Prologue continues....

These wars had imposed great strain on India’s rather fragile economy. The economic progress in these decades was not very impressive as there was no breakthrough in agriculture. At one stage, India had to import wheat under PL 480 from the USA. However, brilliant agricultural scientists under the guidance of Dr Swaminathan developed high-yielding varieties of wheat which changed the face of Indian agriculture. Over a period of time, India started producing enough foodgrains to feed the hungry millions. This breakthrough in agricultural production was possible because of the strong foundation that was laid for scientific research by Pandit Nehru, who had said “everything can wait but not agriculture.”

The sluggish growth in the Indian economy has always evoked derisive

comments both within and outside the country. ‘Hindu rate of growth’ is

used pejoratively to indicate that India is psychologically and culturally

conditioned to move slowly when the world is moving fast.

Often, comparison is drawn between India and China only to underscore the fact

that China has far outstripped India in all crucial sectors of development

although it started out later. The response from the Indian side invariably

is that India is a democratic country whereas China has an authoritarian

system that can produce results faster. We tend to equate democracy with

sluggishness. It is a self-defeating argument. Democracy, more than any

other system, presents opportunities and choices that need to be grasped.

To be continued.....