Once I was traveling through a part of India with a driver who was new to the land. He took a wrong turn at one point but drove five miles before he realized he was on the wrong road. He had to stop and take a U-turn, but we soon reached our destination safely.

This kind of turning around doesn’t just happen when you’re driving on a road. It’s a principle of life. Every person, every community, every country has to turn things around someday. Failure to do so may result in unsustainable losses.

A U-turn (used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Pakistan, Malaysia, etc.), “flip-flop” (used mostly in the United States), or backflip (used in Australia and New Zealand) is a derogatory term for a sudden real or apparent change of policy or opinion by a public official, sometimes while trying to claim that the two positions are consistent with each other. It carries connotations of pandering and hypocrisy. Often, flipflops occur during the period before or following an election to maximize the candidate’s popularity.

 In 2007, the Tatas set up an automobile factory in West Bengal, India to produce the Nano car. They soon realized that West Bengal was unfavorable for their industry, so they dismantled the factory and rebuilt it in Gujarat, India. Soon the Nano car was running successfully in all Indian cities. This success was a direct result of the implementation of the U-turn policy. The same applies to nations.

One example is the path taken by Britain after World War II. British leaders, especially those associated with the Fabian Society, felt that they could no longer control India and other “British colonies,” and promoted a policy of decolonization. As we all know, Churchill emerged as a hero in World War II but was defeated in the 1945 election. The reason was that the desire for postwar reform was widespread among the British people, and a man who had led Britain into war was not seen as a man who could lead the nation to peace. Well, the most recent one and most talked about is BREXIT U-Turn.

History is full of examples of the success of those who pursued a U-turn policy and the failure of those who did not. Nothing is certain in this world, either for an individual or a nation. Hence, every individual or group of people should pursue a U-turn policy if necessary. If they find that their journey is hitting a dead end, they should correct their course and reassess the entire issue and if they appear to be heading in the wrong direction, they should immediately reverse course.

India is also a good example of this kind of policy. After independence, India adopted a socialist economic model, but the results were far from promising. Then in 1991, India introduced a new policy in economic planning. In recent years, Indian authorities have brought about major changes in economic policies that can be called a paradigm shift. But perhaps it is time to seek a different perspective that can purify the system of impurities.

Ultimately the question we want to probe here is whether there is much shame in the U-turn.

U-turns are the law of nature. No one can see what the eye cannot see. No one can predict everything that will happen in the future. This makes the journey of life a leap into the unknown. A wise person can reassess themselves, reset their priorities, replan their projects, and adapt to changing circumstances. Don’t try to fight realities. Just accept them. If you can’t change reality, change yourself.