Dheeraj Kalgutkar

In Raghuram Govind Rajan, we have lost not only a finest mind in the world of economics today but also a free-thinker who minced no words in calling a spade a spade. What you’ve heard enough is that Rajan predicted 2008 global financial crisis three years before in his 2005 paper, Has Financial Development Made the World Riskier? But what you’ve not heard is how he holds the record for being the youngest-ever Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) apart from IIT as well as IIM degrees. Time magazine recently included him in their coveted ‘The 100 Most Influential People’, it wrote , “ he steered India through the global crisis and fallout, playing a large role in making it one of the emerging-market stars of the moment”. Remember how social media was full of rupee-on-free-fall jokes? That’s when Rajan took the job of Reserve Bank of India Governor. Those were the days when rupee used to fall each day to new lows, jokes on ‘finest economist’ (then) PM Manmo...

Can I ask you something? Will you listen to me without any prejudice or malice or a quick label for me? Will you? I'm feared where we are heading. Are you? Just tell me what sort of protests are allowed? What pranks are allowed? Can I make fun of the ruling class? I ask this for I'm feared and worried. If a student leader in JNU can be arrested, I too can and you too. Everyone one of us is potentially at risk. Do you realize this? Do you realize where we are heading? Do you know what differentiates a India from Pakistan or Arab countries? Is whats happening today point to that difference or are we becoming one of them? Everyday someone or the other comes with, if you had done/said it there, they would have done like that! Now, have we scooped such low to compare ourselves with them? Are they our yardsticks now? I'm worried. I'm worried for you and me. I'm worried for this nation of ours! Leave everything aside, think. Think what is going wrong. JNU has always b...