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

One and a half cheers: National Education Policy promises much, but fails to come to grips with India’s education crisis

India faces sophie’s choice: The government’s tragic lockdown dilemma is that it has to pick between lives

India is free, its schools are not – Reform must have two legs: Autonomy for private schools and quality for government schools

And now, the good news: Pessimism isn’t warranted. If you can take the long view, the world is getting better

Ten steps to $5 trillion: Lesson from RCEP fiasco is that India must execute bold reforms to become competitive

In search of a conservative Indian: We are drowned today by the shrill noises from Hindu nationalists and left secularists

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