Each time I see a TATA pickup truck, a feeing of bitterness, anger and frustration attacks me. Of the hundreds of vehicles regularly seen in our streets, it is this particular make which produces such strong feelings of indignation and despair.
I beg of you not to misunderstand me. In no way am I belittling the quality of the brand or its country of origin — which is of course India. On the contrary, such success by a country that we Arabs continue to view condescendingly as a backward, Third World state is to be commended.
India has done what no Arab country has done, or even all the Arab countries together have failed to do. It manufactured a car that not only works but works well and, judging by sales, is in demand in many countries. We Arabs, on the other hand, have failed to produce an engine or a single machine of any kind.
Until very recently, we looked at India as a country far behind in everything. We were happy with this delusion and only woke up when India surprised the world with its first atomic bomb.
Instead of learning vitally important lessons from the Indian experiment, we wasted our time in asking how India had the capability to do such a thing. We said that India had only gone nuclear with the help of Russia and other nuclear powers that gave Delhi everything on a silver platter. In this, as in so many other things, we were dead wrong.
Nobody handed India anything on a silver platter; its people did it themselves. The proof is right here on our roads and streets; the excellent TATA vehicles speak volumes about India’s mastery of modern technology.
In the middle of the 19th century, the Japanese government sent special missions to a number of European countries. The missions were instructed to learn all they could about Western expertise and technology and bring it back to Japan. Within a few decades, Japan emerged as a power in both industry and trade. Its example was soon followed by other nations and today, they have strong economies and a place in the developed world.
What did we in the Arab world do during this time when other nations were steadily progressing?
The answer is obvious: We did nothing. Not only that, we failed to move even one step forward while other nations moved and progressed so quickly that we are seen as living in a state of backwardness.
India, which we used to label underdeveloped, began exporting all kinds of machinery and technology while we exported nothing but our oil. We did manage to build a few assembly plants and pretended that this was an achievement to be celebrated.
Am I not justified when I say I am angry and frustrated? I am sure many others have the same feelings when they look at our backwardness. It is a slap in the face of every single one of us.
When, I wonder, will we be numbered among the makers of civilization and technology instead of being only consumers and bystanders? The world moves forward but do we?
