‘I have never felt unsafe in an Indian city, including Mumbai, despite its traumatic past. It may have something to do with our democracy — as citizens, we feel despite such unrest, that we have a semblance of control over the systems that govern and protect us’, Nandan Nilekani blogs about the shivers that paralysed the entire nation after the Mumbai carnage. As you begin to arch your eyebrows, dismissing his optimism as originating from the comforts of being a celebrated entrepreneur in the country, he makes a sharp reference to the fears that cut across social classifications. “I watched the live feed on Mumbai’s carnage on television, I considered how fragile this sense of control and security can be’, Nilekani sums up the immediate ambiguity facing the nation. His book Imagining India: Ideas for The New Century (Penguin Books), comes after a prolonged research on several such dichotomies facing the country.

“Several people used to ask me about India and its growth story for a long time now. I needed to tell them what I felt about it. Imagining India… is an intensive study of the sociological, political and economics realities that make India,” says Nilekani. Also, the co-founder of Infosys felt it was important to put into writing the fact that India was probably letting go an era of opportunities. “This was a time the country was flooded with promises. But it is yet to do the right thing at the right time,” adds Nilekani.

So do the youth, he thinks is the strength of the nation, have their priorities messed up? “Aspirations of the youth elevate the demands on the society. And that’s how progress happens because the young usually have both time and energy on their side to pursue ambitious ideas,” explains Nilekani. On the other hand if the aspirations are not fulfilled, India stands the threat of a backlash. A threat that probably looms large upon the country in the context of the global meltdown and retrenchment. But Nilekani feels that recession is a global evil that has to be dealt with not given up on.

“Imagining India… among other things actually explores the nature of Indian economy. It’s fundamentally about long term possibilities and the trick is in looking beyond,” he adds.

Therefore, though disillusionment is a high possibility for the young Indian, with economic and social security mutilated hopelessly, Nilekani feels that there’s hope. Because India today is less complacent about realities not close to home. “I am not talking about electoral duties, but the way the youth reacted to the Bombay carnage is sure to shake up some old bones,” he points out.

Imagining India… took some eighteen months, extensive research and 126 interviews to fall in place. “People here keep fighting about issues that are irreversible. Like what happened after the Singur crises. It’s high time we learnt how to tide over crises than keep squabbling about who is responsible for it,” he says.