The chief architect of India's constitution, B.R. Ambedkar, once said its villages were "a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism". Now some think they are the strongest bit of the economy. Neelkanth Mishra, an analyst at Credit Suisse, reckons that, if activity in informal industries and rural areas were properly measured, India's gdp would look bigger and more stable and the present slump less severe. This is a source of comfort at a time when India is fighting a financial panic. India's villages and towns, far from the gaze of foreigners and the urban elite, have been on a tear. Over the past decade new roads have been built. Almost everybody these days has a mobile phone. Electricity has become more common, as have computerised land records. Fewer people have to spend time collecting firewood, using bottled gas instead. New houses built with walls and floors of brick or cement are more durable than wooden huts, and need less maintenance.
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