INDIA of my Dreams !!!

The next big thing , the best bet, the country to be in or the most dependable economy are the
period phases in the life span of any country. Borders change , opinions differ and governments
fall and rise. Its not a new normal. It is what it is and always will be.

Ours is a country that has been through the most awesome journeys any country can
experience , We have seen invasions from kings 2 continents away , were discovered by sailors
who mistook us for Americans. We went into a perfectly -ve sloping growth trajectory, got looted
of all that we had both tangible and intangible and then on top of it were ruled by absolute
strangers to the extent of almost 2 milleniums, who could not even understand our diverse
diaspora , but they taught us one important thing - UNITY. We worked towards achieving
harmony but were divided as a result of difference of religious beliefs. No sooner that we got out
of this bad dream, we faught amongst ourselves but went on to become the largest
DEMOCRACY, We learnt to live to the way of life we are asked to , adapt to any possible
change, or what we can say as to be the JUGAD lifestyle, meaning that we always have a way
around anything. This has had far fetched effects on the position of INDIA in the world and
largely also on the position of INDIANS in the world. Out of all the coutries in the world today
people of indian origin are present is almost 160+ countries and live a life of a bank-clerk ,
steward to the likes of Governors of state and Business tycoons. I think the whole concept of the
INDIA that we see in this peninsular border in midst of the INDIAN Ocean is a thing of the past.

The adaptability of an INDIAN can be compared to - Arthropoda to talk in zoological terms,

but this is just a metaphorical comparison. But the question arises , what is all this about ?,And
why are we talking about this ?. The intention is to understand about a belief called INDIA. How
can we work towards a global super-power in the making and how can we actually make this
happen. Even after 66 years of independence, we still are considered a third world country in
many aspects with parity in incomes which is unimaginable, Where women are man-handled at
will, Where caste is the basis for securing a top admission and bureaucratic position , where
people do not have enough money to eat a Rs 25 meal , but some have the money to build a
25000 crore house for a family of four and not stay in it. Why is this a reality in INDIA ? Why do
we have more than 75% of urban youth vying for that top spot in a Foreign Univ or in an IIM/
IIM and later shift base outside INDIA. People, especially youth are more motivated towards
earning a living outside INDIA for factors, if compared in the global context sound embarrasing
in nature. This leaves us with a question in mind , Will we ever be a country with no hungry
people ? Will almost all the people ever be able to afford a decent housing ? Can we create
enough motivation in the minds of the youth to stay back and not get enslaved by a foreign
company, who offer a high living standard but a low quality of life, where what brand you own
in more important than what SANSKAR you teach your next generation. Why is it that nations
world over understand the value system of INDIA. they come here and go back with those
learnings, only to come back again and teach us, making us realise how good our value system is
and embarrasing us at times. INDIA has become this confusion state, where globalization and
drain of talent have played an important role.

The pivotal thing that is of need is people empowerement, which is a majorily lacking. This
can be achieved by working towards a above standard education. We have good education
systems, but the governing authorities are incompetent at times. The office bearers in these
bodies are Politicians. Also,we have two types of education institutions - the one's established by
governement and one established by politicians of various order. Only the highly motivated
individuals with a excellent track record get through to these institutes. The rest are at the whims
and fancies of private institutions controlled but politicians who want to convert BLACK to
WHITE ,by people of similar religious intrests , by business families who want a diversified
business intrest or by people who just want to make a name for themselves. The education
factories as we can call them need a reality check. The major focus in the Development plan
should be on

this factor alone - PEOPLE EMPOWERMENT - By way of education. A sound mind can take a
nation places. The startling fact is that inspite of this we are at a above average situation with
respect to these factors, which is an advantage.The goverment also realizing this rather late has
put in place various initiatives which focus on the grass root level and will slowly achieve this
goal of education for all. This will surely help strenghten the belief of people in the country.

The next most important factor is women upliftment in society. There are numerous
organizations working towards this, but because of the sheer diversity of the nation, they are
making tortoise steps in this regard. The most important factors in this respect that need focus are
- equal treatment , equal opportunities , unbiased approach. As the number of women holding
governement office is increasing the work towards this goal has been in the forefront. Women are
turning out to be high performing individuals and are leaving behind their male counterparts in
many respects. Having said this, the safety factor for women is a big concern. Women in many
Metros are feeling increasingly unsafe because of various factors at home and outside home,
which is quite a serious issue. Inspite of women favouring judiciary in some cases things are not
looking good. Until,we have a women driven entrepreneurship at an increasing rate, only then
can we achieve a uplifted status for women. Diverting slightly away from both the social causes,
i would like to through some light on the factor - greed for more, or rather greed is good, A very
motivating factor for a booming economy, but it only increases the cost of living. As a result of
the globalized world, international boundaries in many scenarios has just remained for namesake.
The comparison of almost all the factors has unknown effects on the way a trend's trajectory.
Some become one time wonders and some struggle to even make a mark, some are forgotten so
fast like they never existed. The opening up of the Indian Economy after 1991 and 2000 has
primarily contributed to this growth. The growth has been unprecedented , property has grown
10-15 times in value , the capital markets have seen 2 big busts and 1 boom. The credit easing by
the Central bank at various stages has allowed the supply of money at a relatively lower intrest
cost. All this has contributed to the rise in disposable income at the cost of decrease in the buying
power. The greed for more is driving people sleepless.

On an ending note, what it is also causing is increase in the number of trend

followers.Without the analysis and research of a particular trend , people are blindly imitating
others. We need to work towards reducing this and focussing more of self- motivation ,
originality and rewarding entreprenuership. Working towards and Achieving this is a Herculian
task, but there needs to be some JUGAD for it.

SIDDHARTH MAHABAL