It took India 250 years to catch a break after its textile artisans lost out to new technology in the 18th century. How long will it take for the country to find the next growth frontier in the age of artificial intelligence?
The upheaval of the past came in waves. First was Hargreaves’ jenny. Drawing, twisting and winding 16 or more threads at a time, it outproduced the spinners making some of the world’s finest yarn. Then handlooms gave way to power looms. (British protectionism didn’t help, either.) A century later, Mahatma Gandhi turned the symbol of wounded pride — the ancient spinning wheel working a lonely spindle — into an emblem of India’s anti-colonial struggle.