Dr. S. S. Verma
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, a person having almost all the qualities of a leader likes to learn, to do something, innovative and many more has gone on a 5-day trip to Japan in order to have cultural and social, technological and defense collaboration with Japan on a strong footing. No doubt Japan has inherited its cultural and social roots to a large extent from Indian Ambassador of peace “Lord Budha” long back and Japan has always be on the good side of relationships with India since Independence. But still there is a great difference between the development status Japan has acquired just after World War-II (1945) and India being a country much richer than Japan in resources and manpower could not attain after being independent in 1947. It is a saying that Japanese manufacturing (automobiles/computers/video games etc) companies have almost taken over American companies in USA and Japan is earning a lot from USA.
There is story that when Japan was approved for the organization of 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Japanese authorities approached USA to sanction a loan for developing a bullet train in Japan. USA looked at it with a fun as Japan was not at all in a position to handle such a big project just after world war-II in which Japan has been devastated very badly by air strikes. Japanese people say that in world war-II, cities like Tokyo and Osaka along with atomic bomb suffered cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been destroyed to zero level. Only Kyoto city due to its historical importance was spared during World War-II. With qualities like sheer dedication, self-respect, patriotism, hardworking and honest character, Japanese people made it possible to inaugurate bullet train in 1964 Olympics.
Mr. Modi is planning to bring bullet train technology to India, sooner or later does not matter. He also wants to develop smart cities e.g., Varanasi like Kyoto on the Japanese style. We can bring or desire to bring anything (technology) from anywhere in the world to India but we have to bring a big cultural change also in Indian masses to sustain the development. Culture which we sometimes back used to give to other countries is totally lost in modern day life. But people in countries like Japan are still able to hang on with the same social and cultural thinking even in modern day life. It is not that corruption, nepotism, favoritism, absenteeism from duty, communalism, regionalism and evils like rapes are not in Japan but not at least to the level these evils are in India. Old generations who had suffered and scarified for the development of Japan are somehow able to transcendent their cultural and social values to younger generations. That is why younger generation people in Japan are still law abiding, honest, hardworking, amicable, respect their seniors and love the juniors. Indian old generations have failed to a great extent in this regard.
Author had an opportunity to stay in Japan for one and half years on a Japanese Government post doctoral fellowship in 1991-1993. About 20 years have passed and present hype of India-Japan relations and expectations of our Prime Minister from Japan made my memories refresh. Twenty years back I had an opportunity to travel by bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka and also visit all the historical temples of Kyoto city. Twenty years back, all the advances like vending machines, ATMs etc, were very much operational in Japan for many years by then. We Indians there used to discuss that if such facilities come to India how safe they will be. At that time just jokingly we commented that people will take away such facilities and it has come true when we go through such news in the news paper about stealing/breaking/lifting of such facilities and other type of corruption involved in the operation.
Not only Indian train network but transportation network is the biggest in the world but we feel very sorry to see the attitude of drivers/conductors in dealing with the passengers, maintaining the vehicles, maintaining the timings and safety of passengers etc. People are also not civic and leave no chance to spoil public property and its surroundings. I was surprised during my first encounter with Japanese transport system when I saw a time table of buses with arrival and departure times mentioned like 9.21am. But when I travelled by bus, train or bullet train, I came to know the truthfulness of such timings when Japanese drivers they strictly followed them. Such timing is a distant dream in Indian transport system whether for buses or trains. Over speeding, reckless driving, use of mobiles, use of drugs by the drivers in India is already costing precious lives of common man. Not only timings, there is always a much complain about food in trains, booking facilities, boarding facilities, behavior of bus drivers and conductors etc. in the country. In Japanese buses, there is conductor less system, every passenger from where is boarding the bus will take a ticket from the ticket machine in the bus and drop the fare in the box near driver for the station he is getting down from the display in the front window.
I am mentioning all these things which I have experienced during my stay in Japan. Japanese are very cordial, amicable and helping to others and very honest, hardworking, self-respecting and patriotic for their country. Need is develop these qualities in Indian masses along with technology from Japan. All technologies will fail in India if we are not ready to assimilate such social and cultural qualities of Japanese. Japanese people in all types of public utilities like shops, banks, hospitals, offices etc. are highly cooperatives towards the customers. They treat customers very cordially in just opposite contrast to Indian scenario. When I had to open my bank account in Japan, I just entered the bank along with my student guide and I was asked to take a seat. After few minutes, the documents of my bank account were handed over to me with thanks from the bank employee.
People say political system in Japan is also not free of corruption but not comment much about the bureaucratic system of the country. But it is true that common Japanese is cordial, amicable, disciplined, very honest, hardworking, self-respecting and patriotic. Japanese people can work day and night for the cause of their country but Indians can work only for their well being and not for India. On Teachers Day (5th September 2014) Mr. Modi has desired and instructed all the State Governments to make arrangements for his live talk show to school children from 3:00pm to 4:30pm but as per the reports from a news papers teachers are finding it a torturous to make them to stay for so long in the schools. Same is the situation in every department and office in the country. Leaders, bureaucrats and employees all are doing their jobs for their sake only and not for the nation. If Mr. Modi can bring one thing from Japan that should be the patriotism for Indians which will be enough for India to become like Japan.
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