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India, from ancient times, has been a leading influence on the world, whether in the fields of medicine, mathematics, science, astronomy, or metallurgy. Acharya Kanad gave the “Theory of Atoms” or what he called Parmanu, which formed the base of modern chemistry nearly 2500 years before John Dalton. The “Sushruta Samhita” by Sushrata, who is often referred to as the father of surgery; Charaka’s “Charaka Samhita” for internal medicine, the introduction of zero by Aryabhatta, the decimal system, and the Pythagorean Theorem by Baudhayan are just some of the many important contributions made by one of the world’s oldest civilizations.
Cover by The Geostrata
The Indus Valley Civilisation, which flourished in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, lasting from around 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, is one of the most advanced ancient civilisations. Considered to be one of the three cradles in civilization of the old world of humanity, it introduced the first accurate system of standardised weights, pioneered metallurgy, handicrafts, and seal carving, among others.
Excavations that took place in the 1900s at major sites like Harappa and Mohenjodaro also revealed sophisticated urban planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, and clusters of large, non-residential buildings. The trends, customs, and lifestyle of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation are still alive and practiced in India.
In the 17th century, India was an urbanised and commercialised nation with a significant share of the world’s exports, mainly cotton textiles but also silk, spices, and rice.
It was the primary producer of cotton textiles and had extensive export trade to Britain as well as many other European nations. Called the “Golden Bird of the World”, India came under colonial rule for almost three centuries. After emerging from oppressive British rule in 1947 as an independent nation, the country wasn't truly free. It was held down by the shackles of poverty, violence, political and social unrest, and the economic crisis left behind by centuries of profiteering British rule.
As per a report by British economist Angus Maddison, India’s share of world GDP fell from 27% in 1700 AD to less than 3% in 1950 AD . The Bengal Famine of 1943, which researchers and historians have found to be largely a direct consequence of human actions, caused nearly
3 million deaths, and the process of partition, which saw around 15 million people uprooted and between one to two million dead, only exacerbated the woes of the nation.
Due to extensive state-sponsored de-industrialisation before 1947 by the British empire, more and more people were pushed towards agriculture which put heavy strain on the productivity and efficiency of the sector resulting in frequent food shortages and low industrialisation.
For the majority of the 20th century, the country faced acute grain shortages and depended significantly on imports.
Nearly 77 years later, India is no longer crippled and submissive to the agendas of others. Instead, the country managed to survive any and all tribulations that came its way and avoided even the most minuscule possibility of a military coup when almost all its neighbours had elaborate periods of political and military turbulence.
In turn, we became the world's largest democracy, and are formulating our own hard-headed nationalist policies. It is the world’s fastest-growing major economy, a leading producer of a number of consumables, is a nuclear weapon state, and is flourishing economically, and, of course, diplomatically.
This India, in the words of the incumbent External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar is Bharat, which he defined as a belief and an attitude.
To quote him, “To me, Bharat is actually a belief and an attitude for me, Bharat has an economic dimension. It has a political meaning. It has cultural, social, and I would say even personal expressions. At the end of the day, the term Bharat means don’t let other people define you. Try and define yourself. That it has to come from itself because that very term, Bharat which is so laden with symbolism, actually captures centuries of what we are all about as a people.”
This report aims to analyse the factors and events that have contributed to the remarkable rise of Bharat from a crumbling post-colonial state to the world’s fifth-largest economy, rightfully asserting its claim as a leading world power.
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For all official and academic purposes, use the following as a citation, which follows the Chicago Manual Style.
Aanya Dhandharia Arnav Jassal, and Priyanshu Jha.
“India's Growing Stature on the Global Stage.” THE GEOSTRATA, July, 2024.
BY AANYA DHANDHARIA, ARNAV JASSAL, PRIYANSHU JHA
TEAM COVERING MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS