INREDIBLE INDIA- A PROGRESSING NATION

OR A RETROGESSING NATION????

India is a developing nation, it’s constantly increasing its GDP and has become a popular Business hub post- LPG policy which has allowed Multi-National Corporations to enter its markets with much ease than prior to 1991. This boost in the economic development has created more employment opportunities and better standard of living for a significant part of the nation’s population. 

The literacy rate of the population has increased significantly post- Independence, now an Average of 70% of the entire Indian population is literate. States such as Tripura, Kerala, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan have a literacy rate of 90% and above which is highly impressive when compared to their past literacy records prior to Independence.

 India has given the world several prominent and noted people of the 21^st century, namely- Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Priyanka Chopra, Amartya Sen, Manu Prakash, Lakshmi Mittal, Ratan Tata, Ambani’s, Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kochhar, Arundhati Bhattacharya, and our very own Prime Minister Narendra  Modi who from being a mere ‘ chai wala’ became the Prime Minister of the rapidly developing nation.  India is now competing with China to become the heart of Asian Business.  

On an international platform, after the completion of World War 2 the United Nations set many goals for all countries, and on the basis of these goals the nations are classified into Developed, Developing and Under developed. A few of those Goals are: Human Rights, Education, Healthcare, Water & Sanitization, Bridging Economic Inequality, Poverty Reduction, Dignity and Sustainability.

Sustainability is defined as the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance. All countries are urged to have a sustainable development policy.

Sustainable development is basically economic development that is conducted without depletion of natural resources. India is nowhere near to achieving these goals. Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Finland, UK, Switzerland have achieved sustainable growth, therefore they need not worry about depletion of natural resources for their future generations, they have plenty. India, on the other hand is facing scarcity of water resources thanks to its competition to become a business hub of Asia. 

A perfect example is the recent Chennai floods. The floods occurred primarily due to lack of soil for the water to penetrate into, and the reason for lack of soil was simple the city was filled with tar roads and had left no space for proper drainage of rain water. This is only an example. There are many more issues which will make you question “Is India Progressing or Retrogressing?”.

India is a highly polluted country, not only in terms of air pollution but also in terms of water pollution. The Ganga River which is a holy river for Hindus is also the most polluted river in India. Look at the irony. 

When it comes to Basic Human Rights, I would like to say that there is no hope. Humanity is on the edge of extinction in India. Every single woman in India has been sexually harassed and discriminated on the basis of her gender. Of course not all men indulge in such activities but each and every woman in India is harassed and it’s a fact. Child labour still exists, children are forced to beg on the streets by unethical ‘business men’ and the various illegal trade industries in India are thriving and flourishing due to the nation’s own corrupt and careless nature. Is this what we want to give our future generation???

A country that lacks basic water but has abundant amounts of soda and alcoholic drinks, air which can cause serious ailments, no natural resources such as petroleum, coal, natural gas, oil and other non-replenish able resources and limited access to proper health care facilities because a large number of doctors now a days have become commercial and are more interested in making money out of the illness rather than curing the patient, they no longer consider their oath. 

When we look at the Education area of India there needs to be an augmented change. It still follows the same system that was introduced by the British prior to Independence. The British have changed their education system with time yet India still sticks to it. In general a student in India is only bothered about his/ her marks, they do not bother about actually understanding and retaining the concepts into their minds, very few do so and it’s because marks are prioritized more than knowledge by the students, parents and even by teachers and school management. How will such an education system help in developing the nation when it has been estimated that in the next few years India will be the country with the highest population of youth in the world?

 Youth which have been left with depleted resources, inhumane society, lack of basic human rights and thanks to the latest financial policy- FRDI Bill they have no financial security. This act of allowing Bail-In to banks has indirectly encouraged willful defaulters such as Vijay Malya and Nirav Modi who have become highly infamous due to their defaulting loans of crores of rupees. But these 2 are only the cherries on top of the huge loan Sundae India has.

All these are only a few issues India faces in terms of Sustainable Development, there are so many topics and issues we can discuss but then it would be a never ending discussion, in my case a never ending essay which people would not wish to read further. Hence, I conclude here. I just want you, yes YOU! My dear reader,  to ask yourself, is this the kind of country you want your younger siblings or child to inherit? And also ask yourself how you can help in solving sustainability issues and make India one step closer towards becoming a Devel

oped nation. Remember that change begins with you.