The country’s growth should be based on economic justice: Prof. Shanmugasundaram
While India is emerging as one of the world’s leading economies, among the biggest challenges it faces is that the ongoing growth is not based on economic equity, Vedagiri Shanmugasundaram, former vice-chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, said on Wednesday.
Prof. In his acceptance speech at his centenary celebrations at DG Vaishnav College here, Shanmugasundaram said that India’s growth is primarily based on economic strength and not economic justice.
“Strength should lead to justice and fairness, which is not happening,” he said.
He said a recent phenomenon – the envy of the world but of deep concern – was the rapid rise in the number of billionaires in India. “Their emergence cannot be despised, after all, wealth creation is the basic purpose of economics. But in the process of wealth creation, poverty can sometimes occur on a large scale. This process of wealth creation should be controlled. For this, deep knowledge of economics is required,” said Professor Shanmugasundaram.
The subject of Economics itself has undergone major changes, with the advent of macroeconomics, microeconomics, regional economics and even national economics. “But economics as a discipline – the study of humanity in everyday life – is essentially the study of the common man, not just those who are captains of industry, agriculture and commerce,” he added.
He appealed to G. Viswanathan, the founder and chancellor of the Vellore Institute of Technology, to help develop certain types of research in economics, such as the economy of India, the economy of Tamil Nadu, the economy of Indian districts and the economy of various classes of people, “so that our country is not on the list of poor countries but on the list of rich countries of the world sharing the wealth of a new kind”.
Dr. Viswanathan, who was also the chairman of the organizing committee for the centenary celebrations, said that Prof Shanmugasundaram and his wife Yasodha Shanmugasundaram, former Vice-Chancellor of Mother Teresa Women’s University, were the only known husband-wife duo to have been Vice-Chancellors and are admired across the academic community.
The irony, he said, was the current shortage of vice-chancellors in the state as 17 out of 22 public universities in Tamil Nadu do not have vice-chancellors. “On the centenary celebrations of Professor Shanmugasundaram, I request both the central and state governments to put aside your problems for a while, focus on the students and focus on their education,” he added.
‘Elder statesman’
C. Rangarajan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, described Prof. Shanmugasundaram as “the elder statesman of the economics profession in Tamil Nadu”.
He classified his contribution to economics into three categories: as an economist and teacher, as one who helped organize various organizations such as the Indian Economic Association, and as a contributor to policy-making in Tamil Nadu through his writings and his 15-year tenure in the State Planning Commission. “With the expansion of economic specializations, the education system in Tamil Nadu should introduce suitable changes in the school system so that mathematics education becomes an integral part,” he added.
On this occasion, the biography of prof. Shanmugasundarama, authored by Prof. Yasodha.
Among those who offered felicitations were K. Veeramani, president of the Dravidar Kazhagam; Thamizhachi Thangapandian, DMK MP; Thol. Thirumavalavan, VCK MP; Vaiko, head of MDMK; R. Mutharasan, former CPI state president; KV Thangkabalu, former Union Minister; Agri SS Krishnamurthy; DNA Bajpai, former Vice-Chancellor and IEA President, A. Kanagaraj, Chairman, Jaya Educational Trust; AC Shanmugam, Founder Chancellor; Educational and Research Institute MGR University; K. Chockalingam, Former Vice-Chancellor, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University; Yasodha Shanmugasundaram.
Published – 17 Sep 2026 0:28 IST