yesterday late night we were in discussion mode. The recurring phenomenon that takes place every 30 days or so. The topics of our discussions invariably concern India and her problems. some nights it's the inefficient politicians getting a piece of our mind sometimes it the cricketers, actors, bureaucracy or any other character. The young gen or the more cliche`d Gen X is not oblivious and indifferent to the situations in our backyard.
The topic of yesterday's discussion has been debated ubiquitously for the past couple of decades. Is India and her resources crumbling under the massive and ever increasing population. Is population the root cause of India's backwardness? Is that's why the people are corrupt. My friends were of the opinion yes it indeed is the mother of all problems that India faces right now.
using namespace Government;
(every thing said below is in the context of the Govt unless otherwise stated)
:-)
Politicians are corrupt because population is too much. Govt employees are not working because they are overwhelmed by the amount of work because of the huge population. basic amenities, health care, employment, education, drinking water, food, clothes etc etc are all in scarcity because of the population. So many people are below the poverty line because of so many other people who have supposedly taken their place in the human socio-economic pyramid, thus pushing them down.
frankly speaking i don't buy any of these arguments. I agree that huge population is not a very desirable situation but only in the cases when you don't know what to do with the people. No country but for the people. Can we blame our problems on the very foundation that makes us a nation.?Why do we treat the population as a burgeoning mother of all ailments plaguing the country? People are the strength of the country. they are not a burden but a resource, "the human resource". Unless you know what do with your resources you waste them away. consider this simple analogy, before dams were known to mankind, annual flooding was a menace that all known civilizations dreaded. Such a huge quantity of water was a pain in the ass until we learn to tame this enormous energy source and started producing electricity. Just a simple idea what had been a deadly problem was now a wonderful energy source no one ever imagined. The same is true for human resource. Unless we discover the best method to tap the best out of it it will loom as our Achilles heels.
What we need now is not to blame our problems on something that we ourselves have created and not do anything about it but action. Unlike the population-causing-all problems kinda people i believe that our huge population and consequently a larger workforce is our strength. Every country has it's own strengths. Human resource is ours. it's only because of the huge young workforce we are one of the largest service providers both in the SW and BPO sectors. our energetic young workforce, in the sheer numbers that they are, has transformed us from a lumbering ailing elephant that could just crawl to an elephant that can not only walk but can show direction and dictate rules to the world.
Today our country does not need prohibition (read one/two child per family policy). that would be catastrophic in the long run. Why? A sudden decline would mean in the next 30 years the number of retired people would be more than the workforce at that time, and i.e more mouths to feed and less hands to work. This situation would be worse than the one we have right now or perhaps are anticipating 30 years hence. Look at china, 25 years ago it passed a similar legislation and today it's sex ratio is badly screwed up. Since it's only one child per family and their religion demands at least one male offspring, the only child is mostly male. This is not restraint but an attempt to fiddle in the matters of nature. Finding a girl for marriage is one of the most challenging tasks there. And this scarcity has not only spelled despair for the ordinary men but has also resulted in illegal girl child smuggling and abductions. thus promoting crime. There are numerous such problems that will show up with time.
The US today is not the same authority to reckon as it was 20 years ago. before i delve into the reasons, let us see what were the things that made US great. US was not a superpower or an economic power till the turn of the 19th century. It was a normal country still trying to come to terms with the changing world. Some of the greatest leaders came to lead the nation, inspiring and motivating the people. They provided the optimism and hope that was needed in the trying times. US was made great by leaders like Washington, Lincoln , FDR, Thomas Jefferson, JFK and many others. They were living examples that people could idolize. they led from the front. But now the US hegemony is declining as it's facing a leadership crunch. there are leaders like George bush who are no intelligent than a 5th grader. What more can be expected from them. And with no real leader at the helm, no doubt a great nation is plunging into an abyss.
Learning from the above example we need some great leaders. we have had some, Nehru, Indira, Patel were all good leaders. they were exemplary in their personnel dealings such that they could be emulated without much thought. jump to 2008, how many leaders do we have. Some would say we have hordes of them... no we don't have any!!! what we presume as leaders are mere politicians. Their aim is not leadership, but petty politics. When was the last time we saw a MP or any other elected member coming out with a report card of his achievements in all the time he was in office. The only time the people get to see the person is during elections. I say why don't we have a performance report that should be based on the promises made during election against the actual achievements. Let the people know what was promised and what was done. Why not the candidate give a signed copy of his manifesto during election. If he's not able to meet he should be sued for breach of promise. it's like a business contract, promises and votes being the things transacted by the seller and the buyer respectively. We gave the votes so let him fulfill his word. If some one is not able to meet the promises he should be disqualified for the next 5 elections. let the politicians be aware that they are because of the people and are government servants not rulers. they are as accountable as any other govt employee.
To get India to the place she deserves and had been enjoying in the history long forgotten, we need some real leaders. Those who have a concrete vision, the will, the accountability, the responsibility, the truth, the curiosity, the charisma, the character, the common sense of the greatest leaders who walked the earth in days gone by.
