The Dravidian Stalin Tamil Nadu’s leader offers something India’s does not: competence
I T WAS DANGEROUS in the Soviet Union to accept a seat in Joseph Stalin’s inner circle. Many members ended up imprisoned or executed—though Jeno Varga, his economic adviser, lived a long and healthy life. That Varga was treated gently is a good sign for the five superstar economists recently appointed to the economic advisory council of M.K. Stalin, the new chief minister of Tamil Nadu, south India’s most populous state.
Mr Stalin’s father, M. Karunanidhi of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), was a giant of Tamil politics, ruling the state for nearly two decades over five separate terms as chief minister. He is said to have picked his son’s name to honour the passing of the Soviet leader, whose death was announced a few days after the current chief minister was born. Yet it is to Mr Stalin’s credit that his name may be the least interesting thing about him.
Start with the newly appointed economic council. One member, Esther Duflo, won a Nobel prize for her rigorous approach to assessing development schemes. Two others, Arvind Subramanian, India’s former chief economic adviser, and Raghuram Rajan, a former head of the central bank, both clashed with Narendra Modi, the prime minister, in those jobs. The others—S. Narayan, a former finance secretary, and Jean Drèze, a welfare economist and activist—have positioned themselves against Mr Modi’s haphazard decision-making. The appointments are designed to highlight the difference between Mr Stalin and the PR-obsessed prime minister.
