Full form of O.K.- An attempt to look at a deeper and bigger picture

O.K. abbreviated as?

A couple of days back, I took an auto from the railway station while traveling to my hometown from Delhi. One amongst the 10 fellow passengers asked me suddenly, “Bhaiya aap padhte ho? Kaha? Delhi me? {Do you read? Where? In Delhi?} (.) I replied in affirmative to all his questions with one big Yes. His next question became a bouncer, when he asked acha bataye O.K. ka full form kya hota hain? I was completely bowled out and hence ducked at the bouncer delivery. He said O.K. means One Kiss. He answered his question but left an imprint in my minds. It was why do rural India (Bharat) asks such questions from urban India (INDIA). Why do rural residents feel that it’s important to check the knowledge level of urban residents? Such questions (innovative for former and stupid for latter) are very common for me since my childhood days. When I used to go to my native village from my home, which is situated in a small town, I had to encounter such a nature of questions. Example- Recite Table of 19, spell difficult words, solve maths problems etc. If I used to succeed in this difficult (IITJEE/UPSC level) exam, my knowledge and capabilities in Hindi and Sanksrit used to be tested by them. This is so because rural India feels urbanites don’t know these subjects nicely as compared to English. But I feel behind all these question & answer sessions (Q&A), there is something which needs a deep introspection at societal or psychological or political levels.

The rural vs urban debate has always gained media attention. In India, the countryside definition has been different from that of abroad. We have panchayats, kasbas and hamlets which can be said to be countryside from outsiders’ perspectives and standards. But what is really interesting and also sad, at the same time, is the gulf between these two. In all aspects viz. how do they live, eat, dwell, work, save, earn, consume, enjoy, study etc., one can easily gauge the qualitative and quantitative differences between rural and urban residents. Debates and differences can (and in fact have) lead (led) to dissent in this context due to the widening of the gulf between the two. Is this dissent that manifests in the form of such innovative questions asked from urbanites? Is this dissent going to be resolved through these Q&A sessions or become deeper in due course of time? Based on my experiences, I feel the dissent has not reduced but merely changing its forms from recitation of tables to tongue twisters to O.K. full form.

Any nation cannot prosper unless rural and urban citizens collaborate at social, economic, political levels. This is very true for India where 68% population dwells in the rural areas (Census 2011). In addition, it becomes important in Indian context as we are adding urban population very fast since a couple of decades. In coming two decades, we will add as many urban people as there are now in India (around 300 million). In such a scenario, it is crucial for India to resolve the differences between the two communities and strive forward to attain India of Gandhi’s dreams. How would this happen and who would facilitate it?

RURBAN mission has been an attempt of government to create urban amenities in rural clusters. This will preserve the rural soul even in an urban ecosystem of such rural clusters. It can be useful in weeding out the differences and doubts in the minds of rural dwellers regarding urbanites. The success of the mission rests on adoption of its spirit and motto. Urban-Rural gap can be decreased only when all the stakeholders viz. rural and urban community, governments and civil society, takes such attempts.

A collaborative and combined effort and initiative is the need of the hour to propel India’s growth and development. Its growth has been termed as “unique”, “epic” and “unbelievable” in the recent years especially after Global Economic Recession. But, now it needs a label which would safeguard the prosperity of its citizens-both rural (mostly missing in present development model) and urban. Such a nature of development will be sustainable and inclusive in real sense. It would demand efforts from the communities (both rural and urban), be it removal of prejudices and stereotypes or shaking hands to harness the best of the available resources with the respective societies. This spirit is ingrained in our cultural system and practices which includes “Vasudeva Kutumbakam”. If we consider the whole world as one, can’t urban community that is more prosperous encompass the rural sector and create opportunities for mainstreaming and developing the latter? Rural India also would need to adopt changes to take the much needed leap to create “One India, One nation, One people”. This is possible even while appreciating India’s diversity because it is not a forced attempt but consensual.

A consensus building exercise will set the foundations for sustainable and resilient India with a feeling of commonality and fraternity. This “New India” will not witness rural-urban Q&A sessions to unravel each other’s deficits. On the contrary, it will cultivate habits amongst each other for a common objective to transform the status quo. In this context, Innovation, skill development and entrepreneurship will hold the key in the emerging global and national orders. Bottom up participatory planning, inculcation and practice of human values along with psychological elements like amelioration of prejudice will be the over-arching framework to develop collaboration and not breed dissent between Bharat and India. Then only it will be Oll Korrect or Olla Kalla (Greek meaning All Correct), most likely full form of O.K.