The other world!

At the risk of sounding pessimistic, I would like to share this story.

It was 10 PM in the night at a private bus stand in Ahmedabad, one of the biggest cities in India and definitely one of the most prosperous. These are two small children (brothers, actually), lying on the pavement of the bus stand....half naked....barely fed (a small packet of biscuit, half consumed was lying beside)....surrounded by mosquitoes and all other insects you would shiver to even look at!

While I was talking to myself, a big bulky man came looking for these boys and found them sleeping there. Such angry was he with these children that he woke them up at once and beat them up before the little ones could even realize what was happening with them. On observing I understood that these brothers worked in his restaurant and had fled work before the scheduled closing time (apparently because they were too hungry or too tired).

They are not alone.....thousands of such children cross over to Ahmedabad from the neighboring Rajasthan to work and earn. The so-called generous employers give them an employment opportunity and in turn gain maximum profits (as child labour is a lot cheaper than the adult ones). This exploitation goes on every day...uninterrupted....in spite of a ban on child labour!

Not that it's anything new in India; but I was waiting for my bus to come...and thus noticed this and had time to think. I was angry at myself that I was (am) not doing enough; I was (am) not doing my bit. I thought of talking to others through forums like this.

India, today, is one of the fastest growing economies in the world....wealth is being created at the speed of knots. But is everyone included? Is really India shining? Empathy apart, we chose to ignore this reality at our own cost!

Poverty and inequality are the fundamental cause of all the major problems in India today. 'Naxalism' and 'social unrest' (like that of the recent violence in Mumbai against the North Indians) (and more) are the direct result of large scale inequality.

The government, the civil society (read NGOs) and the public at large have to act and not before it is too late! It's a shame if we cannot eradicate poverty from the surface of earth with all this technology and wealth! 

Gandhi was true when he said- "There is enough on the earth for everyone's need, not for everyone's greed"

Gujarat- a land of entrepreneurs

Ever since I started studying Economics, I have always wondered why some societies/communities are more developed than others even while existing within similar constitutional and legal boundaries. The conventional factors of 'poverty' or 'development' given by text books and professors are like 'endowment', 'opportunities', 'saving/ investment', 'skills', 'infrastructure', etc. But none satisfied me. 

My understanding changed completely when I started living in Gujarat. It was in late 2005 I came to Gujarat for the first time. I saw relative development everywhere, even in villages in tribal areas. The tribal villages of my state Odisha and those in Gujarat are completely different- income levels, livelihood options, roads, electricity, water....everything. Why? I wondered.

Then I saw the law and order situation. On the very first morning, I saw motor cycles and cars parked outside houses all night, a thing that is unthinkable in Odisha and many other states. 'Theft' and 'murders' are rare events; in my 8 years in Gujarat I have hardly come across a street fight or fight in the public. Girls and women can roam around in the cities late in the evening all alone without fear. 

So, why are people prosperous and peaceful in Gujarat?

I think I have got the answer- 'entrepreneurship'; it is in their genes, in their culture, in their tradition; entrepreneurship is a way of life in Gujarat. A common farmer, a carpenter irrespective of the occupation, the Gujarati knows how to start a business and flourish. It is this spirit that makes the Gujaratis apart from others. They neither have the need nor time for criminal activities. When one can create wealth, one would hardly be interested in illegal ways of income. 

In Odisha, parents would marry their daughter to a low-earning government servant rather than a high-earning business man (exacly opposite in Gujarat). I have seen pretty salary earners in Gujarat come home in the evening and open a petty shop in the evening (a phenomenon unthinkable in Odisha). There is virtually no Gujarati family with only one source of earning. Once I met an auto-rickshaw driver who told me that he had just retired as a class-I officer in the Government!!! (huh....!) Another important thing is that they are aware of their wealth and invest their money very intelligently. One would be surprised to see the large number of housewives investing in the stock market. The people hardly think any work is small as long as the returns are positive and their time is productively utilized. 

As a development professional, I do not have to push people into any business; I just have to show them that it is a positive-worth business and he/she has the skill to do the same. Then the rest is taken care of by him/her. This explains why government projects are relatively more successful in Gujarat rather than in other states.

Gujaratis understand the value of money like no one else. I had read 'Reach dad poor dad', but I learnt the value of money more by living in Gujarat. Once I was travelling with a Gujarati friend; I paid one rupee for him to the auto-rickshaw driver as he did not have the change. I was amazed to see him return the rupee to me the next day. Though I resisted accepting it, I had to take it back in the end as he insisted on the same.

Though the factors of development mentioned in the first paragraph are important, the most important factor is the 'entrepreneur'. In the absence of this, all other factors are useless; on the other hand, 'entrepreneurship' can develop all other factors. The biggest positive in Gujarat is that the whole society is entrepreneur. The politicians and leaders are just an extension of this society; so most of them have always been progressive and development oriented. 

Since pre-independence time Gujarat has been developed- both economically and politically. Two of the most important leaders of the freedom struggle- Gandhi and Sardar were Gujaratis. Ahmedabad and Surat were known all over the world as a major industrial destinations. So, it is but natural that in the post-independence period the same continued, both under the Congress and BJP Governments. One of the few successful industrialists of the pre-1991 era, Dhirubhai Ambani was a Gujarati. Most of Mumbai's (and India's) business is controlled by Gujaratis. They are everywhere on the earth; a prosperous and peaceful community. I am lucky to have come here to study,work, live and marry! 

Silver lining

India is yet to shine; but things like this (in the picture) do make us hopeful and assure us that we are on the ascent.

This picture was taken in one of the most backward areas of Madhya Pradesh (so, apparently, one of the most backward in India). The man doesn't have any land; but he owns a petty shop. He has made himself a promise that one day he wants his children to be educated in the best of institutions in India. As can be seen in the picture, the child is engrossed in his studies inside the shop itself. The child is indeed very bright and intelligent. May God give the family enough resources and strength to fulfill its dreams!

India is taking off....at last :) Our time is coming!