GANDHI JI’s DREAM OF INDEPENDENT INDIA???

Mahatma Gandhi wanted our rulers to wipe out every tear in the eyes of every poor man/ woman in this country. Nehru attempted to do that through modern development economics, five-year plans, education, science and self reliance; Indira Gandhi wished to wipe off poverty in India, and introduced Public sector Bank investments in small business/ industries and in rural sectors; Rajeev Gandhi thought he had a vision for India! And today we have (after 63 years of “independence” to rule ourselves) an economist Prime Minister, who thinks that the Western economic concept of “trickle effect” would change poverty in India!

Let us ask: Are we Independent today (when the nation celebrates the 64^th Independence day)?

Population: We are number two (immediately behind China), with about 1.15 billion people

Human Development Index: We are at an abysmal low of 134 (behind Indonesia, Vietnam and even Bhutan)), in a total of about 182 nations

WHERE DOES INDIA STAND TODAY?

[please also see: From The Bottom of My Heart]

1. Our population is about 1, 150 million (One in every sixth person in the world is an Indian)

2. We have over 635, 000 villages, where about 800 million people live, in very difficult conditions

3. Almost 100% of the villages are dilapidated, and over 80% of these regions do not have any infrastructure (electricity and water topping the list of non availabilities)

4. About 450 million people are illiterate, and over 80% of them are in the Northern Indian States (UP and Bihar topping the list)

5. About 650 million people do not earn even $150 per capita, and do not have one full nutritious meal per day for all 365 days

6. About 400 million of our youth (age group 18 to 35 yrs) are either unemployed or under employed (over 95% of these are from villages)

7. Over 350 million children (age group 0 to 9 yrs) are malnourished or do not have any average living conditions (all of them never see a school at all)

8. Although we have about a million “higher educated” youth coming out of the nearly 1000 specialty institutions (including prestigious ones such as IIT’s IIM’s and IISc), not even 30% of these youngsters get appropriate assignments, based on their training and qualifications

9. 80% of our farmers own less than 2 ha land, and they struggle to get enough water, electricity; and they do not get appropriate seeds, fertilizer, and finally appropriate values for their produce (this is in spite of the Government subsidizing almost all of these for the last 40 years)

10. About 40 years ago, our Agricultural and related Scientific departments wanted the farmers to go for intensive cultivation through indiscriminate use of Chemicals and Fertilizers; but now the Scientists are telling them to go for “organic” farming

11. Our Government is indiscriminately (without long term studies) allowing multinational corporations (mainly American Corporations) to have direct say/ control in our Agriculture, resulting in slow and steady dependence on their dictates (reducing our Science, farm practices etc) into “slave levels”

12. We have annual rainfall that allows percapita water of 3, 500 L per day; yet 75% of India’s population do not have clean potable water

13. Our electricity requirement falls short by 30%; in spite of lakhs of crores of rupees having been spent on Wind mills, Solar power and other “hybrids”

14. At least 10 million people are annually affected by floods and related calamities, and nothing concrete is done to help those affected, in spite of huge amounts being earmarked for these calamities; about 5 million amongst those affected either loose all of their belongings and homes or are shifted to far away places to become migrants within ones own country of origin. This has been the case from 1990

15. About 40% of the populations in over 500 Towns/ cities (including about 20 metros) are migrant laborers and others seeking some “jobs”; and almost 100% of these (about 150 million) personnel are form the most dilapidated villages in Orissa, Bihar, UP, Rajashtan and north eastern states, where most villages have absolutely nothing to support them

16. About 450 million people do not have any modern medical facilities, including primary health support; and this is in spite of lakhs of crores of rupees being spent annually for the same; at the same time, superb facilities do spring up for the 1% elite of this country

17. We boast of about 100 billionaires; about 500, 000 millionaires; and we also boast of about 4 million “rich” Indian Diaspora in US, Canada, Europe and other western nations – all put together are worth over US $500 billions; yet, India does not have even one amongst these to counter the “western-tilted” philanthropy of the likes of Bill Gates from entering India! Almost all the philanthropy works are not intended to answer the problems of Poverty and destitute in India, within Indian needs and conditions [Please note: There are thousands of Good Samaritans doing yeoman's service to the society; but we need to counter these "others" from coming in with their brand of philanthropy; for example, when our poor people do not have one meal a day, we talk of serving them with education, vaccines, solar power, water filters and so on. But we have no answer to Poverty]

18. 100% of all our development economics, especially from 1991 onward, cater only to the 350 million middle class (including about 10 million “upper” class) … relegating the lower 800 million people altogether into “uncared class”. The “big” economists gloat over saying that “trickle effects” would make sure that those 800 million “lower level” people are also benefited!!!

19. The last twenty years have seen the worst “farmer suicides”, mainly due to inadequate earnings through farming; about a million farmers have committed suicide during this period, on account of bad debts and related economics problems – a shame on our national agriculture policies; shame on our agriculture science; shame on the entire community who “talk” and “act” for agriculture (including big “award winners”)

20. It is estimated that about 15 million ha of farmlands have been converted into housings, industrial infrastructure or for related non-farm activities during that last two decades. This has resulted in decrease in farm production and increase in farm produce costs; escalating into food inflation of the highest order

21. Although the “twenty” statements above would be seen to prioritize our problems in a general way, the Government of India does not seem to consider even one of these as our real problem; instead, we talk of Nuclear arrangement; Gene technology; Bio-technology; Bio-Fuels; “Higher” education; Exports and Special Economic Zones; International Air Ports; Tourism to attract westerners … and so on … as if these would solve our “down-to-earth” and mundane problems

All of us need o introspect, and rekindle the spirit of the famous statement made by the then US President Kennedy … “Ask not what the nation can do for you; ask what you can do for the nation?” … But alas! Almost the entire nation, starting from the PM down to the commonest person in the streets, want every thing “Foreign” … whether Atomic Development, Tourism, Jobs, Technology, Wind/Solar-Power … Our IIT’s, IIM’s and all other Institutions want all our youngsters to go to the US or other western nations for livelihood (they gloat over this aspect as an indication of their “quality”). Our so-called IT Companies, Pharma-Companies, and almost all Small businesses wish to be identified by their Western connections (with thousands of youngsters working like “slaves” for the ultimate development of the Western world); our Agriculture, Science, Engineering, Industry and almost every thing now depends on the Western-tilted “connection”, and not even one aspect of Modern India’s development paradigm is INDIAN!

This writer is pained and extremely sad that in the last 63 years, our nation has become dependent 100% on the Western world, negating and rejecting the greatest Independence War Result ever fought on earth (through AHIMSA of MAHATMA GANDHI). What is the use of talking about the great soul, in the ritualistic cacophony such as Independence day, Gandhi Ji’s birth day etc (August 15^th and Oct 2^nd)?

Gandhi Ji’s Dream of an Independent India may not be possible at all. Why did he (and over a million “workers”/supporters) sacrifice their every thing to get so-called Independence from the Western strangle hold!!! Our present “rulers” would have to answer these questions. Do they have the imagination, mission and vision to do so?

Advertisement