Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan sounded a note of caution, saying India was “dangerously close” to the ‘Hindu rate of growth’. But what exactly does the term “Hindu rate of growth” mean, and when was it first used?
Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan sounded a note of caution, saying India was “dangerously close” to the ‘Hindu rate of growth’. He was referring to India’s slow economic growth and blaming it on factors such as low private sector investment, high interest rates, and a slowdown in global growth. But what exactly does the term “Hindu rate of growth” mean, and when was it first used?
“हिंडनबर्ग रिपोर्ट में जो कहा गया उसकी जांच करने की SEBI ने ज़रूरत क्यों नहीं समझी?”
◆ SEBI पर रघुराम राजन ने उठाए सवाल
Raghuram Rajan | #RaghuramRajan | #HindenburgReport pic.twitter.com/V6rvs2Gvzj
— News24 (@news24tvchannel) March 6, 2023
Raghuram Rajan’s remark came following the release of the National Statistical Office’s (NSO) report last month. The latest estimate of national income showed a sequential slowdown, according to the report. GDP growth in the country is expected to slow to 4.4% in the third quarter (October-December) from 6.3% in the second quarter (July-September).
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He has used the phrase ‘Hindu Rate of Growth’ to describe the slowing of economic growth. Raghuram Rajan served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 2013 to 2016. The period has been marred by stagnant forex reserves and a slew of other controversies. After he was fired, the RBI’s forex reserves increased to an all-time high of 600 billion or more.
Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has questioned why Sebi has not yet reached the bottom of ownership of the four Mauritius-based funds that are said to have parked 90 percent of their $6.9 billion in Adani group stocks, wondering if the market regulator required the assistance of investigating agencies.
Elara India Opportunities Fund, Cresta Fund, Albula Investment Fund, and APMS Investment Fund have been dogged by allegations that they are shell companies for the past few years. They resurfaced in January, when a US short seller claimed that Adani Group used offshore shell companies to inflate its stock price. Adani Group has denied all allegations repeatedly.
What is ‘Hindu rate of growth’?
India has a glorious civilizational history spanning over 6000 years, during which time it proudly sat at the pinnacle of the global economy. This fact is brilliantly illustrated in Will Durant’s book The Case for India, written by an American historian. Until the seventeenth century, India’s GDP accounted for one-third of global GDP. Even 800 years of looting by Islamic Invaders could not deplete the resources of this vast land. Only after the British arrived did the real drain of wealth begin, and India began to face year after year of famine.
Raj Krishna, a so-called economist, coined the term Hindu Rate of Growth in 1978 to refer to the 3.5 percent GDP growth rate from 1950 to the 1980s. This is an inherently flawed notion because Hindus were the primary contributors to the economy during and after this period. While India has people of all faiths, economic planners put the onus of growth on Hindus, hence the term ‘Hindu rate of growth,’ which meant that despite their best efforts, growth was more or less stagnant, and that at around 3.5%.
