fikri's page

Inspiring India

India.

Previously, there was nothing special about this country to me.

I knew India when I was child, when I saw Mahabharata, an epic from India on television. I also realized that there were so many Indian movies (with special characteristic: music and dance) in television. When I joined boyscout, I also knew that India is used to symbolize letter I on phonetic alphabet. I also studied some famous name from India such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.

But still, there was nothing special from those things to me.

India started to steal my attention after I read a popular book, The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman. In brief, this book explains us about the condition of industry at recent time. Distance is no longer a big problem for industrial process, so that the author conclude in the title of the book that now, the world is no longer round, but flat.

It amazes me that there are so many talented person in India. Big companies around the world prefer using labour from India to their own labour. Because even they will cost cheaper than The companies’ own employee, but they are capable in their own field, even more. In Bangalore, there are so many big companies’ branch. It is like the mirror of Sillicon Valley.

In spite of their minus condition: overpopulated and poverty, they still strives to show the world what they have. It is amazing to see that most of student from India are speaking english fluently. In over the universities in the world, you can see Indians as students and professors. They expand to show their existence to world.

We will also be amazed by their sophisticated technology. They invent so many useful technologies for their contribution to the world. When you hear to the word “Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)”, you can imagine thousands of talented students and professors that give so many contribution to the world. If you see the college’s building, probably you can’t believe that it is high class university. But when you read what they produce, you can understand their high efforts with minimum facilities.

In my field, I read so many references that written by Indian professors. They can publish their books and journals to prestigious press. Even one of the well known publisher, McGraw-Hill, made special branch only for India: Tata McGraw-Hill. It means that their existence is already known by the world.

You can see that facilities and fund is not the only important thing. With their spirit, India has opened the world’s eyes about their existence. It is ok for them to be paid lower than the others. The main point is, they can show their existence first. Later, when they are well known, another thing will follow them later.

It is really inspiring to see their spirit. Hopefully I can do something to my country or even the world, copying their spirit.

… إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوۡمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنفُسِہِمۡ‌ۗ …

… Allah changeth not the condition of a folk until they (first) change that which is in their hearts; …(QS Ar-Ra’d:11)