D.O.

This appeared in the Times Of India, Tuesday, August 14, 2007, for their Lead India initiative. I am putting it up here partly because I think everyone should look at it again, and partly because I can't store the paper anymore.

D.O.

Two simple letters.

Place them side by side however,
and they form a word potent enough
to turn a mass of people into a nation.

Do.

The last time we decided to Do or Die
it changed the map of the world. Today,
the eyes of the world are on us again.

So what are we going to do?

How are we going to turn from a land
of philosophers into a nation of do-ers?

Are we going to keep thinking about
what we should be doing or do
something about what we're thinking?

Are we going to simply shrug our
shoulders, blame our infrastructure, our
bureaucracy and our political system?

Or are we going to roll up our sleeves,
get up and actually do something
about it?

The truth is this.

Thinking can happen from an armchair.
But doing must happen on your feet.

Thinking may be a great way of
getting things started. But doing is the
only way to get things done.

And let's face it. You are never really
caught in a traffic jam.

You are the traffic jam.

Today we are in our 60th year of
independence. That works out to more than half a century.

And we're still happy being called
a potential superpower, an emerging
economy or a sleeping tiger?

THIS MUST CHANGE.

AND IT'S ONLY POSSIBLE IF SOME OF US SEIZE
THE DAY AND DARE TO BE THE CHANGE.

So let's stop basking in our glorious
past or daydreaming about our great
future. Let's start by dominating today.

And domination starts with DO.