On Taking India into the Twenty-First Century (New Economic Policy in India)

Bibliographic Data

ID3608291
AuthorsI G Patel (London School of Economics and Political Science, corresponding author)
Year1987
Volume21
Issue2
Pages209-231
Publication date1987-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueModern Asian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0026-749X • E-ISSN: 1469-8099
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0026749x00013780
OpenAlexW2131633445
LanguageEN
Citations received5

On one of his many visits to India Kingsley Martin was once asked how he saw the prospects for Western Europe. His reply was that he was very optimistic as most of the leaders of Western Europe then were very old. If the transition from age to youth in national leadership is a sufficient basis for hope, we certainly have much to be grateful for in India. And our young Prime Minister has already struck a very responsive chord among large sections of Indian society by his promise of change. His mother had won the 1980 election on the promise of a 'Government that works'. Mr Gandhi promised in 1984 a 'Government that works faster'-thus heralding a promise of greater efficiency in general. When asked about the objective of his new Government, he used the now famous phrase that his objective was to take India into the twenty-first century. Taken at its face value, this was a rather vacuous phrase. It is not necessary for anyone to carry India, Atlas-like, into the twenty-first century. It would arrive at our doorstep in due course, as it will at everyone else's, and most probably without even a whimper

Economic history · Face (sociological concept · Face value · Government (linguistics · Political science · Politics · Prime minister · Social science · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Economic Theory and Policy · Global Financial Crisis and Policies · History · Indian Economic and Social Development · Law · Philosophy

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub