After reading this, I have spent several hours reading Mr. Prafuls Bidwai's articles and interviews online, and he comes across as someone who talks a lot without really saying anything at all. This seems to be the first article where he has presented any statistics and I would love to know what he was reading when made up those stats, as I for one cannot find anything to collaborate him. Everything I found was just the opposite of what he said.
Example :
source:
http://www.siliconindia.com/news/general/10-Fastest-Growing-States-of-India-nid-128236-cid-1.html
Other source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_states_by_GDP This particular one I will leave the readers to explore and come to their own conclusions.
There were several others, but none came even close to even Mr. PDs findings, which puts his present article in line with others.
Mr. PD (as most of our journalists are) seems to be a product of India's famous
"buddy system" (Cronyism) which tends to form clique's for self promotion. I invite others to read Mr. PDs other articles and form their own opinions.
Cronyism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronyism
Favoritism shown to friends and associates (as by appointing them to positions without regard for their qualifications)
Cronyism exists when the appointer and the beneficiary are in social contact.
I am glad you spent time reading through some of the articles that Praful Bidwai ( Mr. PB ) has written. After spending a few hours - you claim "several," you settle down to draw up your conclusions which are downright damning. I am sure that you never ever heard of Mr PB
in all of your long existence - until today (if you did then I'd be surprised). And in that single moment where you drew up your conclusions - you not only passed unfair judgement but CONDEMNED A MAN FOR LIFE.
With one wild sweep of your pen, you have not only tarnished a most authoritative & respectable person but also rebuffed his lifetime's work spanning over four decades.
Are you even familiar (
in a learned & scholarly way so that you can grasp and understand - before coming up with a cheap statement "
he comes across as someone who talks a lot without really saying anything at all") the plethora of fields that Mr PB commands respect all over India and abroad. From communalism & nationalism; environment and sustainable development; ethnicity and politics; global justice; human rights; nuclear weapons disarmament and peace - and many more fields. His analytical & investigative articles have shaken many (and those who cannot comprehend it pass it of as hogwash). He has angered Global Giants like Enron, Union Carbide, Monsanto and even the USofA. They have done their best to plant all sorts of calumnious attacks - using the media & everything else at their disposal to damage & destroy his reputation (even plant false evidences). YOU HAVE JOINED THAT DEFEATIST LOBBY TOO. I SINCERELY DOUBT THAT YOU HAVE DONE ANYTHING AT ALL IN YOUR OWN LONG LIFETIME TOWARDS THESE CAUSES - TO MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE IN ( except spew venom at all those who struggle each day, so that you and I can live better lives).
I will not even ask you to apologise because I hold no brief for him. He has faced such onslaughts continuously in his lifetime from feeble nicompoops like you - who have never got down to the grassroots and felt the real pulse of the people. YOU ARE NOT EVEN CAPABLE OF DISSEMINATING WHAT IS RIGHT FROM WRONG. But he is never alone - there are scores of other's (who are also of the same caliber or more or lesser) who stand together and fight in a legal & non-violent way for justice.
You concluded by taking pains to codefy him in most demeaning slot "buddy system" (Cronyism) - this was the cheapest and lowest level that you could stoop too.
For someone like Mr PB who has spent a lifetime painstakingly studying, analysing, researching, meeting thousands of people and only then writing or speaking the truth (BUT YOU ARE BLISSFULLY UNAWARE OF ALL THIS) - so you very casually brush it off. I would not have taken the pains & the time to respond to your amateurish reply. But then I realise, I have a responsibility to correct your line of thinking - lest many other's fall a prey to your scary line of thought.
And this is where I come to the final part of my response to your dastardly attack - "Where did he get his Statistics from to present the truth about Gujarat" .........
lest you accuse me too of evading the core question!
Your searches led you nowhere - or else to some feeble non-academic & truncated analysis on random websites.
Mr Praful Bidwai is a person, (like so many other's too of the same character & integrity), would obviously have taken the pains to present their analysis ONLY from 100% credible sources.
When you spend a lifetime in such thankless causes - you just cannot afford to ruin your own reputation with baseless analysis & unsubstantiated statements - because then you loose Faith with all those who believe in Hope & Justice & Truth.
(I can see you getting all irritated already for all that I have said - BUT SHOW ME THE FACTS is what you want!)
This is where Mr. Praful Bidwai (and so many other conscientious persons) got his facts from.
MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION (MOSPI)
PLANNING COMMISSION - GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
(these are just two of the most credible sites ....there are others too)
I could just leave things right here for you to decipher & go through the realms of voluminous data ...... but I will not be so unfair.
I have only picked a few of the "official reports" ....check them out yourself & SEE WHERE THE GUJARAT MODEL STANDS.
Note that there are numerous other indices & statistical data (on the above 2 sites) to to debunk the MYTH'S ABOUT THE GUJARAT MODEL
State-wise Growth Rate of Agriculture & Allied Sector in India [1996 -2012]
Growth Rate of GDP in Industry-Sector State-Wise [2001 - 2012]
State-wise Irrigation Potential, Flood Control, Ground-Water, Distribution of Large Dams & Hydro Potential Status
Statewise Literacy Rates [ 1951 - 2011]
Sex-Ratio at Birth (2006-2008)
THIS IS THE NAKED TRUTH & THE MYTH ABOUT THE GUJARAT-MODEL OF NAMO'S DEVELOPMENT
Methinks you would be an apt candidate to be appointed 
into the 100's of "Parliamentary Fact Finding Committee's" - most of whose reports and findings are never made public & action never taken. 
[spitoutdummy]
Yes Tehelka is Correct at all times.... but you also have to understand
