Advantage India
A NICE MUST READ ARTICLE":
India in particular, for all its complexity, is a country that is as much an idea as it is a nation. The years of colonialism have meant that India has not evolved through a natural arc; disparate regions were brought together by the ideas, good and bad, of British administrators and Indian leaders. My first glimmer of the power of these ideas came when I was five years old.
...
Growing up in those days, it was very easy to believe in the idea of a nurturing government and public sector. A paternal, socialist state would own companies which would create wealth and the wealth would be used for the betterment of society. Why allow wealth to be created in private hands where it would probably be used for nefarious purposes? It all made perfect sense. Many Indians believed in these ideas then; few of us believe in them now.
...
This ebb and flow of ideas, and how this has shaped the changes in our economy and politics. For example, through the early days of independent India, many saw English as a language of the imperialists and did everything to marginalize the tongue. This included attempts to make the teaching of English in state schools. But once outsourcing made English the entry ticket to a global economy and higher incomes, the language rapidly became a popular aspiration, a ladder to upward mobility for both the middle class and India's poor. As a result state governments across the country are now reversing historically anti-English policies, even in places where Hindi-language nationalism was trenchant. Such is the power of changing ideas.
...
Those issues that are still in the ether: they are now widely accepted, but have yet to see results on the ground. For instance, the idea of full literacy has gained popular appeal over the last two decades, but we are still framing strategies to implement universal education and address the discontent around the state of our schools.
...
My years as an entrepreneur have especially brought home to me how much India, despite its recent tremendous growth, is straining against the challenges that hold it back. Today, we are a nation that has barely scratched its potential. Almost two decades after economic liberalization, the absence of critical reforms means that for a majority of Indians daily life continues to be a struggle — for the millions of marginal farmers unable to find alternatives to bare, hard livelihoods; for people living in slums for want of cheaper housing; for families cobbling together their savings to send their children to private schools because our government schools are a mess.
...
The immense challenges India faces more that two decades after reform trigger a range of emotions in me, as they do among many of my fellow citizens — puzzlement and frustration at the modest pace at which we are bringing about change, and sadness at the persistent inequity that is visible across India. There is a growing sense that these problems are now coming to a head — that our inequalities are making people angry and also limiting our ability to take advantage of the huge opportunities India has today.
The fact that India has a great opportunity before it seems more apparent when I travel — in people's minds across the world, India has unique promise. The country has enormous advantages in its young population and its entrepreneurs, a growing IT capability, an English-speaking workforce and a strength as a democracy. It seems poised to grow into a strong economic power.
...
Freed from the oppressive weight of the control raj, India has revealed itself to be a keen, chaotic and incredibly entrepreneurial economy. And entrepreneurship here has been as much about Tata, Reliance Industries, and Ranbaxy, with their global focus and markets, as about the small businessperson setting up her vegetable stall in a street corner, all her savings invested in her dream of achieving success. This is what is unique about the Indian growth story. A people-driven transformation of a country holds a particular power; it is irreversible. As Shankar Acharya said to me, 'You can't bottle up India's economy again. No matter the uncertainties and challenges of our growth, the Indian people are not going to cede the economic ground that they have gained back to the state.'
...
India has never been short on dreams, a century ago, Tagore talked about the kind of nation that India should awake to, free of divisions, shaking off its discontents and forever looking outward.
...
India has always had its share of Cassandras, pessimists who point to the country's deep divides, the feudal nature of our politics and our slowness in reforms to suggest that the country's success remains improbable, difficult to sustain. Time and again India has endured massive turmoil — the wave of bomb blasts across the country in 2008 was only the most recent of terrorist attacks. Our religious divisions have often exploded in violence. The hold of caste over our politics has allowed corrupt legislatures to amass power and distribute influence within their own families and community, and the weakness of our coalition governments drives ordinary citizens to despair.
But I still think that after a long and convoluted path, after many a stumble and wrong turn, a different kind of moments seem to be upon us. For the first time, there is a sense of hope across the country, which I believe is universal. There is a momentum for change, evident in the enthusiasm of our younger legislators, the mushrooming of civil society organizations, and activists fighting in the courts for reforms in governance and for the protection of fundamental rights. I agree with Jaideep Sahni that a majority of Indians now believe that they can leave their village behind, and there will be something better waiting for them, round the corner, in the next town, in the big city — perhaps even in their village should they return.
As I travelled around India, I realized that this feeling, this intense belief in the future, has not yet infiltrated our governments, and our ministers still talk about the people as masses to be taken care of, as one would tend an ailing patient, rather than as fellow citizens to empower. In our politics, we have yet to tap into our new language of hope. For this to be mirrored in our political institutions it requires us to imagine an India that rests not on the struggles of our past but on the promise and challenges of the future. It requires us to shape systems and policies that give people the ability to travel in search of work, to educate their children and to tap into economic growth, to recognize how fully India is transforming itself.
These excerpts are taken from Nandan Nilekani's Book 'Imagining India: Ideas for the New Century' published by Allen Lane (Penguin India) that hit the stands in November 2008
Nandan Nilekani
India in particular, for all its complexity, is a country that is as much an idea as it is a nation. The years of colonialism have meant that India has not evolved through a natural arc; disparate regions were brought together by the ideas, good and bad, of British administrators and Indian leaders. My first glimmer of the power of these ideas came when I was five years old.
...
Growing up in those days, it was very easy to believe in the idea of a nurturing government and public sector. A paternal, socialist state would own companies which would create wealth and the wealth would be used for the betterment of society. Why allow wealth to be created in private hands where it would probably be used for nefarious purposes? It all made perfect sense. Many Indians believed in these ideas then; few of us believe in them now.
...
This ebb and flow of ideas, and how this has shaped the changes in our economy and politics. For example, through the early days of independent India, many saw English as a language of the imperialists and did everything to marginalize the tongue. This included attempts to make the teaching of English in state schools. But once outsourcing made English the entry ticket to a global economy and higher incomes, the language rapidly became a popular aspiration, a ladder to upward mobility for both the middle class and India's poor. As a result state governments across the country are now reversing historically anti-English policies, even in places where Hindi-language nationalism was trenchant. Such is the power of changing ideas.
...
Those issues that are still in the ether: they are now widely accepted, but have yet to see results on the ground. For instance, the idea of full literacy has gained popular appeal over the last two decades, but we are still framing strategies to implement universal education and address the discontent around the state of our schools.
...
My years as an entrepreneur have especially brought home to me how much India, despite its recent tremendous growth, is straining against the challenges that hold it back. Today, we are a nation that has barely scratched its potential. Almost two decades after economic liberalization, the absence of critical reforms means that for a majority of Indians daily life continues to be a struggle — for the millions of marginal farmers unable to find alternatives to bare, hard livelihoods; for people living in slums for want of cheaper housing; for families cobbling together their savings to send their children to private schools because our government schools are a mess.
...
The immense challenges India faces more that two decades after reform trigger a range of emotions in me, as they do among many of my fellow citizens — puzzlement and frustration at the modest pace at which we are bringing about change, and sadness at the persistent inequity that is visible across India. There is a growing sense that these problems are now coming to a head — that our inequalities are making people angry and also limiting our ability to take advantage of the huge opportunities India has today.
The fact that India has a great opportunity before it seems more apparent when I travel — in people's minds across the world, India has unique promise. The country has enormous advantages in its young population and its entrepreneurs, a growing IT capability, an English-speaking workforce and a strength as a democracy. It seems poised to grow into a strong economic power.
...
Freed from the oppressive weight of the control raj, India has revealed itself to be a keen, chaotic and incredibly entrepreneurial economy. And entrepreneurship here has been as much about Tata, Reliance Industries, and Ranbaxy, with their global focus and markets, as about the small businessperson setting up her vegetable stall in a street corner, all her savings invested in her dream of achieving success. This is what is unique about the Indian growth story. A people-driven transformation of a country holds a particular power; it is irreversible. As Shankar Acharya said to me, 'You can't bottle up India's economy again. No matter the uncertainties and challenges of our growth, the Indian people are not going to cede the economic ground that they have gained back to the state.'
...
India has never been short on dreams, a century ago, Tagore talked about the kind of nation that India should awake to, free of divisions, shaking off its discontents and forever looking outward.
...
India has always had its share of Cassandras, pessimists who point to the country's deep divides, the feudal nature of our politics and our slowness in reforms to suggest that the country's success remains improbable, difficult to sustain. Time and again India has endured massive turmoil — the wave of bomb blasts across the country in 2008 was only the most recent of terrorist attacks. Our religious divisions have often exploded in violence. The hold of caste over our politics has allowed corrupt legislatures to amass power and distribute influence within their own families and community, and the weakness of our coalition governments drives ordinary citizens to despair.
But I still think that after a long and convoluted path, after many a stumble and wrong turn, a different kind of moments seem to be upon us. For the first time, there is a sense of hope across the country, which I believe is universal. There is a momentum for change, evident in the enthusiasm of our younger legislators, the mushrooming of civil society organizations, and activists fighting in the courts for reforms in governance and for the protection of fundamental rights. I agree with Jaideep Sahni that a majority of Indians now believe that they can leave their village behind, and there will be something better waiting for them, round the corner, in the next town, in the big city — perhaps even in their village should they return.
As I travelled around India, I realized that this feeling, this intense belief in the future, has not yet infiltrated our governments, and our ministers still talk about the people as masses to be taken care of, as one would tend an ailing patient, rather than as fellow citizens to empower. In our politics, we have yet to tap into our new language of hope. For this to be mirrored in our political institutions it requires us to imagine an India that rests not on the struggles of our past but on the promise and challenges of the future. It requires us to shape systems and policies that give people the ability to travel in search of work, to educate their children and to tap into economic growth, to recognize how fully India is transforming itself.
These excerpts are taken from Nandan Nilekani's Book 'Imagining India: Ideas for the New Century' published by Allen Lane (Penguin India) that hit the stands in November 2008
Nandan Nilekani
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