‘I have no interest in politics,’ says former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan

Raghuram Rajan, the former Governor of the Reserved Bank of India (RBI), opened up about his engineering days in IIT-Delhi and shared his viewpoints on politics and protests.

Rajan, who is in India to promote his bookBreaking The Mould, once contested an election in the premier engineering college, he said in a recent interview with The Lallantop.

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"Election in IIT does not happen on a party basis. It happens on an individual basis," the economist said. "I became the Secretary of the English Debating Society. Then. I became General Secretary of the Students Affairs Council. We also protested against the institute authority because they were not giving scholarships to PhD students. So we shut the IIT for a day." However, he recalled the incident as "not my proudest moment."

"The ability to protest has to be protected"

Raghuram Rajan shared his opinion on political protests. He said, "Sometimes political protest is good because that changes the environment. The civil rights protest against racism in the US changed the society for the good. Political protests should be encouraged. However, non-violence is important."

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The economist continued by saying that not all protests are constructive. However, Rajan believes that one must have the freedom to protest. When asked about his views on protests and their impact on economic activity, Rajan was clear that "the ability to protest has to be protected."

'I have no interest in politics'

Rajan recalled the time when he contested in the college elections and said, "I was involved in politics. Fortunately, I got out of it also."

When asked whether he would join politics, the former RBI Governor said, "I have no interest in politics."

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Rajan mentioned he wanted India to adopt the right policies so that the nation could become developed by 2047. In his new book, which he has co-authored with Rohit Lamba, an assistant professor at Pennsylvania University, he highlights the weaknesses and strengths of India. The book also talks about how there should be a debate on what policies India needs to adopt.

On Saturday, Rajan said at another event that India will remain a lower-middle-income country if the potential growth rate stays at six per cent annually without any rise in population by 2047.

(With inputs from agencies)