A very encouraging article by Vir Sanghvi. This is something I also saw when I was in Bombay this time. Even my discussions with some of my friends pointed to this. That the Indian lower-middle class is seeing path to upward social mobility through honest means. The guys at the airport, and in the stores and doing odd jobs meet honest engineers and people fiercely nationalistic. And they see that they dont have to be dishonest to make it big. This is a big big change from the times of our parents, where if you didnt cheat you could never move to the next social rung. All said and done this is not going to stop traffic havaldars letting you slide if you pass him a picture of bapu. However I felt this good vibe this time around. I hope its real and not just me seeing things.
Excerpt:
But now India has changed. We finally have a strong and vocal middle class that prizes honesty above all else and that has contempt for the sleazy politicians and the crony capitalists of old. When we see Ratan Tata refusing to pay bribes, refusing to lick politicians' boots and refusing to bend the rules — and still taking the Tatas from strength to strength, still buying the world's best companies, and still reinventing the rules of the car industry — well then, we know that there is a better way.It's possible to be honest and principled. And still beat the rest of the world. That's the strength of the new India.
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