Readers Debate: Is 'Jugaad' good or bad for India?

Our readers posted strong, smart and opinionated comments to the article titled – Can Indians please stop making a virtue out of ‘jugaad’? – which we have now published as a separate post.

While some of them pointed out that the concept of Jugaad would kill the possibility of any real innovation, others said it was about ingenuity and resourcefulness – and plain smartness.

A Azad: Its quite simple - Jugaad kills any possibility of real innovation. It’s our lame excuse for a basic lack of attention to details, quality, workmanship, consistency and creativity. It also shows our lack of interest to use science, technology and basic research to create real solutions. Look around us and nothing we use in our modern day to day life has been conceived, designed or built thanks to Jugaad (unless you ride the Jugaad to work). It’s all come from people, businesses and nations who constantly innovate and find real and increasingly better solutions to problems. We can copy others but unlike China, Korea, Japan and others never use the early mimicry to expand and extend what we have learned any further.

Sushant: Here is how I interpret Jugaad. Decades of decandent governace created a system which thwarted growth in any form. Given the basic human spirit to succed, we devised a system to work around the system and be innovative, this to my mind is not a sustainable solution. Why is this model is successful (which I doubt) are we not known for quality products (as a nation)… this whole mindset of “aaj kar do, kal dekehnge” will spell doom sooner rather than later.

Ranjan Malik: Jugaad’ as a concept is grossly misunderstood. Jugaad is about ingenuity and resourcefulness. It is about cleverly shaving off of overshoots. It is not about being ok with the sub-optimal.

I feel the concept has a lot of potential today. Resources are getting scarce, if the whole world were to live the ‘western lifestyle’ we would need multiple Earths. Ingenious innovation that makes impossibilities elegantly possible, is what Jugaad about and not cheap ‘chalta hai’ solutions.

Western model of innovation that took resources for granted is not viable anymore. We need a new model that will perhaps emerge out of the East. A model that works on enhancing leverage. And jugaad, understood in its true essence might be it.

As usual, we’ll wake up to it when it comes back to us via west.

What’s your view on Jugaad? Is it good? Is it bad? Is it good sometimes and not on other occasions? Use the ‘comments’ option and join the debate.