It is often deemed that a 62 years old republic shall be free from ailments and failures in the system of governance. But it seems that it is not applicable in India because it is suffering from a lot of ailments, just like a 62 years old human being, ranging from economic to social to political, the majority of them being in the social and economic spheres of life.
The Preamble to the Constitution of India provides that India is a socialist state, but it does not follow hardcore socialism. The Indian economy is a mixed economy where capitalism is intertwined with socialism. Prior to 1991 Economic Reforms, the country followed the License-Permit mechanism whereby the government kept a check upon the growing influence of industrialists in the economy by having its own monopoly in the market. Though it was a necessary step in the elementary stage, it went on to become a menace in the late 80s. Large scale corruption was reported against government officials which forced the central government to enact the Prevention of Corruption Act. This corruption menace started to rotten the very foundation of the nation. In the last few years there have been allegations against a lot of public servants and recently the country witnessed a mini-revolution against this peril. This eventually constrained the government to introduce the Lokpal Bill in the Parliament. It is often said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, but what suits the situation today is that: power corrupts but the prospect of losing power corrupts absolutely. The people who are seated at government offices assume to have license to coerce the general public and mint money from them.
If we have a look into the root cause of corruption, we would find a number of other perils, namely illiteracy, unemployment, poverty, hunger and a lot others. Though a lot have been done by the government in the recent years to convalesce the situation in the country created by poverty, illiteracy and unemployment, but it seems it was not enough.
Poverty is the biggest violator of human rights. Its eradication is vital for development. Poverty should not be treated as merely a developmental project. The agenda must include provisions of all such basic amenities like health care, safe drinking water, adequate nutrition, educational facilities etc. Poverty must be seen as deprivation of basic capabilities rather than merely low incomes. Poverty has to be eradicated through the process of human development. For a program of eradication of poverty, one has to look at a number of indices (economic, social, cultural and political) together, and a right to development approach would imply considering improvement in each of these indices through schemes that have to be implemented following the right approach where the beneficiaries are empowered to participate in the decision making and executing the different schemes, transparently and accountably and sharing the benefits equitably.
Illiteracy has led people unaware of their rights and they are often cheated and end up paying a lot more than what is required. Unavailability of good schools in the rural areas has led an increase in the unskilled labour force which is double-stricken with unemployment and poverty. This has also resulted in large scale migration of these labourers from their native places to cities increasing burden on them. Diogenes Leartius, a scholar, has said in 2nd or 3rd Century A.D. that “education is a controlling grace to the young, consolation to the old, wealth to the poor and ornament to the rich”. The youngest lot of the population which comprises children is devoid of quality education not only in rural areas but also in urban areas. The migrant labourers in urban areas are devoid of means to educate their children and one can easily see them begging on the streets or selling pirated books and magazines. The youth in India does not comprise only of the urban youth but rural as well. And for upliftment of the generation they are required to have the best possible education.
It is because of low quality of education in India that the country faces massive brain drain. The brain drain has costed around three Nobel laureates who were of Indian origin but were citizens of other countries. To peter out this alarming situation, the education standard in India needs to be risen above from where it is stationed today. More research facilities, more funding should be introduced so that brilliant students don’t leave the country for the want of it.
Another ailment in the economic sphere is that of unemployment. The government introduced the Rural Employment Guarantee scheme providing 100 days of employment in rural areas, but it is also marred by widespread corruption. Also, there has been no such scheme for the urban poor. Illiteracy coupled with unemployment leads to criminal behaviour. If a person who is educated and is financially secure with a job will have nothing to do with anything criminal. There is a need to create a lot of jobs so that the young generation feels responsible towards this country, for, Sir Winston Churchill has rightly said: “The price of greatness is responsibility”.
On a perusal of the government’s introduction to the Food Security Bill, one can easily find the statistics of 70% of hungry population. Even after 62 years of becoming a republic, if 70% of the country’s population does not get proper food then it is a very unfortunate and shameful situation. In spite of the Public Distribution System where ration is made available at very low rate, 70 % of the country’s population is devoid of proper food.
In the social sphere also, there are a lot of embarrassing situations. Casteism is one of the most humiliating practices which is still prevalent in the country. Discrimination on the basis of caste has resulted in some castes acquiring the creamy upper layer of the society. This has led to widespread illiteracy and unemployment as well as poverty and hunger among the lower strata. The menace of casteism has also triggered protests in favor as well as against the concept of reservation for scheduled castes and tribes and also other backward classes in education and employment as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
Religion is a very powerful but historically misused tool. Communalism is also one of the social ailments which is corroding the country from within. Discrimination on the basis of religion, though prohibited by the Constitution, is prevalent. This is also linked to political affairs where ‘Secularism’ often means in favoring a particular religion over another. India has faced a lot of riots on the basis of religion, the latest being in Gujarat in 2002. The orthodox fundamentalists use the soft corners of people’s hearts to cultivate hatred for another religion which often results in instability.
In 1985, some 80 million people were added to a world population of 4.8 billion. It is said that population of Australia is added to the population of India every year. Each year the number of human beings increases, but the amount of natural resources with which to sustain this population, to improve the quality of human lives, and to eliminate mass poverty remains finite. Present rates of population growth cannot continue. They already compromise many government’s abilities to provide education, health care and food security for people, much less their abilities to raise living standards. This gap between numbers and resources is all the more compelling because so much of population growth is concentrated in low income countries, ecologically disadvantaged regions and poor households. People are the ultimate resource. Improvements in education, health and nutrition allow them to better use of the resources they command, to stretch them further. In addition, threats to the sustainable use of the resources come as much from inequalities in people’s access to resources and from the ways in which they use them as from the sheer numbers of people.
Sustainable development means the development that meets the needs of present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. In other words, it is the development that uses the natural resources in such a way that does not harm the environment and continues for a long time. The concept of sustainable development rests on the foundation of equity. It has equitable basis. Intergenerational equity is among the newest norms of international environment law. It can be best understood not so much as a principle, rather as an argument in favor of sustainable economic development and use of natural resources. If present generation continues to consume and deplete resources at unsustainable rate, which it is doing, future generations will suffer the environmental economic consequences. It implies inter-generational fairness and mandate that the present generation should not look at the earth and its resources as mere investment opportunity but as trust passed on to them by the ancestors, to be enjoyed and passed on to the future generations for their use. All generations are inherently linked to other generations, past and future, in using the common patrimony of the earth. Development without concern for the environment can only be a short term development. In the long run it will result only into human suffering, poverty and destruction of life and property.
With increase in pollution and global warming, India also faces a drastic change in its weather cycle. The areas which used to be flooded during monsoons remain dry and face dearth whereas areas that used to receive minimum rainfall are flooded with water. Delay in monsoons also lead to steep fall in the food grains production. In the recent past India has faced abrupt inflation in the prices of food grains because of low produce. Desperate measures have been taken by the government but have seen no good results.
India’s geographical position is such that it faces external threats from both left and right. Relations with both Pakistan and China, though seems to be going good, sometimes goes for a toss. The boundary dispute with China is not a new development. But it keeps on raising its head every now and then and the personnel of People’s Army come and have a walk within the Indian frontiers. India is threatened by infiltrators and cross-border terrorism from its neighbor in the west. The Kashmir dispute with Pakistan has often left India red-faced in the international arena.
Last but not the least, the problem solving mechanism in India has become obsolete. We still follow the text-book approach in solving any complication. There is a need to rectify it so that the solutions can be arrived at in a swift manner. By problem-solving mechanism I mean to include the administration of justice. Cases have created a pile in the courts and a lot of time is wasted in pursuing them. The government has recently introduced a whistle-blower protection bill in the Parliament. Allegations of corruption in the judiciary are been made on a regular basis. Cases are prolonged so that timely justice is denied. There is a need for judicial accountability.
Sixty-two years old republic should find a way to get rid of these ailments which brings disgrace to it. And this shall happen only when the people of this country will become responsible to the affairs to it. The various practices which should ideally not be present in a good democracy should be done away with and we should rise to a new dawn. A new beginning where the age of the country shall not invite any ailment and the country be free from diseases, diseases which are social and economic in nature. Once the nation is free from these ailments, we would surely be a great nation state as imagined by our forefathers.
