Vitality and viability

A nice blog entry in the NY Times about the resilience of New York city and its ability to regenerate itself with changing times ("New York, New York: America's Resilient City"). I of course see parallels to Bombay, a city which, in face of all adversities, has constantly renewed itself during the past 300 years.

The article claims that the primary reason for NY's success is its human capital. "Historically, human capital — the education and skills of a work force — predicts which cities are able to reinvent themselves and which ones are not." I quite agree (and think that even unskilled labour can add much to a city's economic muscle). And that is why Bombay needs to retain its historic welcoming attitude to migrants - both the poor, who dream of becoming rich; and the rich, who dream of becoming richer. From across India and across the world, the greater the number of the enterprising that the city is able to attract, the brighter its future will be. Those who wish to close our city's gates inadvertantly wish to sign its death warrant, I believe.