Debate between Amartya Sen and Jagadish Bhagwati : How long will this go on ?

Debate between  Amartya Sen and Jagadish Bhagwati  : How long will this go on ?

  

It is interesting to see all the media noise around these two great economists. I would say that they are both entitled to their viewpoint including their politics. Economy cannot exist without politics. It is politics that drive economics , so obviously their economics will have political ideology embedded.  Even if they deny, that is the way it is. They do have incredible qualifications and acceptance from the western world. Sen is a Noble Prize winner and a foremost intellectual in just about every major university in the western world.  Bhagwati , should have won the Noble prize and also have similar pedigrees like Sen.

What is good about both of them is their sincerity and interest in development of India.  Like all intellectuals they earnestly promote their own ideas and hope that somebody will get influenced and act accordingly.

All of the above is great.  However what's missing is an opinion from an economist who has lived and worked his/her entire life in India. Fully educated in India , worked in India and seen, experienced the evolution of Indian economy first hand. The question is why ? It is not that there is a dearth of brilliant economists like (if not better than) Sen or Bhagwati living in India. I would say that the  blame lies on Indian media , people in power . The old colonial paradigm still remains in their psyche : if you are not accepted and successful in  the west then you are not good enough and you will be ignored.  Remember the case of Tagore (poet) and filmmaker Satyajit Ray, both had to be felicitated by the West first before being taken seriously in India at a national level.   How long will that go on ? . Probably it is because of these reasons that these very talented people in all the intellectual spheres of India  keep their mouth shut. It is natural , I would be insulted and hurt if somebody continuously ignores me and shuts me out. This attitude, more than anything else, I think is what is pulling back India.

 After 60 years of Independence , it is time that India should get her acts together. It is very important to objectively identify, promote , listen and take pride in your own economists. These are the people who know a lot more about the people of India, their daily lives, than anybody else in the world. Yes, Sen and Bhagwati should  be encouraged to  participate,  and also the economists of India . I would urge the Indian Media to come forward and pay attention to what Indian economists have to say , promote their ideas.  I would appeal to all the political parties in India to come together and build their ideology around the thoughts and ideas of the economists of India. If that happens, then there might be a start of a reverse brain drain where people like Sen ( who is a Bharat Ratna and still holds Indian passport) & Bhagwati  will not have to go to west to get the privilege of not being ignored.  They in turn can influence and train generations of young Indian  mind with the shine of their intellect.

That  will be a start, a new evolution for India. Getting out of colonialism and taking pride in its own people. A confident  India , proud,  a strong character that stands behinds its beliefs, takes responsibility for its actions and treats other nations with dignity and firmness. It means having self possession in the face of peer pressure, speaking its mind and knowing it, and living by a strong code of moral and ethical character, earning respect and admiration from everybody in the world.