The Power of One - Take 5

Between Tanjore and Madurai, a life lived extraordinary!!

Ever heard of JCK?

If you do, you are blessed, for, 99.999999999 pct of Indians don't have a clue about this man who could have been our first Finance Minister!

J C Kumarappa, a visionary economist, was born in Tanjore in Tamil Nadu as the sixth kid in his family.

He went on to study Economics and Chartered Accountancy in institutions of eminence in UK and US, became a much sought after Auditor before he sought a meeting with MKG, impressed by MKG's way of...well, everything.

Here he is, JCK, in a western dress (Suit, ties, shoes etc) standing uncomfortably in front of a sirka wielding, semi dressed bald man sitting under a tree. MKG motions a person of eminence to fetch a chair to JCK so that JCK can sit. 

Enamoured by the stature of the person who brought him the chair, JCK refuses to use it and sits in the ground at the feet of MKG instead. JCK shows the village centric economic theory that he has developed for India to MKG. MKG is mighty impressed. They converse and MKG requests JCK to join his party to steer an economic policy for India, away from the socialist as well as communist economic philosophies. JCK is offered the highest salary within the party. He takes the job not for the salary but for the trust shown by MKG.

JCK then decides to switch his attire from suit/boot to simple Dhoti and goes shopping. He asks a bewildered shopkeeper, 'Could you show me some Dhotis that fit waist size 42??!'. He ends up buying the 'one size fits all waists' Dhoti and rediscovers himself and stays true to his attire all through his life!

A visionary Economist he was, he denounced the 'Grow More' policy of British Raj (a precursor to 'Green Revolution') based on the proven fact that it failed miserably even in developed nations.

He always emphasised that science and technology should be people oriented and always argued that mindless industrialisation would not suite an agrarian country like India. He was the one who coined the term 'Economy of Permanence'...

British Economist E. F. Schumacher who gave us 'Small is Beautiful' was influenced by JCK's economic ideas.

JCK was also a member of Planning Commission (PC). Once he went to a PC meeting at New Delhi in a Bullock Cart. Security forces refused his means of travel on some flimsy reasons and blocked his journey. JCK did not budge and when Nehru intervened, JCK apparently asked him, 'What is wrong if I travel in the National Vehicle of India?'!

He was always vocal with his views and easily became angry if mindless plans were hatched/executed in the name of economic upliftment. He, the man who could have been the first Finance Minister of India, was politically sidelined due to this and completely ignored after the death of MKG.

(In another instance, he suggested a simple and practical way of measuring the success / failure of the executed plans of PC. His take was to identify a poor farmer and count the number of bones visible in his rib cage before and after the execution of the plans. If the numbers reduce or disappear then the plans would be considered 'grand success' and if not, 'grand failure'. Naturally, lot of Babus in the government felt pissed off!).

Though most of us completely forgot that such a man lived here and fought for us, his visionary views are relevant even in today's economic context.

When somebody told MKG that JCK was shaped by MKG, he shot back saying 'No, he was already "Readymade" when I met him'!

JCK lived his sunset years in Madurai and died on the same day of MKG's death (30 Jan)!. 

The Kumarappa Institute of Gram Swaraj http://www.kigs.org/index.htm holds a torch for him!

Go figure his greatness yourself!