THE FIRST INDIAN

There was an informal air of bon homie and a cheerful buzz at the India International Centre in Delhi. A largely elderly bunch of sophisticated  men and women chatted over coffee as a few children from an American school assembled quietly inside the auditorium at 6 PM on the 16^th of September. The occasion was the felicitation of the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe alone in a sailboat – and be alive to tell the tale. The Minister of State for Defence was in attendance along with present and past Naval Chiefs and a healthy number of distinguished people as also the press.

            What followed in the next two hours was truly mesmerizing by any standards. Rarely does one come across such a perfect blend of old time eloquence with the understated achievement of the present. Commander Dilip Donde was undoubtedly the star of the evening but the Admirals on the podium held their own with their wisdom and wit.

So what was the big deal?

            The evening was rich in honest and easy to assimilate narration of a lifetime of experience of some of the best and most successful examples of the Indian Navy’s officer class. And the underlying theme was that no dream is too big and no task impossible. There was a distinct assertion of national pride and a pledge to do more. The spirit was infectious and each one was charged with enthusiasm. And the igniting line was a simple statement from one of the distinguished speakers explaining why adventurers like Commander Donde did what they did,

“ Human nature does not seek reward – it seeks challenge”

            I heard him Strength Five. I agree with him. What about you?

Will We Rise To The Occasion?

The last few months have seen a dynamic transformation in the nation’s consciousness, a reawakening of our sense of destiny and a resurgence of confidence and will exercised by Indians in every corner of the globe.

A combination of Global circumstances, economic and political, have placed Indian smack in front of an opportunity to assume a leadership role in helping shape the Global destiny. In relative terms, India seems better governed based on the outcome of unprecedented greed and avarice of a group of capitalist cronies who have a disproportionate influence over the governance and lives of citizens in the ‘developed’ world.

The question is – will we take this opportunity to realize our national destiny and true potential?

Today we are one of the largest and fastest growing economies. But are we truly productive and efficient by global standards? The answer is ‘not yet’. What can we do to become efficient? Remove regulation? It would be a scene resembling a busy intersection in Delhi when traffic lights are not working and there is no policeman around. The scene would be no different if 50 policemen from different departments were trying to regulate traffic at an intersection usually managed by one or two policemen. The answer lies in having required and effective regulation. Participation of the affected civil society is a must in this exercise.

As our education level rises and we have better access to electronic media, our awareness level has increased and is influenced realtime. This has led to two remarkable phenomena, one is increasing demand for transparency and accountability in public life and the other is a lack of patience and attention span to give issues their due consideration. This has led to emergence of a new art of ‘Media Management’. Here we as citizens and also those in governance, media and judiciary need to be diligent in arriving at correct assessments, however distasteful, and support the institutional credibility. It is difficult to build and maintain institutions but relatively simple to discredit it.

We are supremely conscious of our fundamental rights and can find faults even with Mahatma Gandhi. We probably should recognize that history always judges in hindsight and views change with time. We would also like to remind ourselves of our Fundamental Duties to our family, society and nation. We don’t have to wait for someone in the parliament to start the change. We can start with ourselves. Others who agree and appreciate will follow suit.

By expanding our ego to include our nation in our definition of self, national interest would automatically be self interest. And all actions taken for national interest would not be against our self interest. Good or bad, lawmakers are our elected representatives. Let us not accept gratification for votes and then see the difference in governance.

Finally it is not what we observe that will make a difference to our lives, it is what we do. Enlightened action only can help us achieve our destiny. May this message be heard Strength Five.