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The success of a set of Democratic Party nominees endorsed by Zohran Mamdani to the forthcoming elections to the US Congress ignited debates on democratic socialism in the US. People who are left of centre in the Democratic Party are ruling cities of New York and Seattle. Washington D C is likely to get such a left-leaning Mayor in the next election. There is an excitement among left-leaning…

Bellevue is a relatively small city somewhat closer to Seattle. Its population is about 200000. Human settlements started there only about 200-250 years ago. Though native Americans had a nominal presence here, they were not living in this area.  The first major wave of immigration started about 200 years ago, and that was of Euro-Americans with an interest in extracting timber from the thick…

Allowing women to travel in public buses without paying any charge in certain states of India including Kerala generated debates on the desirability of such a step. It may be incorrect to view this step as a mere populist freebie, and there are notable benefits from such a subsidy. As I have noted earlier, this could be an important step towards enhancing the female work participation rate in…

I had a difficult time at the Seattle International Airport this week not due to Trump’s immigration policies. The interaction with the immigration officer took only less than 2 minutes but needed to wait 90 minutes to reach the counter. Those who queued up were not from less-developed countries but mostly the whites from European ones. Their tourist trips to Seattle were combined with the FIFA…

My first book written 15 years ago was about the social opposition to economic reforms. There was a reason for writing that book. As someone who started academic career in early 1990s, I was influenced by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the revival of market-based economic reforms across the world. There was an implicit assumption among economists that their job was to prescribe efficient…

Every now and then one can hear news about what can be called undesirable or harmful outcomes of sexual relationships. We heard two such events this week. A man killing a child of his partner and a 19 year old girl throwing her newly-born baby out of the toilet. Historically, such incidents are treated as `not so normal’ or outcomes of behaviours which are deviant from the socially sanctioned…

One concern during this season is the inflow of mangoes from other states to Kerala. Many view that a higher level of chemicals is used in these mangoes. This may be partly correct. However I could see a different trend this time. There were a lot of local mangoes in homesteads, neighbourhoods and even super markets. Retailers sell locally grown mangoes. Most parts of Kerala do not have…

IITs (Indian Institutes of Technologies) constitute an important part of India’s higher education. From an institutional point of view, the establishment and growth of IITs provide interesting insights. The post-independent governments in India were known for their commitment to build a higher level of technological capacity within the country. It tried to mobilise financial and technical support…

There are dangers in making generalisations. All older generations may have such generalising views on younger ones. Young voters are not a homogenous category, and they are divided among different axes: class, social identity, gender, etc. There is a notable share of youngsters who have dropped out of schools in countries like India, and their views may be different from those who are from…

Elections for a few states including Kerala produced interesting results. These states are interesting since the BJP is not ruling most of them, and is not powerful in a few of them. Two states are in South India which is known for relatively better human development.  Let me start with Kerala. As expected the opposition coalition could come to power decisively. Another coalition was ruling the…

The arrival of elections encourages all parties to offer freebies. This includes the BJP which blames other parties for this practice. As I have noted in other writings, the compulsion to offer more public support to poorer sections goes up as part of the strengthening of competitive democracy and that is useful to enhance human development. This is evident from the historical experience of…

A powerful ruler with nationalist persuasion who tried to tweak institutions to his favour, Victor Orban, lost power in Hungary. There are interesting lessons from this democratic event to those are concerned about a possible decline of liberal democracy all over the world.  We need to start with certain basic features of Hungary. This is one country in Europe where the dominant population…

I was in Goa last week. There are many resorts and hotels which are owned and operated by outsiders. Hence it attracts capital from different parts of the country and the world. (That much external capital may not be there in Kerala tourism). A notable share of workers including those who work in resorts are from outside the state. It can include those who sweep the premises, and some of these…

Kerala seems to have the highest wage rates for skilled and unskilled workers. However the salary of a security guard here could be 10000-12000 Rupees per month. Star hotels can get a restaurant staff for 15000 Rupees per month. The entry-level salary for a software engineer in India is somewhat stagnating (if not declining) for years. A migrant worker in construction industry may make 25000 per…

I spent a few days in a town of Kerala to watch Kadhakali performances as part of a temple festival. The festival has created a big market, and this include the demand for and supply of artistic performances. Devotional music is becoming an attractive item in most of these festivals, and there are many youngsters who specialise in it. Most of these artistic performances including Kadhakali are…

Even those who have crossed 75 years of age find it difficult to retire from politics. We could see the struggle of a few people as part of the forthcoming election in Kerala. There are many who are in the late seventies and early eighties who wish to be in powerful positions. Why do people find it very difficult to lead a peaceful retired life? I have a recent experience of transitioning from a…

The book published in 1929 noted the incompatibility between victorian morals and the socioeconomic conditions of that time. He argued for certain changes including the decriminalisation of same-sex relationships.  One can see two major features today, in comparison with what Russell has seen 100 years ago. Certain reforms which Russell argued for, have greater acceptance at least in parts of…