Join Vidhi for its thirteenth Book Adda on ‘Caged Tiger: How Too Much Government Is Holding Indians Back’. The discussants will be Lalit Panda, Senior Resident Fellow, CHARKHA, and Subhashish Bhadra, an economist and author of the book.

The Adda will begin at 5:00 PM IST on August 16th, 2023. It is a virtual event held on Zoom and will be live-streamed on Vidhi’s YouTube [page (linked)].

ABOUT THE BOOK:

What is common between the censorship of the film Padmaavat and artificially high ‘minimum’ support prices for crops? If the police comes down so heavily on peaceful anti-CAA protestors, why did it not show the same harshness towards those violating the COVID-19 lockdown? Why is an otherwise powerful Election Commission unable to enforce free and fair elections within political parties or fully weed out criminals from politics?

The common factor is faulty institutional design, which is eating away at the foundations of our society. Leaders come and go, but institutions stay forever. Only a consistent focus on better institutions can help India have a more robust economy, media, police, parliament, internet and cultural life. Yet, discussions on institutions have been restricted to academic circles.

Keeping aside ideological biases of Left or Right, Caged Tiger brings alive the rich yet unseen story of India’s institutions. It combines deep research and complex frameworks, converting them into the vocabulary and cultural context of millennials and Gen Z. It goes all the way back to the British Raj, exploring the origins of modern Indian institutions. Tracing additions by subsequent governments, from Nehru’s to Modi’s, it identifies policies that keep Indians suppressed and how each of us can change them. It is, in short, young India’s guide to becoming smarter about the issues that matter.

A CONVERSATION BETWEEN :

• Subhashish Bhadra, Economist and Author of ‘Caged Tiger: How Too Much Government Is Holding Indians Back’.
• Lalit Panda, Senior Resident Fellow (Charkha), Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.