BB s00ks 1066 Hopefly, The Avian Migrant will stisma- late futur research in inking migration and breeding: Theres much tobe gained by lok ing at migration as part ofthe entre annual life cyele rather than a separate, though fasi- rating, behavior, Aeerence Metin Soe Btn. 203, 2 Resend ‘open fiat eran > i ea ofr eae tr 3950, Fre to he Oo Hose eel sSsasso, SOCIAL ScieNce AToo-Soft Critique of India’s Growth Andrew Robinson ‘Mayo published Mother India (2) n0- rious polemic against India and Indians ‘hat gave satisfaction o British colonialist, ‘and American racists while naturally infuriat- ing mos Indians, Mahatma Gandhi famously ‘commented thatthe book was “cleverly and ‘powerfully writen” but seemed like “the report of a drain inspector” \who concludes with some t urmph: “the drains are India.” “Although Mother India is largely forgoten (except by older Indians), its ghost seems to inhibit 4n Uncer- [apa tain Glory, an indictment of the Indian state by econo- [im ‘mists Jean Drize (Allahabad University) and Nobel la reate Amartya Sen (Harvard University) After three decades of trawling the data compiled by central and state gov- femments, Indian nongovernmental organi- Zations, and intemational bodies, these long- time collaborators (2) know-—possibly better than any other commentators—how Indian governments since the 1980s have filed the vast majority of Taans, especially in health care, education, poverty reduction, and the justice system. They bluntly acknowledge inthe preface, “The history of world devel I: 1927, American journalist Katherine oe sy. et soem iene set road opment offers few other examples, if any, of an evonomy growing so fast for so long ‘with such limited results in terms of reducing human deprvations” As they are at pains demonstrate the benefits of economic growth have been more widely shared even in India's neighbor Bangladesh, let alone in rapidly rowing China Here area few of their many shocking facts: According to the 2011 Indian census, fully 50 percent of households lack tiles. ‘Among the 132 countries for which eompa- ‘ble data are avaiable, ar pollution in India ‘ranks highest. Due to teacher indifference ‘and absenteeism among teachers and stu- ‘dents, the teaching time in north Indian rural ‘government schools is about 50 days per yea. ‘Although the celebrated Nalanda Univesity ‘was established six centuries before Europe's oldest universities, no Indian university is among the word's top 200. In 2009-10, 30% ‘ofthe Indian population (350 million peo ple) were living befow the official (very low) poverty line, Meanwhile, 30% of the members of Parliament in 12009 had eriminal charges, including murder, pending against them, ‘The authors, Indian citi- zens, belong tothe relatively small group that has ben- cfited from India's impres- sive economie growth ofthe past two decades. Seemingly in order not to challenge this wealthy group's interests or ‘offend is sensitivities, the book as a whole shies away from trenchant criticism, Instead, itpullsmostofitspunches and too often takes refuge in academic equivocation and statist- cal manipulation, thereby forfeiting much of itsundoubted potential influence For example, the chapter “Accountabil ity and Corruption” avoids mentioning any corrupt politician, government oficial, busi- nessman, or inttution by name—despite the legion of well-established cases (a hand ful of which have ended i jai). Noteven the Coverage critique Arua Riis lack comedy Peel Live sties media and politcal responses to farmer suds, Bofors arms scandal ofthe late 1980s that undermined and sank the Congress government led by Rajiv Gandhi—a scandal asreso- ‘nant for India as Watergate i for the United States—ates a men- tion. Nor does the enticorrption campaigner Anna Hazare, who ‘ranstxed the Indian government ‘and media through much of 2011-12 wit his ‘Gandhi-syle publi ass whether effectively to be determined). And itis Support” without mentioning India's well. publicized farmer suicides. Between 1995 and 2012, overa quarer-million Indian far rs (according to conservative official figures) committed suicide in despair at their indebt- edness created by the deve toward corporate farming: “the largest wave of suicides in his- tory” (3), notes P Sainath, an award-winning journalist admired by Sen, Also absent in an ‘nesting chapter on cast and is continuing dominance, “The Grip of Inequality.” isthe ‘controversial Mayawati former chet minis- ter ofthe key northern stat of Uttar Pradesh, who inthe 1990s transformed Indian elec- {oral politics as leader ofthe low-caste Dalits (former Untouchables). [As forthe contradictions of Indien sci- ‘ence and technology, they to are neglected Inpartcular, many excellent Indian stents openly acknowledge that they can success- {ally conduct original research in Europe and ‘he United States but not in their home coun- try, largely because of political interference and hierarchical aitudes, Of the four Nobel ‘prizes awarded to Indian-bor scientists, only ‘one—that given to physicist C. V; Raman, in colonial times—was for research done in India, Sen himself felt obliged to leave 1980s India and work in western universities in onde to achieve success and recognition ‘This hoary Indian intellectual phenomenon, jgnored in An Uncertain Glory, is among the ‘most debilitating problems that bedevil he subcontinen’s social and eultural—rather than merely economic—development that réze and Sen earnestly desire eterences 1. Cys en lu, ace Ne en Saal Opto bn Pon Be 195 2 Reape nat ae i i | i SEPTEMBER 2013. VOL341 SCIENCE www sciencemag.org ‘This corte domed 11724050232 Tee, 05 Nor 019134904 UIC “Alwe Abjectolmps ibe argh