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Making India Work
Book by Bissell, William Nanda
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
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66 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 16, 2016
A businessman with American and Indian roots, the author William Nanda Bissell, surprised me with this elegantly thought book about how to fix India's woes. The author also runs Fab India, a retail company that sticks to ethnicity and creates products that tie back to India's creative tradition in clothing, furniture and beyond.
This book is however not about what Fab India is doing for the country, but the author's personal take on what he has seen work in India and what can be done to change the course of history for this giant nation. I picked this book up from a Fab India store in Delhi where it was prominently placed next to the billing area!
The author's key points can be summarized into how he believes the political system can be re-thought by changing our very set up of states and municipalities in the country, by focusing on self governance in smaller groups of people. This is in itself is nothing new as the debate on self governance is something that has been catching up in India since long. What is fascinating though is the author's recommendation to change the way we "rank" resources and "pay" for resources and skills based on what a community is contributing towards the nation - be it food, water, minerals, industry, forest cover etc. This ranking mechanism, according the author, when built into a system will change the fortunes of many communities that are rich in a particular resource (say forest cover) but are left poor as there is no mechanism for them to be paid for their contributions to a greater good.
The author acknowledges that his vision is limited by the fact that it requires a major political and administrative transformation but remains positive that it is a possibility that can be implemented the right way with the right leaders at the top.
I personally loved the book for its honesty, a realistic portrayal of what can fight poverty beyond superficial acts of charity and what can be a more sustainable model of governance for any country in the future.
This book is however not about what Fab India is doing for the country, but the author's personal take on what he has seen work in India and what can be done to change the course of history for this giant nation. I picked this book up from a Fab India store in Delhi where it was prominently placed next to the billing area!
The author's key points can be summarized into how he believes the political system can be re-thought by changing our very set up of states and municipalities in the country, by focusing on self governance in smaller groups of people. This is in itself is nothing new as the debate on self governance is something that has been catching up in India since long. What is fascinating though is the author's recommendation to change the way we "rank" resources and "pay" for resources and skills based on what a community is contributing towards the nation - be it food, water, minerals, industry, forest cover etc. This ranking mechanism, according the author, when built into a system will change the fortunes of many communities that are rich in a particular resource (say forest cover) but are left poor as there is no mechanism for them to be paid for their contributions to a greater good.
The author acknowledges that his vision is limited by the fact that it requires a major political and administrative transformation but remains positive that it is a possibility that can be implemented the right way with the right leaders at the top.
I personally loved the book for its honesty, a realistic portrayal of what can fight poverty beyond superficial acts of charity and what can be a more sustainable model of governance for any country in the future.
December 19, 2012
In this book, the Author takes on all the problems that plague India, and describes solutions that are Mathematically Sound, Scientifically Possible, and Ideologically Inspired. The ideas offered in Making India Work are new, different and refreshing, and are a must-read for individuals interested in alternate governance or anyone who yearns to see a beautiful, competitive and just India. I am now more interested in knowing how many of these reforms can actually be implemented. This book has ticked my mind with ideas of change that could be brought and fought with evils like corruption.
May 18, 2013
Book throws light on india biggest bottlenecks for development.It also shows solutions to these problems. That can be solved with ease organically and practically,which most of (development of india) books lack.
November 14, 2014
Well-intentioned and really ambitious. And the book builds a very radical view of reforming politics, administration and economy. But fails completely on explaining how to move towards this.
May 11, 2016
Informative and interesting read for anyone interested in Indian social and political development.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews