Friday, July 03, 2009

Can we make a difference ?

A conversation with a relative hovered on how Non Resident Indian's and People of Indian Origin staying out of India impact the economy of the country.We as PIO's genereally talk about the merits/demerits of many sociopolitical situations in our country of origin.The question lies in the fact what differece can we make as individuals.I know that to make any impact one needs a group of people to , but do we as individuals want to be part of a group that will make a difference to the sociopolitical state of our country.

The common ramblings which we get to hear and take part in are how / when will the infrastructure of the country improve , when would we have a more stable government , when would we take more medals at the Olympics , why is population the root cause of everything so on and so forth ?

Well let me take a view on this which might sound diabolical , we as PIO'S/NRI's are one of the root causes which is slowing down the growth of the political/economic and social situation of India.I know while reading this the questions which will prop up will be WHY ?? HOW ?? IS THIS GUY INSANE....well think what you may want to but its true.....

From an macro economic perspective the barometer of success is GDP or other factors like per capita income.Now India's GDP has been clocking an amazing growth rate over the past 10 years but GDP is a myth for a country like India.Numbers like GDP , NDP etc are like bikini's they hide more than what they reveal , thats the beauty of numbers.....Well realistically if we divide the GDP by the total population we get a ratio called as per capita GDP...now in any developing country like India GDP is primarily contributed to by the middle class and the upper class population which would contribute to maybe 10% our total population.Generally all of us migrating out of India belong to this 10% , hence we hamper the numerator of the ratio substantially and the decrease in the denominator is minimal....hmm I think this might be confusing well more simply put its like the main bread earners for the country are leaving the country to take up jobs/or study outside India.

Thats the first dent which we cause to the economy , morever at the same time we are adding up positively to the economy and GDP to the adopted country in which all of us are residing...which is apt and there is nothing wrong in it as its the duty of an individual to contribute positively towards the society and economy of the country which has provided him/her with the oppurtunity to live successfully...by adding on to the growth of an developed nation one just increases the gap between India and other countries.

Off late in the past 10 years we have seen a lot of inflow in Institutional investors of Indian origin pumping in money to India to invest in projects ...however this is with the vested interest of earning profits and is a short term gain for India.

To bring in a radical revolution in the country one needs an intellectual think tank to lay down a premise for the revolution which is lacking currently or are in minorities in India.India desperately needs an intellectual revolution wherein like minded people are driven by patriotic feelings for the country rather than vested interest of monetary nature of the politburo.

If we really love our motherland there are some basic things which we can do :-

> Repatriate at some point of time (permanently/temporarily) to India for some charitable cause.
> Create a group of industrialists/entreprenuers which would support / put forth viable business plans and solutions for the betterment of our country in terms of infrastructure,sports and social and pathological improvements.
> Always put forth a positive and realistic picture of India in front of people from other cultures/countries.
> Inspire development by leveraging and sharing of good things from other cultures and countries at times we fall in the trap of reinventing the wheel.
> Try and encourage the build of manufacturing and infrastructure build up instead of setting up of a services sector.
> Learn and appreciate from China instead of criticising them....

Hence think before you talk about the demerits of certain amenities/cultural boundaries back home.

JAI HO !!!!

Welcome to the Fight Club

I watched Fight Club yesterday and the movie had profound impact on me.Don't panic I don't suffer from a personality disorder.But what I do realize that each one of us has an alter ego which is subdued somewhere in our subconscious mind. We constantly have an inner struggle with our alter ego in each and every decision we take in life.The alter ego could be at times negative and at other times positive depending on one's state of mind. GOD blessed us all with a brain , but over the past 10000 years of human existence as a homo sapien the brain has proved to be both a boon and a bane.
All of us are sometimes forced to lead and live our life's in accordance with the norms of the society.Now some of these norms are archaic and totally irrelevant in present times , hence they need to be modified.As most of the societies and cultures don't offer a flexibility of modification this leads for the human mind to struggle and ultimately choose path to redemption and complete self satisfaction. Some people who inherently are introverted and like to lead a quiet life are forced to lead a completely extrovert and public life due to circumstances and paths they have chosen.Some people are lucky to lead lives which completely match their personalities and inner self , these cases of a person with no alter ego , because life and society has offered them all they wanted.
In the movie "Fight Club" Edward Norton creates a split personality in Brad Pitt and leads his desired form of life through his character. Some people would described such people as insane and mentally sick , but I would take a different perspective on it.I think its in our human rights to live our lives the way we want to , till the time we don't harm anyone.Nature has given us better sensing capabilities as compared to all other animals and we need to exercise our basic right to live to the fullest. Hence let other live life in accordance with their own terms and lets not criticise each other with what is defined as right or wrong by the norms of the society.