Sumeet Mehta
Prof. Dr. Gautam Sen, who taught International Political Economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, writes:
“Kolkata was once India’s premier financial and commercial capital and remained its nearly preeminent economic hub. It took less than two decades, from the mid-1960s to destroy Kolkata’s economic vibrancy. There were many issues like the impact of partition and refugees that contributed to Kolkata’s decline but it was political militancy and mindless violence that delivered the coup de grace. It has not recovered since and demographic transformation introduced additional hostility to positive economic change, with the Tata Nano issue the defining moment. Ultimately, talent fled Kolkata en masse in the aftermath of politically instigated industrial and economic liquidation.
Mumbai is also at potential crossroads though it enjoys unique and durable features like geographical location, an enormous existing economic footprint, its film industry and prodigious quantities of highly skilled labour. Mumbai also has a deeply embedded work culture that differentiates it from Kolkata, which had an inherited public service employment temperament that militated against entrepreneurism.
The problem for Mumbai will be the loss of its truly pan Indian workforce and failure to live up to its genuine potential. Political and ethnic strife may deprive Mumbai of its highly skilled non Marathi workforce, especially Gujaratis and Marwadis, who have been prominent in its success, as well as others from across India. They may find attractive alternative options to escape crass regionalism. The great city of Mumbai is a melting pot and home to a vibrant and enviable aesthetic cultural identity, with the potential to rival major Asian and global centres in the India that is emerging. To fall behind and become a stagnant backwater because sectarian politics of low intrinsic significance, which appeals to a disgruntled section of voters, would be a huge tragedy for India as a whole.”