Nadhanael are gratefully acknowledged as well as the inputs on climate change from Indrajit Roy. I would like to thank Prof. Parchure for inviting me to deliver this year’s Kale Memorial Lecture. The lecture has been instituted to honour Rao Saheb R. R. Kale, who was instrumental in setting up this great institution, the Gokhale Institute of Economics and Politics.
Despite his professional achievements as a lawyer, he was apparently a rather modest and humble person. Given his financial contribution to the establishment of the institution, it would have seemed perfectly appropriate for it to have been named after him. But, he demurred and it was named after Gopalkrishna Gokhale, a somewhat more recognizable name for readers of Indian history.