Being asked to write on Suresh Tendulkar means that the memories of four tumultuous decades crowd in. They are memories of a genuine teacher, a very careful researcher and an obstinately independent western Indian in Delhi. I always thought of him as a very competent and highly trained economist — but also as an obstinately autonomous Maratha in unfamiliar surroundings. In the 1970s, while examining critiques of the draft Fifth Five-Year...

The denial of equality, dignity and autonomy to persons with disabilities lies at the core of disability rights. “Disability need not be an obstacle to success … It is my hope that … this century will mark a turning point for inclusion of people with disabilities in the lives of their societies.” — Professor Stephen Hawking, “Foreword,” World Report on Disability. The inauguration of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of...

One of India’s most distinguished economists, Suresh Tendulkar (70), passed away at a private hospital in the city on Tuesday morning. He was former chairman of the Prime Minister’s economic advisory council and also a former part-time chief of the National Statistical Commission. Tendulkar, who was admitted to Prayag Hospital in Deccan Gymkhana following cardiac arrest on June 2, breathed his last around 11 am. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and deputy chief minister...

It was the writer and activist Arundhati Roy who set foreign journalists in India busily chattering recently. In an interview with Stephen Moss in the Guardian, Ms Roy was discussing the Maoist and Adavasi “resistance” to encroachment on tribal lands. Mr Moss, asked her why, “we in the West don’t hear about these mini-wars?”. Ms Roy replied: “I have been told quite openly by several correspondents of international newspapers, that...

He played a significant role in framing economic policy He estimated that every third Indian is living in poverty Did extensive work on credit and privatisation policies With the demise of Suresh Tendulkar at the age of 72 following a cardiac arrest in Pune on Tuesday, the country has lost yet another eminent economist who played a significant part in moulding the government's economic policy making. A Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and...