Where are we?
Have you ever looked yourself in the mirror and thought, “What is going on!”? What’s wrong with me? Is what I am seeing today, peculiar to me? Is some other set of people: country, community or religion, going through the same? Has someone else gone through the same? Later you realise that it was just a stage in your life. Are you now looking around and thinking again, “what’s going on!”? Isn’t it possible that we are just going through such a stage, as a Country, as a Nation!
I believe, every nation goes through multiple stages and sometimes cycles of those stage. Every stage from formation, colonisation, (in any order) struggle for independence to formation of republic, industrialisation, growth has a certain characteristics to it. Even the growth stage can be broken down. Many of this would not apply to Britain, as it has always been ‘The Great Britain’.
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First, freshly Independent country or a freshly formed country formed from multiple small states, takes pride in its differentiation from the world. At that stage of pristine state and untouched resources, the primary industries and their source: the soil becomes the Provider for the complete economy.
For the other essential parts, we ask for help, like technology transfer for a power plant set up or importing electronics and automobiles.
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But, when we realise that this is not enough and some innovation needs to be done, we can go two ways:
One, identifying an offering given ones’ weaknesses, (say, lack of Infrastructure) and building businesses based on that (say, the services sector)
or
Two, making it easier to others with the right strengths to invest and work in your country. The option lies in taking the first step. In the long run countries employ both the options.
Let’s look at Singapore which has focused on becoming and staying the least corrupt, most pro-business, with low tax rates. Government-linked companies play a substantial role in the economy. A strong and stable environment for large inflow and outflow of FDI is setup. Read the CNN’s take on Singapore Economy here.
Not every country can master this and make this a form of economy rather than a stage. For many, this is just a stage to gather enough economic momentum. This is the second stage.
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While each of countries are going through these cycles and are at different stages at any point of time, there comes…
A collective change when a few growing companies take the approach two above and open up their boundaries. When a few companies from the full grown countries taste the easy success, higher returns in these ‘growing markets’, the world, led by the advanced countries increasingly talks about opening up the markets, working together. This is the third stage. This is the stage of globalisation. In earlier days, it would have been a stage of colonisation.
It initially, seems very attractive to everyone. Why?
To an advanced country,
it offers its companies a larger untapped market. Opportunities to sell their products: products which have reach a plateau of demand in their own markets.
To the smaller countries,
advantages like cheaper labour lead to creation of opportunities, like low end retail jobs. An early exposure to the businesses being run by the large foreign corporations leads to the development of a new sector. This sector exits to serve the large foreign businesses: based on the outsourcing of low-end tasks or tasks to localise the foreign business’s technology or processes. So, this leads to the evolution of services, support services and knowledge services sector in smaller countries. Readers in India relate to the rise of IT Sector.
At this stage, the importance of rational business or economic sense is higher. Every lacking is an opportunity. While things don’t seem to be in control but that never seems to be a priority to anyone.
While that gives a visible opportunity to grow to every growing county and brings more revenue to the advanced countries.
But…
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there are a few people at both the places, who get disadvantaged because of increased competition.
The presence of the global companies with their technological exposure and the economies of scale, the local manufacturers in their own country certainly are in a disadvantage. Similarly, as this flux continues, the population in the growing country becomes aware and attracted to the standard of living in the advanced countries attracting a flock of migrants. It takes away some jobs from the locals in the advanced country. So some win and some lose everywhere.
Some lose everywhere
Slowly, everyone wakes up to their plight. Everyone thinks, “Why should we open up the boundaries to my country!” (the word my soil will not be used at this stage). At different points of time, this feeling erupts in a large of people belonging to a city, state or a country. This feeling can be at both the advanced and advancing nations, both, for their own reasons. This is the point when we get sensitised towards our ‘Nation’ and the world becomes a polarised place again. This is the fourth stage.
A little further, down this path of self-inflicted pain of global competition, also called Globalisation and a bit of cyclical behaviour, also known as patriotism (the self-serving kind) the sense of nation goes a little out hand; it always does eventually.
This stage unites a lot of people together. Identity for itself becomes quite important. The world really starts getting divided into good and bad (my good and bad might not match yours, but, then I won’t care about that at this stage). It can see large scale aggregation of countries forming alliances, cohorts and can also lead to large scale wars. Countries getting sensitive on every issues and people getting passionate on larger issues, which do not affect them on a regular basis.
Let’s say, as an Indian, I would be less worried about the horrible employment scenario, but,more about the exact boundary with China or where should someone, who according to the news channel was consuming beef, be placed on the scale of morality.
If the Maslow was alive, he would not have been happy. His whole hypothesis on what should matter more to whom, goes completely upside down. Driven by passion,People forget the basics. and think of their daily struggles as a way to attaining the higher values. Every time they shrink on the basic parameters, let’s say economics, they think of that a small price for a ‘higher purpose’.

We are at this interesting stage as people, where the food on the table matters less than my Pride in my social or political identity.
I know it can easily get quite controversial these days, but, let’s talk about our Nation, India
We are at a curious stage: The nation has started taking pride in itself. As country, we seem to be in a rush to create more Sources of Pride. Suddenly, it has become an international currency. The economics seems to be flushed down the toilet. (I know we could talk about ‘toilets’, but, I do not intend to). We are wearing our identities up our sleeves. We are proud of history now, after all these years of chasing cousins who had scored a job abroad. It doesn’t end there. The government, which is supposed to stay unbiased, starts taking pride too. Pride in language, history, past leaders from history, it’s own leaders.
Let’s look at the present state of India (while US could be a good example too at this time). The government has an opinion on quite a lot of things. what kind of meat is alright to eat. What language is right to use officially. How many times a day should we preach the nation and sing the national anthem and how should we do it. Rather than ensuring that jobs are there, suggesting what professions should be followed (like start a startup).
Too proud a person, or nation, forgets to really run the race, reminding me of the cartoon character Johnny Bravo: Overconfident, and never learning. Such a person, and in this case a government, loves to celebrate itself.
Everyone is proud of this government. Government, in everyone’s mind has been the best in last few decades. The officials, specially the best ones, start getting more enthusiastic and more eager to please their leaders in public offices. The government, now, rather than representing the country and its people, behaves like a fraternity, a fraternity celebrating the leaders of this government.
Slowly, this government becomes much larger than the people. While it still ‘works for’ all the people, but, it doesn’t work ‘for the people’ of the country anymore.
It ascends itself to a higher position than the people. Now everyone works for this government or the ruling party: public officials, media companies, the social media influencers and even the common people. If they don’t, they automatically become anti-national. No one is to be blamed for this. It’s not sycophancy from the media companies or government officials. Everyone really feels aligned to the goals and ideals set by the government.
Everyone participating and believing in the government should be a great thing, but, too much of love has done no one any good, ask the failed lovers who committed suicides! Read in more detail here. Since, everyone is aligned so well, questioning doesn’t happen: the marvel of democracy is lost: Everyone’s right to question everything else is still there, but, is rendered useless given, the eager, passionate, and monumental pride that we are feeding everyday. Very much like a brotherhood or fraternity, most of the time and energy is spent in showing and proving allegiances and patting own backs!
Slowly, unsaid rules being followed at the moment out of social pressures, affiliation biases, become real expectations. While this is happening, since most of the things are being done with passion and not economic or developmental or business logic, the promises we are making to each other to other of becoming Great, Greater and Greatest of all again, is becoming more and more far from reality. At an interesting, yet quite indiscernible, balance of patriotism and freedom, lies Justice. But, when we all wake up, like I did a few days ago, we would have responsibilities to serve, duties to fulfil and allegiances and patriotism to prove more than the right and the duty to question. Are we there yet? Not just us, a lot of others in this world, at this moment, are inching towards the same dark alley, again.
A few changes that can be seen all around this time, some at home, some with others:
- The beloved, first progressive and clean imaged head of Bihar state, Nitish Kumar; Was opposed to the ways of Modi. This was written off as his interest in become the Prime Minister of India himself. Recently, when he came back after the elections, with Lalu Yadav as his partner, we almost felt that Bihar was set to go back in time. But, when Nitish Kumar broke the coalition with RJD and took BJP’s support, it didn’t feel like a win, when it should have. I still wonder if the morality, which was why we liked Nitish, was lost in this bargain!
- Let’s look at the recent video posted by Chinese media making fun of India. It comes right after the controlled aggression between the countries in borders. What could have been handled through diplomats and the official departments of the government, was done by Media channels. This is exactly how the media, citizens and officials all become a tool for the government unknowingly. They just prove my point of Media doing unpaid service to the Ruling parties in stage four.
- A mandate to play National Anthem before every movie in theatres in India, while a few years ago, the presence of national anthem had sparked controversy back in 2002,as it was deemed disrespectful to play the same National Anthem in theatres.
- The oldest media company in India, Doordarshan, an autonomous media house set up by the government, advised Chief Minister of a state to change the speech as it was trying to bring to everyone’s attention a few problems that to him were worrisome in our country.
- The controversy on which languages should be used in the Metro rail boards in Bengaluru, which let to a vandalism and transfer of a senior cop.
- Somethings are better left unsaid. The government asking the minority institutions to hoist flag and sing national anthem and share videos of the same. It’s asking for the proof of nationalism, the proof of your dedication to your country. The onus is on you. Rather than questioning the functioning of the government, it has become more about proving your allegiances. No relationship is good, when you are judging your partner every second!
- We know too much of Modi’ tastes, interests, his passions, belief and too little of his ‘ground report’.
Another bad sign of this environment, is the statements thrown around by the News agencies, and even the Economic Surveys, unsupported by any data. There seems to be an interesting amount of creative liberty being taken by Statistical Institutions, Government Spokes persons including the Prime Minister himself (I am blogger, I have the liberty, not the Economic Survey of India). A few examples:
- Sweeping statements by senior government officials like, “The greatest achievement of this government is to provide a corruption free regime. It is remarkable that there is no allegation of corruption against this government in this period”. This means, I am not a thief if I am smart enough to get away with it.
- When the Economic Survey of India report uses phrases like, India has been top reformer, Inclusiveness high on agenda.
- When death of 70+ children in a matter of days in a hospital is explained on a normal curve by the government.
- When the Prime Minister visiting a flood affected area is a bigger news than the fact that the flood has killed more than 400.
- If you beat statistics enough, it will show what you want to see. But, that’s a corporate practice. When the government starts doing that it amounts to clearly misleading the people. A case of budgetory allocation to MNREGA is in point here: The government’s claim that the allocation under the MNREGA has gone up is misleading. The outlay of Rs 48,000 crore for 2017–18 is just about the same as the revised outlay for 2016–17, which is Rs 47,500 crore.
- A few tall claims from the government like reducing the maternal and neonatal deaths, highest production of electricity, highest production of Urea etc, most of which are following the same trend year after year for the last 10–20 years.
- The constant news on the grand reception of Modi in each country during his visit abroad. It does feel good to hear that, I am not going to lie. But, it does it put food on the plate for the poorest? Remember, in class, the most loved and most social kids, don’t always top the class: Since, we all want so badly, to top the class and be the super-power. Israel, is not the most loved country by the world, certainly not by its neighbours. But, it gets its due respect.
The next set of challenge is a particular polarisation in the society and the worst, the government subscribing to the same. A few instances
- CM Adityanath, first orders a grand celebration of Janmashtami. When it gets picked by the opposition and the media, he says, “If I cannot put curbs on offering namaz on roads during Eid, then I have no rights to stop Janmashtami celebrations in police stations”.
- A lack of strong action against the self-appointed Gau-Rakshak and their violence against the citizens
- A lack of almost any action against the rioters in Panchkula against the conviction of religious Baba on charges of rape. I wonder if beti bachao was just a slogan.
The worst is when the people deny this. Pick any social media site, type any search for a hashtag related to Modi, or government (I still think these are different), you will see the reaction of people to any question posed to the government or Modi. Read some here. Every time you question, your loyalties are questioned too.
While these are just the instances, which have made me question my belief in the government, these might be wrong, given the strong influence of media and social media, politics has at this moment, it worries me that while, in my mind my country might be moving towards the top spot in the world, in reality it might be slipping down the wrong way.
I worry when my leader, my government favours a few, even if I am a part of that few. I fear falling out of this favour. I am worried when leaders have to lie to me. This is means not everything is right ahead. I am worried that my fellow countrymen deny the existence of any of this.
While a lot of things disturb me, i still think all this is just a normal characteristic of a nation going through stage 4 in the stages laid above. Where would all this lead to?
At some point of time, at some place in this journey, we will evolve and be a true democracy again, be a great super power again.
How would you know if we are there?
Remember Gandhiji’s talisman? I would think of the weakest, poorest person I have met. The day I look around and can’t find anyone in the same condition as his, I would think that my country has become a superpower.
