India, Jan. 2 -- When this author decided to opt for an undergraduate degree in economics in 2001, political economy was the last thing on his mind. Political economy happened to me in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), partly because of the academic training in what was one of the best heterodox economics departments in the country, and partly the political grounding thanks to my partaking in student activism there.

To be sure, it was also a historical accident of sorts. I took my JNU MA entrance exam on 13 May 2004, the day the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government suffered a shock defeat in the national elections. By the time I landed as a student in JNU, there was a new government in power which was c...