India is the land of jugaads. With rising influence of Indian culture, the word jugaad is now a legitimate word in English dictionaries. The Oxford dictionary defines jugaad as involving the use of skill and imagination to find an easy solution to a problem or to fix or make something using cheap, basic items. The popular definition of jugaad on Wikipedia is a non-conventional, frugal innovation.
Jugaad is an innovation where it solves a problem in a novel way. However, in many cases jugaad is a perverse solution to problems for which legitimate (and inefficient) solutions are available. Jugaad is also an essential life skill for systems where the legitimate processes yield little or no result.
Consider for example, there is a pot hole on the road in front of your home. You have written numerous letters to Municipal Corporation but no repair was done. Then you, being a friend of a high official, put the problem in the right ears, and the work is done. This informal process is no less than a jugaad necessitated by the situation. Jugaad in this context requires maneuvering the complex web of processes and officials. Without such jugaad, no results might be yielded.
The bureaucratic processes are riddled with inefficiencies, often forcing people to rely on jugaads. In the realm of jugaad, corruption and favoritism often become indispensable.
People resort to jugaad because the systems are inefficient, and restrictive. People resort to jugaad to evade taxes. People resort to judaad to get land documents. And in some cases, people resort to jugaad to get justice.
India is proud of jugaads. But if things don't move without jugaads, there is nothing to be proud of. The jugaad culture is a failure of Indian systems to be efficient. A society that celebrates jugaad might inadvertently stifle efforts to create long-lasting solutions. If the survival of those who aren't adept at jugaad or street-smartness is difficult, we have failed to create the right systems. Today's jugaad is a lost opportunity for tomorrow's reforms.