The rising prominence of small towns- another facet of “chak de India”

An important, but less-obvious facet of “chak de India” is the emergence of small-town India. This is visible in many different ways:

1. “Tier 2″ towns like Mysore, Coimbatore and Mohali are attracting IT majors, who are setting up delivery centers. For employees, the savings potential is higher because the cost of living is lower in these locations (with relatively little loss in salary) and quality of life is better (shorter commutes, more personal time, less pollution). For employers, infrastructure costs are controlled, and attrition is managed more effectively.
2. Locations like Baddi in Himachal Pradesh now boast of world-class computer and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants. Think of the employment opportunities this creates for the local population- especially for those people who might otherwise have depended on agriculture or tourism. Even if it is only the newer generations that are employable in these new industries, it is a start that would have been unimaginable even 5 years ago. Some NGOs have started training and hiring village youth (e.g. in Andhra Pradesh) for activities like fund raising. The youth get exposed to new opportunities, while the NGO does not have to worry about losing people from a key function every few weeks- a bigger risk in urban India. And with telecom infrastructure in semi-urban and rural India picking up, this idea is not any more inefficient than if executed from a town or city.
3. We should know in a few hours from now whether Prashant Tamang or Amit Paul is this year’s Indian Idol. So what is the connection…, you wonder?! Well, both these highly talented singers come from relatively small towns (Darjeeling and Shillong respectively). Till a few years ago, such programs would not have even looked beyond the top 4-5 metros. But look at the number of aspirants this time from smaller cities like Indore, Lucknow, Pune etc.
4. The character of “Soi Moi Kerketa” (who would keep saying “Ho” in the movie “Chak de India”) is from Jharkhand. See http://209.62.107.50/movie/chak-de-india/cast/18887
5. While once Indian men’s cricket was dominated by players from the larger cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad, we now have players like R P Singh, Sreesanth and M S Dhoni, our newest cricket captain- from smaller towns and state teams that have perhaps not produced (m)any national cricketers before.

To me, all these are examples of the “chak de India” phenomenon- and bode well for us as a nation.