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Fall of the Indian economists is their own doing: MR Pai

The public may be deluded into thinking that an economist influences the politician or the authorities, though more often than not, it is the latter who, by picking the suitable brand of advisers, gets some technical support for his own positions.

If the image of the Indian politician today is a deplorable one, that of the Indian economist seems to offer a competition to it. No less a person than the doyen of Indian economists, Prof. C. N. Vakil, had to plead before the economists gathered at the Golden Jubilee Conference of the Indian Economic Association to take care of their doings in order to maintain professional dignity and prosperity.

He said: “It is a poor state of affairs when the degree of competence in economic matters is adjudged by the jelliness or the missing of the viewpoints of individuals in the face of conflicting political or opportunistic pressures. The standards of economic competence must be set within the profession and from without. It is here that a strong Economic Association means a strong bulwark for democracy.”

The politicians fall from grace because of their own doings. The fall of the Indian economists is likewise their own doing.

The era of planning opened new opportunities to economists to come before public eyes by rendering a useful service by employing the tools of economics to solve the economic problems of the country. But that opportunity seems to have been lost.

Many economists have used their economic tools for demonstrably political purposes and in the bargain sacrificed what should constitute professional standards. An impression has gained ground that many have fallen prey to the lure of public office, and that the butter of government patronage has been allowed to be applied to the economist’s research bread.

This careerism has advanced to such........

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