आत्मनिर्भर भारत & The Deal

 

US Senator Marco Rubio met India’s External Affairs Minister. 

India agrees to a 500 billion USD import deal involving military equipment, technology, and agriculture.

 

We the people of India, were given a masterclass in economic patriotism.

We were told to save the rupee, stop buying imported goods, travel less abroad, use less petrol, work from home and the epic one don’t buy gold. 

 

But suddenly, importing half a trillion dollars from the US becomes “strategic diplomacy.”

 

Orders are simple for ordinary citizens, boycott imports, but when it comes to  geopolitical image management imports has no limits.

 

Or is this what modern colonialism looks like?

 

Earlier, India had to follow orders coming from the British Queen. Now it feels like the pressure is coming from Washington instead. As the orders have simply changed hands, from the Queen’s empire to Trump era’s pressure politics.

 

Trump must be very happy. For some countries, He has to fight wars or use pressure to control them. But for India, it feels like just a few favours and big deals are enough for our leaders to agree to everything.

 

On one side, common Indians are expected to sacrifice comfort, spending power, and aspirations in the name of nationalism.

On the other side, the government signs massive import agreements and celebrates them as achievements.

 

And it doesn’t stop there.

After Marco Rubio, the Venezuelan head of state is reportedly next in line to visit India, with discussions around crude oil imports.

 

So what exactly is the policy here?

 

Indian oil already takes weeks to arrive from suppliers like Iran, through strait of Hormuz, with insurance and shipping costs making it even more expensive. Meanwhile, oil from nearby countries could arrive much faster and cheaper. Yet economics now seems secondary from political lens.

 

Not to forget, following Trump’s instruction, we have stopped buying oil from Russia and Iran

 

The bigger question here is,
Who is this foreign policy really serving?

 

Because right now, it looks less like economic nationalism and more like desperate international networking while ordinary Indians are asked to tighten their belts.

 

People are not blind.

They can see the contradiction between speeches about आत्मनिर्भर (self-reliance) and the reality of massive dependency deals.

 

And naturally, many will ask whether all this sudden diplomatic enthusiasm has anything to do with protecting powerful corporate allies facing scrutiny and legal trouble abroad or it’s the ghost of Epstein files hounds him ?

 

 

MBA, Gen Z, and the Collapse of Common Sense

At the age of 40, when most people are busy pretending they have life fully figured out, I decided to do something slightly dangerous.

I enrolled for an online MBA.

For many around me, this decision itself looked suspicious, why study now ?

Online MBA means YouTube with assignments, right?

Honestly, even I was not fully sure what I was looking for. Maybe growth. Maybe discomfort. 

Maybe proof that the brain can still learn after years of corporate meetings and PowerPoint presentations pretending to be strategy.

Then came the Symbiosis campus meet 2026, 3 days with fellow students in Pune.

And that changed something inside me.

I met Gen Z students, the same generation employers constantly complains about on WhatsApp forwards. 

According to them, Gen Z is lazy, distracted, over-sensitive, addicted to reels, and incapable of serious thinking unless subtitles and background music are involved.

But reality looked very different.

The energy in that room was unbelievable.

These students were curious, expressive, fearless while asking questions, and surprisingly aware of what is happening around them. 

Conversations did not stay limited to careers and salaries. They openly discussed unemployment, education problems, social pressure, mental health, economic uncertainty, and government failures.

What shocked me most was not their rebellion.

It was the clarity behind it.

And honestly, maybe they have every reason to be angry.

Because the education system they inherited looks less like a system and more like an annual national experiment on patience.

Take the NEET paper leak for example.

Every year lakhs of students spend years preparing for exams. They sacrifice sleep, social life, mental peace, and sometimes childhood itself. Students solve thousands of MCQs while somewhere someone discovers the shortcut is not studying Biology, but studying “contacts.”

The exam tests Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.

The system tests Luck, Networking, and Emotional Damage.

Then investigations begin. Press conferences sound like viva exams where nobody prepared answers. Students now fear the examination authority more than the actual examination.

And somehow, after all the outrage, accountability quietly disappears like syllabus chapters before board exams.

Maybe this is all part of a larger national vision.

After all, too many educated people can become dangerous. Educated citizens ask risky questions.

Very anti-national behaviour.

An unemployed graduate with critical thinking is apparently more threatening than uncle  forwarding fake statistics on family whatsapp groups.

Maybe that is why scientific temperament now feels like an unwanted guest in classrooms. First Darwin’s theory of evolution quietly disappeared from parts of the syllabus. Now students may not even properly study the periodic table till Class 10.

Perhaps critical thinking creates too many complications. It is much easier if students simply accept that the universe was fully designed in seven days, with no follow-up questions asked because it is God’s creation. Hence, practical exams cancelled.

Discussions around science keep shrinking while mythology and blind belief keep entering spaces.

Mythology has cultural value, no doubt. But somewhere the system got confused between stories for values and answers for science exams.

Soon physics teachers may have to explain gravity through motivational speeches instead of Newton.

And yet, despite growing up inside this chaos, the students I met still carried hope.

That part stayed with me.

This generation is trying to survive expensive education, unstable jobs, paper leaks, attention span warfare, and a society constantly telling them to adjust. Still, they dream loudly.

My generation was trained differently. We were taught silence is maturity. Tolerance is wisdom. Survival itself is success.

Many Gen Z students refuse that deal.

They question faster. Challenge authority quicker. Sometimes emotionally, sometimes aggressively, but at least they are awake.

Maybe that makes older generations uncomfortable.

Because questioning systems has always been labelled disrespect by people benefiting from silence.

Of course, Gen Z is not perfect. Every generation has its own stupidity. We had ours too only our mistakes were not recorded in HD and uploaded within 30 seconds.

But meeting them changed my perspective.

I realized the real tragedy is not that young people are distracted.

The real tragedy is that the system often punishes curiosity more than ignorance.

We are producing students who can memorise 500 page guides but cannot identify fake information online. 

Logic is becoming optional. Irrationality is becoming patriotic.

Earlier generations were told, study hard and build the nation.

Today’s students are told, study hard and wait for paper leak updates.

And still, despite everything, they continue trying.

That gives me hope.

So maybe this MBA is not only teaching me finance, marketing, or strategy.

Its teaching me something more important. How not to become mentally old in a society slowly normalising intellectual surrender.

And maybe Gen Z, despite all the jokes made about them, may become the generation that refuses to clap quietly while the system collapses behind motivational speeches and hashtags about becoming a global superpower.

The Weight of a 10th Class Marksheet

In India, 10th result day is not result day.
It is national emergency.

 

Whole house atmosphere changes like India lost World Cup final.

 

The mother prayed to every god humanity had ever created, unsure which one might still be available to hear her.

Father walking like finance minister before budget, calculating the donation to be paid if the marks are less.

Relatives charging phone battery fully to call and ask “Kitna percentage aaya beta?”

 

Then comes the famous paper.

The Marksheet.

 

One small paper decides whether child is “future of nation” or “shame of famalies WhatsApp group.”

 

My neighbour’s son Yash got 51.46%.

Bas.

Finished.

 

According to society, boy was now officially useless.

 

Father looked at marksheet like doctor checking a biopsy report.

“51.46???”

 Sharma ji ka beta got 96!

Even your cousin who still counts on fingers scored more than you

 

Poor boy standing quietly.

 

Now reality is Yash was not bad child.

He was respectful.
Helped old people.
Never abused anyone.
Did not roam drunk at midnight.
Fed street dogs.

 

But sadly marksheet has no column for:
“Good human being.”

 

Boy loved soccer.

 

Every evening he played football with full passion. Running, sweating, smiling. 

First time in whole day he looked alive.

 

But in Indian families, if child enjoys something too much, immediately it becomes “career destroyer.”

 

Football? Waste of time.
Music? Waste of time.
Art? Waste of time.
Sleeping? Waste of time.

By that logic, even a child breathing would probably be called a waste of time.

 

Only acceptable hobby in these house is “study more”.

 

After result, parents started behaving like boy committed financial scam.

TV, Mobile, Soccer and Happiness banned 

 

Suddenly every relative became education expert.

“Engineering karao.”
“Science lelo.”
“Commerce has no scope.”
“Arts toh losers lete hai.”

 

Most funny thing:
Half these uncles still cannot open PDF without calling their children.

But advice has unlimited supply.

 

Parents say:
“We are worried about your future.”

Correct. Concern is real.

 

But many times concern quietly becomes ego competition.

 

Marks are not only for child anymore.
It becomes family social status.

 

Parents don’t want percentage.
They want bragging rights in weddings, family parties and society.

“Hamare beta got 96.”

 

Then another uncle enters:
“Our daughter got 97.”

 

Then one aunty comes from nowhere:
“My son studying in Canada.”

 

At this point samosa becomes uncomfortable.

Nobody asks child:
“What do YOU want?”

 

Because Indian parenting sometimes works like government tender:
Lowest emotional understanding wins.

Coz parents think child is project.

 

First they decide career before child even grows moustache.

Doctor. Engineer. IAS. Repeat.

 

If child says:
“I like sports.”

Parents react like child announced:
“I am converting to other religion.”

 

Truth is every child is different.

Some are good in studies.
Some in sports.
Some in business.
Some in creativity.
Some simply learn slowly.

 

But Indian system treats every child like type C charger.

One size fits all.

 

A fish, monkey, elephant, and penguin all standing for same exam.
Then society says:
“See, monkey topped again.”

Wonderful system.

 

Yash’s father later realized something important.

He was not angry because son failed.

He was angry because his own dreams failed years ago.

 

My question to such parents is simple:
How many times did they actually sit down and try to understand their child’s syllabus themselves?

 

How often did they calmly discuss which subject the child was struggling with, what challenges he faced, and how they could help him improve?

 

And many times, even when the child gathers courage to ask doubts, the response is “Go join private tuition.”

 

Some parents outsource teaching, then expect emotional connection, confidence, and excellent results to arrive automatically.

 

Many parents unknowingly put their unfinished dreams on children’s shoulders.

 

Children are not second-hand versions of parents.

They are separate humans.

 

Parenting is not dictatorship.

Parenting means teaching child respect, empathy, discipline, and helping them understand different career options.

 

Guide them. Don’t control them like remote-control car.

Because fear can force child to study.

But only support can help child grow.

 

Years later, Yash might improve in studies too.

Not because of pressure.

 

Because finally someone listened to him instead of comparing him with Sharma ji’s entire bloodline.

 

And honestly, after few years nobody remembers your 10th percentage.

But every child remembers how their parents behaved on result day.