0:00:02 > 0:00:06We're going on an incredible journey.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14'Driving through one of the most crowded and chaotic countries on Earth.'
0:00:14 > 0:00:15This is chaos!
0:00:17 > 0:00:20'Taking two very different cars...'
0:00:20 > 0:00:24No way. How many headlights?
0:00:24 > 0:00:26'..On two very different road trips.'
0:00:26 > 0:00:29What's this? Does the rubbish come free?
0:00:29 > 0:00:34Risking life and limb on some of the most dangerous roads in the world.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39Look at this. Oh, my God! Look, he's on the fast lane.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45It seems like we are properly stuck.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48But this journey has a very serious purpose.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52India's car industry is booming,
0:00:52 > 0:00:56helping power the country's extraordinary economic growth.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07But out in India's heartlands,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09the economic revolution is leaving
0:01:09 > 0:01:12hundreds of millions of people behind.
0:01:12 > 0:01:13Namaste.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18He says his land is here. But I am also here.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24As India embraces a motoring revolution, we'll be asking
0:01:24 > 0:01:26whether this vast nation
0:01:26 > 0:01:31can really turn itself into a global superpower.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34We have been fighting for the last 25 years.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39'And what impact such a transformation could have
0:01:39 > 0:01:41'on India's ancient traditions...
0:01:43 > 0:01:46'and the rest of the world.'
0:02:03 > 0:02:0812 days ago, we set off from Delhi on the journey of a lifetime.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11- It's a beast.- I don't want to be rude but this car, Anita,
0:02:11 > 0:02:12is vulgar.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17My top of the range Mahindra Bolero
0:02:17 > 0:02:20has taken me into a very modern India.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26All this area around here was fields of wheat, barley and mustard.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29I've seen how the Indian car industry has become
0:02:29 > 0:02:32a barometer of incredible economic growth.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Quite like one of these at home!
0:02:36 > 0:02:42While my trusty 13-year-old Hindustan Ambassador
0:02:42 > 0:02:46has taken me into a world that the boom has left far behind.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Oh, man. That is really hard.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Just over halfway through, we now face the most challenging
0:02:58 > 0:03:01and dangerous stages of our epic journeys.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05Heading for the mega-port of Chennai.
0:03:13 > 0:03:14So, it's day 12.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20'And almost a thousand miles in, I'm about to enter Mumbai,'
0:03:20 > 0:03:22India's biggest city.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26A seething mass of around 20 million people.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34The traffic is pretty horrific in Mumbai this morning,
0:03:34 > 0:03:38and what I've realised is, do not stop for pedestrians.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Because if you stop for one, a million appear from nowhere.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47This is India's financial hub,
0:03:47 > 0:03:52'home to its stock market, more than 20 billionaires, and of course,
0:03:52 > 0:03:56'the biggest movie industry in the world.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00'I'm going to get myself a tiny taste of the Mumbai high life.'
0:04:00 > 0:04:03He's a genuine Bollywood star.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08'Imran Khan is one of Bollywood's hottest properties.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10'He's already living a movie star lifestyle
0:04:10 > 0:04:13'in his million-pound beach front apartment.'
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Hello, Imran. Anita. How are you?
0:04:17 > 0:04:20As well as starring in action movies like Delhi Belly,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24here in India, Imran's also the face of Coca Cola and Levi's.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34- So this is your baby? - That's my baby.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Of course, no film star lifestyle is complete
0:04:38 > 0:04:41without the obligatory trophy car.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44In Imran's case, it's a brand new Porsche.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46This is the first big thing that I ever bought in life.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50I remember being eight or nine years old. We'd have these photographs
0:04:50 > 0:04:51of these exotic foreign cars,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54things that you could never dream of seeing in real life.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57You hear the name Lamborghini, Porsche, Ferrari.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01- These things were unheard of. - It's changed totally.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03He's getting kisses blown at him, that's great.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05So the Porsche Cayenne.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07So I needed a car that could carry my staff.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11I have a chauffeur who will drive the car. I've got my valet.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14And pretty often, my hairstylist travels with me.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18- You're 28, and you're living the dream right now.- Yeah, pretty much.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20It's something that...whoa!
0:05:20 > 0:05:22What happened?
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Some guy rear-ended another.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27- There was a crash?- Yeah, the guy was trying to pull up alongside.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30- He was probably trying to get a glimpse of you.- He was.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33- You've just caused an accident! - It happens.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42'Far from Mumbai, with my co-driver Abhra,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45'I'm taking my stately Ambassador
0:05:45 > 0:05:48'through the countryside of Uttar Pradesh.'
0:05:55 > 0:05:59Out here, there are millions of people
0:05:59 > 0:06:02who've never owned any car, let alone a Porsche.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06But that's beginning to change,
0:06:06 > 0:06:11as car manufacturers eye a potentially vast new market.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14And this is quite an amazing journey, really,
0:06:14 > 0:06:19cos for most of the people that we're going to see,
0:06:19 > 0:06:24this will be the first car their family has ever had.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29I'm joining a convoy of brand new cars,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31all of them made by an Indian manufacturer.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35Maruti Suzuki.
0:06:40 > 0:06:46Maruti is bringing this convoy to a rural car fair,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49specially organised to flog as many of them as possible.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02'Rolling up in my ageing Ambassador
0:07:02 > 0:07:06'seems to have marked me out for special treatment.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10'It might be that they hope I'll loosen my wallet
0:07:10 > 0:07:15'and trade in the Amby for a brand new Maruti Suzuki.'
0:07:38 > 0:07:42Better-off farmers are snapping up these small cars.
0:07:42 > 0:07:49Maruti alone is shifting around 600 every single day.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54How do you think that owning a car is going to change your life?
0:08:05 > 0:08:10With every sale comes a very Indian ceremony,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14as a holy man blesses the cars and all those who sail in them.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16There's no coconut?
0:08:16 > 0:08:17Do you have coconut?
0:08:17 > 0:08:21We're trying to get a coconut.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25A coconut is auspicious, isn't it?
0:08:25 > 0:08:30Yeah. Because they say the water inside the coconut is purest of all.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32The purest water of all.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39All this blessing is especially important,
0:08:39 > 0:08:43as many of the new customers don't actually know how to drive.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54Puneet Kumar has come to collect a car for his father,
0:08:54 > 0:08:55who lives two hours away.
0:08:56 > 0:09:01And I've been invited back to meet the lucky family.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05Just driving off back to their village.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09'So far, my journey through rural India
0:09:09 > 0:09:14'has shown just how desperately poor the countryside remains.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18'But just like the cities, things here are slowly changing.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23'The growing sales of companies such as Maruti Suzuki show
0:09:23 > 0:09:27'that even out here, a new middle class is beginning to emerge.'
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Here it is, home. That's wonderful, thank you.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43Hello, Namaste. It's got that very distinctive new car smell.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Try the horn. Very important in India.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48HORN BEEPS
0:09:48 > 0:09:53You decided to buy this brand new Suzuki. But for much less money,
0:09:53 > 0:09:58you could have bought a lovely, traditional Indian car like this.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05You're convinced that your Suzuki's better than my Hindustan Ambassador.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Well, good luck with your Suzuki, and I hope you enjoy it.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17India's vast rural population is a huge potential market,
0:10:17 > 0:10:19bigger than the whole of Europe.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25This is a country on the brink of massive change.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28'But today's experience at the car fair
0:10:28 > 0:10:32'makes me wonder if everyone is quite ready for the modern world.'
0:10:36 > 0:10:40It's such a big deal for those guys, getting their new cars.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44It's symbolic, I suppose, of them improving their lives.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49But it's also worrying when you think that most of them didn't know how to drive,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51and they're going to hop into their cars
0:10:51 > 0:10:55and head out onto the already chaotic Indian roads.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58It makes you realise why the roads are so dangerous here,
0:10:58 > 0:11:03if people can buy a brand-new car without even knowing how to drive.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16Back in Mumbai, my Porsche driving time has come to an end,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19because right in the shadow of the apartments of billionaires
0:11:19 > 0:11:21is one of the biggest slums on the planet.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31Dharavi was made famous in the film Slumdog Millionaire.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Here, life isn't about car ownership, but survival.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46As the monsoon season approaches,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48the authorities have begun the job of fogging the slum
0:11:48 > 0:11:50with insecticide spray to kill off
0:11:50 > 0:11:52malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59Places like this seem like visions of hopelessness,
0:11:59 > 0:12:03Dharavi's people locked into a cycle of hunger and disease.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09But even here, there's evidence that right at the bottom,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13India is beginning to lift itself out of centuries of poverty.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17One local businessman, Pushparaj Thiagaraj,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20runs a thriving food factory,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23right in the middle of the slum.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29This is Bombay Mix, as you say.
0:12:29 > 0:12:35I know all about Bombay Mix. It's perfect with a cold glass of beer!
0:12:35 > 0:12:37'From small beginnings,
0:12:37 > 0:12:42'Pushparaj's company now produces more than ten tonnes of snacks a week.'
0:12:42 > 0:12:45How many of these does he produce in a day?
0:12:45 > 0:12:47Around 800 pieces.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49- A day?- Yeah, a day.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Looks like quite a skill to have. He's very fast as well.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54- Can I have a go? - Yeah, you can try.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56OK.
0:12:58 > 0:13:04And press, rotate... good. For the first time, you are good.
0:13:04 > 0:13:05All right!
0:13:05 > 0:13:07PEOPLE CLAP
0:13:07 > 0:13:09I get a round of applause!
0:13:09 > 0:13:11'Even with all this hard work,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14'it's still a struggle to bring in big profits.'
0:13:14 > 0:13:16How much do you sell them for?
0:13:16 > 0:13:19- This 1 kg, we sell at 53 rupees, wholesale price.- Less than a pound.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21And who do you sell it to?
0:13:21 > 0:13:24This goes to hotels throughout Bombay.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27We give it to wholesalers, and retailers also sell it from us.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29They take it from us and sell it.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33- But you're doing well?- Yeah, we're doing well. We're growing.
0:13:33 > 0:13:34Indian businesses like this
0:13:34 > 0:13:38operate in the toughest environment you can imagine.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40This is capitalism in the raw,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43a sell-or-die culture.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47What it breeds, through locals like Pushparaj,
0:13:47 > 0:13:52is an incredible spirit of entrepreneurship that makes me feel that India,
0:13:52 > 0:13:54in spite of all its problems,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57really could become an economic superpower.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Two weeks in,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and I'm about to reach India's east coast.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14The massive changes in the Indian economy
0:14:14 > 0:14:17are also bringing political upheaval.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22And nowhere is that more evident than my next stop,
0:14:22 > 0:14:28the city of Calcutta, capital of the federal state of West Bengal.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31I'm coming into Kolkata, as they say in Bengali,
0:14:31 > 0:14:33or Calcutta, as it used to be known.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36And this, Abhra, is your home, isn't it?
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Yeah, it is.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44Until 1947, this city was the capital of the British Raj,
0:14:44 > 0:14:45and its colonial past
0:14:45 > 0:14:48is still very much in evidence.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52But it's also the home of our Amby.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55It's the home of Hindustan Motors, that makes the Ambassador.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59Yeah, and even our Amby was born here.
0:15:01 > 0:15:07The Hindustan Ambassador is based on the old British Morris Oxford.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11And they're still making them right here after more than half a century.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15Oh, that's amazing. Look at that car!
0:15:15 > 0:15:19- Jigar, this a lovely car.- Yeah, this is pride of Calcutta.- I like it.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21- Can I go for a spin? - Yeah, please.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24'I was keen to see if there'd been any upgrades
0:15:24 > 0:15:26'since my Amby was made.'
0:15:26 > 0:15:27Oh, it's a different vehicle.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29This is fantastic. It's so smooth.
0:15:29 > 0:15:35You'll find it much more responsive as compared to your older vehicle.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37- So this is the modern Ambassador?- Yes.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41A car that's over 60 years old, remade for modern India?
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Yeah. All the modern facilities we are offering, the safety, the comfort.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Look at the legroom, look at the headroom.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Got a bit of turban space here.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Even the door pad. We all believe
0:15:51 > 0:15:55that there cannot be any other vehicle which can be better
0:15:55 > 0:15:59to take the kind of abuse which we all go through here.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02- I like it. It's a car designed for abuse.- Absolutely.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08Salesman Jigar Shah, though, has his work cut out.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11'Nearly three million cars were built in India last year.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15'Only 8000 were Ambassadors.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20'At a less than impressive 0.25% market share,
0:16:20 > 0:16:26'it's a far cry from the days when the Amby really did rule the roads.'
0:16:27 > 0:16:33So Jigar, you can't get away from the fact that the Ambassador is a bit of a relic, isn't it?
0:16:33 > 0:16:35This is a car that was designed 70 years ago.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38We are struggling. I would definitely mention
0:16:38 > 0:16:40that we are struggling to sell more.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44But we're still finding enough takers to make our business run.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Like the Ambassador, the city of Calcutta seems to have been
0:16:53 > 0:16:56a bit overshadowed in modern India.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02On the other side of the country, the brash giant Mumbai
0:17:02 > 0:17:06seems to be leading the charge.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10But things here could be about to change politically.
0:17:10 > 0:17:16Because I happen to have arrived in Calcutta at a very special time.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Today is election day.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23HORNS BLARE
0:17:25 > 0:17:28'West Bengal has been ruled for nearly 35 years
0:17:28 > 0:17:32'by the Indian Communist Party.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36'But today, supporters of the main rival Congress Party
0:17:36 > 0:17:39'can smell a long hoped for victory.'
0:17:39 > 0:17:41HE SHOUTS IN BENGALI
0:17:44 > 0:17:49Oh! This is kind of an election, Indian-style.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57The local TV station is buzzing with excitement,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00but just like the rest of this very strange country,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04politics Indian-style are complicated.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08Tell you what, I have no idea what's going on here.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16'To try and make some sense of the turmoil,
0:18:16 > 0:18:21'I've collared local political pundit, Suman Mukherjee.'
0:18:21 > 0:18:24Do you think we're seeing a fundamental change
0:18:24 > 0:18:26- in Indian politics today? - I don't think so.- Why not?
0:18:26 > 0:18:30Because, you know, only electorally the left is going,
0:18:30 > 0:18:34but the left changed itself five years ago.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37The left has become right and the right has become...
0:18:37 > 0:18:41And the right has become more left, and this is the price that they are getting for becoming left.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44It sounds like a uniquely Indian situation.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46It's a very Indian situation.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49It's very difficult for an Englishman to comprehend.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56In the countryside outside Calcutta, the electoral battle
0:18:56 > 0:18:58has turned decidedly nasty,
0:18:58 > 0:19:03highlighting some of the problems of India's industrial expansion.
0:19:03 > 0:19:09Five years ago, the Communist Government of West Bengal
0:19:09 > 0:19:13moved thousands of farmers off their land
0:19:13 > 0:19:15to make way for a giant car factory,
0:19:15 > 0:19:17owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata.
0:19:21 > 0:19:27'Some of the farmers, like Mahadev Das, weren't even compensated.'
0:19:52 > 0:19:57Sensing a political coup, the opposition party backed the farmers.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02Tata, not wanting to become the centre of a political tug of war,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05emptied these factories and rebuilt them
0:20:05 > 0:20:06right on the other side of India.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12The land, though, still officially belongs to the car company.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17'So farmers like Mahadev don't have any hope of a new livelihood...'
0:20:17 > 0:20:21So just through here, Mahadev?
0:20:21 > 0:20:23'..or their land.
0:20:23 > 0:20:28'This is the first time in five years that Mahadev has been back where his farm once stood.'
0:20:28 > 0:20:31This man says he has land here.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35That is OK. But Tata has taken the boundary.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39I'm just requesting you, you take the permission.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44I suppose the confusion is that he believes he owns the land,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47and Tata believe that they own the land. It's confusing, isn't it?
0:20:47 > 0:20:51Definitely, the land belongs to Tata.
0:20:51 > 0:20:56Only from his statement, you don't expect that the land is his.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00Yes, he is also man. He is telling the land is his. But I am also here.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04OK, I think we'd better go. Come on. Come on.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08This is a dilemma, not just here in West Bengal but across India,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12because wherever industrialists want to build factories,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14almost inevitably, the land is owned by farmers,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18and these disputes make it difficult
0:21:18 > 0:21:22for people to invest here in India, to develop India.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28'Back in Calcutta, the election results are in.'
0:21:28 > 0:21:33'And as expected, the oddly capitalist-friendly Communist party is out
0:21:33 > 0:21:38'and the newly left-leaning Congress party is in.'
0:21:39 > 0:21:42'It's the first regime change for 35 years
0:21:42 > 0:21:45'and a new governor heads into power.'
0:21:45 > 0:21:50So there she goes - off to the governor's mansion, to be sworn in.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55'But some things never change.'
0:21:55 > 0:21:58'The new Governor is being transported,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01'in time-honoured fashion,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04'in an Ambassador.'
0:22:09 > 0:22:13It has been the wonderful day of our lives.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16We have been fighting for the last 25 years.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18Yes!
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Oh, mate, that's so sticky!
0:22:27 > 0:22:28It's quite nice.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30What is it?
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Wadil abodi!
0:22:33 > 0:22:35It's wadil abodi?
0:22:35 > 0:22:37Wadil abodi!
0:22:48 > 0:22:50'Day 15.'
0:22:50 > 0:22:54'And moving on from Mumbai, this six-lane highway
0:22:54 > 0:22:57'is just the kind of infrastructure this country needs
0:22:57 > 0:23:01'if it's going to sustain its phenomenal economic growth.
0:23:04 > 0:23:09'But as ever, in India, nothing is quite as simple as it seems.'
0:23:09 > 0:23:14If I come across as a little bit stressed, that's because I am.
0:23:14 > 0:23:20Up until now, driving has been chaos, it's been frightening,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22I've had people coming towards me,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25I've had people reversing down the motorway,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28but the speeds haven't been that fast.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32Here, they reach 100 mph.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36This is where, if you've got a fast car, you come to put your foot down.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40And that, to me, is a very scary thought.
0:23:42 > 0:23:48'More than 100,000 people die on India's roads each year.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53'The Mumbai-Puna expressway is one of the most dangerous of all.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57'Just this short stretch claims two lives every single week.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00'And it's soon obvious why.'
0:24:01 > 0:24:07'Indian drivers think nothing of driving on the wrong side of the road, even on a motorway.'
0:24:07 > 0:24:09A car coming towards me!
0:24:09 > 0:24:13It's a dual bloody carriageway! What's wrong with these people?
0:24:16 > 0:24:19I'm in the fast lane of the motorway.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23Motorbike coming towards me. And, look at this!
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Oh, my God! Look, he's in the fast lane! You idiot!
0:24:37 > 0:24:41It's a long time since I've seen any sight of a motorway.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44Across India, less than half
0:24:44 > 0:24:49of the country's two million miles of road are even paved.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56'I can't help feeling that the terrible state
0:24:56 > 0:25:00'of so much of the infrastructure has to be holding up development.'
0:25:00 > 0:25:04'It's certainly holding up my journey.'
0:25:14 > 0:25:19ENGINE REVS
0:25:20 > 0:25:25Guys, can you give it a push? Is that OK?
0:25:30 > 0:25:35It was quite funny at first, but it seems that we are properly stuck.
0:25:45 > 0:25:51'Fortunately, an entire village turns up to give me a helping hand.'
0:25:54 > 0:25:56VILLAGERS CHEER
0:25:56 > 0:26:01Thank you very much, cheers! Namaste, brilliant.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Woo! We got out in the end.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11'I might have over 1,000 miles still to go,
0:26:11 > 0:26:15'but I'm planning a detour.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18'Heading for the coast, to explore the impact
0:26:18 > 0:26:22'of all these cars on an extraordinary natural wilderness.'
0:26:24 > 0:26:28'Meanwhile, making good time,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31'I'm planning take some time away from the car myself.'
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Leaving my co-driver with the Bolero, I've flown ahead
0:26:37 > 0:26:41to investigate India's traffic problems in city of Bangalore.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Bangalore is India's answer to California's Silicon Valley,
0:26:48 > 0:26:52and provider of call centres and software-writers to the world.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56This might be India's most modern city,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00but like everywhere else, anarchy seems to rule the roads.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Here, even the traffic cops take their lives in their hands.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11As Inspector Geetha Kulkarui has found to her cost.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15All the passengers just, they are screaming.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19The bus going on me, I'm experiencing the heat of the bus.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21But I fell unconscious
0:27:21 > 0:27:24and all my staff and the public thought I was dead and gone.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27But then they came and I said, "I want some water".
0:27:27 > 0:27:28Nothing happened to me.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31- Let me get this straight. You were knocked down by a bus.- Yes.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34You fell under the bus, and the bus went over you
0:27:34 > 0:27:36and you didn't have a scratch on you?
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Nothing! Not even a scratch on me! I could not believe this, actually.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41As we're in India, possibly divine intervention?
0:27:41 > 0:27:44As you said, maybe divine intervention!
0:27:44 > 0:27:45Possibly!
0:27:47 > 0:27:50'After Geetha's little pep talk,
0:27:50 > 0:27:55'it's time for me to head out to one of the city's busiest intersections.'
0:27:55 > 0:27:56They're all coming towards us.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00We are literally taking our life in our own hands.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Show your hand like this. Stop here, listen.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Yes, go, and then you have to call them, like this.
0:28:10 > 0:28:11Woo!
0:28:15 > 0:28:17I'm in training, I'm in training.
0:28:19 > 0:28:20Oh, gosh, here they come!
0:28:20 > 0:28:24Come back, you come back. Anita! Come back.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28Apparently, I'm causing more chaos than normal.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31It usually runs very smoothly.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33My presence is causing a bit of a disturbance.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41'Many countries face traffic problems,
0:28:41 > 0:28:46'but what sets India apart seems to be an utter disregard for rules.'
0:28:48 > 0:28:52'And as night falls, that disregard turns to mayhem.'
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Hey, hey, hey!
0:28:57 > 0:28:58Come on, come on.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07Drink-driving is a huge problem in India, and Bangalore is no exception.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10So every Saturday night, their busiest night,
0:29:10 > 0:29:14traffic police set up a checkpoint and randomly breathalyse drivers.
0:29:21 > 0:29:22116.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25The limit is 40 and he's at 116,
0:29:25 > 0:29:27so he's well over the drink-driving limit.
0:29:27 > 0:29:33'Many Indian drivers simply don't believe they need to obey the law.'
0:29:33 > 0:29:37- Blow, blow, blow, blow, blow, blow, blow, blow, blow, blow...- OK.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39That's 158.3.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42- So, Sushila, he's over four times your limit...- Yes.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Did he say that he's related to somebody important?
0:29:57 > 0:30:00- Yes, he's related to... - INDISTINCT NAME
0:30:00 > 0:30:02So somebody quite senior in the police
0:30:02 > 0:30:05- is his brother, or brother-in-law? - Brother-in-law.
0:30:05 > 0:30:09So he was saying, "Let me off because I'm related to somebody important"?
0:30:09 > 0:30:12Not "Let me off", he wanted some kind of favour.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18'These drivers, it seems, will try anything.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21'Even resorting to blatant bribery.'
0:30:21 > 0:30:23These two have been pulled over...
0:30:23 > 0:30:29and the chap in the hooded top, I've just seen him try and give the police officer an envelope.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33Don't know what's in it, but I can suspect
0:30:33 > 0:30:37that it's a little bit of a sweetener to try and get off.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39THEY ARGUE
0:30:41 > 0:30:44I'm incredibly surprised at what I've seen tonight.
0:30:44 > 0:30:49In the last three hours I've seen people try and escape through the checkpoint, bribe the officers,
0:30:49 > 0:30:51plead with the officers...
0:30:51 > 0:30:53and also try and convince them they're not drunk,
0:30:53 > 0:30:56even though they're three to four times over the limit.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58So there's a huge problem of drink driving in India,
0:30:58 > 0:31:02and the police have a very tough challenge ahead of them.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09'One man, though, is on a mission
0:31:09 > 0:31:12'to combat this headlong road-spin of drunkenness and death.'
0:31:12 > 0:31:15ENGINE ROARS AND BRAKES SCREECH
0:31:19 > 0:31:20Hello, Pradeep!
0:31:20 > 0:31:25'Ex-rally champion Pradeep Nair has set up India's first school
0:31:25 > 0:31:26'for advanced drivers.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30'He's offering some of the local speed merchants
0:31:30 > 0:31:33'lessons in how to really handle a car -
0:31:34 > 0:31:37'with the hope of making them a bit more responsible.'
0:31:37 > 0:31:40Should I feel nervous right now?
0:31:40 > 0:31:46No, not at all - completely relax. I'm not really going to go mad.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Whoo! Oh...!
0:31:50 > 0:31:54'Pradeep believes that, learn to control a car effectively off-road,
0:31:54 > 0:31:57'and you'll be a much safer driver ON it.'
0:31:59 > 0:32:02No, I just... Ha!
0:32:02 > 0:32:04I flew out of my chair!
0:32:07 > 0:32:10Whoo!
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Here's the chief of the village. Hi, chief!
0:32:22 > 0:32:25'Having been shown Pradeep's ropes...
0:32:25 > 0:32:26'it's my turn.'
0:32:26 > 0:32:28Woo-hoo!
0:32:31 > 0:32:34How is this going to help Indian drivers?
0:32:34 > 0:32:37It'll help them with the steering control,
0:32:37 > 0:32:41getting used to sliding the car,
0:32:41 > 0:32:43- recovering from a skid...- Yeah.
0:32:43 > 0:32:44Aaagh...
0:32:48 > 0:32:50'I'm sure his motives are right,
0:32:50 > 0:32:54'but I've a hunch that teaching Indians to drive like rally champs
0:32:54 > 0:32:57'isn't going to lessen the carnage on the roads.'
0:33:05 > 0:33:06ANITA LAUGHS
0:33:06 > 0:33:08You panicked, see?
0:33:08 > 0:33:09I did panic!
0:33:09 > 0:33:12- OK, reverse.- Reverse...
0:33:14 > 0:33:15It's stuck.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22'Day 16.
0:33:23 > 0:33:28'Another stretch of highway, and yet another accident.'
0:33:28 > 0:33:29Guys, what happened here?
0:33:34 > 0:33:37Here it comes in. Look at that! What a giant!
0:33:37 > 0:33:41So were just driving along, and found this truck
0:33:41 > 0:33:44which has crashed down into this ditch.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46Apparently, there was a cyclist wobbling along
0:33:46 > 0:33:50and to avoid the cyclist, he had to put the truck in the ditch -
0:33:50 > 0:33:53but fortunately for them, there's a big road building project over here
0:33:53 > 0:33:56and they've got heavy machines to help lift it out.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01Pull up and up!
0:34:01 > 0:34:03Come out, come out!
0:34:03 > 0:34:05There's a bloke underneath.
0:34:05 > 0:34:10And he was proposing to stay under there while they lifted it out!
0:34:10 > 0:34:12It's all very makeshift here.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19That was pretty neat - they got it out in a matter of minutes.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23'Miraculously, this time, no-one is hurt.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27'But with hundreds of miles still to go,
0:34:27 > 0:34:30'it's really starting to get me down.'
0:34:30 > 0:34:33It's really, really exhausting driving in India,
0:34:33 > 0:34:35because people drive like complete idiots.
0:34:35 > 0:34:40And after a while, you just begin to think, this is so reckless
0:34:40 > 0:34:43and careless of other people's wellbeing.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46It just really exhausts you,
0:34:46 > 0:34:49and I'm glad that we've finally arrived at the hotel.
0:34:50 > 0:34:55MARCHING BAND PLAYS "COLONEL BOGEY"
0:34:58 > 0:35:00'The massive increase in car ownership
0:35:00 > 0:35:04'also has huge environmental implications.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09'Not just for India, but for the whole world.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13'Cars are a major contributor to the build-up of greenhouse gases
0:35:13 > 0:35:16'and to global warming.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19'And in the next ten years, it's thought the amount of carbon dioxide
0:35:19 > 0:35:22'from Indian cars will increase five-fold.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28'I'm heading for the Sundarbans, a huge area of mangrove swamps
0:35:28 > 0:35:32'and low-lying islands at the mouth of the river Ganges.
0:35:35 > 0:35:41'It's one of the most important and delicate ecosystems in the world.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48'Where I'm going, there aren't any roads,
0:35:48 > 0:35:52'so for the moment, I'm leaving my trusty Amby behind...
0:35:53 > 0:35:56'..and taking to the water.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03'The Sundarbans are one of the wonders of the natural world,
0:36:03 > 0:36:05'sanctuary to hundreds of species
0:36:05 > 0:36:09'including the endangered Sundarbans tiger.
0:36:10 > 0:36:15'But some of these delicate islands are slowly being washed away.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21'Doctor Pranabes Sanyal has spent his career studying them.'
0:36:21 > 0:36:23Oh, man... Woo-hoo!
0:36:24 > 0:36:28Seriously, Doctor, it's very muddy. Are you going to be OK?
0:36:28 > 0:36:30Oh!
0:36:30 > 0:36:33Doctor, I'm not sure this was such a good idea landing here
0:36:33 > 0:36:36but we do just get a sense of just how muddy this mud is.
0:36:36 > 0:36:37It's muddy, absolutely.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41What effect are these changes in the Sundarbans having on the environment?
0:36:41 > 0:36:43- A lot of areas will come under water.- So this...
0:36:43 > 0:36:47Already we have measured, where we don't have embankments
0:36:47 > 0:36:49in the sea-facing islands -
0:36:49 > 0:36:53during the period from 1969,
0:36:53 > 0:36:54as on today,
0:36:54 > 0:36:58some 20% of the area of the sea-facing islands,
0:36:58 > 0:37:00they have gone under.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02They've already gone. 20%!
0:37:02 > 0:37:05'Many factors are responsible.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08'Some are natural phenomena,
0:37:08 > 0:37:12'but the fear is that increasing levels of CO2 from fossil fuels
0:37:12 > 0:37:16'will lead to progressively rising sea levels.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20'It could have terrible implications for the Sundarbans,
0:37:20 > 0:37:24'and the unique tigers and other wildlife that inhabit them.'
0:37:24 > 0:37:27It's not just the tigers that are going to suffer
0:37:27 > 0:37:29if the sea level continues to rise.
0:37:29 > 0:37:30Take a look at this.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33There are four million farmers here in the Sundarbans
0:37:33 > 0:37:36and most of their farms are below high tide.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40They're only protected by these mud banks.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45'People living in low-lying areas around the world
0:37:45 > 0:37:49'face increasingly bleak futures.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51'Satish and his wife Janaki
0:37:51 > 0:37:55'have lived and farmed here all their lives.'
0:38:09 > 0:38:12How do you manage to get food? How do you manage to survive?
0:38:20 > 0:38:24- HE TRANSLATES:- Their farmland is flooded by saltwater
0:38:24 > 0:38:26so they can't have any crops.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29So literally, they're, um, they're starving.
0:38:53 > 0:38:54Oh, I'm sorry...
0:39:17 > 0:39:21'As car ownership grows and India industrialises,
0:39:21 > 0:39:24'billions more tons of carbon will be pumped into the atmosphere.'
0:39:29 > 0:39:34'But hi-tech Bangalore is home to one of the pioneers of greener motoring.'
0:39:36 > 0:39:38I'm swapping India's best-selling SUV
0:39:38 > 0:39:42for India's first and only electric car.
0:39:42 > 0:39:43Both owned by Mahindra.
0:39:43 > 0:39:48Sold in the UK as the G-Wiz, and known here as the Reva.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52And the first thing to notice about it, is that it has no exhaust.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55Which means zero emissions, so incredibly environmentally friendly.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58But how does she take to the roads of India?
0:40:01 > 0:40:03Very quiet, here I go.
0:40:06 > 0:40:07It's pretty much silent,
0:40:07 > 0:40:10which is quite dangerous when people jump out in front of you,
0:40:10 > 0:40:14so the horn is essential on this car.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21The G-Wiz was launched in Britain to what you might call "mixed reviews".
0:40:21 > 0:40:25And, so far, take-up in India hasn't been huge.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28I think it's quite ambitious of Mahindra
0:40:28 > 0:40:30to want to produce 30,000 of these a year,
0:40:30 > 0:40:35as India's yet to sort out its power problems.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39Electricity isn't widely available.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43Every day we've been here, there's been power cuts.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46Single, yes, one-way.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50Right, I'm flooring this baby. I'm going to put her into booster mode.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53Aw, yeah!
0:40:53 > 0:40:57'In theory, electric cars are exactly what India
0:40:57 > 0:41:00and the rest of the world needs.'
0:41:00 > 0:41:03'But, in the helter-skelter consumerism of modern India,
0:41:03 > 0:41:07'it's hard to imagine this car competing with the allure
0:41:07 > 0:41:10'of more conventional petrol vehicles.'
0:41:15 > 0:41:19While I've been exploring the mangrove swamps by boat,
0:41:19 > 0:41:22my Ambassador has been driven on.
0:41:25 > 0:41:26Now, I've flown to the city of Visakhapatnam
0:41:26 > 0:41:30to catch up with it again.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35From here, it's still a massive drive into mountains
0:41:35 > 0:41:42that are inhabited by an ancient and threatened indigenous tribe.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46It'll take me on to some of the most remote roads yet.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52But it seems that, in my absence, the Amby has really suffered.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58What's happened?
0:41:58 > 0:41:59The fuel gauge says it's completely full
0:41:59 > 0:42:02but we have been driving for about two and half hours
0:42:02 > 0:42:07and we've just run out of fuel.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10So, look at the fuel gauge there. If I turn on the...
0:42:14 > 0:42:15ENGINE TURNS OVER
0:42:15 > 0:42:17Can you see that? It goes right up.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19I think that's broken, don't you?
0:42:19 > 0:42:20No, this'll be all right.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22It can't be overfull after two and a half hours.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26And it wasn't. As it turns out, it was empty. Such is life.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30We've got a slight problem.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32Which is, Rupert come here, mate.
0:42:32 > 0:42:33Which is, we haven't got a tow rope.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35So Rupert's managed... The cameraman...
0:42:35 > 0:42:36Safety harness.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40..has used his safety harness which we're going to use to...
0:42:40 > 0:42:42Hopefully, it's going to be strong enough.
0:42:42 > 0:42:47We're trying to find an anchor point for the tow rope that is rust-free.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49They all seem to be pulling off.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51But that's moving it, isn't it?
0:42:51 > 0:42:54Are you sure this is going to be strong enough to hold the car?
0:42:54 > 0:42:56It's not a heavy car, is it?
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Not a heavy car? It's solid, solid steel!
0:42:59 > 0:43:03To be honest, we haven't got much choice.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05We've got four kilometres to do like this.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07And we've got to be really, really careful
0:43:07 > 0:43:10otherwise I'm going to crash into the car in front.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14The handbrake doesn't work either, so...
0:43:14 > 0:43:16Hi guys. It's all on OK. Let's go!
0:43:16 > 0:43:18Go, go!
0:43:18 > 0:43:23So dangerous.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26Four kilometres.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39I am still a long way from my rendezvous with Anita in Chennai.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41Early monsoon rain has grounded the Amby
0:43:41 > 0:43:44and I've still got a tribe to visit.
0:43:45 > 0:43:49But the only way to get where I am going is on foot.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51Up there.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00It's a tough four-hour trek into the sacred lands
0:44:00 > 0:44:03of a tribe called the Dongria Kondh.
0:44:03 > 0:44:09Ancient people who are in the midst of an epic battle with modernity,
0:44:09 > 0:44:12in the shape of a giant aluminium company.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19This is a classic David and Goliath battle.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21An ancient tribe living on a sacred mountain
0:44:21 > 0:44:25up against a giant multinational. Remind you of a movie?
0:44:29 > 0:44:32Boba hoo haa.
0:44:32 > 0:44:34'The Dongria Kondh are subsidence farmers
0:44:34 > 0:44:38'who have lived here for thousands of years.'
0:44:38 > 0:44:40Laddo, yeah? The chief man.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45So Laddo, could we have a little look around your village?
0:44:46 > 0:44:47Would that be OK?
0:44:47 > 0:44:52'It's believed the Dongria are related to Australian aboriginals
0:44:52 > 0:44:56'and they're reckoned to be one of the oldest tribes on Earth.'
0:44:57 > 0:45:01I think these are the private areas where the families hang out.
0:45:01 > 0:45:02DOGS BARKING
0:45:02 > 0:45:05They're a bit surprised to see us.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08'I've been invited to spend the night here.'
0:45:08 > 0:45:09'But, before I settle in,
0:45:09 > 0:45:14'I'm going climb the mountain that's very special for what it contains,
0:45:14 > 0:45:19'and also for what it represents.'
0:45:21 > 0:45:23This is Nyamgiri mountain.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27This is the sacred mountain of the Dongria people.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29But it's also incredibly valuable.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32The rocks we are walking over now are almost solid bauxite and
0:45:32 > 0:45:39there's a really rich bauxite seam running through the entire mountain.
0:45:39 > 0:45:45More than 2 billion worth, apparently.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52The state government has granted rights
0:45:52 > 0:45:56to a huge mining company called Vedanta,
0:45:56 > 0:45:59to mine the bauxite in this mountain to make aluminium,
0:45:59 > 0:46:04a crucial material in modern cars.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10Vedanta has even built a huge refinery, but the Dongria claim
0:46:10 > 0:46:16mining this mountain will destroy their way of life.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32What happened when you said you didn't want their houses,
0:46:32 > 0:46:34didn't want their schools, or their roads?
0:46:54 > 0:46:58That night, back in the village, the Dongria started to worship
0:46:58 > 0:47:03Niyamghiri, the god of the mountain.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18RHYTHMIC DRUMMING
0:47:41 > 0:47:43'As their religious devotions became ever wilder,
0:47:43 > 0:47:47'and with no sense of an end, I decided to slip off to bed.'
0:47:47 > 0:47:49I have to say, if I had not been here with the entire crew,
0:47:49 > 0:47:53I would have found that genuinely frightening and unsettling.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00And it really felt like something ancient.
0:48:01 > 0:48:05An ancient tradition being acted out in front of us.
0:48:07 > 0:48:11I suppose that's why, that's how much there is at stake really.
0:48:11 > 0:48:13One of the oldest tribes on Earth,
0:48:13 > 0:48:19crashing up against modernity in the form of the aluminium industry.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37'Next morning, I headed into the local town to meet with Vedanta,
0:48:37 > 0:48:40'the aluminium company at the heart of this dispute.'
0:48:42 > 0:48:43Vedanta had agreed to speak to us.
0:48:43 > 0:48:48They'd even flown a spokesman here to the town.
0:48:48 > 0:48:50But when they saw us talking to a group of tribal people,
0:48:50 > 0:48:54they decided to pull out. So, no interview.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57But they have invested a huge amount of money here.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00This giant aluminium plant cost a billion dollars.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02They've created one and a half thousand jobs.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06They've built schools, hospitals, these roads.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08And they say that, without the aluminium from the hill,
0:49:08 > 0:49:10the plant just isn't viable.
0:49:10 > 0:49:11Of course, if it closed, that would be the end
0:49:11 > 0:49:16of the biggest employer in this incredibly deprived region.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27India will need to increasingly exploit its natural resources
0:49:27 > 0:49:31to create jobs if it is to lift hundreds of millions of people
0:49:31 > 0:49:33out of poverty.
0:49:33 > 0:49:37But, from the farmers of West Bengal to the indigenous tribes of Orissa,
0:49:37 > 0:49:42I have seen how modernisation can be a very brutal process.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46For some, perhaps, too brutal.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02At last, after three weeks on the road, I'm nearing Chennai.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07This region is known as the Detroit of Asia
0:50:07 > 0:50:10because of its booming car industry.
0:50:10 > 0:50:12And it symbolises not just India's own growth,
0:50:12 > 0:50:16but its position on the world stage.
0:50:19 > 0:50:23Car manufacturers, from Ford to BMW, all have car plants here.
0:50:23 > 0:50:30And many of India's half a million exports leave from Chennai's port.
0:50:32 > 0:50:36The biggest exporter of all is Korean company Hyundai.
0:50:36 > 0:50:44Its plant outside Chennai produces an astonishing 600,000 cars a year.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55The man responsible for hundreds of workers is
0:50:55 > 0:51:01plant manager Thatapillai Sarangarajan.
0:51:01 > 0:51:09All these people who were essentially from a village,
0:51:09 > 0:51:11now their children are going to the best schools in Chennai.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15Go to their house, everyone has air conditioner, washing machine.
0:51:15 > 0:51:16Car, do they have a car?
0:51:16 > 0:51:19Car. Yes, some people, not all people.
0:51:19 > 0:51:25'Workers here earn as much as 30 times what their parents could earn.'
0:51:25 > 0:51:28How long has this gentleman worked here?
0:51:28 > 0:51:2913 years.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32I want to get a sense of how your life has changed.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36Financially, he's better off. Family is stabilised.
0:51:41 > 0:51:42He has got married, got a kid.
0:51:44 > 0:51:49The £500 a month wage makes these workers well-off in India.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54But, by western standards, that makes them cheap.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57Hence the attraction for foreign companies like Hyundai.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04From here, these Hyundai has go all over the world.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06This one is for India.
0:52:06 > 0:52:07This grey number is going to Israel.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10And this one is for the United Kingdom.
0:52:10 > 0:52:16Korean car, made in India, soon to be driven on the streets of the UK.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29'At last, after some 1500 miles,
0:52:29 > 0:52:32'I'm heading towards the beautiful beach front at Chennai.'
0:52:32 > 0:52:37The final leg of the journey. I'm feeling a bit sentimental.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44If that Ambassador has made it all the way around,
0:52:45 > 0:52:48without any problems, I will be very surprised.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01'Monsoons, a dodgy petrol gauge,
0:53:01 > 0:53:04'and a long hike up the mountain to see the Dongria
0:53:05 > 0:53:08'have put me way behind schedule.'
0:53:10 > 0:53:11'I'm still miles from Anita in Chennai,
0:53:11 > 0:53:17and my precious Amby is beginning to complain more and more frequently.'
0:53:17 > 0:53:19'I think it may have had enough.'
0:53:19 > 0:53:23We've got a few new problems with the poor old Ambassador
0:53:23 > 0:53:26which is taking a battering on these roads.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29Abbra, ??? what's wrong?
0:53:29 > 0:53:29It is not locking.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33So, it was swinging open and banging as we were driving along.
0:53:33 > 0:53:37Not only that, Abbra ??? filled the car up this morning.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40And the petrol cap seems to have bounced off.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42So we've fashioned a fuse out of paper
0:53:42 > 0:53:45to keep the petrol from coming out.
0:53:47 > 0:53:48We'll have to sort that out pretty soon.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58Ah, You've got it!
0:53:58 > 0:54:00??? All right, let's go.
0:54:00 > 0:54:01Let's go.
0:54:04 > 0:54:05Whoo!
0:54:05 > 0:54:09Jump in, jump in.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12ENGINE STUTTERS
0:54:17 > 0:54:22ENGINE ROARS
0:54:27 > 0:54:29I've finally made it to the beach at Chennai
0:54:30 > 0:54:33but there's no sign of Justin.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47After three weeks of bouncing around India,
0:54:47 > 0:54:50I'm keen to do just one more thing.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55I think I should smarten myself up before I see Anita.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00Can I have a shave, please?
0:55:16 > 0:55:19On the surface, the India I've witnessed over the last three weeks
0:55:19 > 0:55:24doesn't seem to have changed that much since the days of the Raj.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30Amazingly, half the population, some 600 million people,
0:55:30 > 0:55:32still live off the land.
0:55:34 > 0:55:38The country is still crippled by poor infrastructure
0:55:38 > 0:55:40and a chaotic political system.
0:55:40 > 0:55:45But my journey has shown me that things are beginning to change.
0:55:51 > 0:55:54Look at that, a proper Indian haircut.
0:55:54 > 0:55:58I think Anita's going to be very impressed with me.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22I can't believe you've made it.
0:56:22 > 0:56:23Look at you. Hello.
0:56:23 > 0:56:24Sorry, I'm a bit sweaty.
0:56:24 > 0:56:25You're looking very Indian.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27I had an Indian makeover to see you.
0:56:27 > 0:56:28That hair. It's the oil.
0:56:28 > 0:56:29Coconut oil.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32Beautiful. Welcome to my world.
0:56:32 > 0:56:33This is your world.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35This is what I've been used to.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38I've seen a very different India, I tell you. Really different.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40But we made it. Rough and ready.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43It's done it. I thought you'd turn up with doors hanging off.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46Well, the doors are just about holding on. They're a bit broken.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48It's fine. It's all right.
0:56:48 > 0:56:49It's fine?
0:56:49 > 0:56:53'Justin's poor old Ambassador is looking slightly worse for wear.'
0:56:54 > 0:56:59'As for my Mahindra, it's made it without a hitch.'
0:56:59 > 0:57:01They probably thought you were a Bollywood star.
0:57:01 > 0:57:06Probably. Yeah, I did get a few offers in Bombay. Yeah, right!
0:57:06 > 0:57:08Bollywood stars wouldn't bat an eyelid at this thing.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10They're all too busy driving their Mercs and BMs.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12BMWs is the car that they all want.
0:57:13 > 0:57:18I've seen cycle rickshaws, bullock carts, donkeys.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20I've seen a few of those on the motorway.
0:57:20 > 0:57:24That is just causing catastrophe. And then they can't drive, Justin.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26I know that's a big statement to make about a nation.
0:57:26 > 0:57:31But India's can't drive!
0:57:33 > 0:57:36What I'm going to take away from this trip is that
0:57:36 > 0:57:40this is a really exciting place to be, and it's doing really well.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44But, at the same time, it has serious problems that need to be looked at.
0:57:44 > 0:57:46But it's changing, and there's hope.
0:57:46 > 0:57:48And I'm really hopeful for India
0:57:48 > 0:57:51and I'm very excited about being a British Indian.
0:57:51 > 0:57:53I think I've got the best of both worlds, thank you very much!
0:57:57 > 0:58:01There are just hundreds of millions of people in India
0:58:01 > 0:58:04who basically live in abject poverty.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07The big question is, how are those people going to be fed?
0:58:07 > 0:58:10Also, what happens when they begin to be engaged in the Indian economy?
0:58:10 > 0:58:14Think of the release of potential there'll be.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17Think how this economy could grow if they begin to use their ingenuity
0:58:17 > 0:58:20and skills to manufacture things.
0:58:20 > 0:58:21This could be the biggest economy on Earth.
0:58:21 > 0:58:23Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:23 > 0:58:30E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk