Comments on Chetan Bhagat’s book “What Young India Wants”

The main good points of this book (as per myself) are:

• Laws are strict in USA, China, etc; Laws are poorly implemented in India. In India, a criminal case normally goes on for many years. People die before they can be punished. India needs fewer laws and a swift justice system to implement them. Justice should be same for the rich and poor.
• True long-lasting wealth is money plus virtues. Indians place a wealthy immoral person on a higher pedastal than a less wealthy moral person. (A virtuous person should also be smart; the thieves surrounding him shouldn't be able to cheat him.)
• Most successful businesses in India owe their success to corrupt practices. The bigger the government, more the rules in country; greater is the corruption. Government should stay out of businesses like railways, public transport, education, banks, insurance, telecom, airports, etc. The government should not even have regulators here, because these can be bribed. Competition is the best regulator.
• The benefits of liberalization is reaching 10% of the citizens; 90% of Indians are left untouched. These 90% lose their savings to inflation; their land is stolen by corporates with the aid of politicians making land-reform laws; they don't have a voice in media that is controlled by corporate houses and government. This leads to "Naxalism"; young people are willing to take arms against the state. We don't need CRPF or military to fight Naxals; we want reforms that treat rich and poor equally in terms of rights.
• Australia produces 5 times rice per acre than India. China produces twice the rice per acre than India. The government rules make the farmer inefficent in India. On one hand the government gives subsidies to farmers; on the other hand the government decides the prices of farmer's produce, where will it be sold, etc.
• India has a draconian tax structure. We need to cancel many taxes and reduce the remaining.
• Anyone looking for RDX in China would land immediately in jail. In India, a newspaper sting operation obtained RDX in few hours. Law and order should be independent of politicians.
• Indian are not smart when it comes to voting. They vote based on caste and emotion. They should vote based on scientific facts. Only vote for party that
  1. Reduces taxes
  2. Privatizes heavily
  3. Reduces government regulations e.g. reservations based on caste, forms to be filled for any permission, etc.
  4. Cuts subsidies and deficit
  Everything else is likely insignificant.
• Most education in India is of poor quality. We need privatization and termination of government controls in education.

The main incorrect points of this book (as per myself) are:

• The book says, "USA values wealth, competition, individualism and religion." If that were true, USA would not have huge deficits, banks too big to fail in 2008 would not have been saved, Obamacare (collectivism) would never have passed in Senate and there would be mostly god-fearing people in USA.
  A country cannot have a set of values for all its citizens. Each person had to decide values for himself. The values of all its citizens together defines the values of the country.
• The book says, "Kids are encouraged to discuss issues with their teachers." This is partly true. Most parents also don't encourage their children to question. The book blames the teachers and education system. I feel parents should take a major portion of the blame.
• The book says, "87% of Indian women are stressed". The book does not mention how many Indian men are stressed. So it creates an impression that Indian male is exploiting Indian women, without giving any scientific data. This is a big mistake. A writer like Chetan Bhagat should keep his personal views separate from facts. Here, he has made the gross misatek of expressing an opinion as a fact.