A few centuries ago... India was under Mughal rule. Castiesm was rampant. If the mansoon was bad people starved to death. Healthcare was pathetic, infant mortality rate was quite high. There was no TV, book or newspaper to make people connected or entertained. Most Indians were not allowed to get education. There were no roads. There was no railway or post office. People rode in bullock carts. There was no running water. There was no electricity. People had only a few dishes to eat and cook. People had only few cloths to wash, wear and sleep on.
RE:A few centuries ago...
by anup sharma on May 22, 2007 11:10 PM Permalink
Kumar everything is relative. When author says that India was Bird of Gold a few centuries ago then it is not just an simple exaggeration. You know when Industrial Revolution was in its prime in late eighteenth century, India and China with out any of the fruits of Industrial Revolution together had a share of more than 50% in world trade with India herself cornering around 28% of that alone. Today this position is not even held by US of A. So you can easily imagine India's economic status in those days. If we talk about Per Capita Income then a country's mega cities is the best parameter to judge that. You will find innumerable accounts by first of the westerners when they arrived in India about how Calcutta was better than Paris or London of that time. Understood that income spread was not uniform but when you compare it with other Western nations of that time, India's situation was lot better than theirs. Just to end with a statement and this is no exaggeration (supported by BBC only), there was a time when rich is England were identified as ones who used to have tea in bone-china wares and used to wear good quality cotton.
