India Unbound: The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age by Gurcharan Das

Feb 10, 2008 Sunil rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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I have memories of Naipaulesque India: people claiming cultural and spiritual superiority over the rest of the world while the country was consumed by poverty, the so called Indian socialists making a life and political career out of refuting everything in the world, leftist professors poisoning the minds of vulnerable uni students that they can remove the stupidity of the human nature by chanting slogans, all such nonsense only ended up in making India borrow food and pawn its gold.
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Nov 10, 2012 Akhil Parekh rated it 4 of 5 stars

India Unbound is an excellent book for someone who wants to know about India's economic and social transformation in past 200 years. Gurucharan Das writes a story in a very mind griping way. Book communicates India's continuing rise from poverty to prosperity and the clash of visions that different leaders offered post Independence era. The book is neatly divided into three different sections, primarily into India under leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and P.V. Narismha Rao.

First tw

...more India Unbound is an excellent book for someone who wants to know about India's economic and social transformation in past 200 years. Gurucharan Das writes a story in a very mind griping way. Book communicates India's continuing rise from poverty to prosperity and the clash of visions that different leaders offered post Independence era. The book is neatly divided into three different sections, primarily into India under leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and P.V. Narismha Rao.

First two sections of the book describes how idealistic thinking of Nehru and Indira Gandhi led the country to poverty and socialist way of thinking. The hopes and desires that arose right after the independence were soon eroded when Nehru ignored the economic reforms and followed the path of USSR. Das salutes Nehru for the democracy that he gave to India, but it came at the much larger cost of inefficient and bureaucratic governance that sucked the economic lifeblood of the nation. Indira Gandhi, greatly influenced by her father's way of thinking almost led the country to the brink. During her leadership India was still grappling with a divide created by the castes which further hindered the path to the economic success. She tried to kill the competition through license raj, which further aggravated nation's problems.

In the last section, Das describes the wave of reforms that ushered India and brought new hopes and aspirations to millions of people. He rightly gives credit Mr.Rao and Singh for the vision they provided to India, but feels saddened that for some reasons these reforms slowed down after few years from 1991. However Das feels upbeat about the new upcoming information age that was born as a result of economic reforms and feels hopeful that information age would change the face of India in the 21st century.

In my honest opinion, this book is beautifully crafted and must read for anyone who feels connected to India. Gurucharan Das made this book extremely interesting and informative by powerful usage of anecdotes and statistics. Verdict : Must Read !

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Jul 28, 2012 Vibina Venugopal rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is a precise thoughts of Gurcharan Das former CEO of P&G, Hope, a business consultant,venture capitalist about India's economy and state of affairs..
He points out that India’s economy has been on the passive front until the information technology plunged India to forefront…Companies like Infosys and schools like NIT have a big hand in shaping up this image of better India thus adding to 9.2% growth every year.. Now it seems as though India has a promising potential to become of the...more This book is a precise thoughts of Gurcharan Das former CEO of P&G, Hope, a business consultant,venture capitalist about India's economy and state of affairs..
He points out that India’s economy has been on the passive front until the information technology plunged India to forefront…Companies like Infosys and schools like NIT have a big hand in shaping up this image of better India thus adding to 9.2% growth every year.. Now it seems as though India has a promising potential to become of the major economic power…Its sad that it took more than fifty years after Independence for the country to see the dawn of economic progress..Worse India never saw the Industrial Revolution neither the “Asian miracle that swept countries like Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan..When compared to those countries India’s state cuts a sorry figure..

He feels that government is actually hampering the growth of the country in the name of bringing about development and new policies that never see the light of execution…He has given a personal account in chapter one where his grandfather feels, had India been under British raj there would have been more progress to the country ..But I still doubt that though..

India’s politician battled against poverty that instead of rubbing away poverty from the face of India i ended up adding more to the statistics by poor policies and legislature stand…Its adverse effect is still born by all citizens even today..He says that Indian are skeptic about the reforms on a global front for the basis irregular cultural views and in turn has resulted in depleted state of affairs in the rural part of the country which forms the larger junk of India..In spite of all the technological progress brininging about $388 billion in 1996 as compared to $912 billion in 2006 bringing about larger fiscal benefits the literacy rate is still 61% as per 2006 reports is still a major concern ..The social status is not evenly distributed resulting in a disarrayed social hiatus ..Though British invested upon good railway system and laying the base for democracy, things haven’t much changed till now..

Economic reforms didn’t come until 1990’s but unfortunately they came from not that good reformers hence failed to be appreciated by the public. International monetary fund forced India to bring about changes that is explained well in the book.. Das says that India's future is all about knowledge this will help India y to move ahead many folds…He says as Information technology and the private companies is not bound by politics is the reason why that’s making the progress that we see today..He gives practical and logical strategies for the development..He highlights the importance to build on one’s strength rather focusing upon correcting the weakness, watch the market and there by strategise rather than moving as per one’s will, Its better go for a focused way rather diversing with many goals, one should compare with international standard rather fighting with local competition..he gives his views through every aspect with diligence and conviction..Das backs P.V Narasimha Rao's policy to open up Indian market for foreign investment and trade...By the end of world war I predictably India had everything to move forward with Industrial revelution unfortunately that never happened, he reasons out that Agriculture and the industry never went hand in hand which let out the other..Inspite of the green revelution without the back up from industry failed misery in the path of development...

Even now because of poor policies its difficult for the country progress inspite of high investments.By denying foreign investments India has deprived itself from the benefits cutting edge technolgy and world class competition..Indian generations were betrayed by its rulers by advocation of wrong methods of development thereby ruining its future prospects.. Education ia another aspect that India didn't pay attention ,especially to girls ...

India went wrong Firstly by advocating wrong design for brininging about development with nothing really been done for development , next in the name upliftment of the poor couldn't work much on the contrary they were left as such..While even China did a better job inspite all the civil problems in improving the standard of living...I was wondering when the leaders knew that nothing much was happening for the country's progress why did none dared to put an end to those strategy and planning and thinking about something new..By reading all these I was wondering okay now what to be done, that's when Das optimistically points out that India has realised that economic progress is the only way to bring change in the face of the country to go ahead in facets of the generation...Now the country has realised that its all about the revolutionary ideas that will help the country to think out of the box rather following the outdated policies, Many private entepreneurs are on the move slowly but steadily building up India in a good way...According to him the Liberal revolution , opening up to new foreign trade and investment and boom in Information technology is the key that should be put in level for the country to go ahead ..India has failed bigtime in building up the human quotient in terms of harnessing their abilities which would bring about the needed outcome..He says its high time that India stops battling between the conservative Nehruvian socialist caste ridden views and new global capitalism..I do not think that an overnight change that he has described is feasible but like his optimism for a change is definitely on the card...

He has written the book in an autobiographical style, reflecting upon the policies of the government like a common man might feel when he reads about the policy by the leaders..Sometimes thinking about its implications and future..In that aspect the book is been able to built the intimacy with the reader..Even for a person with less knowlede in economy and politics nothing seemed jargon..
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Jun 16, 2012 Saurabh Sharma rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A brilliantly written book that gives you more than just a snapshot of the Indian economy. The book by former director of Procter and Gamble takes you on a journey that brings you up close with factors and circumstances that have shaped the India we know today. The book looks at the various socio-economic and cultural conditions that have had a bearing on India and its economy, providing a number of snippets and anecdotes that help the reader in understanding the largest democracy of the world....more

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Jun 07, 2010 Aniketvishwarupe added it · review of another edition

India Unbound is the name of the book I read last semester. It is written by a person who was president of a multinational company P & G in the 1980s when India was in socialist era. Frustration of working in the era when Government did everything to stop private firms from working is visible. Gurucharan Das author of this book is very intelligent man. He has Philosophy degree from Harvard and has immense knowledge of economic and foreign policies of India since independence.
He has exactly d...more India Unbound is the name of the book I read last semester. It is written by a person who was president of a multinational company P & G in the 1980s when India was in socialist era. Frustration of working in the era when Government did everything to stop private firms from working is visible. Gurucharan Das author of this book is very intelligent man. He has Philosophy degree from Harvard and has immense knowledge of economic and foreign policies of India since independence.
He has exactly depicted what was the difference between working now and in his time. What difference globalization has made? Is it good or bad for India. Where did the economic policies of India went wrong? He says Pandit Nehru was not wrong when he went for socialism instead of free market economy but he says Indira Gandhi must have known better. She should have realized that socialism is not doing any good so economic policies has to be changed. But she did not she instead went ahead with more rigorous restrains. Rajiv Gandhi did try to liberalize but he could not do it and finally the job was done by Narsingh Rao and his FM Manmohan Singh. But he says that they did it out of compulsion and not because they had vision. It is very interesting point. According to him liberalization stopped after 1994 by then India had come out of economic calamity. India did survive and India owes it to Mr Rao and Mr Singh. But he asks difficult question. Dr Manmohan Singh was the Chairman of Reserve Bank in 1985, he knew policies were wrong but still he did not do anything. He asks why an man who now known as man who liberalized India did not do anything when he was in the position to do it. India has produced world class economists and brightest minds but non of them saw what was happening to this country. None of them raised voice. Our UPSC is very difficult exam and the brains who pass them are brightest in the country but none of them saw what was happening. None of them saw our Public Enterprises were not making profit but were a unnecessary load to the Government. Instead of creating jobs it in reality decreased the job opportunities. They were inefficient and marred by corruption and labour politics. Instead stopping these things our bright administrators continued the policy with their heart. Indira Gandhi started programme of Garibi Hatao but it was Amiri hatao. Birla family helped Gandhi and Nehru financially in the independence movement but late they were prosecuted in the parliment because it was perceived as profit making and labour exploiting corporation. So Aditya Birla expanded his business but not in India. He became legendary businessman but could not contribute to the Indian industry lot because he was not allowed to do so. Bajaj scooter had the waiting line of more than two years which means after you book the scooter you will get the scooter after two years. That was insane but Bajaj did not have license to produce more scooters even though it could and even though there was demand. Author asks right question, why does government gets to decide what people should buy and peole should not unless and untill it is harmful to himself.
In his book he also explained the psychology of the Indians. He gives example of war between Puru and Alexander. Puru only lost that war because of bad management, miscommunication and distrust of his infantry. According to author this pure Indian mentality to not trust somebody below you and mis communication. He also explains very interesting economy of India since 19th century. I particularly liked his assessment of the two leading political parties in India Congress and BJP. Congress has sycophantic culture while BJP has good organization its extremist views is a problem. He also mentions experience of his studies in US which is also quite interesting. Overall the book is very readable and Interesting and I will suggest this book to anyone who wants to know about liberalization in simple words of successful manager in the Socialist India.(less)

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Aug 19, 2009 Iamthird rated it 3 of 5 stars

"They say that the measure of a civilization is how it treats its women. Since coming to Delhi I have met many women who long for Bombay. My wife explains that Bombay gives women dignity. If Bombay respects women, Delhi looks on them as sex objects. In Bombay, she can take a taxi at midnight; in Delhi a girl cannot walk freely on the street in the evening. It seems that it takes more than education to bring civilization." (pg 231) "It took Ramesh Chauhan decades of sweat, toil, and brand buildin...more "They say that the measure of a civilization is how it treats its women. Since coming to Delhi I have met many women who long for Bombay. My wife explains that Bombay gives women dignity. If Bombay respects women, Delhi looks on them as sex objects. In Bombay, she can take a taxi at midnight; in Delhi a girl cannot walk freely on the street in the evening. It seems that it takes more than education to bring civilization." (pg 231) "It took Ramesh Chauhan decades of sweat, toil, and brand building in a protected market to make a success of Thums Up. In between he got distracted and wasted his energy to keep Pepsi out of India. But he failed to do so. Had he focused his considerable skills on building his business, Thums Up would have been an even stronger brand, and Coke would have paid him an even higher price." (254) "Literature is about passion. But so is a business. How else does one explain the insane behavior of otherwise sensible Indians who have pulled out all their hard-earned savings after the reforms to start a business and chase a dream?...Thus, an entrepreneur has to be a gambler or a lunatic with an impaired judgement about life. Some call this courage, others stupidity. It is a passion at the root which inspires it. (260)" "The reality is that family firms still dominate business life around the globe...The success of the Italian, French, and Chinese small business enterprises suggests that being a family firm per se is not necessarily a disadvantage. However, a successful family firm must be able to professionalize.."(266)" THe United States is the oldest modern nation, and India is one of the oldest civilizations. The US got democracy in 1776 but did not embrace full-blooded capitalism until the early nineteenth century with the industrial revolution. India gave itself democracy in 1950, but capitalism only came in 1991 with the reforms. For the rest of the world it has been the other way around. This historic inversion has made all the difference, and it goes a long way towards explaining these two noisy democracies.(313)" (less)

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Jan 08, 2013 Palash Bansal rated it 3 of 5 stars

A well written book from the perspective of a businessman. The book basically revolves around the travel experiences of Gurcharan Das encompassing his excellent observational and analytical skills.
The basic drawback of this book is that the hypothesis and conclusion drawn by the author is completely one sided. Its a story of what he experienced by talking to his co-workers, partners, rivals, analysts and other people from the corporate world. True that India is shining, there is a great growth...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Mayank added it

Amazing analysis of India's economic journey from Independence till 1998 by Ex-CEO of P&G.Gurcharan Das explains what Social and Economic policies retarded it's growth for prolonged period & what helped India to become a thriving economy. It traces how Indian Leadership, right from Nehru to P.V Narsimha Rao,impacted India's development as free nation.

It proves with fact & figures how most powerful & remembered Leaders took Country to tipping point, and how unsung Leaders like Lal...more

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Apr 03, 2012 Akshay Ahuja rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book covers economic history of India and the major social and political impacts that the economic policies had on the Indians. The book starts with the state of affairs of Indian society just before Independence and highlights the importance of British rule. The author, Mr. Das stresses how Britishers helped Indians set up a comptent railway network and an effective bureaucracy.
Mr. Das notes early on that India had two economic paths to take after independence - on of Gandhian self suffici...more

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Jun 25, 2009 Rajkumar Singh is currently reading it

This book covers some important aspects of social / economical policies / decisions of lawmakers of independent India. It gives us a deep understanding of the reasons of the failure of economic polices of first 40 years and then relative success in 90s. However, I feel author has unfairly criticized Pundit Nehru.
We may not have achieved what we should have, but we are far better placed to go forward if we consider the legacy we got at the time of Independence. Also I do not believe in giving fu...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Somya rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book provides a review of economic policies followed by India after Independence.India became independent in 1947 and the powers that be adopted Socialism as the economic vehicle. Uh Oh.

Now everyone likes to blame Nehru (its fashionable to look back and think retroactively) and he did take the wrong path. But the author also provides an insight into what drove socialists back then. He also does a good job of providing a background on Nehru and his policies.

After Nehru came Lal Bahadur Shas...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Vishal Kataria rated it 5 of 5 stars

Arguably the BEST book depicting the India story!

The author, Gurcharan Das, analyzes India since the days of Alexander and brings us to speed with the current scenario. Historic, economic, political, social and cultural aspects are looked into to give us an in depth idea as to how India has developed through the ages. The New York Times sums it up best as "Something tremendous is happening in India, and Das, with his keen eye and often elegant prose, has his finger firmly on the pulse of the tra...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Neeraj Pandey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very few people are close on Intellect as is Gurcharan Das.
The 5 page description of Alexander-Porus battle shows the historical analysis he has has undertaken incorporating the vast such references.
The book is a commendable effort.

Now that the praise has been done, lets talk about the Contents.
The book renders an effect upon the reader that India was rich, it became poor and that it is once again becoming rich. That the most disappointing Nation of the 20Th Century has show resilience in the...more

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Sep 09, 2012 Vartika rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hey

If anybody wants to know INDIA story from pre independence to 2007 , this is one of the good books. This book covers various aspects such as political , economical , social etc. What happened during Licence Raj? How did entrepreneurs survived that period? Who were the survivors and who were the people who made a difference? Where we stand today and what are the various initiatives which can help the country? Read the book to know answers:) I dint give it 5 rating because I think it was an ind...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Richa Jha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, I know India a lot better after the read. I am not sure if Gurucharan Das is biased or has ignored other aspects of India as mentioned in other reviews. For an amateur like me still figuring out India's history and it's stand in the world, I think it was an excellent read.

Going with the title, Das has demonstrated how India after the post Independence has always had a potential to be unbound by obstacles. Even through the struggles of License Raj, the Birlas, the Tatas and the Ambanis bro...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Nilay Sundarkar rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

India unbound is India’s success story. The book was written in 2002 and it reflects the optimism and the exuberance that India’s economy experienced in the last decade. If you read it today you will consider the author’s optimism about India’s bright future a bit exaggerated. But considering that the book was written almost a decade ago, one can understand what the author tried to depict. But dont put down this book considering it an outdated text. This book is a priceless summary of India’s ec...more India unbound is India’s success story. The book was written in 2002 and it reflects the optimism and the exuberance that India’s economy experienced in the last decade. If you read it today you will consider the author’s optimism about India’s bright future a bit exaggerated. But considering that the book was written almost a decade ago, one can understand what the author tried to depict. But dont put down this book considering it an outdated text. This book is a priceless summary of India’s economic journey after independence. It comments on the reasons why India struggled economically whereas the other asian nations (which were in a similar state as that of India’s economically) prospered.

The author fondly talks about his memories of the pre independence era and how he idolized a hero in Nehru. His disappointment with Nehru’s Socialistic way of ruling the country are also evident. He comments on the harms done by Indira Gandhi’s government to India’s trade. But his way of criticizing Nehru and Indira Gandhi aren’t without justified reason. He explains his way of thinking and the reason why he thinks that first the 40 years of the post independence did not have too much for India to grow economically.

The book gives accounts of how the license raj that was prevalent in India prior to 1991 shot down the entrepreneurial spirit of the Indians and how some Indians (and some Indian communities) succeeded in-spite of such economic adversities. He credits Narasimha Rao government for reforming India economically but also mentions that it was not a conscious decision that the government had taken. It was a decision that was forced out of despondency caused by the financial crisis the nation was facing.

In the later part of the book, he praises the IT/call center boom of the country and depicts a golden future for India. He entails the reasons as to why the information age would beat the license raj and the corruption that is so rampant in Indian society.

The book is a must read for any Indian entrepreneur. Knowing our country’s economic history is always a food for thought.

Read if -

1. You are not a socialist.

2. You want to read India’s economic history after independence.(less)

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Apr 03, 2013 Nipun rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Though i had read a few books on economics but this is the only one which dealt with indian economy in a story-like manner.

It is written very very well specially considering that it deals with an obtuse fact like India's industrial policy. It uses instances from the life of writer (who started as an intern in a company and went on to become a CMD and then a consultant and writer)

His idea is that India has suffered heavily due to wrong decisions of its leaders. It is highly critical of India's po...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Michael Connolly rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Because Jawaharlal Nehru was a Brahmin, he looked down on businessmen. Nehru believed that government planning was less wasteful than private competition. Jawarlahal Nehru spent some time in England, where he was trained by the Fabian socialists. Nehru brought socialism back to India. The Indian socialists looked to the Soviet Union as their role model. In 1944 the main capitalists of India produced the Bombay Plan, which called for an excessive degree of government regulation of private busines...more Because Jawaharlal Nehru was a Brahmin, he looked down on businessmen. Nehru believed that government planning was less wasteful than private competition. Jawarlahal Nehru spent some time in England, where he was trained by the Fabian socialists. Nehru brought socialism back to India. The Indian socialists looked to the Soviet Union as their role model. In 1944 the main capitalists of India produced the Bombay Plan, which called for an excessive degree of government regulation of private businesses.
Another Brahmin, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, was a technocrat who helped write India's Second Five Year Plan in the 1950s. The plan promoted investment in the public sector and in heavy indistry, particularly steel. The Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956 nationalized many heavy industries.
In 1969 Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, nationalized India's fourteen largest banks. Political connections, rather than credit worthiness became the main criterion for obtaining a loan. The unions gained too much control over the running of the b ank branches and customer service suffered. In 1969 Indira Gandhi enacted the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act. Any business that was too large was declared a monopoly and was forbidden from expanding its business. Tata was repeatedly stopped from beginning new ventures. Aditya Birla avoided the restrictions by starting companies abroad: Thailand, Malaysia Indonesia and the Philippines. C.R. Rajagopalachari of the Swatantra Party gave the name License Raj to Nehru's socialism. Finally, around 1990, the License Raj was abolished, and Indians became free to create businesses, without becoming mired in red tape. The Indian economy exploded.
During the 1950s and 1960s India experienced many food shortages, and often had to rely on imported wheat from the United States. India became able to feed itself after Norman Borlaug's Green Revolution, which introduced better breeds of wheat. The author makes an interesting comparison of Bombay and Delhi. Delhi is intellectual and Bombay is commercial. A woman alone on the streets at night is safer in Bombay than in Delhi. (less)

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Apr 06, 2012 Rama Sudha added it

I couldn't have timed finishing this book better than now, with the ongoing tussle on the matter of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in Retail, for economic policy forms a substantial part of Gurcharan Das' 'Unbounding' of India. Even as I write this, the matter is "suspended" or at least put "on hold" by the government and situations similar to this form more or less the plot of the book unleashing the economic reality of the post-independent India. Without ever sounding pedagogical, the book ec...more I couldn't have timed finishing this book better than now, with the ongoing tussle on the matter of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in Retail, for economic policy forms a substantial part of Gurcharan Das' 'Unbounding' of India. Even as I write this, the matter is "suspended" or at least put "on hold" by the government and situations similar to this form more or less the plot of the book unleashing the economic reality of the post-independent India. Without ever sounding pedagogical, the book echos the anguish and reasoning of the many growth oriented Indians.
Unlike this note, Gurcharan Das, the author, follows chronologically, the story of India since her democratic birth through the stages of economic incubation, stagnation and turtle movement each representing the eras of socialism, license raj and pre-liberalization respectively. The mood of the book shifts from 'hopeless' to 'hopeful' as it reaches it's destination, the post-liberalization phase, consuming over three decades of history and a third of the book just to describe the struggle undergone by the business power houses including the likes of the tatas, the birlas & the new entrants, the Ambanies and Subhash Chandra - with everything right from entrepreneurs to raw materials being sparse commodities back then - in attaining licenses, setting up industries, expanding them and so on, while opening the harsh realities of a closed economy. However, the number of success stories & growth, multiplies just under a decade of liberalization, accelerating the pace of narration. In fact, the last section reminds one of Thomas Freidman's 'World is Flat' despite it being differently themed and published much later, as for once, India appears to be on the global road map running alongside the rest of the world in terms of economic growth.
As one would agree, India represents the extreme ends of a spectrum, whether it's the urban-rural divide or that of the haves & have nots, educated & illiterate, upper vs lower castes. Gurcharan Das resonates both voices mainly of the rural-urban with authority due to his urban upbringing and exposure to the hinterland early in his career. Das, maintains an easy to understand tone throughout and shares anecdotes being a theory-Y manager himself. It therefore sounds as much a story of the author as it is of his motherland, brilliantly syncing his personal experiences and the historical milestones of the nation.
Given his academic and professional background, I am not amused by the language of economics, business and common sense that he speaks but it is his ability to string together several pieces of political, economic and industrial developments or sometimes even absence of the latter and in connecting them with India's unique cultural, social and philosophical background that appeals to me the most. For instance, he hypothesizes on why Indians in general and those belonging to the higher castes in particular are good in IT, pointing out that because of their philosophical roots are known to understand and internalize abstract concepts. Also, the upper castes had better access to education and were the first to grab opportunities in education. This he argues, also explains why there were no significant achievements in product development, since the upper castes were never into doing or creating anything on their own and that they were always used to getting things done.
While the theme of the book could have easily made it sound quite factual it's his analysis and style of narration that guarantee a steady flow of ideas, some of them borrowed from elite researchers. The book therefore also doubles up as a tablet sort of compilation of research findings of several sociologists on India.
Maneuvering with the language just as the industrialists did during the license raj, the author neatly packages the book in line with what is deemed to be politically correct also ignoring for a large part the irregularities committed by the business classes as if such cases never formed a scope of this book.
In conclusion, as Das declares, it's individuals that create history without ever realizing and he himself creates some by writing this book and making it a single point of reference on India's business environment after her independence.
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Oct 10, 2011 Amarnath rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Reluctantly, I ordered 'India Unbound' by Gurcharan Das in first week of September. I have never read any books related to economics or any of his books. But once I started to read the book, I was so impressed by the way Das explained the economics of India in rather simple words.

Gurcharan Das has been able to convey the minute details of the License Raj just after India attained independence under Jawarharlal Nehru and how Nehru intended the welfare of the people of the co...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Deane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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An absolutely joy to read and a must-read for anyone trying to understand Contemporary India. I was actually sad this book ended.

Here's my review from my blog. June 2007 [SPOILER ALERT]
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I finished reading the book a few weeks ago, and I’m officially declaring it as one of my favorites. I’m sure many great men and women have reviewed this book much more objectively and eloquently than I could ever hope for. So this is not going to be your traditional review, in fact I’m not quite sure what this...more An absolutely joy to read and a must-read for anyone trying to understand Contemporary India. I was actually sad this book ended.

Here's my review from my blog. June 2007 [SPOILER ALERT]
---

I finished reading the book a few weeks ago, and I’m officially declaring it as one of my favorites. I’m sure many great men and women have reviewed this book much more objectively and eloquently than I could ever hope for. So this is not going to be your traditional review, in fact I’m not quite sure what this is; just that I thought the book at the very least deserved a blog post.

Apart from my own, there are two nations that have always captured my imagination - one is the United States and the other is India. The latter perhaps more than the former, possibly because of my closer interaction with it – travel, friends and of course NDTV. This book relates the story of India, from its independence to its time under the ‘mixed economy’ and finally to economic liberalization and beyond.

Gurcharan Das, the author of India Unbound is a former CEO of P&G India and a Harvard educated scholar who grew up almost with post-independent India. The book is part memoir, part economic analysis and part political history all compiled into an engaging as well an insightful book about India. The thesis of the book can be summarized as follows:

After India won its independence from the British, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru started building a nation based on secularism, democracy and socialism. Nehru being infatuated by the then Soviet Union introduced the ‘third way’ supposed to combine the best of socialism and capitalism, but ended up combining the worst features of both. In combining democracy with socialism the Indian state quickly degenerated into a license-raj and a massive bureaucracy which lead to corruption and suppression of millions of aspiring entrepreneurs.

Few, like Dhirubhai Ambani’s managed to beat the system, and use it to their advantage. But for every success, there were thousands who failed. After years of struggle, and faced with a financial crisis and a change of government, India opened up its economy in 1991. Unshackling itself from the self-imposed chains and controls and ever since has put itself towards a path of rapid economic growth especially helped by the global information age.

It’s a wonderful story of how reforms can bring about such profound changes, and the lunacies of command and control economics. He takes a very personal approach citing examples he himself has experienced, conversations he had, and the situations he had to face as a manager and a businessman. The book often diverts its attention to societal analysis, governance and sometimes even management advice, but somehow all of it manages to fit well with the overall narrative.

It’s an optimistic take on India. Some have criticized the book for this feature and how it doesn’t present a ‘balanced view’ of India. But as Das himself has said, it’s not supposed to be a scholarly work; it’s a book, the story of India seen by one Gurcharan Das. Some of his optimism, particularly with regard to the IT-based services has not materialized but by and large, the thesis of the book remains strong especially against the backdrop of India’s current progress.

I wish some of the Sri Lankan policy makers and even some Sri Lankan newspaper editors take a look at the book. India Unbound: from Independence to the Global Information Age – A must read!
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Jul 06, 2011 Geetika rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-101-best-book-list

"India will never be a tiger.It is an elephant that has begun to lumber and move ahead. It will never have speed, but it will always stamina"

Well !!!!!
I started my review with the quote by Gurchuran Das.
In my school days, i learnt about how my country is great in relation to its glorious and amazing history and how rigoursly we are maintaining this tradition by trying to attain a truly democratic and soverign society.

For a nation to be great, there requires its development on all three fronts...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Vipin Pasham rated it 4 of 5 stars

A well written book about the social and economic conditions in India in the 20th century. The author describes how and why India took to a mixed economy with major industries in the hands of the government and struggled to develop. He talks about how various factors stalled the growth and led to a multitude of problems in the country and how the economic reforms in the 90s helped the country grow economically. Maybe a bit too biased towards the capitalistic world but the author defends his posi...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Sam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Okay, not being much of an intellectual, I had many qualms when I picked this one up. Generally not very into non-fiction, I could not believe the pace and rich narration. Chronicling post-independence India to its journey today in vibrant tones interspersed with quotes and tidbits of that generation is a very beautiful read. Kudos to the author.

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Jun 28, 2012 Faraz Siddiqui rated it 4 of 5 stars

Brilliant insight into the post Independent Era of emerging India. Das is surely a public intellectual when it comes to explore and link various happenings as to Society, economics and political affairs that have shaped India. A must read for all to get genuine grip on Factors that have propelled Growth amidst The existing bifurcation of haves and have-nots.!

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Mar 03, 2013 Arpan Chatterjee rated it 4 of 5 stars

The evolution of Indian business community juxtaposed with history of Indian independence & India's formative years. The book unravels the "Regressive" mindsets of the Indian Polity & erstwhile British bureaucracy that tried it's level best to pin down Indian entrepreneurial spirit but never succeeded to do so. In short, a must read !

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Oct 30, 2011 Vijayendra Mohanty rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A great overview of India's economic history since independence, through the economic reforms of 1991, right to the initial years of the new millennium. Gurcharan Das takes a balanced look at India's chances of becoming a solid new global presence by evaluating the state of affairs through social and political conditions that pretty much uniquely Indian right now.

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Jan 10, 2013 Mayank Jain rated it 3 of 5 stars

Read this before my MBA i guess... really liked the author for frank commentary on some of the holy cows in India like Nehru.. but sadly teh author has started towing the line of congress lately in his HT articles.. this book is outstanding if you want to understand the india under license raj

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Dec 13, 2009 Usha rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is an interesting summary of the events from the time of India's independence upto early 2000. There is a sprinkling of anecdotes that relate to the problems of the past and the course of the country through various stages of development. Very well encapsulated in simple words.

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Sep 20, 2011 Ashutosh Mishra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Gurcharan Das is Harward educated and former CEO of P&G India. This gets perfectly reflected in the book and sometimes, I feel that he hasn’t done justice with other ideas. But as Das himself said that this book is about his personal encounters with Indian economic system.
A lot of things have happened since this book was first published in 2000. So some ideas may feel old. Nevertheless, it is a must-read for everyone who is even slightly interested in the story of Indian economic progress. I...more

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