Why is Blockchain is Key to South Asian Innovation
work in progress.
Human capital flight and brain drain from South Asia is a significant barrier to growth within the region. Some of the smartest, most talented individuals leave for greener pastures in the West every year. However, ask any South Asian immigrant living abroad and their longing to return home never really gets satiated.
The reason they leave, and the reason they don’t return is because the civil systems in South Asia are broken. Talk to any South Asian and every single conversation about South Asia will have this one comment: “Yaar yahan k system hi kharab hai (the systems here are broken)”. People would easily agree to this notion but they don’t necessarily understand the gravity of this comment.
In countries like Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, there is no semblance of Law and Order, the Education system is from the late 19th century, the roads are famously chaotic, the list can go on and on for every.single.aspect of life in South Asia.
The reason why these systems fail is not because we’re not a smart or industrious people. In fact, the South Asian region was historically one of the richest on the planet until its culture and economy was robbed and raped by western colonists.
No. The reason why our systems fail is because they are run by incompetent, negligent, and corrupt administrators and politicians. These bureaucrats represent such a weed in our society that they are the cause of the jadedness of our passionate, innovative youth, our honest and hardworking reformers, and our brilliant minds who have no choice but to look for greener pastures abroad.
Salah system hi kharab hai.
This is the problem the blockchain, the technology which powers cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, solves. This technology allows for the decentralization of decision-making through by allowing peer-2-peer transactions through a cryptographically secure token. This is important because the token is used as a tracking mechanism within the system. For example, imagine you have a government ID card associated with a token on the blockchain. You can use the same identifier securely to verify property ownership, and that record cannot be changed by any bad actor or associate without your consent. Furthermore, the technology is stored in a decentralized manner. This is important as this mechanism is used to verify whether or not. It removes middle-men from any system by utilizing smart-contracts which are executed when some conditions are met.
The blockchain technology and, specifically, its applications in the form of multiple “cryptocurrencies” is a key for allowing innovation to happen in South Asia. However, it won’t happen on its own. Smart individuals and groups in the world need to take the responsibility to move the world forward with these technologies. And they need not be afraid of all the state governments rushing to ban their existence. That is simply their survival mechanism, albeit inefficient ones, being pushed.
The blockchain is a representation of human innovation and freedom of our creative and innovative expression. And we take the responsibility to educate South Asia, and the world, on the impact of this technology. Whether its financial markets and trading, new ventures and ICOs, or ethics and philosophy. Our publication’s mission is to critically asses and inspire you, to take part within the world of blockchain innovation.
