Author: Romesh Diwan
Publication:
Date:
Prime Minister Atal Vajpayee's
US visit has highlighted Indo-US relations. Clinton's India visit
last year brought a real change. For the first time Indo -US relations
moved to the positive quadrant. Vajpayee's towering international
stature and sagacity has given it a very strong push forward. The
prospects for long term better Indo-US relations based on equality and
mutuality of interests have never been better. These positive relations
can be sustained, even accelerated if anchored in economic interests.
One of the primary factors
is the emergence of a major undercurrent in US perceptions about India
and Indian-Americans. Indian-Americans are responsible for this undercurrent.
Majority Indian-Americans came to the US in early 1960s with 10 dollars
in their pockets. They flocked to the universities for graduate and
professional degrees and established themselves as skilled professionals:
doctors, engineers, professors, etc. They worked long hours, concentrated
on achieving professional success and bringing up their families.
Because of professional jobs, they earned well. Long hours meant
little time for expensive consumption. Their bank balances grew.
In the office, they did their work diligently, meekly, sincerely, and well.
They brought with them their perceptions and prejudices from their Indian
missionary school education. One of the prejudices they had learnt
was that India and Indian are second class to the Western white.
This prejudice came handy as they accepted their second class status and
tolerated many discriminations they suffered on the job, and sometime outside.
It helped them to obey American authority, be grateful for having a well
paying job, not expect more and not make waves. Publicly, they supported
American prejudices about India being a poor, irrelevant and superstitious
country. Privately, they helped Americans appreciate India one at
a time. US professional life, inspite of good salaries, is stressful.
Outward acceptance of second class citizenship added more stress.
They sought refuge in families and religious heritage; even if they didn't
have the courage to admit it publicly. Temples provided a great help
to bear this stress and a place to bring up their families.
Over the last 30 years,
two major changes have taken place. One, this generation has arrived.
They have reached the pinnacles of their profession, drive expensive automobiles,
live in the most upper class houses, and amassed 7 - 8 figure bank accounts.
Their children have gone to expensive and prestigious schools. As
they reach their retirement age, they find that they are no nobody and
have no influence either in the community or the larger American society.
This hurts, all the more because of material and professional "success."
They are learning that all influential jobs are political and in America
political influence is for sale. Slowly they are realizing that to
buy political influence, it is necessary to have community unity.
Now they are recognizing the high cost of the missionary school education.
They resent that they and their country are second class. This prejudice
and attitude is divisive of the community thereby making their task of
buying political influence harder. They now feel the need, and seek,
a heritage which gives them a sense of pride. They are now receptive
to Vedic ideas, VHP and messages from swamis.
Two, there is the emergence
of a new breed of two type of Indian - Americans. First, are the
software engineers and dot.com entrepreneurs. In the information
age, they wield influence. They have therefore both bank accounts
and confidence. Second, are the first generation, now in their thirties
and forties who have, gone to expensive high schools where they met white
American on an equal basis and, acquired degrees from elite universities
and high quality skills. Many of them are in good paying jobs.
Unlike their parents, they have no hang-ups of accents or being second
class. They are accustomed to live in upper class surroundings and
are well aware of inheriting large fortunes. They are ambitious,
competent, confident and young. They smell that they can reach any
height and are ready to change their status from their parents' second
class to first class. Yet they have the brown face and have experienced
discrimination. Their major need is to transform their brown face
by gaining a pride in their heritage. They find support from two
three million highly educated and articulate white Americans who call themselves
Hindus. They are looking at their heritage with renewed interest.
They are VHP members and formed the major group in the 5,000 + - largest
ever - audience at New York reception for Vajpayee and Dharamguru's on
September 9, 200.
Indian-Americans have
initiated the process to change US perceptions about India and Indian-Americans.
It is already taking place among the intellectuals and policy makers.
Political leaders now regularly call India-Americans as an important and
exemplary immigrant group. They have done the ground work.
Today they are providing India an unique and major opportunity both to
gain large share of the US market and develop long term positive relations;
as with Israel and West European countries. In return they seek that
India provide them with a sense of pride.
The ball is now in India's
court. It alone can lift the undercurrent and bring it to surface.
To gain US market share and satisfy the needs of these Indian - Americans,
India must first and foremost give up a long held myth: namely, culture
and heritage don't mix with business. The reality is: heritage, specially
Vedic heritage, is a big business. Vedic heritage provides large
business opportunities; such as, Vedic math in information technology,
Ayurvedic medicine, Bio in Biotechnology, Herbal know-how, Yoga for stress
management, Astrological healing, Indian cuisine, Children stories from
Purans, Dying in America, etc. In all, and many others areas like
this, India has a comparative advantage. In Gita, Lord Krishna assures
the devotees that all their needs will be taken care of. If Vedic
knowledge can lead to "moksha," it can also help in the much simpler goal
of "artha ;". the paths, no doubt, are divergent. It is not
an accident that Vedic was the golden age and "the wonder that was India."
It is not possible in
a short note to provide detail of these markets. A few examples suggest
magnitudes involved. Let's us look at 3 of the emerging market trends
in the US where India has a comparative advantage. 1. US spends
18 percent of its GDP on health care; around two trillion dollars a year;
yet it is rated 37th on WHO's performance scale. Not surprisingly,
this is the hottest political issue today. The Western medical scientific
system is virtually hitting a ceiling. Westerners, and their companies,
are frantically looking for alternatives. It 's no accident that
Deepak Chopra, not Amatya Sen, is the best seller. If Indian Ayurvedic
establishment gets its act together, there is no reason why India can't
get a 20 percent share in this market. In other words, India has
an opportunity to earn, annually, about half a trillion dollars form this
US market alone. 2. US population is aging. There are
70 million baby boomers who will be in late sixties in a decade, They will
easily spend ten to twenty thousand dollars per capita to improve the quality
of their old age. This is bound to be a multiple trillion dollar
market. US has no idea of how to deal with old age while Vedic knowledge
provides excellent wisdom. Translating this wisdom into business
can provide India an opportunity to gain a market share that earns another
half trillion dollars annually. 3. Yoga for stress management
is estimate as two hundred billion dollar business in the US and growing.
Indians have the greatest advantage. Unfortunately, they lack pride
in their heritage and are unable to gain even 1% of this market, They have
virtually given it away. Given India's glorious heritage, they still
have an advantage and can gain back 60 to 70% of this market; i.e.
about $100b. If one looks at most of such markets, there is a large
potential to help US in its many problems and earn a trillion or more annually.
Placing it in perspective,
India's current earning from US market is pocket change. At present
we are selling India short and cheap. India's policies, therefore,
lack both competence and vision. Under the euphemism of tourism India
sells her daughters/wives as prostitutes, and promotes criminality, for
pocket change. Similarly, for a pocket change, India sells bodies
of its people, pollutes its environment, and perpetuates poverty through
exploitation by producing minerals and other goods for export. Again,
India need not export food to earn pocket change.
To gain larger shares
in the growing markets requires vision and a long term strategy because
it involves a fundamental change in outlook and a large investment.
There are three necessary condition. One, and the most important,
Indians must have a high degree of self esteem and self confidence.
That can come only if we have a sense of pride in our heritage, a strong
feeling of nationalism and respect for every one with an Indian face.
This is something India lacks badly. This is not only a requirement
for gaining larger US market share and stronger Indo-Us relations but also
necessary for the new Indian-Americans; India owes it to them morally.
Two, educated Indians must have a very good understanding of authentic
Vedic culture and philosophy. This is possible only, and only if,
they have a strong grounding in Sanskrit. Three, Indians must develop
a capacity for making Vedic cultural ideas relevant to current global order.
All these three conditions are complimentary with each other. Interestingly,
these have been the recommendation of every giant Indian. Sri Aurobindo
called it "Nationalism." Vivekananda expressed it as: "gaurav se kaho main
Hindu hoon." For Gandhi's this is "Swadeshi."
In 1835 Macaulay formulated
a major policy to change Indian education system which has kept India and
Indians second class by creating what Devan Nair, former President of Singapore,
calls, "Neo colonial captive minds." The time is ripe for a bold policy
to design the Indian education system that will make Indians and India
first class. The returns to this investment are immense. This
policy involves "Sanskritization of Indian education" over the next 20
years. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi's reforms reflect this vision.
Indian government today has the highest quality leadership who can easily
understand and appreciate this vision and opportunity. Leaders can
only guide. Yet, any major change requires political power.
It is the ruling class that has the political power; democracy and mass
power are myths. The question is: can India's ruling class recognize
this newly emergent opportunity and a grand national vision for a future
India ?
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Romesh Diwan, Professor
of Economics
Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, Troy, NY 12180
diwanr@rpi.edu
