Book by scribe launched

Indian Express, August 29, 2009

BANGALORE: Historian Ramachandra Guha on Friday released “The Long Revolution,” a book on transformation of India from the exporting spices and gems in ancient times to a frontrunner in the technology and knowledgebased sector, authored by senior journalist Dinesh C Sharma.

The book, according to Guha, is an outcome of the research by the author under the New India Fellowship programme instituted to document the post-independence India.

Dinesh C Sharma, the science editor of an English daily, said the book is an attempt to present a clearer picture on the IT revolution. “The industry has its myths and hypes, claims and counter-claims. This book is an attempt to set the record straight,” he said at the book launch.

N Seshagiri, former director general, National Informatics Centre and S Sadagopan, director, IIIT, Bangalore, participated in the panel discussion that followed.

The unlikely beginning of India's IT revolution

Times of India, August 29, 2009

BANGALORE: India's IT history is not just IT after Y2K. There's been a lot before and there's been a lot after Y2K, computer scientist and IIIT-B Director S Sadagopan told a gathering of book readers and IT professionals.

Sadagopan was speaking at a bookstore on Friday where a discussion on the IT revolution had been organized. He was forthright in stating that IT had its roots in the technology initiatives taken by scientists in the '60s and '70s, especially from great institutions like BARC and TIFR.

"My students were shocked when they read Dinesh Sharma's The Long Revolution: The Birth and Growth of India's IT Industry. They never knew that many small initiatives and the right political help at the right time made a tremendous difference. If you're used to thinking Y2K was everything about IT, you won't get to know much about technology. This book sets the perspective right by citing interesting anecdotes in the making of India's technological revolution."

N Seshagiri, former DG of National Informatics Centre, outlined the history of technology development in the country. "The signal moment was Rajiv Gandhi's initiatives. We networked the entire Asiad games and managed the show in just six months. The networking between Delhi and Mumbai was stupendous. After that, Rajiv asked me to network the entire country. That's how we became a technology nation."

Ramachandra Guha, historian, said the new book on IT would given an insight into India's history in the decades after Independence. "We at the New India Foundation are geared to generate knowledge about India's post-Independence history. I congratulate Sharma on his excellent work."