”Count
Your Chickens Before They are Hatched”
By
Karmayogi
The above caption is a quotation
from the book I referred to two days ago, The Great Indian Dream. It is there
as a chapter heading. The efficacy of planning is emphasised in this fashion.
Prof. Arindam has published a book with this title which became a national best
seller. Our activities can be considered under two different headings. One is
the work we are used to – weddings, house building, exams, tours, office
inspection, factory production, etc. The other is a work we are not used to.
There are works which many do, but they are new to us as we do it for the first
time. There are other works that no one has experience in. Planning of any
known work can be made perfect over time and there you can expect the results.
A rocket that was launched was planned to land at a given time. It landed
exactly on the minute at the given place. It was late by nine seconds. Planning
can be that accurate. When you introduce a new product in the market, planning
cannot predict the results. Our age-old wisdom of not counting the chickens
before they are hatched is entirely true in such contexts. Jawaharlal Nehru
found Indian planning that new in 1950. Perhaps to the Government of India the
challenge remains to this day.
It is very rewarding to see that economic professors of standing find Indian
Planning is something where we can predict results. A high placed official of
the Planning Commission once was dismayed by the suggestion that India could catch up with the West. Now
that the population, especially the youth, is awake, all the money we need is
available in India,
all the technology for progress is at hand, it is possible to plan for
Prosperity. I would like to add an individual strain to this national theme.
Individuals can come forward to study Professor Arindam's theme and plan
their own future Prosperity. Every individual who rises above poverty, who raises
his level of Prosperity is discharging a patriotic duty of abolishing poverty.
After all, India is
a collection of a billion individuals.