Becoming One With the World? Speech given at the HT Leadership
Goodafternoon Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for the opportunity to speakat the leadership summit – the first of its kind for me.
Iam no leader. At best, I am a dreamer with perseverance to make dreamscome true. As I have made my own dreams come true already, I am temptedto think we can make my country’s dreams come true. And that is why Iam here.
Before we become one with the worldwe have to become one with ourselves. If we get our own house in orderwe don’t have to make an effort to be one with the world. The worldwill want to be one with us. Everyone wants to be friends with happy,rich, thriving neighbors. Nobody wants a family festered with disputes.
A lot is wrong in my country. There are toomany differences. The question is not who we blame for this. Thequestion is how do we fix it? Because to do anything great, you have tobecome one first. Two generations ago, our forefathers came together towin us Independence. It isn’t like we didn’t have disputes then.Religion, caste, community have existed for centuries. But Gandhibrought them all together for a greater cause – to get the countryfree.
Today, we have another greater cause. To get India itsrightful place in the world. To see India the way the youngergeneration wants to see it. To make India a prosperous, developedcountry, where not only the spirit of patriotism, but also the standardof living is high. Where anyone with the talent, drive and hard workalone has the ability to make it. Where people don’t ask where you comefrom, but where you are going. We all know that India, as we have alldreamt of that India.
There is a lot required to be done for this, and it doesn’t just startand end by blaming politicians. For in a democracy, we electthe politicians. If our thinking changes, our voting will change andthe politicians will change. And since I have made a nation that didn’tread, read, do I believe people’s thinking can be changed.
Tome there are 3 main areas where I think we need to change our thinking– leaders included. And I’m not just saying we need to do it because itis morally right/ ethically correct/ or because it sounds nice at aconference. We need to do it as it make sense from an incentives pointof view. These three areas are changing the politics of differences tothe politics of similarity, looking down on elitism and the role ofEnglish.
The first mindset change required is to change the politics of differences to the politics of similarity. I’ve been studying young people in India, not just in big cities but across India for the last five years.
They are the bulk of the population – the bulk of our voter bank. Yet,what they are looking for is not what politicians are pitching.It is not too different from the old school Bollywood where they thinkitem numbers, big budgets and tested formulas work while the biggesthits of the year could be Rock On and Jaane Tu. Yes, times have changed.
Here is what the politicians are pitching – old fashioned patriotism,defending traditions, being the torchbearer of communities, caste andreligion. Here is what the youth wants – better colleges, better jobs,better role models. Compared to the talent pool, the number of goodcollege seats are very limited. Same for good jobs. These wants are thebiggest similarity that we all share. We all want the same things –progress. I see a huge disconnect in the political strategies ofexisting politicians vs. what could work for the new voters.
I think broad based infrastructure and economic development willsatisfy the young generation’s needs. It isn’t an easy goal to attain –but it is the great cause that can unite us. Today a dynamic politicianwho takes this cause can achieve a far greater success than anyregional politician. And the slot is waiting to be taken.
Another aspect required to convert the politics of differences to thepolitics of similarities is a strong moderate voice. When someonetries to divide us, people from the same community as the divider haveto stand up against him. If person A is saying Non-Marathis should beattacked, then some Marathis need to stand up and say person A istalking nonsense. If a Muslim commits terrorist attack, other Muslimsshould stand up and condemn it, as Hindus are going to condemn itanyway. This moderate voice is sorely missing but is critical inkeeping the country together. And the youth want to keep it together,as we want to be remembered as the generation who took India forward,not the one that cut India into two dozen pieces.
I hate telling people what to do, but the media does have a role inthis. I agree that media is a business and TRPs matter above anythingelse. However, there are ethics in every business. Doctors make moneyoff sick people, but it doesn’t mean they keep people sick and not healthem. If you find a moderate voice, highlight it as soon as a divisivevoice appears. And don’t take sides, argue or debate it. Don’t validatethe ridiculous. Focus on the greater cause.
The second mindset we need to change is that of elitism.From my early childhood days, to college, to professional and businesslife, and now in the publishing and entertainment circles, I havenoticed a peculiar Indian habit of elitism. Maybe it is hard to achieveanything in India. But the moment any person becomes even moderatelysuccessful, educated, rich, famous, talented or even develops a finetaste, they consider themselves different from the rest. They begin tomove in circles where the common people and their tastes are lookeddown upon. This means a large chunk of our most qualified, experienced, connected and influential people prefer to liveair-conditioned lives in their bubble of like minded people. Naivepeople who elect stupid politicians – that is the bottomline for allIndian problems, and they want nothing to do with it. But tell me, ifthe thinking of the common people has to be changed, who is going tochange it? What is the point of discussing solutions to Indian problemsif there is no buy-in from the common man? Just because it feels goodto be around like-minded, intelligent people? What is the use of thisintelligence?
If you switch on the TV, seventy percent of thetime you will see Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The reason is the mediais centered in these cities. However, ninety percent of India is notthis. Unless we represent these people properly, how will these peopleever come with us?
Again, I am not making these points as a moral appeal. I thinkunderstanding India and being inclusive makes massive business sense.And trust me, it doesn’t take any coolness or trendiness away from youif you do it right. Look at me, I am the mass-iest English author everinvented in India. My books sell on railway stations and next to attain Big Bazaar. I have an Indian publisher who operates from the bylanesof Darya Ganj. And yet, on orkut the most common words associated withmy name are coolness and awesomeness – tags given by my wonderfulreaders. I think it is cooler to know how people think in the streetsof Indore and Raipur than who’s walking the ramp in South Mumbai. Youmay have planned your next vacation abroad, but have you visited asmall town lately? Have you shown your kids what the real India islike? Don’t you think they will need to know that as they grow up andenter the workforce. Yes, I want people to look down on elitism anddevelop a culture of inclusiveness. If you are educated, educateothers. If you have good taste, improve others taste rather thancalling theirs bad.
The last aspect where we need to change our thinking is our attitude to English.We have to embrace English like never before. Not England, but English.This point may sound contradictory to my previous one, but I am nottalking about confining English to the classes, but really taking it tothe grassroot level. English and Hindi can co-exist. Hindi is themother and English is the wife. It is possible to love them both. Insmall towns, districts and even villages – we need to spread English.India already has a headstart as so many Indians speak English and wedon’t have to get expat teachers like China does. But we must notconfuse patriotism with the skills one needs to compete in the realworld. If you are making an effort to start a school where noneexisted, why not give the people what will help them most. I can teacha villager geometry and physics in Hindi, but frankly when he goes tolook for a job he is going to find that education useless. English willget him a job. Yes, I know some may say what will happen to Hindi andour traditional cultures. I want to ask these people to pull their kidsout of English medium schools and then talk. If you go to small towns,English teaching classes are the biggest draw. There is massive demandfor something that will improve people’s lives. I have no special softspot for this language, but the fact is it works in the world of today.And if more English helps spread prosperity evenly across the country,trust me we will preserve our culture a lot better than a nation thatcan barely feed its people.
We are allpassionate about making India better, so we can discuss this forever.But today I wanted to leave you with just three thoughts – politics of similarities, less elitism and more Englishthat we need to build consensus on. If you agree with me, please dowhatever you can in your capacity to make the consensus happen. Itcould be just a discussion with all your friends, or spreading thesethoughts in a broader manner, if you have the means and power to do so.For the fact that we are sitting in this wonderful venue means ourcountry has been kind to us. Let’s see what we can give back to ou rnation.
