The Culture of Five Positives

Despite about 10 thousand crore a year spent on Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs), their contribution to cutting edge technological research is almost zero. They are, at best, great seats of learning at the undergraduate level. For pursuing higher studies in science and technology and doing research, IIT graduates and, to a large extent, those from NITs, even today, choose to go to the United States and other advanced countries and almost everyone of them is lost to this country for ever. This sad state of affairs can be allowed to continue only at the nation's great cost as it has only remained a technology-taker and buyer for all 72 years of Independence and for 68 years since the first IIT was established at Kharagpur. Time, therefore, has come when all IITs and NITs were turned into research universities pursuing serious technological and scientific research. How it should be done, we will see below. B.Tech. should be made...

यह पूछे जाने पर कि क्या कारण है कि स्वतन्त्रता के 72 वर्ष बाद , कुछ क्षेत्रों में स्पष्ट प्रगति के बावजूद , भारत आज भी विकासशील देशों में शामिल है , एक वयोवृद्ध सज्जन , जो भारतीय गणराज्य के प्रथम 40 वर्षों में 38 वर्ष एक अखिल भारतीय सेवा के सदस्य रह चुके हैं , का उत्तर था , "हमारा डीएनए ही गड़बड़ है." किन्तु ऐसा बिलकुल नहीं है , हम भारतीयों का डीएनए वैसा ही है जैसा अन्य देशों के निवासियों का , परंतु दोष है पिछली दो-तीन शताब्दियों में हमारे देश में पनपी और बढ़ी सामाजिक एवं कार्य संस्कृति का. कुछ सम्माननीय अपवादों को छोड़ दें तो यह संस्कृति बेईमानी , अतिशयोक्ति , स्वयं अपने को भी धोखा देने , गैर-ज़िम्मेदारी , कानून तोड़ने , अनुशासनहीनता और कार्य में अयोग्यता एवं अकुशलता की बन गई है. यदि भारत को 138 करोड़ भारतीयों की प्रतिभा एवं उनको मिल रहे अवसरों के साथ न्याय करना है तो पूरे देश में वर्तमान में व्याप्त नकारात्मक संस्कृति के स्थान पर चार सकारात्मकताओं - सत्यनिष्ठा या ईमानदारी , श्रेष्ठता , कानून का पालन , और ज़िम्मेदारी - की संस्कृति को लाना होगा. आगे , हम इन चार सक...

On the 30th last, I was chief guest at a function of the ONGC Videsh-promoted Integrity Club at the Sun Valley International School, Kaushambi (Ghaziabad). There, along with the General Manager (Vigilance) of the ONGC Videsh, I judged an Open Mic speech competition in Hindi and English on the topic 'हम बदलाव ला सकते हैं' or 'We can bring about a change', and then gave a talk, as can easily be guessed, on the Culture of four Positives and how adopting it will help the students personally and also in their collective efforts to help India develop. On Excellence, I spoke about the Japanese practice of Kaizen or continuous improvement and also on Dave Blairsford's philosophy of aggregation of marginal gains which on being put into practice has been working unbelievable wonders for the British cycling team. I also touched upon Law-abidingness liberating creativity and ingenuity to work for nation-building. Lastly, I told the audience that the challenge before India is...