Essay Competition

Please choose any one of the following two topics:

Topic 1

The Government's recent decision to demonetize high denomination currency (500 and 1000
rupee notes) has been the subject matter of heated debate, giving rise to a number of fundamental
questions about the strategies that India should adopt to eradicate the scourge of black money
and corruption. From noted economist Surjit Bhalla describing the move as being bigger than the
industrial policy reform of 1991 to former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram characterizing it as
"demonization of cash", the move has drawn praise and criticism in equal measure.

Against this backdrop, the aim of this essay would be to analyze the full import of this
development from a variety of perspectives. While delegates are free to analyze the move from
any angle they deem fit, we are specially looking for pieces that analyze this move from the
following 3 angles: A. A comparative analysis based on the experiences of other countries which
have implemented such a policy; B. An analysis of the manner in which the Government has
executed the policy, with special reference to the advantages and disadvantages of this approach;
and C. The medium to long term concrete deliverables that are likely to result from this move.

Or

Topic 2

In his final address to the Constituent Assembly, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the father of India’s
Constitution, noted: “in India, Bhakti or what may be called the path of devotion or hero-
worship, plays a part in its politics unequalled in magnitude by the part it plays in the politics of
any other country in the world. Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But
in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.”
The recent demise of one of Tamil Nadu’s most controversial and popular Chief Ministers, J.
Jayalalithaa, has, among other things, given rise to a heated debate about the efficacy and
concrete impact of populist policies such as the ones that she is widely known for implementing.
Do such policies only help develop a personality cult, or can they meaningfully improve the
quality of life of the last man in the line? More broadly, is there any force in the argument that

the Indian electorate rewards politicians whose policies are rhetorically appealing and appear
great in form but lack in substance? If so, what can we do to foster the creation of policies that
are founded on robust empirical evidence and are not primarily aimed at exploiting the
propensity of the Indian electorate to follow the path of hero-worship that Dr. Ambedkar warned
us against?

Submission guidelines

The length of the essay should not exceed 1500 words. The format of the essays should be: Font
– times new roman; font size – 12; and the text should be justified.

All submissions will be assessed on the basis of the following 5 parameters:

A. Quality of argumentation, with special reference to the cogency of the arguments
advanced;
B. Ability to meaningfully engage with different facets of the concerned issue in a lucid and
incisive fashion;
C. Ability to meaningfully grapple with arguments in support of a contrary view, with
special reference to the manner in which the author is able to justify the robustness of her
arguments;
D. Logical progression of ideas; and
E. Appropriate citation of all sources.

Authors must duly acknowledge all the sources from which any ideas/quotes/concepts are
borrowed. Please ensure that whatever system of citation you are following is used in a uniform
fashion. Co-authorship is not allowed.

The deadline for essay submissions is Monday, 3rd January, 2017, 11:59 PM IST.
All submissions must be mailed to blog@harvardusindiainitiative.com. The authors of the top 3
posts will be recognized and rewarded at the conference. Further, essays which are of a
sufficiently good quality will be published on the Harvard US-India Initiative Blog on a rolling
basis. If you have any questions, please send them to blog@harvardusindiainitiative.com. All the
best!