Preface — The dawn of enlightenment

Last week, a bunch of people got together to listen to a bunch of stories and facts on India- its people, its constitution, its problems and attempts at the solutions to these problems. It was the first face to face discussion among the group of students of Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy (PGP2) of Takshashila institution. Among other classes on subjects such as microeconomics, writing and policy thinking, we also had several people outside Takshashila talking about various aspects of public administration and policy.

The debate on public policy in India is drowned in noise in India. This is both due to the amazingly low percentage of people that hold honourable positions in public that talk (or are allowed to talk) intelligibly on important subjects, and the equally amazing high percentage of people that do not want to take the pain of understanding the logic and nuance involved in understanding subjects that are a prerequisite for good debate. I appreciate the intentions of Takshashila Institution to change that, and revive the quality of debates and ultimately ensure that the “clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit”.

I am marking this space to jot down my learnings and views over the course of this year, primarily for me to reflect at the end to see how they were moulded over the course, and if necessary, for others to participate and debate over issues or correct them if required. Good luck to me!