Month: September 2016

Politics and the Intellectuals

Politics and the Intellectuals

The following article does not represent any political bias or promote any political or socio-political propaganda. It is just a neutral glance at the idiosyncratic, ever-evolving political affairs of the largest democracy of the world, India.

India… 15th August 1947. It reminds us of the unforgettable opening address by the first Prime Minister right after he was handed the democratic authority over the new sovereign power. Visualizing the era as the hypothetical third-person observer, we find ourselves in the midst of intense political ardour. Especially within the vehement youth of the nation. Ignoring the communal idiocies on either side of the fresh border, both India and Pakistan showed signs of umpteen dedication to the cause of their respective motherlands. The youth scouted or rather hounded after the newspapers to find incidents and happenings which could have intrigued their interests. Everything started coming with an Indian tag and an Indian flag. This added to the zeal. The diverse ages coalesced to form the core molecules constituting the emergent republic called India.

Back in those golden days, the whole of the country eagerly waited for their founding principles, all combined into one Constitution. Good or Bad, people had opinions. Criticism is always better than ignorance. We were adamant on improving the existing system, even if our alternate theories weren’t efficient still. Over the due course of development and the iterated predominance of the bourgeois in India, we slowly drifted away from what formed our primary purpose of existence, viz. a better nation.

India is often referred to as a ‘One big family of cultures and traditions’. A ‘Unity in Diversity’. ‘Family First’ has always been the inherent traditional policy of India; and soon, the country’s prominence in our families became evanescent. It wasn’t a fault on anyone’s part. Thinking of one’s own bloodline and family is one’s birthright. The private social and economic issues preponderated over the larger ones. The demographically and the geographically huge nation had never experienced the need for so much self-sufficiency without an imperialistic power or an autocratic monarchy looking to its functioning. The free man had a plethora to explore and hence the political vigour had faded in the late 20th century. The voting population had reduced drastically. People did still contribute, rather majorly, to the country’s advancement- as an engineer, as a doctor, as a lawyer, as an administrative officer, as a scientist, as a farmer, Etcetera. Politics became the least aspired and the most despised occupation. Even the common critique became ignorant of the Political section of the newspaper. The Indian philosophy of ‘Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise’ came to function. There were a few emergent incidents involving the entire nation, but the then concentrated and crude political hierarchy indirectly curbed them. The fear of the obscure politics ingrained a basic conclusion in our minds…’Politics is a dirty business’.

The country dynamically-developed following the same static of political ignorance. We achieved marvellous feats on the international forum, across all fields of Agriculture to Space-Tech. Assuming the dramatic façade, we might say that there came that one fine day when the renaissance happened; but it isn’t so. Over the years of unawareness, we realized how detached we are from the Unit called Nation. The realization was latent, unintentional, and happened over a long period of time. The reappearance of the critics reflected a bright light on their importance for the country’s functioning. ‘Incapability’ was the precipitate of ‘Not Knowing’, and we had realized that. We discerned our infinite capability in our area of knowledge. Thus came the advent of the ‘Right to Information’. We collectively formulated a few principles for the transparent functioning of our nation. We wanted to be aware and not just ‘let it be’. The citizen, once again, wanted to form the constructive units of the nation over being just the spectating subject. We wanted to influence, to cause, to save, to achieve and to build a greater Nation than India already was.

In the past ten years, the politically-aware population of India has increased in geometric progression. The minutest example can be seen in the 2014 central elections, where there was the largest ever voter turn-out of more than 66%; and also in every commoner being aware of their ministers and their educational background. Negative incidents, not to mention any, do take place. But they just go to show the willingness of everybody to present their ideologies on the political front. To care enough to conjure up failing plans is still better than ignoring the situation altogether.

It is difficult to match the initial momentum of Indian Politics. The leadership and youth of the new India had faced challenges on a scale unimaginable to the Indian of today. The circumstances had trained them to fulfil the needs of the young nation. Politics, for the new India, was a religion bigger than anything else. The thought of building a novel and great nation was prevalent everywhere. In the fast and tiring era of today, it is difficult to gain that impetus again. Yet, the drive we have gained in the last decade is commendable and should not be condescended upon in contrast with that of the past. We have all somewhat managed to create and administer a system of oscillation between the private and the public. Even if in small amounts, the most ignorant of citizens now give a heed to the affairs of the nation. On a relative scale of time and circumstances, it can be very well said that the Indian of today reflects the revolutionary Indian of the past, that is the one from the adolescent ages of the country who was willing to nurture it into the country it is today and the country it’d be tomorrow. Thus… the India of today… is a yet again emerging India… a significant India… an aware India… a new India.

The Indian Entrepreneur

The Indian Entrepreneur

India, a great country indeed. But the diverse cultural paragons and the underlying commandments are often subject to criticism when it comes to the issue of development and progress. Sadly, Indians constitute the majority of these sceptics. The confounded mind of the common Indian leads to the paradox of what exactly to call ‘right’. We are all helplessly stuck in between the Utopian and the Contemporary. But, how does that affect the life and choices of the Indian Entrepreneur? The straightforward consensus would be that ‘It is difficult to be an entrepreneur in India’. Yes, indeed, it is! Yet, we manage. Let’s see how.

‘What is an Indian Entrepreneur?’ Firstly, the foundations and principles of our forefathers imply an imperative rule of settling down in our mid-20s. This is where the primary obstacle gets implanted. From the birth of the child, every parent/guardian inadvertently fantasizes a well-settled daughter/son, rooting out all the risks and uncertainties.  The universal catalyst of the inadvertently patriarchal society is the universal Sharmaji Ka Ladka, who tops his IAS interviews, marries a housewife Miss. India and gives birth to Abraham Khan whose dancing is only amusing for the neighbours till he is 10 and after that, it becomes an academic distraction. Yes, this robotic program-code finds an exemplary position for all genders of the Indian Masses. This instills fear in the Indian mind.

 From the beginning, we are provided ultimate security by our parents who make the most ‘convenient’ choices for us. We hardly see struggle, till we are let off for higher studies. Then the real tussle starts. To make choices without a navigating mentor, it is much more difficult than one can imagine. We can basically contrast an Indian Entrepreneur against one from the west in one simple mathematics analogy. A western innovator doesn’t fear the complex mathematical problem. He arrives at the solution and patiently awaits the corroboration. We, on the other hand, prefer the ‘Prove That’ part of the paper. We need answers and directions before we take our first step. Yes, uncertainty is what we fear the most. But, the fear doesn’t stay long. We eventually evolve and that fear formulates the most concrete of all defenses. Caution!!!

 It is known to the world, the deft of Indian Cautiousness. One of the few places on Earth where we have to oscillate our necks up, down, left and right before crossing a road. When an Indian stands at the doorstep of innovation, the caution tries to pull him back to the clerical world. But, as soon as he takes that step towards infinity, that caution builds his resolve and bolsters his decisions.

It becomes even more difficult after that first step. ‘What is a start-up?’ is an interrogative which is harder to explain to our financial institutions than our parents. The fear of uncertainty still loiters inside our minds and the very first of noes dishearten us. We can never get used to the Noes. There are no algorithms and cooking guides to being an entrepreneur. We would always hear noes. We would always fail. Some say that the lack of fear in the western counterparts make them the better entrepreneur. No… It isn’t that simple. For the Indian restless mind, which seeks perfection and nothing less, even a half-hearted yes is not a success. That is why there is the phenomenon of negative reinforcement, and we Indians unintentionally exploit it the most. We get a boost from our failures. It carves our success, slowly and slowly. We haven’t taken the first step just like when we had picked up a guitar to be the ‘new cool’. We have given it our all. So when we achieve success, no matter how long it takes, it is impeccable.

So much self-judgement and skepticism; All the fantasies of parents and a probable peaceful life on the line; So much uncertainty, fear and caution; And the insomniac subject trying to defy or exploit all the odds to his own ends- the out-product is not a normal entrepreneur. It is an India Entrepreneur- One made of steel.