Two days in Boston and back to Mumbai

As indicated in my previous blog we rolled into Boston, a historical city from the American was of Independence, but also from the academic perspective. I did share with my co-participants on the famous Cambridge capital controversy with people from both the Cambridge's taking part in 1960s and early 1970s. The prominent among them being Joan Robinson and Piero Sraffa from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom and Paul Samuelson and Robert Solow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, United States. The former pointed out some important problems in the aggregation of capital, reswitching and on the foundations of neoclassical economics. The latter did concede to some of these but despite that the teaching of economics worldwide (including at University of Cambridge also) got dominated by the neoclassical thinking and students in many schools at the United States not being aware of this problem. A good retrospective of this debate is Whatever Happened to the Cambridge Capital Theory Controversies.

Another development at Harvard is the seminal book by John Rawls, A Theory of Justice in 1971 (though I refer to the more recent Justice as Fairness: A Restatement of 2000 in my classes and in discussions) that had a serious assault on the utilitarian basis of neoclassical economics because of his articulation of reasonable pluralism - different things are intrinsically relevant on their own merit and not because of their relevance to utility.  Rawls also brought on other aspects such as 'original position' which means  that (free and equal) people who take decisions are under a veil so that they do not know who they are and this will help keep away vested interest.  With this and other fundamental ideal he goes on to put forth two principles of justice: First that there has to be equal liberties for all. Second, some inequalities are inevitable and they are of two types. The first inequality is that the most deserving persons should be appointed to positions of power so that societies concerns are carried forward in the best possible way and the second inequality is that while taking decisions the most vulnerable persons or subgroups interest should be maximized. The latter inequality is not a trade-off with better of individuals but rather preempts trade-offs where the interest of better-off is maximized by disregarding the interests of the worse-off.

Getting back to the trip. Our earlier schedule (the one that  I received by email before leaving India) for 20 May 2011 was an evaluation day. But, there was no such official evaluation and it was a free day. We decided to go on a tour of Boston. Just outside Marriott Cambridge, where we were staying, towards the Kendal Station side is also the bus stop for local tours.  At first the person wanted to sell us a ticket for 42 dollars. When we were a little hesitant then he said that he can reduce it to 39 dollars meant for students or give us ticket for another provided that is for 30 dollars - the difference being that the frequency of the latter bus is 20 minutes whereas that of the former is 10 minutes. Again, the latter ticket could also be used for two consecutive days and if we want a ticket for a single day then it would be 24 dollars. We decided for the single day and when we boarded the first bus we were told that we can use this ticket for the  next day also  because some logistics meant that there will be no services for this tour after 2.30 pm on our first day. Of course we did not need it on the second day.

Our first stop was Boston commons (a place traditionally used by farmers to graze their cattle) and one where there are people dressed in 18th century attire and explaining to people about the freedom trail.  It was nice to see the history being told and retold to groups of attentive children.

The second stop was harbor from where we took a boat ride and  were told about Boston's historic significance in maritime trade and some industry that developed but they no longer exist . We got off on  the other side of the harbor at Charles Town where there is a US Naval Meuseum and took the bus ride to Trinity church  near Copley square surrounded by the Westin Hotel, the Public Library and the the Old South church. There was a farmers market in the square and from a baker came to know that they also barter with fellow sellers. This is done at the end of the day when there is a mutual interest and at times they may also sell in exchange for coupons. A coupon is a guarantee given by the farmers market association in exchange for produce sold to those customers who paid by credit card at a central point. In the market one also met a Maple syrup seller from Vermont.

Back in the hotel had a long discussion with Sarthak. He is currently  at Wharton School,  University of Pennsylvania and had planned a visit to Boston to match mine. Both of us talked about  his thesis  and other work that we are doing and walked down to MIT and Harvard and took picture with John Harvard and then took a train back to Kendall and had a nice dinner at The Legal Seafood and discussed about size-class productivity in Indian agriculture late into the night.

On 21 May 2010 my flight was scheduled at 10.15 in the night, but checked out from the hotel at 12 noon. Our luggage was stored and we were given access to the business center but as one of the co-participants,  had a flight in the afternoon and as it is the same waiting in the lobby or at the airport, I  left early.  This  has added to the jet lag and though I am tired I am not able to sleep, and hence, this post. There is lot of work pending but that needs some rest before I start.

The whole experience has been wonderful. Nevertheless, the first feeling when back in  amchi Mumbai is sare jahan se acha hindustan hamara.

Visit to Amana Colonies

Today it was a nice surprise as one of my friends from University of Hyderabad student days, Lakshmi who was doing her linuistics there, came over from Nebraska with her husband, Madhusudhan (Masa) and son, Miti who has entered his teen. It was nice because we did not interact much during our student days; of course, we have been in touch virtually in recent years. The hightlight was the gift with the tag 'good teachers think out of the box.' They came down with us to Amana colonies and it was a nice time spent.

Amana colonies, like the Amish villages we went yesterday, have a German origin. The Amaa colonies have a lot of handicrats - furniture, wollen, restaurant, brewery and other shops. It is a nice outing for a Sunday.

At the brewery we chatted up with people about American history, culture and politics. How it is perfectly right for an Iowan to talk about weather and pets but it is more about politics and who you claim to know at Washington DC and people will hardly have any time in New York leading to the saying that if you stop moving then you will be run over. Coming from a fast-paced Mumbai, one can empathise with this, as one has also heard umpteen times that the only place faster than  Mumbai is New York.

There was a discussion on taxation and how the rich can always get away by paying less. The emphasis on private property means that many people argue against taxes being used for distribution purposes. Instead, low taxes and investments are argues as alternatives for gererating employment and in that sense spreading out the reach of wealth through some trickle down.

On government expenditure, it is the defense that takes a larger pie and the rest are all from a small proportion. This limits the distributional outreach of the government. This means that we need to tax more, but we have been reducing taxes.

Another justification that one hears is the role of the market in fostering growth. One does not deny this, but observes that the relevance of the market as conveived by the founding fathers (to provide freedom in selling and buying goods and services) is missing. And in that sense, fostering freedom and an enhancement of capabilities of more and more individuals to participate in the market is also missing. The relevance and role of the market has been turned on its head. Market, instead of a being a means has become an end. The growth of the market (owned by a few) is given precendence over the freedom of the market.

In the economics sense, the relevance of the market and its justification as an efficient outcome comes from perfect competition. In this kind of a market the efficiency argument follows from an assumption that there are many buyers and sellers. If this is missing then the argument in favour of efficiency also falls. Does, this mean that we do away with the market. No, we do not. But we should be careful of the possible pitfalls. In particular,  the vested interests need to be kept out. This requires some structural differences in organising the market and regulating it witout stifling innovation. There is an increasing need to think out of the box.

May 2010: From Goa to North-east and back in Mumbai

This has been a fascinating summer for me. Travelled from Goa to the East/North-east and then back to amchi Mumbai. This sojourn, including Mumbai, spread across 10 states, was enlightening and here I recall a few selective encounters.

The trip to Goa (3-8 May) was a long due vacation. The initial plan was a trip to Himachal Pradesh with a few school friends...but it fizzled out in the last moment when we finally decided, on Munna's suggestion,to try out Club Mahindra, Varca beach, Goa. Neri, Nandini and I had a whale of time. In their words - I was without work after ages and 24 hours with them. The visit to temples and churches left us in awe. Honestly, we did not feel the pinch of summer.

Neri's exitement continued as we left for Hyderabad (my in-laws place), where Neri and Nandu stayed for the rest of the month. Summer was at its peak but nothing better than 'Mother's hearth' or 'Tatta and Ammu'. After a couple of days, I returned to Mumbai for the Task Force work. The days were spent working at the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) office and, post-dinner, Sarthak, a research scholar working for his PhD, and I tried to sort out some data issues with the 59th round National Sample Survey (NSS) on Situation Assessment of Farmers.

While in Goa, I received the news of my 'sana' mamu's death (my mother's younger of the two elder brothers). I decided to leave for Orissa to be ther on the tenth day. I also was keen to visit two of my teachers' families in Cuttack (one from school and the other one who had unfortunately passed away at a relatively younger age a couple of months earleir (see, Sakti Padhi Sir...). Finally I left for Kolkata and was lucky to get a train to Anugul (a special train that goes once a week).

In Kolkata, a comfortable way to reach Howrah is the Volvo bus - cheap (Rs.40 per person), air conditioned and fast. On the bus met an Odia family traveling from Arunachal Pradesh; offered an old lady my seat. They were all complaining about others not helping and soon managed to get a seat for themselves and created a world for themselves oblivious of others in the bus. En route, we crossed Badabazar (Baraabazzar in Bengali) where one could see banners and posters (surprisingly, all in Hindi!)for the local body election, which was subsequently won by Mamtadi's Trinamool. I was later told by a friend that this was always a Hindi speaking area.

This was my first visit to Anugul station, my mother's natal place and my own birth place. The situation was sombre, but nostalgic. I met many of my cousins and their children, after years, bringing back memories of childhood and the memorable hailstorms... As I sat with my aunt 'maain', ice pieces came and hit her; a sentimental thought occurred as if sana mamun was trying to tell us that he was very much with us all. I observed, there were some positive changes in the society. A decade ago, in case they lost their husbands, women were expected to wear white clothes; now - this had changed. Sana maain and some others present on the 10th day wore off-white sarees even with some light prints. Certainly a much needed, positive social change in that society.

The next day I was at Cuttack and went to Prof Sakti Padhi's house. I could not meet Sadhna Nani as she was with her son in Trivandrum but I spent some time at their place with her mother. From there I went to meet my school teacher Mr Jayace Nayak who taught us Geography and Economics. I met him after 25 years. It was a nice feeling. He was happy too and requested everyone from school to drop by his and other teachers' places whenever they could. There is an independent discussion on Mr Nayak at the Stewart School, Bhubaneswar facebook group. The most memorable thing at his place is about his daughter who is doing her 12th and planning to do her medicine and then serve the vulnerable poor in remote parts of the country, a noble thought indeed. The society needs more like you.

The day after, I was in Bhubaneswar at home for a few hours and left for Delhi for the Task Force meeting. The next day evening I was back in Kolkata to start my North-east trip for the Task Force.

After an overnight stay in Kolkata, I was in Agartala, Tripura the next day. Pre-paid phones do not work in the North-East, but anyway, the nation's security concerns precedes mine. The most impressive part of Tripura that I heard was that their Chief Minister was taking interest in people related issues and would be initiating camps in each and every block of the state to identify all farmers (including tenants) and try to get them into the formal credit fold before end June.

The next stop was Gwahati, Assam on the banks of Brahmaputra, the only male river. The sunrise at four was the highlight. With such an early sunrise I was surprised that the meeting was at 11, as in Mumbai. This was a blessing as I could use the morning to go to a village Dharapr nearby and visit some farmers who cultivate in 'shar' land (islands within Brahmaputra). SThe meeting later in the day was fruitful and then after a late luch suddenly decided to visit the Kamakshi temple, which was not in my itinerary. The visit was smooth and there was no queue but immediately formed within minutes. As they say, some things are destined to happen.

Dimapur, Nagaland was my next visit. The advisory here was not to venture out in the evening and if one is traveling then the best place to stay overnight is the church. I did go to a village Dhanasripar that was close by where I also met a landless household. The village comprises of Kacheri farmers (one of the 12 tribes who can own land in Nagaland) who also reside in Assam; in fact, the bordering village in Assam is called Dhanasri. Penetration of formal banking is low but many farmers have savings account in the bank branch in Assam, but they cannot get agricultural credit. Nagaland is also known for the hottest chilli and this is being used to produce pickle and self-defence spray. One is told that the preferred lingua franca is English, but when I asked the villager they preferred Hindi.

From Nagaland I went back via Gwahati to Shillong, Meghalaya. In the initial part of travel from Gwahati (till about the 17th mile) one has Assam on the left and Meghalaya on the right. On this stretch all petrol pumps and liquor shops are on the Meghalaya side - the reason is that taxes are lower. I had thought that I would stop by on the road if I see some farmers in their land, but was warned that the day being a Sunday, I would not be successful and it was true.

The next day morning I visited three villages- Lad Mawreng, Lait Bynter and Mylliem, all in East Khasi. Land rights here are matrilineal, but I did meet some without land. This could be because they or their mothers had sold out theirs due to some exigencies or as per tradition among Khasis a major portion and in some cases the entire land right passed only to the youngest daugther . Further, each village is identified by a particular tribe and they do give some land from the general pool to the landless for cultivation, but this is given to those from their own tribe and village. Like Nagaland, outsiders cannot buy land here, but what is most important is that the owners also have rights over natural resources. Thus, mining is a lucrating option where the owners of land get a regular source of income. One wonders, why could this could not be used in central India. Of course, aalong with some rights for the landless also.

With my visit over, I return via Gwahati and Kolkata to Hyderabad. Complete some Task Force work and meet some functionaries of the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) before getting back to Mumbai where I have my hands full till end June.

India Votes for Loksabha: Phase-III 2009

Tomorrow (30 April 2009) is the third phase of elections. It is being conducted in 107 constituencies spread across 11 states. They are Bihar (11), Gujarat (26), Jammu & Kashmir (1), Karnataka (11), Madhya Pradesh (16), Maharashtra (10), Sikkim (1), Uttar Pradesh (15), West Bengal (14), Dadra & Naagar Haveli (1), and Daman & Diu (1) (see Map).

This phase is special as being in Mumbai, I would also be voting tomorrow. The elections for the ten seats in Maharashtra are those in Mumbai (6) and Thane (4). The Chief Electoral Officer Mumbai has put up helplines for people to find out their booths. The helpline numbers are 2279 3925 and 3219 7767. One can also SMS and get information, the mobile numbers are: 9320 899623, 9320 928504, 9320 948340, 9322 193799, and 9324 376961.

My constituency is Mumbai North West and when I called up I was successful in getting the details of my polling booth (Gurukul Vidyalaya, Ground Floor, Room No.1, General AK Vaidya Marg, Malad (E)). This is close to my place of residence at IGIDR.

I will elaborate a little more about my constituency. There are 21 candidates in the fray. They are: Athar Siddiqui (Bahujan Samaj Party, BSP), Ad.Kamat Gurudas Vasant (Indian National Congress, INC), Gajanan Kirtikar (Shiv Sena, SHS, in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP), Aggarwal Rishi Dharampal (Jago Party (JGP), a new party with base in Rajasthan that is against corruption), Abu Asim Azmi (Samajwadi Party, SP), Jadhav Bhikaji Gangaram (Kranti Kari Jai Hind Sena), Thakare Shalini Jitendra (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), a party formed after splintering from Shiv Sena), Tawade Dilip Narayan (All India Forward Bloc), Pawar Subhash Pandurang (Prabuddha Republican Party), Vaijanath Sangram Gaikwad (Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangha) and eleven independents - Anita Ramkrushan Rupawate, Kamble Satish Kisan, Dayanand Nivruti Kamble, Dhotre Maruti Yamnappa, Ninad Manjardekar, Pramod Sitaram Kasurde, Bhatia Ripudaman Singh (a marine engineer), Mohammed Rafiq Abdul Razak Shaikh, Mahadev Limbaji Galphade, Dr. Vijay Bhave (a child specialist), and Santosh Pandurang Chaike.

As a layman one began by thinking that Ad Gurdas Kamat (INC) and Gajanan Kirtikar (SHS) are strong contenders. The former's traditional vote bank may be dented by Athar Siddiqui (BSP)and Abu Azmi (SP) whereas Shalini Thakare (MNS) may dent that of Kirtikar. In fact, an on line poll in Mumbai Mirror for Mumbai Nort West gives more than half the votes to Athar Siddiqui and 15 per cent to Shalini Thakare. For the other five Mumbai constituencies the Mumbai Mirror results are as follows. Dr. Mona Shah (Professional Party of India) and the Banker Meera Sanyal (Indepent) doing well in Mumbai South. Sanjay Nirupam (INC), Shirish Parkar (MNS) and Ram Naik (BJP) are fighting it out in Mumbai North. Priya Dutt Roncon (INC) is ahead of Shilpa Sarpotdar (MNS) who seems to be denting BJP's Ram Jathmalani in Mubai North Central. Shailen Ghosh (Independent) and Shweta Parlekar (MNS) seem to be doing better than Eknath Gaikwad (INC) and Suresh Gambhir (SHS). In Mumbai North East, Shishir Shinde (MNS) seems to be better poised than that of Kirit Somaiya of BJP and Sanjay Dina Patil of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

The Times of India's Lead India series indicates that Mumbai North West looks for Mr Clean while highlighting the candidatures of Kamat, Kirtikar, Azmi and Thakare. On line voting of issues by Mumbai Votes identified corruption, terrorism, public transport, disaster management and environmental protection. Based on the Manifesto and promises of the contenders, Rishi Aggarwal of JGP seems to be the real Mr Clean.

In Mumbai North West, five candidates have provided their profile in websites and four of them have a group in facebook in their support. They are Rishi Aggarwal (FB group), Abu Azmi (FB group), Shalini Thakare (FB group), Ripudaman Bhatia (FB group), and Dr Vijay Bhave.

A broad reading at this stage is that MNS is going to give a run to BJP-Shiv Sena combine in the city. If only they would not have cultivated an anti-North Indian image they would have been a force to reckon with. There is a mood for change and there are going to be some major surprises. The dampener is that with a holiday being declared tomorrow, followed by labour day May 1st and the weekend many people might have taken a break and gone out of the city. Nevertheless, my word is that INC-NCP and BJP-SHS better watch out!

Mumbai...Lives on

Kudos to the security forces, National Security Guard (NSG) commandos, Marine commandos, Army personnel, Maharashtra/Mumbai Police and particularly its Anti-terrorists squad (ATS), State Reserve Police, Railway Police Force (RPF) and Home Guard among others. The Taj staffers, fire services personnel (without bullet proof jackets), the medical professional, the railway and BEST bus service providers, the media and many others also contributed. I salute all of them.

The siege started on Wednesday night and went on till Saturday afternoon (26-29 November 2008). Nearly 200 dead (including 20 security forces) and more than 300 injured. The attack has been meticulously planned and designed, the terrorists well trained and familiar with the place. It is very hard to believe that there were only ten of them. There is a very high possibility that more people must have been involved in providing logistic support even during the operation. The question that disturbs is who are they and where are they?

There are obviously some lessons. The worst of them have been the politicians. At least this is one time where they should have come together. Is this the state of the largest democracy? Are we expecting a bit too much from them? It is a sorry state of affairs that not a single party has a semblance of intra-party democracy. And, on important issues, voting in the parliament is not based on one's reasoned understanding but by the whip issued by the party that one represents - this is the state of freedom enjoyed by a people's representative.

The Police did a great job. Arriving on the multiple scenes immediately. Nevertheless, it is a fact that they are ill-equipped and cannot handle such situations. Loosing three senior personnel in a single encounter is a pity. In future, if possible, they should avoid travelling in the same vehicle and take escort. The government should seriously think of revising the pay scales, provide decent housing and other amenities to the police as well as other public service providers.

The media's role, I reiterate, has been of help, but there is a strong case of restraint to be followed in future. The real time telecast (by most) revealed some vital aspects of preparation but it does leave one thinking of whether this was a mere absence of foresight or by design.

Some of the news channels have given lists of the deceased/injured, but they may consider identifying the security/police personnel. Some of them have also come up with video homages which includes all the twenty personnel who lost their lives. Despite this, I am sorry to state that the coverage was hierarchical. The junior personnel who died in the operation have not been given adequate space. This is sad. Get out of this hierarchy at least during their death. All these bravehearts live on. Mumbai, and its spirit, also lives on.

Rains and the Spirit of Mumbai

July and August are monsoon months in India. The showers are needed not only to cool down the summer tempers but also to cater to water requirements for the whole year. As per 2001 census, nearly 12 million persons were residents of Mumbai and its suburbans (note that another six million reside in urban Thane). Despite its advantages, heavy downpours cause inconvenience to road, rail and air commuters. It brings in the picture of 26th July of 2005, a nightmare for Mumbaites. This year, 1st July was somewhat close. I was to catch a 10 O' clock flight to Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum). I could not make it on time. However, what I encountered on my journey was the spirit of Mumbai.

It had been raining the previous night and I decided to leave early for the airport. I joined my and daughter in the latter's school trip. I had thought of getting an auto or a taxi at Dindoshi, but no one was willing to go. Luckily, I had shifted my luggage to a bad, so I started walking till the Western Express highway bus stop. While waiting here a rental car on its way back stopped and I popped in with another bystander. After hitting the Goregaon flyover we realized that the traffic is stranded. We could not reach Hub even after 45 minutes. My co-passenger as well as driver offered their mobiles through which I could pass the message to Nandini that I am still in Goregaon and that she could pass on the message to other colleagues who were also traveling with me to Trivandrum and had issued the boarding pas on my behalf. My co-passenger paid the taxi driver, who was refusing to take any money. I got down and started walking to find the road flooded. While wading through water, it was a truck driver who came to my rescue. He signaled that I hang while he drove across the submerged part. Once on the other side, I hitched on to a bike which took me near Andheri. After walking for some time, I again got the help of another biker who tried all tricks to take me as near to the airport and when he realized that he could not go further he wished me luck and I started walking through a traffic jam and submerged road till I got a BEST bus. Got down near the airport and started my walk again. By the time I reached the check-in counter the doors of my flight was closed and it was queued for taxing. I was accommodated in a Kochin flight from where I took a taxi to the Alwaye railway station and from there a train to Trivandrum and reached the dinner gathering for the conference after 13 hours of traveling. This was possible because many people, whose names I do not know, who helped. I thank them and the rains for making me witness the spirit of Mumbai.