India Positive Read online

  Where we messed up

  Clearly, the one area where we have not delivered as per need is employment. Barring a tiny percentage of graduates from elite colleges, the youth find it hard to get jobs in our country. It is still possible to hire graduates at ₹10,000 a month, which isn’t too different from the situation we had a decade ago. Considering inflation rates, these starting salaries are very low, not to mention the fact that even these jobs are hard to find. While the reasons behind the present employment is a separate discussion, it is quite clear that we have failed in this area.

  The other area where India has fallen behind (and this partially explains the scarcity of jobs) is the manufacturing sector. China, a few decades ago, took over the manufacturing operations of the world. This led to factories coming up across China, leading to higher GDP as well as job growth. As China increased its GDP (and labour there became more expensive), we had the perfect opportunity to take over and become the next manufacturing capital of the world. We couldn’t. The reasons for this include the failure of the Land Acquisition Bill (early in the NDA government’s term), not enough labour reforms, frequent policy changes, the complications of running a business in India, and not enough effort from our side to invite businesses from across the world to set up manufacturing units in India.

  HOW WE DID: SOCIETY

  What we did well

  Social change is as important as economic growth. Again, we did a few things really well. Despite our many differences, the fact that we didn’t have major conflicts based on caste and region (religion is a different story, discussed later) during this period is a significant achievement. The rise in internet penetration also means that more Indians are digitally empowered today, creating more equality.

  The anti-corruption movement peaked in the last decade, and we have seen a drop in corruption, particularly in high-level scams. For a country like India where corruption is a way of life, this is a major achievement, even though we still have a long way to go.

  We also had a landmark ruling when Section 377 was decriminalised by the Supreme Court, marking a major leap in human rights for the LGBTQ community in our country.

  Where we did okay

  Some major social equality schemes have been initiated in India over the past decade—NREGA, Ujjwala, Ayushman Bharat and the Jan Dhan accounts—all making an impact on our society, to a certain extent. And just recently, a demand was made for introducing non-caste, income-based quotas in the reservation system. The implementation of these quotas is uncertain but it is a step in the right direction.

  Where we messed up

  Perhaps the one area where we did mess up is in Hindu–Muslim relations. While no large-scale riots occurred in the country in the past decade, there have been terrible incidents of lynchings (including beef-related murders) of members of minority communities. India is divided to begin with, and communal polarisation on various issues has made matters worse. We need to make extra efforts to get people to stick together. Whether it is the BJP’s fault or the Congress’s, whether you blame the media or social media, the fact is that we are still divided, and there is a long way to go.

  Secondly, we have not fixed our broken education system. This makes the already precarious job situation worse. For one thing, most of our students are just not trained well enough to enter the workforce. The number of seats in good colleges has simply not grown at a rapid enough pace to accommodate the increasing number of aspirants for higher education. Many are forced to study abroad. This places huge financial burdens on families of these students, making India lose foreign exchange by draining off the money they could have spent in India instead. Primary education is also not in good shape, the situation being only marginally better than a decade ago.

  What can be done to fix all this?

  The above analysis is an honest attempt to highlight what India did and didn’t do right in the past decade. If we want the next decade to be better, we need to look hard both at where we messed up and at what we did just about okay in. We need to finally do what it takes to increase our GDP in double digits, move the world’s manufacturing to India, and create jobs. We need to work harder on Hindu–Muslim relations, and building a less polarised society. Any government that comes next—Congress, BJP or a third-front coalition—will have to work on these issues. We, as citizens, must keep demanding that these things be fixed, no matter who is in power. Hopefully, we will move forward in these areas over the next decade.

  What can you do meanwhile: Working on yourself

  As discussed above, despite all attempts at change, the needle in India only moves a few points in a decade. However, come to think of it, a decade is a really short time in the history of a large nation. To expect things to be totally different in ten years is too much. And as we have seen, each government can only accelerate the pace of change so much during its term in power.

  However, a decade is a long time when it comes to your own life. If you wait around for policies to change at the top and then percolate down to ultimately change your life, I guarantee you that most of your life will be spent waiting. Hence, yes, we should critically evaluate what we did right or wrong, as a nation. We want India to be run better, and should demand accountability and change. But we should also accept that progress, even in the best of circumstances, will be slow. Meanwhile, since life is short, and we have seen both Congress and BJP in action with their limitations, it is time for us to work on our own lives. All this, while staying objective and positive, and not spreading negativity. Which brings us to what it really means to be a citizen who is India Positive.

  What can I do?

  To be an India Positive Citizen at a practical level, you must work on these three goals:

  Enhance yourself: A country’s biggest asset is its people. Working on your self is the first step towards becoming an India Positive Citizen. The more you educate and improve yourself, the better the country fares. Learn skills that are needed in our society. Computers, good oral and written communication, understanding how business works, marketing and networking are some of the areas you can work on to enhance your own profile. Instead of watching useless videos, or worse, posting negative comments on social media, use that time to cultivate these skills. An India Positive Citizen will spend most of his or her day upgrading themselves and working towards their goals.

  Enhance the nation: Apart from working on ourselves, being India Positive also means we must try to do a few things that contribute to the nation’s welfare. You don’t have to become a social worker or activist to be of service to your country. Here are some easy ways:

  a) When you have an income and pay taxes on it, or when you make a purchase and pay the tax on it, you are helping the country.

  b) Refrain from spreading negativity on social media. That alone will help your country. If you can make positive comments, that will help even more. Be solution-oriented rather than criticism-oriented.

  c) Work towards keeping the secular fabric of the nation intact. Make friends from different backgrounds. Don’t make divisive statements. Respect the idea of India as a place where a diverse set of people live in peace together.

  d) Treat the public spaces of your country as you would your home: don’t litter, don’t honk, and don’t break traffic rules. This simple commitment to civic sense alone, if cultivated by all our citizens, can dramatically change our country in a short period of time.

  Remain objective: The final important aspect of an India Positive Citizen is to be bi-partisan in one’s approach to politics when needed. Depending on the situation or the issue in question, you may agree with the Congress or the BJP, the left or the right or any other political party. Let yours be a floating vote. There’s no point in lifelong loyalty to any party. If you never change your choices, your vote is no longer a tool of your accountability as a citizen. It is tempting to pledge allegiance to a group as it feels safer to belong. It is lonelier when you are judging things based on realities rather than blind