Sen, at the same time, pointed that there are bigger things to learn from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and even Himachal Pradesh, a state where he said "transformation has been much more rapid that Kerala."
The economist said it was wrong to portray India's governmental experience as a complete failure.
"It has been a completely diverse experience. Some very good experience in business area like Gujarat on the other hand pretty bad record in education, health care, gender equity and any public policy related to that," Sen said at the launch of his new book last evening.
In particular, the authors point out that the country has overlooked the central role of human capabilities - both as an end in themselves and as a means of further progress.
More From This Section
Sen exemplified Kerala, which he has done pretty well in areas like education and health care and is now one of the richer states in India.
He said he was criticised as "hypothetical and imaginative" for saying that Kerala a state once mired with problems of low income and red tape could reap the benefits of growth if it stuck to progress in areas like education, health care and literacy.
The Nobel Laureate said it was a question of learning from any part of India that can offer a lesson.
"This is true even in Gujarat. We can even learn from Gujarat even though it has a dismal record in treatment of minorities, giving them a sense of security and sticking to secularism. But in things like market economic expansion, there are things to learn."
Sen, however pointed that there are bigger things to learn from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and even Himachal Pradesh, a state where he said "transformation has been much more rapid that Kerala.