Discerning desis ensured that many local products are now on par with the world’s best

Once upon a time, non-resident Indians going to India on holiday did not have to think much about what to take as presents for family and friends there. Practically everything, even on supermarket shelves in foreign countries, were not available in India anyway, so for a few dollars (or any foreign currency) they could buy loads of goodies that would be greeted with rapturous thanks by grateful resident Indian recipients. How much has changed in India in a few decades.

Those supermarket-grade products are now so common in India that no NRI can contemplate presenting those to their desi relatives back home. More importantly, much of what they might consider as alternative gifts are also not only available in India as "imported" goods but actually made in India, too. I was reminded of that sea change when Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented the Swiss president a hamper of European-style Indian cheeses earlier this week.

Back in the day, Indian connoisseurs would turn up their noses at local efforts to make non-indigenous products. "Why reinvent the wheel?" they would say disdainfully. Wine, spirits and cheeses invariably evoked that comment, although that sentiment was also echoed when it came to aircraft, weapons, the gamut of high-tech products and more. As Indians and India became more prosperous, the ability to afford the "real" imported versions initially reinforced that belief.


Also Read: How Islam and Bhakti reshaped India's caste system

But the 'reinventing the wheel' argument no longer holds water. Local production, besides delivering quality at lower cost and with a smaller carbon footprint, also provides, at a subliminal level, the satisfaction of seeing enhanced expertise and indigenous capability. I am not the only one who feels thrilled when a local 'Camembay' cheese tastes as good as one made in Camembert. Or when an Indian accessories brand produces a handbag as beautifully designed and crafted as a European luxury label.

The long-held reluctance of Indians to accept locally made "foreign" items as equally good alternatives until well into the 21st century probably stems from the notorious policy of "import substitution", a legacy of the era of socialist scarcity and Five-Year Plans. It was a typical sarkari diktat, supposedly to achieve economic self-reliance and protect domestic industry. But negligible focus on technology and quality benchmarking led to chronic sub-par products.

I remember reeling with horror at the first pair of Indian denim jeans my mother bought for me in the 1970s once I outgrew those bought when we lived in the US. Desi jeans were a weird shade of blue, had none of that classic riveted structure and even the texture was wrong. Ditto for chocolates: local ones were too sweet but not creamy enough. Today, both denim and cacao seeds are made in India and used to create world-class local jeans and gourmet chocolates, respectively.

Also Read: Civilisations, time and the turning wheel

This begs the question why India could not make world-class products back then but can do so now. Simple. Because increasingly prosperous and well-travelled Indians now demand nothing less. Back then the philosophy was to be humbly happy with whatever you get, quality was optional. In today's open economy, local producers must provide international quality to attract Indian buyers who now have means, opportunity and self-confidence to settle for only the best.

Even Indian-made cheeses will not pass muster here unless they taste and look exactly as good as foreign ones! Some aver that visiting world leaders are too polite to say what they really think about locally made "foreign" items gifted to them. But I have no doubt that if those goods survived our tough Discerning Desi Test, they are on par with (if not better) than the same product's best version made anywhere else in the world - not supermarket grade.