Guest post by RAJ NANDY

Image of homeless children from For Donald

Mainstream media recently carried stories about Prema Jayakumar, daughter of an auto-rickshaw driver who topped the Chartered Accountancy exam, and of several other young men and women who have made the journey from village to city, overcoming ‘poverty, social discrimination and even political strife to succeed in life‘ and are now set to step into elite professions.

The same story linked to above, suggested that Prema-type examples also show that “this tale of personal courage and excellence is embedded in the ethos of aspirational India” and that the “idea of aspiration has proved to be one of the most binding factors in the country”.

I disagree. To glorify and salute such examples of exceptional hard work and determination is, of course, apt and well deserved. However, to present a tiny fraction – say, a few hundreds or thousands as reflecting the temper or character of millions muddling through crippling poverty and malnutrition seems like mistaking the shadow for the substance. Continue reading Aspirational India? Raj Nandy →