A tribute to the resilience of Indian businesses

This scholarly history of the capital markets sadly falls prey to palace intrigue when it comes to post-independence India

- Rajrishi Singhal

Running Behind Lakshmi: By Adil Rustomjee, Hachette India, 862 pages, $1,599

Professional historians and the scientific study of history have come under severe assault in the "post-truth" era. Distorted and revisionist history, including reinvented history, propagated through social media platforms has found ready audiences who are willing to suspend disbelief. The trend has accelerated with all manner of enthusiasts and dilettantes trying their hand at writing history.

In theory, there is nothing wrong with that because any analysis of past events, as long as it is well-researched and well-written, could qualify as literature. In fact, historians have won the Nobel for literature as well as for economics. Theodore Mommsen won the Nobel for literature in 1902 for his three-volume tome on Roman history. Economic historians Robert W. Fogel and Douglass C. North won the Nobel for economics in 1993, and Claudia Goldin, who is both an economic historian and a labour economist, in 2023.

It is thus commendable that investment adviser Adil Rustomjee has attempted to document the chequered history of Mumbai's iconic stock exchange, BSE Ltd (formerly known as the Bombay Stock Exchange), in Running Behind Lakshmi. It is arguably the oldest in Asia and a memorial to the resilience of Indian businesses trying to keep their heads above water as colonial powers twisted rules to stifle local entrepreneurship and enterprise. The BSE's history occasionally mirrors the country's economic trends and, at the same time, often represents a completely contrasting picture. Its centrality to the Indian economy is beyond doubt but its reputation has often been put through the shredder.