I will start by stating two facts.
The first is that I don’t have a social circle and so I am driven to seek company from the watchmen (the security staff) of my housing society in Mumbai. They are not exactly friends. I don’t think of them as such but they are more than just acquaintances.
Their life is not ideal – to say the least. They have to live without their wives and their family here in Mumbai while their family is back in Uttar Pradesh. So they have the responsibilities of a family life but without the benefits of living with their family. They are men living without women.
The second point is regarding the attitude people here in Mumbai have towards the watchmen. They are looked down upon and are tolerated only because they provide a necessary service by working as hard as they do. I myself have faced the wrath of people who thought that I was not good enough to live in Mumbai. It hurts to be looked down upon.
But why is it necessary for people to leave their hometowns and come to Mumbai?
The answer is obvious. There are very few employment opportunities in UP (and also Bihar).
I have some advice for people running UP and Bihar. I don’t know if this blog will reach them but there is no harm in writing it. Who knows – maybe someone powerful may read it.
I think the main reasons that Maharashtra is doing well compared to the BIMARU states is:
- There is better law and order here in Maharashtra. The state is better policed than UP. If you are living under the shadow of a gun it is not surprising that you should want to leave your hometown.
- Infrastructure in UP and Bihar needs to be improved. Basics like good roads, electricity, internet connections and water.
- There needs to be social support for entrepreneurs.
The first two points are self explanatory. There is not much chance of industrial and economic growth without law and order and infrastructure.
The third point is something I want to expand on.
I have lived for some years in New Delhi and have mixed with the youngsters who were looking for jobs. What struck me then that these youngsters wanted government jobs. None of them thought of starting their own businesses. The thought simply did not occur to them.
And with good reason.
There have been studies done regarding the success rate to new businesses. Those studies found that out of a hundred new businesses ninety will shut down in the first five years. And of the ten which remain nine will shut down in the next five years.
So the stats says that only one in a hundred new businesses will be surviving after ten years. Just surviving mind you. Not prospering and making lots of money. Not being as successful as Bill Gates. Just surviving.
Given these stats no one will want to be an entrepreneur unless there is a parachute to cushion the fall or some sort of social and family support for entrepreneurs who fail. And fail they almost certainly will. Almost all of them.
But at the same time there is no chance of the country prospering unless there are entrepreneurs who serve the community and provide employment.
The United States is prospering because it has a tradition of people starting and running their own businesses. Ordinary people like you and me. We need the same sort of risk takers in India.
I would urge the people running UP and Bihar (and all other states) to do something about these issues. Do what you can to change the social contract and do something about law and order and infrastructure.
Perhaps Yogi Adityanath can do the needful. I have heard that he is running the state well.
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