BRICS Business Magazine English Edition No.4(15)

Sometimes, if a discussion calls for it, I’ll show my companions a short video of Bollywood star and TV presenter Amitabh Bachchan. His baritone voice is recognizable to over a billion people, and so his words are chosen meticulously. His subject is the two Indias. One India is straining at the leash. The other India is the leash. One India asks to be given a chance to prove itself. The other India says that you must prove yourself first, and then you’ll have the chance. One India lives in the optimism of our hearts, while the other lurks in the skepticism of our minds. One India leads, while the other is only capable of following.

Dramatic? Absolutely. In fact, Bachchan goes on to say that while the world isn’t looking, a new and dynamic India is being born, and more and more people are coming over to her side. The message is clear, and we should not shy away from excessive pathos. India is an astonishing country, which in just a few decades, has dragged itself out from a state of complete disarray to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world. What is required to continue this advance? Faith and optimism. Some may say this is a naive statement, but in my experience, it is your attitude and integrity that make or break complex and long-term projects.

It’s unlikely that you can set goals, make plans, and implement them, over a period of 15 to 20 years if you are full of skepticism and pessimism. I am not a theoretician or a social psychologist, but a practical person, and I am absolutely convinced of the necessity of thinking positively. Otherwise, there is no point engaging in business, government work or charity. This is equally true for the new India, as it is for Russia, Brazil, and many other countries. Whether the video inspires you or not, it explains wonderfully the problems facing all developing and some developed economies – a deficit of optimism and a surplus of grumbling and complaints. And India, in the meantime, as Amitabh Bachchan reminds us, is changing from a country that once boycotted foreign-made goods into a country that now buys the companies that make these products.