It is widely known that the Indian education system greatly emphasizes instruction in maths and the hard sciences. It is also quite evident that the popularity of STEM degrees is unrivalled in our country, with Engineering and MBBS degrees in particular being viewed as the supreme educational tracks most likely to lead to prosperity and society’s respect. Besides becoming prosperous and respected however, a great number of the scores of our most talented STEM educated professionals have joined the great Indian diaspora and contributed to the global economy in extraordinarily significant ways. Look no further than Silicon Valley to find proof of the global impact of Indian engineers and scientists. However, as we live in a sociocultural environment that exalts STEM education while India begins to occupy a more central position on the world stage, it is necessary, I think, to highlight the importance of fostering a love for reading among our young people and of helping them become capable writers. It has been widely observed that young people and people in general today read less than they did a generation ago. What is more, I may be wrong (I often am), but I would venture to say that our education system does less to cultivate our young people to become lovers of books than Western education systems, though, in this digital age, it is a challenge everywhere these days to get young people to enjoy reading. This is indeed regrettable. I am convinced that one of the greatest services we can render to our children is to foster their zeal for reading. Nothing defines a truly intellectual disposition and a truly educated mind more definitely than a love for reading. Nothing stimulates one’s intellectual curiosity and fosters the development of one’s intellectual passions like reading. Furthermore, nothing instils empathy for people in circumstances different from our own like reading. Reading is the key that enables us to absorb the world in its fullness and to truly imagine ourselves into the wide range of human experience. This becomes increasingly important, as the world, and specifically business and commerce, becomes increasingly globalized and as the paths of people of who possess diverse human experiences, cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds increasingly intersect. It is crucial for the man of the 21st century break out of the prison of his own human experiences and his own sociocultural environment to be able to truly understand the viewpoints, ideas, attitudes, experiences, and the feelings of the ‘other’. Sadly, at a time when reading is more important than ever, it is diminishing in importance in this digital age. As parents, we must be alarmed and turn the tide. Along with China, India’s economy is growing more rapidly than any other nation on earth. By the time our children grow into adulthood, India will likely be an influential voice on the world-stage and an economic powerhouse. The Indian of the 21st century needs to be a reader. In the great global community of the 21st century, if he is to be an innovator, a noble leader, an enlightened statesman, an effective manager, an entrepreneur with a disruptive idea, and a thoughtful citizen of a complex world, the Indian must be a reader – plain and simple. While it is a point of pride that India produces so many talented engineers and STEM educated professionals and while STEM subjects are certainly intellectually rigorous and demanding, one must wonder if our young people are being raised in an educational environment that overly emphasizes the vocational purposes of being educated and inadvertently fails to really nurture readers who read for the love of reading. Are our children really being nurtured to get lost in the worlds depicted by works of fiction and non-fiction? Are our young people being adequately nurtured to have their hearts thrilled and moved and weighed down and elated and liberated by a great story? Are their views and prejudices and narrow mentalities being challenged by the world of books? Ultimately, I leave it to you to decide. But you get the point. Now let me say something about the sister of reading – writing, and let me speak in more pragmatic terms. Ask any CEO or seasoned management professional to name one ability that he or she considers to be indispensable in order to reach the highest echelons of the world of business, and he may very well respond with one word - communication. While technical skills are certainly and absolutely necessary, many times what often sets people apart and enables them to rise is the ability to communicate clearly and persuasively, the ability to use words to articulate a vision, to present a viewpoint, to share an idea, to depict a situation, hypothetical or real, and to inspire people to take action. Great leaders are great communicators. And great communicators are great readers. Almost without exception, anyone who has ever been truly skilful with words was a reader. A young person who grows up reading will grow up to be a confident writer and speaker. He will become a man who has the power to make an impact in any endeavour of his choosing. So do your children a favour. Help them become avid readers and capable writers.
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