Myth: India has always been poor

Transcription

1 Myth: India has always been poor When we look back at our past, we discover that India had been wealthy for the last few thousand years, save for the last few centuries. The Highs And Lows Description Of Prosperity Indians and visitors to India have repeatedly spoken of India as a very prosperous land that knew no poverty. India, from their descriptions, infact appears to have been one of the richest lands of the world. There are many a mention of this civilization flourishing in agriculture, navigation, trade, sciences, technology, medicine, wealth, arts, craft, literature, among others. These are found in the Vedic and Puranic texts that were written at least 5000 years ago and also in the Tamil Sangam texts equally old in origin. The writings of many foreign visitors to different parts of India over the last 1000 years also throw light on the richness of India and the high state of welfare in society. Destruction By Waves Of Plunder It is only with the continuous onslaught by the near west and later, with the colonization of India by Europeans, that the most prosperous country in the world came to be one of the poorest nations. Myth: India has always been poor 27

2 Resurrection In Full Swing Post independence in 1947, Indians became masters of their own destiny once again and started taking steps to put India on a path of resurgence. It is myths such as these which have been constraining it in advancing with full confidence in its resources and its abilities. 30% - Highest Share In World Gdp India has through the ages been one of the most prosperous countries of the world. Reality is, India had contributed to 30% of world GDP consistently for over 1700 years. India had been the giant of world economy for over 2000 years and it had enjoyed better living conditions than Europe until 1800s. Viewpoint Of Economic Historians A Stirring Remark In the 1970s and 1980s, a prominent economic historian by name Paul Bairoch, who specialized in global economic history, after studying 150 years of world economy, through his works, put forth the point of view that Europe and Americas became economic power houses only in the last 200 and 100 years respectively. Prior to that, the giant of the world economy was India for over 2000 years and that it had enjoyed better living conditions than Europe till 1800s. This stirred the hornet s nest in the economic forums of the developed world for, the popularly held belief was that Europe had been the economic power house all through history. There was disbelief among the members that India could have contributed substantially to the GDP of the world from the remote past to recent past. With the hope of proving Paul Bairoch wrong, in 1983, OECD, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, encouraged Angus Maddison, a British economist to research into this further. 28 Breaking The Myths - About Prosperity Myths About Our Prosperity

3 The Stunning Report About India Angus Maddison ingeniously traced the economic history of the world across 2000 years starting from 1CE. He focussed especially on the rich and the lagging regions of the world, the reasons for their richness and poverty respectively and influence of each on the other s economy. Prof.Angus Maddison, Author of The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective While there were some variations between the reports of Paul Bairoch and Angus Maddison, the data put forth by Angus Maddison, published by OECD, also showed India to have been the economic giant of the world for 2000 years. It stunned the world with century after century of data, revealing an interesting tale by themselves. Myth: India has always been poor 29

4 India figuring way above in region wise share of GDP, for 1000 years from 1CE 30 Breaking The Myths - About Prosperity Myths About Our Prosperity

5 India still way above in the list even 400 years ago Myth: India has always been poor 31

6 32 Breaking The Myths - About Prosperity Myths About Our Prosperity India ruling the Globe even 200 years ago

7 United Kingdom catching up and overtaking British India in late 1800s Myth: India has always been poor 33

8 34 Breaking The Myths - About Prosperity Myths About Our Prosperity India lagging behind in early 1900s and slowly climbing back in late 1900s

9 Leaving aside, history of the last 150 years, it could no longer be denied that for over 2000 years, India had indeed been the leading economy of the world and dominated the trade scene, with China coming second, between 1CE and 1700 CE. The data put forth by Angus Maddison can be summarized as shown. Graph of Indian Rank in comparison with Rank of Britain Myth: India has always been poor 35

10 Further Independent Affirmation These reports were further corroborated by the facts that 2000 years ago, with its surplus exports to Egypt and earnings in Gold as returns, India was making Roman Egypt bankrupt of its gold reserves Records of the Economic History of Greco-Roman World the Indian Merchant Navy, had possessed a fleet strength of 40,000 ships during Akbar s reign and 34,000 ships before the British took over India - the historical records of the Indian Merchant Navy between 1493 and 1930 India had absorbed 14 per cent of world gold production, meaning that it had earned that much export surplus for five centuries continuously - The Annual report of Bank of International Settlements [BIS]. India s Contribution to World GDP Across 2000 Years What came out of the research was actually a revelation to the economists of the world. The period of study was from the year 1 CE to 2000 CE. From the findings of this study, it became apparent that India had been consistently leading the world economy chart for 2000 years. Year (CE) Indian GDP As % World Rank of World GDP 1 CE 32.9% % % % % % % % % % 6 Indian GDP over the last 2 millennia 36 Breaking The Myths - About Prosperity Myths About Our Prosperity

11 Prof. David Clingingsmith and Prof. Jeffery G. Williamson Another research was carried out by Prof. David Clingingsmith and Prof. Jeffery G. Williamson of the Harvard University which was brought out in their work, India s De-industrialization in the 18th and 19th century. This speaks eloquently of the impact of 200 years of British colonial rule in India. Prof David Clingingsmith Prof. Jeffery. G.Williamson Their conclusion too was, India s share of World Trade Myth: India has always been poor 37

12 So, what were the goods in which India had traded which made 25% of world trade, theirs? The Big Five From India India had many produces to its credit which had made it an economic powerhouse. The 5 main products, manufactured and traded from India were Iron and Steel Zinc Cotton Indigo Sugar and Spice. The Big 5 trades of India 38 Breaking The Myths - About Prosperity Myths About Our Prosperity

13 Spices Spices from India were well known world over. For example, in Turkey even today, the word used for spices is Baharat, which is derived from Bharath, the ancient name of India. But spices were by far, the lightest items to be exported. Heavy exports The heavier products that India traded in were zinc, iron, steel and indigo which were being exported in such large quantities that, Indian ships which plied the seas with these goods, were the largest in the world then. Fine cloths The fine cloths of India were also very much in demand and were one of the prime exports of India to Europe. Indian cotton and Muslin were the most coveted variety of fine cloth in those days. Roman writer Pliny, in his book Naturalis Historie writes that, the ladies of Rome paraded themselves wearing many-folded muslin from India and that the muslin import was draining the economy of Rome. The quality of muslin was so fine that it was transparent. It needed multiple layers to drape the body to give a sense of decency. Cicerio, a Roman Orator from 1st century BCE while speaking in Roman Senate states that, 20 million Gold coins were being sent to India to bedeck the Roman ladies with Indian cloth. The Roman Government, taking this as an excuse, banned the import of muslin from India, on moral grounds. Diamonds Till about 300 years ago, India was the sole supplier of diamonds to the world. All the prized diamonds of the world have an Indian origin. Myth: India has always been poor 39

14 Wanting India s Share Of Trade The British did not come to India to colonize the land alone, but came because, 1/3 rd of world trade originated from India and everyone wanted a share of this trade. India was the most prosperous nation of the world just 3 centuries ago. Dadabhai Naoroji s Observation This fact has been well brought out by Dadabhai Naoroji, who was referred to as The Grand Old Man of India. Dadabhai Naoroji was reverentially referred to as the Grand Old Man of India and Father of Indian Nationalism, for he laid the foundation of the Indian freedom struggle. He was the President of the Indian National Congress. He also won an election in Britain and went on to become a member of the British parliament in the House of Commons. Dadabhai Naoroji 40 Breaking The Myths - About Prosperity Myths About Our Prosperity

15 Dadabhai Naoroji, one of founders of the Indian National Congress Seated in a light coloured dress in the centre of the 3rd row from bottom - A group photo of the Indian National Congress Myth: India has always been poor 41

16 The House of Commons then an illustration Dadabhai Naoroji, during his stay at London, did an extensive study for 50 years on the plunder of the British administration in India. He spoke about this in every forum in England including the House of Commons. He wrote articles in every major British paper on the plunder in India. He also wrote a series of essays on this. All his speeches, articles and essays have been collected together and have been brought out together, as a book titled, Poverty and The Un-British Rule in India. The Un-British Rule Of India Dadabhai Naoroji specifically calls it Poverty and Un-British Rule in India, because the British were known for being fair and proper in their behavior, courteous in approach, 42 Breaking The Myths - About Prosperity Myths About Our Prosperity

17 benevolent in nature, conservative in thought, polite in speech, humane in understanding others needs and such other noble attributes. The British had taken great pains to cultivate and maintain this image of themselves and of the very word British. In stark contrast, the British rule in India was draconian in nature, suppressive in style, avaricious in squeezing money out using hard taxation policies mindless in plundering the prosperity of the land and ruthless in destroying the local trade. Thus, when the British ruled India, their rule was very Un-British. That is why, Shri Dadabhai Naoroji thought it fit to give this name, The Un-British rule in India as the title for his book. Dadabhai Naoroji in this book, lectures and articles repeatedly stressed on four points. British Rule was the greatest curse with which India has been afflicted In a span of 350 years, India was brought down from the position of the richest country in the world, to the poorest nation in the world Continuous impoverishment and exhaustion of the country The drain of wealth from India was the principal and basic cause of poverty of the people Myth: India has always been poor 43

18 Slide Towards Poverty In the last few decades, there have been quite a few historians, who have researched on the trend of the shift in economic power among the nations over the last few centuries. Each one of them in their research, have all said one thing. That, India was the Economic Powerhouse of the world, till the early part of 1700s, much like what the USA is today. It is only after Britain took over India as a colony of the British Empire, that, the trade powerhouse called India, plummeted from its first position to an abysmal 15 th position and below. Chart showing decline of Indian prosperity vis a vis ascent of English economy The above chart shows that India became a country riddled in poverty only in the last 200 years of its 7000 years of dateable civilization history, when its share of world trade came down due to the British policies. 44 Breaking The Myths - About Prosperity Myths About Our Prosperity

19 Poverty Stereotyped Unfortunately, over the last 100 years, various articles, reports and books about India have repeatedly described India as having always been a poor country. The images of India that have been flashed across the world also showcased poverty. Poverty in India Myth: India has always been poor 45

20 This has given a common perception to people at large, the world over, that India has always been a poor country, which is why, India was categorized as an underdeveloped and later as a developing country. Fortunately, the image of India is now moving away from this stereotype. Prosperity Returning, Albeit Slowly The prosperity is returning, albeit slowly. It is percolating down to the villages, but slower than expected, due to 1. Centralized planning 2. Syphoning off, of the development moneys due from the government to villages 3. The plunder of India by Indians themselves in the last few decades. Never Poor, Ever Green Prosperity It comes out very clear that India has not been a poor nation always. It became impoverished only under the British rule of India. Prior to that, it was a rich civilization as described in the over 2000 year old Sangam literature of the Tamils. The treasure of India is described using terms such as Shanka Nidhi and Padma Nidhi. The term Nidhi in Samskrt denotes wealth, fund. 46 Breaking The Myths - About Prosperity Myths About Our Prosperity

21 Shanka is the word for the number and Padma for 10 12, in mathematics. Shanka Nidhi and Padma Nidhi are terms that denote measures of wealth and their association with Goddess Lakshmi, the divinity for material prosperity corroborates this. Shanka Nidhi and Padma Nidhi find place at doorways of Lakshmi shrines, as 2 of the 8 Ashtadikpala, i.e. 8 direction guarding divinities for Goddess Lakshmi. Shankha Nidhi Padma Nidhi Source Entrance to the shrine of Goddess Perundevi, a form of Lakshmi, in Varadaraja Swamy Temple, Kanchipuram Varadaraja Swamy temple foreground, Kanchipuram, a more than 1000 year old temple. Myth: India has always been poor 47

22 What more a proof do we want of the ancient Indian ethos of being rich, celebrating riches and also revering the Divinity for wealth, to pray for making enough wealth in the right way, to spend it on the right things such as the well-being and upliftment of the entire civilization. 48 Breaking The Myths - About Prosperity Myths About Our Prosperity