The 1 Big Idea that will Define India in the 21st Century

The 21^st century is set to witness India as a superpower. Experts all over the world have their eyes trained on us. Every aspect of India, its policies, industries and industrialists, military strength, average I.Q., democracy, culture, faiths, cinema, literature, markets and even our education systems, is being scrutinized, lauded and often adopted. At the TED conference in Mysore in 2009, a notable ex-minister of state spoke about ‘soft’ power being India’s advantage while an expert in mythology attributed Indian business proficiency growth to a tentative, dynamic mindset that results from our belief in a cyclical life. A Swedish expert went to the extent of predicting that Indian dominance shall surface as early as the middle of the 21^st century.

On the other hand, the voices of approximately 60 crore Indians are lost in chants of our progress and imminent supremacy. We continue to face a plethora of issues ranging from infrastructure shortcomings, poverty, illiteracy, population, corruption and communal disturbance. Most, if not all, of these issues are rooted in the low literacy rates. However, there is one important component that even literate Indians need to introspect – MORALITY and PATRIOTISM.

Morality and Patriotism do not imply songs teeming with fervor and sermons on philosophy and idealism. The essence of any development is deep rooted longing for growth, not only for oneself but also for everything around us. This has essentially been the case with any nation that dominated at any point in time in history. Such desire stems from ownership of all that belongs to the nation.

Public property, for example, is considered a part of our heirloom. Seldom do we concern ourselves with their up keeping or cleanliness but do not fall short of cursing others for heartlessness when we are in need of it and find it in a disorderly state. We are in a position today to build and avail the best in most fields and tremendous efforts to initiate a spectrum of growth in education, healthcare, employment, sanitation and per capita income are evident. However, each one of us, whether at the top or the bottom of the financial pyramid, does more than a handful to ruin these efforts and nullify their success. We do so unknowingly at times, but the harm is done nevertheless.

Everything that we have at our disposal is, undoubtedly, for our use and we must make the most of it for our personal growth. This is important for the eventual growth of the nation. But often do we forget that once we have used it, it may still be of use someone else somewhere and might aid his growth too. This applies to everything from civic amenities, public places, government systems, infrastructure and even people.

Just by moving beyond ourselves and think of what good can result from maintaining whatever we depend on, for our fellow countrymen, we can ensure faster progress. All it needs is some conscious efforts, driven from moral values and deep-rooted national spirit. Sincere stress on the most neglected subject in schools in our country – Moral Science, may actually be the BIG idea to define India’s future.

                                                                             - Charag Krishnan, Pune, 8th Dec 2009