New Delhi: With more than 16 years of experience as a journalist with the Press Trust of India and The Hindu Business Line, Harish Damodaran’s first book ”India’s New Capitalists: Caste, Business and Industry in a Modern Nation” offers an interesting insight into the evolution of business communities in modern India. The book analyses the social profile of capital in India.
Business which has for long been the preserve of certain ’bania’ communities has now expanded to a wide spectrum of communities. But as the author says, the democratization of business capital is more in southern India than in north. Also even though Dalit’s in India have managed to be among the top leaders, bureaucrats and judges, but when it comes to entrepreneurship, there is no important Dalit industrialist. He has taken up 16 individual case studies in the book. Published by Permanent Black, the 340 page book has been written in a lucid style and brings to the subject the keeness of a close observer.
Damodaran specializes in agri-business and commodities coverage, that provides him ample opportunity to travel, see and learn things on the ground.