Mark Tully opens the book with his experience of Ambassador ride back in the 80s in Yamunanagar. The car broke down because there was a radiator leak, the mechanic fixed the leak 'temporarily' by putting turmeric powder. Does this happen in India? Very much! Mark Tully has stitched together the various dangers ahead for us as a nation, which we need to tackle effectively to make the "India story" a reality.
Mark Tully doesn’t shy away from bringing out the harsh realities that we are today facing as a nation. He very rightfully points out that the Jugaar approach - coined by Swaminathan Aiyar as a positive spin Indian to innovate isn't necessarily the right thing because jugaar also attributes to taking shortcuts, shoddiness and a "quick" fix. The book brings out the fact that numbers are not what they should be - according to WHO, people with 1 dollar income in India are considered below the poverty line and we have 42 percent of people below poverty line in India. However, if you calculate the number of people with 2 dollars as income, the figure rises to 76 percent!
Mark Tully very beautifully weaves the facts facing Indian society today. He starts from the Naxalite movements which are rampant across certain pockets of India, he then gives a very strong perspective on the caste system. Our entire country today runs on the vote bank system which is primarily governed by the caste system. How the dalits have been establishing their own identity, with the rise of political leaders like Mayawati, and how slowly but steadily they are influencing some of the major political decisions in the country. However, there is still a lot that needs to be done to break the perception barrier amongst the people where caste is concerned. In the chapter "Ramayana Revisited", Mark narrates the rath yatra led by Mr Advani, the BJP leader which had adverse effects on the religious equilibrium in the country. Akin to the great epic of Ramayana, the rath yatra was run to instigate the religious sentiments of the country, thus helping the BJP to their own political advantage. Building Communities and Farming futures is all about the various initiatives done at the grass-root level. While some initiatives like NREGA have been started with the intent of helping the rural poor, the stark reality of the execution of the program which exists today is very different! Additionally, in our country the majority of people are still involved in farming as an occupation. While there are various companies which are helping farmers by getting into contract farming, there are some companies which have done so only to establish their manufacturing plants in those areas. In the next couple of chapters, narrations about the importance of English and how the British left a mark of that in India, which in the long run has helped us, have been illustrated. And from there on we are introduced to the great entrepreneurs of this country - the Tatas. The history of Tata steel, and how it has helped transform the country is very insightful and crisply written. From entrepreneurship, we are taken into the forgotten land of the North East, and the challenges that the people of those states face today cannot be ignored for long. And lastly, Mark Tully focuses on the environmental issues and the dangers of extinction of the tigers from India.
The book touches a wide variety of topics and gives a brief overview of the various issues burning in India today: the naxal movement, caste and its role in the governance of the country, the blind faith in religion , the semi-failure or failure of the various initiatives at the grass-root level, the neglected parts of the country and the environmental issues are some of the pressing concerns for India. While the book gives a good breadth of these topics, it fails to cover the depth of each of these issues. It is a good narrative of the problems at hand for India today; however it does not attempt to give a solution or dwell deeper into the problem. However, it is a well written book especially for readers who would like to get a good concise summary of the larger part of India today, which definitely does not include the IT world!
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