Darth Vader
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Indian Democracy explained in 30 seconds:
Is India a big market a big lie?
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Bharat certainly did. That is the correct term. India is the name the British gave us. If Bharat existed then so did India or Hindustan (another foreign name)
This notion that India did not exist and it was the Brits that created it is bunk.
The intent was to provide a benchmark which adds perspective. Won't Indians look at themselves differently if they realised that economically we were always at the top?
India was always a big market then, isn't it? So the topic title in reality is redundant and been so for over a millenia.
Why isn't it correct? the economy has grown since 2014 and weathered the pandemic and Ukraine conflict.
During this time it has also successfully fended off both adversaries. That requires confidence which was lacking in the previous govt. Acquiring that confidence requires working towards a goal which was on the back burner for much of the UPA's tenure. Confidence here just means the ability to handle escalation. And all that means is having enough ammo for artillery at a minimum to sustain a conflict over several weeks or months if need be.
We did nothing after 26/11 because we could not handle escalation with Pakistan of all countries. How pathetic. The 90s saw defence go for a toss thanks to the Bofors scandal. But changes were imperative during the UPA tenure which never came because of the fear of further scandals. The consensus on the board after 26/11 was a conflict would affect FDI. That is why no kinetic operations followed.
That is not the correct answer. At the time we could not talk about the correct answer in public for obvious reasons but the Paks deduced it and exploited it to the hilt. The answer is not a question of will or guts but simply ability. We lacked the ability. Soft state. Today we have enough ammo for all guns to last a month, or three months for 1/3 guns or six months for 1/6 guns. Therefore I do not see any possibility of major conflict on the horizon. Skirmishes here and there are possible but nothing more. This is just as well as we need at least two decades of peace with close to double-digit growth to regain our rightful place in this world.
Foreign occupation is never a good thing. How many universities did the Mughals build during their rule? None. They destroyed many. This country had 14 by the time of the Mughal invasion. Khilji burned Nalanda down.
The British idea of education under Macaulay was to create an industrial scale supply of workers that would serve the empire which endures to this day. After independence, everything we've learnt in school comes from the monopoly of the left on the education sector particularly from the 70s onwards. Almost ten years into the Modi govt still not much has changed.
Very different to the way the ancients taught in this country. The guru shisha way. I was told this still continues in places like Shantiniketan.
This country's strength through the ages has been its ideas. And that can only come with the best teaching available which we had. This country had the best teachers in the world. That is where this Vishwaguru narrative comes from. Why else does Buddhism spread all over Asia to the extent? It did for the same reason Western culture is so prevalent today. The economy here was strong as were the ideas and people abroad could not get enough of it.
Unfortunately, that started to wilt over the centuries. We lost the ability to generate those ideas and went on auto pilot by which time cracks appeared and were exploited by the invaders.
@lockhrt999
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I have been following Bajaj for a long time. If it wasn't for its strong exports, it would have gone tits up. All products it launched in the last few years have failed in the domestic market. CEO lacks vision.
Let me give you a very clear-cut, pertinent but simple example of what I mean by 'having a big domestic market = can't develop world-class stuff'.
India vs Vietnam
Vietnam:
- It's a smaller market compared to India. It's a first-world country (don't believe those stereotypes) where everyones' grandma and their dogs drive Toyota Fortuner and Ford F150. Fortuner is their version of our omnipresent Alto. It's a capitalist+socialist country under a communist facade. It's very open to trade and you'll see most of the global car brands competing intensely there because they are given equal treatment.
- Now, in such a saturated market, there rose a domestic car brand called VinFast. It's not even a decade old. Its EV, called VF8 was launched in the American market. It has received all horrid reviews. It reminds me of South Korean brands in the 2000s. Vinfast is currently where Hyundai was 15 years ago or what Honda was 35 years ago. But on the positive side, it's their first road-legal car in Western countries.
- Why did Vinfast or Hyundai or Honda try to get into the International market? Because their own domestic market was smaller and there was intense competition. They had no option but had to improve in order to survive.
India:
- It's a much much bigger market and still growing compared to Vietnam. Unlike a market-saturated first-world country, a big chunk of our population is still yet to own a car. Our country, by all means, gives all communist signals under a capitalist facade (doesn't matter if it's Congress or BJP. It's the same wine in different bottles). Kids may not remember this there was a time when it used to be a parliamentary ruling on what TATA, Mahindra and Maruti could produce. By law, TATA and Mahindra were banned from producing smaller cars and Maruti was banned from producing SUVs and MUVs. I f'ing kid you not. This is the protection our domestic market had. It was further protected by restricting imports. So brands never improved when Nehru was around and they are not going to do it now. Why would domestic brands improve if they can find customers here no matter the quality? It's like Bollywood movies, Bhai / Karan Johar movies will still make money because they have the customer.
- Compared to the VinFast example, Our Mahindra launched a Jeep (the American brand) f'ing carbon copy in the American market. American court obliviously banned the model as it was a clear copy. Now, Mahindra remodelled the car and relaunched it under 'Roxor' name. The car is not comparable to anything because it's not even road legal. Even our TATA Indica was sold in UK under MG brand. Don't forget Reva. Those are our best offers.
- Why aren't TATA, and Mahindra going head-on with the International brands? because our domestic market is super big and there's much less competition, lack of strong consumer laws and protectionism. They have no need to improve because customers are still keeping these brands profitable.
^Vietnmese entrant in American market by a brand that's only 7 years old.
[VinFast VF8]
VS.
^Indian trash entrant in American market by a brand that's 77 years old. And it's not even road legal.
[Mahindra Roxor]
Which one will you buy of the two?
@lockhrt999 About Vietnam, their education system is very good:
www.economist.com
Why are Vietnam’s schools so good?
It understands the value of education and manages its teachers well
Wow, that comparison with India is disappointing. I didn't know this. I only knew about the obsession with the books. Every evening, you'll see kids, teenagers, adults and even old people sitting around public spaces like gardens, monuments and reading books, drawing something, dance practising while sipping some coffee. Nobody is home in the evening. Also, their women have to be literate because they don't have a concept of being just housewives. Most of the people facing businesses like shops or hotels are run by women. The country doesn't suffer a brain drain on the same level as India. Talent stays contained.@lockhrt999 About Vietnam, their education system is very good:
Why are Vietnam’s schools so good?
It understands the value of education and manages its teachers well
BTW, you can't graduate from high school if you can't handle and service an AK47.
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