men of the royal realm. They were fabulously compensated by gold, jewellery, presents etc.

The Benaras gharana has remained very spiritual and hinduised, committed to devotional themes and uses sanskrit. They use special dance bols in addition to the tabla/pakhwaj bols. The Sufi-looking chakkars are kept to the minimum.

The Jaipur gharana got patronized by the Kachwaha kings. This is marked by very vigorous, complex and powerful  footwork . And pakhwaj based compositions are fairly predominant.

During the British rule, there was a general decline in the over-all classical dance situation for want of patronage in their administered areas, and so Kathak also suffered a decline. Besides, the British looked upon it as nautch that was dirty and meant for seduction. The revival of classical dances in the 20^th century saw the appearance of Kathak on popular public platforms.

(Japanese artiste performing a Kathak dance -from Net)

As you attend a Kathak program, the instruments you observe generally are tabla and harmonium. The dancers’ costumes and adorning jewellery are much simpler than in Bharata Natyam. The ghungroos (anklets) would look like they weigh a ton and consist of tiny bells.

And I personally believe that a good dance performance should mean you have seen a good-looking dancer, as essentially it is a visual medium!

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MY CARTOON ILLUSTRATIONS FOR ARTICLES IN THE ECONOMIC TIMES

MY CARTOON ILLUSTRATIONS FOR ARTICLES IN THE ECONOMIC TIMES

V.S.Gopalakrishnan

Thanks to obtaining a Diploma in Cartooning from Raye Burns School of Cartooning, USA, by a correspondence course, it was just a natural progression for me that I enthusiastically took up occasional cartooning during week-ends as a hobby. I did publish cartoons in my College Magazine (of Madras Christian College) but my earliest cartoons for which I got paid appeared in Shankar's Weekly in 1966. As a bureaucrat working in I.A.S., political cartoons were out of bounds for me. Hence, I had to indulge in general cartoons on various facets and aspects of life.

During my cartoonistic journey, as a hobby, over more than four decades I basically drew cartoons based on my own thought process. I usually used to politely decline requests to me for illustrating books or articles as that involved much more work like reading the material. However, almost like an exception, I did draw cartoonistic illustrations for THE ECONOMIC TIMES, MUMBAI for a while. The concerned Editor would send me the articles (on economics, finance, management etc) which I had to read carefully and then come out with illustrations.

I am posting below some of my illustrations that appeared in THE ECONOMIC TIMES.

(1) Title of the article: Not available (13 Nov 1986)


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(2) Title of the article: "The Right Communication Strategy" (26 Jul 1986)


" The TV you bought from me is like my daughter marrying you! Do let me know its condition from time to time!"
(This illustrates how the Japanese are great at customer service and care.)
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 (3) Title of the article: "Give Them a Pat On The Back" (2 Aug 1986)


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(4) Title of the article: "BHEL Suggestion Model" (14 Aug 1986)


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(5) Title of the article: "Customs Duty on Short-landed Goods" (28 Aug 1986)


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(6) Title of the article: "Stress Reduction Must have a Limit" (21 Aug 1986)


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(7) Title of the article: "Maintenance - A Neglected Area" (4 Sep 1986)


"You play a very important role as a maintenance man. I can't give you leave to go for your wedding".
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PROBLEMS IN MATRIMONEY - SOME CARTOONS BY ME

PROBLEMS IN MATRIMONEY - SOME CARTOONS BY ME

V.S.Gopalakrishnan

While rummaging through some old files I came across these cartoons done by me nearly 25 years ago. Matrimony in our society is deeply intermingled with money! The deadly mixture has given me ideas for the following cartoons by me. Some of them were published in the journal FEMINA (June 8-22, 1988).

 

 

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AMAZING INDIAN LIKE PRE HISTORIC SCULPTURES AT SHUWAYMUS IN SAUDI ARABIA!

AMAZING INDIAN LIKE PRE HISTORIC SCULPTURES AT SHUWAYMUS IN SAUDI ARABIA!
IS THERE AN AJANTA IN ARABIA?

V.S.Gopalakrishnan

Right now, I am reading a book titled “History of the Arabs” by Prof. Philip K.Hitti (Macmillan, student Edition, Tenth Edition, 822 pages). I have scarcely read a more engaging historical book and I wish I had written it. The book handles the subject of Arabia, Arabs and Arabians across the widest canvas covering history, geography, culture, religion etc. The Islamic history is only 1300 years old but Arabia’s name, fame and influence go back to nearly 4000 years back. When I would finish the reading of the book, I would fancy bringing out a series of enlightening blogs on the subject.

Mind you, this book came out in 1937! Never mind that as it essentially covers a range of nearly 4000 years. I am reading the Tenth edition, updated and reprinted, as of 1979! And, surprise of surprises, I don’t find the place called SHUWAYMUS mentioned in the voluminous index-section at the end. So, I have discovered something today, of enormous significance to us, of which Prof.Hitti was unaware! What is it?

Do you remember all those great things said about Arabian traders from ancient times, and about the fanciful Arabian Nights etc? Yet, I would say that the land was greatly disadvantaged due to the enormous desert areas and very little development has happened there till oil became wealth. Despite its enormous history, it seems to have very few tourist places of interest even today for the average international traveller.

Out of curiosity, I was browsing the internet contents on touristic places in Saudi and most of them are mosques. But out of a dozen touristic places generally mentioned, a place called Shuwaymus totally flabbergasted me. Just take a look at the sculptures found there, shown in the photo below.


 My God, I could not believe my eyes! I googled for “shuwaymus” and there were just 49 entries on it. Many of them, when opened, repeat like a parrot the following text.

QUOTE
Rock Carving Site

Shuwaymus is yet another Rock Carving Site in Saudi Arabia that has been recently discovered. The rock arts at this place tell us a lot about the domestication of animals in the early times. This place had been home to the Neolithic people and this Saudi Arabia Rock Carving Site tells you that the country had not always been a desert and has undergone plenty of climatic alterations.

UNQUOTE

To me, the sculptures look like old sculptures we see at Indian temples, in caves etc. It is perhaps possible that Indian master craftsmen went over there long, long ago and executed such marvelous figures. I just cannot believe that this could have happened. I have seen similar stone sculptures made by Indian master-craftsmen in the distant Angkor in Cambodia and in Indonesia (Prambanan and Borobodur). They are UNESCO Heritage sites and are well-known to tourists throughout the world.

The above write-up on Shuwaymus says that the rock carvings were “recently discovered”. How recent is it? I have been unable to find any material on it except for an article available at this URL which you could open and read: http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200202/art.rocks.in.saudi.arabia.htm

The above mentioned article is by one Peter Harrigan and another Lars Bjurstrom. A significant para from the article is as follows (on the Shuwaymus sculptures):

QUOTE:

“The darker ones are the oldest,” he explains, showing a life-sized figure, depicted with a characteristic oval head, holding a curved, boomerang-like throwing stick and followed by a short-horned bovine. “Now let me show you our prize figure, an ancient ruler.” Finely incised in the dark patina of desert varnish is a life-sized male human figure with a crown-like headdress. Nearby is the curved horn of an ibex reaching and arching to its back, its face complete with a small beard.

UNQUOTE

I would suppose that the human figure with “crown-like” head-dress is a reference to the sitting figure we see in the photo. From the article, it is clear that this discovery is about only 10 years old!  I wonder whether any Indian archaeologists have gone over to Shuwaymus to study the sculptures which seem to be Indian handiwork.

There was a huge trade between India, Middle East, Egypt and Rome even before the Christian era. The trade routes went through certain parts of Arabia, and Arabian traders were buying from the Orient. It is said that Arabs worshipped Shiva idols and other images in Kaba (in Mecca) as a part of more than 300 gods they worshipped before Islam came in.

I am very disappointed that more pictures about the sculptures extant in Shuwaymus are not available. It is equally disappointing that there are hardly any write-ups about the sculptures on the Net . If the readers can unravel any and bring it to my notice, that will be greatly appreciated.

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POST SCRIPT (29 Oct, 1 pm)
My friend Mr.K.Padmanabhaiah IAS retd wrote to me an email as follows:
QUOTE
Gopal,
I hope you have included the correct pictures because these pictures are so clear that there cannot be any doubt whether they represent humans etc.
The first and enduring impression I get on seeing these pictures is that you have by mistake attached pictures from the Kailas Temple, Ellora.
I am sure you visited Ellora. These picures totally resemble "Ravana Shaking Mt.Kailas". Ravana’s face is disfigured (in the lower portion).But one can imagine that Ravana’s heads and uplifted arms were there in the original.
The figure in the upper portion is clearly Shiva sitting on Kailas.
Padam.

UNQUOTE

I checked the Ellora sculpture and also the Elephanta cave sculpture of "Ravana lifting Mount Kailas", and it looks as if the Elephanta sculpture's photo has been used in the Saudi tourism sites! The Elephanta cave photo is reproduced below from the Net:


 It is thus pretty clear that the Elephanta sculpture/photo has been wrongly used by the various parties that have given the touristic write-up about Shuwaymus! This is unpardonable indeed! Surely the Saudi Government should ensure that outside tourists are not misguided. My special thanks to Mr.K.Padmanabhaiah for the corrective enlightenment he has brought along! I am giving below the sites which give the photo as pertaining to Shuwaymus:

http://www.lebanonct.org/district/lms/7th_Grade/Country%20Web%20Pages/Saudi%20Arabia%20Web%20Site/Region.htm

http://mostbeautifulplaces2011.blogspot.in/

http://mehfilehazratabbas.wordpress.com/cities/medina-city-of-prophet/

http://www.paklinks.com/gs/travel-and-tourism/578592-top-tourist-attraction-in-saudiarabia.html

http://travelling-around-the-earth.blogspot.in/2011/01/top-tourist-attraction-places-in-saudi.html

http://keesoon.blogspot.in/2012/04/saudi-arabia-arabic-as-suudiyah.html

http://infosaudi.sa/en/tourandfest/99/Kingdom-Centre

 I am also posting below a photo of the Ellora sculpture of Ravana lifting Mount Kailas, which is different from the Elephanta sculpture in compositional details:
 


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THE DANGERS OF FREE-MARKET CAPITALISM

THE DANGERS OF FREE-MARKET CAPITALISM

V.S.Gopalakrishnan


Capitalism has many forms, and “free-market capitalism” has brought the USA and even Europe to the present  financial crisis. I have just finished carefully going through a book titled “23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism” by Ha-Joon Chang (of S.Korean origin). It fascinatingly demolishes the case for Free-Market Capitalism (that ruled the USA for 3 decades) in which there is over-dependence on supply-demand factors with inadequate regulations and correctives. Capitalism should go with regulations.

The free-market idea has to be debunked. Historically the free-market theorists even shouted hoarse when child employment was banned. They shouted hoarse when 60 hour work per week was reduced. Author says that today’s free-trade economists would have hated to buy things made by their own grand-fathers who put in very long hours of work in inhumane conditions. Total free-trade is  meaningless. The British Government foolishly hung on to free-trade in opium and the war with China happened.

Modern capitalism was made possible by the device of Company with limited liability. Earlier to it, there was no limit on liability and promoters were afraid to invest.  Adam Smith who advocated free-markets opposed the concept of the Limited Liability Companies on the assumption that the managers would play havoc with the Capital due to limited liability! Karl Marx supported the idea of Limited Companies since large capitals could be collected and invested. However, the professional managers (ex: Jack Welch of GEC), from 1980, while managing the company’s capital well, went in for “shareholder value maximization” (giving maximum dividends) and ignored building of surplus/reserves from the company-profits for re-investment. Industrial investments came down and the growth rate in USA came down. Jack Welch later admitted that share-holder value was the “dumbest idea in the world”. So, good economics means a good balancing act, without too much favour to one actor/factor.

Free-market economists/advocates sometimes don’t see the consequences of their advocacy.  If there is totally say a free migration of labour from India to the USA, will they accept it? They don’t realize that there are Immigration Laws implemented right under their nose, which mock at their ideas.

The author ridicules the prevalent over-enthusiasm of the free-market advocates for the idea of “globalization”. The globalization has meant the shifting of manufacturing industries from the West to the cheaper Orient. The West has thus become a “post-industrial society” giving practically all the room to service sector. Jobs have been lost and an imbalance has set in.

The author believes that the present “internet revolution” is nothing compared to the “washing machine revolution” nearly a century ago. With the washing machines that save time coming into one’s life, women took to working in office. With both husband and wife working, the opportunity cost for having children rose up! This brought in more far-fetched changes in society than the changes due to internet! So it seems that we can blame broken marriages, divorces, increasing old age people and reducing youthful population, on the hapless washing machine!

The author goes to great lengths in attacking Adam Smith’s observation on selfish butcher, brewer and baker. Smith said that these guys are there to serve you not out of altruism but for their selfish interest. I came to my own conclusion that the correct term is “survival interest” and not “selfish interest”. If it were selfish interest, the butcher or the baker will not share his income with family members.

One very interesting thesis the author adduces is that free-market in the world cannot make a poor country rich. He says that protectionism alone made USA, UK etc rich. Having become rich, they want to capture other markets through free-trade and free-market. Only partially is this stand correct. The East Asian tigers (South Korea, Taiwan etc) do demonstrate the fact that “freer-trade” (and not “free-trade”) is what is responsible for their prosperity.( There is no such thing as “free trade” -we have only “freer trade” under WTO regime-as free trade would mean zero restrictions on the movement of capital and labour across the world.)

Economists and Governments of many developing countries seem to think that their countries should pass from agricultural economy straight to service economy skipping the manufacturing stage since in the rich West it is the service economy which has ultimately become preponderant. In India manufacturing is much less compared to China. The author emphasizes the danger in belittling the role and importance of the manufacturing sector. Productivity growth is faster in manufacturing than in service. Services are also much less tradable than manufactured products. It will be thus wrong to think that India could also go into de-industrialization as has happened in the West. India should, I too feel, welcome huge investments in manufacturing as happens in China, instead of hugely relying on software production.

The free-market economists would like Governments to play the least role in national economies. That means that Government should be a mere onlooker. These economists forget that computer, semi-conductors, aircraft, internet and bio-tech industries have all arisen from Governmental efforts. Huge moneys have been spent by the US Government in R and D in these areas.

The author says that the individual entrepreneurship capacity of the nationals in a poor country is much more than in rich countries. That explains how these poor individuals are managing to survive. Yet, why are these people unable to make their country rich? The author blames the Governments of the poor countries for not properly channelizing the entrepreneurship capabilities of the citizens. However this is easily said than done. I should think that regulated capitalism is the only panacea here. Companies should be formed, they should invest, they should resort to recent technologies, they should employ people, they should make profits which should be mostly reinvested and so on. The Bangladesh model of individual entrepreneurship through Grameen bank loans has failed. The workers should be “collectivized” in a sense.

THE PRESENT ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRISIS BEGINNING 2008:

As per the author, reckless free-market operations over two decades led to the big crisis beginning 2008. The Government of the USA went into huge budget deficits year after year. The citizens borrowed freely with no thoughts on how they would repay. The financial market, in fact, had a major role in the recession. Financial instruments and products went on multiplying so much that the banks and Financial players themselves failed to understand them properly. Warren Buffet had the premonition to say that financial derivatives were going to be “weapons of financial mass destruction”.

But for the US Governmental intervention in saving many Banks, the motor industry etc, by pumping billions of dollars, the extent of the downfall of US would have been great. This is still not being appreciated and accepted by free-market economists. These economists believe that a sick person (say, sick industries) must be allowed to die rather than tax payers’ money spent on his medication. The role of Governmental intervention and regulation has never been more important at any time than now in the crisis-situation. Mitt Romney is all for free-market and his prescriptions that keep governmental action at bay, may not help the USA economy to revive in case he becomes the President.

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