An Uncertain Glory  (English, Hardcover, Dreze Jean FBA)

Official Flipkart Review

Economics of a country is not easy to diagnose. More so linking the economics to the people and their conditions is even more difficult. To make sense of the country then through its inequalities and opportunities available makes for interesting reading and no better to document this than Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze.

“An Uncertain Glory” as the title suggests is about glory that is uncertain, given the dichotomy of the situation. On one hand, the country progresses (seemingly so) and on the other, the inequalities only seem to grow without stopping. The economists look at the flaws that widen this gap.

The book is divided into ten chapters, with a very interesting first chapter on “A New India?” The writing can tend to get a bit boring given the statistics; however most of the content is to the point and gives a clear view of the conditions of the country. There is an overall view – from integrating growth and development to India in the global economy, to accountability and corruption (which makes for a very interesting read), Amartya Sen and Dreze speak of it all, taking it to the inadequate infrastructure.

At the end of the book, the reader is forced to think of growth and the country. Of how much change is possible and how it will affect the entire nation. All in all, “An Uncertain Glory” touches on uncomfortable issues and also provides feasible solutions for most of them.

Two leading economists of India set out to expose a deeper and impassioned understanding of the country as they attempt to mark out the argument for indulging in the study of inequalities and opportunities afforded to residents notwithstanding the country’s penchant for high economic development.

Summary Of The Book

After two centuries of imperialism and colonial subjugation India attained its Independence in 1947. And in its attempt to earn the freedom of its people, the founding fathers adopted a firm and fair system of democracy to usher in a new chapter in the history of India. The economists place their argument in the period that lay hereafter and the basic flaws in the Indian system. They stress on the attention needed for the marginalized if there is a view to sustain growth and lead the development trajectory into a more dominant position.

An Uncertain Glory: India And Its Contradictions explicates the progress of the nation as it overcame the economic lag to earning a growth rate that soon made it the second fastest growing economy in the world. For Dreze and Sen the focus however lies elsewhere and it is in determining the essential needs of the people and bridging the gap of opportunities that they believe there is a chance for India to cash in its true realization of freedom. They discuss the deep inequalities that are entrenched in the Indian system and how the resulting failure to develop human capabilities is stunting its growth.

In another vein the economists believe the importance of sustainable growth that is also environmentally conscious and in that respect they lay out the failures of the economy to develop their backbone of infrastructure adequately. The incompetent tackling of public resources that has accrued to India’s phenomenal growth in developing social services and infrastructure is a major concern for the economists.

They believe that the quality of life in India is the major concern and therefore the needs and social deprivations of the majority of the people who are among the lower rungs are of priority basis and need to be addressed. The authors lay out a premise for a stronger democratic ethic that concentrates on these neglected corners of Indian policy in this enlightening treatise.

About The Authors

Jean Dreze is an Indian development economist of Belgian origin. His works include The Political Economy Of Hunger, Hunger And Public Action, The Economics Of Famine, Public Report On Basic Education In India, and India: Development and Participation. Jean Dreze was born in 1959 in Belgium. He has a degree in Mathematical Economics from the University of Essex and a Ph.d from the Indian Statistical Institute. He became an Indian citizen in 2002 and is the conceptualizer of NREGA. He is currently an honorary Professor at the Delhi School of Economics and also a Professor at Allahabad University.

Amartya Sen is an Indian Nobel laureate economist and philosopher. His other books include The Argumentative Indian, The Idea of Justice, Development as Freedom, and Peace and Democratic Society. Sen was born in 1933 in Santiniketan in Bengal. He holds two B.A. degrees, an M.A. degree, and a Ph.d. He received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998. He is currently the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard. His books have been translated to over 30 languages.