Prof. and Panel Talk Asia

Over “humanitinis” of vermouth and ice, a panel of academics discussed Indian and Chinese development last night in the Barker Center as part of “20 Questions with Tarun Khanna,” an interdisciplinary lecture.

Khanna, a professor at Harvard Business School, recently completed a book entitled “Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India Are Reshaping Their Futures—and Yours.” He discussed his research for about 20 minutes and then fielded questions from MIT economics professor Abhijit Banerjee, Boston University history professor Merle Goldman, Harvard Kennedy School professor Rohini Pande, and audience members.

Harvard professor Homi K. Bhabha, director of the Humanities Center, moderated the lecture. Bhabha introduced the event by pointing to the Center’s goal of addressing “both regional and global” perspectives.

Bhabha elicited laughter from attendees by encouraging them to “have a cocktail” in order to draw more honest questions.

Khanna’s talk largely focused on the content of his book, which he introduced by saying, “The word ‘entrepreneurs’ in the title doesn’t mean Harvard Business School graduates.” Instead, he defined the term as “someone who does more than what anyone thought possible, with less than anyone thought possible.”

He touched on specific examples of economic initiative in both China and India, noting the limitations and successes of each. To illustrate the vibrancy of India in this area, Khanna recounted the story of his eight-year-old daughter who, upon returning to Massachusetts from her grandmother’s house in Delhi, asked, “Daddy, why are we here? Nothing is ever happening here.”

Afterward, Goldman inquired about the role of diaspora communities in economic development while Pande brought up the impact of widespread corruption on entrepreneurship.

As moderator, Bhabha injected a fair amount of humor into the proceedings, yet he also provided one of the most probing questions: “Why is the China-India question such a hot topic?”

Once audience members were invited to participate, the lively discussion continued for nearly two hours.

“I think the Humanities Center does a great job of bringing people together,” Khanna said. “I learned a lot, which I think is the ultimate test of an academic experience.”

Attendee Ross P. Ford ’12 said he was pleased with the lecture. “This was very informational, and it had some very funny moments.”