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Hi everyone,

I am Utkarsh, the founder of Network Capital, writing to you a very happy Independence day. Today would be a wonderful day to go through this Network Capital masterclass with Dr. Shashi Tharoor where he explains the ideas of India and elaborates upon the difference between nationalism and patriotism. No matter what your political affiliation, you will find this masterclass insightful and revealing.

Also, I wrote a long-form article for Wharton India Economic Forum. Feel free to check it out.

India: The Startup Founded in 1947

“At the time of independence, life expectancy was 32 years, literacy rate was 12% (7% for women), contribution to global GDP was 2% (down from 23% before British arrived) and we suffered over 1 million partition deaths. Even at that time, India had the vision and clarity of purpose to emerge as a pluralist, secular and democratic republic.”

Patel and Nehru: Mental Models for Constructive Rivalry

Nehru and Patel were polar opposites in many ways. Nehru loved food, wine, art, travel and literature. Patel was a non-smoker, vegetarian, teetotaler. Basically a hard task master with little time for play.

Nehru believed that India needed a healing touch and a secular policy of reconciliation among different religions. Patel was also secular but was far more forgiving of religious displays in public life. Even in terms of economic outlook, Patel was more market oriented while Nehru strongly believed in state control of the economy.

They clashed (mostly privately) several times and it began to wear them both out. That said, Patel and Nehru were also strong allies. They pushed each other to think better and spent their lives working towards the same goal – unleashing India’s full potential.

Critique is not Criticism

** This beautiful installation was put together by Chila Kumari Burman. She specializes in kaleidoscopic, messy, ultra-colorful work, and this massive installation is a huge collage of mythology, pop culture, feminism and light.  

To be passionate patriots, you must feel free to critique India. Critique is not criticism. It is an informed analysis of the gaps and slips that are bound to occur when you are trying to sail a giant ship. There is no single idea of India. There are multiple ideas that coexist and must be tested from time to time.

Also, criticism isn’t always bad. Constructive criticism comes from a point of love. Instead of getting defensive, how about we co-create and rebuild. Here I am not talking about ill informed, half-baked media frenzy but reasonable system analysis.

Constructive criticism can be a massive gift. I went to Tate Britain with a brilliant international group - a French scientist, a Chinese hedge fund manager and an Italian banker. One of them said some unflattering things about India. I had a few options -

1. Retort with insights challenging the thesis

2. Argue with the premise

3. Listen intently and understand what the person was really saying

I decided to go with option 3 and that allowed me to get where that person was coming from. I also realized that the person was critiquing smartly and criticizing constructively. Among other things, it made me smarter about a blindspot I had.

P.S. The Network Capital EdTech Fellowship starts on August 28. Enroll now.

✍🏼 Read our founder Utkarsh Amitabh’s Harvard Business Review articles here Building Your Category of One,Should You Choose Passion Over Paycheck, How to Make Envy Work for You?, andThe Right Way to Make a Big Career Transition

⚡️If you are new to Network Capital, start by reading How to Navigate the NC Ecosystem and going through our most popular - masterclass (Career Principles with Nobel Laureate Robert Shiller); newsletter (Writing Fast and Slow); and podcast (The art of writing with Dr. Shashi Tharoor). Also read how to enroll in NC fellowships. 

💝 Signup for 1:1 office hours for discussing specific career questions here. Connect and network with other Network Capital members here. You can sign up for a networking session and our serendipity tool here.