Story of a transformation

The book The Long Revolution by Dinesh C Sharma could not have found a better place than Bangalore for its launch. As the author claimed, this City has helped him a lot in bringing about this book as it is a book about the IT industry.

The book was launched by the author recently at a City bookstore. He read excerpts from the book, which was followed by a panel discussion with historian and author Ramachandra Guha, N Seshagiri, former Director General, National Informatics Centre and S Sadagopan, Director IIIT, Bangalore.

The book tells the tale of a great transformation. How a country became a front-runner in the technology and knowledge-based sector and turned into the favoured investment destination for the US giants. The author has spoken about the birth and growth of India’s IT industry.

In fact, this is the first book which has covered everything about the IT sector in this country. From the time of its inception till it grew to become such a big giant, all minute details are covered by Dinesh. He has also emphasised on the fact that the Government of India has played a very important role in nurturing the IT industry. The decisions taken by the government, the amendments made, the laws passed, everything has been digged out by Dinesh.

Ramachandra Guha said, “Sharma has uncovered a staggering amount of new material on the history of the IT industry, which he analyses with the rigour of a scholar, yet presents with the light touch of a skilled journalist. Richly researched and readable, this book should occupy a prominent place on the shelf of every thinking Indian.”  
Dinesh conveyed to the audience how certain things like design automation tools, semi-conductors and data conversion have become such a big thing today because of the discoveries made by eminent people in the IT industry in 1970s and 80s.

This is the first book to document the history of IT industry by dividing the book into various epochs. Each epoch has been discussed and analysed in detail. To support what the author has told in the book, he has supplemented it with research papers, anecdotes, press reports, government records and examples from the industry. Any chapter can be taken from in between the book and can be read and its value understood, without having to worry about not reading the book from first.

N Seshagiri says, “This book is a result of painstaking research by the author, tempered by his long career as a journalist covering IT and related fields. He has done his best to capture the events in the context of the ethos and challenges faced at the epochs when they actually transpired. The approach taken by him is worth emulating while writing the history of fast-evolving industries.”