Rooting the Make in India Project in

Indian Society and Culture

M Rajivlochan,
Professor,
Department of History
Panjab University, Chandigarh

E-Yantra, IITB
13th June 2016
The various layers that go into the grand
project of Make in India:

make a nation,
make a citizen,
make an economy,
make a society that is productive

Translating individual achievements into collective

achievements
Skills we have always had and will develop quickly, but
will we also have the key to a knowledge economy?
Today we merely recall some basic points:
India is marked by considerable individual achievements

To take just a set of random examples

from the recent past:
Lt. Rajendra Bisht:
won the Sword of
Honour at the IMA,
June 2016
General Dalbir Singh Suhag
Chief of the Army Staff, India
Raghunath Anant Mashelkar,
Chemical Engineer,
Director General of Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research
for 11 years
Sukhdeo Thorat,
Economist, Chairman of
University Grants Commission
and the Indian Council for
Social Science Research
 Global official gold holdings:
India and Gold 32033.3 tonnes as of March 2015
Official Gold holdings (tonnes)
Indian demand for gold in 2014: 842.7
USA 8133.5
(equivalent to 26.2% of the world
Germany 3384.2
demand for gold)
IMF 2814.0
Total holdings of gold in private
Italy 2415.8
hands in India (2009): 15000
France 2435.4
Total holdings of gold with the
Russ 1207.7
Government of India (2014): 557
China 1954.1
Switzerland 1040.0
Japan 765.2
Netherlands 612.5
India 557.7

Temple trusts provide

46% of the total gold
deposited with the SBI
under the Gold Deposit
Scheme
What might Hanuman
have done in the 21st
century?
What is the
kind of social
eco-system in
which these
achievements
are located?
How to make
that eco-
system an
enabling one?
 India: the Unity in Diversity
conundrum Phrase first used by Nehru in his book,
Discovery of India

Nehru wanted to emphasise unity, since

the British were so emphasising the
diversity of India to the extent of saying
that India was not a nation.

Many people said

India is the only country that India was a Nation in the Making
troubles itself with the
question of unity in diversity.
 On the eve of independence, need felt to create a new Code for India, a
code along which India would then move in the future
This came to be the Constitution of India
It was designed to provide some unity between the diverse voices that
were presumed to exist in India of 1947:
Joined later:
Sikhs
Christians Ambedkar
Dalits Situation was created
Doctors that Ambedkar would win
Government officers
Hindus
Industrialists Why?
Jains After all there were Dalit
representatives already in the
Lawyers Assembly?
Parsis
LANGUAGES OF INDIA AS IDENTIFIED BY THE LATEST CENSUS: 324
A: Agaria, Ahirani, Aimol, Aiton, Anal, Andamanese, Angani, Angika, Ao, Apatani, Arabic, Armenian, Ashing, Assamese, Asuri,
Awadhi
B: Badaga, Baghelkhandi, Bagri, Baigani, Bajania, Balti, Bangni, Banjari, Basturia, Bauria, Bawm, Bazigar Boli, Bengali,
Bhanjabhumia, Bantua, Bharmauri, Bhairi, Bhili, Bhojpuri, Bhotia, Bhuiya, Bhumij, Bhunjia, Biate, Bilspuri, Birhor, Birjia,
Bishnupriya, Bodoa, Bokar, Bondo, Bort, Braj Bhasha, Brijlal, Bugun, Bundelkhandi, Burmese, Bushart
C: Chakhesang, Chakma, Chambilai, Chameali, Chang, Changpa, Chattisgarhi, Chikari, Chinali, Chinese, Chiru, Chote, Churasi
D: Dalu, Deori, Dhanki, Dhimal, Dhodia, Dhundhari, Didayi, Dimasa, Dingal, Dogri, Dommari, Droskhat/Dokpa, Duhlian-Twang
E: English
F: French
G: Gadaba, Gadiali, Gallong, Gameti, Gamit, Gangte, Garasis, Garhwali, Garo, Giarahi, Gondi, Gujarati, Gujjari, Gurung, Gutob
H: Hajong, Halam, Halbi, Harauti, Haryanavi, Hebrew, Himachali, Hindi, Hinduri, Hindusthani, Himar, Ho, Hrusso, Hualngo
I: Irula
J: Jabalpuri, Jangali, Jarawa, Jaunsair, Juang
K: Kabui, Kachanaga, Kachari, Kachchi, Kadar, Kagati, Kak-Borak, Kanashi, Kangri, Kannada, Karbi, Karen, Karko, Kashmiri,
Kathiawari, Khadiboli, Khaka, Khamba, Khampa, Khampti, Khampti-Shan, Kharia, Khasi, Khaskura, Khatri, Kherwari, Khiangan,
Khorusti, Khotta, Kinnauri, Kiradi, Kisan, Koch, Kodagu, Koi, Koireng, Kokni, Kolami, Kom, Komkar, Knda, Konicha, Konkani,
Konyak, Koracha, Koraga, Korava, Korku, Korwa, Kota, Kotwalia, Kudmali, Kui, Kuki, Kulvi, Kumaoni, Kunbi, Kurukh, Kuvi
L: Ladakhi, Lahauli, Laihawlh, Lakher (Mara), Lalung, Lambani, Lamgang, Laotian, Laria, Lepcha, Limbu, Lisu, Lodha, Lotha, Lushai

M: Mag, Magahi, Magarkura, Mahal, Maithili, Majhi, Makrani, Malankudi, Malayalam, Malhar, Malto, Malvi, Manchat, Mandiali,
Mangari, Mao, Maram, Marathi, Maria, Maring, Marwari, Machi, Meitel, Memba, Mewari, Mewati, Milang, Minyong, Miri,
Mishing, Mishmi, Mizo, Monpa, Monsang, Moyon, Muduga, Multani, Mundari
N: Na, Nagari, Nagpuri, Naikadi, Naiki, Nati, Nepal, Nicobarese, Nirmair, Nishi, Notce
O: Odki, Onge, Oriya
P: Padam, Pahari, Paharia, Pailibo, Paite, Panchpargania, Pang, Pangwali, Parimu, Parji, Paschima, Pasi, Pasto, Pawri, Pengo,
Persian, Phom, Pochury, Punchi, Punjabi (notice Portuguese is absent)
R: Rai (Raikhura), Rajasthani, Ralte, Ramo, Rathi, Rengma, Raing
S: Sadri, Sajalong, Sambalpuri, Sangtam, Sansi, Santali, Sadra, Saraji, Sarhodi, Saurashtri, Sema, Senthinelese, Sekhawati,
Sherdukpen, Sherpa, Shimong, Shina, Shompen, Sikligar, Sindi, Singpho, Sirji, Sirmauri, Soliga, Sulung, Surajpur
T: Tagin, Tai, Tamang, Tamil, Tangam, Tangkhul, Tangasa, Tataotrong, Telugu, Thado, Thar, Tharu, Tibetan, Toda, Toto, Tulu
U: Urdu When the British first counted the Such details great for creating shock value,
V: Vaiphel, Varli number of Indians in the Census they a sense of amazement for foreigners
W: Wagri, Wancho
Y: Yerava, Yerukula, Yimchungre
identified over 3000 languages in India! Some languages had just one speaker!!
(who did that person speak with?)
Z: Zakhring (Meyer), Zeliang, Zemi, Zou. Many with less than 20 speakers
"So far as I am able to
judge, nothing has been
left undone, either by man
or nature, to make India
the most extraordinary
country that the sun visits
on his rounds. Nothing
seems to have been
forgotten, nothing
overlooked."
Mark Twain
 India was born out of an intense
freedom struggle that lasted,
depending on how you see it.

Here are different view Started-ended Years Since when

points on what 1905-1947 42 years Swadeshi movement
constituted the
1857-1947 90 years Mutiny
Freedom Struggle
1818-1947 129 years Conquest of Nagpur
These view points are held by
both professional historians as 1100-1947 847 years Conquest by Muslims
well as general people
(-) 400-1996 2396 years Dominance of brahmvad
No freedom yet Faiz Ahmed Faiz & Ors.

Note: nations do take time to realise that they are one

Even the US began to think of itself as one country

only after 1812 war with Britain/Canada
Then they began to get divided up over the moral
question of slavery to the point where one side said
they would secede, leave the country, if Lincoln were to
become President.
 A Freedom Struggle in itself is moronic

Khalistan: Country of Assam: Nagalim: merging

Member of the agreed to be with into India, 1975, Kashmir?
UNPO, 24/1/93. India, Sept. 2011 2013.
Suspended
permanently on
22/1/95
Unrepresented
Nations and Peoples
Organization
The point is to learn to live with
others who are different from
ones own narrow world and to
find common ground with them.
 For, in the past twenty years we have found ways of
working that had been unthinkable in Indias entire
The whole has to be more than
existence:
the sum of its parts, is that the
case with India?
The medical industry: generates world class medical
We are all individually great?
care at one tenth the cost
So what should be the process
through which we find a shared
vision? The IT industry: mobilizes thousands, invests millions
and rides out the economic storms of the world
Not that it is impossible

How does one find ways to generate a knowledge

economy, one which does not stop at services but
also develops products?

How to find the keys to the knowledge economy?

India, soon after independence, emerges as
the leader of the former colonies, leader of
all in independence

,
,

Re rok yudhishtr ko na yaahan jane de isko svarg dheer

Par phira hamein gandive gada lauta de Arjun bhim vir
Kah de Shankar se aaj karein ve parlay nritya fir ek baar
Saare bharat mein gunj uthe bam bam ka mahochchar
Dinkar in the parliament commenting on the policy of peace
being pursued by Nehru and the consequences in the defeat at
the hands of china