India can’t afford to keep people socially, educationally, economically backward

By Sudhansu R Das
On 15th August 2023, India celebrated its 77th Independence Day. Even after 76 years of independence, the reservation policy continues; the demand for reservation from the higher castes becomes louder in some developed states. It shows that the various governments have accepted the fact that the country still has a large population who need support to become one among equals. The question arises why government after government in the past 76 years have not made them strong.

Why hundreds of development programs, educational institutions, NGOs, voluntary organizations, political class, intellectuals, media, GDP growth, patriotic organizations, advancement in science and technology and governance mechanism etc have not developed the much needed confidence, knowledge, employable skill and capacity among the millions of men and women across the county? The sustainability of economic growth largely depends on human psychology; self belief, confidence, courage, skill, unity, mutual trust and cooperation etc. India can’t afford to keep a large number of people socially, educationally and economically backward for an indefinite period.
There are ways to treat the vulnerable people in society. The Union Government should immediately scrap reservation for the creamy layer who have cornered the maximum benefits in the past decades. There is no logic to give reservation benefits to a person with an income above Rs 50000 per month. The vast majority of Indians have income less than Rs 15000 per month. Leave aside the subsidies and the freebies. The immediate scrap of the reservation benefits to the creamy layer will benefit a large number of vulnerable people in the country.
There should be a dedicated investigation to know why the benefits of the hundreds of development programs for the vulnerable people have not percolated. It is very essential to know why the educational institutions, NGOs, Voluntary Organizations and various agencies etc have not delivered in the past seven and half decades. They may not deliver in the future if they are not punished now. This is time to show patriotism and commitment to the nation with visible actions. Vulnerability is the main reason for religious conversion, migration and the breaking down of the unique joint family system.
Over decades populism has become a plague in India. Political parties instead of spending thousands of crores of rupees on populist schemes should develop the right environment for people so that they could earn with self respect. Instead of exercising populism, they should personally supervise the revival of village ponds, activation of rivers, plantation of native fruit bearing trees, revival crop diversity, functioning of a transparent domestic market and running of quality schools etc on a priority basis.

They should stalk the cities and villages like Lord Ram and Mahatma Gandhi to experience how people live; what they think and what they want. First hand information is the most precious asset of political leaders. Political leaders should crack on people who feed them with misleading information about development. Only a group of honest, bold, mentally and physically strong politicians can hunt for hard facts and dismantle the massive idle energy which has been created due to the distribution of freebies. The idle energy has become the biggest threat to the economy and the society. Converting the idle energy into productive work force is the biggest challenge before the country.

Thousands of acres of agricultural land remains uncultivated in Odisha due to the shortage of labor and water. Massive migration of skilled and unskilled people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and North East states to big cities has given a setback to the village economy. Free food and freebies can not stop migration. Right environment for generating income should be created in villages and in small towns so that people could happily earn and live with a sense of owning economic assets. This is high time to treat poverty and backwardness with commitment, patriotism and with a sense of belongingness to the country, its culture and its people.

The majority of religions mention hell and heaven which will be the homes for the bad and good people after their deaths. Some oriental scholars believe in the natural justice system; as per the natural justice system, even the most powerful and the wealthiest person seldom escapes punishment in his present life. He may not express the pain in public life; the inscrutable pain due to the natural justice system grips him from within. Politics gives the best opportunity to serve people. Service to people through politics should not be a slogan but a Mul Mantra and a visible action.

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