From GST To "Anti-Romeo", Bibek Debroy Recaps 2017 In Punchy Five-Liners

New Delhi: Economist Bibek Debroy has found an easy way of summing up the year that was by breaking down India's milestone events such as introduction of the national tax GST -- a complex policy -- into bite-sized chunks.

Using limericks or humorous five-line poems, the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tackled a range of subjects from as serious as Aadhaar to as cosmetic as renaming of roads.

Even Uttar Pradesh's "anti-Romeo squads" have found a mention in Mr Debroy's 208-page compilation of witty verses published by Penguin.

For example, in The Book of Limericks, Mr Debroy writes, "O, Romeo! O, Romeo! Careful about that cameo. In some quarters at least, if you behave like a beast, you may be rounded up in a rodeo."

Last year, officers and constables of the Uttar Pradesh police with support from the saffron-robed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had fanned out across the state to patrol the streets in what they called was an attempt to provide better security to women. Rights activists had then criticised the move as stifling to youth and adults since the forceful approach appeared to hurt their privacy.

On the Goods and Services Tax, with which the centre hopes to harvest more revenue this year after a chaotic launch in July last year, Mr Debroy, 63, threw some playful lines and warned people against evading taxes. "If you happen to sin, get ready to take it on the chin. The GST rate will be hefty, forcing you to be thrifty. And sending your budget into a tailspin."

The book has illustrations by Kolkata-based artist Sayan Mukherjee, who has worked with some global ad firms.
 One of the images in the book is a caricature of former Central Bureau of Investigation chief Ranjit Sinha, who is seen standing near four men. Mr Sinha is facing allegations of trying to influence the probe into coal scam cases.

Then the limerick follows. "As its woes multiply, what's with the CBI? The caged parrot spat, now ex-chief's on the mat, no longer the cynosure of every eye."

In another take, Mr Debroy goes on to back the idea that the rivers Ganga and Yamuna have legal identities and so they enjoy rights and can fight against "polluting propensities".

Moving on, he nets topic after topic that were in the news last year.

Mr Debroy explains in fives lines the policy of no-fly list, in which the names of air passengers who have been barred from taking to the skies are added: "A fly in the ointment, cannot hide his disappointment. With a no-fly list, how will he insist, on proving his privileged anointment?"

A caricature of former President APJ Abdul Kalam appears with a few lines on renaming of roads. "One brother lost his name, the other has his claim to fame. One Mughal a poison toad, the other perceived as antipode. What next in the road rechristening game?"

In August last year, the New Delhi Municipal Council had renamed Aurangzeb Road in Lutyens' Delhi as APJ Abdul Kalam Road. A month later, former Parliamentary Affairs Minister and current Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu had welcomed the move to rename the road. "I used to feel a little shy when I had to give my address... I had to say I am living in 30 Aurangzeb Road. But now I am happy because now I am living in 30 Abdul Kalam Road," he had told reporters.

Bibek Debroy, who is also a member of the government think tank NITI Aayog, has written several books, papers and articles. He holds degrees from Presidency College in Kolkata, Delhi School of Economics, and Trinity College in Cambridge.

With inputs from PTI