Seven years back, the eminent US historian David Engerman’s superb The Price of Aid: The Economic Cold War in India was published.

This is essential reading for how India navigated its economic relationship with both the USA and the USSR beginning in the 1950s.

Now in his new book that is just out, Engerman narrates the life journey of six South Asians who studied economics in Cambridge University in the 1950s.

Two remained in academia becoming superstars, three became profoundly influential policymakers and institution builders, and one became a transformative finance minister and prime minister.

The six remained close friends all through and that is what makes their collective story all the more fascinating.

This is an extraordinary story of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Amartya Sen, Jagdish Bhagwati, Mahbub ul Haq, Rehman Sobhan, and Lal Jayawardena.

The scholarly six worked tirelessly for their countries and also for the entire region:

Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament