Indian Interests

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 03 Nov 2011 20:56

there have been lots of discussions on BRF about the Mercantile arc from Saurashtra to Bengal. if these crucial nodes are controlled then the hinterlands can be manipulated and "conquered". going into the details of how exactly British were able to control these nodes is very interesting. It has become sort of a project for me to dig into this. been doing a lot of reading over past few months as and when I find time.

it is clear to me that once Bengal was under British grip, Uttar Pradesh areas became puppets within a generation. Awadh's trade/economy was basically dictated by Britain by the second half of 18th century. "exporting" into Bengal was necessary for Awadh. the British set the tariffs for Bengal and could squeeze Central and Northern GV as and when required by threatening to increase the tariffs. this is how the defense/foreign-policy were given away to EIC and eventually wholesale cession of territory to EIC.

interesting thing is Northern GV had two options for trade/exports: Bengal or Gujarat. Indigo trading especially was heavily flowing towards Gujarat. after encroachment into Awadh, EIC was able to direct the Northern-GV trade towards Bengal. this squeezed the mercantile interests who were involved in the North+West axis.

Marathas were also exporting Cotton/Indigo to Bengal. why did the Marathas do this? was it not in their interests to prop up the North+West axis against EIC. especially when Gujarat was so close to their home territories. they could have easily enforced and had more control over the Gujarat trading circles than Bengal. this has been bugging me deeply. Marathas were close to the coast and also close to the major trade/export centers in Gujarat. they should have made it a priority to preemptively strengthen the trading axis of Upper-Central GV, Central India, Malwa, and Deccan into one unit. only such a pan-India setup could have setup an alternate to the British domination of the Bengal+Central/lower GV.

didn't know where else to post this. seemed like the best thread to "explore" such topics for better understanding...

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 03 Nov 2011 21:07

Very interesting - but will go perhaps into a peculiar quirk of Indian economic history still not very clear. How the cotton industry changed from the Sultanate to Mughal period and its possible redistribution. Conversion, city-based urban manufacturing classes, economic and social instability - under Islamic rule - all could have contributed. But the biggest factor could have been the relative distance from Northern plains Islamic power centres - and hence lower effects of Alauddin induced penalizing poverty induction measures. Gujarat suffered periodically - and moreover, most of the maritime trade seems to have been taken over by the Muslim merchants there. Constant depredations on the producing classes - with relative independence of the Bengal zone rulers and their need to coopt Hindu support and protect the cotton/weaving industry could have helped. But intriguing direction to explore no doubt. Please do continue!

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 04 Nov 2011 03:58

one thing I've encountered: most "studies" of agricultural/agrarian systems during Muslim rule is dominated by RoP scholars. before I get showered with brick-bats, most of these scholars belong to the Aligarh school. there is a select few, like Irfan Habib, Athari, etc who dominate the "scholarship" on agri studies and most other papers seem to be taking these as "authoritative" sources.

the Aligarh wallahs tried their best to paint Mughal decline on A'zeb's "generous" showering of "estates" on new elites of Deccan and consequent "disturbances" and not the main reason: the prolonged and colossal contest with the Marathas in which the Mughals were bested. But there have been a sufficient number of scholars, both Indian and foreign, who've refuted this as an exaggeration of an otherwise insignificant matter in Mughal Decline, and concluded that struggle with Marathas was the ultimate and most prominent reason.

brihaspati ji,

still a novice at this. but will continue to dig and share as I gather my thoughts on new inputs received from personal study and any hints/inputs...

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Nov 2011 04:24

Also the Mughals main port in Bay of Bengal was Bandar or Machilipatnam. Once the EIC got hold of it it was curtains for the Mughals.

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 04 Nov 2011 04:27

Machilipatnam was never under Mughal control as far as I know. it only started developing under European mercantile interests. Mughals never really extended control as far south as the Andhra Coast near Machilipatnam...

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Nov 2011 04:30

We should look at why Europe is so divided and take lessons from it. One experts says that Europe remains divided because there exist fundamental differences in thinking and feeing between them.

I think that is the Paki logic of two nation theory.

Is this true of the different states of India?

My bad then. Did they get it from the Nizam or the Qutub Shahis?

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 04 Nov 2011 04:35

if you are referring to T-agenda, then JMTPs is that this is the last "great" wave for the T-sentiment. after this, lessons will be learned and future "struggles" will be in a different direction.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 04 Nov 2011 08:19

I am thinking about buying a book written by S. R. Bakshi. (here). Before that I would like to ensure that he is not a Marxist/p-sec historian. Have you guys read any book written by him? Thanks.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 04 Nov 2011 08:22

devesh wrote:Machilipatnam was never under Mughal control as far as I know. it only started developing under European mercantile interests. Mughals never really extended control as far south as the Andhra Coast near Machilipatnam...

The Vijaya nagar empire had this port town in 1610 before EIC took over

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 04 Nov 2011 10:04

Watch the Video

Set to premiere on HBO tonight is Marathon Boy, a documentary about kid from India who managed to run 48 marathons by the time he turned four. We have the trailer for the film, which shows young Budhia Singh doing what he does best. The documentary was filmed between 2005 and 2010 and tells the story of Budhia Singh, a child whose destitute mother sold him to a street hawker when he was just three years old. Things began to turn around for him when he was taken in by Biranchi Das, a judo coach who recognized Budhia’s gift for running.Based on the information HBO released on the film, Budhia’s story begins with a focus on his love for running and the fame he achieved over the course of time, but apparently, things take a turn for him at some point as the “remarkable rags-to-riches saga morphed into a tale of greed, corruption and broken dreams.”

http://www.cinemablend.com/television/M ... 36654.html

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 04 Nov 2011 11:01

Maya Inc worked for F1; now use the clout to build hospitals

He ends the rather well written article with

Maybe, our problem is that we have moved from the bullock cart to the Formula One age in a relatively short span of time even while large parts of India are left hanging somewhere in-between. If Greater Noida is at one end of UP, at the other end of the vast state is Gorakhpur where almost 500 children have died of encephalitis because of poor healthcare facilities. When will we see a private-public partnership that builds hospitals in remote corners of UP with the same enthusiasm as a Formula One event is organised?

If the Public-Pvt enterprise can suceed in providing the solution to the problem. We might just have arrived.

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 04 Nov 2011 11:28

Pratyush wrote:Maya Inc worked for F1; now use the clout to build hospitals

He ends the rather well written article with

.

Sorry hack job -- if he was partially honest he would talk about many hospitals in the region and universities that are being actively worked on in this region.

Some purely govt and some on the F1 model -- that is Govt provides land and basic infrastructure and steps back.

Kongress propaganda machinery is on full swing really.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 04 Nov 2011 16:46

Gujarat will gain most from Pak MFN, Dubai will lose

I will be happy if the power of the D gang can be reduced as a result of the MFN.

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 04 Nov 2011 16:48

Agree with Sanku... Most of time people make the association mistake, as in if the F1 was not there the hospitals would be... It's not an either or, there can be both, there can be either one, or there can be nothing. In this case it is both... just that the things that are being worked on are not reported or marketed with the same aggression as the F1 is... And if there's a market for F1, why not accept the jobs that this creates, let those who enjoy it and will pay for enjoying it, pay rather than going to Bahrain or Milan or Singapore or wherever!!!

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 04 Nov 2011 16:50

Provide healing touch, help the poor: Congress to govt

Just what the country needs another hand out to the poorer sections. That will result in another scam.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 04 Nov 2011 17:03

JEM & Sanku,

My take is slightly different, He is comparing the failure of the old way of doing things & the relative failure of that approach with the success of the F1 and the way it was implemented.

He is just taking the F1 approach to its logical conclusion in other sectors. Consequently I have not seen an Either or Scenario. Or any hint of propaganda

Eg, quoting a few sections from the article

Can this private-public partnership work in other sports, or indeed, other sectors beyond sport? Formula One, in many ways, is exceptional. Few sports have been able to dovetail as effortlessly with the marketplace as Formula One. From auto companies to tech bluechips, Formula One provides the ideal platform for aggressive product marketing. The Commonwealth Games had to survive on the benevolence of Public Sector Undertakings and the odd private company, while Formula One had a rush of marquee sponsors.

Which is also why the success of Formula One offers a glimpse at both the strengths and weaknesses of new India. At one level, it showcases the dynamism of a nation on the fast track, a country whose soaring ambitions cross geographical boundaries. That the Formula One boss, Bernie Ecclestone was desperately keen for India to be on the Grand Prix map is a tribute to India’s growing global importance. But at another level, the craze for international recognition through a Formula One event reveals a certain lack of self-esteem which is sought to be compensated through a heady mix of ersatz glamour and big money.

I personally agree with this particular paragraph completely especially with the section in bold.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 04 Nov 2011 17:30

Saar you are the Plan A of RSS against the INC Dynasty 'Protest against me part of RSS/BJP plan D'

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 04 Nov 2011 17:55

Pratyush,

No fundamental disagreement either... My point, essentially, and I think that's what Sanku is saying too, is that we have here two totally different things FI and social-welfare infrastructure... What's the comparison, or even the association?

Let's face it, the F1 is a sport largely followed (at least in India) by a very small sub-culture (relative to the size of the population) of wealthy youngish people who have time and money to spare. The whole thing was private sector and the worst we can say about it is that it creates a hell of lot of noise... In terms of hospitals etc... there are plenty of private sector ventures already built and tens coming up across the country.

What's the connection with what the government is doing or not doing? If he wanted to say they were not doing enough, why bring in the F1 and the "craze for international recognition through a Formula 1 event"? Incidentally, what is this "craze for international recognition" he's talking about here... I haven't seen any more craze for "recognition" here than in any other sport activity, or even a blockbuster movie... both of which often get more publicity. And every instance of publicity is often paid for - except what is reported as "news", and even that we can't be sure whether it's paid for or not

This craze business is Sardesai's own perception, and perhaps projection. The F1 was basically something the rich and famous of our country revelled in, paid for and the newsmedia duly highlighted with a certain overemphatic rigour, which won't likely be repeated next year.

The article is reminiscent of the slightly schizophrenic quality most of our "elite" journalists anyway display... on the one hand they want to be seen as people whose only interest at heart is that of the "common man" - although in their daily lives they reflect the lifestyles of anything but. If this "craze for international recognition" is anywhere, it is only in the media whose fawning reportage and minutely detailed focus on everything from the F1's financial superlatives to the the F1 drivers crapping habits sucked big time. Sort of like the hapless clerk in colonial days who, while trying to be as British as he could be, wore two flannel suits one on top of the other to prove himself. From the perspective of the Western media, this parallel behaviour of our own media would appear both slightly endearing and slightly weird.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 04 Nov 2011 20:14

Hmmm......

I did not see it that way.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Nov 2011 22:24

Pratyush wrote:Provide healing touch, help the poor: Congress to govt

Just what the country needs another hand out to the poorer sections. That will result in another scam.

INC is acting like its not part of the GOvt!

Their leaders advise healing touch to UPA.
Now the entire party is doing the same while they loot with both hands and stall all enquiries.

And gullible media dutifully broadcasts the message better than when Doordarshan was the sole media outlet.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 05 Nov 2011 01:03

How credible is this list

http://www.luxurylaunches.com/celebriti ... php?ref=nf

Top 10 richest politicians of the world

7) Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born, Indian President of the Indian National Congress has a networth estimated to be $19 billion in 2010. She was rated as the third most powerful woman in the world by Forbes Magazine in the year 2004.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 05 Nov 2011 01:27

ramana wrote: INC is acting like its not part of the GOvt!

Their leaders advise healing touch to UPA.
Now the entire party is doing the same while they loot with both hands and stall all enquiries.

And gullible media dutifully broadcasts the message better than when Doordarshan was the sole media outlet.

They are taking the coalition approach to the new levels. Probably that was the counter strategy from SG sponsors for keeping her out of PMO. Anna's LPB is trying to be a counter counter-strategy?

Bringing in BR.Ambedkar (Constitutional sanctity as it was written by a Dalit) is a counter strategy to LKP.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 05 Nov 2011 01:59

Prime minister declines to open Khalsa Heritage complex on Nov 25th.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111104/main5.htm

Anandpur Sahib heritage complex to be opened without PM: Badal
Naveen S Garewal and Dharmendra Joshi
Tribune News Service

Parkash Singh Badal
Parkash Singh Badal, Punjab CM

Chandigarh/Sultanpur Lodhi, November 3
The Punjab Congress has managed to persuade Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to give the inauguration of the prestigious Khalsa Heritage Complex (KHC) at Anandpur Sahib a skip.

However, unperturbed by the Prime Minister declining his invitation; state Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has announced that the Punjab Government will go ahead with the inauguration without the Prime Minister.

The past few weeks have seen a tug-of-war between the ruling SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress over the Prime Minister’s visit to Punjab on the invitation of Parkash Singh Badal. The Prime Minister was formally invited by Badal to inaugurate the KHC and to lay the foundation stone of the Mohali international airport. The Congress asked the Prime Minister to decline the invitation claiming that it would have an adverse impact on the party’s prospects in the next General Election to be held in February next year.

Badal today disclosed that in a letter, the Prime Minister had expressed his inability to come to Punjab on November 25 on account of his proposed foreign visit and Parliament session. Badal, however, added that the inauguration of the KHC and the laying of the foundation stone of the terminal of the Mohali international airport would be done as per schedule on November 25, sans the Prime Minister.

Badal said it was unfortunate that the Congress high command, AICC president Sonia Gandhi and PPCC president Amarinder Singh had dissuaded the Prime Minister from coming to Punjab for these prestigious projects for the sake of cheap politics. He said Sonia Gandhi and Amarinder Singh should not forget that Manmohan Singh was not the Prime Minister of the Congress party, but of the entire country.

Criticising Amarinder Singh for writing a letter to the Prime Minster requesting him to not to come for the purpose, Badal said, “By indulging in cheap politics, Amarinder Singh has put a blot on democratic norms. It is unfortunate that Amarinder Singh was making misleading statements like the KHC was inaugurated way back in 2006.” How it could be inaugurated in 2006, when it was not completed at that time, he asked.

Although the Congress has been successful in stalling the Prime Minister’s visit to Punjab on the invitation of the SAD-BJP government, this has the potential of snowballing into a major issue during the next General Election. The SAD-BJP has always indulged in Centre-bashing, claiming discrimination at the hands of the Centre, but the Congress has been saying that the UPA government has given much more financial assistance to Punjab as compared to any previous Central Government.

While the Akalis are now alleging, perhaps rightly, that by this move, the Prime Minister’s status has been reduced to a party leader from a national leader. Some Congress leaders like Jagmeet Brar and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, also feel the Prime Minister should have come to Punjab and let the people know what the Centre had done for the state.

The bad blood generated over the issue is likely to lead the Akalis restart the debate about vesting more powers with the states and having a federal setup.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 05 Nov 2011 02:42

MMS never cease to disappoint by refusing to promote his own heritage. Maha Madam Sonia (MMS) still overules many moves of Indian PM MMS.

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 05 Nov 2011 05:43

Very disappointing and, if true, an infantile manoeuvre by the Congress

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 05 Nov 2011 06:26

The UPA government has "more or less" decided to provide Muslims reservations in jobs and education: Official

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 05 Nov 2011 06:43

^ if they amend the constitution to provide religion based reservations, they must be aware of the consequences and are prepared for it. I see recent comments by Dalit and Christian orgs against AH from this angle.

So NREGA for Dalits
Reservations for Muslims
Conversions for christians - this will automatically make them eligible for reservations.

They are pushing the Hindu centers to call for cecession (remember the discussion in the other thread...)

Then they will use state to suppress them.

Another colonization of Hindus in plans...

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 05 Nov 2011 07:11

^^^ They are driving India into another partition. This is by design.
Muslim orgs are being extremely short sighted if they believe this will not provoke a vehement reaction. Indian muslims (and some south east asian comms) are the only ones cushioned so far. They'll suffer the consequences of a blowback. But when have they ever been sensible.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 05 Nov 2011 07:47

Anna,Ramdev, SR SRi etc have most probably caused panick among the Pseudo Indians to hasten their plan and make a go for it now as the last hurrah of UPA. Talking of laying foundation for another partition , Do French still makes those old sharp machines or will that require 2 party tender as its under the gambit of national security ?

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 05 Nov 2011 07:49

edited

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 05 Nov 2011 09:20

Vinod Mehta on Vajpayee:

A king of good times
My relations with Vajpayee were good. Very good. I had known him since my Debonair days and when I moved to Delhi in 1991, I had several opportunities to meet him socially and officially…

…Vajpayee was no saint. He liked to drink moderately and eat non-vegetarian food less moderately. Being a bachelor and a political star (Henry Kissinger: power is the ultimate aphrodisiac), he was never short of female company.

When he became India's first bachelor prime minister, he juggled a strange domestic life. A Mrs Kaul, whose husband was a college professor and had passed away, moved into 7 Race Course Road, along with her daughter Namita and the daughter's husband, Ranjan. Namita's official designation was foster daughter and Ranjan Bhattacharya became foster son-in-law.

Vajpayee, to his credit, made no effort to hide the ménage à quatre…

…AB Vajpayee's PMO fell into the hands of three individuals. Brajesh Mishra, who had been India's permanent representative at the United Nations between 1979 and 1981 and on deputation with the UN till 1987, was his closest aide... When things got hot for the 'moderate face' of the BJP inside the party, he would pop off to New York to spend time with Brajesh, doing, rumour had it, some naughty things…

…The husband and wife team of Ranjan and Namita were the other power centres in 7 Race Course Road. Vajpayee may have had some reservations about his son-in-law. However, the foster daughter could do no wrong in his eyes. Namita and Ranjan began assiduously cultivating the Delhi media. They had unconcealed contempt for what they called knickerwala journalists; they mingled with Vir Sanghvi, Barkha Dutt, Shekhar Gupta - even me.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed ... 64918.aspx

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 05 Nov 2011 09:36

I guess INC is getting weak?

sum · Post by **sum** » 05 Nov 2011 10:50

They had unconcealed contempt for what they called knickerwala journalists;

Who are these knickerwala journos?

Arjun · Post by **Arjun** » 05 Nov 2011 12:44

Why Congress fears RSS

Interesting statistics...as much as 33 - 40% of the INC vote base could be Muslim. Any idea how the rest is split up? How much of the rest would be from Dalits, SCs etc?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 06 Nov 2011 01:25

Young India is the big bull of the world
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/young-india- ... 0-122.html

KOCHI: In his speech, titled ‘India’s Ongoing Growth Story’, in the ‘Thought Leadership’ lecture series at the Wednesday Club, a forum which helps develop communication skills, A P Kurian, a former Executive Trustee of the Unit Trust of India and the chairman of Geojit BNP Paribas, said, “The greatest advantage the people of India have is a high rate of savings: about 34 per cent.” It is savings that convert into investment, which leads to development.
According to American economist Kenneth Kurihara, investment is to the economy what an accelerator is to the automobile. “Today, we are the second largest growing economy in the world, with an annual rate of 8 per cent,” said Kurian. India also has a productive demographic advantage, with the average age being 25 years. In the West, the average age is 45 or 60.
“We have a young and energetic group of people who have lots of aspirations,” said Kurian. It also helps that we have the largest number of engineers, doctors, nurses, and drivers. “If the Malayali work force in the Middle East returns to India , there will be problems in those countries,” said Kurian. “The same will be the case in European hospitals, if all the Malayali nurses come back.Manpower is our greatest strength.” We also have other advantages. The government debt is only 44 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).In the USA, it is as high as 78 per cent, while in Italy it is 180 per cent! Kurian asked a rhetorical question to the audience: has anybody ever come across a bank that has failed in the past three decades? The last one was the Pala Central Bank in the 1950s. “It is rare,” said Kurian.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 07 Nov 2011 07:01

Avoid cow slaughter (where it has been banned) to respect Hindus: Darul Uloom Deoband

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 07 Nov 2011 07:42

The refusal to inaugurate Khalsa Complex is very interesting to me. is it simply an excuse of "will help opposition" or is there something deeper? if the refusal was mainly the doing of Amarinder, it could be possible that it was just a "political" excuse, though it is still an exhibition of infantile immaturity. or is it part of the greater animosity of INC with anything Indic or something that identifies with resistance against RoP?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 07 Nov 2011 08:04

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/opini ... .html?_r=1
India’s Innovation Stimulus
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

THE world hit seven billion people last week, and I think I met half of them on the road from New Delhi to Agra here in India. They were on foot, on bicycle, on motor scooters. They were in pickups, dented cars and crammed into motorized rickshaws. They were dodging monkeys and camels and cows. Somehow, though, without benefit of police or stoplights, this flow of humanity that is modern India impossibly went about its business. But just when your mind tells you that this crush of people will surely overwhelm all efforts to lift the mass of India out of poverty, you start to notice a pattern: Every few miles there’s a cellphone tower and a fresh-looking building poking out of the controlled chaos. And the sign out front invariably says “school” — engineering school, biotechnology school, English-language school, business school, computer school or private elementary school. India is still the only country I know where you can find a billboard advertising “physics degrees.” All these schools, plus 600 million cellphones, plus 1.2 billion people, half of whom are under 25, are India’s hope — because only by leveraging technology and brains can India deliver a truly better life for its masses. There are a million reasons why it won’t happen, but there is one big reason it might. The predicted really is happening: India’s young techies are moving from running the back rooms of Western companies, who outsourced work here, to inventing the front rooms of Indian companies, which are offering creative, low-cost solutions for India’s problems. The late C.K. Prahalad called it “Gandhian innovation,” and I encountered many examples around New Delhi.

Meet K. Chandrasekhar, the C.E.O. of Forus Health, whose focus is “avoidable blindness” among India’s rural poor. A quarter of the world’s blind people, some 12 million, are in India, Chandrasekhar explains, and more than 80 percent of those are blind as a result of a lack of screening and a lack of ophthalmologists in rural areas. In the past, comprehensive screening required multiple expensive diagnostic devices to check for diabetic retinas, cataracts, glaucoma, cornea and refraction problems, all of which cause 90 percent of the avoidable blindness in India. So Forus invented “a single, portable, intelligent, noninvasive, eye prescreening device” that can identify all five of these major ailments and also provide an automated “Normal or Needs to See a Doctor” report; it can be run by a trained technician, who through telemedicine connects patients to a doctor. “We work with a Dutch company on optics, and the University of Texas supports us in business development,” Chandrasekhar adds. “We are talking to a Brazilian company that is interested in manufacturing our technology and selling in Latin America.” Outsourcees are becoming outsourcers

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 07 Nov 2011 10:20

devesh wrote:The refusal to inaugurate Khalsa Complex is very interesting to me. is it simply an excuse of "will help opposition" or is there something deeper? if the refusal was mainly the doing of Amarinder, it could be possible that it was just a "political" excuse, though it is still an exhibition of infantile immaturity. or is it part of the greater animosity of INC with anything Indic or something that identifies with resistance against RoP?

Or upset The Pakjabi elite which is close to our Elite In Delhi?

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 07 Nov 2011 11:29

Prem wrote:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/opini ... .html?_r=1
India’s Innovation Stimulus
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

A reader's comment to that article -

I would be impressed if those 600 million cellphones had been made in India. Or even assembled. Even one of them.

Instead, India reduced import duty on cellphones to 1/100th that charged for most other goods, such as vitamins. Why?

India missed a golden opportunity to establish a high-tech manufacturing base. All it had to do was tell those cellphone companies that if they wanted to sell in India they had to make them in India. With the prospect of sales in the hundreds of millions, surely they would have set up plants.

Is the claim about the duties on mobile phones accurate?