Competition is the underlying principle of meritocratic societies. It is argued
that when individuals and groups compete for resources, allocation occurs in
most efficient manner, resulting in favorable outcomes for individuals and
society.
Historically Indian society was organized on principles of hierarchy. Upper
caste men had a monopoly on resources while ‘lower’ castes suffered from
deprivations across multiple fronts. Post 1947, Constitution gave everyone
equal rights, thus opening up opportunities for competition. With increasing
population, awareness about education, economic and political opportunities
competition has increased manifold. Generally, it is believed that competition
is good for individuals and society. However, if we delve deeper into
empirical reality, we will find that outcomes of increasing competition are
often conditioned by variety of factors. In India, increasing competition has
been a mixed blessing with both positive and negative consequences.
Our youth first encounter competition in schools. Increasing awareness
about value of good education has resulted in cut throat competition for
admissions to schools and colleges. This ensures that brightest students
become future doctors, engineers and managers. Successful Indians such as
Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella are living examples of positive consequences
of this competitive spirit. India’s commendable achievements in information
technology, nuclear and space sciences amongst others are also in part
facilitated by competition
However, beneath these achievements also lie plethora of problems.
Increased competition for admissions to nursery schools has robbed children
of their childhood forced as they are to appear for ‘interviews’ at such an
young age. Rising suicides in IITs and at coaching institutes – a byproduct of
competition also point towards pathologies of competition. Another issue
that is often forgotten is that many individuals and groups simply do get the
opportunities through which they can get the abilities to compete fairly.
For example, research shows that students belonging to higher income
groups are 4 times more likely to succeed in engineering entrance exams
when compared to students from low income groups. While we have made
considerable progress, we still fare poorly when it comes to gender equality
and providing equal opportunities to various ethinc, religious and caste
groups. Thus, in our competitive environment, several groups and individuals
are left behind – this breeds frustration and can cause social strife.
As individuals mature they compete in labor market. The success of Indian
companies such as Flipkart, Infosys, TATA, is testament to the ability of
individuals in these institutions. Organizations are often shared expressions
of individual goals and ideologies. When these organizations compete,
multiple benefits occur for participants through lower prices, increased
choice and better products and services.
Unfortunately, there is a dark side to competition in economic sphere. As
individuals compete, often some are not able to achieve goals and objects
considered desirable in society. As a result, there is tendency to reject
institutional means and resort to corruption and crime to accomplish these
goals. Increasing corruption is partly a result of increasing competition
between individuals to buy goods that are considered status enhancing.
As organizations compete for better returns for their shareholders, there
is tendency to sideline interests of workers and environment. Child labor,
modern day slavery, and incessant exploitation of environment are result of
this mindless competition.
Politics in India has also become an increasingly competitive sphere. As
individual candidates compete for votes, people get a chance to elect
representatives who are most aligned with their ideologies, interests and
priorities. While there is not dearth of success stories, increasing political
competition has also sharpened caste, religious and ethnic conflicts.
Increasing criminalization of politics, political corruption, are some of the
negative consequences of competition in political sphere.
Competition when combined with other decadent values such as patriarchy
can produce toxic consequences. For example, many men see women as
objects to be conquered. Larger the conquests, more ‘manly’ an individual is
considered amongst his peers. This can result in violence and
commodification of woman
Competition thus has its own advantages and disadvantages. To reap most
benefits out of competition, we need to ensure that individuals cherish
constitutional values such as equality, liberty, compassion, probity and do not
sidestep them at the altar of competition. Only then, humanity can benefit
from youth’s competitive spirit.