On a lazy Monday afternoon, I'm frantically having a go at my laptop's keypad in the large premises of a big IT company. A sudden flash of light, breaks my attempt at the record of typing most words in a minute or something. No, it's not a flash of enlightenment that the great Siddhartha encountered under the Bodhi tree but only my smart phone blaring away with a call from my friend. He asks for my evening plan and almost in an auto reply mode I tell him that I'm working late today. The dude accuses me of giving in to the bonded labor and tries to prod the rebel in me.
He's off the phone but I feel he may have been a bit successful in meeting his ends. I'm now asking myself - How did we come to this? When did it all began? And not only me, but how did the entire India succumbed to the 2nd wave of slavery, if I may call it?
From a country known for its snake charmers, mysticism, religion, spirituality and festivals for most part of the 19th and 20th century, how did we suddenly come to forefront of the economic growth and political prominence. Every single person I know, with the exception of very few, everyone seems to be rushing to meet some ends.
Ever wondered what made this remarkable turnaround in India's economic and political fortune?
In my view, the 2 words that have played pivotal role in this are - Computers and Liberalization - in that order. While a lot has been spoken about Liberalization a.k.a Economic Reforms of the 1990s, I am intrigued by the impact this word "Computer" has had on the changing the fortunes of India and the Indians.
Interestingly while the early origins of computing and computers saw germination in late 1800s in the western world, India saw its first computer only in 1960s when the Indian Government bought over the EVM EM from the erstwhile USSR. It was used for scientific research primarily at that point in time.
Our very own TATAs, like every other industry they entered, were the first ones to see an early potential and this is when the TCS was founded in 1968 in Mumbai. In my opinion, this was the most critical turning point in the history of the Indian Enterprise. With its inception, a large number of Science and Maths graduates immediately found a use of there knowledge beyond teaching and research. The western world immediately smelled an opportunity and recognized the inclination of "Indian" brain for the Computing and related field and the cheap expectation of wages. They also realized that unlike our western counterparts, our value system is such that for the love of the work, the employment and the historical baggage of working in western owned enterprises with non-existent labor laws, we would be willing to slog. And as it were, this turned out to be so true. This was the rise of the Indian IT Workhorse.
We immediately latched on to this new field of work that suited both our intellect and temperament. Over and above that, it also fulfilled our aspiration of "White" collar professionals working in neat and clean offices, wearing nice clothes mimicking the westerners way of living. You will not believe it, but in just about a 5 year period post India got it's first computer, as many as 10,000 Indians had settled in US by 1970. TCS was followed by CMC, Patni and Wipro entering into the fast growing Indian IT scene.
Since then we have come a long way. IT/ITES sector is a major driver of the National GDP and IT/ITES forms the majority of the GDP from the "Services" sector. I wonder if the choice of the word "Services" to describe the Indian IT sector was a re-affirmation of our expectations with ourselves or a mere coincidence as against the reference to this sector as a High-Tech industry elsewhere.The focus outside has been more on innovation, invention and indigenous product development while the "Services" left over has been thrown towards Indian IT companies. Though the things are changing fast here in India, but to me this "services" classification carries the essence and the reason of how and why,even today, after proving to the world our might in IT, still carry on with an absolute servile work culture.
It will be interesting to know that while a US IT professional spends 8 hrs at work, their Indian counterparts spend on an average 12 hrs with out overtime on their own volition or on pressure from their seniors while earning only 1/5th or 1/7th of their US counterpart. While every reason for holiday is rewarded with celebrations, we are expected to forgo our socio-cultural priorities. Is there any logic or rationale to explain this discrimination? Yes, it is our own doing in a way because it is WE who have decided our subservient position in the ecosystem, WE have decided how much we will work and what cost and it is WE who have sold ourselves out much to the liking of our western counterparts.
It's time that the Indian IT workhorse overthrows the in-considerate and insensitive west influenced jockeys and reclaim its rightful place at the podium or else relegate itself forever to carry the donkey work of the west while they enjoy all the leisure that this fast progressing world has to offer.
He's off the phone but I feel he may have been a bit successful in meeting his ends. I'm now asking myself - How did we come to this? When did it all began? And not only me, but how did the entire India succumbed to the 2nd wave of slavery, if I may call it?
From a country known for its snake charmers, mysticism, religion, spirituality and festivals for most part of the 19th and 20th century, how did we suddenly come to forefront of the economic growth and political prominence. Every single person I know, with the exception of very few, everyone seems to be rushing to meet some ends.
Ever wondered what made this remarkable turnaround in India's economic and political fortune?
In my view, the 2 words that have played pivotal role in this are - Computers and Liberalization - in that order. While a lot has been spoken about Liberalization a.k.a Economic Reforms of the 1990s, I am intrigued by the impact this word "Computer" has had on the changing the fortunes of India and the Indians.
Interestingly while the early origins of computing and computers saw germination in late 1800s in the western world, India saw its first computer only in 1960s when the Indian Government bought over the EVM EM from the erstwhile USSR. It was used for scientific research primarily at that point in time.
Our very own TATAs, like every other industry they entered, were the first ones to see an early potential and this is when the TCS was founded in 1968 in Mumbai. In my opinion, this was the most critical turning point in the history of the Indian Enterprise. With its inception, a large number of Science and Maths graduates immediately found a use of there knowledge beyond teaching and research. The western world immediately smelled an opportunity and recognized the inclination of "Indian" brain for the Computing and related field and the cheap expectation of wages. They also realized that unlike our western counterparts, our value system is such that for the love of the work, the employment and the historical baggage of working in western owned enterprises with non-existent labor laws, we would be willing to slog. And as it were, this turned out to be so true. This was the rise of the Indian IT Workhorse.
We immediately latched on to this new field of work that suited both our intellect and temperament. Over and above that, it also fulfilled our aspiration of "White" collar professionals working in neat and clean offices, wearing nice clothes mimicking the westerners way of living. You will not believe it, but in just about a 5 year period post India got it's first computer, as many as 10,000 Indians had settled in US by 1970. TCS was followed by CMC, Patni and Wipro entering into the fast growing Indian IT scene.
Since then we have come a long way. IT/ITES sector is a major driver of the National GDP and IT/ITES forms the majority of the GDP from the "Services" sector. I wonder if the choice of the word "Services" to describe the Indian IT sector was a re-affirmation of our expectations with ourselves or a mere coincidence as against the reference to this sector as a High-Tech industry elsewhere.The focus outside has been more on innovation, invention and indigenous product development while the "Services" left over has been thrown towards Indian IT companies. Though the things are changing fast here in India, but to me this "services" classification carries the essence and the reason of how and why,even today, after proving to the world our might in IT, still carry on with an absolute servile work culture.
It will be interesting to know that while a US IT professional spends 8 hrs at work, their Indian counterparts spend on an average 12 hrs with out overtime on their own volition or on pressure from their seniors while earning only 1/5th or 1/7th of their US counterpart. While every reason for holiday is rewarded with celebrations, we are expected to forgo our socio-cultural priorities. Is there any logic or rationale to explain this discrimination? Yes, it is our own doing in a way because it is WE who have decided our subservient position in the ecosystem, WE have decided how much we will work and what cost and it is WE who have sold ourselves out much to the liking of our western counterparts.
It's time that the Indian IT workhorse overthrows the in-considerate and insensitive west influenced jockeys and reclaim its rightful place at the podium or else relegate itself forever to carry the donkey work of the west while they enjoy all the leisure that this fast progressing world has to offer.
