Book Review: India on Our Minds
This book comprises 50 essays by 50 different authors and the beauty of it is that I can cherry-pick according to my preference. However, it was hard to read as there were many varying writing styles and tones in the book.
Essays I Like
I enjoyed reading the personal accounts of Eirliani Abdul Rahman (p. 9), K. Kesavapany (p. 41), Sat Pal Khattar (p. 49), Sat Pal Khattar (p. 49), Ma Swan Hoo (p. 71), Uma Rajan (p. 83), Hernaikh Singh (p. 91), Walter Woon (p. 123), Chan Jia Hao (p. 153), and N. Varaprasad (p. 197). Their writing is clear, concise, and vivid. I felt as if I was in their world when they wrote their essays. It’s also fascinating to see India — and the ties with Singapore — from their lens.
I also enjoyed reading the essay by Tommy Koh (p. 285). His writing is clutter-free and concise. He painted a clear picture of the situation and problems the Indians face everyday without any sugar-coating.
My Takeaways
It’s crucial to be reminded of the importance of cooperation between nations. I’m proud of the National Heritage Board (NHB)’s effort in identifying suitable SG companies to support India in setting up new technologies to enhance their visitor experiences (p. 171). After reading this, I pieced together reasons why NHB was active on IMDA’s Open Innovation Platform (OIP). One or two years ago, NHB crowd-sourced a few times for technologies in improving visitor experience. Back then, I was aware of the importance of improving our museums to be competitive and relevant. But I was curious why NHBneeded to make two or three calls on OIP? Was it a severe or pressing issue in Singapore? And if so, how and why? Now that I have read this book ”India On Our Mind”, I realised that the technology for improving visitors experience is not only necessary for our own SG museums, but also important for establishing stronger ties with other countries.
I also learned of a new term ‘dividend boom’ (p. 321) where the country now has a higher proportion of the working-age population and has the potential to develop its economy significantly. India has one of the largest workforce but also the youngest with a low average age (29 years in 2020). This is an important trend to note as this labour capital could be pivotal for India’s economic growth.
Conclusion
All in all, I highly recommend #IndiaOnOurMinds. You can borrow a copy from the Singapore National Library Board.
