I have lived in two countries - India (for first half of my life) and US (for the second). Both democracies, the first one the largest -- over 1.2 billion people--the second one the oldest--but more importantly, in many sense, the strongest.
Over the 60 years since independence, India has come a long way. While a lot of countries born around the same times are floundering, India has a vibrant democracy, a great education system, a free market economy, has become a nuclear power, is active in outer-space exploration, and is projected by many to become a superpower in the not too distant future.
This blog is my venue to share my thoughts on what India can learn from the US with the hope that some of my observations can, in some small way, impact India on its path towards achieving its ambition.
My musings will explore the following theme:
How did US, a nation of just about 300 million people come to dominate the world in all spheres - economic, military, research, and sports?
Of course, there are a variety of historic and social explanations for this. But I want to add one more dimension to this theme, that is most often overlooked. In the over two decades I have lived in the US, I have met a lot and lot of people. And, through my years in India I also know a lot and lot of people there.
Based on these interactions I can safely say that:
The ability of an "average US citizen" is no better or no worse than an "average Indian citizen".
In addition, I can also say the following:
The average citizen of the two countries spends his/her day pretty much the same way -- going to work, catering for the family, and spending time watching TV (or reading blogs). Their day-to-day concerns are essentially the same.
With these two observations, the theme I mentioned earlier can be refined as follows:
How did US, a nation of just about 300 million people with the same average capacity as that of people in India and doing average things on a daily basis, come to dominate the world in all spheres - economic, military, research, and sports?
Imagine just one dimension: the exploration of outer space. The US has a robot on Mars, has an International Space Station, has probes going to Pluto, has a variety of telescopes looking at distant galaxies, and its doing all this with just 300 million people with average capacity doing their daily grind.
It is obvious that US is able to achieve more with its handful of citizens than does India, or for that matter any other country. In other words, US produces above average results with citizens of average capabilties. Which means, in the US the "whole is greater than the sum of the contributions of its individual citizens."
In this blog I will capture my thoughts on how US achieves this, and what I believe India can learn from the US.
Well said Dr Arun,
ReplyDeleteI think one of the main contributing factors is the passion. I feel that many people in India do not really follow the passion and are stereotyped by working towards the goals decided by their family or friends.
This eventually results in mediocre results throughout their jobs. I have met and seen many people in US who just followed their passion irresepctive of what was expected from them and they are highly productive as a result.
Aditya.
Interesting topic, Dr. Arun. Will look forward for more posts.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more with Aditya's comment above. Also, the point to be considered is - US is the land of immigrants. Only the creme of talent (in any field) from all over the world constitute the US. That brings a higher level of intellect in the society, that you wouldn't find in India. Though an average American's life may be comparable to Average Indian's life. The less fortunate American's life is way better, in my opinion, than his Indian counterpart.
Happy blogging !!
Hey..
ReplyDeleteInteresting topic there. Something different from my regular dose of blogs..
Since you've have a good bit of experience of both lives, it'll be good to know your perspective on the differences b/w India & the US..& how the gap can be bridged.
Have fun blogging!!!
Cheers!
:)
As always, its a pleasure to read your blogs. I am really glad to see you blogging again.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a interesting topic, and probably not one which could be explained simply. I think the first few reasons that come to mind may just be side-effects of the success of US and not necessarily one of the basic reasons for it. In my opinion availability of resources is the key for a lot of things to follow (including building more resources). Resources: not only natual but also man made like money. Also, the pressure on each person to acquire those resources should be 'optimum' i.e. the ratio of resources to persons should be optimum. So then it seems like too much pressure on people in general does not allow them to give their best.
I dont know what i'm saying...but i will definitely stay tuned for updates on this blog.
Cheers,
Rachit