The IPL fixing scam has shown how people, irrespective of their status or position of power, are easy prey to “Greed”, one of the sevens sins as per the Christian belief. The series of scams in India over the last few years have shown that we have been completely swallowed by this sin and continue to do so. This desire for easy money and power is not just restricted to the rich and powerful. This is something that you observe in day to day life and among all sections of society. But this was not the India of recent past. 10 – 15 years ago, this was a country booming with dreams, dreams of being the Information Technology powerhouse, dreams of being the power center of Asia, dreams of being self reliant in energy, defence and more importantly with dreams of being the leader of a new and modern world! How did the dreams shatter and greed take over ? What could be the consequences of the same? Do we have a solution for the same?

It was not very long ago – in the early 90s, Tirupur, a small town in Tamil Nadu was brimming with confidence. The textile industries in Tirupur were beginning to be recognized world over for its expertise and quality of the clothes it was manufacturing, especially T-Shirts. Business was based on trust and trust in others led to people dreaming about making it big in this field. Exports increased and in turn the profits. Soon there was money to be made and that too big money. This naturally brought in new players and some of them were more attracted by the money involved rather than the dreams involved. Soon, payments were dishonoured leading to break of trust, quality was compromised leading to return of exported materials, and in no time the name and fame of Tirupur came crashing down. The town is yet to recover from the impact of this situation. Greed of a few had led to dreams of many being shattered! The impact here was purely local.

A similar situation now stares at the nation as a whole. In the late nineties, one could lead a very good life with a salary of Rs. 10,000/- per month. As a bachelor I used to send some to my parents, reserve a portion for rent, another portion for monthly expenses, a portion for the loan that I had taken for my bike and still have some money left to save. It was the time when the nation was beginning to collectively dream big. Information Technology was the main catalyst of the dream. What IT did to India was to enable people to break away from the social shackles and bring about a much needed balance to Indian social system. It was a dream because the Indian middle and lower class could now think big. An engineering degree was considered as a ticket to alleviate sufferings of the family and improve the lifestyle of the entire family. People earned but also supported their families, travelled abroad and brought back the learning and influences and knowledge was considered as the king. Slowly the dream became big, families were beginning to get self-sufficient and people began buying property aided by the beneficial tax policy that encouraged infrastructure development.

This to me was the beginning of the phase when greed began overtaking the dream. Real Estate was considered very lucrative and people could make huge profits in real estate. The better part was that you did not need to have a degree for dealing in real estate. You just needed some office space. The attraction of real estate was so huge that there all kinds of social elements were attracted to this – from genuine real estate agents to thugs, business houses, celebrities, politicians, intellectuals, etc. The real estate was limited and this meant that you could only make more money as the supply reduced – the demand was always on the rise!

Suddenly there was a mad rush – people were and continue to scout for new plots, apartments or villas. The increase in the number of apartments and the need to construct this in outskirts and suburbs meant that the infrastructure had to be developed on a massive scale. Energy requirements increased. Technological advancements especially in telecommunication coupled with the aspirations of the young India brought meant that the nation had to invest and invest heavily ! There was an opportunity to make lot of money.

I still remember an auto ride that I had taken in Bangalore. At the end of the ride, the driver asked for double the original amount and when I laughed at the demand and asked him if he was in right sense, he replied “Sir, you are in IT sector. Why don’t you just share some money with us? How is it going to affect you ?” And this to me summarized the reality that greed had percolated the entire nation. People no longer differentiate hard-earned money from easy money. The brains and eyes of all were filled only with one colour – the colour of money!

When I see the numerous scans happening – from CWG to 2G to Coal scam to IPL etc., one thing stands out. No amount of money can satisfy the greed of people. India as a nation is losing out on its great dream! The dream of a billion people is being replaced by the greed of a billion people. The consequences of this could be irreparable. There is no straight solution. Greed can be replaced and this can only be done by another dream. A dream much bigger and much accommodating. A dream that can take India truly forward.