Eccentric politics by actors of Tamil Nadu - The Economist

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Eccentric politics by actors of Tamil Nadu - The Economist

Tamil Nadu
A successful show
begins to pall

Can eccentric politics continue to deliver prosperity?

The Economist, Chennai, June 8, 2013

Imagine a place run by film stars—vain, power-hungry,
paranoid, adored. Imagine they had been in charge not for
the duration of a reality television series but for
decades in a territory containing 72m people and one of
the world’s largest cities. It would be a disaster zone,
wouldn’t it? Think again, and welcome to Tamil Nadu, one
of India’s great success stories—and a state run by
actors. It is the ultimate celebrity experiment.

Tycoons and foreign bosses are infatuated by Gujarat, a
hard-charging western state where the trains run on time.
Policy wonks admire Bihar, an eastern badland that is
getting its act together. But India’s most consistent
economic performer is in its deep south.  Tamil Nadu has
the third-biggest GDP of any state and has grown faster
and richer than most.

It is as industrialised as Gujarat—Hyundai, Ford and
Renault, among others, churn out a third of all cars made
in India there, while the state’s looms dominate the
national textile industry. It is also as socially
progressive as famously lefty states like Kerala.
Compared with the Indian average, more people can read,
fewer babies die, and fewer folk are poor in Tamil Nadu.

Those achievements sit alongside a political scene that
makes Brazilian soap-operas look prim. The personality
cults seen across India today, which lead some to
despair, gripped Tamil Nadu decades ago. Power swings
between two parties: the DMK and its offshoot, AIADMK.

Continues at:

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.com/2013/06/eccentric-politics-by-actors-of-tamil.html

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

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