In inviting us to write an Essay on Chemistry in India, Angewandte has presented us with an unusual challenge that has prompted discussion and much introspection. Chemistry is small in its unitary philosophy, but it is also a large central discipline that is ever expanding into biology and materials science. It plays a significant role in academia, industry, and public life. While its advances can be as exquisite as in any other science, the subject is of utmost importance to the economic well-being of a nation. For example, the production of ethylene or sulfuric acid is a good index of the economic development of a country. India is an old, large, and complex country with many hidden talents and untapped potential. It yields its secrets to outsiders only with difficulty. But it is also a very young and scientifically "small" country that is trying to bootstrap itself into the future within the "constraints" and advantages of a lively, chaotic, and still-evolving democracy. Its mindset is changing rapidly from an inward-looking and feudal attitude—a consequence of over 400 years of external domination and colonialism—to its former ethos that is holistic, inclusive, and outward-looking.
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