India Arriving: How This Economic Powerhouse Is Redefining Global Business [Hardcover]

Rafiq Dossani (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 14, 2007

Once the jewel in the crown of the formidable British Empire, India has been surrounded by myth for years. After gaining independence in 1948, this often misunderstood country found itself faced with a new sense of freedom - and along with it, enormous burdens and challenges. While exotic, mysterious, and seductive, it has also become an economic force to be reckoned with. With the fourth largest economy in the world, the largest youth population on Earth, and a thriving middle class, India is the second-most-preferred destination for foreign investment. But very few Americans truly understand what a rich and powerful country it has become - or its role as a global power, center of outsourcing, and potential partner with the United States. From the country's thriving film industry to its burgeoning high-tech industry as well as its attempts to stabilize its economy, "India Arriving" offers a fascinating glimpse into the real India, with all of its assets and all of its faults.Author, Rafiq Dossani goes beneath the veil surrounding India and explores the many ways it has begun to emerge onto the world stage. He explores its birth as an independent nation and forces like political shifts, social reform, and education that have helped to shape a new India. Honest and revelatory, "India Arriving" provides a deeper understanding of a country that promises to be the next major player in the world economy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I find Dossani’s book to be refreshing in its candor and thought provoking." - Steve Hamm, BusinessWeek.com

"No serious global business collection should be without this." -Midwest Book Review

"In India Arriving, you won't find the attractive imagery that many books paying homage to India feature these days. You will find a sophisticated level of writing and information that could only be assembled by someone who has lived and worked there." --IE Industrial Engineer

Top Business Book for 2008. "Dossani’s book sets out its stall with the opening anecdote of Chapter 1 — it’s the story only someone who understands India in all its complexity could tell. The rest of the book continues in that vein — that is, explaining India’s political and social structure, what drives its economy and its people at national and local levels — and expounds all with the kind of clarity and insight you just couldn’t get from an outsider. A useful and entertaining read for anyone looking at investing in India." --BNET UK

Book Description

Once the jewel in the crown of the formidable British Empire, India has been surrounded by myth for years. After gaining independence in 1947, this often misunderstood country found itself faced with a new sense of freedom—and along with it, enormous burdens and challenges. While exotic, mysterious, and seductive, it has also become an economic force to be reckoned with. With the fourth largest economy in the world, the largest youth population on Earth, and a thriving middle class, India is the second most-preferred destination for foreign investment. But very few Americans truly understand what a rich and powerful country it has become—or its role as a global power, center of outsourcing, and potential partner with the United States.

From the country’s thriving film industry to its burgeoning high-tech industry as well as its attempts to stabilize its economy, India Arriving offers a fascinating glimpse into the real India, with all of its assets and all of its faults. Author Rafiq Dossani goes beneath the veil surrounding India and explores the many ways it has begun to emerge onto the world stage. He explores its birth as an independent nation and forces like poltical shifts, social reform, and education that have helped to shape a new India. Honest and revelatory, India Arriving provides a deeper understanding of a country that promises to be the next major player in the world economy.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (November 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814474241
• ISBN-13: 978-0814474242
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,430,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars India Arriving, December 9, 2007

By 

Bijesh Thakker - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: India Arriving: How This Economic Powerhouse Is Redefining Global Business (Hardcover)

The known fact is that very few people have been able to appreciate India's potential and give credit to what it truly possesses in the manner Rafiq Dossani has done. But I feel slowly and steadily, the realisation of it being the destination for foreign investment is setting in people abroad and his book would be a great help in establishing a clear wave of understanding for India being a global power, centre of outsourcing, and potential partner with the United States.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended - A fresh look at India, January 1, 2008

By 

Riaz Karamali (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: India Arriving: How This Economic Powerhouse Is Redefining Global Business (Hardcover)

I never thought it would be possible for an "economic history book" to be a page turner, but this one is! Dossani, a marvelously fluid writer, tells the story of India's economic transformation in a very engaging manner, while in substance going well beyond the conventional wisdom that one reads in the news and business journals. Reading this book feels like having an extended, wide-ranging chat with the author, who engagingly draws upon his careers as an academic, investment banker and journalist to provide insight into the many topics he covers. Dossani probes in depth into India's history, culture, corruption, religious strife, educational system, media and business models, and paints a complex picture of an amazing country with some serious question marks yet ahead of it. Dossani is not afraid to make some rather controversial assertions, which he backs up with both hard data and personal anecdotes. An illuminating and thought provoking book that should be read by any one doing business in or with India.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Fast read yet poorly researched, January 10, 2008

By 

Cipherman "CiM" (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: India Arriving: How This Economic Powerhouse Is Redefining Global Business (Hardcover)

I read this book in two sittings as it was such an easy read. It was indeed a page turner. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I give a few reasons below:

1. Anecdotes, opinions and facts are dangerously intermingled. A casual or uninitiated reader can confuse one for the other. This is especially risky because the book is written by an academician, courses are likely to be taught and research papers are likely to be written based on this book, and not too far in the future opinions and anecdotes may be quoted as truth.

2. The title is catchy and timely as India is indeed arriving. That might be the only uncontested truth. However, there is no logical 'let alone scientific' progression on why and how this is happening. A set of chronologically ordered chapters would have helped.

3.There is lot of political bashing - Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Modhi and so on for their poor policies or lack of them but not much credit given to the Vajpayee or the Manmohan Singh governments for their positive moves. Alas, there is no mention of Narasimha Rao under whom the new changes actually started.

4. Extensive coverage of Hindu/Muslim difference in chapter 10 is not backed up, controversial, and appears to have been written with a strong bias. Sadly enough, for the most part this chapter, the way it is written, is irrelevant to the theme of the book.

5. The generalization of prevailing caste system in India is appalling. A casual reader would assume that in the 21st century the upper castes are calling the shots everywhere which is not known to be true. The exception quoted of Jayalalitha 'a Brahmin' in Tamil Nadu as the mistress of a former backward caste CM 'MGR' is false. MGR was a Menon and Menons by caste/profession were ministers in the royal court, and commanders in the royal armies.

6. References are skimpy at best. I would have expected a book coming from an academician and from a reputed place like Stanford University to be much better researched with significantly more references.

My overall opinion is that academics should be careful when writing books on their home countries. Readers would assume that, by default, these books are well researched. When they are not they can do more damage than good.


As an Indian living in the west I thought that with INDIA INDEED ARRIVING I could take a breather from answering questions to ignorant westerners about arranged marriages, caste system, Hindu/Muslim/Sikh/Christian wars in India, and vegetarian food. Books like this make it only harder to achieve that and take us a few notches down!