ABSTRACT
The generation of technology is the logical sequel to successful acquisition and absorption of technology. A policy of self-reliance aims at developing indigenous capability and this capability in the case of Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) has enjoyed mixed success. This chapter provides the framework of social dramas used by Andrew M. Pettigrew in his study of a school. The social dramas in the case of HMT can be identified into four categories. First, the role of S. S. Iyengar who enunciated the idea of a machine tool factory, second, the crisis which led to M. K. Mathulla’s opportunity to achieve his goal of an autonomous public enterprise. Third, the stable conditions which led to the internal generation of leadership with an externally induced crisis, and fourth, the crisis of succession. The inability of HMT to tide over the crisis is the unusual stability and growth experienced since 1975–1976.
