When I first started thinking about The Indian Dream the other night, I was struck by the historical significance that makes it markedly different from the American one:
The American Dream originated with a mass emigration to a new land, a (relatively) sparsely populated land of opportunity… The Indian Dream is happening in one of the most populated countries in the world.
This factor will play a defining role in how The Indian Dream plays out — whether many or few will achieve it, let alone how, depends on how this seemingly-emerging mindset meshes with the existing culture. Aravind Adiga, in an article on Time.com, writes about the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor… one that will only grow without some sort of intervention.
Efficient ships allowed the European cultures to enter the Americas, providing them with new land, which then became a new opportunity… Could cheap, efficient data transfer and storage mechanisms be India’s Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria? And, if so, will the Old World successfully mix with the New World this time around?
A note to all of you budding entrepreneurs reading this blog: this could be your chance to be the next Rockefeller or Carnegie. What does India need that you could provide?
Then again, it might amount to nothing. That’s the thing about risk: it’s risky. Still, I’m already looking into how I can provide value…
