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The Creative Genius of India

Heritage Program, Sep 2008

By Rajeev Srinivasan

Management Consultant, Columnist

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Agenda

Considering creativity

India: the Empire of the Intellect

The genesis of competitive advantage

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The Indian Century?


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Creativity and civilization Creativity is the most important ingredient in human progress

Creativity does not come in a vacuum: it is only possible in acivilized society, where basic needs like food and shelter are

taken care of


,

in the world from 2000 BCE to 1700 CE

India was also the most creative of all civilizations: we have

forgotten more than most other civilizations created

It was not only the Empire of the Spirit, but also the Empire ofthe Intellect

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a

faithful servant: physicist Albert Einstein 3


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Art and Sculpture

Much painting has disappeared due to the ravages of

time, but sculpture remains Chola bronzes as an apogee of Indian art

The Kaveri delta in Tanjavur was very prosperous


Agricultural surplus translated into leisure, wealth and art

Sacred art as worship

Conversely, the appreciation of the human figure

Remarkable continuity of themes from Indus-

Sarasvati times

Theory: rasas (sringara, hasya, raudra, karuna, )


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The Transcendent One

Siva Nataraja: Tanjavur, TN (11th cent

CE)



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The beauteous ones

Devi: Tanjavur, TN (11th cent CE)

Tara: Nalanda, Bihar (11th cent CE)



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The confused one

Rishyasringa: Madhya Pradesh (5th

cent CE)



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The benevolent one

Ganesa: UP, 10th cent CE



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The suffering one

Emaciated Buddha: Gandhara,

Afghanistan (2nd cent BCE)



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At play

Krishna steals the gopis clothes: Kangra,

19th cent CE

Chariot: Harappa, Pakistan, 15th cent BCE



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The fierce ones

Krishna slays the elephant-rakshasa

Kuvalayapidham: unknown

Bhagavati, Teyyam: Kannur, Kerala,

2003



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The gentle one

Manikyavachakar, Tanjavur, 13th cent

CE



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Greater India: soft power Indic ideas were popular in the entire region

from West Asia to Southeast Asia Sanskrit-speaking Mitanni/Hittite kings in Syria

Beauteous Queen Nefertitis father was Thusharatha


Southeast Asias dominant influence was Indian Rajendra Cholas invasion of Sumatra in 1017 CE

Kalingas established Hinduism in Bali

Indic ideas continue to be influential in Indo-china Languages use Indic alphabets: Thai, Javanese, Khmer

Worlds largest Buddhist temple: Borobudur (Indonesia)

Worlds largest Hindu temple: Angkor Wat (Cambodia) whichis the worlds largest religious structure


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Indonesia

Borobudur, Java: 9th cent CE

Dieng Plateau, Java: 5th-8th cent CE

Death of Maricha: Prambanan, Java,

9th cent CE



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Cambodia

Angkor Wat (12th cent CE), two views

Enigmatic heads at the Bayon (12th

cent CE)

Bhishma in sara sayya, Angkor Wat



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The Empire of the Intellect Tremendous achievements:

Paninis grammar, Aryabhatas astronomy

Kerala school of math: infinite series and calculus

Saayana and the speed of light (1400 CE)

Kanada and atomic theor 600 BCE

Brahmagupta(?) and the zero (500 CE?) The greatest universities: Nalanda, Taxila

Influence of Indic ideas on

Christianity: monasticism, mythology, Gnostics

Europe: Druids, Gundestrup cauldron, astronomy, fables

Greeks: philosophy, mythology, epics

More recently, great ideas from:

C V Raman, S Chandrasekhar, J C Bose, Srinivasa Ramanujan9/26/2008 Rajeev Srinivasan 36


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Formal Languages, Astronomy, Math Context free grammar: Panini (ca. 500 BCE)

Possibly the single greatest achievement of one human mind

The concept of algorithms is embedded in this

Astronomy The earth is a rotating sphere, the size of the earth, the length of the

ay, ec pses Arya ata ca. 4 E

Heliocentrism (Parameswara, Nilakantha ca. 1400 CE)

Mathematics Pythagoras theorem, squaring the circle (Baudhayana, Sulba Sutras,

ca. 800 BCE)

Pi to six digits, table of sines (Aryabhata ca. 499 CE) Infinite series, calculus: (Nilakantha, Madhva ca. 1300 CE)

Algebra (Aryabhata 499 CE, and Bhaskara II in Lilavati, ca. 1150 CE)



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Astronomy

(Dharampal quoting British observers) The Observatory in Benares (published 1770 CE)

One of the five most celebrated in the world

Built roughly around 1575 CE

The meridian for astronomical tables is Benares (likeGreenwich is meridian for European science)


Astronomical tables refer to 3102 BCE as the beginningof the Kaliyuga (paper published 1790) Astronomers either observed the celestial configuration or

were able to back-calculate them

Indians knew of the 4 satellites of Jupiter, and the sevensatellites and ring of Saturn (before European telescopesappeared)


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Practical impact of abstract ideas The Indian numeral system

Mathematics would have stagnated without therevolutionary invention of the zero (and infinity)

Infinite series for trigonometric functions


Enabled navigation of the open ocean, as youcould locate yourself using sextant, tables

Paninis context-free grammar

Computing would be impossible without preciseand unambiguous semantics for language


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Medicine and Surgery

(source: Dharampal)

Standard Indian surgical methods:

Catarats: depressing the lens when opaque Plastic surgery: putting on noses


,

animal parts

Inoculation against smallpox: banned by the

British in 1802!

And the inoculators had a theory about animalculae

(ie. Bacteria) which cause all epidemical diseases


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Agriculture

(source: Dharampal) In Malabar, agriculture is an important and

honorable occupation (paper written ~1820 CE) Principles of:

Crop rotation, manuring, sowing via drill plough


Propagation using cuttings (eg. Rice) Transplantation

Irrigation was widespread but fell into disuse

Unfortunately, prohibitive taxes (sometimes>100% of the gross produce) imposed by theBritish led to abandonment of fertile lands


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Potential Agricultural Superpower Arable land: 57% of land mass (160 million hectares, cf. 14%

for US 177 mh, 14% for China+Tibet 124 mh)

Productivity 900 CE, Tanjavar, Inscriptions: 15 tons of paddy/h

1100 CE S Arcot Inscri tions: 14.5 tons h

1325 CE, Ramanathapuram, Inscriptions: 20 tons/h 1807 CE, Coimbatore, Europeans: 13 tons/h

1770 CE, Chengalpattu, British Survey: 9 tons/h

1803 CE, Allahabad, Europeans: 7.5 tons/h of wheat

1993 CE, Ludhiana, GoI: 4.3 tons/h wheat; 5.5 tons/h paddy

Irrigation (1998) India 59 mh, China 53 mh, US 21 mh, Europe 17 mh, World 271 mh

Source: Timeless India, Resurgent India: J Bajaj and MD Srinivas



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Agriculture Under-served Indian agricultural production

One of the largest producers of wheat, rice, tea, milk, coffee, cotton

The second largest producer of fruits and vegetables

But half the production is lost to rot and pests

, ,

Poor mechanisms for getting it to market Not enough branding of organic, traditionally grown crops

Water management, recharging of old ponds, tanks and

groundwater not being done

Work by Tarun Bharat Sangh in re-greening Aravallis

Over 100,000 tanks in South India: many have fallen into disuse



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Food Security: Key to Prosperity India can become the worlds predominant

agricultural power Like OPEC, OFEC (Org of Food Exporting

India has a large genetic diversity of crops

(which is being reduced by monoculture)

Food power is the basis of all prosperity Agriculture needs greater focus



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Agricultural Landscapes Mehrgarh domesticated barley as early as

9000 BCE (photo of excavated village) Abundant rice-growing area: Nagercoil,

,

The Grand Anicut on the Kaveri, built by

Karikala Chola, ~60 CE; still working



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Textiles Indus-Sarasvati shows evidence of cotton spinning

India was leading producer of textiles till 1800 Vast variety: cotton painting from Sironj (Rajasthan),

rinted cottons Gu arat wollens ashmina

(Kashmir), silks (Patan, Benares, Mysore, Kanchi),muslin (Dacca)

Indian words: chintz, madras, calico, paisley,

jodhpurs, seersucker, cashmere, British mill cloth destroyed this industry by imposing

huge duties and prohibiting it



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Education


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Education

(Dharampal: Beautiful Tree) India had the oldest and greatest universities in the world:

Nalanda, Takshasila, Odantapuri

Education was available to all castes

70% of students in Tamil areas, 54% in Malayalam areas, 62% in Oriya

areas 35% in Telu u areas were Sudra and Ati-Sudra Madras

Presidency, 1800)

Even at the time of European invasion:

Every village has a school, Every 1,000 residents have a school

Munro, Governor, Madras Presidency, 1812

The arrival of the alien European system destroyed traditionaleducation: this was intended to produce factory hands and

brown sahibs, not Indians who cared about India



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Technology


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Technology

(source: Dharampal) The making of ice

Waterproofing material for ships Wootz, the finest steel in the world

As many as 10,000 furnaces, making 20 tons/year

Manufacturing of paper

Madras mortar for building



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In economic terms, India was the worlds largest economy in the first millennium,

producing a third of global GDP. By 1500 its share had declined to 25 percent, as China

overtook it and Western Europes share began to expand rapidly. Indias share continued

to fall after 1700.9/26/2008 54Rajeev Srinivasan


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The British Interregnum Agricultural productivity was wiped out:

Canals and tanks not kept up, famines caused 30 milliondeaths

Light industry was wiped out:

Textiles damaged by prohibition, huge tariffs

Weavers, metal-workers, potters, all paupered and turned

into unskilled landless laborers: the poor

Enormous amounts of capital were taken out:

$10 trillion in todays money

Financed the Industrial Revolution and still funds the UK



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Statecraft Kautilyas Artha-sastra is perhaps the most practical text for

managing a state. Quotes: "Learn from the mistakes of others... you can't live long enough to make them

all yourselves."

"A person should not be too honest. Just as straight trees are cut down first,

".

"Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be." "The biggest guru-mantra is: Never share your secrets with anybody. It will

destroy you."

"There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship

without self-interests. This is a bitter truth."

" Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I

doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you

think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead."



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Peaceful and Democratic Tolerance for heresies; and for refugees

Parsis, Syrian Christians, Tibetans,..; Buddhists, Jains,

Jews never oppressed only in India out of 148 nations

Indus-Sarasvati noted for lack of armies, carvings glorifyingrulers or seals bearing scenes of war


No huge palaces for kings and nobles either

No signs of violent struggles over this vast area

Tradition of democracy: eg. Tamil villages (Chengalpattu),Indus-Sarasvati era

Tradition of debate and argument eg. Al Biruni Coexistence/peaceful transitions: eg. Sabarimala, SE Asia

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L t Ci ili ti ( d ld t?)


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Largest Civilization (and oldest?)

Mehrgarh, Baluchistan settled around 6500 BCE

Sarasvati dried up circa 1900 BCE Size of Indus Sarasvati greater than Mesopotamia, Egypt,

put together


Astonishingly uniform weights/measures (decimal/binary)

(1:8/3:2:4:8:16:32:64), town planning, brick sizes

Decimal: Scale at 1.70 mm, port with 1.70 m walls

Far more sites clustered around Sarasvati than Indus:

Kalibangan, Dholavira, Rakhigarhi, Lothal (port) See map, courtesy Michel Danino

http://micheldanino.bharatvani.org/indus.html

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Todays India, in competition



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The key to regain past prosperity? Agriculture?

Intellectual property generation?

Education?

The storehouse of traditional knowledge?


Entrepreneurial skills? Or all of the above?

That which enabled ancient India to be the wealthiest land inthe world: is that sustainable?

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Sources of competitive advantage The Michael Porter thesis on leadership:

Low cost production Innovation/differentiation/customer intimacy

Niche focus

How does India stack up?

Low labor cost (but not forever)

Must focus on high value intellectual property

Focus not on everything but a few areas



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Megatrends of today Engineering is the oil of the 21st century

Joel Kotkin, Californian sociologist, 1997

Demographics is destiny Augustus Comte, French philosopher, 19th century CE

India has the potential to show the fastest growth over the


next 30 and 50 years Goldman Sachs paper Dreaming with BRICs, 2003

India may catch up with and overtake China Foreign Policy, Huang (MIT)/Khanna (Harvard), 2003

These will merely put India back where it was for most of herhistory Consider 1000 CE: Rajaraja Chola; end of Gupta Empire

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India and its only rivals India and China

India is the source of abstract thought, China focuses on concrete

things; and the future is abstract Indian ideas colonized Asia, although the Chinese migrated in large

numbers: because the ideas were useful

India can potentially compete with the US in every sphere where it isstrong:

Agriculture, technology, finance, space, entertainment

The persistence of Indian culture over time and despite invaders: themerit in the syncretic approach

A symbiotic relationship: Sales and marketing, finance: US

Design and development: India



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Conclusion History can give us self respect and self confidence:

Indians have the capacity to be thought-leaders

Our past shows us the way to our future:

We always chose butter over guns


s century w see a sp en rena ssance n n a

But we must first believe in ourselves

India is the only continuously surviving ancient civilization

on earth

And it was more creative than all others put together

We have forgotten more than other civilizations created

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Further Reading


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Further Reading

Ancient India

The invasion that never was, Michel Danino

In search of the cradle of civilization, Subhash Kak et al

Sarasvati, Dr. S. Kalyanaraman

htt ://micheldanino.bharatvani.or

Our Oriental Heritage, The Case for India, Will Durant

British period:

Late Victorian Holocausts: El Nino and the Creation of the Third

World, Mike Davis, 2001

Prosperous British India, William Digby


Further Reading (contd )


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Further Reading (contd.)

Mathematics and Science Computing Science in Ancient India, TRN Rao,Subhash Kak

The Kerala School of Math, Ian Pearce A Concise History of Science in India, DN Bose et al, editors

India's Scientific Mind: A Quest for Infinity", Michel Danino, Indian


,

"The Universal History of Numbers", George Ifrah, John Wiley, 2002 "Aryabhatiya of Aryabhata", KS Shukla and KV Sarma, ed, 1976

"A Concise History of Science in India", Indian National Science

Academy, 1989

"The Origin of Mathematics", A Seidenberg, 1978 "500 years of Tantrasangraha: A Landmark in the History of

Astronomy", MS Sriram et al, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 2002

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Further Reading (Contd )


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Further Reading (Contd)

Education The Beautiful Tree: Indigenous Indian Education in the 18th century,

Dharampal, Impex India, 1971

Art History of Indian and Indonesian Art, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy,

Dover, 1927

Science an Tec no ogy

Indian Science and Technology in the 18th century, Dharampal, ImpexIndia, 1971

General Timeless India, Resurgent India, J Bajaj and M D Srinivas, Center for

Policy Studies, 2001

Ten Things for India to Achieve its Potential by 2050, Goldman Sachs,2008

Videos from www.indiavideo.org


My information


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My information

Blogs: rajeev2007.wordpress.com,

rajeev2004.blogspot.com Web page:

. . .

Email: [email protected]


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