India was a leader in innovation several centuries ago. Indeed, since the Indus Valley Civilisation of about 5000 years ago, innovation has been a part of the Indian culture and the basis of its civilization. Our innovations were diverse and pioneering. They included remarkable town planning, the use of standardized burnt bricks for dwelling houses and interlinked drainage systems. They included wheel-turned ceramics and solid-wheeled carts. The dockyard at Lothal in Gujarat is regarded as the largest maritime structure ever built by a bronze-age community. The discovery of zero and the decimalplace value system by Indians dates back to the Vedic period. Our pioneering work in algebra, trigonometry and geometry was truly outstanding. Indian innovations in medicine, especially in Ayurveda, not only aimed at the cure of diseases but, more importantly, on the preservation of health. The innovations in surgery included pioneering efforts in laprotomy, lithotomy and plastic surgery. The iron pillar at Delhi, which testifies to the achievements in metallurgy some 1500 years ago, is truly inspirational even today. Indian civilization was characterized by scientific thought, capabilities and techniques at levels far more advanced than others.
Inspite of this great heritage and record of accomplishments, why did India fall behind in the ensuing centuries? When the scientific and industrial revolutions took place in the West a few hundred years ago, there was a period of stagnation in India. The lack of development over this period was a result of a hierarchical approach, irrational subjective thinking, and build up of superstitions and superficial ritualism. The earlier great traditions were allowed to decay. A highly feudalistic structure of society developed. It was in this state of its society that India came under the colonial domination. During the early part of the twentieth century, some development in science did happen because of the efforts of some outstanding Indians who worked over three quarters of the century prior to Independence. They include names such as Sir C.V.Raman, S. Ramanujan, P.C. Ray, J.C.Bose, S.N.Bose and so on. These were the products of the ferment in the Indian society which had motivated the freedom struggle. But by and large, compared to the other nations, inhibition and imitation in the society was evident during a substantial part of the twentieth century. We lost the leadership position. This cannot continue into the twenty-first century. We must regain this position with determined action.
We have now an opportunity to start the resurgence of an innovative India today. What do we need to do? We need to build new social, legal and economic structures that will support innovation. We need to make the symbol of ‘I’ in ‘India’ to stand for ‘Innovation’. Just as we had launched a freedom movement, which freed us from the stronghold of foreign powers, we must launch an ‘Indian Innovation Movement’ so that India can assume its rightful place in the comity of nations. And the time to do it is now, at the dawn of the new millennium.
Our confidence in building the new innovative India of our dreams stems from our major successes in the arena of many technological innovations which have made such a difference to the nation. Some prominent examples include the blue (space), green (agriculture), white (milk) and grey (software) revolutions. Let us just take one example. The Indian space programme, for example, has designed and sent into space a series of satellites that, among other things, comprise the largest domestic communication system in the Asia-Pacific region. It has also developed a range of launch vehicles, the most recent being a geo-synchronous launch vehicle with an 1800 kg payload. These developments have helped in the application of space technology for national needs in communication, meteorology, broadcasting, and remote sensing. All of this has been achieved in a relatively cost-effective manner.
What are India’s major strengths in technological innovation? On the human resource front, India has the largest pool of qualified engineers in the world, the 7th largest pool of R&D personnel and a large cadre of expatriate scientists, technologists, and entrepreneurs, who are increasingly engaged with their home country. On the institutional front, India’s assets include numerous institutions of higher learning as well as an impressive array of research centres and laboratories that focus on a large range of scientific and technical problems.
The future of India can be built by remembering and practising three things. These are encapsulated in the word ‘TI’. TI stands for ‘Think India’. We must have India in our hearts and minds. As someone had said, India’s response to WTO should be WTI, that is, ‘We Think for India’. The second meaning of TI is ‘Team India’. We all must work as a team, breathe as a team and strive forward as a team. TI also stands for ‘Total Innovation’. This means making India truly innovative by changing its social, legal and economic structures. The most important pledge we should take is to make the national symbol in ‘I’ in ‘India’ stand for ‘Innovation’. If we ‘Think India’, work with the spirit of ‘Team India’ and push forward the movement on ‘Total Innovation’, then India will certainly find its rightful place in the comity of nations, which is right at the top.
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