Thank you for the lucid explanation. I am deeply grateful to you for choosing and highlighting areas that not sufficiently covered in mainstream media.
What a transformative age we are living in! I never thought I would see this in my life time. What is astonishing is the pace and scope at which it is happening. At one end you have the lives of rural women being transformed thanks to MGNREGA, free rations, toilets, housing etc and on the other end you are seeing young college graduates creating tech solutions to real time problems! The felicity with which technology, especially digital technology, is being used and then adopted by the public, is simply marvelous.
Thank you so much for the kind words. Delighted that you found this useful.
A day after the column was published I teamed up with a friend, Debu, to host a twitter spaces on the very subject. Debu, who has met Naseem Taleb, shared some terrific insights. You may wish to listen in. Sharing the link : https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1BdGYyPykBoGX?s=20
You are absolutely spot on. The pace of change and transformation is staggering. Surprised that some of us can't seem to see this change and still push for status quo.
A new India is born. Good, bad or ugly only history will tell us.
Look forward to your continued participation Laxmi.
Thank you so much for the link on that talk! I was searching for it and I couldn't get it. I'll most certainly listen to it.
Just finished listening to it and thought I will give the feedback right here rather than write an unwieldy thread on Twitter 😅
The discussion was engrossing. Thanks to Debu Mishra for explaining Taleb to us. I was extremely glad that you brought up the concept of jugaad! For me nothing represents resilience as much as jugaad and it is jugaad that keeps us anti-fragile.
I was very impressed by Siddharth Roy and his assertion that products that are coming out of India, like the India Stack, are highly sophisticated and well suited to our ability to mould it to any situation (a more refined jugaad🙃). I sincerely hope that we will never lose our ability for jugaad though it would be a good idea to refine it. But I know for certain that as the country grows richer, and the State streamlines more and more things, we too will come to rely on the system and lose the flexibility of thinking. It is already happening in our children's lives since we are providing them with a more protective and structured environment. In general as soon as we can afford it, we move into colonies with its own power and water supply, security etc. Our traffic is the only thing that makes sure we remain anti-fragile 😂 Like the weightlifting analogy, driving in any of our cities is guaranteed to up the anti-fragility quotient!
As the nation grows richer, as the State manages to organise and regulate the components of our everyday life including things like traffic, public utilities etc we will become less adaptable to change. Remember the stories of the Vikings or the Pilgrim Fathers, the people who colonised Western America. They were resilient and definitely anti-fragile. Would any of them even recognise their descendants now?
I can give you an example from my village: what you wrote has been completely implemented in my village for the past few years, people have shredded their former thinking and are experiencing the change you described.
Very interesting article! The theme of the ET summit says it all, Reimagine Buisness - Reimagine the World! PM is encouraging the global investors to participate in India's growth story.All the anti poverty measures are focused on empowering the poor to contribute to the economy.Lets hope the nation benefits and we reach the target of 5 trillion economy!
Yes the census data is eagerly awaited by all to see the actual changes of this decade!
Thank you. You are spot on. By lifting people out of poverty you are economically empowering them. They are now inside looking out. As stakeholders they will have greater skin in the game. Will improve India's polity too.
Truly enlightened by the concept of "Antifragile" as explained by you Anil. Yes India has "turned poison into medicine", so to say. The combined will of the government, skilled and talented Indian people and weakening of our adversaries has created an environment of rapid growth and stability. Not for a moment should India believe that they have reached their goal but definitely the country is on the highway to becoming a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. The marvelous initiative taken for providing relief to the people of Turkey is a shining example of that. Jai ho 🙏. Please keep us posted Anil. Thank you 😊
Thank you so much Gautam. Indeed there is a happy convergence of circumstances. All of it seems to be coming together for India. And you are so right, India is no were near claiming Mission Accomplished. While the accomplishments since the turn of the Millennium are most impressive, they are at one level only solving for the legacy problems. The real test is to transit India successfully to a developed country status. Fingers crossed.
Anil: You are exploring a very salient line of inquiry. What is happening, in my view, is a consolidation of India as a state and society. With this process is coming greater prosperity and a more integrated structure, if you will. As a result, the government has more “tools” to work with in handling domestic and external crises as they occur. Indeed, I would argue, a lot of the recent domestic and external efforts to trigger unrest/disturbance in India in various ways represent attempts by various actors to test that “anti-fragility”. Having been used to seeing different results in the past in India (i.e., large numbers of people dying in terror attacks, epidemics, natural disasters), and people not liking to be proved wrong, this is causing a lot of consternation in some quarters. But, it’s a competitive world, and it’s to be expected.
Actually, I believe that what you’re describing represents the bearing of fruit from the process that Nehru and his successors all devoutly wished and worked for; namely, India becoming a pivotal force for stability in the world. One can only shudder to think if, right now, in the middle of so much regional and global instability, what the world would look like if India were not exhibiting aspects of “anti-fragility”. That has been true in the past, as well,!in regard to India’s stability (i.e., avoidance of revolutions, etc.), but, now, the impact is far greater, both at home and abroad. It is going to lead to greater regional and global influence and responsibility. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. New challenges, opportunities await. We are all thankful that you will be there to chronicle all of that.
Thank you for your thoughts. Couldn't agree with you more.
As a friend just shared his response on WhatsApp, one additional factor working in India's favour is the sharp improvement in state capacity--this was often a handicap in the past as it was found wanting to deal with challenges.
Agree that is continuity with change. History does not begin at any point of time. At the same time, it is also a fact that pushing the reforms of the last few years as required the burning of precious social capital. All this has helped. The digital economy has streamlined India, adding more bang to the buck as it were. Improved plumbing is providing amazing gains--mostly intangible, yet very significant.
Yes, every year will bring new challenges and opportunities. If indeed India is antifraglie then no cause for worry.
Regardless we can't deny that India today stands fundamentally transformed.
Thank you for the lucid explanation. I am deeply grateful to you for choosing and highlighting areas that not sufficiently covered in mainstream media.
What a transformative age we are living in! I never thought I would see this in my life time. What is astonishing is the pace and scope at which it is happening. At one end you have the lives of rural women being transformed thanks to MGNREGA, free rations, toilets, housing etc and on the other end you are seeing young college graduates creating tech solutions to real time problems! The felicity with which technology, especially digital technology, is being used and then adopted by the public, is simply marvelous.
Dear Laxmi,
Thank you so much for the kind words. Delighted that you found this useful.
A day after the column was published I teamed up with a friend, Debu, to host a twitter spaces on the very subject. Debu, who has met Naseem Taleb, shared some terrific insights. You may wish to listen in. Sharing the link : https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1BdGYyPykBoGX?s=20
You are absolutely spot on. The pace of change and transformation is staggering. Surprised that some of us can't seem to see this change and still push for status quo.
A new India is born. Good, bad or ugly only history will tell us.
Look forward to your continued participation Laxmi.
Best
Anil
Thank you so much for the link on that talk! I was searching for it and I couldn't get it. I'll most certainly listen to it.
Just finished listening to it and thought I will give the feedback right here rather than write an unwieldy thread on Twitter 😅
The discussion was engrossing. Thanks to Debu Mishra for explaining Taleb to us. I was extremely glad that you brought up the concept of jugaad! For me nothing represents resilience as much as jugaad and it is jugaad that keeps us anti-fragile.
I was very impressed by Siddharth Roy and his assertion that products that are coming out of India, like the India Stack, are highly sophisticated and well suited to our ability to mould it to any situation (a more refined jugaad🙃). I sincerely hope that we will never lose our ability for jugaad though it would be a good idea to refine it. But I know for certain that as the country grows richer, and the State streamlines more and more things, we too will come to rely on the system and lose the flexibility of thinking. It is already happening in our children's lives since we are providing them with a more protective and structured environment. In general as soon as we can afford it, we move into colonies with its own power and water supply, security etc. Our traffic is the only thing that makes sure we remain anti-fragile 😂 Like the weightlifting analogy, driving in any of our cities is guaranteed to up the anti-fragility quotient!
As the nation grows richer, as the State manages to organise and regulate the components of our everyday life including things like traffic, public utilities etc we will become less adaptable to change. Remember the stories of the Vikings or the Pilgrim Fathers, the people who colonised Western America. They were resilient and definitely anti-fragile. Would any of them even recognise their descendants now?
I can give you an example from my village: what you wrote has been completely implemented in my village for the past few years, people have shredded their former thinking and are experiencing the change you described.
Thank you Balasurya for sharing the example. Would help if you could identify the village and help readers understand that this is not all talk.
Look forward to your continued partcipation.
Best
Anil
Interesting topic to write - comprehending the meaning of anti- fragile ! Thanks
Dear Balesh,
Thank you for your thoughts. Glad you liked it. Look forward to your continued interventions.
Best
Anil
Very interesting article! The theme of the ET summit says it all, Reimagine Buisness - Reimagine the World! PM is encouraging the global investors to participate in India's growth story.All the anti poverty measures are focused on empowering the poor to contribute to the economy.Lets hope the nation benefits and we reach the target of 5 trillion economy!
Yes the census data is eagerly awaited by all to see the actual changes of this decade!
Dear Vandana,
Thank you. You are spot on. By lifting people out of poverty you are economically empowering them. They are now inside looking out. As stakeholders they will have greater skin in the game. Will improve India's polity too.
Best
Anil
Truly enlightened by the concept of "Antifragile" as explained by you Anil. Yes India has "turned poison into medicine", so to say. The combined will of the government, skilled and talented Indian people and weakening of our adversaries has created an environment of rapid growth and stability. Not for a moment should India believe that they have reached their goal but definitely the country is on the highway to becoming a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. The marvelous initiative taken for providing relief to the people of Turkey is a shining example of that. Jai ho 🙏. Please keep us posted Anil. Thank you 😊
Thank you so much Gautam. Indeed there is a happy convergence of circumstances. All of it seems to be coming together for India. And you are so right, India is no were near claiming Mission Accomplished. While the accomplishments since the turn of the Millennium are most impressive, they are at one level only solving for the legacy problems. The real test is to transit India successfully to a developed country status. Fingers crossed.
Best
Anil
Thanks for the article. Its more than just "silver lining" :-)
Thank you VK.
Anil: You are exploring a very salient line of inquiry. What is happening, in my view, is a consolidation of India as a state and society. With this process is coming greater prosperity and a more integrated structure, if you will. As a result, the government has more “tools” to work with in handling domestic and external crises as they occur. Indeed, I would argue, a lot of the recent domestic and external efforts to trigger unrest/disturbance in India in various ways represent attempts by various actors to test that “anti-fragility”. Having been used to seeing different results in the past in India (i.e., large numbers of people dying in terror attacks, epidemics, natural disasters), and people not liking to be proved wrong, this is causing a lot of consternation in some quarters. But, it’s a competitive world, and it’s to be expected.
Actually, I believe that what you’re describing represents the bearing of fruit from the process that Nehru and his successors all devoutly wished and worked for; namely, India becoming a pivotal force for stability in the world. One can only shudder to think if, right now, in the middle of so much regional and global instability, what the world would look like if India were not exhibiting aspects of “anti-fragility”. That has been true in the past, as well,!in regard to India’s stability (i.e., avoidance of revolutions, etc.), but, now, the impact is far greater, both at home and abroad. It is going to lead to greater regional and global influence and responsibility. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. New challenges, opportunities await. We are all thankful that you will be there to chronicle all of that.
Dear Shiv,
Thank you for your thoughts. Couldn't agree with you more.
As a friend just shared his response on WhatsApp, one additional factor working in India's favour is the sharp improvement in state capacity--this was often a handicap in the past as it was found wanting to deal with challenges.
Agree that is continuity with change. History does not begin at any point of time. At the same time, it is also a fact that pushing the reforms of the last few years as required the burning of precious social capital. All this has helped. The digital economy has streamlined India, adding more bang to the buck as it were. Improved plumbing is providing amazing gains--mostly intangible, yet very significant.
Yes, every year will bring new challenges and opportunities. If indeed India is antifraglie then no cause for worry.
Regardless we can't deny that India today stands fundamentally transformed.
Look forward to your continued participation.
Best
Anil