India into 74: Looking ahead

August 15 is an opportune time to take stock every year, as a country and populace, of the hits and misses and what could possibly lie ahead. With the onset of Covid, there is no doubt gloom and doom, a cover of uncertainty, but something that can also be looked at is the opportunity that the situation at hand provides. 

A long journey has been traversed since 1947. With the relentless and tireless contribution and collaborations of our forefathers, we are enjoying the fruits of their actions of freeing India from the clutches of imperial rule. 

What about 100 years after independence, say in 2047? How will we wish our country to be? Is it not essential that we sow seeds, and the right ones at that, from now itself? And do we see a benefit of sowing the seeds in the first place?

To try and find answers to these futuristic questions, over the past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to interact, albeit virtually, with some of the globe’s finest contemporary thinkers. Conversing with them has given me the opportunity to introspect and expand my horizon, although these are nascent steps, at the very least. I know that we have to make efforts in the present, but visionaries have always laid out their goals and foresight as a 50-year plan or a 100-year plan, as fundamentals of institution-building. Even for individuals, a life plan adds clarity. 

I thought of jotting down some pointers that will help me understand better and sharing it for the benefit of the readers. 

Think and Act: Local and Global

Simon Anholt is the founder and author of ‘The Good Country Index’. His latest book, ‘The Good Country Equation’, has just been released and after having read it and conversed with him over it, I realize how important it is for the gen-next and GenY of our country to run towards the grand challenges that confront us as a society. While doing so, we must keep in mind that we do not necessarily just think inwards but also look at contributing to solutions for the global challenges. 

For this we must first set out to list the domestic and global challenges faced and spruce our understanding of them. Consistent dialogue and discussions will lead to a better comprehension to think and act: local and global. 

Collaboration Not Competition: ‘Power With’ and Not ‘Power Over’ Others

Joseph Nye, one of America’s important foreign policy voices and the one who put forth the idea of soft power nearly two decades ago, feels that the time has come for countries to look forward to ‘power with’ others as opposed to ‘power over’ others. This I felt was an important takeaway. I know power can mean different things to different people but looking at the future, it is important that as a civilizational state, India looks at progressing by collaborating with all. So much so that even if we are to disagree vehemently, avenues and options must collectively be envisaged to work on mutually convenient issues. 

Even if there were to be shortcomings on the very premise of power, this factor of collaboration and ‘power with’ will be crucial in the times to come.  

That is why, when the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi recently said that India’s development aid to countries does not come with any preconditions, I thought it was precisely aimed at this vision of working together rather than against. 

In addition, and importantly:

Social Democracy

Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar rued how India may have equality in polity but not in economic and social life, which he reaffirmed as the lack of social democracy. The values of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity lay in the hands of ‘we the people’ and it is important we strive towards each and every segment of the society. The relevance and need to be a social democracy is now more than ever. 

Incredible India to Incredible Indians

I have said and written about this in the past too. There can be no better way to understand society than with the help of its people. The people hold a special power, the power of example. Therefore, the time is ripe for us to move from promoting incredible India to now encouraging incredible Indians. Human interests generate compassion, empathy and the drive to think, ponder and act. 

While keeping all of this in mind I would not forget Swami Vivekananda’s talisman. He affirmed the due role that awaits India and its civilizational continuity. He said, “We have yet something to teach to the world. This is the very reason, the raison d’etre, that this nation has lived on, in spite of hundreds of years of persecution, in spite of nearly a thousand years of foreign rule and foreign oppression. This nation still lives; the raison d’eter is, it still holds to God, to the treasure house of religion and spirituality,”

Whether the global power axis shifts or not and whether any country’s power declines or not, all these vital aspects, in my opinion, require deep thinking, introspection, commitment and steadfast focus. It is the people who will ascertain the path that the country will take from here on in. I am not saying that these will be the only aspects of tuning ourselves as a populace and as a country; in all certainty the list will evolve. There is no finality or singular opinion in the contribution of Indian thought. India is at once a timeless vision and an illuminating visionary, emanating the required light to look within and also look ahead.