THE INDIAN DREAM

Not so many decades ago, there lived a young boy in a small village in Tamil Nadu. One day while returning from school, he noticed a lot of hullabaloo in the village. One coming home, he found that his uncle had just come back from the United States and the village was celebrating his return. He brought gifts for the elders of the village, clothes for the ladies, toys for the young and fine scotch for all the men. On seeing his uncle doing so well, the young boy decided that day that he too would work hard and go to the USA, the land that would fulfill all his dreams, and banish his family’s state of poverty forever. He studied hard at school, did his engineering at MIT (Madras Institute of Technology) and finished his degree with the highest results and he could see the day his dream was to be a reality drawing closer. When it became time for him to leave his land for further shores, something held him back. He found that in order to fulfill his dreams, he needn’t travel across the seven seas. His dream was to become a reality right here in India.

For many long years that one can remember, people emigrated to the United States of America in search of a successful and satisfying life, a life sans discrimination, poverty and unemployment; factors they usually faced in their own country. They were in search of the American Dream. The Dream guaranteed them a better life, one where they were successful, had a higher standard of living, and could basically hold their heads high whilst raking in the ‘big bucks.’

But all that has changed in the recent past. In his book The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman writes that due to globalisation and an immense amount of opportunities opening up in countries not even considered earlier; the world slowly ceases to be round, and in turn is getting flattened. He also states that there are immense amounts of intellectual wealth to be found in countries such as India… and very rightly so. The winds of change are now blowing east and the world in entirety is waking up and taking note of India.

This is the Indian Dream. India is a country that will have been independent for 60 years this August. It may still be very young but it has come a long way from the British Raj. The opportunities that have opened up in the past decades thanks to First World nations outsourcing jobs, and the tremendous IT and BPO boom, Indians have not only lapped it up but also proven to the world where they stand.

But these aren’t the only factors. Here are a few reasons why the world dreams the Indian Dream. The economy of India is the fourth largest in the world as measured by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$ 35.47 billion (approx.). It is also the second fastest growing major economy in the world, with a GDP growth rate of 9.2% at the second quarter of 2006-2007. Add to this a world-class Information Technology infrastructure, the sector generating annual revenues of around US$ 36 billion.

With a new dawn is born a new generation. Another prime factor in the Dream becoming a reality is the growing percentage of Indian youth. By 2020, India will be the world’s youngest nation with 60% of the population in the age group of 25 -35 years. The youth today have crossed far more frontiers than their predecessors at the same age; far more politically aware, with a mature, global outlook, and a fiery spirit fuelled by the will cease the moment, the Indian youth look unto the world, challenging it for all its worth.

Another reason fuelling the Dream in the recent past is a sharp trend of people from outside migrating to India in search of better jobs, better standards of living, and far better educational prospects. A vast array of students, not only from countries in Africa, but also from the European Union, and the United States (the former Dream destination) have been coming to the country, falling in love with its vibrant and growing culture and not wanting to leave at the end of their educational terms. But this change hasn’t taken place only because of only education and IT. Industries such as tourism, medicine and many others are huge contributors.

All these above factors given, there is no reason that India in the near future will be still known as Third World. It will soon leave behind the blemishes of the past and head towards a much brighter future.

Cheers India! To a new dawn… to a new nation.