India Then And Now

Kartikeya Kompella, the editor and curator of what’s Changed — 25 Years of Liberalised India, starts off with a very interesting premise — the fact that, by 2013, he had lived one half of his life in preliberalised India and the other in postliberalised India. The epiphany makes him realise how much the country had changed within these 25 years, and how liberalisation became the single biggest driver of cultural change in India since Independence.

The anthology selects 14 well- known individuals to share their views on areas as diverse as cricket, Bollywood, consumer economy, retail, sex, entrepreneurship, brand and consumer dynamics, education, women empowerment, foreign investment and the future direction of the country. Each contributor is an expert in his/her own field, and analyses the changes that have since swept across the country from a unique perspective. This lays the foundation of an interesting read that documents the nature and extent of change brought about by liberalisation in India and tries to judiciously decipher the last 25 years of the country’s history.

Sports commentator Harsha Bhogle in his piece talks about how the country’s most viewed sport metamorphosed between the two World Cup wins of 1983 and 2011. He highlights the rise of players from smaller towns and relates it to parallel changes in the societal, economical and aspirational situation in Tier 2 cities. He recalls the times when BCCI paid Doordarshan to broadcast its matches, a situation which today might seem impossible given how many TV channels constantly vie for cricket broadcasting rights in the country. Through the anecdote of wicket- keeper Budhisagar Kunderan and how he had to borrow a pair of
gloves from the person he displaced in the playing XI, Bhogle highlights how a change in paying standards means that players can now sustain themselves by playing the game, and can even become millionaires through big contracts and sponsorship deals. The article also explores the impact of T20 cricket and IPL on several aspects such as brands, culture, entertainment and the Indian people, and closes with a suggestion that the history of postliberalisation cricket is far from completely written.

Similar thoughts were echoed by Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman, Aditya Birla Group, who has witnessed firsthand the unprecedented transformation that the Indian business landscape went through after liberalisation. Birla applauds the focus on entrepreneurship and the thrust towards more conducive policies for businessmen, but also warns of an increase in the risk factor. The article comments on how liberalisation also brought in a shift in focus from local to global and helped several Indian companies across sectors in establishing themselves on the international stage. Birla also notes how liberalisation saw talent displace capital as the most important resource for organisations, and how sustainability and business accountability have now become integral to success.

The article ends with the prediction that more momentous transformations await Indian businesses, as they take up the responsibility of creating the India that its people have dreamed of.

There were also other several discourses that catch a reader’s interest. Ira Trivedi’s ‘A Nation in Heat: On India’s Sexual Revolution’ speaks of how liberalisation broke the taboos around sexuality. She explores how the young Indians, through their freedom of sexual expression, are taking on and redefining traditional concepts of marriage and relationships on their own terms, and how this has led to massive changes within the Indian society, economy and law. On the other hand, ‘The Context and Contours of Consumer Behaviour in New India’ by Rama Bijapurkar talks about how the Indian consumer market in itself is the greatest pillar of the country’s economy. She provides the figures for India’s GDP and per capita income pre- and postliberalisation to highlight how an increase in incomes across the board has led to an evolution in the consumption ability and lifestyle of Indian households. Bijapurkar also observes the impact of digitalisation and e-commerce on the Indian consumer behaviour. There are others pieces, such as Debashis Chatterjee’s critique of the Indian educational system in ‘Education as Legal Right or Failed Responsibility’ and Sangeeta Talwar’s ‘Empowerment of Women in India — A Slowly and Evolving Phenomenon’, that talk about the impact of liberalisation on several burning issues such as education and women empowerment.

What’s Changed is captivating read. The book is an absolute must read for both the casual reader and those who want to gain an indepth insight into various issues of critical importance through the eyes of thought leaders and pioneers.