“Uncoded: A Technological History of Independent India” by Meghaa Gupta
From factories to farms, battlefields to boardrooms, clinics to classrooms―in the years since Independence, modern technology has swept through all corners of Indian life.
But back in 1947, this seemed impossible. Low literacy, poverty and lack of expertise meant that newly independent India was unable to afford the mighty technologies of World War II that were reshaping the globe. Yet, a determined team of far-sighted policymakers and scientists dared to make the impossible possible.
Today, India is home to leading software companies and a world-renowned space programme. For many Indians, modern technology has become part of daily life.
Uncoded: A Technological History of Independent India is a story of one of the greatest technological transformations in the modern world. Blending a unique narrative with illustrations, trivia, anecdotes and an informative timeline, it explores how a nation used science and technology to rebuild itself and reimagine its destiny against all odds.
Read an extract from the book on Moneycontrol. The book is published by Puffin India.
Meghaa Gupta’s exploits in history are the outcome of an irrepressible urge to contextualize the challenges of the present with the past and make greater sense of the times we live in. She works in children’s publishing and firmly believes that all change begins with getting children to read books that demystify the world and its infinite possibilities. Meghaa has contributed to the history book On this Day (Dorling Kindersley, 2021) and is the author of the widely-acclaimed Unearthed: An Environmental History of Independent India (Puffin, 2020). She curates the children’s and youth section of the Green Lit Fest and the online magazine Sustainability Next.
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