BENGALURU: With over three decades of experience, Narendar Pani is well-known as an economist, writer and researcher, having worked in diverse roles in academia and journalism. Currently, he teaches two programmes at the School of Social Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, on conflict resolution and interdisciplinary approaches to economic issues. He has been associated with NIAS since April 2007, and between 2008 and 2010, has served as the dean too. He is also Secretary to the Council of Management of NIAS. As a writer, he is as multifaceted; he has published many academic articles and books, like Inclusive Economics (2001), a portrait of the Gandhian method and contemporary policy, and Reforms to Preempt Change (1983) a book on the land legislation in Karnataka. He has also written two novels, a monograph on theatre, and several hundred articles in newspapers. In a chat with Edex, prof Pani holds forth on his work as a journalist and an academician.
What do you think has been your significant contribution to research?
I believe my work on Gandhian methods provides an alternative approach to understanding societies, particularly Indian society. Gandhi is typically understood in terms of his personal traits, from his version of what is morality right down to his dress. This intense personal scrutiny is important to understand the man and his times. But Gandhi was also the most successful mobiliser of people in the twentieth century. This success was based on his understanding of socio-economic processes and the politically rewarding ways of intervening in these processes. The specific details of Gandhi’s interventions, whether it is the Salt Satyagraha or his mobilisation against indigo farmers, were deeply rooted in the reality of the first half of the twentieth century and cannot be expected to be relevant today. But his method of understanding socio-economic processes that allowed him to arrive at these specific tools can be used even today. It is a method that has, as Gandhi predicted, outlived the ideologies that once dominated twentieth century thinking.
Any trends in the field you want to throw light on?
Most analysts of modern India have some kind of an ideal at the back of their minds and then demand that the country be made to fit that model. If the right wing would like it to become Hindu Rashtra, the Left would like it to be a socialist ideal. The commitment to an ideal is often so great, particularly among the young, that people are willing to adopt any means in order to move India in their favoured direction. As the difference between fair means and foul gets blurred, morality takes a backseat. It should be obvious that if we ignore morality for decades we will end up with a corrupt society. But this way of thinking is so deeply entrenched that even when we say we want to fight corruption we refuse to discuss morality. The anti-corruption movement discussed a variety of legal and even political options, but did not discuss the morality of modern India.
The Gandhian method would treat society as a doctor would a patient. It would see corruption as a symptom of a deeper moral disease and try to address the problems of current Indian morality. If we do not address these moral issues, we will each think there is nothing wrong with our morality and the fault lies with the other person. This necessarily leads to the self-righteous pointing of fingers at others that we see all around us today.
How would you describe your writing?
The Gandhian method sees society as a set of interconnected actions. This implies it is as important to explore connections between different disciplines as it is to specialise in any one of them. As a consequence, my writing has been diverse, even eclectic.
How has your experience as a journalist been? How have you seen journalism evolve over the years? What, according to you, are the qualities of a good journalist?
I first moved from an academic job to journalism in the early 1980s. It was a time when newspapers still had space for fairly detailed arguments over complex issues. The Uruguay round of trade negotiations that led to the creation of the World Trade Organisation received a fairly sophisticated and detailed coverage not just on the editorial pages but also the news pages. This situation changed dramatically with the coming of liberalisation. The dependence of newspapers on advertising revenue increased substantially. News pages began to be reconstituted in ways that would attract young readers who had the ability and willingness to spend huge amounts on new products. We have now reached a stage where even if the government makes major compromises in the WTO few newspapers have the space or the skills required to cover it. A good journalist for me is one who has the ability to be a fly on the right wall and has the knowledge and skills to effectively present what she has learned to a wider audience.
What are the opportunities available to students who want to become economists?
There are several opportunities; one could take up research or teaching, or be involved in high-profile positions that involve policy making, or go for other lucrative options such as advisors to banks, among other other things.
— svetlana@newindianexpress.com