सहज मिले सो दूध सम, मांगा मिले सो पानी
कहकबर वह रक्त सम, जामें अंचातानि
There are flyovers everywhere but not a place to move. The cars ,buses and trucks are jam packed. It was meant to ease the traffic but the problem has only exploded. People lose 4 hours on the traffic when they travel to office everyday.
There are roads being laid out everywhere only being dug every next day.
My first love Mumbai suburban local trains are exploding, there are people on the rooftops on the side gates and on the wheel.
The rainwater enters your dining rooms. The drains get choked during the rainy season. No AI cannot solve this problem not even Chat GPT, I tried.
The slums mushroom on either side of the railway stations and malls.
There are no fresh green spaces. Everything has become a concrete jungle. The garbage dump overflows with tons of garbage on either side of the railway tracks.
So is it so gloomy or are there any silver linings.We have progressed with the certain innovations like UPI. Now not need to stand in the queues to pay your utility bills. The Aadhar has made direct benefit transfer (DBT) foolproof without leakages. So has the opening up of Jan Dhan accounts. Passport offices have become digital. Metro lines are definitely a way forward.
Education:
Primary education still suffers in with dropout, teacher absenteeism rates increasing day by day in the government schools and colleges. Where emphasis should be on teacher training and 360 degree assessment of the students.
In higher education the problem still seems to be on caste based reservations instead of affirmative action ‘’looking for a relative skill’’ as Nandan Nilekani points out in his book Imaging India. The fees of these higher educational institutions seems to be skyrocketing though loans are provided. Still these loans need to be paid back.You need to be a Mukesh Ambani’s son or daughter to be a doctor. It is impossible for an ordinary man to dream his son or daughter to be a doctor in a private medical college. And this seems to be the righteous way by many. They defend saying salaries of the teachers are to be paid and infrastructure has to be created along with private players are for profit organizations. But should it be at the cost and mercy of a child who does not have the means?
Healthcare:
In covid times we did have Covaxin and Covidshield thanks to the efforts of our healthcare workers. The private sector hospital bills rise exponentially. The doctors in these hospitals selfish to the core. The government infrastructure does not match with the needs of the poor and the destitute.
India may be the only country where health issues related to both Obesity and malnutrition coexist, the divide between the rich and the poor so clear. Suicides are now not restricted to the farmers alone even college and school going students are committing them. The mental health issues seems to be rising at an alarming pace.
Livelihood and Employment:
When livelihoods seem to be the problem for some, car parking is the problem for many. The problem of employment is not restricted to the rural area now, very well present in the urban metros too. The no. of unemployed youth is alarming. Students with 90% being unemployed is not a uncommon phenomenon forget about the youth with no skills. Skill India, Start-up India , Digital India seems to be steps in the right direction, but needs to be seen how much of a quantitative difference it has made.
Environment:
The youth seems to be very concerned about the environment today. Along with tree plantation, renewable sources of energy ,electric cars, we ought to reduce the consumption pattern in our daily lives so that we can reduce the carbon footprints.
Religion and Freedom of expression
There has been an overdose of religious fanatism in India in the recent past. There has been protest over films like Padmavaat , Pathan and Stand up comedians like Munawar Faruqui in the recent past. This does take away the democratic pluralism of India. Again the news channels have become so toxic that prefer to listen to pravachan of Murari Bapu.
What is very heartening is that a few religious institutions like the Brahmakumaris are showing scientific temperament and investing time and effort in Solar Powered technologies and Water purification systems that help the common man.
P.S.:The content is Inspired by reading the Book from Nandan Nilekani '"Imagining India"
