Why the Way we Shit Matters?

Does how we shit really matter?! Let me tell you. India and Indians across the world are known for their skills in Information Technology, Spirituality, Gems & Jewelry, and Pharma exports, etc. But what do we import from the West…? I will let you mull over it.

When growing up, we used to have meals as a family sitting on the floor, we never ever heard, let alone indulged in non-Indian cuisine, we would be more comfortable wearing Indian forms of clothing, mother-tongue was considered the preferred mode to communicate, we would buy goods from local markets and local vendors which were fresh, the concept of deep-freezing foods or TV dinners did not exist, we met friends face-to-face over Facebook or Whatsapp, and we would excrete in Indian/Turkish toilets which involved squatting and non-contact a generally more hygienic and scientific way of cleansing our bodies.

Fast forward to today, when children prefer Pizza or Burger over Roti-Sabzi, Waffles over Poha, social media has overpowered their behavior creating an identity crisis. Western clothing is chic and cool, smartphones are taken everywhere, the English language has taken over our vernacular tongue. Go anywhere and you will realize, that we are more and more aping the western ways of living, right from the way our homes are built to the way we shit!!

What we are essentially doing by adapting to Western ways of thinking beyond losing our sense of identity, is allowing large multi-nationals with deep pockets to drive our habits and thus drive their profits. Technology is shaping the way we operate today and much of this technology is owned by these very multi-nationals. Take for example the mobile network technology, the standard driving these technologies be it one M2M or 3GPP or 5G are protected by patents which are owned by companies such as Qualcomm, Ericsson, and Huawei. By adopting these standards we are paying these companies a fee for using their standards, equipment, and services.

Rewinding back a bit more, some may recall that during the colonial rule the concept of Zamindars was introduced by the British East India Company. These Zamindars were primarily land (asset) owners, whose role was to collect revenue from the Indian farmers, for the British. Replace the tangible assets (Land) by intangibles (Intellectual Property), and tax collection with licensing revenues — we can see the parallels. Though it has been nearly 75 years since India’s independence, we still lag in terms of technology leadership. How much longer will it take before we realize the importance of investing in technology, creating our own Intellectual Property, and promoting our own self-interests?

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