‘The Digital Decades’ Traces 30 Years Of The Internet’s Rise In India

The Digital Decades: Thirty Years of the Internet in India by Subimal Bhattacharjee (published by Simon & Schuster) is a timely, authoritative chronicle of one of the most dramatic digital transformations in modern history.

As India marks roughly three decades since the first public internet connections in August 1995, the book arrives at a pivotal moment.

Bhattacharjee, a seasoned defence, cybersecurity and digital policy expert with decades of columns in The Indian Express, The Economic Times and beyond, brings deep insider insight. He delivers what feels like the definitive account of how the country moved from dial-up scarcity to a global digital powerhouse.

This isn’t a dry policy tome or breathless tech-hype narrative. Instead, it’s structured as a ‘gripping saga’ divided into distinct epochs (the book’s ‘decades’ framing), spanning 19 chapters plus a forward-looking conclusion.

Key Phases

It weaves technological milestones, political decisions, economic shifts, and social impacts into a cohesive story:

• The tentative 1990s beginnings: ERNET experiments, VSNL’s launch, cyber cafes, and early liberalisation.
• The dot-com boom/bust and early 2000s mobile stirrings.
• The explosive 2010s: Aadhaar’s rollout, cheap data via Jio’s disruption, UPI’s birth, Digital India initiatives.
• The current era: AI adoption, data protection laws (DPDP Act), deepfake challenges, India’s push for tech sovereignty, and global positioning (eg, hosting AI summits, joining alliances like Pax Silica).

What elevates the book is Bhattacharjee’s blend of rigorous analysis with compelling anecdotes — human stories of entrepreneurs, policymakers, everyday users, and even rural leapfroggers who turned connectivity into opportunity. This keeps the 448 pages engaging rather than exhaustive.

If you’ve lived through any part of this journey — from waiting hours for a webpage to load in the ’90s to seamless UPI payments today — The Digital Decades will make you appreciate the scale of what happened. It’s not just a tech history; it’s India’s coming-of-age tale in the digital age.

Highly recommended for shelves alongside works on India’s economic liberalisation or startup boom. Grab it in print or eBook while the launch buzz is fresh!

Also Read: ‘The Practice of Immortality’ By Ishan Shivanand Blends Himalayan Wisdom With Modern Living