Skipped one day in between.
Finished the first of the many chapters on India today.
Good review of how the affirmative action through quotas and reservation managed to make a difference after independence. Especially striking the comparison of income levels of SC ST to be 80% of the rest of the population compared to the 60% level of African Americans in USA and 30% only for Blacks in South Africa. Sections on electoral politics based on castes and the idea of reserving seats for women.
Started the next chapter which will discuss China, Japan and Iran. Interesting comparison of the coloniser economies in terms of tonnes of silver to standardise the size of their economy. How England and France charge ahead of others in 19th century. Also fiscal tightness of taxing as a percentage of national income rising to 6-8% from 2-3%. This then jumps to 20-30% only after 1980s.
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