9
TITAN EDGE
_
BEATING DEFERENCE
ann Gand reste ste fn South Ata an
India was notabout overthrowing tbe British. Ieyas apn
‘How do you make an enslaved rae think and feel equal
cies when all aound there i compelling evidence of io
eosaving races “uperoiy’ Brian's superiority was manieg
in he very fact hat 100000 Brits in India ruled 350 mation
Indians thaithad superior technology, superior guns, machines
prods, that it red Indi with it laws, institutions, pies
govemance and taxes designed to preserve inequality. Inthe face
of al thi, how do you get an enslaved nation to fel equalt
Gandhi's bigest concern was not expelling the British, That
could be done But fit was done without an enslaved people
first feling and seing themselves as equal to any ruler, one vet
‘of rues would only be eplaced by another, and inequality with
its inherent exploitation and arrogance would continue. "The
Challenge for him was o get the people of India to move fiom
a sate of deference to positive ieverence.
‘nasense, Gandhi's challenge is as relevant today. One ofthe
sas ence
key mindsets that prevent breakthrough product innovation in
India is the mindset of deference to the developed werd
‘Tue Orsr-sinrmvc Crauience
‘Tati the mindset that Titan Watch Indust’ then managing
director, Keres Desai faced, when in 1994, he set his ears 20
corbit-shifting challenge: ‘Create the slimmest water-resistant
‘watch in the world!" This meant that the watch would need tobe
a maximum of 3.5 mm thick—as thik a the edge ofa floppy