India as an Idea

Here is what I think of India as an idea today and tomorrow.

India is the identity that has been caught up in a historic dilemma. The dilemma is that of a transition from the old to the new. The old India that is rigid about its culture and its roots. The India that is unwilling to recognize the advent of tomorrow and believes in static energy. One that is averse to change, good or bad. It is reluctant to open up to the wind, fearing its core values may get polluted. It talks about independence, but is unsure of what freedom for the youth should mean. It is blindly in love with the old, and therefore, anything that is new is seen through the eyes of suspicion. It is so obsessed with philosophy that science does not seem important for human growth.

On the other hand is the new India that has seen the world and tasted the alternate, giving it courage to dream big. It wants to shred the age-old dogma of so-called good and bad. It wants to relieve itself of the burden of beliefs it thinks are no longer relevant. It dreams of crossing over to the other side of the horizon where bigger opportunities and possibilities await it. It is willing to fly across unknown layers of the stratosphere. It refuses to be bogged down by the legacy of colonial fear of failure. It is experimental, adventurous, and it loves to juggle with risks. Its aspirations are largely based on what is achievable rather than what has been achieved earlier. It wants to travel, go to new places, and embrace new cultures and lifestyles. It is happy to adopt and adapt. It believes amassing wealth is not bad, and spending on what it wants to have is a welcome trend. It is restless and loud.

Which is then the real India? Is there a case of identity crisis for the nation and for its youth? Does the older generation feel alienated from this dynamic pace of change? Are we trapped in the vicious arguments on what is right and what is wrong, between idealism and realism, between a glorified past and an uncertain future, between the more evil and the lesser evil? Is there a sense of grand confusion out there? Have we understood our problems and do we know which direction we’re headed to? Are we ready as a nation for the kind of change we’re envisioning? We don’t know. We’re still in the process of finding these out. These questions are as mobile as their answers today are.

I think why India, in its journey from where it is to where it wants to get to, has an edge over many other countries, is because it has a strong foundation built on the concept of family. One of our core social fabrics is how we even today value our family systems. True, families are falling apart and getting thinner as we speak. But this is an institution that sets us apart from many others. We hear a lot of western sociologists and economists strongly advocating the need for a strong family culture, in their books, publications and speeches. There has been a steady realization that despite tremendous progress in the fields of science, technology, human rights and so on, some of the developed countries have an increasingly weakening family structure. Happy families make happy people. It’s disheartening to see the concept of family in India loosening with time. Surely the composition of a family has gone through changes over many years, but the nucleus of happiness for us remains our family. Unless this is preserved and further enhanced, we’re destined to witness disparate growth. We’re headed for times when machines will be dearer to us than humans.

India has never been more perfectly positioned to take off. One of its core assets, its youth, has come of age in the last few decades, demanding larger acceptance in decision making and social mainstream. The youth has never been more mature and more prepared to take charge of its destiny. It has evolved from being a confused, lazy, unclear, passive, disruptive community to being more assertive, responsive, constructive and certainly more participative. We as a society must engage the youth in meaningful ways to contribute to their own future, through education, awareness and jobs. It’s not really old versus the new, it is old and the new! That perhaps would be a more inclusive approach towards a participative democratic structure, where we enable the new to take charge.

Through my discussions with people I come across and work with from different countries, I can tell you there is a lot of curiosity about India and what it means to the world. Gone are the days when it used to be a black box to the world, full of snake charmers and unknown magic. We’ve started shouldering them in universities of global repute, and in organizations people die to work in. We are today being taken seriously, our skills are valued, and we’ve offered enviable thought leadership. Probably for the first time in our history, we’re being listened to. Rapes, crimes against women, poverty and malnutrition of course are issues the world knows are about us. We’ve never said we didn’t have to put our own house to order. In fact, now is the best time we’ve ever had to do all that must be done! 

Yes, both the Indias are very different with respect to aspirations and priorities. But that’s exactly how it’s meant to be at this point in time, and perhaps for generations to come. My idea of India is one that is accommodative of the contrasts and diversities, as we collectively strive for something better to propel us to the next level. We all deserve a better deal, and we need each other through this transition. This is the most opportune moment for us, and we cannot let go of it. History will not judge us on the premise of why we couldn’t make a difference; it will hold us responsible for failing our future.