India's ineptness in technology?

[rickroll]

I'm curious why India is relatively inept in tech innovations. I'm using the bold adjective inept because given the resources (people, money, knowledgebase) they have built in tech services, why aren't we seeing any software based innovation from India? Yes they cannot compete in semiconductors because that takes a huge initial capital investment to create the equivalent of TSMC. But what about software innovation? Where are the Indian software innovations (only Zoho and FreshWorks come to mind).

India has had all of these advantages

1. Headstart in tech services since late 90s
2. Roster of powerful Indian CEOs in global tech companies setting up teams in India
3. Potential large base of home grown tech talent that is also cheaper
4. Money pouring in for tech companies

Why aren't you Indians creating anything substantial in spite of these? You had an excuse for Chinese innovations in manufacturing and hardware that they had a head start. Now the Chinese have showed you up with mind blowing innovation in AI and LLM (referring to DeepSeek). Where is India's equivalent of DeepSeek? Why isn't your country innovating in spite of all these favorable conditions?

 

[ElRaja]

brain drain, all the smartest indians work for Americans.

 

[anikrc1]

Can't compare any country to China, forget India even USA is not a match for them in innovations in Ai and Quantum comoutations. That said India is actually the best in terms of science and tech research among low income countries. You can read the list of Nature's research centers of the world. India is the only low income country to feature cities in top 200. Kolkata 84, Bangalore 85 and Mumbai 99.Delhi 124 and Hyderabad.Traditional research powerhouses like Vienna or Moscow more or less are at the same standard now. In fact India's cities rank higher than even first world countries like Sweden or Norway.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

My own loose analysis is that a country goes through a cycle of being a labour provider, then is able to copy tech solutions , provide these solutions at a local level, then is able to innovate and create its own global systems/solutions.

India is somewhere between phase 2 and Phase 3. Phase 4 is many years away and may never come.

 

[anikrc1]

I can speak from my field. In the last NIST call for designs for lightweight crypto system 2 of the top 10 were actually from India.

 

[anikrc1]

The reason for China's supremacy compared to India is the same as former USSR going toe to toe with USA in science, yet current Russia lagging far behind.

 

[JaDed]

I'm curious why India is relatively inept in tech innovations. I'm using the bold adjective inept because given the resources (people, money, knowledgebase) they have built in tech services, why aren't we seeing any software based innovation from India? Yes they cannot compete in semiconductors because that takes a huge initial capital investment to create the equivalent of TSMC. But what about software innovation? Where are the Indian software innovations (only Zoho and FreshWorks come to mind).

India has had all of these advantages

1. Headstart in tech services since late 90s
2. Roster of powerful Indian CEOs in global tech companies setting up teams in India
3. Potential large base of home grown tech talent that is also cheaper
4. Money pouring in for tech companies

Why aren't you Indians creating anything substantial in spite of these? You had an excuse for Chinese innovations in manufacturing and hardware that they had a head start. Now the Chinese have showed you up with mind blowing innovation in AI and LLM (referring to DeepSeek). Where is India's equivalent of DeepSeek? Why isn't your country innovating in spite of all these favorable conditions?

How will Indians have an equivalent of Deepseek?

The reason DeepSeek is remarkable is because Chinese engineers didn’t use CUDA and instead worked directly on assembly language to work on bandwidth issue Nvidia 800(as per reports).

Do you mean equivalent of Ali baba? That Indians did with flipkart.

Indians have also made opensource ERP systems, payment systems, Postman was made in India, it’s much better than what was 10 years ago.

 

[Champ_Pal]

I don't live in India anymore, however I do visit places like Bangalore and Hyderabad which are the IT hubs of India.

I feel India got a good head start in IT in 90's. Many companies like Infosys, Wipro, Satyam Computers etc popped up during that period and most of them are still going strong while some folded due to various reasons. These Big IT companies in India only concentrated on minting money by getting software contracts from all over the world. No real product that would be useful for the world came out in the last 3 decades from them. These IT companies have become glorified consulting firms. The CEO's of those companies only concentrate on where the next project is coming from and not how to innovate and launch their own products. Basically zero advancements from their end.

The only exception to me among those groups was Ratan Tata. He was the only one to me with a thinking brain. He at least tried even though they failed. Indian entrepreneurs are happy to copy US models and launch them in India. The real innovation only happens in the West. India is just a copy cat. They are happy as long as they are minting money.

Lastly, the real smart ones in India are recruited by foreign corporations to work for them. Many of them from poor backgrounds are eager to help their families rather than take risk with new ideas and startups. Can't blame them. There is no respect for poor in Indian society.
The rest of the average educated folk either end up working for these IT service sector companies happy to earn more than what their parents ever could or they simply go to study in foreign lands with the intention of settling there. No one wants to deal with the chaos of India and the harsh work hour schedule.

Future belongs to countries that innovate. The rest will forever be subordinate and taking orders from those innovative nations. China for all its drawbacks did a wonderful job of encouraging new ideas and innovations in pretty much every sector. They may still be behind US as of now. But the gap is narrowing fast. Trump realizes this and trying his best to stop sending US dollars in the form of manufacturing to China. The next few years will be war of AI. Who will achieve AGI and eventually ASI first. One thing is for sure. India is not in the race for that. Its US vs China for the title. The rest are spectators.

 

[uppercut]

I'm curious why India is relatively inept in tech innovations. I'm using the bold adjective inept because given the resources (people, money, knowledgebase) they have built in tech services, why aren't we seeing any software based innovation from India? Yes they cannot compete in semiconductors because that takes a huge initial capital investment to create the equivalent of TSMC. But what about software innovation? Where are the Indian software innovations (only Zoho and FreshWorks come to mind).

India has had all of these advantages

1. Headstart in tech services since late 90s
2. Roster of powerful Indian CEOs in global tech companies setting up teams in India
3. Potential large base of home grown tech talent that is also cheaper
4. Money pouring in for tech companies

Why aren't you Indians creating anything substantial in spite of these? You had an excuse for Chinese innovations in manufacturing and hardware that they had a head start. Now the Chinese have showed you up with mind blowing innovation in AI and LLM (referring to DeepSeek). Where is India's equivalent of DeepSeek? Why isn't your country innovating in spite of all these favorable conditions?

Thats a fair criticism .... I lay the blame entirely on the Indian Government policies post 1947 which were extremely corrupt, anti-business and anti-innovation. It is actually a miracle of sorts that India is seen as a IT powerhouse of whatever kind despite those woeful and utterly corrupt governments that were in power for decades. There is a video out there where Narayan Murthy explains the pains he had to go thru to get a stupid computer imported back in the 80s.

 

[IndoorCricket]

The kids of early software engineers are in US of A. Next generation kids hopefully stays back in India and develop native tech. TBH Indian IT companies are just consulting low cost dev centers. They are not GCC's. even in product companies, the core tech stays in USA and only the supporting functions are moved to India.

Kids these days are gridning for placements. But I also see few of the thinking out of the box and becoming a solopreneurs

 

[Bhaijaan]

In our corrupt as hell country even the brightest of minds stop acting intelligently.

The so called brilliant minded IITians who become great professionals in the US and contribute towards extra ordinary innovations, once they come back to Bharat, all they seem to do is scam investors of their wealth by creating cheap imitations of US companies and look for an exit as soon as they have minted good money to leave the company to die a slow death. We are never going to have an equivalent of Apple, Teslas, Nvidias but we will 200% have a cheap generic imitation of them that will sell what they produce at 1/10th the cost, 1/20th the design elegance. Our country just doesn’t nurture grand vision.

Also, about our education system, there maybe misconceptions. Our students here only learn to be prepared for extreme competition and Gadhamajdoori (Donkey Labour). Innovation and creativity is something they mostly learn abroad when they get that kind of supportive environment.

I just wish things were different and we could break this vicious cycle because right now, it feels like we’re wasting so much potential at a very crucial juncture.

 

[Varun]

The tossers here will much rather waste their time in the ungygeinic Maha Kumbh than do anything substantial in the fast changing world of tech.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

India, the new Vishwaguru, has now mastered the art of using technology created by others. And Indians even offers paid courses to teach how to use it. The USA built ChatGPT and China is crafting DeepSeek whereas India is laser focussed on the Laadli Behna Yojana.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

My own loose analysis is that a country goes through a cycle of being a labour provider, then is able to copy tech solutions , provide these solutions at a local level, then is able to innovate and create its own global systems/solutions.

India is somewhere between phase 2 and Phase 3. Phase 4 is many years away and may never come.

Agree with this. It is similar to why India does not produce good quality entertainment. They spend so much time trying to ape the west, they lose touch with their own stories and can't produce anything original or authentic any more. They are just good copycats, not inventors.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Thats a fair criticism .... I lay the blame entirely on the Indian Government policies post 1947 which were extremely corrupt, anti-business and anti-innovation. It is actually a miracle of sorts that India is seen as a IT powerhouse of whatever kind despite those woeful and utterly corrupt governments that were in power for decades. There is a video out there where Narayan Murthy explains the pains he had to go thru to get a stupid computer imported back in the 80s.

Wow, what an excuse, straight out of the 1980s.

These days, India has earned a reputation as the powerhouse of scammers.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

I agree with the OP on many points. The reasons are primarily brain drain and the comfort zone.
Most Indian techies, like me, come from middle-class, humble backgrounds. Parents spend their lifetime savings and even sell properties to fund their children’s education. They raise their kids with the mindset of securing a stable job and settling down financially, which becomes the central theme for most families.

Because of this, many are reluctant to think outside the box. The fear of failure and the inability to recover financially make people cautious. I have tried multiple times to start a small startup, but I couldn’t make it happen because I am living a comfortable life with a good job and financial security. We have loans to repay, school fees to pay, and parents to care for. I don’t want to take risks as I have no backup.

However, the next generation has the comfort and freedom that we lacked. They don’t carry the same financial burdens.

One of my classmates stepped out of her comfort zone, started an AI-based startup, and successfully sold it to Accenture after running it for a few years. Now, she vacations abroad on chartered flights and has started a new venture. The rewards come if you are willing to take risks.

Unfortunately, most Indians don’t break out of their comfort zones, but I believe the next generation will make a difference.

 

[Champ_Pal]

I agree with the OP on many points. The reasons are primarily brain drain and the comfort zone.
Most Indian techies, like me, come from middle-class, humble backgrounds. Parents spend their lifetime savings and even sell properties to fund their children’s education. They raise their kids with the mindset of securing a stable job and settling down financially, which becomes the central theme for most families.

Because of this, many are reluctant to think outside the box. The fear of failure and the inability to recover financially make people cautious. I have tried multiple times to start a small startup, but I couldn’t make it happen because I am living a comfortable life with a good job and financial security. We have loans to repay, school fees to pay, and parents to care for. I don’t want to take risks as I have no backup.

However, the next generation has the comfort and freedom that we lacked. They don’t carry the same financial burdens.

One of my classmates stepped out of her comfort zone, started an AI-based startup, and successfully sold it to Accenture after running it for a few years. Now, she vacations abroad on chartered flights and has started a new venture. The rewards come if you are willing to take risks.

Unfortunately, most Indians don’t break out of their comfort zones, but I believe the next generation will make a difference.

Indian kids have responsibilities pulling them down at every step in their life. Taking risk means the boy or girl is also putting the parents and younger siblings at risk of failure. So even if someone has the drive to be a risk taker and do something big, he/she will opt for the safer path for the sake of family.
Contrast that with American kids. They get kicked out of the house to fend for themselves by the time they turn 18. Parents are not going to find for their education. So no emotional blackmail by parents about taking care of them when they are old. The elder sibling is not responsible for the marriage or education of the younger ones in the family. Its everyone for their own. So pretty much everyone can be a risk taker. Most end up failures and settle for middle class jobs at best. They can always rely on government social security. The few that succeed are not burdened by any family responsibility or their blackmail. They are the game changers for the country. The movers and shakers of the world.

I am not saying this is the only reason, but it helps a lot when family is not a hindrance to someone's growth and innovation.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

I think @CricketCartoons built a tech company and then sold it too. I recall him saying something like this

 

[HalBass9]

I agree with the OP on many points. The reasons are primarily brain drain and the comfort zone.
Most Indian techies, like me, come from middle-class, humble backgrounds. Parents spend their lifetime savings and even sell properties to fund their children’s education. They raise their kids with the mindset of securing a stable job and settling down financially, which becomes the central theme for most families.

Because of this, many are reluctant to think outside the box. The fear of failure and the inability to recover financially make people cautious. I have tried multiple times to start a small startup, but I couldn’t make it happen because I am living a comfortable life with a good job and financial security. We have loans to repay, school fees to pay, and parents to care for. I don’t want to take risks as I have no backup.

However, the next generation has the comfort and freedom that we lacked. They don’t carry the same financial burdens.

One of my classmates stepped out of her comfort zone, started an AI-based startup, and successfully sold it to Accenture after running it for a few years. Now, she vacations abroad on chartered flights and has started a new venture. The rewards come if you are willing to take risks.

Unfortunately, most Indians don’t break out of their comfort zones, but I believe the next generation will make a difference.

I somewhat disagree. Many Indians have stepped out of their comfort zones and found success, but it’s the culture and environment shaped by a nation's leadership that drives people to break barriers and create things that gain global recognition. The USA achieved this successfully after World War II as part of their national responsibility, and now China is doing the same. India, however, isn’t truly competing with either the USA or China.

 

[IndoorCricket]

I agree with the OP on many points. The reasons are primarily brain drain and the comfort zone.
Most Indian techies, like me, come from middle-class, humble backgrounds. Parents spend their lifetime savings and even sell properties to fund their children’s education. They raise their kids with the mindset of securing a stable job and settling down financially, which becomes the central theme for most families.

Because of this, many are reluctant to think outside the box. The fear of failure and the inability to recover financially make people cautious. I have tried multiple times to start a small startup, but I couldn’t make it happen because I am living a comfortable life with a good job and financial security. We have loans to repay, school fees to pay, and parents to care for. I don’t want to take risks as I have no backup.

However, the next generation has the comfort and freedom that we lacked. They don’t carry the same financial burdens.

One of my classmates stepped out of her comfort zone, started an AI-based startup, and successfully sold it to Accenture after running it for a few years. Now, she vacations abroad on chartered flights and has started a new venture. The rewards come if you are willing to take risks.

Unfortunately, most Indians don’t break out of their comfort zones, but I believe the next generation will make a difference.

Absolutley agree. People living in fear can only think about survival. Our net per capita income is still @2800$, China is at 12k$

An average Indian is a farmer who is exploited all year. An average Chinese is working a manufacturing company earning a decent wage.

Next generation should do good hopefully given they are not moving out of India.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Agree with this. It is similar to why India does not produce good quality entertainment. They spend so much time trying to ape the west, they lose touch with their own stories and can't produce anything original or authentic any more. They are just good copycats, not inventors.

Any idiot can copy a movie.

But copycat for tech requires significant skill.

China was a copycat for 30 years and now it's universities are amongst the best for research output.

India is following a similar trajectory in this regard albeit more slowly.

 

[RexRex]

China was a copycat for 30 years and now it's universities are amongst the best for research output.

India is following a similar trajectory in this regard albeit more slowly.

Spot on. The smart people copy and learn.

Still it's amazing to see China so proficient in AI .. given that India was known for its IT skillz, compared to China. The latter was more about manufacturing.

 

[JaDed]

Spot on. The smart people copy and learn.

Still it's amazing to see China so proficient in AI .. given that India was known for its IT skillz, compared to China. The latter was more about manufacturing.

That is untrue, Chinese IT was well ahead of India , just that they never did outsourcing of IT because of the English language .
Even back in the day Infosys compared the performance of Indian and Chinese engineers on coding exams and Chinese were far ahead on generic IT as well.

Also IT is extremely easy, what matters is computer science graduates and they were way ahead of their Indian counterparts back then itself, that’s why so many softwares which are made for Chinese devices/automobiles have come out of China.

 

[JaDed]

Most Indians do realise the gap between the Chinese and Indian engineers, the OP might have had intentions to mock maybe but majority Indian posters have accepted the flaws and that’s good to see.

China has different problems but definitely ethnic religious issues isn’t one.
That should be an eye opener for South Asia overall.

 

[RexRex]

Even back in the day Infosys compared the performance of Indian and Chinese engineers on coding exams and Chinese were far ahead on generic IT as well.

When and where did this happen ?

 

[JaDed]

When and where did this happen ?

2008-12, Can’t recall the exact year, when it used to have those hackathon things globally.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Most Indians do realise the gap between the Chinese and Indian engineers, the OP might have had intentions to mock maybe but majority Indian posters have accepted the flaws and that’s good to see.

China has different problems but definitely ethnic religious issues isn’t one.
That should be an eye opener for South Asia overall.

China does not tolerate religious mumbo-jumbo get in the way of progress. In fact they crush it ruthlessly and strongly discourage it. For them it is one nation one people and no BS.
Chinese progress comes at the cost of human basic freedoms. It has its severe drawbacks. But one cannot question the progress they made.
All the Vloggers including the Indian ones that travel to China are blown away by the tech and infrastructure China has built in the last 4 decades. No faking in it.

 

[anikrc1]

I don't live in India anymore, however I do visit places like Bangalore and Hyderabad which are the IT hubs of India.

I feel India got a good head start in IT in 90's. Many companies like Infosys, Wipro, Satyam Computers etc popped up during that period and most of them are still going strong while some folded due to various reasons. These Big IT companies in India only concentrated on minting money by getting software contracts from all over the world. No real product that would be useful for the world came out in the last 3 decades from them. These IT companies have become glorified consulting firms. The CEO's of those companies only concentrate on where the next project is coming from and not how to innovate and launch their own products. Basically zero advancements from their end.

The only exception to me among those groups was Ratan Tata. He was the only one to me with a thinking brain. He at least tried even though they failed. Indian entrepreneurs are happy to copy US models and launch them in India. The real innovation only happens in the West. India is just a copy cat. They are happy as long as they are minting money.

Lastly, the real smart ones in India are recruited by foreign corporations to work for them. Many of them from poor backgrounds are eager to help their families rather than take risk with new ideas and startups. Can't blame them. There is no respect for poor in Indian society.
The rest of the average educated folk either end up working for these IT service sector companies happy to earn more than what their parents ever could or they simply go to study in foreign lands with the intention of settling there. No one wants to deal with the chaos of India and the harsh work hour schedule.

Future belongs to countries that innovate. The rest will forever be subordinate and taking orders from those innovative nations. China for all its drawbacks did a wonderful job of encouraging new ideas and innovations in pretty much every sector. They may still be behind US as of now. But the gap is narrowing fast. Trump realizes this and trying his best to stop sending US dollars in the form of manufacturing to China. The next few years will be war of AI. Who will achieve AGI and eventually ASI first. One thing is for sure. India is not in the race for that. Its US vs China for the title. The rest are spectators.

Thats a fair criticism .... I lay the blame entirely on the Indian Government policies post 1947 which were extremely corrupt, anti-business and anti-innovation. It is actually a miracle of sorts that India is seen as a IT powerhouse of whatever kind despite those woeful and utterly corrupt governments that were in power for decades. There is a video out there where Narayan Murthy explains the pains he had to go thru to get a stupid computer imported back in the 80s.

India was actually the first Asian country to build a computer, even before Japan or China.

 

[anikrc1]

China does not tolerate religious mumbo-jumbo get in the way of progress. In fact they crush it ruthlessly and strongly discourage it. For them it is one nation one people and no BS.
Chinese progress comes at the cost of human basic freedoms. It has its severe drawbacks. But one cannot question the progress they made.
All the Vloggers including the Indian ones that travel to China are blown away by the tech and infrastructure China has built in the last 4 decades. No faking in it.

Look at what percentage o

 

[anikrc1]

China does not tolerate religious mumbo-jumbo get in the way of progress. In fact they crush it ruthlessly and strongly discourage it. For them it is one nation one people and no BS.
Chinese progress comes at the cost of human basic freedoms. It has its severe drawbacks. But one cannot question the progress they made.
All the Vloggers including the Indian ones that travel to China are blown away by the tech and infrastructure China has built in the last 4 decades. No faking in it.

Look at what percentage of gdp Chin invest in research and look at the percentage India does. Indian scientists actually delivers more than the support the get. As I said India is the only country to havr cities in Narure's top 200 research centers with Kolkata first amo g in India in 84. Forget low invome countries, even among middle incomr Countries China is the only one on that list.

 

[Varun]

It's gotten to a stage where India should no longer be mentioned in the same sentence as China, if it was so far.

 

[anikrc1]

It's gotten to a stage where India should no longer be mentioned in the same sentence as China, if it was so far.

No country apart from maybe USA and Isarel should be mentioned in same sentence as China as far as science is concerned.

 

[JaDed]

No country apart from maybe USA and Isarel should be mentioned in same sentence as China as far as science is concerned.

Sourh Korea and Japan are still very good, they have their own issues but the scientific pedigree is still very high in those two nations.

 

[anikrc1]

Sourh Korea and Japan are still very good, they have their own issues but the scientific pedigree is still very high in those two nations.

South korea ane japan belongs with germany and Switzerland in the next tier, peobably France and England too. I firmly believe India is in the next tier along with Scandinavian countries, Singapore etc.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

China does not tolerate religious mumbo-jumbo get in the way of progress. In fact they crush it ruthlessly and strongly discourage it. For them it is one nation one people and no BS.
Chinese progress comes at the cost of human basic freedoms. It has its severe drawbacks. But one cannot question the progress they made.
All the Vloggers including the Indian ones that travel to China are blown away by the tech and infrastructure China has built in the last 4 decades. No faking in it.

It probably helps that their is a deep suspicion between the West and Chinese ( both ways), so the Chinese were forced to conintually innovate for self preservation and ideological preservation whereas India has generally had more friendly relations and could rely on technology transfers in a more legitimate way.

 

[ElRaja]

My own loose analysis is that a country goes through a cycle of being a labour provider, then is able to copy tech solutions , provide these solutions at a local level, then is able to innovate and create its own global systems/solutions.

India is somewhere between phase 2 and Phase 3. Phase 4 is many years away and may never come.

this is true in a closed system, or in a first mover economy, or in a closed economy. if you are part of an open economy unless you can scale your tech solution to provide better value than the incumbent external providers you dont ever get past the "able to copy" solutions phase.

peter thiel has an excellent book, zero to one, for which the essential premise is that developing new tech is so resource intensive that you need to earn monopolistic profits to keep development going, as a company that has small margins cannot fund the R & D required to stay relevant.

it is for this reason that as soon as Chinese tech (which was developed in a closed economy and thus had monopolistic government backing) started to compete with the USA the whole world suddenly shut up shop and became bipolar. the USA gatekeeps the western economy through its tech behemoths, and China does the same.

the real losers are the peripheral countries who rely on these systems, like the EU and the UK.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

this is true in a closed system, or in a first mover economy, or in a closed economy. if you are part of an open economy unless you can scale your tech solution to provide better value than the incumbent external providers you dont ever get past the "able to copy" solutions phase.

peter thiel has an excellent book, zero to one, for which the essential premise is that developing new tech is so resource intensive that you need to earn monopolistic profits to keep development going, as a company that has small margins cannot fund the R & D required to stay relevant.

it is for this reason that as soon as Chinese tech (which was developed in a closed economy and thus had monopolistic government backing) started to compete with the USA the whole world suddenly shut up shop and became bipolar. the USA gatekeeps the western economy through its tech behemoths, and China does the same.

the real losers are the peripheral countries who rely on these systems, like the EU and the UK.

I'll check his book out thanks for the recommendation

 

[Major]

Innovation requires open minds from the decision makers. Problem in subcontinent is, you bring an innovative idea the decision makers will put it down. Plus, innovation requires free time. In west you are not burden with things like you are in the subcontinent where everyone is racing against time.

 

[Itachi]

If one actually goes to ground level, then there are multiple issues.

You may be a leader in some technology field at the expanse of putting your labours through inhuman workload.

Cheap labor gives you THAT edge of fine tuning the price of your product that you can create monopoly even in the market but this is done at the sacrifice of a class in the society.

During industrial revolution, we can see the same phenomenon.

Progress in terms of technology and society may not compliment each other. History has been eye witness of this very fact from time to time.

We have Labour unions and trade unions which actually create obstacle in making cheaper products because they interfere in the production chain in the interest of the employees. But these are the unions because of which, the labors still have a voice and have dignity left.

India may not be a leader in any of these fields. But I won't complain because I also know the price that you have to pay in the ground level in order to reach these.

 

[HalBass9]

Necessity drives innovation. The Chinese recognize that to stand out and succeed, they must rely on their own efforts. Like the rest of the world, the common Chinese citizen faces similar challenges, but their leadership understood what it takes to surpass others. In contrast, the subcontinent, despite having some of the smartest and hardest working people, has seen its leaders focus more on maintaining power, innovating temples and mosques rather than progress.