78th Independence Day: People’s car of India rolls out in the 80s

NEW DELHI: In 1983, India witnessed the arrival of a revolutionary vehicle that defied the conventions of its era. Unlike the cumbersome giants of the time, Maruti 800 car was a nimble and charming innovation, a breath of fresh air amidst the bureaucracy and red tape.
It was everything that India of the 80s wasn't. Not a ponderous behemoth huffing and puffing to negotiate its passage but a blithe maverick able to confidently, and quietly, make its way.

Not an ungainly workhorse weighed down by the decades but a petite charmer that had shed the burden of the past.It was of the govt, but not official. In fact, it was the first (and perhaps, the only) people’s car of India; not of the babudom and red tape, but for the bazaar and baraat.
And so liberating — that too about a decade before liberalisation. The year was 1983. The inaugural price: Rs 47,500. The engine: 800cc. The rest is stuff of road legend. The last of the over 28 lakh Maruti 800s rolled out in 2014, but it will forever be a symbol of humble elegance that changed the way India drove.