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Postscript

Steady decline enjoying an annual GDP of $20 trillion cf. $ 3.5 trillion
today. They have a collective memory-loss about their
HERE’S MUCH TO ADMIRE ABOUT THE western full-throttle endorsement of Nehruvian socialism. Now
seaboard state of Gujarat (pop.72 million). For a they are unanimous in their condemnation of the few en-
Tstart Mahatma Gandhi — the “greatest man in flesh trepreneurs — Tata, Birla, Ambani and Adani — who beat
and blood to have ever walked upon this earth” accord- the beggar-thy-neighbour system designed by them.
ing to Albert Einstein’s memorable tribute — was born On the other hand there is a small minority that
there. So was Sardar Patel, not far behind. The people are believes that citizens have the right to do as they please
remarkably hardworking, blessed with an entrepreneurial with their post-tax incomes and accumulated wealth. The
culture and a puritan save-and-invest ethic. That’s why unrestrained largesse of the Ambani clan hugely benefited
Gujarat has also nurtured extraordinarily successful busi- armies of food and (non-alcoholic) beverages caterers,
nessmen and industry leaders starting with the Sarabhai, interior designers, digital equipment and sound providers
Mafatlal, Lalbhai clans of pre-independence years down and flower-sellers, not to omit the efficient event organis-
to the Ambanis and Adanis who provide some hope of ers.
modernizing a nation given to priding itself for exotic From a business perspective, the latest Ambani wed-
poverty. ding bash was excellent advertisement for the Jio World
However following Gandhiji’s assassination in 1948 Centre, surely the most well-furbished and equipped busi-
and Sardar Patel’s death in 1950, this high-potential ness convention centre worldwide which is likely to prove
state has transformed into a sink-hole of corruption. For a money-spinner for the Ambanis. A brilliantly choreo-
instance a recent investigation has revealed that Ra- graphed initiative for combining pleasure with business.
jkot’s chief town planning officer has accumulated assets
including gold and silver bullion, petrol station pumps Drastic remedy
and agricultural land valued at Rs.28 crore, a sum 1,128
percent more than his entire lifetime’s legal earnings.
With the benefit of hindsight it’s now clear that the ONTEMPORARY INDIA HOSTS 3,500 engineer-
state’s descent into a cesspit of corruption began with the ing colleges that graduate 1.5 million engineers
imposition of liquor prohibition in 1960. Since then while Cannually. Among them are the country’s 23 globally
all other states of the country have lifted prohibition famous IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology), the first of
because the corruption it breeds substantially outweighs which was established in 1961. But all this investment has
its benefits, prohibition is still official policy in Gujarat provided sparse harvest.
(where liquor is freely available at a price). In the interim On July 10, a bridge collapsed in Mahishi village in the
this policy obstinacy has corrupted the police force and Saharsa district of Bihar. Nothing exceptional in this news
infected the entire administration. report. Except that it marked Bridge Collapse #13 in 21
According to US immigration data, Gujaratis consti- days in Bihar (pop. 104 million). The response of the state
tute a large percent of the annual tide of 725,000 illegal government was to suspend at “least 15 engineers” for the
immigrants from India who climb every mountain, and series of recent bridge collapse incidents reported from
ford every stream to enter the US illegally. Yet according various districts, including Siwan, Saran, Madhubani,
to leaders of the ruling BJP government at the Centre — Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj. In an ingenious
Prime Minister Narendra Modi served a long term (2002- initiative Chief Minister Nitish Kumar instructed officials
2014) as chief minister of Gujarat — what the nation to conduct a survey of all old bridges in the state and
needs is the Gujarat model of development. No comment. identify those that require immediate repair.
Breast-beating liberals and soft-state socialists
advance numerous reasons: upper castes oppression
Excellent advertisement of the poor; rotten education system; women’s rights;
deprivation of tribal communities, and dozens more. But
HE MEDIA SPOTLIGHT ON PRE AND POST wed- the root cause is collapse of rule of law and accountability.
ding celebrations of Anant Ambani — the last and Your editor offers an embarrassingly simple solution.
Tyoungest son of industry tycoon Mukesh Ambani, The Bihar government’s in-service engineers should be
listed among the world’s Top 20 wealthiest individuals by randomly tested through the year by a panel of respected
the authoritative Forbes magazine — has aroused varied academics. If they fail testing, not only they, but the vice-
and conflicting reaction among public intellectuals and chancellors and professors who awarded them degrees
commentators. The bash reportedly cost the amiable, self- should be fired. Ditto departmental engineers within
effacing tycoon who presides over blue-chip megacorp the administration who promoted them to positions of
Reliance Industries (annual revenue: Rs.1,000,122 crore) authority.
an estimated Rs.5,000 crore. Admittedly, a drastic remedy. But desperate situations
Unrepentant socialists and left liberals have unani- — 13 bridges collapsing within 21 days in the early stages
mously condemned the Ambani wedding extravaganza as of the monsoon qualifies as a desperate situation — call
a vulgar display of wealth and conspicuous consumption. for drastic solutions. Even so, they are not as drastic as
Yet the plain truth which the lefties woke army (led by in neighbouring China where peremptory exile to hard
fifth generation Nehru scion Rahul Gandhi) will never labour on a state farm in the rural interiors — if not a
acknowledge is that if India had taken the free markets bullet in the back of head — is normative. Time for this
(capitalist) road way back in 1947, we would have been country’s soft establishment to develop spine.

82 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2024