'The tribe of pundits called economists' and economic debate in post-Independence India

摘要

The rise of an economics profession in post-Independence India is outlined, and something of the contribution of that profession to economic debate in India considered. The roots of the economics profession and of economic debate after 1947 are traced to the colonial era, and the institutions and the institution-builders essential to its emergence after 1947 discussed. Five "generations" of Indian economists, active both before and after 1947, are identified. Attention is drawn to the high quality of debates on the Indian economy, the high level of theoretical discourse and the quality of political economy traditions. Particular attention is paid to the remarkable contribution of the Economic Weekly/Economic and Political Weekly, and there is treatment of the relationship between the academy, on the one hand, and the state and its representatives on the other.