This document provides an overview and summary of the non-fiction book "India Unbound" by Gurcharan Das. It discusses the book's chapters and themes. The book traces India's economic transformation from 1942-1991, covering three time periods: "Our Spring of Hope" (1942-1965), "The Lost Generation" (1966-1991), and "Rebirth of Dreams" (post-1991 economic reforms). It analyzes India's economic development and policies over this period through Das' personal experiences and historical context. The document outlines the key ideas, events, and economic factors discussed in each chapter and time period covered in the book.

1. Refresher course in English Language and
Modern Literature
Presentation
On
India Unbound a nonfiction prose by Gurcharan
Das

2. Gurcharan Das
 Gurcharan Das was born on Third October, 1943 in
Lyallpur, Punjab, now it is in Pakistan.
 He was born into a Punjabi Hindu family. His family had to
flee as refugee to India after Independence. His early days
were spent in Simla and Delhi where his father worked as
an engineer for the Government.
 In the mid-1950s, his father got posted to Washington DC
so Gurcharan finished his high minors in Politics and
Sanskrit after winning scholarships from Harvard, Yale and
Princeton. Following this, he joined Harvard Business
School to complete management degree.

3. About Das……
 From the year 1985 till 1992, he worked for Procter &
Gamble in India as Chief Executive Officer.
Following this he became the Managing Director for
Procter & Gamble worldwide.
 After working for 30 years in 6 countries he retired
and decided to become a full time writer.
 Gradually he started writing columns for Times of
India on Sundays and continued to do so for the
following 15years.
 He also started writing columns for Hindi, Marathi,
Telegu and Malayalam daily papers.

4. Gurcharan Das
His works include -
A Fine Family (1990)
India Unbound (2000)
The Elephant Paradigm (2002)
Three English Plays (2003)
The Difficulty of Being Good(2009)
India Grows at Night (2012)

5. India Unbound
 The best selling India Unbound is first published in the
year 2000;
 it has been translated into several languages
worldwide, and was also made in to a film by BBC.
 As Das’s The Difficulty of Being Good is discussion
about dharma, his book India Unbound has focus on
artha. In Hindu religion dharma, artha, kama and
mokasha are four ends of life to live with balance and
happiness.
 The book is mainly about the transformation of India
from birth of the writer (1942–1991).

6. Chapters in India Unbound
 Introduction- A Wise Elephant
 Chapter I - Our Spring of Hope
 Chapter II- The Lost Generation
 Chapter III- Rebirth of Dreams
 Afterwards

7. Introduction “The Wise Elephant”
 Introduction to India Unbound is entitled as “The
Wise Elephant”
 It starts with the brief history of eighteenth and
nineteenth century India.
 Das narrates the story of Indian democracy emerged as
a vibrant free market democracy after the economic
reforms in the year 1991, due to liberalization.
 Although Indian Economic development is slower;
India as wiser elephant is more likely to preserve its
way of life and its civilization of diversity, tolerance,
and spirituality against the onslaught of global culture.

8. “Our Spring of Hope” (1942–65)-
Part I
 The first part of India Unbound; “Our Spring of Hope”
(1942–65) describes the period in Indian history when it
embarks upon as an independent country.

9. Essay 1“Ranting in English,
Chanting in Sanskrit”
 The first sub title “Ranting in English, Chanting in
Sanskrit” in the chapter first opens with Das’s
childhood memories. Das measured the passages of
his life by the nation’s milestone.
 Knowing English today gives Indians a competitive
advantage in the global economy and It is an
important factor in India’s promising success in
information economy.
 The subtitle “Ranting in English, Chanting in
Sanskrit” shows how India retained culture and learnt
English to get competitive advantage.

10. Essay 2 “Smells of the Bazar”
 The second subtitle “Smells of the Bazar” discusses
the experience of the treachery of English East India
Company against Nabab Siraj-Ud-Dowlah.
 This event developed India’s anti-business attitudes,
the fear of “foreign hand” and its absurd attachment to
Swadeshi.
 It hampered Indian Economy. Japan and China
removed the fear about trade and traders. They rapidly
began to acquire Western learning, skills, and ways of
business. They have progressed economy vigorously.

11. Essay 3 “The Train to Nowhere”
 “The Train to Nowhere” is the third subtitle in “Our Spring of
Hope” the first part of India Unbound.
 It is story of Indian Railway. These railway lines had a profound
effect on millions of lives. It caused the development of the
nation but Britishers railways carried food and commercial crops
to the ports of export. As a result famines were not solved with
the help of reserves everything was sent to Britain.
 The Indian railway network, although huge in absolute terms,
was comparatively small. In the year 1973, India had Twenty Six
miles of railway lines per 1000 miles of land area. In comparison,
the United States had Eighty miles and Germany 253 miles
railway line. It partially explains why the railways did not cause
an industrial revolution in India.

12. Essay 4 “Blind Then , Blind Now”
 The fourth subtitle “Blind Then, Blind Now” in the
First part “Our Spring of Hope” expresses the need of
good leader for the nation.
 When ordinary human beings err, it is sad, but when
leaders do it haunts many generations. Gurcharan
exposes the faults in the socialist government and the
mixed economy by Jawaharlal Nehru.
 Gurcharan Das directly blames Jawaharlal Nehru’s
fault who never valued the vision of Industrialists like
Kasturbhai and G.D. Birla.

13. Essay 5 “If We Were Once Rich,
Why Are We Now Poor”
 “If We Were Once Rich, Why Are We Now Poor” is
fifth subtitle in “Our Spring of Hope”. It opens with
arrival of Das’s family in Delhi.
 Gurcharan Das assaults on today’s government
education system in India as the state has failed to
provide both the quantity and quality of education.
Why India is not rich? This is answered by Gurcharan
Das.
 Nation needs technology, institutions, continuous
industrial revolution and profitable innovations.

14. Essay 6 “The Paper Route”
 The sixth subtitle “The Paper Route” is very significant
essay because it is the turning point in the life of
Gurcharan Das where he got the chance to stay in America
as his father was posted by the Indian government as a part
of small team of engineers to negotiate the division of the
of Punjab rivers with Pakistan in mid 1950s.
 Gurcharan was admitted in the American schools where he
came across white as well as black friends. Gurcharan as
other American kids got the job of newspaper seller. In his
subtitle “The Paper Route” Das compares America with
India.

15. Essay 7 “Capitalism for the Rich,
Socialism for the Poor”
 Seventh subtitle “Capitalism for the Rich, Socialism
for the Poor” presents the India in 1950s. Das came to
Ludhiana in his vacation. He found green revolution
and industrialization with small scale industries in
Ludhiana.
 Das criticises Nehru because he created Community
Development Program in the 1950s, funded partly with
American aid but the program soon hopelessly
bureaucratized and failed.

16. Part II “The Lost Generation”
(1966–91)
 The second part of the book India Unbound “The Lost
Generation” (1966–91) has seven subtitles. It refers to
the phase of Indian polity and economy which saw
fading of the Indian dream.
 He talks about the failure of Indira.
 The author marks the declaration of 'Emergency' as
the lowest point of Indian Polity. Gurcharan gives a
resounding

17. Essay 7 “ Bazzar Power”
 “Bazzar Power” is the first title in “The Lost
Generation”.
 It has the theme that commerce is the art of exploiting
the need or desire someone has for something.
 The whole essay is description of Das’s practical
experiences while working in Vicks Vepo Rub.

18. Essay 8 “Lerma Rojo and Taichung
Native No.1”
 “Lerma Rojo and Taichung Native No.1” is the next
subtitle.
 Das is surprised with the self sufficiency of the village
economy. The typical Indian village was functionally
integrated between agriculture and handicraft industry,
with some communal ownership of land, and well-defined
social responsibility for different castes. On 27th May 1964,
Nehru had died.
 At that time agriculture had been stagnant. Industrial
growth had slowed and unemployment was growing. India
had begun regularly importing wheat from the United
States in the early 1960s. The problem, in fact, got much
worse in 1966 and 1967.

19. Essay 9 “Caste”
 The next subtitle is “Caste”. Gurcharan Das tried to
put forth some questions before the readers whether
India’s deep-rooted obsession with ranking has
suppressed the capacity to grow and develop.
 The caste system fragment India’s social and political
life, but does it influence modern economic life?
 In India some merchant castes are doing well
although the big success stories in software and
information based services seem to have come so far
from the non-trading castes.

20. Essay 10
“Multiplying by Zero”
 Gurcharan Das describes failure of economic policies
given by all genius economist of India.
 Whatever is given in the name of policies and
strategies just multiplied the development by zero
giving nothing.
 What are the reasons of failure of Indian economy are
discussed in detail by Gurcharan Das.

21. Essay 11 “Merchants of Marwar”
 The subtitle “Merchants of Marwar” tells the story of
Birla group. There is certain poignancy in Das’s story of
Aditya Birla, establishing a string of successful
companies in Southeast Asia because the impediments
placed in his way by his own government made it
impossible for him to invest in India.

22. Essay 12 “Licensing Blues”
 The subtitle “Licensing Blues” is author’s personal
experience of establishing business.
 It gives us Gurcharan Das’s meeting with Indira
Gandhi. It was ‘three day industry and government
round table’.

23. part III-“Rebirth of Dreams”
Essay 13“The Golden Summer”
 The third part “Rebirth of Dreams” has nine
subtitles.
 The first subtitle, “The Golden Summer” is related
to the advent of liberalization in India 1991.
 P.V. Narasimha Rao appointed Manmohan Singh as
Finance Minister. P. Chidambaram was commerce
minister and Ahluwalia was the commerce secretary.
These four people took major decisions of reform trade
policy and they tried to demolish the economic policy
of Lisence Raj.

24. Essay 14 “A Million Reforms”
 The next subtitle “A Million Reforms” starts with
Gurcharan Das’s decision to leave job and start writing
career.
 In this subtitle Das expresses his realization that the
million reforms in India are creating revolution in
Ideas and attitudes of people.
 He gave examples of Indians who could change their
lives due to reforms.

25. Essay 15 “New Money”
 “New Money” is the next subtitle in which Gurcharan Das
recounted the stories of the entrepreneurs like Infosys,
NIIT, Zee Television and Armedia, Jet Airways, Sun T.V,
Ranbaxy, Dr.Reddy’s, Cipla, Wockhardt Danish Multi
National etc these are a testimonial to liberalization
supported by globalization.
 They reflect a new social contract for post-reform India. All
these millionaire entrepreneurs started modestly. By
opening the economy with the way for a new merit order,
where talent, hard work, and managerial skill matter far
more than inherited wealth.

26. Essay 16 “Old Money”
 “Old Money” is eighteenth subtitle.
 Old Money has always looked down on new money.
Over the centuries the newly rich have been objects of
scorn and derision.
 Now, perhaps, for the first time in the history the new
millionaires are looked up with the pride and even
reverence. Because they are a new meritocracy-
entrepreneur- professionals who are creating value by
innovating in the global knowledge economy.

27. Essay 17 “The Rise and Rise of a
Middle Class”
 Nineteenth subtitle “The Rise and Rise of a Middle Class” is
the nineteenth chapter where new middle class is depicted.
 Twenty- first century with a dynamic and rapidly growing middle
class which is pushing the politicians to liberalize and globalize.
 Its primary preoccupation is with a rising standard of living, with
mobility and it is enthusiastically embracing consumerist’s
values and lifestyles.
 The new middle class also embrace ethnicity and religious
revival. It has been major support for BJP. The majority are busy
thinking of money and are unduly exercised by politicians or
Hindu nationalism. Their young are aggressively taking to the
world of knowledge and technology.

28. Essay 18 “Modern vs. Western”
 The subtitle “Modern vs. Western” is about the two
different concepts modern and western.
 After independence India tried for strong nation
building. It decided to develop competent bureaucracy
to administer. India accepted the secularism for
communal peace. India strived hard to control caste
discrimination to promote democracy. All these values
of modernity were enshrined in the constitution.
 The Indian middle class values are hard work,
education, savings and investment for future and
ability to cooperate towards a common objective.

29. Essay 19 “Democracy First,
Capitalism Afterwards”
 In the next subtitle is “Democracy First, Capitalism
Afterwards” .
 Das defines the nation and observes that “a successful
nation has three attributes: politically, it is free and
democratic; economically, it is prosperous and
equitable; and socially, it is peaceful and cohesive” (p.
324).
 The Indian nation enters in twenty-first century with
all the three attributes, according to him. Here it is
notable that his idea of India is very different from the
idea based on the traditional concept of nationalism.

30. Essay 20“Knowledge Is Wealth”
 The next subtitle “Knowledge Is Wealth” discusses the
transformation of the world from an industrial to a
knowledge economy.
 It means that jobs, exports and economic activity with the
highest value added will come from the knowledge sectors
of the economy.
 The countries that participate vigorously in these sectors
will be rewarded with a growing and higher standard of
living.
 India’s growing development in information technology is
the first evidence of competitive advantage. India is rapidly
progressing in electronics industries. Indians abroad are
investing in India

31. Essay 21“A New Country”
 In the next subtitle titled “A New Country”, Das continues to
praise the newly emerging India.
 Transformation in India in the twenty- first century is described
in the last essay “A New Country”. The new India is
increasingly one of competition and decentralization.
 India acquired intellectual capital and the opportunities opened
by technology and globalization, Indians face the very real
prospect of conquering the pervasive poverty that has
characterized the lives of the majority of the people.
 Indians have good reasons to expect that the lives of the majority
of them in the twenty-first century will be freer and more
prosperous than their parents and grandparents lived. Never
before in

32. “Afterword”
 In an “Afterword” added to the book after seven years
in 2007, Das claims the worth of his predictions given
in the book in 2000. He glorifies India’s performance
in the globalized neo-liberal culture.

33. Thank
You