As per the economics-101, the prerequisites for the economic growth of any country are namely: (1) Natural Resources (2) Physical Capital or Infrastructure (3) Population (4) Human Capital (5) Technology and (6) Law. We know through research that Bharat has been the economic superpower for more than 1,000 years of the last 2,000 years of known economic history. Given this fact, there must be some of the basic ingredients out of the six mentioned above that Bharat must have lost over the last 1000 years. To understand what these basic ingredients are, I have considered each one of the ingredient.
To start with, Bharat still has at least a reasonable amount of natural resources today compared to what Bharat had 2,000 years back. This is even after losing big landmass to barbaric invaders over the last 1,000 years. Even population-wise, India has been at the forefront of the world census figures as it is the second-most populous country after China. For the remaining ingredients, one can look at the historical temples, infrastructures and scientific advances to find the evidence of the missing ones.
Looking at the historical Temples, cities like Hampi, and Structures like Jantar Mantar, we can say that the Physical Capital, Human capital and Technology quality has largely deteriorated over the last 1,000 years. This is because of the attack from invaders who never valued age-old indigenous traditional knowledge. The further destruction of human capital (skills and knowledge) has ensured that no marvelous Physical Capital is created in recent times. The most astonishing piece of architecture in recent years, the Statue of Unity, has also been created with help from foreigners (China). To further understand the gap in the technological advancement of the Bharat 2,000 years ago and the Bharat of today, one has to look at the construction of the architectural wonder – Kailash Temple in Ellora, which even modern scientists are unable to comprehend.
Going by the scriptures like Manusmiriti or Arthashastra, it is evident that the Law protected the women, kids, animals, and the environment. The Dharma of Bharat — Hindutva, penalized any crime against the weak and vulnerable. The penalties were significantly higher for the educated/wealthy criminals who failed to be good citizens setting an example for the society. In recent times, the failure of the state to punish Vijay Mallya or Nirav Modi and many similar wealthy and famous fugitives exhibits that Indian society has failed in executing Law too. Furthermore, some politicians encourage criminals, rapists and rioters, by rewarding them sewing machines or cash for burning busses adding to the failure of society to learn its lessons from examples.
In earlier times, the Law of land was based on Hindu values for centuries which is now destroyed by the destruction of Gurukul system of education. The values of Hindutva which focus on Justice, Right to individual freedom, and excellence can help Bharat to reclaim its lost grounds on the moral front. The system of education which promotes meritocracy and run on the donations by the society is being followed by USA in the form of local property taxes used to finance schools. While in Hindu philosophy, the Guru runs the Gurukul without exploiting resources of the state, focusing on each student and their needs. The Gurukul system gave the world Bramhagupta, Charaka, Sushruta and many other great Rishis (scientists and thinkers). The Guru-Shishya parampara(tradition) is a very pious way to impart knowledge, devoid of any materialistic component ensuring the right talent gets the right exposure irrespective of race, creed, and gender. The technological advances of Bharat in Medicine, Navigation, Astronomy, and Mathematics pinnacled during the pre Islamic times.
Some recent trends show that the over-reliance on foreign imports in the domain of Human capital, Technology, and the law has largely put India into the economic mess. A foreign language that is spoken largely by only 3% of the elite has been forced upon the country. As per a recent study, this single policy handicaps 87% of Indian population who used to contribute in the advancement of pure sciences and business in pre islamic era. The idea that one understands a concept(science, maths, spiritual etc) much better when explained in native language than a third acquired language has been proved right. The encouragement to adopt new technology and sciences in the native languages and ensuring the advances in pure science reach the students in their mother tongue is much needed today so that every individual is able to contribute back to the economic development of the country. Currently, due to the foreign language being the only choice for law, technology, research and business, 87% of the Indian population fails to participate in the economic advancement of the country.
On the other hand, Hindu philosophy promotes native languages and work to preserve native technology while rewarding innovations in R&D and foreign collaborations. The Hindu culture through Yoga and Ayurveda can keep society healthy and positively motivated to work for humanity. All in all, if the Hindu philosophy and way of life takes center stage once again in India there is no doubt that India can become a superpower and provide an able leadership to the world.