I do not know much of autodrivers etc, but I speak in defense of teachers whom we as a nation respect next to only our parents. Yes, no matter the money, it is nothing without the attitude. This change in attitude is what is being caused by tuitions. Students do not pay attention in class as they believe they will learn it in tuitions or may have already been done with that chapter. With disinterested students, no faculty will be able to show an interest in teaching. One cannot teach to a non-existent audience! Swaroop, I am sure you can recall this attitude of ‘Venki boys’ back in school. All I am saying is teachers should be given a chance and pay hike is just one of the many incentives we can give them. just would like to sign off by saying that not all will change, but we can hope for the majority and yes, we have a very very long way forward

But you are right that pay hike won’t solve anything. Prices rise to match pay, as Bangaloreans know by now

@AS: Those are good positive points. Will try to look up that book.

@Rohan: Agree that respect for each other and law is what is really required.

@Kalpesh: Yes, the small steps in lifehacking is what gives me hope.

@Ashish: Very inspirational!

@Vikram Sujanani: It just goes to show how much of wisdom our forefathers had, and very few people like you are trying to understand it. I hope you do take out the time to extol these concepts more so that we can all learn.

The words from the Manu Smriti… I have no words to express. I’ve been reflecting a lot on it, and every time I see things differently.

@Sandeep: Agreed, we have to be part of the change process. Question is do we feel empowered to be part of it?

@Sharninder: Agree.

@Jagadeesh: Yes, no country is perfect. But my view is that we’re not exactly in a “good” condition either. Oh, and I definitely agree with you on the “pulling each other down” mentality.

But the rise in pay alone will not solve anything. For example, the recent strike by auto rikshaw wallas is unwarranted in my opinion. I read somewhere that they already make 80 rupees profit per litre of LPG. Also, like most of the public have already expressed, we can shell out more if they started showing improvement in their behavior – like not refusing to take passengers, and not demanding more money than on the meter, on top of an already-tampered meter! There has to be some kind of change in attitude.

@Pramod: I agree that freedom and democracy are non-negotiable critical things, but will that always be our excuse for not improving?

And in general, I’m surprised that most commenters here don’t feel the need to defend India. Was I supposed to say “We are like this only”?

I agree with Kamla Bhatt above. Freedom and democracy are what I cherish most in India. “Progress” is a function of this, and other inexorable laws of economics. I don’t agree that a more activist Government can create economic progress – that will have significant social and environmental costs like in China. You can’t really compare ourselves to Singapore! as other people have noted above.

I also try to make a distinction b/w the people and the Government. We should try to give as much freedom as possible to the people (and not the Government). Beyond that there’s nothing much you can do.

I also don’t see why you need to “defend India”. It’s such a big, diverse country that any generalization will be false. The only things that should remain across the board are civil liberties and rule of law.

I don’t have any answer to the question of widespread poverty and illiteracy. Has Progressivism ever worked on a massive scale such as India? I don’t think so.

P.S: Get involved in some kind of political process, at least to get a first-hand feel of things.

This is one topic which I subject to a lot of debate. The plain argument is that one has to understand that no one country is perfect. Agreed there are probably more negatives than positives for India, but important to realize that other countries too have their negatives. The best we can do it keep fighting those negatives while strengthening the positives. Of course, given our current mentality it is impossible to achieve either. Based on my experience in the US and interacting with the people here and the Indians here, there is a marked difference in the mindset which I attribute to the society, the upbringing and the education. Believe me, no matter where we reside we tend to resort to the same dirty caste wars, the jealousy of seeing a fellow Indian achieve more than self, while praising Indian culture and heritage and despising the American way of life. I agree with you that as a country we have very little to show for our present but yet go to all lengths to rest on the laurels of the past, which we were never involved in shaping! So in one word, we are hypocrites who take credit for something we have not worked for + tend to criticize others who tend to do better than us. My biggest issue is with education. We are still stuck in the past when it comes to education. I agree that our education till high-school is among the best, it just falls apart from there on. Students are awarded for memorizing what often, the teacher tells them with no contradiction for fear of losing points on an exam/test. While we learn much, that learning is without meaning. Simply regurgitation does not teach a person to think. Above all an educated person should be able to differentiate between the right and wrong and that is what is missing. Everyone knows Newton’s 3 laws of motion, but none will hesitate on cheating someone if it leads to their own gain. We do not mind staying in the posh hotels, eating the priciest food, traveling first class as long as someone else is paying for it (aka the company where one works). When it comes from our own pocket, we shame even Scrooge. The main thing we need right now is education with an emphasis on values. And the main ingredients missing are ‘honesty’ and ’selfishness’, which are the main cause of corruption and the poor state of affairs in the nation. Of course, we are all to blame for it and have to collectively take responsibility.

As an end note, I would like to debate your point on teachers and tuition. As all are aware, the pay scale of a teacher is pretty low and given a metropolitan like Bangalore, it is difficult to make ends meet which makes them resort to tuitions which are more lucrative. One way colleges can generate funds to increase the pay scale is to increase the fees for each student. Even a small increase can be significant revenue. Now here comes the problem. Many parents balk at such increases, complain, raise their voices, but these same parents hypocritically spend exorbitant amounts on tuition fees. Instead of spending that money on tuitions, if they can spend it in fees, then the teachers can be better paid/ colleges can hire more qualified teachers. The high salaries in-turn will give them an incentive to work harder and teach better. In this situation, I blame the parents more than anyone else.

Regarding Incident 11: The press likes to hail people like indra nooyi and lakshmi mittal and it is true that they made their riches outside india, but I still am not impressed. You know why ? We are a nation of 1+ billion people ! 1/6th of the worlds population lives here ! It is a natural that the probability of having 1 india CEO out of 6 is high ! I don’t think that has anything to do with India or anyone else.

‘Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it’

‘Be the change you want to see in this world’

The big question is that are we all young,succesful people walking the talk? We want a poverty,chaos and corruption free India.But are we ourselves working towards it? Does the youth, while driving, shows patience to follow the traffic rules,or does he join in the chaos thinking he will be left behind? Does the youth refrains him(her)self from spitting on the road or throw the Lays wrapper on the road if there isnt a dustbin around? Does the youth refrains from giving a bribe of Rs50 to the traffic policeman when caught without helmet and demanded a lawful fine of Rs 400? Is the youth ding this? Or are we only cribbing? The change doesn’t happen automatically.And we are educated enough to understand this. Are we?

i am also on this bandwagon ! but surely what vikram says applies to all walks of life !

but practically one may think Y do this even !! isnt it being smart just to pave ur own way and do the easier way ??

well thats what is unique in our human nature or for that matter in life i guess !! even animals have this in them ! care about their loved ones, lioness hunts and let lions n cubs have their share first, crows gather around the electricuted crow ! etc…

so its really a just a slip of foot ! its either u just want to do this (dharma) way or not ! but its not easy to do so either ! its like how NEMO (finding nemo – movie) struggles to save all the other fish in the net !! he is one among 1000s but he (from his exp) knows if they swim down they can free themselves !! so people like us need to start swimming to free ourselves and the other fish will follow !!

SO “lets keep swimming.. lets keep swimming..lets keep swimming.. !! ” (this dialogue also from Finding Nemo movie!” yaay !!

ok, sory, but i really see this as inspiration to make OURSELVES todo something.. ok,guys list out practical ways and things we can start doing, the dharma way and everyone can start the process !!

“Loka samastha sukhino bhavantu”.

However, here is a good and brief article which has brief translation of the mantra, and also the one regarding “One who protects/upholds Dharma, is protected by Dharma”.

http://www.sevamay.com/arya/Some%20aspects%20of%20Vedic%20Dharma%20and%20Culture.doc

I will copy some parts here…

“The Vedas state ‘Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah’ – Dharma protects us only when we safeguard ‘Dharma’”

“Manu Smriti states, ‘Dhriti Kshama, Damoasteyam, Shaucham Indriyanigraha, Dheervidya, Satyam, Akrodho, dashakam Dharma Lakshanam’ – Courage, forgiveness, austerity, non-stealing, purity, self restraint, intellect, knowledge, truth and non-anger are the ten salient features of ‘Dharma’. By inculcating these qualities in life and practicing them ‘manasa, vachaa, karmana’ – in mind word and deed, human life can be elevated to sublimity”