Creative Society: Prospects for India

Book excerpt: Creativity is one of mankind’s principal resources. Can this resource be harnessed to accelerate India’s transition from traditionalism to modernity and widespread poverty to decent living standards for all? Can India’s creative efflorescence be directed towards designing a society that facilitates well-being, boosts cultural evolution and raises the bar for exhilaration through creative achievement? Is it possible to socially engineer a society that throbs with questions, novel perspectives and relevant innovations? Can it lead to a society where millions question the status quo and join hands to work out innovative solutions – in short, a creative society? This book is an affirmative response to these questions. Creative Society is an intellectually stimulating analysis of factors that trigger the emergence of a truly creative and innovative society; it explores the nature of human creativity – how it can be augmented and the social contexts that shape it; discusses ways of making institutions such as the government, educational bodies and other civil society organizations more creativity-friendly; offers an assessment of India’s prospective emergence as a highly vibrant, dynamic and creative society; and finally, offers several practical suggestions for India’s creative efflorescence.