Ships don’t sink because of water around them; ships sink because of water that gets into them.

Q. Ships don't sink because of water around them; ships sink because of water that gets into them. [2020] In the middle of twentieth century, many nations got independence in Indian sub-continent like India, Pakistan, Myanmar etc. All these countries were like ships trying to navigate the storming waters of poverty, illiteracy, anarchy etc combined with ongoing bloc politics in the international arena. All the countries faced storming waters around them. Sinking was quite a possible reality. Nepal has seen frequent constitutional failures, Myanmar has seen multiple military coups, whereas Pakistan has become a dead economy with military controlling the civil administration.

On the contrary, India despite facing stormy water around its neighbour sailed quite smoothly. The reason is the focus on strong institutions and not allowing the water to enter into it. Such is the paradox of ship, that it doesn't sink because of the water around it, it sinks because of the water inside it. The ship here doesn't merely depict a ship, but it is a metaphor for individuals, society, nations etc. Each of them is undergoing a sea voyage and facing water around them is inevitable. The water here depicts the perceived risks of failure, vulnerabilities, and existential crisis. A genuine question arises in the mind of every sailor, why ships sink because of water inside it?, and why doesn't it sink from water around it? On the individual front, the attitude decides whether the water goes inside the ship or remains around it. Take the case of an optimistic person who finds solutions in problems, whereas a pessimistic person finds problems even in solutions. The famous saying, "you don't see things as they are, you see things as you are" highlights the role of attitude. The above fact can be seen in the case of Nelson Mandela, who remained in Jail for 27 years, but never let the waters of hatred, anger, and vengeance enter his soul.

He pushed for Anti-Apartheid rules after coming out of jail. On the other hand, Dictator of Kenya, let the waters of vengeance, hatred, and anger enter into him. The result was prolonged instability, civil wars, and abject poverty in the nation. On the similar lines, government officials after seeing the culture of bribe taking in the department, starts normalising it in their value system and become a corrupt official themselves, whereas, a self aware official never lets the ambience, and normalisation of corruption seep into him, and becomes a badge of honour in the steel frame of civil services. Taking the reference to societal perspective, societies which are open and allows questioning of regressive practices never sinks and become a pragmatic society, whereas, a closed society which stops questioning the regressive forces and customs become a dogmatic society. A case in point is prevalence of racism in USA despite its efforts for Black Rights. The Indian caste based discrimination is also a pertinent example of prevailing medieval mindset. on the other hand, take the case of Malaysia and Indonesia, where people of multiple ethnic origin live together in harmony. The environmental concern is the biggest issue of the 21st century, the waters of global warming, climate change etc are continuously seeping into the ship of global citizens.

The need of global collaboration for green transition, curbing the temperature rise, and funding to developing countries for green transition is required more than ever. Otherwise, the ship is bound to be sunk and the consequences will be dire in the form of hunger, poverty, catastrophe and climate refugees. The ships of nations are also shaped by how they curb the nearly water to enter into them. Take the case of Korean war in 1952. The result was division of mainland into two countries North Korea and South Korea. North Korea couldn't prevent the waters to enter into it and became a military dictatorship, isolated from the rest of world through sanctions, whereas South Korea transformed itself into an industrialised nation and gave the world-giants like Samsung. It was due to robust institutions built to prevent the ship from sinking. Similarly, the humankind has been benefitted a lot from the use of technology. Be it the steam engines for transportation, internet for automation etc. But the fears of dehumanisation, outsourcing of thinking to machines, exclusion of vulnerable sections has outrightly highlighted the possibility of sinking of human ship by waters of technology. Take the example of AI, which has caused an estimated 20M job loss in India. India's commitment for ethical and inclusive use of AI and push for democratic data uses in AI Summit brings a ray of hope. There is a merit in the counterview that ships can sink without the Nevertheless, ships are bound to stormy waters around them if they sail. "A ship is safe in harbour, but that is not what it is meant for." Not sailing due to the fear of sinking is a foolish choice. The wisdom lies in learning the art of sailing the ship without letting the outside water get into it. This can be done in the following ways. on the individual front, having a positive attitude and perseverance to not boggle down from the adversities faced in life. This requires a strong value system combined with learning from experiences. on the institutional levels, maintaining a robust systems of checks and balances to prevent failure is necessary. Indian constitution provides this through flexible separation of powers, judicial review, and basic structure doctrine to prevent failure of constitutional machinery. on the global level, we need more robust and representative governance platforms where challenges are taken with more legitimacy and solid solutions are provided to prevent the global ship of humanity from sinking.

The idea of a global ship based on ideals of 'Vasudaiv Kutumbakkam' which never sinks has to be turned into a reality.