The big change in the 2000s wasn’t India’s super-charged growth, but the change this effected in the mindset of most Indians. From people who believed that all good things should come to an end, we transformed into people who wore our cheery optimism on our sleeves.
In short, we acquired a typically sanguine Anglo-Saxon mindset.
Events since last September, when it was irrefutably proved that such optimism isn’t always justified, haven’t changed the way we think.
Not surprisingly, several banks, finance companies and economists are now convinced an economic recovery is imminent in India.
While there’s a small chance that they are grounded in sound economic logic, it’s unlikely that this is the case. While this paper wouldn’t recommend a return to the era of a Hindu rate of growth, it is all for reviving the fatalistic mindset that characterized that period. That might actually help the country negotiate the slowdown better.