Has the Indian consumer finally shaken off the yoke of ghulami in the last decade? Yes and no. This decade has seen the most fundamental change for Indian consumers. This change has its genesis in the 1991 economic crisis. If this crisis had not occurred, would we have been pushed into opening up India both internally and to global markets? The consumer revolution that we participate in and take for granted was difficult to envision prior to this period. We have swum with the tide and become the new Indian consumer without fully comprehending this new-found azaadi.

This is the marketing azaadi that many of us had dreamt about. Freedom from the shackles of the Muddled State that held us hostage to shoddy products, poor service, a decade-long queue for two-wheelers, and holidays abroad to buy electronics and Victoria's Secret. Years of living with the tyranny of monopolies and consequently of no choice. Insular politics and an unholy nexus of business and its benefactors held us back.

So what has changed? The Big Five, as I call them, are:

The Consumer: It is trite to say that the consumer is king-to this truism we need to add that the consumer is now queen, princess, and prince as well. The consumer has changed dramatically, both quantitatively and qualitatively. It is irrelevant to argue that if the so-called middle class is 15 or 250 million strong. The mistakes of quantification have seen the graveyards of brands, their businesses, and the aspirations of people who have been pink slipped.

Today, the car is aspirational, not the two-wheeler; own homes are, not rented acco. Rural consumers lap up urban products and relate to the global village, delivered home through cable and satellite feeds, blurring the neat categorisation of consumer segments.

Brands: Brands have thrived and products have been commoditised. Differentiation on the product-dimension is no longer anyone's preserve. Service remains a differentiator, but that too is gradually getting commoditised. Witness the response-imagery driven advertising targeting altered psychographics and consumer aspirations. The Denim man does not need to try too hard. The Pepsi generation is wedded to irreverent fun. Product (including service) quality is a prerequisite; packaging is a critical marketing P. Distribution is a differentiator, but is vanishing quickly. Pricing, and margins, are only going one way-down. The positioning era has truly arrived.

Technology: We are no longer in awe of technology. We demand and dominate it. From 'low tech' soap-making to 'hi-tech' pcs@home, we demand quality, at lower prices, and at service levels that make many western marketers squirm. The Indian market has seen the arrival of world-class products. Refrigerators in real terms are almost at the same price as a decade ago. PCs cost less each year. We can call (and thankfully receive calls too) almost anywhere in the world from our six-year-old mobile services at lower costs. More for less.

Global Integration: Does anyone remember the 'Lehar' in Pepsi? Or that Lifebuoy, the great Indian brand, is actually an international one. Or that ColorPlus, Amul, and Oberoi are very Indian brands, with a taste of India, and we love them? Or that Maruti is still technically a PSU?

As global consumers we do not care anymore about the origins and lineage of the product as long as they satisfy our needs as consumers. Who needs to shop in Singapore?

Passing of the Muddled State: An odd entry in my big five is how finally we can enter (though less easily exit) most segments of the Indian economy, build brands, et. al. without having to rush to an insular and often apathetic Indian State. I remember well how the Muddled State would react in the 1970s and 1980s if licensed capacities were increased to feed the Indian consumer demands of more soap, cosmetics, or even cars.

How could Indian marketing have thrived in such times? So, does that mean we have truly reached the nirvanic consumerist state abhorred by some but loved by middle class India? When we do finally succeed in enlarging the base of the Indian consumers quantitatively, as policy-makers, change agents and marketing professionals, the answer will be yes. That is yet to happen.

Till then, true azaadi will have to wait.