Gurcharan Das

Author and public intellectual, Gurcharan Das is best known for a trilogy based on the classical Indian ideal of the goals of life. He studied philosophy at Harvard University and was CEO of Procter & Gamble India before he became a full-time writer. He writes a regular column for the Times of India, five Indian language papers, and contributes to international newspapers.

About Me

gurcharan: Gurcharan Das is an author and thought leader best known for a much-acclaimed trilogy based on the classical Indian goals of the ideal life. India Unbound was on artha, 'material well-being'—the Guardian called it 'a quiet earthquake' – it is available in 19 languages and filmed by the BBC. The second, The Difficulty of Being Good, on dharma or 'moral well-being', is a contemporary meditation on the epic, Mahabharata. Kama: The Riddle of Desire is on the third goal, examining how to cherish desire in order to live a rich, flourishing life. He studied philosophy at Harvard University and was CEO of Procter & Gamble India before he took early retirement at 50 to become a full-time writer. He writes a regular column for the Times of India and five Indian language papers, and contributes to many international papers. His other books include India Grows at Night: A liberal case for a strong state, which was on the FT's best books for 2013; a novel, A Fine Family; a book of essays, The Elephant Paradigm, and an anthology, Three Plays. He is editing for Penguin a 15 volume history series, The Story of Indian Business. He lives in Delhi.

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Gurcharan Das

Pages

Is Milton Friedman dead? Not quite. Individual social responsibility, not corporate social responsibility, must be the mantra

Contra Hindutva, Kashmiriyat: How consent works in a world of invented nations and fictional nationalisms

गरीबी हटाओ की नहीं, अमीरी लाओ की जरूरत

Bold vision of Modi 2.0: Moving from ‘garibi hatao’ to ‘amiri lao’ depends on embedding audacious new mindsets

हमें चाहिए असरदार राज और ताकतवर समाज

Strong state, strong society: The reforms India needs Prime Minister Narendra Modi to courageously undertake

The Modi Mirage

A Hindu’s Reflections on Desire and the Human Condition

How to rescue democracy: Liberal education will teach us to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason

Gays and colonial brainwashing: Learn from India’s open, exuberant past and respect those who differ from us

Amazon vs Walmart: Take advantage of the coming battle of giants by freeing India's farmers

गुस्से के युग में अपनी जीवनशैली को श्रेष्ठ न मानें

Giving while living: India’s new rich lose the stingy tag

Here’s tangible proof of minimum govt, maximum governance

काम ही खुशी है, जॉब देने का वादा पूरा करें