The Politics Society was delighted to host Professor Akshay Mangla, a political scientist and Associate Professor of International Business at the University of Oxford. Professor Mangla specialises in Education and Inclusive Development in India, following India’s transition into promoting universal education which is one of the topics touched upon in his talk. This presentation struck me, especially as I drew comparisons to western democracies and economies, highlighting the stark global differences across the world.

Prof. Mangla delivered a talk on the Political Economy of India in the 21st century where he discussed the puzzle of Indian democracy, the economic development and growth performance and the education development in the present day in India. As a politics student, I particularly enjoyed the first of these sections. Prof. Mangla awakened me to the democratic system in India, that perhaps actually the democratic paradise it might appear as due to the corruption under the surface. I found the statistic that 24% of MPs are from a family dynasty particularly interesting as it highlighted to me how much influence money and household connections has in Indian politics which is maybe less prominent in the UK due to the eradication of hereditary peers in 1997. Also, learning that $16 Billion was spent on the 2024 election ($2 Billion more then the US in 2020!), shocked me greatly as it’s another big difference from the UK due to our campaign spending rules.

Professor Mangla then also went on to present the economic development in India. He stated that India is considered a lower income country with a smaller expanding economy, which was surprising to me as, under the time of Mughal rule, India had one of the highest GDPs in the world. We were shown a map which compares the different economic situations of states in India to African countries, emphasising the small economies of the regions. Prof. Mangla spoke about movements such as ‘Make In India’ and ‘China Plus One’ which are groups that help to promote Indian trade and foreign investment.

Finally, Professor Mangla acknowledged his specialist subject: education and inclusive development. It was interesting to learn about all the challenges that Indian education has faced. High absenteeism, from both students and teachers, as well as poor facilities in rural areas can make universal education hard to achieve. He spoke about the difficulties of monitoring schools in the Himalayan range, as villages could be separated by a mountain, making regular checks scarce. Again, I could speculate the differences between the UK, as we have a coherently more stable education system.

To wrap up the talk, Prof. Mangla elaborated on the contradictories of India. How India have had an electoral democracy since 1947, yet elections are rife with corruption and polarization. How the economy is expanding yet the state income is in one of the lowest categories in the world. And how there are 1.5 million graduates every year but a 25% teacher absenteeism rate. This was wildly fascinating as it put into perspective how the size of India can affect its political economy dependent on region.

Prof. Mangla kindly then took questions on how Indian political campaigns work, what India might look like in the future and India’s involvement in the Cold War, giving the students and teachers a deeper insight into the history of India.

Overall I found the talk incredibly fascinating as it is a topic that remains predominantly untouched on the curriculum. My knowledge of the country’s political economy has expanded considerably as well as strengthening my understanding of global and international relations.

We thoroughly enjoyed hosting Professor Mangla as our first Politics Society speaker to give us a slightly different taste to what we’re usually used to. We are very excited to continue hosting guests for the rest of the year for more educative and stimulating talks regarding politics!