IG Patel: Early life and education

Monday, 11 November 2024, marks the centenary of Dr IG Patel. In my blog on Substack (see here), I gave an overview of his life, career, and achievements. I suggest that you read that before continuing here. At the end of that post, I promised to cover different aspects of his life in greater detail. In this first part, I cover Dr IG Patel’s early life and education.

Birth and childhood

Indraprasad was born on 11 November 1924 to Kashiben and Gordhanbhai Patel in the village of Sunav, around 60 km northwest of Baroda and 16 km west of Anand. He was the couple’s second child, born after a daughter. There would be seven more after Indraprasad. The six brothers and three sisters grew up in a two-room house in a poor locality of old Baroda – at one of its Amdavadi Pols, an indigenous housing system characterised by parallel but narrow lanes, 2-3 storeyed houses, chowks where older men gossiped over cha. They occasionally fed birds at the chabutros. An assortment of animals, like cows and dogs, moved around as if they owned the place.

Gordhanbhai Patel

Gordhanbhai must have had some education, as he spoke good English. He also had some inheritance in his village of Karamsad, where he built a lovely house early in life. It was a scenic, calming house where Indraprasad spent wonderful summer vacations during his early school days. The joint family owned some land that largely sustained them.

But, as for regular employment, Gordhanbhai and his best friend started as tram or bus conductors. He also worked as a clerk in different places, including Dwaraka, when Indraprasad was born. Later, because of proximity to his village, he moved to Baroda.

But their passion lay in business. The two friends ventured into separate lines of business. The friend’s business flourished, and his brand was well-known even in the 1990s. Unfortunately for Gordhanbhai, the simple, all-trusting man who started his business with borrowed money, all his ventures failed one after the other. Years later, Indraprasad would laugh loudly, recalling this string of spectacular failures.

Gordhanbhai taught Indraprasad not to be judgemental. Even adversaries might have their point of view. That there is another side to everything. Years later, Indraprasad’s family would tease him for looking at the pros and cons of everything. But that was probably what stood by him in later years when he had to deal with people and politicians of different types.

Kashiben Patel

Kashiben was a strong woman with a personality of her own. Maybe because of the family’s background, she instilled in Indraprasad the value of education. Financial difficulties could have prevented the young Patel from furthering his education. Indraprasad later wrote that his mother could just about read or write. She clarified that, in the absence of inheritable property, “…salvation lay in studying well and that as parents, they would spare no effort or sacrifice if we were prepared to play our part.”

Kashiben also taught Indraprasad that one has to feel strongly about certain things. But, as Indraprasad would ask later, which are the concluding words of his autobiography,

…how can you be passionate about anything without being blinkered? … how can you avoid being cold and indifferent and inactive while trying to eschew judgements? It is not easy to strike a balance. But one tries as best as one can.

Indraprasad tried.

Education

Shree Sayaji High School

Indraprasad attended Shree Sayaji High School, Baroda. It was a government school, and the schools run by the government of Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad of Baroda were of a high standard. Its excellent teachers identified and promoted bright students. One of Indraprasad’s essays was so well appreciated that it was displayed on the notice board for a long time. He was one of the brightest students in the school, winning scholarships to finance his education. A webpage on the school lists Indraprasad as its most well-known alum.

But, Gordhanbhai’s house was small and raucously filled with siblings and relatives of all ages visiting from the village. Indraprasad studied mainly under the quiet of a street lamp far away from the hustle and bustle of the narrow alleys and their vehicles, men and animals. This early struggle in life would shape his future outlook and resilience.

Indraprasad stood first in the matriculation examination.

Baroda College

Indraprasad did his intermediate at the Baroda College, then affiliated to the University of Bombay. One of his teachers was Prof D Ghosh, who taught him elementary economics for his intermediate. The student held his professor in high esteem and would later write: “Professor Ghosh had a distinguished career at Cambridge and had a well-deserved reputation as one of the few Indian economists who retained an interest in the latest developments in economic theory.”

Even though intermediate economics was only a tiny part of IG’s intermediate examination, Ghosh’s classes were sufficient to teach IG a lifelong interest in the subject. IG referred to Ghosh as his ‘adi guru’ (first teacher) and lifelong well-wisher. Ghosh was in Baroda only for a little over one year. Prof Ghosh later worked at the United Nations for some time.

Indraprasad, too, must have impressed Prof Ghosh a lot. After all, he was only 17 when he wrote a paper on “Economic Consequences of the Caste System.”

Meeting the Dewan

Before leaving Baroda, Prof Ghosh took IG to Sir VT Krishnamachari, then Dewan of Baroda, to plead for a state scholarship to go to Cambridge after his BA. The rulers of Baroda had a liberal scholarship that paid for the expenses of bright students to study in England. The Dewan was impressed with IG’s credentials. But, rather interestingly, Sir VT’s response was odd. He suggested that IG go to Oxford, not Cambridge and that he go after his MA, not BA. The rationale? By then, Ramaswamy, his son, would be ready to go to Oxford for his BA, and IG would make a good companion for ‘Ramu’.

In my interview with Prof Alaknanda Patel, she reminisced:

So, here is this Dewan meeting a poor young lad and saying, yes, I can see that you are very bright. And there is every reason. …And you have dreams. And so, I would say this man, the Dewan, had the audacity and the gall to tell the young lad, Yes, I see that you are very bright and should go abroad. I understand that. But, what is the hurry about your going now? Why don’t you go after your BA? Finish your Masters. Wait a few years. …By then, my son would be ready to go abroad. And I would need someone to go with him. So, why don’t you wait? I will give you a scholarship. And then you can go with him as his companion and study. Nothing could be more insulting than this for a young boy.

The boy said, thank you very much, very kind of you and he left seething in anger, ab-so-lutely seething in anger.

Indraprasad’s path would tragically cross that of Sir VT and Ramu, as we will see in a future narrative.

BA Honours

It must have been around this time that contemporaries, even teachers, started referring to Indraprasad as IG. IG completed his two-year BA Honours course from Baroda College in 1944. He placed first at the University of Bombay and won the James Taylor Prize (among other things), which meant nearly Rs 200 worth of books. The prize was named after a former University registrar (not the former Reserve Bank Governor by the same name).

He had heard of King’s and Cambridge, along with Keynes and Joan Robinson, only through Prof Ghosh. But little beyond that. Most of the studies were on his own, thanks to the Quit India movement and the lack of quality teachers.

The war was on. Travel was difficult. Cambridge, therefore, was a distant dream. Nevertheless, he sent a hand-written letter to the King’s College, Cambridge, introducing himself and seeking admission.

IG Patel in Mumbai

In the meantime, IG’s eyes were set on joining the Bombay School of Economics. Studying in Bombay also required financial support. He approached the Sir Dorab Tata Trust, which used to fund several promising students. Prof Rustom Choksi, director of the Trust for around 45 years and one of the trusted Tata hands responsible for several Tata institutions, politely told him that their scholarships were for science students, not art students. Peeved, IG said to him that Economics was indeed a science. Prof Choksi was amused. But, not to let the young lad down, he sportingly asked IG to write an essay supporting the argument, which he could show the other trustees. The trustees must have liked IG’s essay because he had landed the scholarship. IG called this his “first real gain from a little knowledge of economics and (his) first real acquaintance with the nature of Tata philanthropy!”

Soon after joining the Bombay School, IG received a letter from King’s College informing him of his admission and that he could go whenever possible. The vagueness in joining date was obviously due to the ongoing War.

To go or not to go

Thanks to the War, there was no civilian traffic between India and England. Nevertheless, IG enquired with Thomas Cook. The staff there had a hearty laugh at his expense. They reminded him that a war was raging. All the same, they took down his name and address.

As luck would have it, a few weeks later, Thomas Cook informed him that he could travel if he wanted. The catch was that he had to leave within one week. A ship had been converted for civilian use to evacuate families of British missionaries in China. On its way, it would dock in Calcutta and Bombay. A few berths were vacant.

Within this week, IG had to arrange funds for his travel and tuition fees, stay in London, get a passport, make necessary purchases, and learn the dos and don’ts of living in London. Above all, he had to convince his parents to let their eldest son travel through the Mediterranean and the Atlantic with the attendant risk of attacks from German U-boats. Moreover, the Germans were bombing London itself.

IG’s parents finally relented:

We know what this means to you. If we let you go and something happens to you, the world will blame us. If we do not let you go and your chances in life are impaired, you will blame us. We will be able to take the blame of the world, but not your blame. You have our blessings.

Preparing to leave

Earlier that year, Sir VT had moved from Baroda to Jaipur. IG’s teacher, Professor VS Tilak, got him the Baroda State Scholarship.

Prof PC Romans of the English Department, also an MA from Cambridge and then Principal of the Baroda College, prevailed upon the British Resident in Baroda to procure a passport for IG. 

IG’s sisters packed whatever they thought he might need in a big trunk.

A friend in Bombay introduced IG to knives and forks and scrambled eggs.

Recalling that week, IG reminisced in his memoirs:

It is difficult to convey what went on during the week of my departure – the excitement, the anxiety, the sheer magnitude of the arrangements and the adjustments to be made and the outpouring of support from so many quarters.

Bombay to London

IG has not recorded the name of the ship that took him to London. But it took him 48 days, from September to November 1944. According to him, it “gave (him) time to ruminate about the past and to dream and prepare for the future.”

Arriving in Greenock, Scotland, near Port Glasgow, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, the customs confiscated IG’s luggage, carefully packed by his sisters. He never saw it again. He travelled to Cambridge by train with nothing but what was on him. Changing train at Bletchley, where he had to wait several hours, he yearned for a cup of tea. A group of women volunteers serving tea to soldiers on trains refused to serve him, saying it was only for army men.

Seeing a group of farmers seated around a fire, IG joined them in warming their hands. When they learned he was from India, they discussed agriculture in India.

Cambridge University

Teachers

The first few days in Cambridge were torturous. There was no heating and no regular place to stay. But soon, things fell in place, thanks to IG’s senior tutor, Donald Beves: money till the scholarship came, a place to stay, and clothes. Tutorials also started with Gerald Shove and AC Pigou.

The war meant a shortage of teachers, so Cambridge held joint classes with the London School of Economics (LSE). Professor Hayek taught Indifference Curves, and other teachers taught whatever they liked. The emphasis was more on different aspects of macroeconomic analysis. He made up with readings of Pigou, Lerner and Meade. For a more systematic understanding of microeconomics, IG wrote, he had to wait for the American textbooks from Samuelson and Stigler, reading them well only after his return to India.

Cambridge did not teach IG operational or research skills. Nor did they cover research methodology or economic modelling. But, as he recalled, Cambridge taught “how to read and think on your own and what the company of bright young minds can do.” For making him think, he mainly thanks Shove and Pigou, as well as many friends, for stimulating interactions. Most prominent among them was KN Raj, whose centenary fell in May this year.

Other contemporaries

Among others, Rudolf Goldsmith also introduced him to Western music. Many others came with the end of the war, including Harry Johnson, Eric Russell, Robin Marriss and Frank Davidson. Others to whom IG owed gratitude for different reasons – Dennis Robertson’s lectures, EAG (Austin) Robinson, his thesis supervisor, Piero Sraffa for his after-dinner discussions, and EM Forster for his friendship and affection.

Austin Robinson (1897-1993) considered IG his best tutee as a Fellow of King’s College.

Political Economy Club

Keynes spoke at the Political Economy Club and Marshall Library and responded to IG’s questions and contributions, referring to him as IG.

The Political Economy Club was an exclusive club of 30 (later 35) members founded in 1821. Its founding members included James Mill, David Ricardo and Thomas Malthus. Keynes would induct IG into the Political Economy Club because he “was impressed by (IG’s) talent for thinking fundamentally on economic issues.” He would become the first non-European secretary of the Club.

IG completed the Cambridge Tripos in three years, equivalent to an Indian B.A. (Honors). While at King’s College, Cambridge University, IG was a Wrenbury Scholar.

In 1948, IG also won the Adam Smith Prize, awarded annually for the best overall performance and best dissertation in Part IIB of the Economics Tripos. The previous recipient from India was BP Adarkar (1933), and later recipients included Amartya Sen (1954) and Manmohan Singh (1956).

Harvard University

IG spent 1947-48 at Harvard, working on his thesis. His research and the use of the Widner library took too much time, and his stint was largely uneventful. But he did sample lectures by Edward Chamberlin, Gottfried Haberler, Wassily Leontief, and Joseph Schumpeter, the star among them, who taught Economic Models. Paul Samuelson had just arrived but did not offer his Mathematical Economics that year. Future stars like Tom Schelling, Carl Kaysen, Robert Dorfman, and Harry Johnson were there. IG considered this early Harvard connection as a “rich payoff” in later years.

Back in Baroda

In 1949, Baroda College, IG’s alma mater, became an independent University of Baroda, later renamed after Maharaja Sayajirao. After his return from Cambridge, IG became a Professor at the University for nine months during 1949-50. As the country was recovering from the scars of partition, the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the aftereffects and memories of the Bengal famine, and the challenges of resettling refugees, economic policymaking took some time to climb up in national priorities.

IG remembered the wheat loan that had to be negotiated with the US. Another significant event was the devaluation of the pound sterling in September 1949 and India’s decision to follow suit. IG gave a talk on the subject from the All India Radio Baroda station, defending both decisions. Later, KN Raj, who had worked with CD Deshmukh at the Reserve Bank of India and the Ministry of Finance, informed IG that Deshmukh liked his talk. In December 1949, he delivered a talk at the Waltair Conference of the Indian Economic Association on applying the Keynesian framework to solving development problems.

When IG returned from Cambridge, he learned that his father’s debts, which he had borrowed even to maintain the family, had run into lakhs, unusually large for that time. IG felt obligated to pay back the debts. That was when circumstances conspired to intervene in the form of a secondment to the recently established International Monetary Fund. CD Deshmukh, who had appreciated IG’s talk over All India Radio, played a significant role in this transition.

(To be continued in Part 2)

© G Sreekumar 2024