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<p>Back to the Future is a pioneering contribution to India’s economic history. It is the first monograph documenting the development curve of commodity trade in India; it is the first such work to take cognizance of prehistoric, protohistoric, and historic date spreading over 7000 years; it is the first attempt to portray how India traded commodities in the long-lost past, and how this multi-millennia-rich experience can help trace the origins of quite a few of the commodity trading practices in the present times. Back to the Future is without doubt a fascinating account of the commodity trade in the Indian subcontinent from the earliest recorded times. <br /><br /><strong>Dr Vijay Kelkar</strong><br />Chairman, Finance Commission<br />Government of India/ </p> <hr align="center" size="1" width="95%" noshade="noshade" /><p>Instead he’s co-written a linear narrative based on “archeological, literary, and inscriptional sources (circa 7000 BCE to 1800 CE)”, as the subtitle explains, plus academic discourses on the subject…. Given that commodity trading was the major business activity in the period he covers, this book is a de facto narrative of India’s economic history.<br /><strong>‘Trading on the past’, Business Standard </strong>dated <strong>March 17, 2010, </strong>by<strong> Kanika Datta</strong> </p> <hr align="center" size="1" width="95%" noshade="noshade" /><p>Commodity trade is one of the oldest trades and its history can be traced back to the roots of ancient civilisations. In the 1400s, commodities such as wheat and rice, and cotton were grown in India. During the same time, Vasco da Gama in his search for new trade routes discovered India with its rich abundance in spices and other commodities, and introduced the country to the rest of the world. A new book titled Back to the Future: roots of commodity trade in India by Jignesh Shah (founder, chairman and CEO of the Financial Technologies group) and Biswajeet Rath (Takshashila Academia of Economic Research) provides an insight on the antiquity of commodity trade in India.<br /><strong>‘In Brief’, Financial Express </strong>dated<strong> February 19, 2010, </strong>by<strong> FE Bureau</strong> </p> <hr align="center" size="1" width="95%" noshade="noshade" /><p>What distinguishes the work is the pains taken to stress the point that global commodity trade was well developed with shipping-logistics support and a system to regulate trade in ancient times…… It covers the period from 7000 BCE to 1800 CE The 143-page book does create interest in the reader to learn more about history of commodity trade and there-in lies the merit of the book co-authored by renowned historian Biswajeet Rath…… The book assumes added relevance after the science boom and the IT, biotechnology, nanotech boom that shifted world attention away from a sector which has roots in antiquity and still serves to provide employment, investment opportunities and money to several millions of people directly and indirectly all over the globe.<br /><strong>‘Did Kautilya write about commodity futures?’, Commodity Online</strong> dated <strong>March 05, 2010 </strong><em>by</em><em><strong></strong></em><em><strong>Sreekumar Raghavan</strong></em></p>