The British, lured by the Indian wealth, first arrived in India on 31st December 1600. Thereafter, they manipulated narrow-sighted Indian rulers and gained control of the country by end of 17th Century. We have read in history text books in school, watched BollyWood movies how British ruined us of our immense wealth. From a share of 22.1% in world's GDP, we were reduced to the status of a Third World nation, a symbol across the globe of famine, poverty and deprivation.
However, what British could not ruin us of was our attitude, our attitude to achieve, to relentlessly pursue our dreams, to work harder and harder. We built upon the leftovers but with our hard work. No wonder 60 years later, "India's Miracle" is the subject of a special issue of the British weekly New Statesman.
The speed of the progress that I have seen in 24 years of my life never stops thrilling me. Mobile, from a luxury, has become an integral part of average Indian. People have upgraded from bi-cycles to Cars, Bikes, and Scooters. From days of mass unemployment we face a “Talent Crunch” situation. Everyday one article or the other in National and International newspapers talks about India’s progress. "India Shinning" and "Incredible India" stories have gained faith.
Tata Steel’s acquisition of Corus was a moment of immense pride for Indians as when Tata steel started operation in late 18th century ,during British rule, then Britishers mocked us by saying if the Indian company (Tata) succeeds in even making any steel part of its own then British will eat them. Britishers by now must be suffering from indigestion !!!
Having said that, the journey has just started and there is a lot of achieve. Still, we have 20% people below poverty. Still, hundreds of farmers commit suicide. Still, the growth is not all inclusive. Still, Times of India has to take over NewYork Times, Reliance Retail to Wal Mart, Tata Motors to General Motors, ICICI to HSBC, Infosys to Microsoft and many more !!!!
I hope we celebrate 100 years of Independence with Indian economy overtaking US economy.
Khudos !!!! Chak De India
