Part 1: Great Country India - Legacy of Peace and Spirit
Part 2: India's Present and Future Direction
Part 3: India in the Era of Quantum Mechanics and Digital AI
By Im Byoung-min, Columnist (imubiquitius@gmail.com)
The meaning of a great country can have various meanings depending on the context. However, the British Empire is usually called Great Britain when it comes to what people think of as a great country. Although Britain has contributed to the industry of steam locomotives and automobiles as a means of transportation, Britain's history, consisting of self-governing dominions, protected areas, dangerous areas, and dependent territories, has been a series of invasions and plunders. Looking at the history of the Vikings, we can see the history of European traditions. As humans, we can understand their human nature that committed numerous plunders, and as an extension of that, we can remember their history from the plundering of indigenous peoples in the Americas.
However, India's history is clearly different. India is not a country that invades or plunders but a country that is non-aggressive and defensive, and India's history was a means of maintaining peace. India's history was not one of invasion, but of defense, and even after independence, India did not provoke or invade other countries. Engagements with neighboring countries were merely a defensive response to security threats or conflicts. This is the spirit of the Indian people, and we should emulate the spirit of loving peace and living together with consideration and love, the spirit that contains the deep meaning of the Indian people. Korea has also been invaded many times by external forces such as China, Mongolia, and Japan, but the history of the Korean people is also a history of defense, not invasion, and there has been no invasion of the outside world. This is the spirit of love and consideration inherent in the people's spirit, and it can be said that it is a non-killing spirit that cannot kill even an ant if it is a living creature.
Aneway, Nepal, northern India, was the birthplace of Buddhism in the 5th century BC. About 500 years after the birth of Buddhism, Christianity was born, and today there are about 2.24 billion Christians (spirit: love) and about 1.4 billion Catholics (spirit: love and peace), and about 500 years after the birth of Christianity, Muhammad was born in 570 AD, and Islam (spirit: peace) was founded 1,455 years ago, and Buddhism, currently about 530 million Buddhists (spirit: mercy and love), and about 6 million Jains (spirit: non-killing) at the same time, holding a broom with a bell and not killing, had a profound influence on human society as the essence of the spirit that humans and all living things live together. From the same perspective as Buddhism in the 5th century BC, The essence of human beings is the same as the essence of constant exploration, love, consideration, and peace. What we need to know is that the birthplace of the realization of the essence of human existence is “the great country India.”
This is why “the great country India” has not simply been a positive response or synonym to the lives of Indians until today, but rather a symbol of vastness and infinity in historical, cultural, metaphorical, and spiritual terms, giving deep and infinite meaning to human beings with great love, consideration, and peace beyond emotional and physical limitations. However, the inconvenience is an undeniable reality that has created poverty.
We need to think about how we can change the essence inherent in the spirit of Indians in the digital age and escape poverty as an essence that threatens our survival. In particular, politicians should not let their guard down and should think about how to change this core together in the future. So, how can we create “the great country India” with people living in the digital age? Let's think about what changes and practices can make India a "stronger and greater country," different from the UK or the US.
For example, China has been politically stagnant for about 100 years, and the early expression of economic growth was like waking up a sleeping bear. The production function was weak throughout the industry. At that time, Deng Xiaoping's Chinese Communist Party officially declared a "socialist market economy" system. Since then, Korea has played a central role in transforming China. If we prove this with numbers, Korea's exports to China increased from a mere $6.4 billion in 1992 to about $220.6 billion in 2011, a 34.6-fold increase. China has become Korea's largest trading and investment destination, and Korea has become China's third-largest trading and investment destination. About 37,000-40,000 Korean companies have supported China.
Then, the Indian government should seriously consider how India can leap forward in the digital age. By the way, even if the generation changes, what is important is the mental will of all Indian citizens to unite and create new wealth in the digital age, and the will to do so and the desire to escape poverty. Even now that the generation has changed, the industrial productivity structure necessary for daily life remains unchanged. It will be easy to make India the world's best GDP country by distributing industries that can optimize the industrial productivity necessary for the country to 28 provinces through the central government, classifying and advancing about 37,000-40,000 Korean companies that are suitable for India. This should be preceded by the government having a strong belief in leasing land and creating jobs and wealth in labor-intensive industries such as clothing, toys, shoes, and smartphone assembly production. In addition, laws and systems should be boldly changed so that industries can settle in various regions in India and become the best in the world, and if an environment is created where core technologies of industries that Korea has, such as steel, petrochemicals, and heavy chemical industries can be transferred, it will be a turning point where all Indian citizens can join forces and live well.
We should also pursue new industrial advancements, such as digital-age logistics, AI robots, etc., in parallel. In particular, it is very dangerous to hinder national growth by only talking and not doing or implementing, leaving aside the important core of the current issue. The strong will of the Modi government that India must be reborn should create a turning point for India's leap forward with a sense of urgency. There is no room for debate that it is important for the Indian government to form a joint leap forward strategy task force team with Korea so that Korea, which helped China grow today, can help a new India and have a blueprint for a national leap forward and put it into practice.
Here, we cannot help but talk about India's chronic and unchangeable stale spirit. It is indifference and leaving it to time to do whatever happens, and going empty-handed when you die, taking nothing with you. Many people have this fixed idea in the minds of the middle-aged and elderly. It cannot be changed.
However, the youth are different. The youth of India live in the smartphone era. The future of India lies with them. Recently, Indian youths rioted to be sent to the military. There are about 420 million young people in India between the ages of 15 and 29. They are future voters who can change the government. In order for India to leap forward again, we must consider the youth between the ages of 15 and 29 as precious treasures.
We should make them all serve in the military as a mandatory military service system like in Korea and provide education for about 1,500 types of jobs (the military provides food and shelter and lowers the payment instead of receiving tuition). Korean companies can relocate to places where these soldiers have human and technical resources, and the government should create a foundation for Indian soldiers to live independently in industrial sites with the skills they have learned when they enter society at the right time.
In Korea, it would be possible to cooperate with the Korea Productivity Center (KPC), an industrial training institute with about 70 years of history. This is the rebirth of India in the age of quantum mechanics and digital AI, and the Modi government should make it a turning point for a new leap forward for India with strong will and a sense of urgency. Indian youth will be grateful to the government for creating jobs, and after their service period, they will become patriotic voters who need the government and pioneer the future of India.
