India today as I see it...
billion people, 32, 87,590 square kms of land mass, and a zillion hopes and dreams -some fulfilled and many unfulfilled
George Bernard Shaw once said “Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world."
India today as I see it is a collage of extreme diversities… contradictions.
We might still be highly economically backward, with a p.c.i of a measly 450$. One out of every 4 Indians lives below the poverty line. At the same time large no of Indians - Ambanis, Tatas, Birlas, Premjis – are vying with each other to join the Fortune 500 club.
Our economy is still as tardy as an Indian elephant refusing to move faster than 4-5% per annum. At the same time, the Indian IT industry grows at the breakneck speed of 30 % per annum.
Look at our political system, we have many leaders who are not even aware of the alphabets and have tihar jail as their second homes with only a couple of murders and rapes to their credit. But we cannot deny that ours is a democracy in its most vibrant form. We cannot ignore the fact that the Indian media is one of the most free presses in the world today and deserves due credit for effectively cracking the whip on several issues be it Tehelka, Godhra or the long list of scams and scandals which decorate the Indian political scene.
We have effectively scared several foreign institutional investors with our complicated and bureaucratic norms and procedures. Today, but we have an industry today providing world class services be it in the field IT, biotechnology. No wonder we have an emerging class of foreign companies flocking to Indian shores to avail quality services at a lower cost and they call it BPO.
We have come a long way from being a largely socialistic state. We are now heading towards an essentially capitalistic State. Earlier, the govt. had its finger in every pie starting from making defense equipment to sandal soaps. This trend is breaking away and we are now contemplating selling even oil, aluminium and telecom industries to the private sector.
We often crib about brain drain and complain that the education system stinks. Well this is most certainly true to the extent that after 55 yrs of independence we have only managed a grim picture of 62.5% literacy (Govt of India estimates) and our universities though being very high in quantity are very low on quality. We often have vociferous debates on “brain drain”. But it is also true dear audience and nobody can deny the fact that Indian students are one of the brightest worldwide. Why then will we have schools like Wharton business school making a trip every year all the way to India to handpick some worthy Indian students to fill up some of their seats. IIM-A would not be labeled the most difficult school in the world to get into for no reason. We would never be having such a large pool of doctors and engineers hunting for jobs.
Talking about our values and culture; though by embracing globalisation we have also imbibed the western way of life, but we essentially are a people that believe in dharma and karma. We are a country that has the charm of the old world and is opening its arms to the comforts of new technology.
To conclude I can only say that this is the India of today where very often one is fed up with the din of daily life. We find it chaotic, cumbersome and clamorous. We often feel that there is excess of everything except water and parking space. We find it a herculean task to obtain a driving licence. Getting into a decent university without hefty donation requires some effort. The list is endless…..and we could go on for hours…but the undeterring truth is that this is home and home is where the heart is.
George Bernard Shaw once said “Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world."
India today as I see it is a collage of extreme diversities… contradictions.
We might still be highly economically backward, with a p.c.i of a measly 450$. One out of every 4 Indians lives below the poverty line. At the same time large no of Indians - Ambanis, Tatas, Birlas, Premjis – are vying with each other to join the Fortune 500 club.
Our economy is still as tardy as an Indian elephant refusing to move faster than 4-5% per annum. At the same time, the Indian IT industry grows at the breakneck speed of 30 % per annum.
Look at our political system, we have many leaders who are not even aware of the alphabets and have tihar jail as their second homes with only a couple of murders and rapes to their credit. But we cannot deny that ours is a democracy in its most vibrant form. We cannot ignore the fact that the Indian media is one of the most free presses in the world today and deserves due credit for effectively cracking the whip on several issues be it Tehelka, Godhra or the long list of scams and scandals which decorate the Indian political scene.
We have effectively scared several foreign institutional investors with our complicated and bureaucratic norms and procedures. Today, but we have an industry today providing world class services be it in the field IT, biotechnology. No wonder we have an emerging class of foreign companies flocking to Indian shores to avail quality services at a lower cost and they call it BPO.
We have come a long way from being a largely socialistic state. We are now heading towards an essentially capitalistic State. Earlier, the govt. had its finger in every pie starting from making defense equipment to sandal soaps. This trend is breaking away and we are now contemplating selling even oil, aluminium and telecom industries to the private sector.
We often crib about brain drain and complain that the education system stinks. Well this is most certainly true to the extent that after 55 yrs of independence we have only managed a grim picture of 62.5% literacy (Govt of India estimates) and our universities though being very high in quantity are very low on quality. We often have vociferous debates on “brain drain”. But it is also true dear audience and nobody can deny the fact that Indian students are one of the brightest worldwide. Why then will we have schools like Wharton business school making a trip every year all the way to India to handpick some worthy Indian students to fill up some of their seats. IIM-A would not be labeled the most difficult school in the world to get into for no reason. We would never be having such a large pool of doctors and engineers hunting for jobs.
Talking about our values and culture; though by embracing globalisation we have also imbibed the western way of life, but we essentially are a people that believe in dharma and karma. We are a country that has the charm of the old world and is opening its arms to the comforts of new technology.
To conclude I can only say that this is the India of today where very often one is fed up with the din of daily life. We find it chaotic, cumbersome and clamorous. We often feel that there is excess of everything except water and parking space. We find it a herculean task to obtain a driving licence. Getting into a decent university without hefty donation requires some effort. The list is endless…..and we could go on for hours…but the undeterring truth is that this is home and home is where the heart is.
*****
posted by Aditi Bhagwat | 3:10 AM
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