Politically liberal, economically illiberal

The irony is that the very liberals who are now lamenting the passing of Nehruvian political values and ideals are also demanding the dismantling of his rare economic liberalism

A few days ago, in a Chennai newspaper, which is also one of India’s leading newspapers, there was an article full of gloom and doom for India’s future. The predictions were dire.

The author, Harsh Mander Singh, who was once in the IAS, is now a full-time social activist. He has always been a severe critic of governments, regardless of which political parties are in power. More often than not, he is in the right, morally as well as in a practical sense.

The article, however, is a perfect example of the disarray in which, for want of a better