India Lies in You

India lies in you

80 years back Mahatma Gandhi beautifully quoted, ‘India lies in its villages’. But today-though not contradicting Gandhiji- this statement brings more relevance when it is said as ‘India lies in you’. This is no pointing out fingers at anyone, but making us realize our responsibility towards our nation. It’s an initiative to contribute to India’s growth story in our own small way because we believe personal growth of an individual can lead to economic growth of a nation.

With India being called an emerging economy, it is important for us to know why that is happening. There are primarily three reasons which makes India poised to become a superpower by :
1) Opening up of the economy in early 90s which led to investments coming in;
2) Consumer India rising to the occasion which has made India’s GDP growth almost reach double digit; and
3) A nation full of young and vibrant population which has sort of become a USP for India.

Now, saying that only rural or urban India has contributed to the growth story would be wrong. It has been an inclusive growth where now ‘the bottom of the pyramid’ is been looked at as a fortune.

So, in this 60th year of Independence, we, SSIMS students or the future managers would like to discuss how an individual contribution can bring required change for this nation. Because we feel any change should be led by and guided to make it sustainable and last for the long run. This makes ‘India lies in you’ a platform not to debate, but to organize a discussion involving if not all but few stakeholders, most important being the youth.

Also, there are ways to contribute to the development of any nation. One, by staying within the border of the country; two, by being on the border and three; by staying outside the border (that is abroad)

Within the border, we have individuals, NGOs, business houses and government. On the border, we have 11 lac soldiers safeguarding us from envied neighbors coupled with other two wings of the defence. And across the border, we have 20 million strong Indian Diaspora living across the globe.

Well, no one way can be termed as right or wrong, as each of them are done with one motive in the mind, to bring a change for nation. What would matter is in our own capacities, how much have we contributed to the sustainable change. Looking at India, with the world’s second largest population, one can see transformation taking place across the three ways we have discussed above.

Through this forum we are bringing together people from different facets of life. There will be students who would express their views and on the other hand, people who have been there and done that. By this we wanted to be inclusive yet contemporary by bringing a panel together which will magnify the reality of working at grassroot level. What challenges does this fragmented and multicultural nation throw at them and how they have dealt with it.

An example can be cited here of Mohan Bhargav, a fictitious character of the movie Swades (meaning my country in Sanskrit). Like him, somewhere in all of us lies the spirit of doing something for our country. Lot of us carry this thought, few transform this thought into action, few take it with them on their deathbed. But in this thought lies India and thus India lies in you. Its ‘We the people’ of India and especially the youth who looks to be awakened but the need of the hour is that their energy needs to be channelised into actionable results.

The point is, whatever you do, wherever you are, ‘India lies in you’. So, irrespective of what others do or not, the onus is on us to lead ourselves and not wait for being led. Wherever and in whichever way possible, as Gandhiji says be the change you want to see. so lets hold hands together and be the change that we want to see and not talk the change that has to be.

So, its you who got to decide, that you want to raise the performance bar in sports, reduce corruption in political system, improve the quality of education or eliminate poverty.

‘India lies in you’ is a thought provoking launch pad for those who participate and take it forward from there.

By
Akshat Singhal
SSIMS Goa.