Asia | The Dravidian Stalin

Tamil Nadu’s leader offers something India’s does not: competence

What M.K. Stalin lacks in charisma he compensates for with pragmatism

|DELHI

IT WAS DANGEROUS in the Soviet Union to accept a seat in Joseph Stalin’s inner circle. Many members ended up imprisoned or executed—though Jeno Varga, his economic adviser, lived a long and healthy life. That Varga was treated gently is a good sign for the five superstar economists recently appointed to the economic advisory council of M.K. Stalin, the new chief minister of Tamil Nadu, south India’s most populous state.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Meet the Dravidian Stalin”

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