In today’s world the basis of every political debate is “development”. Development enjoys the top position in every manifesto, it is the biggest missile in the arsenal of political argument, governments are challenged on its basis and the elections (which happen every year in our country) are fought on its strength. Certainly development is the issue of utmost importance, especially in a developing country like ours.
So the
question arises what is this ghost of development? What is its physical nature?
Will it haunt you or fulfil your wishes?
Does
development mean, “There would be a car
in every home?” Or does it mean, “We
will make public transport so impeccable that citizens would seldom use private
transport!”
Does it
translate into, “All the people who had
to leave their villages in search of two square meals will live in slums with
better conditions” or should it say,
“People won’t have to leave their roots and villages in search of two square
meals”
Should
political manifestos say, “We will make
the economic centres of India like Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi at par with
global centres like New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris” or should they aim
at, “Creating a wholesome progressive
programs with small economically independent centres which won’t rely on the
big cities”
Should the
focus of spreading awareness rely on,
“3G, 4G, 8G in every village, smart phone in every hand, more of social media
to the people and profits to private companies” or should it focus on, “quality public education system with
modern teaching techniques and encouraging free thinking and independent voice
in every village and small towns of the country.”
What is more
important to a metropolitan, “A statue of
a historical figure worth thousands of crores”? Or “providing new and ample machinery so that manhole cleaners, scavengers
and people of certain castes can lead a life of dignity and they don’t die with
harmful intake of poisonous gases while cleaning the gutters”
Will India
shine with, “Coca cola and sugarcane
factories which are drying up the agricultural lands and giving childhood
obesity and other diseases to the future generation” Or, “Saving the lives and lands of these farmers
who are forced to commit suicides due to these vultures who cause organised
famines, profiting foreign and domestic
industrial giants and super rich”
Where would
lie the future of India, “In the smart
cities with concrete jungles and open jail of city life” Or would it be
true again that India “resides in its
villages where there would be a wholesome, sustainable development without
damaging the ecological balance of our beautiful and ample environment”
When India
will cross the bridge of development and become a developed nation from
developing nation, would it still belong to “The
Ambanis, Adanis, Tatas and other super rich, running the nation, deciding our
future and telling us what is right and what is wrong” or “would it be a
nation with power actually to the people and empathy towards environment”?
What holds
more important for us? “More
industrialists robbing the mountains, destroying the natural habitat and
depriving the people living there a life of dignity like they have done to more than 2.4 million tribal
people since independence“ Or is the “Tribal
identity and the choice to live one’s life in their own ecosystem with dignity”
Why is it
that the treatment for a disease like dengue in a well to do hospital is
unaffordable to more than half of the population of our country? Why is it that
the quality primary education can cost more than a car nowadays? Why is it that
more than half the nation’s population cannot afford a decent lawyer’s fees of
one court date and so many people have to spend years in the jail over false
accusations? Why is it that the only way of leading a life of dignity in our
country is to amass a huge amount of money irrespective of the source? We all
should ask ourselves these questions with empathy and rationale and we might
get the answer that what actually is development.
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