We present our argument in favor of the statement that India must first prevail over Hindustan in the path to global dominance. We have hereby defined what we mean by global dominance and Hindustan and proceed with our argument.

Global Dominance

While Global dominance is a broad topic and can be interpreted in many ways, we have broadly classified it into three major components – significant economic wealth, adequate military power, and soft power. By significant economic wealth, we refer to a situation where poverty and other pressing privations are removed and the country is able to use its market size and power to protect the interests of its citizenry in international settings. Adequate military power is required for safeguarding the nation against threats, both internal and external to the country. Soft power refers to the ability of a nation to co-opt other countries and cultures rather than coercing them through threats of military might or the inducements of economic payments, both of which can be classified as hard power. Soft power arises as a result of being able to attract other countries and the ability to change the preferences of others (Nye, 2004). An important aspect here is that the role that governments can directly play to increase the soft power of a nation is quite limited. While traditionally global dominance has been viewed as hegemony, imperialism, or superpower, the current important happenings around the world such as global terrorism, economic sustainability, and the adjunct need for a global approach to solving issues dictate this new integrative definition of global dominance.

Hindustan

Hindustan is the culture and mindset of our people which has evolved over a long history of more than 3000 years culminating in today’s realities. While there are several strengths such as richness of diversity, cultural heritage and the power of intellect, we feel that there are ways in which the ill effects of “Hindustan” hamper India’s path towards global dominance by affecting at least one of the three ingredients discussed above. In the course of the debate, we have discussed the factors that illustrate how the ill-effects Hindustan either directly or indirectly hampers the progress of India.

Whither Tolerance?

Traditionally ours has been a very tolerant society. The native population absorbed various people who have come here, and have lived amicably – be it the Muslims who settled after the Mughal invasion, or the Parsees, and the Christians. Moreover the country has witnessed the rise of other religions like Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism and surprisingly even atheism as a part of Hinduism (Carvaka). Secularism has been in our country’s DNA and must be strongly encouraged in our march towards global dominance. Soft power – which includes the richness of diversity, strength of tolerance and power of intellect – has been our strength and is crucial in the path towards global dominance. Infighting in the name of religion diverts productive energy towards destructive purposes. Communal organizations and religious political parties use this for their electoral advantage. Notable cases have been the Anti-Sikh Riots in 1984, Bhivandi-Bombay Anti-Muslim Riots allegedly instigated by Shiv Sena, and the Rath Yatra undertaken by L.K.Advani in 1992 (Engineer, 2000). Not only does perpetuating of communal terror for the so called establishment of Hindustan lead to insecurity of the citizens and minorities in particular, but there is tremendous waste of energy, property, resources and man power. Campaigns such as “do not buy from Muslim shops” (A.S.Pannerselvan, 1998), while may seem ridiculous, still exist in parts of India and is akin to the Nazi campaign and can dent the country’s soft power.

Low Risk-taking Propensity

In today’s economic system, entrepreneurs play a crucial role in a society by creating wealth and providing employment to citizens. According to researchers, the most important traits of entrepreneurs are risk-taking propensity, innovativeness, achievement orientation, and managerial skills. Both structural and socio-cultural factors play a role in how people acquire these traits. The risk taking propensity of Indians has been found to be low. In addition to factors such as uncertainty in the general environment, cultural factors such as the encouragement and support offered by family and facilitator organizations seem to hamper risk taking (Shradha Shivani, 2006). In fact, the traditional joint family system is seen as a factor in explaining India’s retarded economic growth (Tripathi, 1992). This doesn’t mean that the traditional family system in India has to be dismantled to promote entrepreneurship. However, it does mean that the challenge of building an environment that is conducive to accepting failure is definitely higher.

Not aiming Big

Dhirubhai Ambani once famously said, “Indians have lost the art of dreaming big” (Piramal, 1996). Be it an MNC that has made it to the Fortune 500 or a nation that is at the apex of global dominance, thinking big is quintessential. However an attitude that has existed amongst the people has been to stay satisfied with whatever one possesses. The attitude of “Sab Chalta Hai” exists among the people in our country and must be relieved. Eminent personalities including J.R.D.Tata and Jawaharlal Nehru have been irritated by this “Sab Chalta Hai” attitude of people. If India that aims to achieve its status for global dominance must not be satisfied with good, as James C Collins says, “Good is the enemy of great”.

Superstitions and Ascriptions to the Supernatural

Ascription of the outcome of events in the life of individuals to supernatural forces and “actions in past births” are evil effects that still remain among our people. These ideas probably made sense of life at an age when science and the spirit of enquiry were still nascent. Their deep rooted nature in the Indian society is clear from how technology, which is the manifestation of scientific knowledge and techniques has married these existing customs in the form of television programmes on horoscope, fortune messages on SMS, and performance of caesarean sections so that a child is born at a specific ‘auspicious’ time (Singh, 2007). Crimes against women and refusal to take medicines are still observed in parts of the country. Any nation which aspires to dominate the global stage in the 21^st century needs to be forward looking and promoting scientific enquiry which starts at the level of individuals and communities. While India has covered significant ground in this direction there is still a long way to go.

The Global Indian Manager

According to an Executive Director of Tata Sons, (Gopalakrishnan, 2002) Indians are naturally adept at multi cultural tasking, a key component of global dominance. An Indian dons various roles in a day that contrast each other. At home, he speaks in his native language, chants a few prayers, and gets ready for work. At work in his natty suits he speaks quite fluently in English in a board meeting. Equally at ease is the same person in casuals at a pub in the evening. The strong cultural bond that has nourished Indians over the years makes Indians naturally adept at multi-cultural tasking. However, the constant tirade against opportunities for people belonging to a particular community, religion or region induces hatred and strips Indians off the natural advantage that they possess. The vehement tirade against Sonia Gandhi by the BJP inducing xenophobia (Deshpande, 1999) or the violence induced by Raj Thackeray against students appearing for railway examinations in Mumbai from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (Raj Thackeray chargesheeted in railwa examinees assault case, 2009) are shameful to say the least. These are definitely aspects in which Hindustan is misused, that India must quickly get rid on its march towards global dominance.

The Easy Way Out – Caste based reservations!!

Indians are well known for taking the easier way out in most situations. The way reservations have been implemented in education, employment, and politics is a case in point. While we feel that reservations are very essential for providing opportunities to sections of society who have been socially discriminated against for centuries, currently, it has become a prize to be secured in competitive politicking. In the long run, when the communities for which reservations are provided reach the equivalent of the other communities, it might be nearly impossible to retreat the policy in India’s democratic framework. Also, something that is intended in reducing the differences between caste groupings ends up reinforcing the same. The current method of implementation has been done even when better alternative methods based on economic parameters suggested by scholars such as Yogendra Yadav (Yadav & Deshpande, 2006)aren’t even taken up for discussion by the decision makers. From these larger issues to smaller ones such as bribing a traffic constable to escape paying a fine, the whole system is caught up in a bad equilibrium.

Conclusion

Based on the above arguments, we conclude that to attain the status of global dominance, there is a need to shed the ill effects of Hindustan. India has tremendous potential to tread the path towards global dominance, however there is a need to sustain the advantages and leave the ill effects of Hindustan behind to suit the modern world.