''India Unbound: From Independence to Global Information Age'' is a 2000

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

book by

Gurcharan Das Gurcharan Das (born 3 October 1943) is an Indian author who wrote a trilogy based on the classical Indian goals of the ideal life. ''India Unbound'' was the first volume (2002), on artha, 'material well-being', which narrated the story of Ind ...

. It is an account of India's economic journey after its

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

in 1947.

Overview

''India Unbound'' is mainly about the transformation of India from birth of the writer in (1942) to 1999. The author majorly speaks about the

Indian politics The Politics and Government of India works within the framework of the country's Constitution, which was adopted in 1950. India is a parliamentary secular democratic republic, described as a “sovereign, socialist, secular democratic republ ...

and the

economy of India The economy of India is a Developing country, developing mixed economy with a notable public sector in strategic sectors. * * * * It is the world's fourth-largest economy by gross domestic product, nominal GDP and the third-largest by purch ...

. He categorizes the complete timeline from 1942 to 1999 in three major sections: 'Spring of Hope (1942–1965)', 'the Lost Generation (1966–1991)' and 'Rebirth of Dream (1991–1999)' and tell various stories(memoirs) and the historical facts of that time. The book is a great mixture of memoir, economic analysis, social investigation, political scrutiny and managerial outlook being thrown into the understanding of India. It begins shortly before

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

and continues until the new millennium. As other authors cherish the revolution that began with independence in 1947, Gurcharan Das does not find full cause for jubilation until 1991, when India unleashed a series of economic reforms, the start of an "economic revolution" that he believes "may well be more important than the political revolution." The book starts with a brief history of 18th and 19th century India. Gurucharan Das starts with the augmentation of the railways in India, which was presumed to usher India into the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

. The book also points to the factors which led to the decline in the Indian economy under the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. The ‘Spring of Hope’ (1942–1965) describes the period in

Indian history Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; by 4500 ...

when it embarks upon as an independent country. The post independence

economic policy ''Economic Policy'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press, Oxford Academic on behalf of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the Center for Economic Studies (University of Munich), and the Paris Scho ...

followed the first

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

in nature which gives all the control over the industry to the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...

. Nehru was ably supported by some of the best economists from across India. He sets up a

mixed economy A mixed economy is an economic system that includes both elements associated with capitalism, such as private businesses, and with socialism, such as nationalized government services. More specifically, a mixed economy may be variously de ...

which is a middle path between

democratic rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

followed by the

Western countries The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also constitute the West. ...

and socialist ideology of the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

world. The 'Lost Generation' (1966–1991) refers to the phase of Indian Polity and economy which saw fading of the Indian dream. The economic policies followed by

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

with the advice of her trusted economic advisers led India in to a very slow growth rate. The book cites an irony when it states that the '

Garibi Hatao ''Garibi Hatao Desh Bachao'' () was the theme and slogan of Indira Gandhi's 1971 election campaign. The slogan and the proposed anti-poverty programs that came with it were designed to give Gandhi an independent national support, based on ru ...

' policies followed by Mrs. Indira Gandhi were actually working counter-productively and throwing millions of Indians further into

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

rather than alleviating their plight. The author marks the declaration of 'Emergency' as the lowest point of Indian Polity. Gurucharan Das gives a resounding account of his personal tryst with the Indian bureaucratic system prevailing at that time. He gives the account of incompetency spread in the Indian set-up which was choking the country’s economy to the death and

License Raj The Licence Raj or Permit Raj (''rāj'', meaning "rule" in Hindi) is a term coined by Indian independence activist and statesman C. Rajagopalachari for the system of strict government control and regulation of the Indian economy. This economi ...

which was the greatest hurdle to the growth of India.

References

{{Reflist, refs= Amartya Sen on India Unbound
/ref>

External links

Website of Gurcharan Das

Blog of Gurcharan Das
Books about the economy of India Economic history of India (1947–present) Books about economic policy 2000 non-fiction books