07-09-2008, 02:45 AM
Can be X-posted in many threads...
Meanwhile book review from Hindu, 9 July 2008
Mapping the new wealth creators
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Mapping the new wealth creators
RAMAN MAHADEVAN
<b>An attempt to trace the evolution of modern business and to document Indiaâs new entrepreneurial groups </b>
INDIAâS NEW CAPITALISTS â Caste, Business and Industry in a Modern Nation: Harish Damodaran; Permanent Black, D-28, Oxford Apartment, 11, I.P. Extension, Delhi-110092. Rs. 695.
During the early post- Independence years and right until the 1970s, there was considerable critical writing on the Indian capitalists. This was a period when the developmental state was still a viable option. Public investment was the preferred route. The state felt it expedient to position itself on the right side of the Left and to periodically make some noises about the undesirability of economic concentration. In fact, the state itself lent support to the very product ion of knowledge on the structure of big capital in India, evident in the reports of the statutory Monopoly Inquiry Commission and the Industrial Licensing Policy Inquiry Committee. Its core findings, namely that 75 business houses all over India virtually controlled the Indian industry, even became part of the popular discourse of those times. This was also a reflection on the hegemonic influence of the Left liberal intellectual tradition both within and outside Indian academia. The upshot of all this was the spawning and the generation of an enormous amount of very interesting literature which sought to throw light on the nature of the Indian bourgeoisie.
Bridging a hiatus
However, much of the most interesting work was produced by sociologists and historians, and consequently the focus remained limited to the colonial or at best to the early post-Independence period and to issues revolving around the preponderant control of the corporate space by those from traditional business communities. <b>Strangely, when it came to the narration of the post-Independence story, especially the turbulent post-1975 period, there was a virtual drought so far as serious scholarship on the capitalists was concerned. Paradoxically, despite the considerable hype about the India growth story since the post-reform 1990s and the exceptional role of the Indian entrepreneurs as prime movers of this process, there has been no serious attempt by scholars from either side of the epistemological divide to undertake a study of this class.</b> To Harish Damodaran goes the credit of successfully filling the void in our understanding of the process of the emergence of the new âwealth creatorsâ as well as bridging the hiatus between the past and the present. This, in essence, is the point of departure of his scholarly and thought-provoking contribution.
Pattern of accumulation
Writing about capitalists especially in India is no easy task as information and hard data are extremely hard to come by. Indian entrepreneurs as a class are rather tight-lipped and secretive when it comes to sharing information about their investments. <b>Given these inherent constraints it is remarkable that Damodaran has managed to weave what is truly an extremely incisive and thought-provoking account of the complex trajectories of the accumulation process, laying to rest many myths and misconceptions about the social composition of Indian capital. It is probably the first serious study of its kind with a truly all-India sweep.</b> Precisely by extending the gaze beyond the traditionally-renowned centres of capital, largely in the North, as well as by distancing himself from the obsessive size-trap issue, the author is able to capture the diverse and heterogeneous routes to accumulation and making of the new capital. <b>What clearly emerges from this study is a distinct North/East and South/West divide with respect to the pattern of accumulation and social origins of capital â a trend which in some cases had roots going back to the colonial period.</b>
Entrepreneurial base
The chapters dealing with agro-commercial capital especially those on âKammas, Reddys and Rajusâ, âKongunad Naidus and Goundersâ, and âPatidars and Marathasâ are among the most interesting sections. Rich in detail and insightful about the larger processes of accumulation, it clearly underscores the need for reinterpreting and redefining the trajectory of Asian capitalism. <b>More significantly, this account provides insights that help one to comprehend and contextualise the recent upsurge of entrepreneurial activity in these parts of India. Rather than the âVaishya vacuum (as the author believes)â, the influence of ryotwari land tenurial system, in conjunction with the commercialisation process, would merit probing as a possible explanation for the ethnically broad-based entrepreneurial base in this region.</b>
<b>Nevertheless, this otherwise finely-textured book does leave one with a few niggling questions.</b> It is not quite clear, as compared to the colonial period, how caste as a social institution in contemporary India facilitated the entry of these new entrepreneurs. While clearly the Marwari-Bania dominance over industry is a thing of the past, this account suggests that they are still a force to reckon with in large parts of northern India. To what extent can this resurgence be explained exclusively in terms of caste, disregarding the overall favourable conditions for investment? Likewise, this study is relatively silent on the influence of government policy both at the Centre and in the states in creating a favourable investment-friendly environment and in facilitating the loosening of entry barriers for these new capitalists. These caveats notwithstanding, Damodaranâs book is certainly a most welcome addition to the sparse literature in this field and a must-read for all those wishing to comprehend the India development story.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Meanwhile book review from Hindu, 9 July 2008
Mapping the new wealth creators
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Mapping the new wealth creators
RAMAN MAHADEVAN
<b>An attempt to trace the evolution of modern business and to document Indiaâs new entrepreneurial groups </b>
INDIAâS NEW CAPITALISTS â Caste, Business and Industry in a Modern Nation: Harish Damodaran; Permanent Black, D-28, Oxford Apartment, 11, I.P. Extension, Delhi-110092. Rs. 695.
During the early post- Independence years and right until the 1970s, there was considerable critical writing on the Indian capitalists. This was a period when the developmental state was still a viable option. Public investment was the preferred route. The state felt it expedient to position itself on the right side of the Left and to periodically make some noises about the undesirability of economic concentration. In fact, the state itself lent support to the very product ion of knowledge on the structure of big capital in India, evident in the reports of the statutory Monopoly Inquiry Commission and the Industrial Licensing Policy Inquiry Committee. Its core findings, namely that 75 business houses all over India virtually controlled the Indian industry, even became part of the popular discourse of those times. This was also a reflection on the hegemonic influence of the Left liberal intellectual tradition both within and outside Indian academia. The upshot of all this was the spawning and the generation of an enormous amount of very interesting literature which sought to throw light on the nature of the Indian bourgeoisie.
Bridging a hiatus
However, much of the most interesting work was produced by sociologists and historians, and consequently the focus remained limited to the colonial or at best to the early post-Independence period and to issues revolving around the preponderant control of the corporate space by those from traditional business communities. <b>Strangely, when it came to the narration of the post-Independence story, especially the turbulent post-1975 period, there was a virtual drought so far as serious scholarship on the capitalists was concerned. Paradoxically, despite the considerable hype about the India growth story since the post-reform 1990s and the exceptional role of the Indian entrepreneurs as prime movers of this process, there has been no serious attempt by scholars from either side of the epistemological divide to undertake a study of this class.</b> To Harish Damodaran goes the credit of successfully filling the void in our understanding of the process of the emergence of the new âwealth creatorsâ as well as bridging the hiatus between the past and the present. This, in essence, is the point of departure of his scholarly and thought-provoking contribution.
Pattern of accumulation
Writing about capitalists especially in India is no easy task as information and hard data are extremely hard to come by. Indian entrepreneurs as a class are rather tight-lipped and secretive when it comes to sharing information about their investments. <b>Given these inherent constraints it is remarkable that Damodaran has managed to weave what is truly an extremely incisive and thought-provoking account of the complex trajectories of the accumulation process, laying to rest many myths and misconceptions about the social composition of Indian capital. It is probably the first serious study of its kind with a truly all-India sweep.</b> Precisely by extending the gaze beyond the traditionally-renowned centres of capital, largely in the North, as well as by distancing himself from the obsessive size-trap issue, the author is able to capture the diverse and heterogeneous routes to accumulation and making of the new capital. <b>What clearly emerges from this study is a distinct North/East and South/West divide with respect to the pattern of accumulation and social origins of capital â a trend which in some cases had roots going back to the colonial period.</b>
Entrepreneurial base
The chapters dealing with agro-commercial capital especially those on âKammas, Reddys and Rajusâ, âKongunad Naidus and Goundersâ, and âPatidars and Marathasâ are among the most interesting sections. Rich in detail and insightful about the larger processes of accumulation, it clearly underscores the need for reinterpreting and redefining the trajectory of Asian capitalism. <b>More significantly, this account provides insights that help one to comprehend and contextualise the recent upsurge of entrepreneurial activity in these parts of India. Rather than the âVaishya vacuum (as the author believes)â, the influence of ryotwari land tenurial system, in conjunction with the commercialisation process, would merit probing as a possible explanation for the ethnically broad-based entrepreneurial base in this region.</b>
<b>Nevertheless, this otherwise finely-textured book does leave one with a few niggling questions.</b> It is not quite clear, as compared to the colonial period, how caste as a social institution in contemporary India facilitated the entry of these new entrepreneurs. While clearly the Marwari-Bania dominance over industry is a thing of the past, this account suggests that they are still a force to reckon with in large parts of northern India. To what extent can this resurgence be explained exclusively in terms of caste, disregarding the overall favourable conditions for investment? Likewise, this study is relatively silent on the influence of government policy both at the Centre and in the states in creating a favourable investment-friendly environment and in facilitating the loosening of entry barriers for these new capitalists. These caveats notwithstanding, Damodaranâs book is certainly a most welcome addition to the sparse literature in this field and a must-read for all those wishing to comprehend the India development story.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->