India 2.0 : Decentralizing control in a magnetized fashion
Given the Corona virus outbreak and threats emerging; I feel the 80–20 applies. Where 80% of India’s problems can be met @ home if almost every Indian is well trained. Kits, training and preparedness @ the home can be extremely effective in reducing burden on civic infrastructure that we know cannot cope.
Research has shown that Home Quarantines can be more effective if done the right way. However in reality, many countries including India; this cannot be a reality yet.
This concept is not just about us responding to a pandemic. It is about recognizing what is seen as its biggest weaknesses as its latent strength; yet to be galvanized and aligned (magnetized). it is about recognizing that ..
India’s decentralized nature and diversity is perhaps its biggest strength!
India is more than a nation, its a concept!
India has been in-efficient but decentralized at its core. This explains its chaos, but is also latent strength.
India has to emerge the opposite centralized power-driven nations, which are vulnerable at their center. India has been in-efficient but decentralized at its core. This explains India’s chaos, but is also latent strength, which can be wielded into a force far superior to nations that operate on a central coherent command-n-control. India to begin with has always been many nations as one. And within those nations recursively more. The inherent nature of such a model will generate in-efficiencies which we see, however little do we realize can be a huge power if we manage it effectively.
India already has multiple ecosystems that run in parallel. For example the informal or marganlized industry and its efficiency. Its harder to predict, break this system.
An advantage that India has against external threats, is that no one really understands how it works completely.
The power of decentralization
It is no secret that any central command and control structure caters to a certain threshold it can meet; beyond that it is overwhelmed.
Communities can have expensive equipment’s with local doctors, and people understanding the basics.
Also, in time of need the army can draft people who know the basics and put them into service. India’s large population can be an ABILITY not a LIABILITY in tough situations.
We must move from being divided to being united yet decentralized.
Centralization is easy to manage, hence it is a preferred model. However India has already solved that part. Is it not amazing how we function? Have we not all questioned that at some point in our life. Yes, sometimes with a sigh of frustration, yet it is a marvel. It is time to question that and rather than dismissing that as a weakness work to converting that into a strength.
Taking a leaf from Computer Networks
TLDR: The internet is a distributed infrastructure that works and yet is not in any one persons hands. It is 100% fault tolerant as a whole.
We take the internet and our IT infrastructure for granted; including the availability of your favourite app’s. But ask a little deeper, and any computer network or software architect will agree that “Distributive Infrastructure” (decentralized) is far more effective than centralized. Be it a natural disaster or an external threat. Computer simulations, and situations have proven that decentralizing majority control results in fault-tolerance and High Availability (HA). These are proven concepts in networking and I see no reason why they don’t apply to humans. Especially a group of humans that operate in a distributed fashion already, and understand and support multiple ecosystems in parallel.
Israel
That tiny nation, has proven when every citizen is capable what even a small force can be worth. Imagine blending that with the size of India. No words need to explain this more.
Solution: Organize @ granular level
In the villages the panchayat systems work. Though I have no proof or measure of how effective they are, but if we start empowering all small to medium communities and not for the sake of it but to make them for effective:
- Medically
- Financially
- Ability to defend or be called to service
Every able Indian should learn to do CPR, Administer injections, glucose, unarmed combat and fire a weapon.
Final Thoughts
India’s chaos can be its greatest enemy or its biggest strength; it is in the testing times that we must rise to be the greatest nation. Perhaps its ancestors understood this, and India must rise again to be the civilization it once was.
India today is like Iron. Strong however demagnetized. When magnetized we and all the decentralized domains aligned and united; no country can fathom its ability yet to come.
If you believe in this idea, please feel free to share it; thanks!