Yesterday’s Failures are Today’s Successes

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quiet a nice article.

in my opinion nehru laid the foundation of a strong india. however indra and rajiv did not build on that foundation otherwise india would have been a stronger nation today. credit should be given to Rajiv gandhi for taking the first steps towards IT in india. he was looking much further ahead when he was talking of taking india to 21st century.

regarding english language proficiency in india, credit goes to the missionary schools that were set up all over india. even though student had to say ``Thy kingdon come, thy will be done`` almost everyday, he/she did get good basic education including english language.

Good article. Nehru never was a visionary rather he was a protectionist. He just wanted an India that is self sufficient not an India that is a dominant player in the world economy. But like you said, he had a good understanding of the need for higher technical education for India to be a self sufficient nation. We should be thankful to Nehru on this matter. In my opinion the blame for the failure of basic education/literacy should be placed on the local state level governments not on the central government. Nehru`s period at the center can be termed as a mixed bag of successes and failures.

I think the 20 yr combined rule of Indira Gandhi and Rajeev Gandhi at the center was the worst period for India. Their 20 yr rule was complete failure. Compared to their govts, PV Narasimha rao and Vajpayee govts are much better.

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions... I believe that the road to disaster is paved with socialist intentions. Socialists, communists and leftists of all hues choose ``equality``, I prefer freedom. What people dont realize is that complete ``equality`` and freedom can never coexist in a human society... Individuals are unique and differ in their capabilities, some have better business acumen, others have better technical skills and still others may have good aesthetic sense but poor business skills. Thus the economic inequality is a direct offshoot of the variance in human nature concerning wealth generation capacity. I prefer free society and free enterpreneurship to a totalitarian state imposing economic equality over its subjects through draconian and murderous dictatorship. Complete equality is theoretically possible only in a society of identical clones, not natural human beings. Any attempt to impose equality results in stifling creativity of the energetic and resourceful people of a country that will ultimately spell doom for any society. The job of government should be to facilitate free enterprise by focussing on the law and order and let the ``trickle down`` effect do the distribution of wealth instead of trying to redistribute the wealth using state power.

``These are the people one thinks of when one hears people talk about this almost mythical notion of ‘India’. They have developed common tastes in food and entertainment, a common love of consumerism and seem to revel in their love for their country, sometimes even approaching the level of jingoism.``

The rise of a confident, assertive and successful middle class in India, largely a product of liberalization of Indian economy, is positively correlated with patriotism (and jingoism for some). Naturally, this middle classs has a strong stake in the success and stability of India. The youth belonging to this class has the killer instinct and fire in the belly to succeed and they are the ones who would propel future India. With success comes a strong sense of self-esteem and with it comes stronger notion of identity. For identity, Indian youth naturally looks back at the ancient Indian civilization and its achievements. Now it is largely Hinduism along with other Indic religions like Jainism, Buddhism etc that incorporate these civilizational traits and provide him(Indian youth) with a sense of pride and positive self image. That explains why this upwardly mobile class is a big supporter of BJP. And it is the middle class that will shape Indian future.

re. #2
It`s very simple, khotasaika. Take the cues from the West. Unbridled consumerism depletes and/or destroys limited natural resources-- to say nothing of the fabric of scoial structures that the East has traditionally-- if sometimes exaggeratedly-- prided and built itself on.

Of course, we can continue to play dumb and act as if consumerism isn`t responsible for the impending environmental disastors ahead. But then, schizophrenia seems to be another hallmark of the consumerist society. :)

PM

``I don;t see how love of consumerism could be possible with any genuine love for country.``

Its not clear to me how consumerism and patriotism are related. Will I be a lesser Indian because I like to splurge ? I`m sure you have a point somewhere - not clear to me though.

Haven`t read the whole article, which looks interesting, as is almsot anything from dost-mittar sahib.

But this!? : `` These are the people one thinks of when one hears people talk about this almost mythical notion of ‘India’. They have developed common tastes in food and entertainment, a common love of consumerism and seem to revel in their love for their country, sometimes even approaching the level of jingoism.``

I guess it would have to be the jingoistic version of nationalism that prevails here. I don;t see how love of consumerism could be possible with any genuine love for country. Perhaps you make the point later in the article?

later...
PM