Modi’s ‘India shining’ moment; what kind of capitalism should India have?; the great Indian land grab; and more

[View this email in your browser]( Top Story [Modi’s ‘India Shining’ Moment is Here]( M.K. Venu [The term “India shining moment” is chosen carefully because economic data during the five years of NDA I (1999-00 to 2003-04) as outlined by the Planning Commission, shows uncanny similarities in the broad macro numbers between then and now. The-then NDA government began with a GDP growth of 8% in its first full year of governance (1999-00). In the subsequent three financial years (2000-01 to 2002-03) there was a sharp decline in GDP growth rates to about 5% or less. This fall in GDP growth was mainly caused by a collapse in agriculture growth rate to zero in this period which is what is also happening with the NDA-II government now. However, in the final year of NDA-I, GDP growth came back to 8%, giving rise in part to the “India Shining” campaign. Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian’s latest Economic Survey also predicts a sunny outlook for India now, projecting 7%-7.5% growth for the coming fiscal. The India Shining campaign – launched back then by L.K. Advani and Pramod Mahajan and also characterised by improved stock market performance and general contentment amongst the well-off – completely disregarded the distress in the rural and agriculture sector experienced for most of the five years of NDA-I. One fears a repeat of history may be happening now.]( [The Tiranga of the Hindutva Bikers in Kasganj is Not Mine]( Apoorvanand [The tiranga is only superficially our national flag when used to embarrass, frighten or subdue an individual or community. When used in this way, it loses its essence.]( [Will a Pre-Election Year Budget Change How the ‘Other Half’ of India Lives?]( Nikhil Dey [The NDA, one of the most anti-poor, anti-farmer, anti-rural governments in India’s history, is likely to finally be forced to put some resources aside for the social sector.]( [The Great Indian Land Grab Being Carried out in the Name of Compensatory Afforestation]( Manasi Karthik and Arpitha Kodiveri [Not only does the compensatory afforestation programme decimate the rights of forest dwelling communities, it also reconfigures what we know to be ‘forests’ themselves.]( [These Really Tiny Bots Make Light of Picking up and Dropping off Drugs]( Lakshmi Supriya [Optimus Prime would be proud.]( [What Kind of Capitalism Should India Have?]( Pushpa Sundar [In the face of growing inequality, we need not just compassionate and creative capitalism, but also one which recognises the ethical core of reciprocity.]( [Seventy Years Later, Where Do We Look for Gandhi?]( Sadanand Menon [Did Gandhi’s death free the nation from the moral constraints that his presence seemed to have imposed on the national conscience?]( [How India’s Fishermen Get Caught Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea]( Damayantee Dhar [Thanks to depleted stocks, getting arrested for fishing in Pakistani waters is a risk many Indian fishermen take.]( Copyright © 2018 The Wire, All rights reserved. You're getting this email because you recently subscribed to receive email digests from The Wire via our website. Our mailing address is: The Wire 13, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg Gole MarketNew Delhi 110001 India [Add us to your address book](//thewire.us11.list-manage.com/vcard?u=6b988b13445248b1268a308f2&id=4808224841) Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](