We are not afraid of failure, because we have failed already.

A correspondent based in the US has some advice for our Prime Minister for his visit to Silicon Valley later this month. In an article titled,' Om NaMo SiVa ' he asserts that the success of Silicon Valley is based on the acceptance of failure. " Much of Silicon Valley is built on a culture of risk-taking. Central to its lore is not stigmatising honest failure. Young geeks who have burnt through millions in failed ventures move on to second and third start-ups with the understanding among investors and venture capitalists that for every Google and Facebook, there are hundreds of ideas that die face down and end in zilch," he writes. He feels that in Asia there is a fear of failure. " In countries such as India, where farmers commit suicide because they owe Rs 2 lakh with no recourse to bankruptcy and rebuilding credit, or Korea, where pride and principle is hewn into every enterprise, failure on borrowed capital is tantamount to dishonour." Such differences are put down to culture but may even be genetic. While the history of western people is one of wars, conquest and slavery Asian peoples are completely different in their approach. Harmony and refraining from strife seems central to the Confucian principle while Indians are altogether supine, meekly accepting dominance of others, whether foreign invaders or local satraps. After a catastrophic explosion that cost over 100 lives the Chinese Premier visited the site in Tianjin. What is remarkable is that every official, including the Premier, is wearing a crisp white shirt and black trousers with identical black belts. Such is the uniformity in China that every delegate at the People's Congress has jet black hair, regardless of age. That is why China spent in excess of $200 billion to stop the falls in its stock markets and currency because otherwise the leaders would lose face. As for us Indians a story shows the type of people we are. A king wanted more money so he decided to levy service tax on restaurants. There was no protest. So he levied service tax on electricity, an essential service. No protest. Then he levied toll tax on a bridge that people had to cross to go to work. No protest. So he passed an order that every person crossing the bridge will be hit with a shoe while paying toll tax. Still no protest. But after one month one man wrote a petition to the king. Please increase the number of men to hit us with shoes because we are being delayed for work. Our esteemed leaders strut around like kings, levy huge taxes on us and if you dare protest you will be arrested for sedition. So, while Pakistan continues to threaten to use nuclear weapons against us we are paying huge amounts of money to Pakistani actors to act in our films. Wonder how much of that money is donated to LeT. Can you imagine any other nation being so servile? We are not afraid of failure, because we have failed as a nation.