Mediocrity is the default option

There are so many reasons for India continuing even today to make the ranks of a developing country but one of the most important ones could be the acceptance, and sometimes even celebration, of mediocrity in nearly all spheres of our society. Striving for excellence is taking the hard call, so, make do with the ordinary, the mediocre or worse, even Jugaad (Hindi term for ‘make-do somehow’). A natural corollary to this mental make-up is the ‘chalata hai’ (Hindi for “anything goes”) attitude. That attitude will do if the presently low standard of development is to be maintained but not for making a quantum improvement in any field.

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