making india awesome - chetan bhagat
Post on 07-Aug-2018
227 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
1/826
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
2/826
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
3/826
Chetan Bhagat is the authoof seven blockbuster books
These include six novels Five Point Someone
(2004), One Night @ the Cal
Center (2005), The 3istakes of My Life (2008), 2
States (2009), Revolution2020 (2011), Half Girlfrien(2014)—and the non-fiction
title What Young India Wants(2012). Many of his novelshave been adapted into
successful Bollywood films.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
4/826
TIME magazine named himamongst the ‘100 mos
influential people in theworld’ and Fast CompanyUSA, listed him as one of the
world’s ‘100 most creativepeople in business’.
Chetan writes columns foleading English and Hindnewspapers, focusing on
youth and nationadevelopment issues. He ialso a motivational speake
and screenplay writer.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
5/826
Chetan quit hisinternational investmen
banking career in 2009 todevote his entire time towriting and make change
happen in the country. Helives in Mumbai with hiwife, Anusha, an exclassmate from IIM-A, andhis twin boys, Shyam and
Ishaan.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
6/826
Praise for the author
‘Bhagat is a symbol of newIndia. A torch-bearer for an
unafraid generation…’ — India Today
‘Many writers are successfu
at expressing what’s in theihearts or articulating a
particular point of viewChetan Bhagat’s books doboth and more.’
—A.R. Rahman, in TIME
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
7/826
magazine, on Chetan’inclusion in the TIME 100
Most Influential People in theWorld
‘The voice of India’s risingentrepreneurial class.’ — Fast Company Magazine
on Chetan’s inclusion in the100 Most Creative People in
Business Globally
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
8/826
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
9/826
The thoughts and opinionexpressed in this book are
those of the author alone anddo not necessarily reflect theviews of Amazon Publishing
or its affiliates.
Text copyright © 2015
Chetan BhagatAll rights reserved.
o part of this book may bereproduced, or stored in aretrieval system, o
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
10/826
transmitted in any form or byany means, electronic
mechanical, photocopyingrecording, or otherwisewithout express written
permission of the publisher.
Published by AmazonPublishing, Seattlewww.apub.com
Amazon, the Amazon logoand Amazon Publishing are
trademarks of Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/http://www.apub.com/
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
11/826
Inc., or its affiliates.
EISBN-13: 9781503987371
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
12/826
To the awesome youth
of India
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
13/826
Contents
Start ReadingMaking India Awesome: A
Letter to the Reader
AWESOME
GOVERNANCE:POLITICS AND
ECONOMY
POLITICSSeventeen Commandments
for Narendra Modi
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
14/826
Games Politicians PlayRevenge of the Oppressed:
Why Corruption Continuesto Be Around Despite theOutcry Against It
We the ShamelessThe Kings in Our MindsThe Telangana EffectAnalysing the Modi EffectCan India’s Backward Polity
Provide a Pro-growthEconomic Environment?Rahul’s New Clothes, and the
Naked Truth
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
15/826
Swachh Congress Abhiyan:Some Essential Steps
Once upon a BeehiveECONOMYRescue the Nation
To Make ‘Make in India’Happen, Delete Control
Pro-poor or Pro-poverty?The Tiny-bang Theory for
Setting Off Big-bang
Reforms
AWESOME SOCIETY:
WHO WE ARE AS A
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
16/826
PEOPLE AND WHAT WE
NEED TO CHANGE
Time to Face Our DemonsWe Have Let Them Down
Watching the Nautch GirlsLet’s Talk about SexThe Real Dirty Picture
Saying Cheers in GujaratOur Fatal Attraction to FoodCleanliness Begins at Home
India-stupid and India-smartBhasha Bachao, Roman
Hindi Apnao
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
17/826
Mangalyaan+UnluckyTuesdays
A Ray of HopeJunk Food’s Siren Appeal
AWESOME EQUALITY:WOMEN’S RIGHTS, GAY
RIGHTS AND MINORITY
RIGHTS
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Ladies, Stop Being so Hardon Yourselves
Five Things Women Need to
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
18/826
Change about ThemselvesHome Truths on Career
WivesWake up and Respect Your
Inner Queen
Indian Men ShouldChannelize Their Inner Mr Mary Kom
Fifty Shades of Fair: WhyColour Gets under Our
SkinGAY RIGHTSSection 377 Is Our Collective
Sin
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
19/826
MINORITY RIGHTSLetter from an Indian Muslim
YouthBeing Hindu Indian or
Muslim Indian
It’s Not Moderate Muslims’Fault
Mapping the Route toMinority Success
AWESOME RESOURCES
THE YOUTH
An Open Letter to Indian
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
20/826
Change SeekersWe, the Half-educated People
DU-ing It All Wrong, GettingIt All Mixed Up
How the Youth Can Get
Their DueScored Low in Exams? Some
Life Lessons from a 76-Percenter
Concluding Thoughts
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
21/826
efore you begin reading, i
might be helpful to
understand the words thacomprise the title, so that we
know the task at hand better .
Making /'meɪkɪŋ/ verb
1. to bring into existence,to produce; bring about;render.
2. to convert from onestate, condition,category, etc., to
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
22/826
another.
India /'ɪndɪə/ nounOfficially the Republic oIndia; a country in South
Asia. It is the seventh-largescountry by area, the secondmost populous country with
over 1.2 billion people, andthe most populous democracyin the world.
Awesome /' ɔ:s(ə)m/ adjective
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
23/826
1. causing or inducingawe; inspiring an
overwhelming feeling ofreverence, admiration, ofear: an awesome sight.
2. exhibiting or marked by awe; showingreverence, admiration, ofear.
3. informal . very
impressive: typicallyused by the Internetgeneration.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
24/826
Making India
Awesome: A Letter to the
Reader
Dear Reader,
Thank you for picking up thi
book. This is not a storyThere is no romance in herenor are there page-turning
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
25/826
thrilling moments. Ratherthis book is about a dream
both you and I share—tomake India a better place.
Why This Book?
The current politica
environment and publicsentiment are so cynical thaone wonders if there is even a
point in writing a book aboua better India.
As I sit down to write thi
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
26/826
opening essay, I hear politicanoise everywhere. The ruling
party, the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP), brought to powea year ago with love and
votes, is now in the midst obattling several controversiesCabinet ministers are accusedof helping a fugitive; thefugitive, on his part, is trying
to lay blame on multiplesenior politicians. Stategovernment scams are
coming to the fore in
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
27/826
Maharashtra and MadhyaPradesh, one of them
triggering many deaths. Thebane of favouritism is back—with the news that a flight ful
of passengers was held up foan hour because an IndianAdministrative Service (IASofficer in a chief minister’contingent forgot his correc
passport at home. The primeminister hasn’t spoken abouany of these issues, even
while everyone else is talking
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
28/826
about them. The Congress iblaming the BJP. The BJP i
reminding the Congress abouits past sins. Their followeron Twitter are sending
abusive tweets to one anotherThe image I have presented
is a snapshot of Indian newsright now, but this could bethe situation at any given
point in time. There isnothing unusual about suchnoise. Chances are that if you
happen to read this some
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
29/826
years later, and turn on thetelevision, you will see a
couple of fresh, newcontroversies—with a lot odebating, pontificating
finger-pointing, outrage andno problem-solving. Thenoise from one controversywill ultimately fade and makeway for the next…and then
the next.
Youth and Nationa
Consciousness
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
30/826
With all this chaos, anaverage viewer or reader wil
either be totally confused, ormore likely, will opt out othe constant cacophony
generated by unsolvablenational issues. No surprisethen that most of India’youth don’t care much aboupolitics or the government.
Applying the 80:20 rule, would say that 80 per cent oour youth don’t even care
about politics or government
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
31/826
What they care about are theilives— their jobs, their
boyfriends or girlfriends andwell, that’s about it. We cancall this set of people Self
ocused Indifferent IndiansThis is a huge segment, andthe actual number of peoplewho just don’t care abouwhat happens may be even
higher than 80 per cent!Of the remaining 20 pecent who do care, most have
decided to take permanen
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
32/826
sides, as this helps solveconfusion. These sides are
often based on a personalityFor example, it’s just simpleto assume that Modi is alway
right, or that Kejriwal is theperson to back, no mattewhat. The derogatory terms‘Modi-bhakt’ and ‘AAPtard’have emerged because of thi
set of people. They arepolitically conscious, but arealigned. They defend
anything their chosen party
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
33/826
says, and are ready to abuseand insult anyone who even
hints at disagreeing with theigreat leader. Such peoplecreate a lot of noise on socia
media and may be wellintentioned about the countryhowever, they solve nothingThey have taken sides andstick to them, no matter wha
the issue. Hence, theicontribution to publicdiscourse is limited. Again
using the 80:20 rule, 80 pe
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
34/826
cent of people who care aboupolitics and national issue
fall in the ‘taking sidescategory. We can call thesepeople Caring but Aligned
ndians.Finally, there is the tiny
segment that matters—peoplewho actually care about thecountry, have an interest in
political issues, but don’have fixed sides. These are—to do the maths—20 per cen
of the 20 per cent, or a mere 4
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
35/826
er cent of our youth. We cancall this narrow set of people
Caring Objective IndiansThese are the people whogive me hope. For they wan
to give support to the righissue, not to a particulaparty. And if we have enoughpeople of this kind, we canactually put India on the righ
path.This book is an attempt toreach out to, and expand the
narrow segment of, Caring
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
36/826
Objective Indians.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
37/826
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
38/826
The Sad State of Caring
Objective IndiansCaring Objective Indians areoften ignored or shouteddown in debates. They arealso labelled as fence-sitters
opportunists, or indecisiveconfused, contradictory oweak.
Say, a Caring ObjectiveIndian, who wanted changevoted for the BJP in the Lok
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
39/826
Sabha elections. Howeverthe same voter dislikes the
way the BJP is handling thecurrent controversies. Whenhe voices his protest, Caring
but Aligned Indians wilattack him. BJP supporterwill call him ignorant andlabel him an idiot. Non-BJPsupporters will abuse him and
question why the hell did hevote for the BJP. Faced withsuch attack, the Caring
Objective Indian wil
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
40/826
withdraw and eventuallybecome silent. Every issue
will, therefore, become a freefor-all between the alreadyaligned sets, each side
shouting down the otherSuch screaming and blamingsolves nothing, though theemotions and whipped-updrama entertain for a while
and make for good TV. Afteall, it is fun to see educated
people shout and belittle
other educated people!
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
41/826
The Way Out
Just as people gather on theroad to see a fistfight, Indiagathers at night to watch TV
debates. However, soon, thenovelty of the fight wears offand as nothing is solved
people get bored and moveon. It is time then for a newcontroversy, and for each side
to start a duel again. Breakingnews, fiery debates, no
solutions. Rinse and repeat
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
42/826
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?So, what do we do in such a
scenario? Is there any roomfor a sane voice? Is thereeven a point to writing a book
like Making India Awesomewhen things are so messedup? Does anyone actuallywant solutions instead of thedrama? Is it simply easier to
ignore it all, and be a Selffocused Indifferent Indian?Or even better, to become
aligned and at least have the
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
43/826
comfort of a group, a virtuamob that lends support?
All these doubts bubbled upin my head when I conceivedthis book. Ultimately, I fel
there is a need for this. In althe noise, there are peoplewho would care for a voice tosimplify things and point to asolution. Thus, this book wa
born. The fact that you havepicked it up means that, aleast to a certain extent, I was
right; there are Caring
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
44/826
Objective Indians who wanto hear reason.
India 2015 versus India
2011–2014
I think it is interesting tocompare the mood of the
nation now versus a couple oyears ago. In 2012, when mybook What Young India
Wants was published, noonly was I a different personbut I was also looking at a
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
45/826
different India. How so? Didthis nation not have problem
then?Sure, we did. We had ton
of issues then, and some
would argue we had them ona much larger scale. Themind-boggling numberassociated with the CWG, 2Gand coal scams prove this
These cases shocked some othe most indifferent Indiansand brought to the fore a
problem each one of us face
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
46/826
corruption. The growth osocial media, which allowed
accumulation and aggregationof public opinion like nevebefore, helped coalesce
people’s anger againscorruption.
The United ProgressiveAlliance (UPA) governmenin power then—a Congress
led hotchpotch coalition—missed all this until it was toolate. Neither did the
government act quickly on
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
47/826
the scams, nor did it sensepublic anger fast enough
Meanwhile, we had streeprotests, hunger strikes, sociamedia hashtags and a sort of a
mini-Arab Spring, all in thespan of two years.
In all this frustrationsomething was different fromwhat we have today. In 2012
we felt anger instead ocynicism. We also knew howto give our fury direction—
we believed that the
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
48/826
Congress-led governmenwas at fault. This party—
ruling the country for sixtyodd years and in power for 90per cent of Independen
India’s life—seemed to be theobvious reason for thenation’s woes.
2011–2014 Recap: The
Anna Movement, AAP and
Modi
The massive anti-governmen
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
49/826
sentiment of 2011 waamplified by the media and
solidified by new sociamedia. It led to the rise oseveral phenomena. One o
these was the Anna Hazaremovement, an anti-corruptiondrive that sought to have aLokpal, or an independenombudsman, in the country
The fact that the movemenhad an end game, a solutionof sorts, made it differen
from previous protests agains
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
50/826
corruption. People from alwalks of life backed it
including me. Had thegovernment relented with areasonable Lokpal, the
movement might have taken anatural course. However, theUPA government ditheredand the Anna movemencreated a new political party
the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)While Anna Hazare withdrewfrom the political entity, i
gave birth to a new politica
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
51/826
star called Arvind KejriwalSmart, well-intentioned
media-savvy, relativelyyoung and from a humblebackground, Kejriwal wa
ready to take on anyone in theestablishment. His passionand aggression won himmany fans, and even thoughwe didn’t have a Lokpal
people saw Kejriwal as one othe solutions to India’s crisesWhile Kejriwal’s journey to
power in Delhi is wel
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
52/826
known, it is only now that hisposition has assumed some
stability as the state chieminister.
Before his recent electora
victory (in February 2015)Kejriwal was inconsistentexhibiting traits that showedearnestness but alsoinexperience. While people
liked him, wanted him tohave a future in Indianpolitics and knew that he
could take on the Congress
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
53/826
they weren’t sure that hecould be a viable alternative
to it.Hence, this created anothe
gap and simultaneously led to
the rise of another politicastar—Narendra Modi. Thecurrent prime minister oIndia was then the four-timechief minister of Gujarat, one
of India’s most affluenstates. He belonged to theBJP, the Congress’
traditional rival, and thu
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
54/826
offered an alternative to theCongress. Unlike Kejriwal
Modi had far more politicaexperience and a proven trackrecord in running a state. In
fact, his initiatives inpromoting the successfuGujarat growth storycemented his position as anable administrator and
visionary. While theCongress lost touch with themasses, Modi and the BJP
began to echo popula
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
55/826
sentiment—‘Congress-MuktBharat’, the war cry of the
BJP, became instantlypopular. Since Indians seemto like personalities in
politics, the entire campaignrevolved around NarendraModi. ‘ Ab ki baar, Modsarkar ’ was splattered acroshoardings and newspapers in
every city. The rest, as theysay, is history.The BJP won 282 seats
comfortably above the
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
56/826
majority 271-mark in theParliament. With its allies
the tally was well over 300India was set to enter a newera. Publications around the
world celebrated India’mandate for stability, and foa leader focused ondevelopment and not muchelse.
The Hindutva card of theBJP, something it hadcapitalized on in earlie
elections, was kept aside
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
57/826
instead, the party promised anIndia that was committed to
communal harmony as welas development. With greapomp and show, Modi was
sworn in at the RashtrapatBhavan lawns. Thousandwere present, including theheads of state of eight of ouneighbouring countries.
Could it get any better foIndia?
2014 until Today: A Reality
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
58/826
Check
The new government came topower. Things started tomove. We had news report
of government employeebeing pulled up for not beingpunctual. Ministers worked
long hours. Many pendinggovernment proposals beganto get cleared. The primeminister announced initiativelike ‘Swachh Bharat’ o
‘Clean India’, which were
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
59/826
well received.And yet, not al
expectations were met. Thepace of economic reformexpected to accelerate with
the new government, didn’change much. Many in thegovernment managedexpectations by saying‘Don’t expect big-bang
reforms.’ While thegovernment launched a‘Make in India’ campaign to
invite foreign investors
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
60/826
reports of ‘tax terrorismmultiplied, with overzealous
tax departments houndingforeign institutional investors
The education sector didn’
transform significantlyEmployment rate, often aresult of economic growthdidn’t pick up very mucheither. Communal statement
from a few BJP leadercontinued. The primeminister—vocal like no othe
prime ministerial candidate
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
61/826
before the election—becamemore discreet. He spoke, bu
often about his own agendarather than aboucontroversial or tricky issues.
The ‘Modi wave’, a sort oa fandom for Narendra Modthat had swept the nationbefore the election, turnedinto ‘it’s still early days, let’
see what happens’.
The Ebbing Modi Wave
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
62/826
A strong sign that the Modwave had ended came with
the Delhi state elections o2015. In February 2015Arvind Kejriwal, won 67 ou
of the 70 seats in the DelhAssembly. Several reasonwere attributed to thilandslide victory, includingthe fact that people wanted to
give a real second chance toArvind Kejriwal. Howeverone could not deny that the
euphoria surrounding the new
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
63/826
BJP government had endedat least in Delhi.
Of course, soon afteKejriwal assumed powercontroversies broke out abou
his government as well. Thefirst came when PrashanBhushan and YogendraYadav, two foundingmembers of the AAP, were
ousted from the partyKejriwal was the only brandthat mattered for the AAP
everyone else wa
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
64/826
dispensable. Anothecontroversy involved the
AAP law minister for Delhforging his educationadegrees. Then came the repor
about the AAP spending amindboggling ₹ 500 croreplus for advertisementhighlighting its ownachievements.
Neither Modi nor Kejriwaseemed to have sustainedtheir pre-election hype.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
65/826
The Hope and
Disappointment Cycle
So what’s the pattern here? Iseems that we, as Indians, do
realize that there are problemin the system. However, tosolve these problems, we
place our faith in one messiahand bring him or her topower. Once we bring themessiah to power, wediscover that s/he
underwhelms us, getting
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
66/826
trapped in controversies ohemmed in by limitations
From the Congress to the BJPto the AAP, every partyseems to have tried its luck a
the top in some capacityHowever, no clear path ivisible and the cycle of hopeand disappointmencontinues. Change is slow
despite all of us agreeing thait is needed. We hear reportof how India is the nex
superpower about to take off
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
67/826
However, that take-off seemto have been stuck on the
runway for a couple odecades now.
The realization that India’
problems won’t go away bychanging a governmencreates both despair and hope
First comes despair. It idisheartening to learn that we
still haven’t done enough toput India on the right pathAfter all, we did manage to
have a Congress-mukt centra
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
68/826
government, the so-calledcure. We also placed our two
big political stars—NarendraModi and Arvind Kejriwal—as prime minister and chie
minister respectively, with afull majority. Yet theproblems haven’t ended. Thefaces have changed, not theissues.
Reality Check: The Despair
We are still far from being a
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
69/826
confident superpower of thefuture. We are still a third
world country with thirdworld infrastructure; theroads in Mumbai still have
potholes after the first rainWe do have a fewachievements on the worldstage in sports, sciencedefence or in spaces that ask
for creativity. But we havemillions of poor people. Jobopportunities for the youth
are limited. Economic growth
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
70/826
is modest. Primary educationis in poor shape. Most don’
have access to qualityhealthcare.
I don’t want to paint a sorry
picture. However, before weget lost in our superpowerIndia fantasies and other suchpatriotic porn, it is importanto face reality. Economic
backwardness is not India’only bane. While a countrylike the USA has legalized
gay marriage, we conside
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
71/826
homosexuality illegal and areyet to repeal the draconian
Section 377. Our womenaren’t treated well, and awhole bunch of gender issue
such as female foeticidesexual crimes against womenfemale malnutrition anddiscrimination against womenat work exist in our society
Our religious minorities feeunsafe, and local Hindu–Muslim issues easily spira
into national unrest. All thi
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
72/826
is reason enough to believethat we are far from being
awesome.
Awesome
Awesome is what I want toturn India into. Awesome is a
term the young use todescribe anything that is coolaspirational, worthy o
respect and that essentiallyinspires awe. While we allove our country, and tha
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
73/826
will never stop, to take it toawesome status needs some
work.
Reality Check: The Hope
While the bitter truths abouour system may create some
gloom, there is also hope inpresent-day India. For unlikethe 2011–2014 period
Indians today have a bettegrip on reality. For once, wedon’t think that there are a
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
74/826
few bad guys at the topmaking all the mess. Fewe
among us think that a messiahwill come to save us. Wefinally have the niggling
feeling that perhaps there’ssomething wrong with us —that no law or leader can fixsociety unless society wantto fix itself. The realization
that we are responsible for themess we are in—and that iisn’t ‘their’ fault—is the bes
hope India has had in
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
75/826
decades.Hence, our mild
disillusionment with oupolitical stars may not be abad thing. They are no
saviours, and it is unfair toexpect them to be. It’s nothem, but we, who have tosolve our problems.
How to Make a Nation
Awesome
The anger and outrage on
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
76/826
display between 2011 and2014 wasn’t wrong. In fact
we needed such fury to bringpeople together andacknowledge the problem
we confronted. We may nohave solved issues, but aleast we tried to do somethingabout them by protesting onthe streets and voting fo
change. However, this wasn’enough, and now we know it.Making a nation awesome
takes more than just Twitte
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
77/826
outrage, street protests and atoppling of governments in
elections. It asks for afundamental shift in societavalues, culture and habits.
Transforming society’values is especiallyimportant. Let’s take anexample. If we want toeradicate the menace o
corruption, every dishonesact must create deeprevulsion within us. Fighting
corruption is not restricted to
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
78/826
naming and shaming a fewcorrupt officials. If we think
it is okay to cheat in examslie to a ticket collector in thetrain about our kids’ ages and
pay a bit of money to avoid abig traffic fine, then at somelevel we clearly don’t careabout eliminating corruptionall that much. At best, we
hate the politician who gets tosteal (while we don’t!).To take another example, i
is unthinkable for Hindus to
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
79/826
enter temples with their shoeon. Even so, why don’t we, a
Indians, cheat and enteplaces of worship covertly inour shoes? Simply because
we feel it is disrespectful todo so. No law is needed; nopolitician at the top needs toremind us. It is our society’core values that guide us—we
have learnt that places oworship should be treatedwith respect, and removing
our shoes is one way o
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
80/826
showing deference. Now, if only we felt the
same way about corruptionWell, hopefully we will, oneday.
The Homogeneity
Challenge
Spurring reform in a nationalso requires homogeneity in
thought. People shouldgenerally agree on what acountry’s top problems are
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
81/826
and the solutions needed fothem.
This is a massive challengein India, one of the mosdiverse countries in the
world. We have people fromdifferent culturescommunities, religionsethnicities, income groupand educational backgrounds
Many get exasperated withIndia because we, its citizensust never seem to get along
Some experts even say the
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
82/826
idea of India is wrong; it inot more than a leftove
patchwork of disparatekingdoms created by theBritish. After all, what does
Kerala have in common withAssam, and what do the twoshare with Rajasthan? Howcan all these diverse groupever agree?
There is some truth to suchscepticism. Countries thahave dramatically progressed
in the last few decades—
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
83/826
Taiwan, South KoreaSingapore and Japan—have a
more homogenoupopulation. Even China, ahuge country, is culturally a
lot less disparate than India.Are we, as Indians, then
fated to disagree with oneanother? Will our dreams bedestroyed by interna
disharmony? How will weever become truly awesome?
My Role
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
84/826
This is where I feel I, andothers like me, have a role
By God’s grace and thanks tomy readers’ love, my bookhave reached almost al
corners of the country.Each book is a unique
Indian story, about peoplefrom a particular place inIndia. The stories have
worked all over IndiaDoesn’t this mean that, asome level, we are
homogenous? We can and do
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
85/826
empathize with KrishMalhotra’s attempts at getting
married to a girl outside hicommunity (2 States). Areader in Rajasthan can relate
to Madhav Jha’s strugglewith spoken English ( HalGirlfriend ).
As a motivational speaker, have travelled across India;
have visited over a hundredcities in the last three yearsWhile there are geographica
differences, I find tha
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
86/826
ultimately, as Indians, we arethe same.
The average Indiananywhere in the country islooking for a better quality o
life, a certain amount of hopeand security and the freedomto make personal choicesThe issues that really matteto us are the same
Differences exist, but theydon’t run as deep as oupoliticians would have u
believe. A Maharashtrian
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
87/826
father wants a good collegefor his son and doesn’t care
whether his MP is aMaharashtrian. An Assamesegirl wants the freedom to
marry her boyfriend, as doea woman in Karnataka.
This similarity oaspirations, at a fundamentalevel, is what gives me hope
It offers me—and others likeme on a national platform—an opportunity to connec
everyone. While fiction is fun
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
88/826
and entertaining, writers likeme also need to share
common concerns with thepopulation and propose a fewdeliverables.
Making India Awesome
It is my belief and convictionthat if we all come togetherwe really can make our India
awesome. We can have anation that we are proud to bea part of and others choose to
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
89/826
emulate.We will do this by working
on ourselves. The fix is noquick, and it won’t comefrom electing an awesome
messiah at the top. It wilcome from working onseveral aspects of oucountry.
For the sake of simplicity
I’ll divide the workdemanded of us to make Indiaawesome into four main
areas. These are:
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
90/826
Awesome
Governance: Making
our government, politicsand policies rightAwesome Society:
Fixing societal values,culture and habitsAwesome Equality:
Enforcing and respectingminority, gay and
women’s rightsAwesome Resources:
Utilizing our best
resource pool—the
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
91/826
youth
This has been graphicallyrepresented in the chart on thenext page.
My columns over the passix years have tried to addreseach of these four areas; they
have emphasized that ounation will become awesomeonly when we get anawesome report card in each
of these four subjects.
All the noise and fury unti
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
92/826
2014 about corruption and theneed for a change in
government did contribute tothis end, but only partially—to the first part, Awesome
Governance. The other threesegments still need to betackled.
Pushing for equality, a shifin societal values and the
proper utilization of resourcewon’t be easy, and theourney will be long. But I am
excited. After all, how often
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
93/826
do we get to be part of ageneration that can actually
fix the nation?I do believe we can make
India awesome by embracing
a fresh identity—by movingfrom our original positions aSelf-focused IndifferenIndians or Caring but AlignedIndians, and growing into
Caring Objective Indians. believe we can achieve globaeminence by remembering
the lessons of the recent pas
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
94/826
that no law or leader cansolve our problems if we fai
to display some initiative. think we can dream oharmony and happiness if we
celebrate the qualities thabind us as citizens, evenwhile making allowances fodifferences. Most of all, if weunderstand the issues tha
confront India and help otherunderstand them, we wilhave contributed to ou
common goal—making India
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
95/826
one of the greatest countrieon earth. The fact that you
have picked up this bookmeans that you share this goawith me and other readers.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
96/826
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
97/826
I have one request. I neve
write an essay or discuss anIndian problem withouproposing a solution, no
matter how simple tharesolution may sound. I urgeyou to do the same when you
discuss a national issueanywhere. Let us not onlycomplain and whine, buunderstand things and workthem out.
Also, I am not perfect, no
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
98/826
are all my thoughts in everysection in this book perfect
But let this book be a startingpoint. Let it generate moreideas about how we can turn
our shared dream into areality. Disagree with me, buat least have a point of viewabout the problem and asolution in mind. Do that, and
in my eyes you will be what call an awesome reader.And when we will have
enough awesome readers who
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
99/826
care about our countrynothing can stop us from
Making India Awesome!
Love
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
100/826
AWESOME
GOVERNANCEPOLITICS AND
ECONOMY
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
101/826
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
102/826
The cornerstone of any
country, the control roomcontaining the levers thamanipulate the economyand society, is thegovernment. In a
democracy, the governmens born out of politics. The
kind of politics we havehe way voters think andhe kind of people we elec
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
103/826
o sit in the control roomhave a huge impact on the
destiny of our nation.Handling the levers of ou
country is what we calgovernance. It involvesformulating andmplementing policiesaws, rules and regulation
o run our country. Unlesswe make this governance
world class, there is no
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
104/826
way our country canbecome awesome.
Hence, a lot of mywriting revolves around
politics and policiesWherever possible, I try noo blame only thepoliticians. Politicians arereplaceable. What is more
mportant is what we, asvoters, need to change
about ourselves, in ou
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
105/826
everyday behaviour andhinking, to ensure that the
people who enter thecontrol room do indeed
give us awesomegovernance.
In this section, ‘GamesPoliticians Play’ talks abouhow the prejudiced Indian
voter can easily bemanipulated. ‘We the
Shameless’ and ‘Revenge
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
106/826
of the Oppressed’ addresshow corruption doesn’
occur just because opoliticians, but because o
how different classes osociety think and place adifferent importance on thessue. In ‘The Kings in OuMinds’, the Indian mentality
of being over-subservient toour political leaders and its
resultant abuse by them is
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
107/826
discussed.Essays such as ‘Rahul’s
New Clothes, and theNaked Truth’, ‘Swachh
Congress Abhiyan’Seventeen Commandmentsfor Narendra Modi’ andAnalysing the Modi Effectalk more directly of the
dynamics of the mainpolitical parties in ou
nation.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
108/826
Apart from politics, it isequally important to
understand policies. Mywritings on ‘The Telangana
Effect’ (on the division oAndhra Pradesh), ‘Rescuehe Nation’ (on the role ohe bureaucracy), ‘Pro-pooor Pro-poverty?’ (on the
Food Security Bill), ‘Canndia's Backward Polity
Provide a Pro-growth
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
109/826
Economic Environment?(on the state of the Indian
economy), ‘The Tiny-bangTheory for Setting Off Big
bang Reforms’ (on the newgovernment's cautiouseconomic reforms) and ‘ToMake “Make in India”Happen, Delete Control
(on attracting foreignnvestments) talk abou
specific governmen
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
110/826
policies, weighing in on thepros and cons of each.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
111/826
POLITICS
Seventeen
Commandment
for NarendraModi
After a long time, we
have had a stable
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
112/826
L
mandate at the top. Ifthe BJP blows this
opportunity, it will setIndia back by a
decade.
et me forewarn you
dear reader—this is nogoing to be pretty. But, over ayear after the Modgovernment came to power, iis important to take stock o
what needs to be done.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
113/826
Here is a list of seventeenaction points if the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) wants toremain the dominant politicaparty in India. After a long
time, we have had a stablemandate at the top. If the BJPblows this opportunity, it wilset India back by a decadeSo, here goes.
The prime minister,with all due respect, is
floating too high. Come
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
114/826
back to earth. Don’t tryto present an image of a
global statesman. Youwon an anti-incumbencyelection when the
Congress was weak, byincreasing the BJP’svote share by a few
percentage points. Youhave not transformed
India yet. Don’t behappy with just theapplause from non-
resident Indians (NRIs).
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
115/826
If they love you somuch, ask them to pay.
If one lakh NRIs commito paying the BJP $1,000a year, that is a $100
million of clean moneyannually. Use that toclean up party funding.When are you going todo that anyway?
Learn some valuablelessons from your trouncing in the Delhi
elections in 2014. The
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
116/826
results removed the haloaround Modi, or ended
the ‘Modi wave’. Theyshowed that the topleadership was clueless
about the feelings of people on the street, or even their own partyworkers. They also castdoubt on Modi’s ability
to deliver on promises.Get the Lokpal Bill passed. Empower the
Central Bureau of
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
117/826
Investigation (CBI) andCentral Vigilance
Commission (CVC).Clean up corruptionsystemically. Don’t say
that if Modi is there,nobody can be corrupt.What if Modi isn’t theretomorrow?Don’t bully the media
or juniors in the party.Inspire respect, not fear.Don’t be smug. Don’t
kill talent in the party
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
118/826
because it could be athreat to you one day.
It’s not in the BJP’sDNA to be a one-man
party.
Shut up regressiveHindutva fanatics.We’ve heard them talk
poisonous nonsense.You ignore them. They
are your supporters. Youhave to tell them loudand clear this is not
okay. The young
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
119/826
generation doesn’t find icool to support a leader
who doesn’t believe in afree and equal society.Send some of your old-
fashioned partymenabroad to learn aboutgender issues andminority rights. Theywill make you sink
otherwise.Don’t be overconfidentin your speeches. Keep a
circle of critics around
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
120/826
you, not just those whokeep singing ‘Modiji is
awesome’. Everythingyou utter in public must
be pre-checked. A prime
minister cannot be arabble rouser.Dress down. Charisma
comes from integrity,competence and
compassion. Not fromexpensive clothes.Stay connected to, and
do something visible, for
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
121/826
the youth. Theyscreamed for you in the
Lok Sabha elections andfilled their Twitter feedsand Facebook walls with
your praises. What haveyou done for them? Youwent to Shri RamCollege of Commerce togive a speech before the
elections. Have youvisited any college after that? Why not? Are
foreign visits more
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
122/826
important?The party president
may be really clever. Busometimes it isn’t aboutwho is the most clever
but about who genuinelycares. Chess movesdon’t win elections allthe time. A connect with
people does. The party
president, given his perceived persona(which may be at
variance with who he
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
123/826
really is), doesn’t inspireconfidence. You
standing next to him islike Amitabh Bachchanstanding next to Amar
Singh. Did it help Mr Bachchan?Don’t talk down to
people. Talk to people.Don’t address people if
you never want to takequestions. Don’t givemonologues on the
radio. It reminds one of
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
124/826
Indira Gandhi and NorthKorea. It’s not cool. Do
you really think a kid inDelhi University will telhis friends, ‘Hey, can’t
miss that “Mann KiBaat” on radio?’Open more colleges.
Open up tourism.Reduce taxes on high-
employment sectors.Give tax breaks for companies that move
headquarters to smaller
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
125/826
cities. Do anything totake skills and jobs to
the interiors. Fix the primary schools. Theyhave to teach well. Half
our schoolkids can’t read properly.
The cities needextensions with verylow-cost housing
solutions, with goodwater, electricity andtransport infrastructure.
That is the only way the
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
126/826
urban poor can live a lifeof dignity. Give them
dignity. They didn’t votefor you in Delhi,remember? Win them
back.Be real. Have a work–
life balance. Why can’tthe prime minister catcha movie sometimes? Or
eat chaat in Delhisomewhere? Ahumanized prime
minister works better
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
127/826
than a glorified one. No statues, please.
School or statue?Hospital or statue? Noneed to explain further.
No personal attacks onopponents, no matter how punchy the joke or the temptation to say it.Again, run it past those
critical advisers first. No hanging out withrich industrialists. Of
course, you may need to
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
128/826
officially. But it doesn’thave to be a media
event. Hang out with the billion people, not billionaires.
Finally, all of the abovecomes down to the party
listening and acting accordingto the wishes of the people.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
129/826
Games
Politicians Play
If a father buys hischild toffees instead of
books for school, itmay make for ahappy child. But does
it make a goodfather?
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
130/826
L
ike certain flowers tha blossom only in spring
Indian politics comealive, and shows its truecolours, during election time
The strategies adopted bypolitical parties tell you whamatters to people, or answethe elusive question—howexactly do Indians vote?
Certain moves announced bypolitical parties, whetheabsurd, controversial o
unethical, provide you
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
131/826
immense insight into whaworks for the average voter
Even the most rationalmodern-thinking politicianadopt primitive and
regressive measures in tryingto pander to the electorateThey do this for one and onlyone purpose—to win. In factvictory becomes so importan
that they forget, or ignore, thelong-term repercussions otheir actions on our society
and nation as a whole
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
132/826
Whether it is taking in corrupmembers only for the vote
they can procure from theicommunities or announcingunrealistic freebies or quota
on the basis of caste oreligion, politics becomes acircus at the time of elections
If a father buys his childtoffees instead of books fo
school, it may make for ahappy child. But does it makea good father?
For a change, I am no
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
133/826
blaming any of the politicianfor such actions. If we were
in the same situation, perhapswe too would be left with nochoice but to adopt simila
measures. The problem is nowith the politicians, whosimply mirror and adapt tothe environment. The issue iwith the Indian electorate, o
us. The great Indian mind ifilled with prejudiceCenturies of persecution and
discrimination—even in the
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
134/826
present day—on the one handand a belief in the superiority
of one’s own kind on theother, have led to theseprejudices. These in turn have
led to a haphazard democracymore cacophony than
consensus. The ruckus thawe often see in Parliament inothing but a visualization o
the average Indian mind, ochaos and confusion abouwho we really are. Even the
most educated of us are
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
135/826
prejudiced. One simple test oprejudice is this—will you
allow your siblings ochildren to marry outsideyour community or religion?
If your answer is no, then nomatter how much you cheefor the Indian team, stand aattention for the nationaanthem or cheer the Indian
flag, you are prejudiced. Andas long as most of us stayprejudiced, we will have the
confused and mediocre
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
136/826
leadership that we have righnow. No matter how many
fasts activists undertake ogood policies economistssuggest, if we don’t get the
concept of being Indian in ouheads and treat that aboveanything else, we will remaina messed-up country.
Yes, Dalits were treated
badly in the past, and somestill suffer. Muslims were—and some of them still are—
discriminated against
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
137/826
However, things haveimproved. If you shed you
prejudices, they will improveeven faster.
If there were no prejudices
there would be no need fopolitical parties to play thecaste card or to announcequotas within quotas.
If we don’t change
however, we are movingtowards disaster. There wilbe lack of decision-making
inefficiency and a stalling o
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
138/826
progress and growth in oucountry. The young
generation will find it evenmore difficult to get a goodeducation and well-paid jobs
After all, if we choose ouleader based only on thetoffees he gives us, then wesomewhat deserve our fate.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
139/826
Revenge of the
Oppressed:Why CorruptionContinues to Be
Around Despitethe Outcry
Against It
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
140/826
F
Everybody wants to
remove corruption.However, not everyIndian feels it is the
number one priority.
rom speakingengagements to dinnewith friends, one question i
constant: why isn’t corruptiongoing away? The questionbaffles the educated middle
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
141/826
classes. Why is a reasonableuniversal and noble demand
for an honest society sodifficult to achieve in ademocracy? And why is i
that corrupt parties winelections time and timeagain?
Frustrated, the educatedmiddle class comes up with
elitist theories like ‘90 pecent of Indians are stupid’ o‘most voters are dumb’. None
of this is true. The Indian
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
142/826
voter is rational. However, heis rational within his own
framework. It is important tograsp the demographics andsocial context of Indian
voters.Sure, at one leve
everybody wants to removecorruption. Every Indianwould like a clean society
However, not every Indianfeels it is the number onepriority. For a lot of Indians
corruption doesn’t determine
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
143/826
their voting behaviourRemoving corruption i
important to them. Howeverit is not as important as, say(a) one’s identity; (b) thei
safety; and (c) obtainingsome instant gratificationfrom politicians during votingtime.
Clever politician
understand this. They work todeliver on these prioritieand, in return, are allowed to
be corrupt by the voters. Thi
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
144/826
often occurs amongst thesection of voters that ha
historically been oppressed osees itself as a subjugatedminority.
Of course, this is anoversimplified generalizationThe situation is changing. Fothere are Muslim voters olower-caste voters or low
income voters who wancorruption removed morethan anything else. However
a lot of Muslims also vote to
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
145/826
feel safe (hence they mayavoid voting for the BJP)
Many low-income voterwould rather have ‘bird-inhand freebies’ at election time
(as later on the politician wilforget them—a completelyrational view). Similarlymany lower-caste voters mayfeel happy to see thei
community’s candidate inpower, as it makes life seem alittle fairer after generation
of oppression.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
146/826
With such conflictingagendas, the issue o
corruption gets cloudedVoting patterns do showcorruption as a variable
(hence ministers step down)However, it is not the topinfluencer yet. Thus, acorrupt party can enjoy poweas long as it keeps the
oppressed classes happy andcan play Robin Hood to themEvery party knows this; thus
every party is corrupt, though
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
147/826
to varying degrees.In some ways, the
stickiness of corruption is therevenge of the oppressed. It iwe, the educated, usually
upper-class, upper-casteHindus, who are empoweredenough to have higher-ordeneeds of an honest and faisociety. The oppressed won’
let us have it just yet. They dowant to remove corruptionbut they also want certain
injustices fixed and othe
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
148/826
scores settled. For this, theysend agents to power who
might loot the nation, buprotect them and even sharethe booty through the
occasional handout.It isn’t fair to today’
youth, who want acorruption-free India tomaximize opportunitie
above anything elseHowever, there werecenturies of unfairness tha
the oppressed had to bear too
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
149/826
Will it ever change? Yes. Ihas to change because
plunder and redistribution is ahighly inefficient model fosocietal fairness. We are a
poor country. There isn’much to plunder anyway. Thesolution lies in setting asidedifferences for a while. Theupper-caste, upper-clas
Hindus have to let go of theibigotry and prejudice. Theoppressed have to let go o
their justified but expensive
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
150/826
urge for revenge andretribution. All over the
world, the oppressed haveonly risen through selfempowerment—look at the
Jews and the ParsisOppressed community voterare realizing that many otheir current representativeshave harmed the nation, filled
their own pockets and donelittle for them.We are not a nation o
stupid voters. We are simply
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
151/826
a nation where people wandifferent things, and that’
okay. However, removingcorruption will require it to bemade the number one priority
for all Indians. It is a seculaissue, and removing it will bebeneficial to all.
When the roof of the houseis leaky, you need to fix the
roof first rather than fighfamily feuds. We do becomeone during cricket matches
and we did win the World
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
152/826
Cup in 2011. If we canbecome one on this issue o
fighting corruption, we wilbe able to win against it aswell.
Game for it?
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
153/826
T
We the
Shameless
It’s time to stopblaming just our
politicians forcorruption and lookwithin.
ime and time again, wehave seen our politica
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
154/826
parties defend their corrupmembers and even back them
for important posts. Theifirst standard excuse i‘nothing malafide is proven
yet’. The second classicexcuse is ‘look at what otheparties have done’. Thereforea murderer can be spared, along as he can find anothe
murderer.It is important tounderstand why all politica
parties back their corrup
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
155/826
members, despite massiveallegations and enough
circumstantial evidenceagainst such people. Theanswer lies in the way Indian
think. While it is easy toblame politicians, the facremains that our politicianare not ethical because wearen’t ethical. A large numbe
of politicians have lost trackof the idea that everyprofession in this world has
ethics—it may not be illega
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
156/826
to break them but still idefinitely wrong. A docto
must treat his patient as soonas possible, it is assumedunder ethical medica
practice. But if he delaytreatment, it would be hard toprove it illegal. A teachemust try to teach her studentwell, though if she doesn’t, i
won’t be illegal. Societyneeds ethics as much as lawto function well.
The simple, bitter truth i
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
157/826
that the electorate just doesn’care much about financia
impropriety. Sure, we bickermoan and fuss aboupoliticians looting us
However, it is not that highup in the hierarchy of wronga politician could commit. Amoderate amount ocorruption is almost expected
and accepted. It is only whengraft is done in an obvioularge-scale and arrogan
manner that Indians ge
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
158/826
somewhat upset—and thatoo for a short period of time
‘Do it, but don’t be so blatanand rub it in our faces,’ iwhat we seem to be telling
them.Tax evasion, dubiou
accounting and shadyfriendships are almost seen anatural behaviour for an
Indian businessman. Wedon’t see them as crimes. Wetreat them on a par with, say
eating four plates of dessert—
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
159/826
a bit greedy, buunderstandable.
Until we, as a societyreally feel that graft, unethicabehaviour and nepotism are
huge problems, and start totruly care about all of thempoliticians will not change.
Take, for instance, ahypothetical situation. Say, a
prominent politician weninto a temple with his shoeon, with a bottle of alcoho
and kicked the idols. Wha
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
160/826
would happen? Of coursethere would be huge societa
outrage. In our value systemwe hold our religious shrinesextremely dear. Such a person
would never be allowed toremain party president. In alprobability, the person’political career would endovernight.
But this value system doesnot apply when we see shadybusinesses being conducted
state coffers being looted o
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
161/826
politicians placing selfinterest above nationa
interest. Even abuse of poweis something we only talkabout in public. Deep down
we are complicit. We maywant political leaders to noabuse power, but do soourselves. Just take oneexample, the status o
domestic help in India. Howdo Indians treat theidomestic help? Why don’t we
ever talk about a minimum
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
162/826
wage for them? Or perhaps acompulsory day off every
week? When we ourselvehave no qualms abusing oupower, it is difficult to attack
others for doing so.We, the Indian society
need to reflect on who wehave become. Organizationslike the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)which claim to care foIndia’s glory, should be
fixing this by propagating
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
163/826
good values in society. Andparties which claim remova
of corruption as their topmosagenda, like the Aam AadmParty (AAP), should also
send out the message that it ia lack of values within usand not just a few bad guys athe top, that has turned Indiacorrupt.
More than anything, weourselves must change, andsee the sense in doing so. A
society without values canno
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
164/826
survive or function, let aloneprogress. When thi
realization dawns on a largesection of society, politicianswill change. The BJP migh
fire Nitin Gadkari and theCongress might create anuproar to take action againsRobert Vadra.
Right now, they don’t
because they think you, thevoter, doesn’t care. That youwill see Gadkari’
punishment as a slight to the
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
165/826
RSS, or to the community ocaste he belongs to. Similarly
no Congressman will standup for what is right inVadra’s case, as the Congress
voter cares for the Gandhfamily more than for right owrong.
We live in shameless timesWhen long-overdue self
reflection and shame strikeus, India will be ready fochange. We have seen many
exposés on corrupt leaders in
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
166/826
the past few years; it is timewe did an exposé on
ourselves.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
167/826
I
The Kings in
Our Minds
Kings and colonizersleft our country nearly
seven decades ago. Itis time they left ourminds.
remember one afternoonwhen there was a traffic
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
168/826
am on the Western ExpresHighway in Mumbai. This
vital suburban highwayconnects various importanpoints of the city, including
the airport. I, like severaothers on the road, had aflight to catch. On a normaday, it would have taken tenminutes to the terminal
However, that day, the traffichad not moved for over halan hour.
The jam wasn’t due to road
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
169/826
construction or a vehiclemishap. Instead, a few cop
had intentionally stopped thetraffic. ‘VIP movement,’ isall a cop told me when
asked. Some of us begged thecops to let us pass, lest wemiss our flight. The copshooed us away. The strandedcrowd smirked at us, as i
saying how stupid of us toeven try.I saw the faces of people
waiting on their bikes, in cars
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
170/826
buses and autorickshaws. Thelong jam meant literally
thousands of people waitingto move behind us. Peoplewere late for work, busines
meetings, doctor’appointments, social visitand college. Yet, whileeveryone was uncomfortablenobody seemed agitated
either. After all, this was apart of Indian life. A netapasses, the world around ha
to stop.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
171/826
I made frantic calls to theairline staff and managed to
get a boarding pass printedWhen traffic finally cleared, was lucky to make it to the
flight. The airline, aware othe jam, had delayed theplane somewhat. It wouldnow delay other flightelsewhere in India. Despite
this, many passengercouldn’t make it. Thesepeople spent considerable
time, effort and money to
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
172/826
rebook themselves to theidestinations. I had a speaking
engagement in my destinationcity. If I had missed thisflight, the function would
have had to be cancelled.Meanwhile, I assume the
neta arrived in Mumbai, hadpeople salute him, lift hibags and shut his car doors
He would have zipped off onthe highway, on his way tocut a ribbon somewhere or fo
a meeting; probably
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
173/826
important but not terriblyurgent either. If the road had
not been cleared for him, hewould have still reached hidestination, perhaps ten
minutes later (and with amore realistic picture of theroads and traffic in Mumbai)However, to ensure hicomfort, thousands waited fo
an hour, airlines upseschedules and at least oneevent planner in the country
had a panic attack.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
174/826
Who was this VIP? He wasa member of Parliament, a
minister. He was neither theking of India nor the coloniaruler of our country. We
don’t have those anymoreThe person was an electedrepresentative, someonepeople had chosen to do aob. Sure, to handle a ministry
of a large country is not asmall job. He does deserverespect for it. However, doe
respect mean subservience? I
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
175/826
someone has a powerful jobdoes that mean we accept any
form of power abuse fromhim or her? Do we think it iokay for a busy city to stop
ust because some electedleader needs a smooth ride tohis or her meeting? If we doaren’t we at some leveaccepting, and even
becoming accomplices in, thesubjugation?Of course, some would
argue: what other option do
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
176/826
we have? Creating a ruckuon the jammed road would
only create more havoc. Apublic protest could turn intoa mob-like situation, which
isn’t the solution either. Theanswer to power abuse is noanarchy.
So what do we do? Beforewe answer that, we need to
see why our electedrepresentatives continue tothink of themselves as little
monarchs.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
177/826
Our political class inheriteda British colonial system
which had zero accountabilityto the colonized. Quitecleverly, they didn’t change
laws to bring inaccountability, thecornerstone of anydemocracy. Till date, ounetas try to rule us like
colonial rulers and hate anyproposals that reduce theipowers or demand
accountability. No wonde
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
178/826
the Jan Lokpal Bill hasn’t yebeen passed!
While such legal and policybattles continue, a large parof the problem is also the
Indian mindset. We do seethem as our kings. We dothink that ‘they are in powermeans ‘they can do anything’We do not realize that ‘being
in power’ means ‘being inpower only to do things in thenational interest’.
If Indians change thi
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
179/826
mindset, changes to laws andpolicies will follow
Specifically, if a majority ous see and expect netas to beservice providers instead o
rulers, it will trigger a hugebehavioural change in thepolitical class.
How do you changemindsets across the country?
Well, start with yourself, andthen try to change as manyothers as possible. If you
suffer, talk about it. Tex
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
180/826
friends, talk about it on socianetworks and to you
colleagues. Tell everyone iyou witness abuse of powerespecially when your service
provider neta acts like anentitled prince. Sure, theydrive your nation, but just aa hired driver drives a busThe driver cannot star
believing he owns the busThe driver should also knowthat if he doesn’t drive well
he will be removed.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
181/826
So let us work on changingthis mindset if we want a
better India. Kings andcolonizers left our countrynearly seven decades ago. I
is time they left our minds.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
182/826
A
The Telangana
Effect
The answer to India’sproblems is not a new
state. It may be,rather, a new state ofmind.
n endearing, almoscute trait of Indians i
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
183/826
that we never really losehope. We always feel that a
messiah or a great grandscheme will soon come anddeliver us from our woes. It i
a narrative reinforced byBollywood, where somehowa hero works things out in theend. Our mythology, tootalks about good forces (God
with amazing powers comingand killing the evil ones(demons).
It is perhaps due to this
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
184/826
gullibility that many of ufeel that the sure-sho
solution to the miserablecommon man’s life in India ia new state.
Yes, ‘stateitis’ is the newvirus in town, affectingeveryone from the south tothe east to the north. So, whais the latest solution for the
common man’s suffering? Anew state. Not good leadersnot even new leaders, no
new criteria for voting—such
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
185/826
as governance over caste—not an end to identity
prejudice.We will change none o
this. We will simply solve al
our employment, inflationpower, water, safety, healthand education problems withone magic solution—a newstate. If the consequences o
such naïve thinking weren’serious, it would be anothecute, hilarious trait of Indians
However, what we started
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
186/826
with Telangana is somethingso harmful, vile and terrible
we will all regret it in times tocome if we don’t check inow. And that terrible thing i
this: making states agunpoint.
No, making new states inot a problem. In the righcircumstances, it may wel
help. What creates problemare coercive demands for astate, where sections of the
population threaten violence
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
187/826
or strikes and try to gouge oua state for themselves.
However, if we want tostem such movements, iwon’t be through forcibly
shutting them down. It iimportant to understandwhere such demandoriginate, and if somethingcan be done to address the
underlying issues withouconstantly redrawing the mapof the country.
So, why the almost sudden
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
188/826
desire for so many newstates? Well, the demand
seems to be coming from themore economically backwardpockets of the country. The
simple reason is this: peopleare sick of poor governanceand don’t know where to lookfor answers or place theblame. A new state, even if a
flawed idea, seems likesomething new to try.Also, Indians are
prejudiced, aiding such
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
189/826
thought. Many of us Indiansfeel ou
community/religion/caste isomehow superior to others’We also feel a leader from
our own kind will have moreempathy towards us. Hence, anew state seems like areasonable solution.
Of course, this is highly
flawed thinking. For ouprejudice itself is often thereason behind our woes. If we
were not prejudiced, we
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
190/826
would not have voted on thebasis of identity. We would
have chosen instead a leadebased on ability. We didn’twhich in turn led to the
governance mess we findourselves in today.
This bitter truth, of coursedoesn’t cut much ice with uIndians. We never buy stories
involving us takingresponsibility. We neveblame ourselves. It is alway
an external demon, and
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
191/826
usually from anothecaste/community/religion,
that causes our woes. Not us.Unfortunately, caugh
amidst our desperate life
situations and prejudicedminds, we forget the damagepseudo-fixes like new statemay cause. For, no mattewhat your local leader may
tell you about the utopia thawill come after making a newstate, there are many
drawbacks. Here are four.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
192/826
First, small states have littleclout at the centre. Let’s face
it, the chief minister of UttaPradesh carries more clouthan his counterpart in
Tripura. Size matters inpolitics.
Two, it creates separatistalmost anti-nationasentiments that are harmfu
for the country. There werereports of people inTelangana being asked to
move out of the new state. I
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
193/826
new states are created inAssam or West Bengal, there
could be violence. Indianliving peacefully fogenerations could become
adversaries overnight. Howcan this be good for thecountry?
Three, business investorare likely to stay away from a
newly formed stateespecially if the state icreated under volatile
circumstances. This wil
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
194/826
mean fewer new jobs and aworse-off situation for the
new state. Frankly, withouinvestments, no backwardarea can develop. Politician
may yield to shrill voicesinvestors will run away fromthem.
Four, it reinforces andalmost validates something
we Indians should beashamed of—our internaprejudices.
Today, the world is looking
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
195/826
at India to get its act togetherWe, on the other hand, are
busy finding differences andreasons to hate each otherAndhra Pradesh was a
wonderful state by itselfSure, it may have had issuelike any other. Cutting it upmaking many parts of Indiavulnerable and legitimizing
prejudice hardly seems like asmart solution.There’s nothing wrong with
making a few new states, bu
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
196/826
it has to be done on the righterms. The intent has to be
rational and the procesobjective and peaceful. Thereason for making state
should be administrative andnot indulging prejudices. Theanswer to India’s problems inot a new state. It may berather, a new state of mind. A
modern, unprejudicedthinking Indian mind. Can weadd that to the list of new
state demands please?
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
197/826
F
Analysing the
Modi Effect
Figuring Modi outgives us insights into
who we are asIndians.
ew politicians are afascinating as Narendra
Modi. And for nearly a
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
198/826
decade and a half, nopolitician has been a
controversial. Neither has anypolitician been accusedblacklisted, vilified and
treated like a pariah as muchYet he has not only survivedbut thrived.
It has been over a yeasince Modi won the 2014 Lok
Sabha elections. What’amazing is that the criticismhas not stopped even as the
Godhra riots’ censure ha
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
199/826
subsided.Anyhow, one thing is clea
Modi’s political graph hacontinued to rise. Even thealways-righteous-but-not-
always-right Arvind Kejriwalwho has successfullytarnished many reputations sofar—Nitin Gadkari, RoberVadra, Mukesh Ambani
Sheila Dikshit, to name a fewhas been unable to reallypuncture the Modi effect. A
he enters his second year in
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
200/826
office, Modi’s popularity hanot nose-dived, as so often
happens with politicians whoare voted into office withlandslide majorities by voter
who think that these leaderare their new messiahs.
Why is that so? Is it jusModi’s development agenda?Is it a lack of choice? Is i
Modi’s personality andoratory? Or is it his neveroverstated-yet-always-presen
Hindutva stance? Other BJP
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
201/826
leaders have run states well—Manohar Parrikar and Shivraj
Singh Chouhan, for instanceSo why does Modi commanda wild and passionate fan
base like no other BJP leader?Answering these question
is important.First, understanding Modi’
popularity is important for hi
opposition. For nowopponents seem to be helpingModi more than hurting him
Criticism is Modi’s polish
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
202/826
making him shine even more.Second, figuring Modi ou
gives us insights into who weare as Indians.
An aspect mostly
overlooked about Indiansociety is its understatedoften subdued but strongsense of Hindu entitlementSure, our Constitution and
laws are secular. Our publicdiscourse shuns communaarguments, and rightly so
However, this doesn’t mean
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
203/826
the sense of entitlement goeaway.
With an over 80 per cenHindu population, comprisingthe majority of the world’
Hindus, it is nearlyimpossible to eliminate thasense of majority entitlementAdd to that the Congress’sstrategy of turning Muslim
into a vote bank andresponding better to Muslimissues. This triggered the
Hindu sense of dissatisfaction
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
204/826
even more.In this context, a leade
representing Hindu pridefound resonance. This is whymany people do not ascribe
much importance to thehandling of post-Godhra riotswhen it comes to judgingModi. For one, his rolewasn’t clear (and hasn’
legally been proven). Secondto a section of people it fellike retribution.
Of course, this ignores the
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
205/826
fact that the Muslims whoallegedly burnt the train o
organized terror attacks hadnothing to do with theMuslims who suffered during
the riots. However, emotionoften supersede reason and adisgruntled Hindu populacehas mostly pardoned ModiAgain, I make no judgemen
whether this was right owrong, but this is what hahappened.
Third, the reason why Mod
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
206/826
did well is his ability tomanage expectations. He
worked in Gujarat until ishowed at least some goodmetrics. More importantly
Modi never made tall claimbeforehand. He worked hardfirst and marketed himsellater.
Fourth, his personality i
the exact opposite oManmohan Singh’s. Modi ia straight talker and people
like that. They want a prime
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
207/826
minister who has opinionseven if they are not the mos
polished. It doesn’t hurt thaModi has a sense of humourHumour creates connect and
adds charm.Five, Modi represent
practicality. Most Indianknow that while it is good toremove corruption, nepotism
dynasty, oppression owomen and a million othewrongs, it isn’t easy. Thing
change, but slowly and ove
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
208/826
time. The leader manyIndians seek is not idealistic
but someone who can do afairly good job despite themuck in our society.
Finally, Modi was, plainand simple, lucky. RahuGandhi was weak as a majoopponent. The scam-riddenUnited Progressive Alliance
(UPA) decade had upset mosIndians. The arrogance oCongress leaders didn’t help
either. Modi arrived at a time
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
209/826
when people wanted change.It could be luck. Or, as they
say in Hindu terms, it mighust be destiny.
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
210/826
Can India’s
Backward PolityProvide a Pro-
growth
EconomicEnvironment?
We were, and to
some extent still are,
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
211/826
A
in the middle of aneconomic crisis.
bout a decade agoenthusiastic
investment bankers andfinancial research analyst
were tom-tomming the Indiagrowth story. India, they saidhad so much potential, i
could be one of the world’biggest economies in the nexcouple of decades. For this
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
212/826
they used spreadsheemodels, in which they
plugged in a growth rate o8–10 per cent and projected ifor the next thirty years. They
learnt this in businesschools.
Of course, anythinggrowing at a compoundannual rate of 10 per cent wil
become pretty massive inthirty years (17.4 times, to beprecise). Hence, the sharp
minds made an earth
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
213/826
shattering prediction: thaanything growing very fas
will become very big ovetime. Clients of financiainstitutions, seduced by such
a rosy picture about the landof miracles, bought into theidea.
The boring economies oEurope, growing at 1–2 pe
cent, just didn’t carry thespiciness of India. Billioncame into India, and the
sudden rush of money did
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
214/826
lead to some growth. Thegovernment in power took the
entire credit for it. ‘We havecreated growth,’ thegovernment spokesperson
used to say. The party hadstarted.
The analysts were rewardedand flushed with heavybonuses at the end of the
year. Young mergers andacquisitions bankers boughapartments with a slum-and
racecourse view or a slum
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
215/826
and-sea view in Mumbai. Ocourse, the idea was to ignore
the slum and focus on the seaview or the racecourse.
In all this, a few
uncomfortable questions werenever asked. For instancewas the then governmencommitted to providing a probusiness, pro-growth
economic environment? Wasthe Indian polity ready toaccept this new capitalis
system? Are we socialist o
-
8/20/2019 Making India Awesome - Chetan Bhagat
216/826
are we market-driven? Couldwe actually grow so fas
every year, considering thaeach p
top related