India, March 12 -- By B.S. Ajaikumar

Long before colonial rule bent this country to foreign will, India stood tall as one of the world's great economic and civilisational powers. The English explorer William Dampier described India as a vast manufacturing hub where "nearly every kind of product known to the civilized world had long been produced."

We were once at the forefront of global commerce, a land whose goods travelled across continents through thriving trade networks. Then came colonial rule. British domination reduced a proud civilisation into a supplier of raw materials and a consumer of foreign goods, leaving behind a legacy of economic and psychological subservience.

After independence, India sought to reclaim its autonomy. ...