Personal White Paper

Personal White Paper : M G Warrier(Born 1944) Inspired by the gossips about two White Papers on the state of economy and financial status of two states in India by two infant state governments, I thought of looking back at the progress of my own finances from 1944 to 2026. Panampilli Govinda Menon was central Minister of State forFood & Agriculture. He was addressing a large audience somewhere in Central Travancore, when a corruption case against him was talking of the town. Midway through his speech, a loud voice from someone sitting close to the stage was heard : "...ലക്ഷം മുക്കിയ മേനോനെ..." Panampilli paused, and shouted : (Free translation) "Yes. There's an allegation against me about a purchase/sale transaction of Andhra rice. Amount involved is 2.75 lakhs. Only one person in this audience has raised voice against that here. He may please come to the stage and receive his pro rata share of 1.75 Anna and keep quiet" Remembered this story while reading about the pro rata debt of individuals living in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Till World War I, India was a rich country. Till the Britishers left, Government of India's finances remained closed to satisfactory. When I was born, I was part of a large rich joint family in Malabar which followed Matriarchial System of hierarchy and property rights. My father's family followed patriarchal system and Namboodiri families had built-in provisions and customs that protected family assets. As a school-going boy, I found that our family (my parents, three sisters and me) didn't have any right or hold on the family properties. My generation got educated and employed. I worked for 40 years. From 1963 I was self-supporting. When I retired, I was debt-free. I had no house till 1977. Since then, I own a house. Children have their own houses.

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