"Our nation is known for unity in diversity. We have many states but one nation. We have many languages but just one central ideology. We have many religions but just one composite culture. We have many castes but one core philosophy of Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam."
Last week i was invited to preside over the annual function and prize distribution ceremony of a Higher Secondary School. A 15 year old girl, student of class 11, delivered the welcome speech and there she uttered the words quoted above in a very confident and energetic voice.
This speech helped me to go into a very different thought process. Although i totally agree with her strong belief in the unity of India, yet some disturbing trends are very clearly visible to every observing mind. I was able to recall that on the preceding day, someone had opined in a group discussion that India is more likely to continue to have coalition governments as it is itself a coalition of various cultures and ethnic groups.
If we continue to connect the dots, the rationale behind demands for separate states can also be found out in the fact that many groups do not associate themselves emotionally with the state they live in. Either cultural or linguistic identity is so different that they prefer to have a different state of their own.
Are we a unitary entity? Are we a federation of states? Our constitution concludes that we are a federal state having striking unitary features. But this issue cannot be so easily resolved. There are many issues that need to be addressed. Let us consider some of them:
1. We have many languages. We also have many linguistic families. The southern languages, the central Indian languages, the north eastern ones etc. have totally different linguistic histories. But we also find that lately English is growing very fast and encompassing the whole India. It has nearly become the second language of every Indian.
2. We have many religions. Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism were born here only. Zoroastrianism and Bahaism today are found in India only i.e. India is their only home today. Apart from these, we also find many Christians and Muslims here. Many sects of these religions are found in India only. For example, Bersheba Christians treat India as their only home. Daudi Bohras today are found in India only. Their Dharmguru also resides here only. But we also find that new age modern cosmopolitan spirituality is spreading very fast and encapsulating everyone.
Can the same logic be applied to economy as well? Are we one unitary economy or a constellation of many economies? Is it fair to compare our economy with some other economy like Singapore? Can Gujarat and West Bengal be parts of the same economy? When The Economist comments about Indian Economy, is it possible to apply the same yardstick to Tamilnadu and Arunachal Pradesh?
I would say that we are a group of many interdependent economies. I see every city or even town to have some very distinct features and economic activities typical to that geographical or civil unit only.
And this gives rise to the possibility of a lot of entrepreneurial ventures. We will continue to have a number of national brands and a much higher number of local brands as well. I also foresee every tier 2 and tier 3 city having their own TV channel and their own beauty pageants!
India can only be discovered in bits and pieces! And every bit of it is unique in its own sense. Every such unit has the potential to grow into a full fledged economy. We shall always remain one strong nation but economically the world must be ready to compete with hundreds of vibrant Indian economies.
This is really going to be very interesting!
Last week i was invited to preside over the annual function and prize distribution ceremony of a Higher Secondary School. A 15 year old girl, student of class 11, delivered the welcome speech and there she uttered the words quoted above in a very confident and energetic voice.
This speech helped me to go into a very different thought process. Although i totally agree with her strong belief in the unity of India, yet some disturbing trends are very clearly visible to every observing mind. I was able to recall that on the preceding day, someone had opined in a group discussion that India is more likely to continue to have coalition governments as it is itself a coalition of various cultures and ethnic groups.
If we continue to connect the dots, the rationale behind demands for separate states can also be found out in the fact that many groups do not associate themselves emotionally with the state they live in. Either cultural or linguistic identity is so different that they prefer to have a different state of their own.
Are we a unitary entity? Are we a federation of states? Our constitution concludes that we are a federal state having striking unitary features. But this issue cannot be so easily resolved. There are many issues that need to be addressed. Let us consider some of them:
1. We have many languages. We also have many linguistic families. The southern languages, the central Indian languages, the north eastern ones etc. have totally different linguistic histories. But we also find that lately English is growing very fast and encompassing the whole India. It has nearly become the second language of every Indian.
2. We have many religions. Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism were born here only. Zoroastrianism and Bahaism today are found in India only i.e. India is their only home today. Apart from these, we also find many Christians and Muslims here. Many sects of these religions are found in India only. For example, Bersheba Christians treat India as their only home. Daudi Bohras today are found in India only. Their Dharmguru also resides here only. But we also find that new age modern cosmopolitan spirituality is spreading very fast and encapsulating everyone.
Can the same logic be applied to economy as well? Are we one unitary economy or a constellation of many economies? Is it fair to compare our economy with some other economy like Singapore? Can Gujarat and West Bengal be parts of the same economy? When The Economist comments about Indian Economy, is it possible to apply the same yardstick to Tamilnadu and Arunachal Pradesh?
I would say that we are a group of many interdependent economies. I see every city or even town to have some very distinct features and economic activities typical to that geographical or civil unit only.
And this gives rise to the possibility of a lot of entrepreneurial ventures. We will continue to have a number of national brands and a much higher number of local brands as well. I also foresee every tier 2 and tier 3 city having their own TV channel and their own beauty pageants!
India can only be discovered in bits and pieces! And every bit of it is unique in its own sense. Every such unit has the potential to grow into a full fledged economy. We shall always remain one strong nation but economically the world must be ready to compete with hundreds of vibrant Indian economies.
This is really going to be very interesting!
