Column : Umpiring’s dirty secrets

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Surjit S Bhalla : Dec 15 2012, 00:12 IST

In a pained appeal for a non-ideological approach to questions of growth and equity, Anil Padmanabhan, editor at a leading financial newspaper Mint, states: “The good news is that increasingly the issues that the critics have sought to highlight are getting traction internationally and, hence, the attention of multilateral institutions such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Bank. Given their third umpire status, the arguments are couched in reason and devoid of rhetoric and, hence, more acceptable.” (Growthwallahs need to pause and reflect, Mint, December 10, 2012).

What Mr Padmanabhan emphasises, and correctly echoes, is that the economic debate in India is largely couched in patriotic fervour, us versus them, the left versus the right, etc. Reasoned arguments, like the invisible hand, are nowhere to be found. I could not agree more—which is why my column has been titled “No Proof Required” for almost the last decade, and why the previous titles of my column were Looking for Logic, Beyond Logic, etc.

But do the international organisations qualify as umpires, let alone neutral umpires? The short answer is, no. Indeed, let me state that organisations like the ILO and World Bank, along with the UN and OECD, are prime examples of organisations indulging in politically-correct rhetoric, non-logic and suspect evidence. You might consider this assertion a bit extreme if not wrong. But please see the evidence I cite before making your conclusion.

ILO Wage Report 2012-13: According to this popularly tweeted report, “India’s real wages fell 1% between 2008 and

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