Gurcharan Das · 432 pages
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“Good intentions are useless in the absence of common sense. —JAMI, BAHARISTAN”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“When individuals blunder, it is unfortuante and their families go down. When rulers fail, it is a national tragedy”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“When ordinary human beings err, it is sad, but when leaders do, it haunts us for generations.”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“Although Manmohan Singh, the helmsman, got the credit, it was Rao who took the tough and aggressive decisions and provided the energy and political support. He was shrewd and knew how to deal with dissent. The manner in which he pushed through the industrial policy in the cabinet is an example. At the same time, the reforms would not have happened without Manmohan Singh. To the extent that there was one, he created the road map. In a brilliant move, he set up a set of committees—bank reform under Narsimhan, tax reform under Chelliah, and insurance reform under Malhotra—and they provided crucial intellectual sustenance and legitimacy for reform measures in these areas. It needed Manmohan Singh to come and change the nation’s mind-set to growth. But Manmohan Singh is a reticent man and cautious by nature. On his own, without Rao’s constant support, he would not have done it. The new trade policy would not have come about as speedily without Chidambaram. Varma was a terror as the head of the steering committee and he provided the momentum for the implementation of the reforms for two years. He knew the system well, and he played it in favor of the reforms. Varma’s crucial contributions, I believe, have not been understood or appreciated. In the end, all three—Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram, and Varma—derived their strength from Narasimha Rao.”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“Sleeping in the park in a city is a form of civilization. First, you need a city with enough bustle and clatter to make a person yearn for a calm, green spot. Then you need a first-class park,”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“Modern India is a product of Hindu tradition, the religion of Islam, and Western civilization.”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“Commerce they say, encourages the bourgeois virtues of thrift, hard work,self -reliance,and self discipline.”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“The principle of competition is, as Hesiod pointed out long ago, built in the very roots of the world; there is something in the nature of things that calls for a real victory and real defeat. —IRVING BABBITT”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“Becoming rich has also become acceptable. Whereas a government job was the route to success in the previous generation, now the thing to do is to go into business. Money has replaced power and privilege. Older, traditional people are quick to condemn the changing attitudes. They call it “greed.” They are upset and see it as a threat to Indian culture. But the younger people defend themselves, saying that it is not greed but a desire for achievement. They want to “get things done,” to “produce results,” and business offers to them a stage to do so.”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“Aditya told me that he produced staple fiber in Thailand from pulp that he bought in Canada. He sent the fiber to his factory in Indonesia for converting to yarn. He exported the yarn to Belgium, where it was made into carpets, and finally, the carpet was exported to Canada. “Here is Aditya Birla,” I thought, “an Indian, and yet India does not figure in this global value-added chain.” It did not because India had closed its economy. By closing it, it denied its citizens the chance to participate in the enormous expansion in global trade in the second half of the twentieth century. It denied its people jobs, technology, knowledge, and new ways of organizing. Thus, it deliberately suppressed economic growth.”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“Poor teamwork is pervasive in India. Take any institution, scratch its surface, and one finds factionalism. Whether it is a company, a university, a hospital, a village panchayat, or a municipal board, it is beset with dissension, and it affects national competitiveness.”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“We grew up in the smug belief that although the mixed economy was inefficient, it was better than capitalism because it preserved democratic freedoms.”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“The greater benefits earned by a few could be justified, I realized, if the inequality improved the situation of the worst-off.”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“The Indian intelligentsia was mesmerized by the apparent success of the USSR. It wanted big steel plants and not small factories which made clothes, shoes, toys, and bicycles—the sort of things that the masses could use. In those days, anyone in India who advocated greater investment in agriculture was branded an American agent.”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“Merchants understand from birth the power of compound interest; they know how to accumulate capital. The Internet has also leveled the playing field, so that it seems sometimes that any mad, passionate Indian entrepreneur can write his own future.”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
“Indian companies also had clear and numerous weaknesses. The most important ones were the inability to separate ownership from management; a lack of focus and business strategy; a short-term approach to business, leading to an absence of investment in employees and in product development; insensitivity to the customer, largely because of uncompetitive markets, but resulting in weak marketing skills; an indifference to technology; and, lastly, poor teamwork. Many of these weaknesses were the result of a closed economy.”
― Gurcharan Das, quote from India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age
Gurcharan Das
Born place: in Faisalabad formerly known as Lyallpur, India
Born date October 3, 1943
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“It’s no problem.” Marco shrugged. “You’re family.”
Her eyes bugged out at me and she whispered comically, “I’m family.”
I patted her shoulder. “They’re not the Mafia, Liv. Calm down.”
― Samantha Young, quote from Fall from India Place
“Because anyone who has ever sat in lotus for more than a few seconds knows it takes a hell of a lot more muscle to stay then to go.”
― Andrea Gibson, quote from Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns
“А ще є пазли, і мені довелося якось пояснювати одному грекові, в чому суть цієї забави. "Часом треба витратити зо два тижні, щоби скласти всі ці шматочки в картинку. — І що далі? —Ну, а далі розбираєте ту картинку на шматочки і ховаєте їх до коробки".
Я не часто співчуваю грекам, але то був якраз один із тих рідкісних випадків. Те саме, до речі, великою мірою і з кросвордами. Якби вчені зуміли спрямувати в корисне русло ту розумову енергію, з якою люди щодня ламають собі голову над запитаннями на кшталт "прізвище відмомого російського любителя бананів, прочитане задом наперед", то вже давно знайшли би ліки від раку.
Кросворди, як і пазли та крикет, — насправді не ігри. Це просто засоби, які допомагають збавляти час. А тому вони не зовсім збігаються з тим напрямком, у якому розвивається сучасний світ.
Можна мріяти про повільне, розмірене життя, про те, щоби проводити дві години за обіднім столом, а потому до самого світанку жувати сир, але дійсність така, що нас мало нагла кров не заливає, коли світлофор надто довго не перемикається на зелене чи якщо двері ліфта не відчиняються, щойно ми натиснемо кнопку.”
― Jeremy Clarkson, quote from The World According to Clarkson
“When I have sung my songs to you, I’ll sing no more,’ goes the old ballad. But for one faithful listener, Nelson Eddy is still singing.”
― Ruskin Bond, quote from The Best of Ruskin Bond
“Men always complain that the minute they think they’ve got a woman figured out, the woman does something to completely confuse the man again.” Daniel nodded. “I would agree with that.” “Well, that’s because men are simple-minded and uncomplicated.” Why was she having this conversation with him? “All a man needs is food and . . .” she stopped herself. Oh, she really didn’t want to go there! Why did she have to open this can of worms? “Food and what?” Daniel pressed. She took a deep breath. “Give a man food and sex” – there I said it – “and they’re as happy as clams.” Daniel coughed and almost choked on a piece of venison. A split second later, a thoroughly devilish smile spread across his face as he intently peered up at her from across the table. She held her breath. God, why did he have to be so damn good-looking, especially with that heart-stopping smile of his! “Well, your cooking’s been real good so far,” he drawled. His eyes smoldered as he stared at her. She waved her hands in front of her, palms out, and abruptly left the table. “Okay, this conversation has gone far enough. You are a typical man, Daniel, and it brings me to my final point,” “Point?” “Men are pigs.”
― Peggy L. Henderson, quote from Yellowstone Heart Song
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