Obsession For Perfection (Part 2)

Ever since our childhood, we were told that India (Here, I am referring to the India of the medieval times which included almost all of South Asia) is a great country. But, when the reasons for its greatness were explained, we were told mostly of the times when India was called the Golden Bird, of Nalanda & Texila, of our trade during the medieval times, the exemplary architecture, our achievements in mathematics & science etc.

I agree that the aforesaid factors put us on the world map in those times but what about the present? In a list released by The Guardian of the best 200 global universities in 2012, not a single South Asian university figured. So, how can we ignore the present and take pride in the past? How does it make us great?

The things happening around us may not be the best things that we might have imagined for ourselves and the country. But, regardless of our wishes and hopes, they are happening. But it does not mean that we have to put up with them. So, how to find out what exactly is wrong with us?

When anyone raises such questions, everybody’s favourite punching bag is the Bad Politician. If you are of the same opinion, I agree with you but not completely. The Bad Politician cannot be solely blamed for everything because they rise from among us. Behind every politician, there are hundreds of thousands of people supporting him/her. I believe that there is a deficit in our own set of moral values.

Very often, people are heard complaining that we do not have honest & efficient leaders anymore. But my question is, ‘How else will it be?’ In the past, we always voted for people or parties that endorsed a certain religion or caste. Honest and meritorious people were always shooed away just because they put performance above petty politics.

As a child, I was always told that Western traditions & practices were inferior to that of ours. But it is only in countries like the US where you see a man from a very humble background become the president of his country and call the shots. It is only in the US where you see a 19 year old teen start a dotcom company and make it the largest social networking site of the world. It was possible because they had the freedom to think, innovate and act. Unlike South Asians, they did not have to constantly look behind their shoulders to make sure that the so called ‘elders’ are not unhappy about their free-thinking & innovations.

One of the most prestigious prizes given for innovation & original thinking is the Nobel Prize. If you look at its distribution, this difference becomes clear. In chemistry, out of a total of 152 prizes, 54 went to the US, 27 to Germany and 25 to the UK. In physics, out of a total of 182 prizes, 79 went to the US, 23 to Germany and 21 to the UK. In medicine, out of 186, 89 went to the US, 24 to the UK and 15 to Germany. Whereas on the other hand, equally powerful economies like Japan and China come nowhere near to this Western troika. Why?

If you think about the cultural differences, it becomes clear. In Asia, a culture of compliance is inherent everywhere. Questioning existing wisdom of the ‘elders’ is looked upon as a grave crime. Innovation, by definition, is to question the existing way of things. In this part of the world, very few possess that kind of courage and those who do, are persecuted to the maximum.

Obsession For Perfection (Part 1)

I’m not Plato. In fact I’m not anywhere near that great philosopher. But just like him, I too get a good feeling imagining how everything would have been very different if people, things and policies were perfect. Perfection is something that is reflected in the efficiency of every executed action, every drawn plan and the infallibility of every spoken word. If you are reading this blog from anywhere in South Asia or have ever been to this part of the world, you must have, by now, guessed where I’m leading you to.

Our trains and buses are never on time. Our public functions are almost always started behind the scheduled time. Our public personalities [most of whom derive their name and fame from their forefathers], rarely have the good-habit of being punctual. Our schools and universities [barring a microscopic minority] give everything to their students except a good education that will stand them in good stead in life.

I have never been to Europe or America. In fact, I have never travelled outside my home-country India for that matter. But from what I have read about those socially developed and technologically advanced regions, they seem to be very efficient at everything they attempt to do. The attempts include the stuff we too do like running trains and buses, being on time on every occasion etc. But the only difference between us and them is that they do it in near perfection. I remember reading somewhere that in Japan, the sum of the duration of lateness of all trains of that country do not exceed 30 seconds. Compare that to the Indian Railways. I honestly cannot remember a single time when a train arrived on time. The exams to select Indian Railway personnel are so tough that only the ‘best of the best’ among the candidates make it through. So the million dollar question that comes to everyone’s mind is, ‘What the hell is wrong with us?’. Where the Americans, Europeans and even our fellow Asians, the Japanese succeeded, we too can and we should succeed.

(to be continued)