The need for ambitious self-teaching

In today's competitive age, millions of young Indians are trying to achieve their life-goals, either through the job market or by pursuing an entrepreneurial dream. More than 10 million new faces join the race each year! Indeed, that makes it a very tough race, and old methods that worked in an age gone by, can neither ensure victory nor any solid destination. And we keep coming across depressing news items in media regarding our degree-holders being unemployable. Many of our colleges and universities, assuming outdated and obsolete methods of imparting education and skills as relevant to the present day tsunamis, are delivering something that has little practical value. No one in particular is responsible, yet everyone actually is! We hear passionate cries promising system-repair, but little turns up on the ground. The youth understands that she/he needs to do something, but is usually clueless regarding the nitty-gritty.

A common refrain is - there are no opportunities, and the markets have little to offer educated people.

All this is having a telling effect on our social and political situation as well. Tensions keep mounting, and immediate solutions elude us. The choice before most of us is clear - either we give us and stop dreaming, or decide to go after it and find a solution. If you are young by age or attitude, then the latter option is always preferable! The good news is that in these difficult and changing times, there are many resources available that can easily impart skills which will not only develop your self-esteem and confidence, but even your market value. Let us try and understand how using simple and easy tools, we can learn something of value each day. These could mean the difference between success and failure. Seen as a whole, these can help our Indian society remain much more optimistic and positive.

First and foremost, we need to understand that the very internet that has revolutionsed most sectors, and has created huge problems for conventional methods, has simultaneously created a wonderful opportunity as well - it has brought the best teachers and learning resources right on your computer screen, available on a click. Many of them will do it free for you (on, say, Youtube), and the rest will do it at a price (on personal teaching sites). Try getting the gist of this argument. If you really want to crack it, then you have an option of getting help from the most skilled professionals in the world on a one-to-one basis, and this can help you deliver more in your job and race forward. Not only this, you can become an internet entrepreneur yourself, without any major investment. Excited? Let's see some milestones you're likely to face in this exciting journey.

First milestone - Make three things a part of your daily life. (a) Read the blogs and articles by experts of your chosen field (on the internet), (b) Keep digging deep into the multiple aspects of emerging technologies (on relevant technology websites and forums), and (c) Keep saving relevant and useful content in a notebook (or a webtool like Evernote). Just keep at this for six months at least, and realise how the techniques of learning and skilling have truly transformed. As an example - many engineering related courses are available for free. Immense resources are available related to technologies being used on the internet to create various tools. Multiple marketplaces abount (like Envato), where skilled graphic and web designers can sell their wares, without even stepping out of their homes. And if you have the teacher-talent in you, then why not start your own course academy to teach others (using platforms like Ruzuku, Kajabi, Udemy etc.), and earn in dollars!

Second milestone - When you will start spending your time (and datapack) on these skill-focussed areas rather than mostly useless chatting and video-watching, then you'll surely face three questions. Whom to follow daily (Google to the rescue, followed by Alexa ranking like tools), which paid programmes are really useful (check out various review and comparison sites), and how to really turn your entrepreneurial dreams into reality (check out teaching, blogging and hosting sites). You'll surely face problems with English. So you'll begin searching the right language teachers. The plethora of options will make your mind spin! I strongly feel that the millions of educated ladies who often utilise their talents only in cooking food for their families - they can (with some effort) become a micro-entrepreneur leveraging the internet and empower themselves and their families. If the family elders happen to be hyper-conservative, they can be told that this would not necessarily entail action outside the home.

Third milestone - To prepare oneself, one's organisation, and the nation too, for the coming decades. It surely is not an exaggeration to say that the internet-enabled storm of easily available yet powerful technologies has totally transformed most sectors. We witness the changes in many areas like taxi services, shopping platforms, medical diagnosis and freelancing. Sadly, the Indian brands are not at the forefront of this unique race (surprising, given the dominance Indians display in services and in running some of these very global leader brands!). I have often spoken of this issue, calling it 'Digital Sovereignty' or 'Digital Independence'. Why has this happened? A simple answer is - we have spent our energies in cramming stuff, and acing exams. We lost the art of learning. The three key skills duly adapted to a new world - ability to read & comprehend fast, expressing ourselves through the written word beautifully, and basic arithmetic - were not developed. Net result? The easy methods by which one can try to cater to a global market despite being a micro-entrepreneur are not in our radar.

The choice is ours - keep cursing the system, and wait for a messiah who will transform the entire scenario. Or begin the journey of our individual success today, and start creating innovative products and services using modern technologies. We may not succeed always, but when we do, it may be spectacular.

My Hindi editorial article on this theme was published recently. Can check here!

~

The Balochistan issue 2016

A common question doing the rounds in India is the possible manner in which reactions to the reference to Balochistan (by the Indian PM in the 15th August independence day speech) will play itself out. As everyone knows, the constant meddling by Pakistan in creating unrest in Kashmir, and the handlers of Mumbai terror attack (and many more attacks) openly operating from its soil has worsened relations between the two South Asian neighbours. 

It is very unlikely that the chain of events will immediately lead to any violent skirmishes, but there is little doubt that a process to balance out perceptions has been started by India. Let us take a look at the issue in totality now.

Here is the Indian tricolour in the hands of Baloch activists in Germany. They have seized the moment to voice their concerns worldwide.

 

We all know the strategic importance of both Balochistan as well as the CPEC passing through it and the PoK, which is an integral part of India. The debate heated up in past 5 years due to the two ports coming into limelight, and the recent trouble in Kashmir, fomented by Pakistan. The Baloch fear more oppression and resource-grabbing than earlier.

Olympics Success – our Soft-Power ladder

Excellence all the way

In the interconnected world of today, a nation can display its might in two ways – Hard Power and Soft Power. For example, in the digital world of the internet, approximately 80 percent leading brands are American, and the common man (user) unquestioningly accepts that country’s supremacy. India, similarly, has become a big brand in information technology. In military power (hard), Indian definitely figures in the top 5, and even China hesistates to take it head-on in several matters. Likewise, in manufacturing (hard power), even America finds it tough to compete with China. Many strategic global marathons like these are incessantly being run, and a huge nation weaving the dream of emerging a superpower, cannot stay aloof.

In this background, let us attempt an unbiased and neutral analysis of India’s Olympics performance.

In India, the common population stays indifferent to what happens at the Olympics, normally. Several reasons account for it – Olympics’ not being in the governments’ priorities, the expensive nature of many games and sports, and the youth being involved in studies or livelihood activities rather than making games the aim of their lives. Every four years, when this mega global competition happens, the national media suddenly changes focus to issues like national glory and priorities. This year was special – a society that habitually carries out female foeticide and burns its brides for dowries, wan in rapture when girls won many medals at Rio. Suddenly, slogans like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, Beti Khilao (Save the girl child, educate her, let her play) became the rage. It will be worth seeing if those raising such slogans and updating their social media status accordingly, will celebrate if a girl child arrives in their families!

Why are well-planned Indian cities so rare?

As urbanisation picks up pace across India, albeit not matching global levels, this is one question that we are forced to confront frequently.

In my opinion, India is so bad at planning cities because we have no ‘one’ effective, central urbanisation plan at all. We do not have state-level urbanisation plans either. And till recently, we did not even have effective, functional district level comprehensive urbanisation plans. Though there have been ministries and departments, but their power to make deep dents in the system was negligible.

Sounds shocking, right? The only plans we have had so far have been after random, haphazard growth in Indian cities has already happened. Then, authorities would scramble to make it work, turn it revenue-positive and make it look less dis-organised. This story repeated itself countlessly over and over, time and again. It was only post 1991–92, after the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments were carried out, that Rural local bodies and Urban local bodies gained prominence.

But why is there such a mess? Three prime reasons - basically a rural nation + no effectively funded centralised plan + huge regional variations.

. . . . .

REASON 1. Primarily a Rural nation - In 1951, India had only 5 cities with a population more than 10 lacs, and only 41 cities with more than 1 lac people. Villages were more than 5.6 lacs. Today in 2016–17, more than 65 percent of our people live in rural areas, or just-above rural towns. These are the prime focus of all governments, due to sheer numbers, and the political meaning it carries. The fact that rural folks are primarily agriculturists makes it simpler for the policy-makers to focus largely on them. The figures are tell-tale.

Indian urbanisation has a long way to go yet

Our unhealthy GDP (an article in Hindi)

चकित न हों - मुझे पता है भारत की जीडीपी वृद्धि दर विश्व में फिलहाल सर्वाधिक है (चीन से भी अधिक) और अनेक अंतर्राष्ट्रीय निकाय हमें शाबाशी दे रहे हैं. हमारे आर्थिक सर्वेक्षण 2016 एवं बजट 2016-17 में भी इस आधार पर अनेक योजनागत विश्लेषण व अनुमान लगाये गए हैं. अच्छा है, जीडीपी का परिमाण बढ़ना ही चाहिए अन्यथा हर साल सुरसा के मुंह की भांति बढ़ रही हमारी आबादी खपेगी कहाँ, नौकरियां आएँगी कहाँ से और प्रति व्यक्ति आय बढ़ेगी कैसे. ये सब तो ठीक है, किन्तु हमारी पूरी व्यवस्था 5  ऐसी बीमारियों से ग्रसित हो गई है जिनका इलाज नहीं हुआ तो वृद्धि के लाभ केवल कागज़ों पर रह जायेंगे.

प्रसिद्ध चिंतक प्रोफेसर एंगस मेडिसन ने अपने अध्ययन से ये सिद्ध किया कि ऐतिहासिक रूप से भारत और चीन विश्व के सर्वाधिक समृद्ध देश रहे हैं. इन दोनों का जीडीपी विश्व के कुल का साठ प्रतिशत से अधिक हुआ करता था. प्रसिद्ध पत्रिका द इकोनॉमिस्ट ने इस चित्र के ज़रिये इस सच्चाई को बताया -

विश्व इतिहास का अदभुत सच 

किन्तु जैसा हम जानते हैं, और जी रहे हैं, आज की स्थिति बिलकुल उलट है.

How can I stop being average in life?

How can I stop being average? A great answer is possible for “How can I be excellent at anything?”

~ A practical guide to creating excellence in daily life ~

• Do work you love to do. That is the indispensable first condition.
• If you are stuck in a profile you hate, leave. Or, begin loving it. No third way.
• Everyday, try to be a bit faster and more efficient that the earlier day.Consciously. Don’t ask your boss, do it on your own.
• Constantly imagine what you desire others should say of your work - “average”, “chalta hai”, “professional”, “wow!”, “reliable”, …
• Make formats (small and big) that you can replicate the next time - for everything possible. It saves amazing amounts of time and makes you very fast.
  
• Organize your stuff. Files, papers, software, hardware, everything. Acid test - how much time you take to retrieve anything.
• Read about your area of work regularly. It keeps you alarmed enough to never lose the incentive to learn new things.
• New skills take time to learn and master. Be very patient, but aggressive all the while. Find an accomplished guru who’s willing to mentor you (fastest and surest way, but very difficult to find)
• Inquisitiveness killed the cat, but it’ll build your excellence. Ask, inquire, search, sift, collate, reject, edit, absorb.
• Keep your silliness at bay - don’t smirk when someone points out your shortcomings, don’t laugh when someone fails, be willing to dish out money on great books/literature (of immediate use), etc.
• Don’t envy the accomplished. Praise them whole-heartedly.

And if you find all this tedious and useless, there’s no compulsion at all. Just don’t complain the next time you miss the pay hike or bonus, and are unable to achieve your material goals. Settle at a lower orbit, and if you can be happy with it, perfect.

Life does not expect excellence for survival. It is stuff dreams are made of.

~

How would Indian civilisation be different today had Nalanda not been destroyed?

Indians often wonder how things would be, had the great centres of learning like Nalanda, Takshashila and Vikramshila would still be around, flourishing. These and more fell to the invaders from time to time, and only a small part of the glory exists today.

How would Indian civilization be different today had Nalanda University not been destroyed?

A simple, straight, innocent but incomplete answer would be -

Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji was a warrior with weapons, who upon encountering the mighty Nalanda, saw thousands of savants who intellectually were centuries ahead of anything he had experienced. Nalanda was using the formal Vedic systems of learning since 5th c. A.D., like Takshashila and Vikramshila. Khilji had two choices - bow his head, learn from them, exceed them in knowledge. Or, burn them down. In ca.1193 AD, he chose to end Nalanda. And had this monster not done so, this University would be better and bigger than the Harvards and Stanfords of this world. India would have had a big education brand to flaunt globally, and so on and so forth.

Modern day ruins of Nalanda, and a reconstruction of the University seal -

Khilji and the end of the Buddhist monks -

BUT Such an answer will be not only superficial, it will be a grave injustice to the ancient Indians who built a magnificent civilization second to none.