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By:

Asha Tripathi

14 April 2025 at 1:35:28 pm

Stop Comparing, Start Growing

Success does not grow in comparison; it grows in focus. Over the years, women have made significant strides in every sphere of life. From managing homes to leading organisations, from nurturing families to building successful careers, women have proved that strength and resilience are deeply rooted in their nature. Financial independence has become a significant milestone for many women today, bringing with it confidence, dignity, and the freedom to shape one’s own destiny. However, along...

Stop Comparing, Start Growing

Success does not grow in comparison; it grows in focus. Over the years, women have made significant strides in every sphere of life. From managing homes to leading organisations, from nurturing families to building successful careers, women have proved that strength and resilience are deeply rooted in their nature. Financial independence has become a significant milestone for many women today, bringing with it confidence, dignity, and the freedom to shape one’s own destiny. However, along with growth has come another silent challenge — the tendency to constantly observe, compare, and sometimes even compete with the journeys of others. But a crucial question arises: Is it necessary to track the growth of others in order to grow ourselves? From my personal experience of more than two decades as an entrepreneur, I have realised something very powerful — true growth begins the moment we stop looking sideways and start looking within. A Small Beginning I had a flourishing career of teaching abroad, but when I restarted my career after moving back to India, my beginning was extremely small. My very first assignment was a simple home tuition for a single student, and the amount I earned was meagre. There was nothing glamorous about it. No recognition, no large batches, no big earnings. Just one student and one opportunity. But instead of worrying about how others were doing, how many students they had, or how much they were earning, I made a conscious decision—my only focus would be on improving myself. I focused on teaching better, preparing better, and becoming more disciplined and consistent. And slowly, without even realising it, things began to grow. One student became two, two became a small group, and gradually, over the years, the work expanded beyond what I had initially imagined. Looking back today, I can confidently say that the growth did not happen because I competed with others. It happened because I competed with myself yesterday. Comparison Creates Noise When we keep watching others' journeys too closely, we unknowingly divert our own energy. Comparison creates unnecessary noise in our minds. It brings doubts, insecurities, and sometimes even negativity. Instead of walking our own path with clarity, we start questioning our speed, our direction, and our worth. True success grows through focus, not comparison. Every woman has her own story, her own pace, and her own struggles that others may never see. The path of one person can never be identical to another's. So comparing journeys is like comparing two different rivers flowing towards the same ocean — each with its own route, its own curves, and its own rhythm. As women, we already carry many responsibilities. We balance emotions, relationships, work, and society's expectations. In such a life, the last thing we need is the burden of comparison with one another. Instead, what we truly need is support for each other. When women encourage women, something extraordinary happens. Confidence grows. Opportunities multiply. Strength becomes collective rather than individual. There is enough space in the world for every woman to create her own identity. Each of us can build our own niche without stepping on someone else's path. Choose Encouragement Envy weakens us, but encouragement empowers us. Rather than questioning how someone else is progressing, we can ask a more meaningful question: "How can I grow a little better than I was yesterday?" Lift As You Rise Today, after twenty years of experience, the most valuable lesson I have learned is simple yet profound — focus on your own work with honesty and dedication, and success will quietly follow you. We, women, are capable, resilient, and creative. We do not need to pull each other down or compete in unhealthy ways. Instead, we can lift each other up while building our own dreams. Because when one woman rises, she does not rise alone. She inspires many others to believe that they can rise, too. And perhaps that is the most beautiful form of success. (The writer is a tutor based in Thane. Views personal.)

Old Ties, New Times

As India courts Africa with history and technology, its relationship with Ethiopia offers a revealing test of Southern diplomacy.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ethiopia earlier this month, the warmth of his reception said as much about the present as it did about the past. India’s engagement with Africa is no longer framed merely as solidarity among post-colonial states. It is now pitched as a strategic and technological partnership which is self-consciously different from the hard-edged approaches of China or the episodic attention of the West. Ethiopia, long described as the ‘gateway to Africa,’ has emerged as a telling case study of this recalibration.


The world’s geopolitical centre of gravity is shifting southwards. Asia and Africa, once treated as peripheral theatres, are increasingly setting the terms of global growth, diplomacy and institutional reform. India, styling itself as the ‘voice of the Global South,’ has invested heavily in this moment by championing African representation in global forums, most notably by backing the African Union’s admission as a permanent member of the G20. That move was widely welcomed across the continent, and nowhere more so than in Addis Ababa, the diplomatic capital of Africa.


Historic Relationship

India’s ties with Ethiopia are among the oldest uninterrupted relationships linking South Asia with Africa. Historical records trace exchanges back nearly two millennia, when merchants from the Indian subcontinent traded silk, spices and textiles for Ethiopian gold and ivory along Red Sea routes. During the Axumite Empire, between the first and sixth centuries AD, the port of Adulis served as a crucial node in this Indo-African commerce, binding two ancient civilisations through trade and culture rather than conquest.


History also provided moments of solidarity under arms. In the 16th century, forces linked to Portuguese India aided Ethiopian rulers against invading armies. During Ethiopia’s struggle against Italian occupation in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Indian soldiers serving under the British flag played a notable role in its liberation. After independence, diplomatic relations were formalised in 1950, placing India and Ethiopia on parallel trajectories as post-imperial states navigating Cold War pressures and development challenges.


What distinguishes the present phase is the scope and ambition of cooperation. India today is Ethiopia’s second-largest foreign investor, with more than 675 Indian companies operating across manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and agriculture. Indian investments exceed $6.5 billion and are estimated to generate employment for over 75,000 Ethiopians. Bilateral trade reached roughly $550 million in 2024–25, heavily tilted in India’s favour.


Beyond economics lies a more strategic wager. India is positioning its digital public infrastructure as an exportable model for the developing world. Agreements signed during Modi’s visit include support for Ethiopia’s digital transformation, anchored by plans for a major data centre. Indian officials have framed this as a ‘turning point’ not merely for bilateral ties but as a template other African countries might emulate.


Artificial intelligence is central to this vision. India has committed to specialised training programmes for Ethiopian youth, betting that technological capacity, rather than raw aid, will shape the next phase of development. This echoes New Delhi’s broader pitch to Africa: development without dependency, capacity-building without control.


Security cooperation, too, is deepening. India has offered assistance in maritime security, defence training and peacekeeping - areas of acute concern for Afro-Asian states navigating unstable neighbourhoods. The first joint defence cooperation meeting, held in October 2025, signalled a quiet but consequential expansion of military ties. India’s experience in United Nations peacekeeping, including its past role during Ethiopia’s internal conflicts, lends credibility to these efforts.


Culture remains the connective tissue. An Indian diaspora of around 2,000 - many of them educators - continues a tradition dating back to the late 19th century, when Indian teachers helped shape Ethiopia’s modern education system. More than 150 Indian professors currently work in Ethiopian institutions. Direct flights between New Delhi and Addis Ababa, and eased visa access for business and education, have further thickened people-to-people ties.


None of this guarantees success. Ethiopia’s internal strains, India’s own economic constraints, and Africa’s growing wariness of external suitors all pose risks. But the relationship reflects a broader truth: power in the 21st century is as much about trust and memory as it is about money and muscle.


India’s bet is that a partnership grounded in shared history, technological cooperation and institutional reform can endure where others falter. Ethiopia, with its ancient past and contested future, offers both an opportunity and a test. If this experiment succeeds, it may yet illuminate a path for South–South diplomacy in an unsettled world.


(The writer is a researcher and expert in foreign affairs. Views personal.)


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