trained to install and maintain them, seemed to be in charge. T hey
took a tube w ell out for us and put it back in—also w ith lots of
obvious pride.
We passed a place w ith a bunch of cans of milk out front, and I
asked to stop in. It turned out to be a dairy cooperative set up by
w omen. T hey said it w asn’t particularly profitable, but they w anted
to be self-employed and w ork together. T hese are all very important
things, and unusual.
U nlike Kerala, Bengal w as devastated by the British.
It w as, but it w as also very culturally advanced. For example, in
the early 1800s, Bengal produced more books per capita than any
place in the w orld. At that time, Dhaka [now the capital of
Bangladesh] w as so developed it w as compared to London.
T he Bengali literary tradition is extremely rich. Only the
educated and w ealthy took part in it (although even in the 19th
century, caste differences w ere reported to be declining).
Kerala also has quite an interesting history. Although the British
ruled it, they more or less left it alone. Apparently the local ruler
initiated populist programs in order to gain popular support in a
battle he w as w aging against feudal landlords.
T he British w ere relaxed enough about Kerala to let these
programs proceed, and after independence, they w ere picked up by
the Communist government. By now, they’re deeply imbedded, part
of the w ay of life in Kerala, and w hen the Congress Party w ins an
election, it doesn’t try to dismantle them.
One of the legacies of British colonialism is Kashmir. Did you have
any discussions about that?
Most people I met said the Kashmiri separatists are terrorists.
Some civil libertarians in India are pushing the issue courageously,
and people do listen to them. But my impression (from six cities in
nine days) is that it’s not something a lot of Indians w ant to talk
about honestly and openly.
Has the Indian government adopted neoliberal economics?