Ashoka Mody

This book by Ashoka Mody is brilliant, insightful and depressing. As the title suggests, his thesis is that India is broken, and he set out to prove it.

The chronological approach he adopted is excellent. In India's context, this is the best approach because we understand how succeeding Prime Ministers have compounded errors made by the previous ones.

When I read the book, I understood the similarities between Modi and Indira Gandhi - a strongman and a strong woman.

Primary/secondary education and public health have been under-funded in India. For me, this was the biggest lesson and, I agree with this position. I have long argued about this.

Other issues:
- we have ignored the environment
- we have not democratised growth. Too much emphasis is on heavy industry and benefiting a small coterie of business people.

These lessons, the politician-criminal nexus, and the corruption come through.

When you read the book, you may feel India has no hope. It is here I disagree with the author. There is always hope. If he had spent some time looking at the positive side of the India story, then yes, the book may have been outstanding.

However, it is an excellent book with a coherent message.… (plus d'informations)