The hype was true. It just needed to be seen to be believed.

What is common between India and Pakistan is merely the fact that there has been an InfoTech boom in both countries. That's all. Similarity ends. India has chosen to leverage the power of the Internet for boosting the economy and creating wealth and has gone about doing so in a focused and intelligent manner. Pakistan has single-mindedly decided to churn out OCPs and MCSEs that run off to Canada and America, first chance that they get.

I just attended India Internet World 2000 in Delhi and was truly astounded at the sheer energy and force generated by over 1800 young Indians delegates. Intelligence, business savvy, technical knowledge and passion was bursting out of every square inch of space at Pragati Maidan. It was an inspiring spectacle. On the flip side, it was a terribly frustrating and painful experience for me as a Pakistani. The Indians look like us, talk like us and suffer the same bureaucratic nightmares and hurdles as us ... the difference is that they are now major players in the New Economy.

This is not about Bangalore and its vast reserves of world-class software developers. This is about the dotcom revolution in India. From companies like eGurucool.com (eLearning) to razorfinish.com (reverse auctions for hotel reservations), the dotcom scene is explosive and the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and kicking.

It all happened one day last year when a search engine called khoj.com was bought by Satyam InfoWay. Across India, the collective pulse of approximately 50% of her educated population quickened. Until then, they had been closely observing how young college students all over America were becoming millionaires overnight. Now, with eyes open wide, they saw how their own children could join the fray. Some even went so far as to pull their kids out of school and to get them enrolled in web development courses. Young entrepreneurs saw massive opportunities to convert their dreams into cash. And so, the dotcom/infotech wave spread across the nation, especially Mumbai, forever changing the way business is conducted in India.

India gets it. We don't. These days, eCommerce is the buzz. One hears lectures about supply chain management, streamlining of back-end processes, B2B and B2C and on and on. So what? How many dotcom companies have been formed in Pakistan? How many traditional companies have decided to embrace the Internet to enhance their bottomline? How many advertising agencies know about digital branding and how to track visits to a web site. How many business schools have altered their curricula to empower future professionals to compete in the New Economy? (A recent graduate of a prestigious, local business school did not even know what a startup was). How many ISPs are even thinking about broadband? How many of us "enlightened" individuals have done anything to change the "state of IT" in this country? In the grand scheme of things, Zero on most counts.

Young Pakistanis: This is a unique opportunity for us - the Internet is a level-playing field. Let's develop some focus and learn some REAL lessons from across the border. Those guys know what they are doing (over US$ 400 million worth of business deals were sealed over just 3 days at India Internet World 2000 alone), they are willing to allow their brains to be picked, and are willing to share their experiences and many among them genuinely enjoy meeting Pakistanis.

The mantra of the New Economy is P2P: Path to Profitability. To get in on the action, we have to develop a new strategy - Vision, Content, Branding. We have to respect our own language, culture and indigenous talent and exploit it to the maximum. We can make a difference and we can start now.

Carpe Diem - Seize the Day!