The term ' Hindu rate of Growth ' is once again in limelight after Raghuram Rajan said that the Indian economy is slowing down and it is likely to plunge into the' Hindu rate of growth ' once again. What is the meaning of ' Hindu rate of growth '? It means a slow rate of economic growth of around four percent which India had from 1950 to 1980. The term was coined by Professor Raj Krishna of Delhi School of Economics in 1978. This slow rate of growth was the result of many factors. Two of them were very important. First was the drain of wealth from India under the rule of the East India Company and the British Crown thereafter. It made India pauper and she received independence as a fractured and emasculated nation. Second was the Nehruvian socialist model of development which attained this rate of economic growth of around four percent and it was called, ' Socialist rate of growth '. This term was popular then. It was in this backdrop that Professor Raj Krishna coined the term ' Hindu rate of growth ' to suffice, ' Socialist rate of growth ' and the academia which had begun to be dominated by the leftists by then, lapped upon this term. It is really astonishing to dub an economic term in the name of a particular religious group. One does not hear the Christian or Jewish rate of growth.
Let us examine as to what is the ' Hindu rate of growth ' taking the term as it is. India had a thriving trade with the Roman Empire and the Roman author Pliny lamented in the first century A. D. that, ' India is just like a pit where the bullion from all over the world flows and accumulates '. What it meant was that the balance of trade was heavily in favour of the Indians who exported many things and imported very few things thereby getting a very heavy inflow of gold and silver in payment. India never had a rich goldmine but the love for gold among the Indians was generated because of this prosperity.
The discovery of a sea route to India was the result of this desire to make money by trading with her as the fall of Constantinople had blocked this trade. It was in this process that America was discovered. The Portuguese, the Dutch, the French made a lot of money but the biggest catch was the English had. England became rich and a huge amount of capital was formed because of the wanton loot and plunder of wealth from India. A noted English historian, Rushbrook Williams, rightly said,  ' It is not a mere coincidence that the British rule in India and the Industrial revolution in England took place simultaneously. '
As per a modern estimate, India contributed about thirty percent to the world GDP in the first decade of the eighteenth century. The Scottish historian, William Dalrymple , has calculated that India contributed twenty three percent of the world GDP in the first half of the eighteenth century.
The beauty of the Indian economy has been a thriving foreign trade and a rich internal market. The Indian festivals, rituals, pilgrimages etc. generated a very high yield economy . The Hindu temples had a huge amount of wealth and it naturally came from the Hindus. Therefore, terming a slow rate of growth as , 'Hindu rate of growth ' is simply ridiculous  and without any justification.
 India was abysmally poor at the time of independence. The first Prime Minister of the country must be credited for creating basic infrastructure in the country and putting the country on the path of economic development. The rate of growth was slow, no doubt, but to carry the luggage of such a huge population was no mean achievement.
Our economy leapfrogged since the adoption of the policy of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation in 1991. India has made a strong headway in different sectors of economy under the leadership of Modiji. Besides, a strong foreign policy has also contributed in making the economy robust and thriving. Hence, the Indian economy will be further strengthened in the near future. Chances of economic slowdown are almost minimal.

The writer is a noted academician and political commentator. Views Expressed are personal.