Public Lecture: Garibi Hatao? Poverty, Development and the State in India's Long 1970s

Indira Gandhi's memorable slogan during the 1971 general election is often viewed as a symbol of the superficial populist politics she promoted in the 1970s. However, this conventional perspective neglects a significant and underappreciated transformation in the Indian state's developmental goals during that era. The lecture explores the emergence of a new framework for understanding poverty and the policy approaches that emerged from it. These early ideas and programmes were driven by a major shift in the financial structure of the Indian state that occurred simultaneously. Together, these changes marked a profound transformation in the Indian state's approach to development, one that continues to influence policy today.
About the Speaker: : Srinath Raghavan is a Professor of International Relations and History at Ashoka University and is the author of several books, including The Most Dangerous Place: A History of the United States in South Asia (Penguin Allen Lane, 2018), India’s War: The Making of Modern South Asia, 1939-1945 (Penguin Allen Lane, 2016), 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh (Permanent Black, 2013), and War and Peace in Modern India: A Strategic History of the Nehru Years (Permanent Black, 2010).
Raghavan has also written the official history of the Kargil War for the Government of India. His book on India in the 1970s will be published in 2025. He is the recipient of the Infosys Prize for Social Sciences (2015).

[@AdenwalaM]

It is heartening to note that such scholarship exists in our country. The larger question is, does it inform the policy choices by the governments, or we will continue moving from populist policies to different varieties of populist policies, merely dragging our feet till the demographic dividend turns into demographic liability?

[@shishir1969]

This is a masterclass. Thank you professor Srinath Raghavan. Thank you APU.

[@joshua_ch]

Is poverty or informality etc, really that much of a mystery ? At around $7000 per capita in constant dollars terms, today we are roughly where countries like US or western europe were in late 19th or early 20th century. There needs to be some realistic assessment of what is possible in terms of the so called structural transformation of the economy.

[@vijaypoduri7442]

Interesting historical perspective on the evolution of the thinking about poverty in the higher bureaucracy as well as the consequences of bank nationalization. The talk illustrates well that recognition of India's problems was never an issue - the economists and higher bureaucrats were quite perceptive on that front. However, as Ashoka Mody has highlighted, the central failure of the government's thinking on poverty, right from independence onward, has been the lack of focus on job creation. Had it been the main concern of policy, a structural transformation, formalization of the economy etc. would have all followed.

[@user-hn4kp3jl3i]

A very interesting look at bank nationalisation, a topic where a very dogmatic belief in the mainstream prevails. As prof Raghavan stressed, there’s a limitation to how long you can play this game, but it seems like a bold approach to redeploy society’s wealth to ameliorate living conditions without resorting to taxation.
Also very happy to see Srinath Raghavan out of his self imposed exile(he disappeared from twitter, no articles, no lectures or podcasts)

[@bharatendutiwari5596]

1:00:00

[@kannaekanmaniye1823]

Great

[@rakadus]

Romantization of poverty!😢

[@aryankumarprasad1574]

common among that company

[@akshayverma8847]

Rather than objective inquiry, sounded more like hagiography