In fact almost none of what Manmohan said at Oxford is really true. All the institutions of excellence in modern India -- IITs, IIMs, IISC, ISI, as well as various research institutes across the country such BARC, SINP, Bose Institute, TIFR etc. -- are post-independence creations which did not follow the British model. All British era universities, such as CU,BU,DU etc. are largely dyfunctional. Indian police remains wedded to a colonial British way of functioning and is another dysfunctional system. The English language is actually more of a curse than benefit. Although, it might look very advantageous for IT etc. today, the fact of the matter is that learning science in a foreign language is a great disability -- one appreciates this if one tries to teach at any level. I can go on and on.... What Manmohan Singh was implying is that modern thoughts, modern science etc. wouldn't have arrived in India if it wasn't for the British colonialism. This isn't true. Russia, China, Japan and many others absorbed Western science and thoughts on their own from its creators -- most notably the Germans and the French -- and did not need the intervention of a second rate mercantile power to convey it to them.
