Jan 8

In “Being Indian” Pavan explains in great detail about Indians and Power. He makes it seem as if Indians with power don’t respect normal people. However, during the factory visits, I have noticed one striking thing. Everyone, laborers, managers, executives, is willing and wanting to talk to us. Is this only because we are foreigners? Are these suppliers on the leading edge of a cultural revolution; one that the rest of India will catch up to? Is the “Holier than thou” attitude applicable only to politicians? Is there a certain level of management where power suddenly changes people?

When I visited Cargill plants this past summer, only the people who were assigned to be with our group interacted with us. Everyone else ignored us, and seemingly, went out of their way to avoid us. An executive taking time out of his/her busy day to meet a bunch of students would have been unheard of. Now I understand that this isn’t a fair comparison, and Cargill is many times larger than all the companies we have visited – combined. However, I have yet to see this pursuit of power, even at the expense of others, that Pavan has so gloriously proclaimed. From what I see, I believe that this pursuit of power is innately human, and not strictly Indian. If you replace the Indian examples with examples from other cultures, you could republish the book with the title “Being {insert culture name here}.”