As the sun rays brightened up my face in the morning, I felt proud to be an Indian. India as a nation state has created a niche for herself and is now well noticed on the world map. After 66 years of independence, it has truly been a momentous expedition. We sure have had our share of feats and failures but we still have a long way to go (Miles to go before I sleep, miles to go before I sleep....)
Last week I got an opportunity to hear Mr. Suhel Seth @ St. Stephen's College; speak about "India and her future". The talk was entertaining in all it's senses and he left us with a puzzling question. He said that youth of today must all ponder on the big question that "If I was the brand ambassador of brand India, what would I sell India for? "
He went on to tell us that even though Indians have high skill potential, it lies bare desperately longing to be tapped! How our infrastructure bottlenecks fall flat on our faces when we have to organise international events! How we just cannot hide the numbers that reveal our dismal human development scores even after manipulation of statistics! How Indian politics, religion and ethics have got muddled up like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle!
Wait a minute! Are we not going to far? I agree we are not a member of the league of developed nations but here is what I can sell India for : the warmth Indians bear in their hearts. We embrace our guests with open arms and extend all possible delicacies. The aphorism : "atithi devo bhava" is a oft-quoted one in most indian families. We don't carry within us any prejudices of the past or fears of the future. Despite the bloody and vicious attacks by Pakistan, we have always extended an olive branch to bridge the gaps. In the movie Lakshya, the Army General orders his soldiers to cremate the Pakistani millitants who were killed in the encounter. This is what we stand for and live by! We respect our enemies for each one of us has humanitarian morals engrained in us. We make our own paths for others to follow...we set trends for the rest of the world! Many people criticise the passive reaction of the Indian leaders but what is the point of having another Kargil war? Nobody wins after a war, both sides lose! While the so called "winner" loses a friendly neighbour, the other loses its identity!
For all the critics moaning the slowdown in industrial scenario, I believe that we are reacting too early and too aggressively. We are not like the East Asian tigers who benefited from opening up the economy and gaining high growth rates. The ray of hope is ready to come : our foreign players who will bring a new dawn for India. Maybe it will offer tough competition to our home players, but the technology and skill we will gain will aid us in charting our own growth trajectory. The technological know-how will not only jack up our total factor productivity but will help us to come at par with the world superpowers. I refuse to use the word "competitor " because India is unique in its own way and comparing two different civilisations is pointless in my view. Strengthening our strengths and working on our weakness will give us high dividends in future.
My mother often says that your achievements must act as a catalyst for your future endeavours...then why should we forget the boom we witnessed in the last decade, the medals we have bagged in our international sports, the academic inputs we have provided to the world and most of all the vibrancy we all have in us!!! Every Indian must imagine India as a 'phenomenon' and then we will all witness the golden bird's flattering flight against its fluttering flag! Jai hind!
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