India, March 14 -- There is constant talk about the need for higher research and development (R&D) spending in India. Industrialist Naushad Forbes has long advocated it. The government exhorts industry to innovate. Corporate leaders promise action. Yet little changes. Why?

I will argue it is because of Indian democracy and the Indian consumer. Let me take a historical detour to explain.

When the British left India, they did so hastily. Exhausted by World War II and pressured by a powerful freedom movement, they departed with minimal transition planning and with little care as to what happened after they had gone. Partition displaced over 14 million people and killed more than a million. Country boundaries were drawn in distant offices w...