Episode 2 India on Four Wheels


Episode 2

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Transcript


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We're going on an incredible journey.

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'Driving through one of the most crowded and chaotic countries on Earth.'

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This is chaos!

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'Taking two very different cars...'

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No way. How many headlights?

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'..On two very different road trips.'

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What's this? Does the rubbish come free?

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Risking life and limb on some of the most dangerous roads in the world.

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Look at this. Oh, my God! Look, he's on the fast lane.

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It seems like we are properly stuck.

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But this journey has a very serious purpose.

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India's car industry is booming,

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helping power the country's extraordinary economic growth.

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But out in India's heartlands,

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the economic revolution is leaving

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hundreds of millions of people behind.

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Namaste.

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He says his land is here. But I am also here.

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As India embraces a motoring revolution, we'll be asking

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whether this vast nation

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can really turn itself into a global superpower.

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We have been fighting for the last 25 years.

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'And what impact such a transformation could have

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'on India's ancient traditions...

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'and the rest of the world.'

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12 days ago, we set off from Delhi on the journey of a lifetime.

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-It's a beast.

-I don't want to be rude but this car, Anita,

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is vulgar.

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My top of the range Mahindra Bolero

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has taken me into a very modern India.

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All this area around here was fields of wheat, barley and mustard.

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I've seen how the Indian car industry has become

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a barometer of incredible economic growth.

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Quite like one of these at home!

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While my trusty 13-year-old Hindustan Ambassador

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has taken me into a world that the boom has left far behind.

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Oh, man. That is really hard.

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Just over halfway through, we now face the most challenging

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and dangerous stages of our epic journeys.

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Heading for the mega-port of Chennai.

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So, it's day 12.

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'And almost a thousand miles in, I'm about to enter Mumbai,'

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India's biggest city.

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A seething mass of around 20 million people.

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The traffic is pretty horrific in Mumbai this morning,

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and what I've realised is, do not stop for pedestrians.

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Because if you stop for one, a million appear from nowhere.

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This is India's financial hub,

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'home to its stock market, more than 20 billionaires, and of course,

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'the biggest movie industry in the world.

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'I'm going to get myself a tiny taste of the Mumbai high life.'

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He's a genuine Bollywood star.

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'Imran Khan is one of Bollywood's hottest properties.

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'He's already living a movie star lifestyle

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'in his million-pound beach front apartment.'

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Hello, Imran. Anita. How are you?

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As well as starring in action movies like Delhi Belly,

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here in India, Imran's also the face of Coca Cola and Levi's.

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-So this is your baby?

-That's my baby.

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Of course, no film star lifestyle is complete

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without the obligatory trophy car.

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In Imran's case, it's a brand new Porsche.

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This is the first big thing that I ever bought in life.

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I remember being eight or nine years old. We'd have these photographs

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of these exotic foreign cars,

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things that you could never dream of seeing in real life.

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You hear the name Lamborghini, Porsche, Ferrari.

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-These things were unheard of.

-It's changed totally.

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He's getting kisses blown at him, that's great.

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So the Porsche Cayenne.

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So I needed a car that could carry my staff.

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I have a chauffeur who will drive the car. I've got my valet.

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And pretty often, my hairstylist travels with me.

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-You're 28, and you're living the dream right now.

-Yeah, pretty much.

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It's something that...whoa!

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What happened?

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Some guy rear-ended another.

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-There was a crash?

-Yeah, the guy was trying to pull up alongside.

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-He was probably trying to get a glimpse of you.

-He was.

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-You've just caused an accident!

-It happens.

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'Far from Mumbai, with my co-driver Abhra,

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'I'm taking my stately Ambassador

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'through the countryside of Uttar Pradesh.'

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Out here, there are millions of people

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who've never owned any car, let alone a Porsche.

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But that's beginning to change,

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as car manufacturers eye a potentially vast new market.

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And this is quite an amazing journey, really,

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cos for most of the people that we're going to see,

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this will be the first car their family has ever had.

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I'm joining a convoy of brand new cars,

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all of them made by an Indian manufacturer.

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Maruti Suzuki.

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Maruti is bringing this convoy to a rural car fair,

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specially organised to flog as many of them as possible.

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'Rolling up in my ageing Ambassador

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'seems to have marked me out for special treatment.

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'It might be that they hope I'll loosen my wallet

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'and trade in the Amby for a brand new Maruti Suzuki.'

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Better-off farmers are snapping up these small cars.

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Maruti alone is shifting around 600 every single day.

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How do you think that owning a car is going to change your life?

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With every sale comes a very Indian ceremony,

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as a holy man blesses the cars and all those who sail in them.

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There's no coconut?

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Do you have coconut?

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We're trying to get a coconut.

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A coconut is auspicious, isn't it?

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Yeah. Because they say the water inside the coconut is purest of all.

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The purest water of all.

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All this blessing is especially important,

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as many of the new customers don't actually know how to drive.

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Puneet Kumar has come to collect a car for his father,

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who lives two hours away.

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And I've been invited back to meet the lucky family.

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Just driving off back to their village.

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'So far, my journey through rural India

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'has shown just how desperately poor the countryside remains.

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'But just like the cities, things here are slowly changing.

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'The growing sales of companies such as Maruti Suzuki show

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'that even out here, a new middle class is beginning to emerge.'

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Here it is, home. That's wonderful, thank you.

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Hello, Namaste. It's got that very distinctive new car smell.

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Try the horn. Very important in India.

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HORN BEEPS

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You decided to buy this brand new Suzuki. But for much less money,

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you could have bought a lovely, traditional Indian car like this.

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You're convinced that your Suzuki's better than my Hindustan Ambassador.

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Well, good luck with your Suzuki, and I hope you enjoy it.

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India's vast rural population is a huge potential market,

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bigger than the whole of Europe.

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This is a country on the brink of massive change.

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'But today's experience at the car fair

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'makes me wonder if everyone is quite ready for the modern world.'

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It's such a big deal for those guys, getting their new cars.

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It's symbolic, I suppose, of them improving their lives.

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But it's also worrying when you think that most of them didn't know how to drive,

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and they're going to hop into their cars

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and head out onto the already chaotic Indian roads.

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It makes you realise why the roads are so dangerous here,

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if people can buy a brand-new car without even knowing how to drive.

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Back in Mumbai, my Porsche driving time has come to an end,

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because right in the shadow of the apartments of billionaires

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is one of the biggest slums on the planet.

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Dharavi was made famous in the film Slumdog Millionaire.

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Here, life isn't about car ownership, but survival.

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As the monsoon season approaches,

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the authorities have begun the job of fogging the slum

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with insecticide spray to kill off

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malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

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Places like this seem like visions of hopelessness,

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Dharavi's people locked into a cycle of hunger and disease.

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But even here, there's evidence that right at the bottom,

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India is beginning to lift itself out of centuries of poverty.

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One local businessman, Pushparaj Thiagaraj,

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runs a thriving food factory,

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right in the middle of the slum.

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This is Bombay Mix, as you say.

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I know all about Bombay Mix. It's perfect with a cold glass of beer!

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'From small beginnings,

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'Pushparaj's company now produces more than ten tonnes of snacks a week.'

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How many of these does he produce in a day?

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Around 800 pieces.

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-A day?

-Yeah, a day.

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Looks like quite a skill to have. He's very fast as well.

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-Can I have a go?

-Yeah, you can try.

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OK.

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And press, rotate... good. For the first time, you are good.

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All right!

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PEOPLE CLAP

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I get a round of applause!

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'Even with all this hard work,

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'it's still a struggle to bring in big profits.'

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How much do you sell them for?

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-This 1 kg, we sell at 53 rupees, wholesale price.

-Less than a pound.

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And who do you sell it to?

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This goes to hotels throughout Bombay.

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We give it to wholesalers, and retailers also sell it from us.

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They take it from us and sell it.

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-But you're doing well?

-Yeah, we're doing well. We're growing.

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Indian businesses like this

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operate in the toughest environment you can imagine.

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This is capitalism in the raw,

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a sell-or-die culture.

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What it breeds, through locals like Pushparaj,

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is an incredible spirit of entrepreneurship that makes me feel that India,

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in spite of all its problems,

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really could become an economic superpower.

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Two weeks in,

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and I'm about to reach India's east coast.

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The massive changes in the Indian economy

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are also bringing political upheaval.

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And nowhere is that more evident than my next stop,

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the city of Calcutta, capital of the federal state of West Bengal.

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I'm coming into Kolkata, as they say in Bengali,

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or Calcutta, as it used to be known.

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And this, Abhra, is your home, isn't it?

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Yeah, it is.

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Until 1947, this city was the capital of the British Raj,

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and its colonial past

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is still very much in evidence.

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But it's also the home of our Amby.

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It's the home of Hindustan Motors, that makes the Ambassador.

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Yeah, and even our Amby was born here.

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The Hindustan Ambassador is based on the old British Morris Oxford.

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And they're still making them right here after more than half a century.

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Oh, that's amazing. Look at that car!

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-Jigar, this a lovely car.

-Yeah, this is pride of Calcutta.

-I like it.

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-Can I go for a spin?

-Yeah, please.

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'I was keen to see if there'd been any upgrades

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'since my Amby was made.'

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Oh, it's a different vehicle.

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This is fantastic. It's so smooth.

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You'll find it much more responsive as compared to your older vehicle.

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-So this is the modern Ambassador?

-Yes.

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A car that's over 60 years old, remade for modern India?

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Yeah. All the modern facilities we are offering, the safety, the comfort.

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Look at the legroom, look at the headroom.

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Got a bit of turban space here.

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Even the door pad. We all believe

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that there cannot be any other vehicle which can be better

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to take the kind of abuse which we all go through here.

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-I like it. It's a car designed for abuse.

-Absolutely.

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Salesman Jigar Shah, though, has his work cut out.

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'Nearly three million cars were built in India last year.

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'Only 8000 were Ambassadors.

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'At a less than impressive 0.25% market share,

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'it's a far cry from the days when the Amby really did rule the roads.'

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So Jigar, you can't get away from the fact that the Ambassador is a bit of a relic, isn't it?

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This is a car that was designed 70 years ago.

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We are struggling. I would definitely mention

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that we are struggling to sell more.

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But we're still finding enough takers to make our business run.

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Like the Ambassador, the city of Calcutta seems to have been

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a bit overshadowed in modern India.

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On the other side of the country, the brash giant Mumbai

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seems to be leading the charge.

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But things here could be about to change politically.

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Because I happen to have arrived in Calcutta at a very special time.

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Today is election day.

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HORNS BLARE

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'West Bengal has been ruled for nearly 35 years

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'by the Indian Communist Party.

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'But today, supporters of the main rival Congress Party

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'can smell a long hoped for victory.'

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HE SHOUTS IN BENGALI

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Oh! This is kind of an election, Indian-style.

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The local TV station is buzzing with excitement,

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but just like the rest of this very strange country,

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politics Indian-style are complicated.

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Tell you what, I have no idea what's going on here.

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'To try and make some sense of the turmoil,

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'I've collared local political pundit, Suman Mukherjee.'

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Do you think we're seeing a fundamental change

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-in Indian politics today?

-I don't think so.

-Why not?

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Because, you know, only electorally the left is going,

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but the left changed itself five years ago.

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The left has become right and the right has become...

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And the right has become more left, and this is the price that they are getting for becoming left.

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It sounds like a uniquely Indian situation.

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It's a very Indian situation.

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It's very difficult for an Englishman to comprehend.

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In the countryside outside Calcutta, the electoral battle

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has turned decidedly nasty,

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highlighting some of the problems of India's industrial expansion.

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Five years ago, the Communist Government of West Bengal

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moved thousands of farmers off their land

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to make way for a giant car factory,

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owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata.

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'Some of the farmers, like Mahadev Das, weren't even compensated.'

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Sensing a political coup, the opposition party backed the farmers.

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Tata, not wanting to become the centre of a political tug of war,

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emptied these factories and rebuilt them

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right on the other side of India.

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The land, though, still officially belongs to the car company.

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'So farmers like Mahadev don't have any hope of a new livelihood...'

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So just through here, Mahadev?

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'..or their land.

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'This is the first time in five years that Mahadev has been back where his farm once stood.'

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This man says he has land here.

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That is OK. But Tata has taken the boundary.

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I'm just requesting you, you take the permission.

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I suppose the confusion is that he believes he owns the land,

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and Tata believe that they own the land. It's confusing, isn't it?

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Definitely, the land belongs to Tata.

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Only from his statement, you don't expect that the land is his.

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Yes, he is also man. He is telling the land is his. But I am also here.

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OK, I think we'd better go. Come on. Come on.

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This is a dilemma, not just here in West Bengal but across India,

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because wherever industrialists want to build factories,

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almost inevitably, the land is owned by farmers,

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and these disputes make it difficult

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for people to invest here in India, to develop India.

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'Back in Calcutta, the election results are in.'

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'And as expected, the oddly capitalist-friendly Communist party is out

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'and the newly left-leaning Congress party is in.'

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'It's the first regime change for 35 years

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'and a new governor heads into power.'

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So there she goes - off to the governor's mansion, to be sworn in.

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'But some things never change.'

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'The new Governor is being transported,

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'in time-honoured fashion,

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'in an Ambassador.'

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It has been the wonderful day of our lives.

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We have been fighting for the last 25 years.

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Yes!

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Oh, mate, that's so sticky!

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It's quite nice.

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What is it?

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Wadil abodi!

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It's wadil abodi?

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Wadil abodi!

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'Day 15.'

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'And moving on from Mumbai, this six-lane highway

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'is just the kind of infrastructure this country needs

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'if it's going to sustain its phenomenal economic growth.

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'But as ever, in India, nothing is quite as simple as it seems.'

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If I come across as a little bit stressed, that's because I am.

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Up until now, driving has been chaos, it's been frightening,

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I've had people coming towards me,

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I've had people reversing down the motorway,

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but the speeds haven't been that fast.

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Here, they reach 100 mph.

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This is where, if you've got a fast car, you come to put your foot down.

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And that, to me, is a very scary thought.

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'More than 100,000 people die on India's roads each year.

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'The Mumbai-Puna expressway is one of the most dangerous of all.

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'Just this short stretch claims two lives every single week.

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'And it's soon obvious why.'

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'Indian drivers think nothing of driving on the wrong side of the road, even on a motorway.'

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A car coming towards me!

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It's a dual bloody carriageway! What's wrong with these people?

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I'm in the fast lane of the motorway.

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Motorbike coming towards me. And, look at this!

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Oh, my God! Look, he's in the fast lane! You idiot!

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It's a long time since I've seen any sight of a motorway.

0:24:370:24:41

Across India, less than half

0:24:420:24:44

of the country's two million miles of road are even paved.

0:24:440:24:49

'I can't help feeling that the terrible state

0:24:530:24:56

'of so much of the infrastructure has to be holding up development.'

0:24:560:25:00

'It's certainly holding up my journey.'

0:25:000:25:04

ENGINE REVS

0:25:140:25:19

Guys, can you give it a push? Is that OK?

0:25:200:25:25

It was quite funny at first, but it seems that we are properly stuck.

0:25:300:25:35

'Fortunately, an entire village turns up to give me a helping hand.'

0:25:450:25:51

VILLAGERS CHEER

0:25:540:25:56

Thank you very much, cheers! Namaste, brilliant.

0:25:560:26:01

Woo! We got out in the end.

0:26:010:26:03

'I might have over 1,000 miles still to go,

0:26:090:26:11

'but I'm planning a detour.

0:26:110:26:15

'Heading for the coast, to explore the impact

0:26:150:26:18

'of all these cars on an extraordinary natural wilderness.'

0:26:180:26:22

'Meanwhile, making good time,

0:26:240:26:28

'I'm planning take some time away from the car myself.'

0:26:280:26:31

Leaving my co-driver with the Bolero, I've flown ahead

0:26:330:26:37

to investigate India's traffic problems in city of Bangalore.

0:26:370:26:41

Bangalore is India's answer to California's Silicon Valley,

0:26:440:26:48

and provider of call centres and software-writers to the world.

0:26:480:26:52

This might be India's most modern city,

0:26:540:26:56

but like everywhere else, anarchy seems to rule the roads.

0:26:560:27:00

Here, even the traffic cops take their lives in their hands.

0:27:040:27:07

As Inspector Geetha Kulkarui has found to her cost.

0:27:070:27:11

All the passengers just, they are screaming.

0:27:110:27:15

The bus going on me, I'm experiencing the heat of the bus.

0:27:150:27:19

But I fell unconscious

0:27:190:27:21

and all my staff and the public thought I was dead and gone.

0:27:210:27:24

But then they came and I said, "I want some water".

0:27:240:27:27

Nothing happened to me.

0:27:270:27:28

-Let me get this straight. You were knocked down by a bus.

-Yes.

0:27:280:27:31

You fell under the bus, and the bus went over you

0:27:310:27:34

and you didn't have a scratch on you?

0:27:340:27:36

Nothing! Not even a scratch on me! I could not believe this, actually.

0:27:360:27:39

As we're in India, possibly divine intervention?

0:27:390:27:41

As you said, maybe divine intervention!

0:27:410:27:44

Possibly!

0:27:440:27:45

'After Geetha's little pep talk,

0:27:470:27:50

'it's time for me to head out to one of the city's busiest intersections.'

0:27:500:27:55

They're all coming towards us.

0:27:550:27:56

We are literally taking our life in our own hands.

0:27:560:28:00

Show your hand like this. Stop here, listen.

0:28:040:28:07

Yes, go, and then you have to call them, like this.

0:28:070:28:10

Woo!

0:28:100:28:11

I'm in training, I'm in training.

0:28:150:28:17

Oh, gosh, here they come!

0:28:190:28:20

Come back, you come back. Anita! Come back.

0:28:200:28:24

Apparently, I'm causing more chaos than normal.

0:28:240:28:28

It usually runs very smoothly.

0:28:280:28:31

My presence is causing a bit of a disturbance.

0:28:310:28:33

'Many countries face traffic problems,

0:28:390:28:41

'but what sets India apart seems to be an utter disregard for rules.'

0:28:410:28:46

'And as night falls, that disregard turns to mayhem.'

0:28:480:28:52

Hey, hey, hey!

0:28:540:28:57

Come on, come on.

0:28:570:28:58

Drink-driving is a huge problem in India, and Bangalore is no exception.

0:29:030:29:07

So every Saturday night, their busiest night,

0:29:070:29:10

traffic police set up a checkpoint and randomly breathalyse drivers.

0:29:100:29:14

116.

0:29:210:29:22

The limit is 40 and he's at 116,

0:29:220:29:25

so he's well over the drink-driving limit.

0:29:250:29:27

'Many Indian drivers simply don't believe they need to obey the law.'

0:29:270:29:33

-Blow, blow, blow, blow, blow, blow, blow, blow, blow, blow...

-OK.

0:29:330:29:37

That's 158.3.

0:29:370:29:39

-So, Sushila, he's over four times your limit...

-Yes.

0:29:390:29:42

Did he say that he's related to somebody important?

0:29:540:29:57

-Yes, he's related to...

-INDISTINCT NAME

0:29:570:30:00

So somebody quite senior in the police

0:30:000:30:02

-is his brother, or brother-in-law?

-Brother-in-law.

0:30:020:30:05

So he was saying, "Let me off because I'm related to somebody important"?

0:30:050:30:09

Not "Let me off", he wanted some kind of favour.

0:30:090:30:12

'These drivers, it seems, will try anything.

0:30:150:30:18

'Even resorting to blatant bribery.'

0:30:180:30:21

These two have been pulled over...

0:30:210:30:23

and the chap in the hooded top, I've just seen him try and give the police officer an envelope.

0:30:230:30:29

Don't know what's in it, but I can suspect

0:30:290:30:33

that it's a little bit of a sweetener to try and get off.

0:30:330:30:37

THEY ARGUE

0:30:370:30:39

I'm incredibly surprised at what I've seen tonight.

0:30:410:30:44

In the last three hours I've seen people try and escape through the checkpoint, bribe the officers,

0:30:440:30:49

plead with the officers...

0:30:490:30:51

and also try and convince them they're not drunk,

0:30:510:30:53

even though they're three to four times over the limit.

0:30:530:30:56

So there's a huge problem of drink driving in India,

0:30:560:30:58

and the police have a very tough challenge ahead of them.

0:30:580:31:02

'One man, though, is on a mission

0:31:060:31:09

'to combat this headlong road-spin of drunkenness and death.'

0:31:090:31:12

ENGINE ROARS AND BRAKES SCREECH

0:31:120:31:15

Hello, Pradeep!

0:31:190:31:20

'Ex-rally champion Pradeep Nair has set up India's first school

0:31:200:31:25

'for advanced drivers.

0:31:250:31:26

'He's offering some of the local speed merchants

0:31:260:31:30

'lessons in how to really handle a car -

0:31:300:31:33

'with the hope of making them a bit more responsible.'

0:31:340:31:37

Should I feel nervous right now?

0:31:370:31:40

No, not at all - completely relax. I'm not really going to go mad.

0:31:400:31:46

Whoo! Oh...!

0:31:460:31:48

'Pradeep believes that, learn to control a car effectively off-road,

0:31:500:31:54

'and you'll be a much safer driver ON it.'

0:31:540:31:57

No, I just... Ha!

0:31:590:32:02

I flew out of my chair!

0:32:020:32:04

Whoo!

0:32:070:32:10

Here's the chief of the village. Hi, chief!

0:32:110:32:14

'Having been shown Pradeep's ropes...

0:32:220:32:25

'it's my turn.'

0:32:250:32:26

Woo-hoo!

0:32:260:32:28

How is this going to help Indian drivers?

0:32:310:32:34

It'll help them with the steering control,

0:32:340:32:37

getting used to sliding the car,

0:32:370:32:41

-recovering from a skid...

-Yeah.

0:32:410:32:43

Aaagh...

0:32:430:32:44

'I'm sure his motives are right,

0:32:480:32:50

'but I've a hunch that teaching Indians to drive like rally champs

0:32:500:32:54

'isn't going to lessen the carnage on the roads.'

0:32:540:32:57

ANITA LAUGHS

0:33:050:33:06

You panicked, see?

0:33:060:33:08

I did panic!

0:33:080:33:09

-OK, reverse.

-Reverse...

0:33:090:33:12

It's stuck.

0:33:140:33:15

'Day 16.

0:33:200:33:22

'Another stretch of highway, and yet another accident.'

0:33:230:33:28

Guys, what happened here?

0:33:280:33:29

Here it comes in. Look at that! What a giant!

0:33:340:33:37

So were just driving along, and found this truck

0:33:370:33:41

which has crashed down into this ditch.

0:33:410:33:44

Apparently, there was a cyclist wobbling along

0:33:440:33:46

and to avoid the cyclist, he had to put the truck in the ditch -

0:33:460:33:50

but fortunately for them, there's a big road building project over here

0:33:500:33:53

and they've got heavy machines to help lift it out.

0:33:530:33:56

Pull up and up!

0:33:580:34:01

Come out, come out!

0:34:010:34:03

There's a bloke underneath.

0:34:030:34:05

And he was proposing to stay under there while they lifted it out!

0:34:050:34:10

It's all very makeshift here.

0:34:100:34:12

That was pretty neat - they got it out in a matter of minutes.

0:34:150:34:19

'Miraculously, this time, no-one is hurt.

0:34:190:34:23

'But with hundreds of miles still to go,

0:34:240:34:27

'it's really starting to get me down.'

0:34:270:34:30

It's really, really exhausting driving in India,

0:34:300:34:33

because people drive like complete idiots.

0:34:330:34:35

And after a while, you just begin to think, this is so reckless

0:34:350:34:40

and careless of other people's wellbeing.

0:34:400:34:43

It just really exhausts you,

0:34:440:34:46

and I'm glad that we've finally arrived at the hotel.

0:34:460:34:49

MARCHING BAND PLAYS "COLONEL BOGEY"

0:34:500:34:55

'The massive increase in car ownership

0:34:580:35:00

'also has huge environmental implications.

0:35:000:35:04

'Not just for India, but for the whole world.

0:35:050:35:09

'Cars are a major contributor to the build-up of greenhouse gases

0:35:090:35:13

'and to global warming.

0:35:130:35:16

'And in the next ten years, it's thought the amount of carbon dioxide

0:35:160:35:19

'from Indian cars will increase five-fold.

0:35:190:35:22

'I'm heading for the Sundarbans, a huge area of mangrove swamps

0:35:240:35:28

'and low-lying islands at the mouth of the river Ganges.

0:35:280:35:32

'It's one of the most important and delicate ecosystems in the world.

0:35:350:35:41

'Where I'm going, there aren't any roads,

0:35:450:35:48

'so for the moment, I'm leaving my trusty Amby behind...

0:35:480:35:52

'..and taking to the water.

0:35:530:35:56

'The Sundarbans are one of the wonders of the natural world,

0:35:590:36:03

'sanctuary to hundreds of species

0:36:030:36:05

'including the endangered Sundarbans tiger.

0:36:050:36:09

'But some of these delicate islands are slowly being washed away.

0:36:100:36:15

'Doctor Pranabes Sanyal has spent his career studying them.'

0:36:170:36:21

Oh, man... Woo-hoo!

0:36:210:36:23

Seriously, Doctor, it's very muddy. Are you going to be OK?

0:36:240:36:28

Oh!

0:36:280:36:30

Doctor, I'm not sure this was such a good idea landing here

0:36:300:36:33

but we do just get a sense of just how muddy this mud is.

0:36:330:36:36

It's muddy, absolutely.

0:36:360:36:37

What effect are these changes in the Sundarbans having on the environment?

0:36:370:36:41

-A lot of areas will come under water.

-So this...

0:36:410:36:43

Already we have measured, where we don't have embankments

0:36:430:36:47

in the sea-facing islands -

0:36:470:36:49

during the period from 1969,

0:36:490:36:53

as on today,

0:36:530:36:54

some 20% of the area of the sea-facing islands,

0:36:540:36:58

they have gone under.

0:36:580:37:00

They've already gone. 20%!

0:37:000:37:02

'Many factors are responsible.

0:37:020:37:05

'Some are natural phenomena,

0:37:050:37:08

'but the fear is that increasing levels of CO2 from fossil fuels

0:37:080:37:12

'will lead to progressively rising sea levels.

0:37:120:37:16

'It could have terrible implications for the Sundarbans,

0:37:160:37:20

'and the unique tigers and other wildlife that inhabit them.'

0:37:200:37:24

It's not just the tigers that are going to suffer

0:37:240:37:27

if the sea level continues to rise.

0:37:270:37:29

Take a look at this.

0:37:290:37:30

There are four million farmers here in the Sundarbans

0:37:300:37:33

and most of their farms are below high tide.

0:37:330:37:36

They're only protected by these mud banks.

0:37:360:37:40

'People living in low-lying areas around the world

0:37:420:37:45

'face increasingly bleak futures.

0:37:450:37:49

'Satish and his wife Janaki

0:37:490:37:51

'have lived and farmed here all their lives.'

0:37:510:37:55

How do you manage to get food? How do you manage to survive?

0:38:090:38:12

-HE TRANSLATES:

-Their farmland is flooded by saltwater

0:38:200:38:24

so they can't have any crops.

0:38:240:38:26

So literally, they're, um, they're starving.

0:38:260:38:29

Oh, I'm sorry...

0:38:530:38:54

'As car ownership grows and India industrialises,

0:39:170:39:21

'billions more tons of carbon will be pumped into the atmosphere.'

0:39:210:39:24

'But hi-tech Bangalore is home to one of the pioneers of greener motoring.'

0:39:290:39:34

I'm swapping India's best-selling SUV

0:39:360:39:38

for India's first and only electric car.

0:39:380:39:42

Both owned by Mahindra.

0:39:420:39:43

Sold in the UK as the G-Wiz, and known here as the Reva.

0:39:430:39:48

And the first thing to notice about it, is that it has no exhaust.

0:39:480:39:52

Which means zero emissions, so incredibly environmentally friendly.

0:39:520:39:55

But how does she take to the roads of India?

0:39:550:39:58

Very quiet, here I go.

0:40:010:40:03

It's pretty much silent,

0:40:060:40:07

which is quite dangerous when people jump out in front of you,

0:40:070:40:10

so the horn is essential on this car.

0:40:100:40:14

The G-Wiz was launched in Britain to what you might call "mixed reviews".

0:40:170:40:21

And, so far, take-up in India hasn't been huge.

0:40:210:40:25

I think it's quite ambitious of Mahindra

0:40:250:40:28

to want to produce 30,000 of these a year,

0:40:280:40:30

as India's yet to sort out its power problems.

0:40:300:40:35

Electricity isn't widely available.

0:40:360:40:39

Every day we've been here, there's been power cuts.

0:40:390:40:43

Single, yes, one-way.

0:40:430:40:46

Right, I'm flooring this baby. I'm going to put her into booster mode.

0:40:460:40:50

Aw, yeah!

0:40:500:40:53

'In theory, electric cars are exactly what India

0:40:530:40:57

and the rest of the world needs.'

0:40:570:41:00

'But, in the helter-skelter consumerism of modern India,

0:41:000:41:03

'it's hard to imagine this car competing with the allure

0:41:030:41:07

'of more conventional petrol vehicles.'

0:41:070:41:10

While I've been exploring the mangrove swamps by boat,

0:41:150:41:19

my Ambassador has been driven on.

0:41:190:41:22

Now, I've flown to the city of Visakhapatnam

0:41:250:41:26

to catch up with it again.

0:41:260:41:30

From here, it's still a massive drive into mountains

0:41:320:41:35

that are inhabited by an ancient and threatened indigenous tribe.

0:41:350:41:42

It'll take me on to some of the most remote roads yet.

0:41:420:41:46

But it seems that, in my absence, the Amby has really suffered.

0:41:470:41:52

What's happened?

0:41:540:41:58

The fuel gauge says it's completely full

0:41:580:41:59

but we have been driving for about two and half hours

0:41:590:42:02

and we've just run out of fuel.

0:42:020:42:07

So, look at the fuel gauge there. If I turn on the...

0:42:070:42:10

ENGINE TURNS OVER

0:42:140:42:15

Can you see that? It goes right up.

0:42:150:42:17

I think that's broken, don't you?

0:42:170:42:19

No, this'll be all right.

0:42:190:42:20

It can't be overfull after two and a half hours.

0:42:200:42:22

And it wasn't. As it turns out, it was empty. Such is life.

0:42:220:42:26

We've got a slight problem.

0:42:280:42:30

Which is, Rupert come here, mate.

0:42:300:42:32

Which is, we haven't got a tow rope.

0:42:320:42:33

So Rupert's managed... The cameraman...

0:42:330:42:35

Safety harness.

0:42:350:42:36

..has used his safety harness which we're going to use to...

0:42:360:42:40

Hopefully, it's going to be strong enough.

0:42:400:42:42

We're trying to find an anchor point for the tow rope that is rust-free.

0:42:420:42:47

They all seem to be pulling off.

0:42:470:42:49

But that's moving it, isn't it?

0:42:490:42:51

Are you sure this is going to be strong enough to hold the car?

0:42:510:42:54

It's not a heavy car, is it?

0:42:540:42:56

Not a heavy car? It's solid, solid steel!

0:42:560:42:59

To be honest, we haven't got much choice.

0:42:590:43:03

We've got four kilometres to do like this.

0:43:030:43:05

And we've got to be really, really careful

0:43:050:43:07

otherwise I'm going to crash into the car in front.

0:43:070:43:10

The handbrake doesn't work either, so...

0:43:100:43:14

Hi guys. It's all on OK. Let's go!

0:43:140:43:16

Go, go!

0:43:160:43:18

So dangerous.

0:43:180:43:23

Four kilometres.

0:43:240:43:26

I am still a long way from my rendezvous with Anita in Chennai.

0:43:350:43:39

Early monsoon rain has grounded the Amby

0:43:390:43:41

and I've still got a tribe to visit.

0:43:410:43:44

But the only way to get where I am going is on foot.

0:43:450:43:49

Up there.

0:43:490:43:51

It's a tough four-hour trek into the sacred lands

0:43:570:44:00

of a tribe called the Dongria Kondh.

0:44:000:44:03

Ancient people who are in the midst of an epic battle with modernity,

0:44:030:44:09

in the shape of a giant aluminium company.

0:44:090:44:12

This is a classic David and Goliath battle.

0:44:160:44:19

An ancient tribe living on a sacred mountain

0:44:190:44:21

up against a giant multinational. Remind you of a movie?

0:44:210:44:25

Boba hoo haa.

0:44:290:44:32

'The Dongria Kondh are subsidence farmers

0:44:320:44:34

'who have lived here for thousands of years.'

0:44:340:44:38

Laddo, yeah? The chief man.

0:44:380:44:40

So Laddo, could we have a little look around your village?

0:44:410:44:45

Would that be OK?

0:44:460:44:47

'It's believed the Dongria are related to Australian aboriginals

0:44:470:44:52

'and they're reckoned to be one of the oldest tribes on Earth.'

0:44:520:44:56

I think these are the private areas where the families hang out.

0:44:570:45:01

DOGS BARKING

0:45:010:45:02

They're a bit surprised to see us.

0:45:020:45:05

'I've been invited to spend the night here.'

0:45:050:45:08

'But, before I settle in,

0:45:080:45:09

'I'm going climb the mountain that's very special for what it contains,

0:45:090:45:14

'and also for what it represents.'

0:45:140:45:19

This is Nyamgiri mountain.

0:45:210:45:23

This is the sacred mountain of the Dongria people.

0:45:230:45:27

But it's also incredibly valuable.

0:45:270:45:29

The rocks we are walking over now are almost solid bauxite and

0:45:290:45:32

there's a really rich bauxite seam running through the entire mountain.

0:45:320:45:39

More than 2 billion worth, apparently.

0:45:390:45:45

The state government has granted rights

0:45:500:45:52

to a huge mining company called Vedanta,

0:45:520:45:56

to mine the bauxite in this mountain to make aluminium,

0:45:560:45:59

a crucial material in modern cars.

0:45:590:46:04

Vedanta has even built a huge refinery, but the Dongria claim

0:46:060:46:10

mining this mountain will destroy their way of life.

0:46:100:46:16

What happened when you said you didn't want their houses,

0:46:290:46:32

didn't want their schools, or their roads?

0:46:320:46:34

That night, back in the village, the Dongria started to worship

0:46:540:46:58

Niyamghiri, the god of the mountain.

0:46:580:47:03

RHYTHMIC DRUMMING

0:47:160:47:18

'As their religious devotions became ever wilder,

0:47:410:47:43

'and with no sense of an end, I decided to slip off to bed.'

0:47:430:47:47

I have to say, if I had not been here with the entire crew,

0:47:470:47:49

I would have found that genuinely frightening and unsettling.

0:47:490:47:53

And it really felt like something ancient.

0:47:570:48:00

An ancient tradition being acted out in front of us.

0:48:010:48:05

I suppose that's why, that's how much there is at stake really.

0:48:070:48:11

One of the oldest tribes on Earth,

0:48:110:48:13

crashing up against modernity in the form of the aluminium industry.

0:48:130:48:19

'Next morning, I headed into the local town to meet with Vedanta,

0:48:330:48:37

'the aluminium company at the heart of this dispute.'

0:48:370:48:40

Vedanta had agreed to speak to us.

0:48:420:48:43

They'd even flown a spokesman here to the town.

0:48:430:48:48

But when they saw us talking to a group of tribal people,

0:48:480:48:50

they decided to pull out. So, no interview.

0:48:500:48:54

But they have invested a huge amount of money here.

0:48:540:48:57

This giant aluminium plant cost a billion dollars.

0:48:570:49:00

They've created one and a half thousand jobs.

0:49:000:49:02

They've built schools, hospitals, these roads.

0:49:020:49:06

And they say that, without the aluminium from the hill,

0:49:060:49:08

the plant just isn't viable.

0:49:080:49:10

Of course, if it closed, that would be the end

0:49:100:49:11

of the biggest employer in this incredibly deprived region.

0:49:110:49:16

India will need to increasingly exploit its natural resources

0:49:230:49:27

to create jobs if it is to lift hundreds of millions of people

0:49:270:49:31

out of poverty.

0:49:310:49:33

But, from the farmers of West Bengal to the indigenous tribes of Orissa,

0:49:330:49:37

I have seen how modernisation can be a very brutal process.

0:49:370:49:42

For some, perhaps, too brutal.

0:49:430:49:46

At last, after three weeks on the road, I'm nearing Chennai.

0:49:590:50:02

This region is known as the Detroit of Asia

0:50:050:50:07

because of its booming car industry.

0:50:070:50:10

And it symbolises not just India's own growth,

0:50:100:50:12

but its position on the world stage.

0:50:120:50:16

Car manufacturers, from Ford to BMW, all have car plants here.

0:50:190:50:23

And many of India's half a million exports leave from Chennai's port.

0:50:230:50:30

The biggest exporter of all is Korean company Hyundai.

0:50:320:50:36

Its plant outside Chennai produces an astonishing 600,000 cars a year.

0:50:360:50:44

The man responsible for hundreds of workers is

0:50:520:50:55

plant manager Thatapillai Sarangarajan.

0:50:550:51:01

All these people who were essentially from a village,

0:51:010:51:09

now their children are going to the best schools in Chennai.

0:51:090:51:11

Go to their house, everyone has air conditioner, washing machine.

0:51:110:51:15

Car, do they have a car?

0:51:150:51:16

Car. Yes, some people, not all people.

0:51:160:51:19

'Workers here earn as much as 30 times what their parents could earn.'

0:51:190:51:25

How long has this gentleman worked here?

0:51:250:51:28

13 years.

0:51:280:51:29

I want to get a sense of how your life has changed.

0:51:290:51:32

Financially, he's better off. Family is stabilised.

0:51:320:51:36

He has got married, got a kid.

0:51:410:51:42

The £500 a month wage makes these workers well-off in India.

0:51:440:51:49

But, by western standards, that makes them cheap.

0:51:510:51:54

Hence the attraction for foreign companies like Hyundai.

0:51:540:51:57

From here, these Hyundai has go all over the world.

0:52:020:52:04

This one is for India.

0:52:040:52:06

This grey number is going to Israel.

0:52:060:52:07

And this one is for the United Kingdom.

0:52:070:52:10

Korean car, made in India, soon to be driven on the streets of the UK.

0:52:100:52:16

'At last, after some 1500 miles,

0:52:260:52:29

'I'm heading towards the beautiful beach front at Chennai.'

0:52:290:52:32

The final leg of the journey. I'm feeling a bit sentimental.

0:52:320:52:37

If that Ambassador has made it all the way around,

0:52:400:52:44

without any problems, I will be very surprised.

0:52:450:52:48

'Monsoons, a dodgy petrol gauge,

0:52:590:53:01

'and a long hike up the mountain to see the Dongria

0:53:010:53:04

'have put me way behind schedule.'

0:53:050:53:08

'I'm still miles from Anita in Chennai,

0:53:100:53:11

and my precious Amby is beginning to complain more and more frequently.'

0:53:110:53:17

'I think it may have had enough.'

0:53:170:53:19

We've got a few new problems with the poor old Ambassador

0:53:190:53:23

which is taking a battering on these roads.

0:53:230:53:26

Abbra, ??? what's wrong?

0:53:260:53:29

It is not locking.

0:53:290:53:29

So, it was swinging open and banging as we were driving along.

0:53:290:53:33

Not only that, Abbra ??? filled the car up this morning.

0:53:330:53:37

And the petrol cap seems to have bounced off.

0:53:370:53:40

So we've fashioned a fuse out of paper

0:53:400:53:42

to keep the petrol from coming out.

0:53:420:53:45

We'll have to sort that out pretty soon.

0:53:470:53:48

Ah, You've got it!

0:53:560:53:58

??? All right, let's go.

0:53:580:54:00

Let's go.

0:54:000:54:01

Whoo!

0:54:040:54:05

Jump in, jump in.

0:54:050:54:09

ENGINE STUTTERS

0:54:090:54:12

ENGINE ROARS

0:54:170:54:22

I've finally made it to the beach at Chennai

0:54:270:54:29

but there's no sign of Justin.

0:54:300:54:33

After three weeks of bouncing around India,

0:54:450:54:47

I'm keen to do just one more thing.

0:54:470:54:50

I think I should smarten myself up before I see Anita.

0:54:510:54:55

Can I have a shave, please?

0:54:560:55:00

On the surface, the India I've witnessed over the last three weeks

0:55:160:55:19

doesn't seem to have changed that much since the days of the Raj.

0:55:190:55:24

Amazingly, half the population, some 600 million people,

0:55:260:55:30

still live off the land.

0:55:300:55:32

The country is still crippled by poor infrastructure

0:55:340:55:38

and a chaotic political system.

0:55:380:55:40

But my journey has shown me that things are beginning to change.

0:55:400:55:45

Look at that, a proper Indian haircut.

0:55:510:55:54

I think Anita's going to be very impressed with me.

0:55:540:55:58

I can't believe you've made it.

0:56:190:56:22

Look at you. Hello.

0:56:220:56:23

Sorry, I'm a bit sweaty.

0:56:230:56:24

You're looking very Indian.

0:56:240:56:25

I had an Indian makeover to see you.

0:56:250:56:27

That hair. It's the oil.

0:56:270:56:28

Coconut oil.

0:56:280:56:29

Beautiful. Welcome to my world.

0:56:290:56:32

This is your world.

0:56:320:56:33

This is what I've been used to.

0:56:330:56:35

I've seen a very different India, I tell you. Really different.

0:56:350:56:38

But we made it. Rough and ready.

0:56:380:56:40

It's done it. I thought you'd turn up with doors hanging off.

0:56:400:56:43

Well, the doors are just about holding on. They're a bit broken.

0:56:430:56:46

It's fine. It's all right.

0:56:460:56:48

It's fine?

0:56:480:56:49

'Justin's poor old Ambassador is looking slightly worse for wear.'

0:56:490:56:53

'As for my Mahindra, it's made it without a hitch.'

0:56:540:56:59

They probably thought you were a Bollywood star.

0:56:590:57:01

Probably. Yeah, I did get a few offers in Bombay. Yeah, right!

0:57:010:57:06

Bollywood stars wouldn't bat an eyelid at this thing.

0:57:060:57:08

They're all too busy driving their Mercs and BMs.

0:57:080:57:10

BMWs is the car that they all want.

0:57:100:57:12

I've seen cycle rickshaws, bullock carts, donkeys.

0:57:130:57:18

I've seen a few of those on the motorway.

0:57:180:57:20

That is just causing catastrophe. And then they can't drive, Justin.

0:57:200:57:24

I know that's a big statement to make about a nation.

0:57:240:57:26

But India's can't drive!

0:57:260:57:31

What I'm going to take away from this trip is that

0:57:330:57:36

this is a really exciting place to be, and it's doing really well.

0:57:360:57:40

But, at the same time, it has serious problems that need to be looked at.

0:57:400:57:44

But it's changing, and there's hope.

0:57:440:57:46

And I'm really hopeful for India

0:57:460:57:48

and I'm very excited about being a British Indian.

0:57:480:57:51

I think I've got the best of both worlds, thank you very much!

0:57:510:57:53

There are just hundreds of millions of people in India

0:57:570:58:01

who basically live in abject poverty.

0:58:010:58:04

The big question is, how are those people going to be fed?

0:58:040:58:07

Also, what happens when they begin to be engaged in the Indian economy?

0:58:070:58:10

Think of the release of potential there'll be.

0:58:100:58:14

Think how this economy could grow if they begin to use their ingenuity

0:58:140:58:17

and skills to manufacture things.

0:58:170:58:20

This could be the biggest economy on Earth.

0:58:200:58:21

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:58:210:58:23

E-mail [email protected]

0:58:230:58:30

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