Why subscribe?
I write about cities, data, people, and Indian life - and what the gaps between all of them reveal.
Some pieces are numbers-heavy. Some start with a butcher shop or a conversation at a gym. The common thread is that ordinary things, looked at carefully, tend to expose something true about larger systems. And I’d rather be honest about what I see than hedged about what I think.
I’m Shibaprasad. An analytics consultant, part-time runner, Hyderabad by way of Kolkata.
A few things I believe publicly: I think markets are the best engine for efficiency, but the government is the best engine for dignity. I’m a Social Market Liberal in a country that doesn’t have a political party for that yet. I think Indian liberalism is underexamined and often intellectually dishonest. I think most data journalism in India stops just before the uncomfortable conclusion. And I believe good writing shouldn’t sit behind a paywall.
These beliefs show up in the writing. So does the discomfort of holding them in a country where the political spectrum doesn’t quite have a slot for you.
Start here
“The Midfielders of Life” — On why the people who make everything work rarely get the credit, and why that’s worth changing.
“Cheering from the Exit” — On Hirschman’s Exit/Voice/Loyalty, and why praising India from Boston is a kind of hollow nationalism with no skin in the game.
“West Bengal Solved Healthcare Access. It Hasn’t Solved Health.” — Institutional deliveries are near-universal in West Bengal. Maternal mortality hasn’t improved. The data explores why.
Work with me
I’m an analytics consultant working at the intersection of data, strategy, and product thinking & often about public policy. If something I’ve written resonates and you think there’s a conversation worth having, reach me at shibaprasad.b[a]outlook.com.
Looking forward to having you on here!
Alternatively, you can read the old old posts.
