Economies around the world are going through a major transition. In some, this has been slow and incremental, evolving over decades; a few are seeing revolutionary change. As Lenin said, “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” In India, not just decades, but for two centuries before Independence, nothing happened: the economy was stagnant, even regressing now and again. The British made sure that commodity exports were under-priced and, with the Industrial Revolution bypassing us, all manufactured goods were imported. Agriculture, the primary occupation of an overwhelming majority, was at subsistence. . .
